vurt on 7/12/2008 at 23:31
Do they look the way they did in the SoC or should i look for something else, on another forum somone said it looks like a wisp of smoke, but it's really hard to see anything when approching them because of the radioactivity that makes everything black/white + blur / noise-fx, swaying and the fact you have to be very quick so you don't die.
Someone said you have better luck seeing them turning the graphics to the lowest possible settings, is that really needed :( kind of immersion breaking to fiddle with the gfx everytime.
Bjossi on 8/12/2008 at 01:52
Before I start, I'm using the best detector in the game (Veles), I didn't start artifact hunting until I got it so I have no idea how difficult things are with Echo or Bear.
Anyway, I was just finishing an artifact hunt in Agroprom, found 4 of them in various places. My strategy is to go around the anomaly field to find the best entry point. Then walk in until I see the artifact (you can't really miss it, even if it is just a blob sitting on the ground)
Then when you got the artifact you run like hell and then quickly apply a medkit and/or anti-rads when you're out of danger.
But expect to find plenty of artifacts you can't use until you find a good anti-rad artifact. I got these awesome artifacts and they are of no use because they kill me before long. :erg:
vurt on 8/12/2008 at 02:04
Thanks. I've managed to find my first artifact now, Jellyfish. :cool:
I'm slowly starting to appreciate the game, took longer than the original STALKER which i didn't like at all at first.. They're a bit hard to get in to because they're very difficult in the begining.
Bjossi on 8/12/2008 at 02:35
Strangely enough it is the other way around for me. :p
Last year when I started playing SoC, I did like the feel of the game in Cordon, but once I entered Garbage things started getting very difficult, and in Agroprom I was about ready to give up. In this forum I found support to keep going. After retrieving the documents in the defeated military base in Agroprom during a thunderstorm I was hooked.
In CS I never had too much trouble getting into the game. But I admit I found the swamps an annoying place to be in, all the radiation and hard to find cover from bandits/renegade. Once I found the stalker camp in Cordon I was hooked the same way as in SoC, although it wasn't as atmospheric or exciting. ;)
steo on 8/12/2008 at 15:54
There seems to pretty much always be some killing effect, heat/radiation/psi/acid, in the anomaly fields with artifacts. Whichever killing effect it is, equip your best artifact(s) to protect against it, don't worry about getting a bit radioactive (provided you have a bottle of vodka or an antirad for afterwards) - you won't get enough to do you much harm and you need all the protection you can get. Just remember to unequip the rad producing artifact(s) after.
Use the bolts to find out where the anomalies are, try doing this from outside the dangerfield so you don't build up too much radiation etc.
Once you're in the field and taking damage don't make the mistake of trying to move too quickly because you will step into an anomaly and die. Instead use the bolts to navigate around the anomalies until the detector is beeping like crazy and you get the fizz of the artifact revealing itself. This is harder with the echo detector because it doesn't point to artifacts, just beeps more.
Grab the artifact(s) and leave as fast as possible using the same route you came in on because otherwise you will step in an anomaly and you will die. Resist the urge to just sprint out in any direction: you will step in an anomaly and you will die.
Heal up, wait for your head to stop spinning and your vision to come back and make sure to go around that field of anomalies to get to where you're going.
Bjossi on 8/12/2008 at 16:21
Well, I usually don't die as soon as I step into an anomaly, though it is best to have enough health left to get back out of danger.
steo on 8/12/2008 at 16:52
Well, obviously it depends a bit on your suit and how many medkits you're prepared to use but regardless, stepping in anomalies is severely detrimental to one's health.
Bjossi on 8/12/2008 at 17:09
If I get into serious trouble and I'm in a tornedo/black hole-like anomaly field (I have no idea what they're called), it often works for me to just sprint right through one. The success rate however depends on the weight of the backpack, at least from my experience. If you get enough speed you'll escape out of the pull before the anomaly eats you up.
vurt on 8/12/2008 at 17:20
Quote Posted by steo
There seems to pretty much always be some killing effect, heat/radiation/psi/acid, in the anomaly fields with artifacts. Whichever killing effect it is, equip your best artifact(s) to protect against it
in the begining you have no artifacts, 0 protection, lousy armor, that's why i had big difficulties.. i have the "veles detector" now, but haven't used it yet :)
Bjossi on 8/12/2008 at 17:23
Veles has a graphical display so you can see the artifact's location when it is within range. I've found 12 artifacts with it in the past 2 days.
And I feel your pain. Getting my first artifact cost me some resources, and I was wearing a stalker suit at the time. . .
Things will get a whole lot easier with anti-rads and health artifacts. A common choice for me is -8 radiation and +4 health; buys a lot more time to stay in an anomaly field and find the artifact within. And of course wearing a SEVA makes all the difference too.
Oh, and I gotta warn you; never save in the same slot twice. I had a savegame corrupt on me and I had to load the last autosave, only lost a 30 minutes of progress but it was still an annoying step backwards. So always keep 2+ savegames and never use the same one twice in a row, especially when you're gonna dive into an anomaly field. :o
