242 on 11/12/2007 at 23:04
We received quite a few questions from fansites of the game S.T.A.L.K.E.R., and this is really great. We want to thank you for your interest in the game. In this series of answers we have decided to bend the rules a little and reply to more questions than we planned originally. First we have answered questions that have been asked several times, meaning that they are especially relevant. And so, here is the first portion of answers:
1. Will a Singleplayer SDK be released?
We really did plan to release an SDK for the singleplayer part of the game, however right now the whole team is busy with development of "Clear Sky" and cannot devote enough time to the SDK. We cannot release our tools the way they currently are, since they are meant for internal use and would be extremely complicated for other people. So, the answer is - certainly not at this time, but maybe sometime later.
2. Will there be S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Online?
We do not quite understand what you mean by "online". If it is the cooperative mode, then no, there will be none. Even at the time of development of the first part of the game we said that a cooperative mode is impossible, since Life Simulation would be different at each computer. Synchronizing it would be practically not doable. If you mean an MMOG, then we are seriously considering it.
3. Will there be support for DX8, or only DX9 and DX10?
Yes, we leave support for the DX8 renderer, which will let users of weaker machines into the world of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. The game allows sufficiently flexible configuration for the player's computer.
4. "Clear Sky" is based on the updated 1.5 engine. Should we expect additional optimization and improvement of performance, or only addition of new features? Will the new engine be added to the original game, are new editions planned?
The X-Ray Engine underwent fairly serious changes. Not only did it gain a set of new features, a higher level of detail, but has also been optimized quite a bit. Development of DX10 is currently going ahead full speed; it will give owners of newer video cards a better picture.
As for moving the original game to the new engine - it will not be done. "Shadow of Chernobyl" is a complete and finished game, which in future will only get patches, fixing discovered errors and improving multiplayer.
As for system requirements, some features of the game, such as volumetric light, are quite demanding and require a newer video card. Of course, as we said, the game is quite configurable.
5. Do such characters as Voronin, Lukash, Sakharov participate in the plot of "Clear Sky"?
It will not do anyone any good to uncover the plot of the game, so we will limit ourselves to a dry phrase: "the player will meet characters he knows."
Scots Taffer on 12/12/2007 at 00:52
Uh, where did this come from exactly? Mildly interesting, I guess. This is a prequel, isn't it?
Trappin on 12/12/2007 at 08:46
If you mean an MMOG, then we are seriously considering it.
A new sci-fi MMOG would be nice... see ya in six years.:p
242 on 12/12/2007 at 10:00
Quote Posted by Scots Taffer
Uh, where did this come from exactly? Mildly interesting, I guess. This is a prequel, isn't it?
This is Q&A from official forum. Yes, Clear Sky is a prequel - (
http://www.stalker-game.com/clearsky/)
Bjossi on 16/12/2007 at 05:38
Interesting info there. But I'm kind of disappointed that the original game won't get engine updates. Ah well, it'd be too much of a hassle for them I guess.
Muzman on 18/12/2007 at 15:02
I wouldn't have even considered an engine update an option. An expansion pack on the other hand...
Bjossi on 19/12/2007 at 17:55
I read the term 'expansion pack' as a package where the new content is simply extending what is already in the original game's main folder; in other words the original shares engine and some files with the expansion. That is why I thought an engine update might affect the original, but since I don't know how XRay works I was guessing into thin air. :o
Muzman on 20/12/2007 at 15:24
The question does seem to ask if they will update Stalker with the new Clear Sky version of the engine. But that struck me as an odd thing to ask for; that almost never happens (except when fans do it ten years later. That and Half Life Source). An expansion pack for Stalker including a lot of cut stuff like maybe a new area or two, seems like something more probable to ask about.
242 on 20/12/2007 at 18:16
The cut off stuff will be included in CS.
Muzman on 21/12/2007 at 23:53
I'm glad they're getting right back on to the whole stalker thing. They've built something great and now making it even better shouldn't be too hard.
I wished they did the same thing with Freelancer, which had a similar list of goals and similar (long, problematic) development to Stalker. They could have come right back with a great game pretty quickly I thought, building on the first one. Looks like Clear Sky will be close to the lofty features of the original. I hope it works out for them.
