S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 - by clearing
dexterward on 18/7/2011 at 23:09
From the (
http://www.gsc-game.com/) GSC Game World website :"This June another big-scale airsoft
cosplay – S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Reality – took place in Kiev vicinity. Traditionally, the tournament provoked great interest among the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. community and the airsoft enthusiasts. The
cosplay offered its participants unmatched atmosphere, true game spirit and a plethora of
unique costumes hand-crafted after the computer game prototypes."
But, what do they know. Though I`d like to see you call a bunch of crazy Russian militarists (guns that shoot & all) "LARPers", could be fun, this.
I admit some went too far with poetic license...that guy with red pipes & one with half a PC on his back ;) ...still, better than some usual Cosplayer wearing lame make up, white sheet and a glowing tube.
Ostriig on 19/7/2011 at 00:47
What are you talking about? They
are "LARPers" in this instance, LARP stands for Live Action Role Playing. In fact, if they'd just made some costumes and gone to a convention or something that would be just "cosplay" I guess, but since they went out and actually played some airsoft matches all dressed up puts it pretty much in LARP territory. And I'm confused, maybe I'm missing something, but why would cosplayers object to being branded LARPers?
Quote Posted by Briareos H
* No member of the original 'oblivion lost' team remains at GSC. Most of them went to 4A.
This kinda puzzles me a bit. I didn't follow STALKER's early development, I only know the bits and pieces that I've stumbled on long after launch, but didn't a bunch of people whine about how the final package that SoC ended up wasn't as open-world as originally intended with Oblivion Lost? And then these guys, who had first set out to do this game that was more open than SoC, then all moved to working on Metro? Disagreements in the office, or something? Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed Metro 2033, I think it's fantastic at what it wants to do, but it's about as open-world as the mine levels in Unreal.
Quote Posted by 242
It's very possible with dynamic load/unload.
A cell-based world approach like Bethesda's could possibly work, but there's one thing that nags at me with that - correct me if I'm wrong, but as I recall, SoC pretty much processed AI actors and events across the entire loaded map, didn't it? I definitely remember stuff happening at the other end of the map entirely in my absence. Or was it just a select handful of AI items that got earmarked for persistent processing, with the others becoming active on proximity? Anyhow, in comparison, Oblivion and Fallout 3 only process actors in nearby cells, and granted, Beth's AI implementations weren't built to be the most efficient and that sort of processing probably takes more of a toll on the CPU than on RAM, but it does make me wonder how easily STALKER's gameplay would lend itself to being streamed in and out around the player.
Quote Posted by Dia
Regarding bringing Strelok back as the main character; do they mean you'll play as Strelok, or he'll just be the main focus of the game? If the former, though Strelok is a legend (of sorts), the devs will have to come up with a new slant on his character or it'll just end up boring (imho). In truth, I've rather enjoyed playing as Major Degtaryev.
This kinda brings back our conversation about Garrett, but hey, if the hat fits - for me, it's
precisely because Strelok is a "legend (of sorts)" that I wouldn't want to see him return as the protagonist. It's the whole thing about succeeding against improbable odds - happens once, you're a hero; happens a couple of times, you're like borderline
unbelievably awesome; happens ad nauseam, you're a character that I just can't relate to anymore, either the messianic Chosen One™ or some ridiculous comicbook superhero. So yeah, whether for the same reasons or not, on the issue of Strelok coming back I agree with you and Koki - meh.
But this also touches on another fear of mine, that, ironically, playing as Strelok again might be fitting for a possible flaw with the game, at least for existing fans. See, one of the things I really loved about SoC was when I looked back from the latter moments of the game and got this really great sensation of development, moreso than your average RPG or Action-RPG. It wasn't that I'd just learned the rules of the game and some stats increased on my summary sheets, the continued presence of the unknown up ahead, a particularly dangerous and frightening unknown at that, really wrapped it all up in a wonderfully tense and brutally formative experience. But now I'm a couple of hours into my first playthrough of CoP and while I'm loving the game, that particular feeling is missing - Degtaryev is new to the Zone, but I'm not. My equipment is low-end and there are some new mechanics to get accustomed to, but ultimately I'm familiar with the world. I first saw a bunch of snorks hopping around the ship and it was like - "Oh. Snorks. Great. I didn't miss them. And now they travel in packs, too. Wonderful". Contrast this to the first time I saw one crawling around Rostok, "What the FUCK is that! Fuck this shit, I am NOT visiting the Ukraine!"
I'm rambling a bit there, but I do think that's gonna be a challenge for them, harnessing that same fiction and setting to recreate that sensation of intimidating novelty for returning players.
Bakerman on 19/7/2011 at 05:25
Quote Posted by Ostriig
But now I'm a couple of hours into my first playthrough of CoP and while I'm loving the game, that particular feeling is missing - Degtaryev is new to the Zone, but I'm not. My equipment is low-end and there are some new mechanics to get accustomed to, but ultimately I'm familiar with the world. I first saw a bunch of snorks hopping around the ship and it was like - "Oh. Snorks. Great. I didn't miss them. And now they travel in packs, too. Wonderful". Contrast this to the first time I saw one crawling around Rostok, "What the FUCK is that! Fuck this shit, I am NOT visiting the Ukraine!"
This pretty much sums up how I felt when starting CoP. The environments were new (which was good in CS as well), but it's still STALKER. It's something the book itself captured as well - fear of the unknown. Us veterans of three previous STALKER games are very familiar with the world now, and there's little of that excitement of the novel.
Do you reckon that problem could be solved with all-new monsters and anomalies? Or is it the fundamental rules of the game world (monsters in the wilderness; random anomalies; some STALKERS like me but the military doesn't) that are getting tired?
Koki on 19/7/2011 at 05:45
Quote Posted by dexterward
But, what do they know. Though I`d like to see you call a bunch of crazy Russian militarists (guns that shoot & all) "LARPers", could be fun, this.
Yeah, what do they know? It's just a publicity piece after all. And yeah, guns shooting paint are very scary. Are you an airsofter yourself? It takes an airsofter to take pride in play pretend.
Quote Posted by Ostriig
And I'm confused, maybe I'm missing something, but why would cosplayers object to being branded LARPers?
Welll, LARPing is hogher on the patheticness scale than cosplaying.
Quote:
I definitely remember stuff happening at the other end of the map entirely in my absence.
Then it's definitely time to lay off the pills. Or start taking the pills, whichever it is
dexterward on 19/7/2011 at 10:16
Quote Posted by Ostriig
And I'm confused, maybe I'm missing something, but why would cosplayers object to being branded LARPers?
Dunno, probably wouldn`t. But some Russian fellas might have, if you believe the cliches and my experience as their neighbour. Anyway, it was a joke in an argument with Koki, and as such excused from much sense.
Quote Posted by Koki
Are you an airsofter yourself? It takes an airsofter to take pride in play pretend.
I`m not, but I`m a computer gamer. I shoot guns that fire zeroes and ones, slumped in a chair. I pretend that other zeroes and ones are my enemies. Hey, you do, too! :) Ain`t that pathetic?
Yet again, I think it would be hilarious watching you proposing this argument to a bunch of crazy Russian
airsofters. I thought you`d know better, aren`t you supposed to be
polish or something?
Koki on 19/7/2011 at 11:18
Quote Posted by dexterward
I`m not, but I`m a computer gamer. I shoot guns that fire zeroes and ones, slumped in a chair. I pretend that other zeroes and ones are my enemies. Hey, you do, too! :)
And it's my arguments that are devoid of sense? lawl.
dexterward on 19/7/2011 at 11:55
Here`s a black & white version: You consider airsoft/LARP players pathetic. They pretend. I point out that we (that`s the bit about computer gamers) do, too. Indoors, and without contact with a live human. They look bit silly, true, but we`re not far off. And the flaw in this logic is...?
Anyway, it`s been several times already when your response boils down to "wow" or "lawl". Hardly amusing. And so, in future our exchanges will be limited to two posts (max) on my side - I like pointless scraps/showing off my mighty rhetorical skillzzz, but not a fan of spamming. Unless you snap out of this "haha a new guy WTF lol" style, ain`t holding my breath thou.
Apologies to this - STALKER 2, after all -thread btw.
Koki on 19/7/2011 at 16:12
Quote Posted by dexterward
Here`s a black & white version: You consider airsoft/LARP players pathetic. They pretend. I point out that we (that`s the bit about computer gamers) do, too.
Yeah, and you're wrong.
Ostriig on 19/7/2011 at 22:49
Quote Posted by Bakerman
Do you reckon that problem could be solved with all-new monsters and anomalies?
I don't think so, it either wouldn't be enough or it would be too much depending on how far you went, I'm having a hard time envisioning a middle ground for it. You just change around the monsters, anomalies, items, etc. and it will still feel very much like the Zone but with a cheap facelift. If you begin changing the locales, factions, events and so on you'll be putting quite a burden on your writers to come up with an acceptable natural evolution of the setting from the one that we're familiar with, or you'll be faced with questions on why the game's still "set" in the Zone at all. I really think that the physical, "geographical" setting of the game brings with it some inherent limitations because the fiction of the game is built with it as a central component.
Quote:
Or is it the fundamental rules of the game world (monsters in the wilderness; random anomalies; some STALKERS like me but the military doesn't) that are getting tired?
Actually, that's exactly what I'd like kept, for the most part. To give a comparison, I love what Irrational are doing with Bioshock Infinite precisely because I feel it makes an implicit statement about what the essence of videogames is made of - not fiction (the setting, the characters, the events) but gameplay and overarching general artistic trend. You look at Infinityshock and, even as the places, story and the people are altogether new, it's very easy to see what it plays like and how it's built, you can recognise the Bioshock in there. It needn't be as bold in STALKER's case, I'd be perfectly content with a reasonable explanation for a new locale in the same universe, but I definitely think that the sensation of novelty and unfamiliarity is a big part of what made SoC such a powerful experience and that a new setting would go a long way to help that.
Now, let me clarify that I wouldn't have
expected GSC to do something like that. And I don't say that in some begrudging way as if they were bad developers, I say it because it would have been a borderline insane expectation given the associated risks. Aside from the usual considerations - the uphill battle of convincing a publisher to stomach it in the face of possibly irritating existing fans or just run-of-the-mill fixing what's not broken - such a move would face further chances of alienating any fans who were attracted to it for the sake of its Eastern European setting in general or Chernobyl in particular. So no, I didn't expect GSC to go for new fiction nor do I fault them for not doing it. But it might've been really nice.
Quote Posted by Koki
Then it's definitely time to lay off the pills. Or start taking the pills, whichever it is
The most representative instances I was thinking of were the ones in the Garbage, the bandit raid on the junkyard, the mutant charge on the gateway to Rostok, and the other mutant charge in Army Warehouses at the gate point to the Red Forest - events that get resolved one way or the other regardless of whether you intervene or not or are even anywhere in proximity. The question is whether it was all smoke and mirrors and these things were solved by a simple dice roll, or if it was that those NPCs were getting processed despite being as far as at the other end of the level.
Koki on 20/7/2011 at 05:58
Quote Posted by Ostriig
The most representative instances I was thinking of were the ones in the Garbage, the bandit raid on the junkyard, the mutant charge on the gateway to Rostok, and the other mutant charge in Army Warehouses at the gate point to the Red Forest - events that get resolved one way or the other regardless of whether you intervene or not or are even anywhere in proximity.
Ironically, all these are scripted events that won't happen unless you are in proximity.
Quote:
The question is whether it was all smoke and mirrors and these things were solved by a simple dice roll, or if it was that those NPCs were getting processed despite being as far as at the other end of the level.
A question which is easily answered by the fact that you never find any bodies at the place of supposed recent battle. Nothing in STALKER games happens without player being near it.