ENDINGS... please help! *SPOILERS* - by Axon1988
Axon1988 on 16/9/2008 at 21:16
Thank you...
Yes but I was limited on the size to download so I chose alive... Tell me about AMK... maybe you guys can give me a link?
Still on the tube things... What else is there in the labs that you guys find strange? Some of those machines I wish they were real... (do not press here)
Hehehehehe that what I would press.
So anything wierd that ever happened to you guys on stalker?
bassmanret on 12/11/2011 at 14:53
I realize this is an old thread, but I didn't feel it necessary to start a new thread, and this seemed as good a place as any to just simply say that I just finished STALKER for the first time, and was horribly disappointed with the ending. Actually, after all the hype and praise this game has received, I can honestly say that I was disappointed not only with the ending, but with the entire game as well. I played Shadow of Chernobyl, and I am very glad I resisted the temptation to buy any of the expansions because I have no desire whatsoever to continue with this game. I'm uninstalling immediately. I've read that there are other endings (I had the "I want to be rich" ending), but again, I have no desire to experience them.
I played the "vanilla" game to about 30% with 80-something saved games, then found and installed the 2009 complete mod. With the mod, I had to start over, but got to my previous progress point in about an hour with less than 10 saves. It made the game playable for me, and I honestly don't know if I would have finished without it. I'm not sure if it was possible in the vanilla game, but I adjusted the "carry weight" after installing the mod, and POOF, I could play without the constant, frustrating inventory management. The "teleport" feature was also extremely useful.
Anyway, I know I'm in the minority, but I just don't get the love for this game. I guess I need to stop reading forum praise for a game before playing it, as perhaps it raised my expectations unreasonably high for this game.
Muzman on 12/11/2011 at 15:07
Er... good for you
There's not much to add to that but I suppose it should be mentioned that the multiple endings aren't the actual ending. There is only one true ending.
Since you hated every second of it and cheated to get through it it isn't likely to change anything about the game for you.
Koki on 12/11/2011 at 15:15
Well, you got the "wrong" ending. There are several fake endings and two "proper" ones which you get by following the Strelok sub-quest to the end.
I agree that vanilla SoC is average at best and really only playable with Complete or some megamods. You should try Call of Pripyat though, it really improves STALKER all across the board.
Dia on 12/11/2011 at 15:17
Very sorry to hear this bassmanret, but then each to their own. Getting the 'true' ending makes it all worthwhile, though I guess you won't be going for a replay. Sad, that. As Koki said though, try CoP. It's worth it.
bassmanret on 12/11/2011 at 15:23
Quote Posted by Muzman
Er... good for you
There's not much to add to that but I suppose it should be mentioned that the multiple endings aren't the actual ending. There is only one true ending.
Since you hated every second of it and cheated to get through it it isn't likely to change anything about the game for you.
Did I come across that strong? I didn't mean to imply that I "hated every second of it", just that it was "disappointing". Guilty to cheating, though, as much as I dislike resorting to cheats, the inventory management came close to "hate". Looting every corpse (and there are LOTS of corpses) was a painstaking chore previous to the fix/cheat. How that is enjoyable to anyone is a mystery to me.
Not meaning to crap on the game, it just wasn't for me I guess.
Koki on 12/11/2011 at 15:35
Well, you don't need to loot everything. But I won't rag on you for increasing the weight limit as the loot/trade system in SoC is completely ass-broken.
Dia on 12/11/2011 at 23:17
Yeah, I agree weight limit thing was a major pain in the ass. Didn't even know there were cheats for SoC; still don't want to know. The fact that it was such a challenging game (I nearly quit several times in the heat of temper tantrums) made it more enjoyable in the long run.
Different strokes & all that.
bassmanret on 13/11/2011 at 01:45
Yep, I totally understand what you're saying, Dia and Koki. The difficulty was challenging and I did have many "I DID IT!" self-congratulatory moments due to the feeling of overcoming unusually (and IMO unreasonably) difficult situations. The game definitely makes you think and consider things more than most FPS or RPG types. I appreciate that, as well as the "radiation" complexities, but I suppose it is merely a matter of "liking" the setting of the game in general. For some reason, the "russian" atmosphere just doesn't appeal to me, and I think this might be the primary reason for my lack of enthusiasm.
As you say, different strokes and all that. :)
Muzman on 13/11/2011 at 07:00
Quote Posted by bassmanret
Did I come across that strong? I didn't mean to imply that I "hated every second of it", just that it was "disappointing". Guilty to cheating, though, as much as I dislike resorting to cheats, the inventory management came close to "hate". Looting every corpse (and there are LOTS of corpses) was a painstaking chore previous to the fix/cheat. How that is enjoyable to anyone is a mystery to me.
Not meaning to crap on the game, it just wasn't for me I guess.
Yeah, it did have a sort of "I couldn't wait for it to be over. What's wrong with you people?" vibe initially. Never mind, I'm probably over thinking it.
Although I would say a lot of people love extending the weight limit, but real survival guides don't recommend more than 30kgs for the average male of decent fitness covering uneven ground. Certainly no running or fighting involved. The military might push you to 50kg, but not for an extended period. So I think the game was almost too generous in the sort of pack weights it allowed. A Stalker would travel very light indeed.
You've gotten to my point before me though. It isn't that I think the game flawless (the story is a mess. Fascinating, but a mess. Worse if you haven't seen all of it though), but there's a lot of things it does right and many things it does with such different goals to most games it is all but unique. The setting, however, is the star of the show. If the atmosphere and scenario don't grab you from the start I think the game could have a bit of an uphill climb.
One aspect is that there's many things about it that resemble other games and you think you know what you are supposed to (Do this "quest", Collect this item, collect everything!, kill those badguys etc) and there is an actual plot/path to be followed.
But one of the game's flaws is in letting players think that it was just like other games and there's a succession of tasks to succeed or fail at. It didn't make it clear enough that there's a bigger game, one where you stay alive any way you can and you are mostly free to opt in or out of these engagements if you don't feel up to them. Pertinent example: Just because you find some stuff doesn't mean you should carry it. You have to assess its value to you in survival terms. I'm not going to tell you they did a great job implementing some of this stuff (and remember this was a game designed to be the open ended game to end them all, hastily reconfigured into something more linear after years of development), but if you enjoy the atmosphere and see the survival game underneath it is a lot more fun. If you like that sort of thing.
I too would add that, if you haven't given up on desolate settings entirely, Call of Pripyat is quite different in feel in a lot of respects. It's really a very solidly made open world RPG. The mechanics are similar, but they've designed it all to be more manageable.
