Wednesday, May 16th 2018

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Returns to Life

Developer GSC Game World announced S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 almost eight years ago in 2010. To say that the game has been on a wild roller coaster ride is an understatement. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 was cancelled back in 2011 and resurrected later on in the same year. Then GSC Game World cancelled it for a second time in 2012. Now, six years later, it appears that the developer is willing to give it another go. The official S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 website went live today with the "2.0.2.1." inscription suggesting that the game is scheduled for a 2021 release. Sergiy Grygorovych, CEO of GSC Game World, has confirmed on his Facebook that GSC Game World is currently working on the title. Not much is known about S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 at this point other than it's built on Epic Games' Unreal Engine 4.
Source: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Website
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59 Comments on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Returns to Life

#26
Th3pwn3r
droopyRONot single player ones, i really dislike multiplayer.
That doesn't really sound like a survival game then if it's only single player.
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#27
rtwjunkie
PC Gaming Enthusiast
droopyRONot single player ones, i really dislike multiplayer.
Keep an eye out for Fade to Silence. Looks very promising. Currently in Early Access on GOG and Steam.

@Th3pwn3r what???:confused::confused::kookoo: Since when does survival have to be a multiplayer thing? If I dropped you in the middle of the Amazon rainforest or the Alaskan wilderness on your own, that wouldn’t be the ultimate survival situation?

There are numerous survival games that follow the survival formula, and that formula does not require combat, especially of the multiplayer variety.
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#28
Ahhzz
Th3pwn3rThat doesn't really sound like a survival game then if it's only single player.
did you ever actually play S.T.A.L.K.E.R.?
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#29
rtwjunkie
PC Gaming Enthusiast
Ahhzzdid you ever actually play S.T.A.L.K.E.R.?
You actually make a good point that a role playing combat game can also involve survival elements, like STALKER series, but they don’t require it.
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#30
droopyRO
STALKER SoC had an almost perfect mix of a lot of elements with real location, realistic weapons, inventory management, day night cycle, SF story, a bit of mystery, "exotic" as in Eastern European characters and dialogue, a few RPG elements etc.
Some things were superficially implemented like the food/drink/sleep mechanics.

For me an engine like the one used in ArmA would be great(optimized for multicore CPUs) for a game like STALKER.
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#31
rtwjunkie
PC Gaming Enthusiast
droopyROSTALKER SoC had an almost perfect mix of a lot of elements with real location, realistic weapons, inventory management, day night cycle, SF story, a bit of mystery, "exotic" as in Eastern European characters and dialogue, a few RPG elements etc.
Some things were superficially implemented like the food/drink/sleep mechanics.

For me an engine like the one used in ArmA would be great(optimized for multicore CPUs) for a game like STALKER.
One would hope that if this STALKER 2 thing is true, that they stick to that basic formula that already worked, just modernized.
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#32
Vayra86
Th3pwn3rThat doesn't really sound like a survival game then if it's only single player.
What?! Seems you haven't played this ;) Worth doing.

themiserymod.com/
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#33
Fx
Oh my god! This is the best news I could have heard aside from an announcement of Warcraft 4. Unfortunately, 2021 is a long ways out so I need to try my best to forget that I ever seen this announcement.

GSC better come through on this.
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#34
Vayra86
I would sell a kidney for Warcraft 4.... STALKER though... don't get your hopes up too much. This may turn into a major letdown.
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#35
Th3pwn3r
rtwjunkieKeep an eye out for Fade to Silence. Looks very promising. Currently in Early Access on GOG and Steam.

@Th3pwn3r what???:confused::confused::kookoo: Since when does survival have to be a multiplayer thing? If I dropped you in the middle of the Amazon rainforest or the Alaskan wilderness on your own, that wouldn’t be the ultimate survival situation?

There are numerous survival games that follow the survival formula, and that formula does not require combat, especially of the multiplayer variety.
No because there are no other people and randomness you'd have with other players. Things become really predictable in short.
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#36
Fx
Vayra86I would sell a kidney for Warcraft 4.... STALKER though... don't get your hopes up too much. This may turn into a major letdown.
Yeah, I am hoping that 3rd time is the charm.

Metro has been really fun, but I have much fonder memories of Stalker. It is among the very few game series that I have gone back and did a complete playthrough.
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#37
Ahhzz
FxYeah, I am hoping that 3rd time is the charm.

Metro has been really fun, but I have much fonder memories of Stalker. It is among the very few game series that I have gone back and did a complete playthrough.
Same here. TBH, the list of games I've actually "finished" (the ones that have an actual ending) is a lot shorter than I'd like admit, but STALKER is on that list , and I've done it multiple times. Most of the others, even ones like Diablo and D2, which I revisit from time to time, I never get around to the ending.
Th3pwn3rNo because there are no other people and randomness you'd have with other players. Things become really predictable in short.
The AI in STALKER is a lot better with mods, and predictable is not really something I'd use to describe it.
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#38
riffraffy
They better hurry up , By 2021 Unreal Engine 4 will be 9 years old .
Posted on Reply
#39
rtwjunkie
PC Gaming Enthusiast
Th3pwn3rNo because there are no other people and randomness you'd have with other players. Things become really predictable in short.
Yeah, I’m just not understanding your need for multiplayer in a true survival game. Survival is about you against the elements, with hardly any equipment to start with, and sometimes having to fight or evade dangerous animals or occasional hostile humans.
Posted on Reply
#40
Th3pwn3r
AhhzzSame here. TBH, the list of games I've actually "finished" (the ones that have an actual ending) is a lot shorter than I'd like admit, but STALKER is on that list , and I've done it multiple times. Most of the others, even ones like Diablo and D2, which I revisit from time to time, I never get around to the ending.


The AI in STALKER is a lot better with mods, and predictable is not really something I'd use to describe it.
I never bothered with mods on any game honestly. Closest thing would be custom maps on WC3.
rtwjunkieYeah, I’m just not understanding your need for multiplayer in a true survival game. Survival is about you against the elements, with hardly any equipment to start with, and sometimes having to fight or evade dangerous animals or occasional hostile humans.
You don't have to understand and we don't all like or want the same things. Some people would consider Fallout a survival game then per your description of what one is. You didn't even start with a weapon in the early Fallout games (1&2) and there were lots of random encounters but I don't think that was a survival game either.
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#41
rtwjunkie
PC Gaming Enthusiast
Th3pwn3rI never bothered with mods on any game honestly. Closest thing would be custom maps on WC3.


You don't have to understand and we don't all like or want the same things. Some people would consider Fallout a survival game then per your description of what one is. You didn't even start with a weapon in the early Fallout games (1&2) and there were lots of random encounters but I don't think that was a survival game either.
So if I dropped you in the middle of the Alaskan or Siberian wilderness with just the clothes on your back it wouldn’t be survival, because there are not 30 other people out there to compete against? :kookoo:
Posted on Reply
#42
Th3pwn3r
That would be survival of course but not a game. That's very different no game is capable of that kind of immersion. But I'd probably be okay anyways out there considering my hunting background and being able to function fine without eating for 24+ hours at times. Anyhow, I want less linear play and more randomness to it that only other players could provide in my opinion.
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#43
Ahhzz
rtwjunkieKeep an eye out for Fade to Silence. Looks very promising. Currently in Early Access on GOG and Steam.

@Th3pwn3r what???:confused::confused::kookoo: Since when does survival have to be a multiplayer thing? If I dropped you in the middle of the Amazon rainforest or the Alaskan wilderness on your own, that wouldn’t be the ultimate survival situation?

There are numerous survival games that follow the survival formula, and that formula does not require combat, especially of the multiplayer variety.
went and watched a quick coulpe of videos for that, looks like Skyrim went sideways :)

Posted on Reply
#44
droopyRO
Quoted from another forum, don't know the source.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 details - it's an MMO, may support mods, in-house engine


Sergey Grigorovich talked to the press about the game, yesterday in Kiev. The game wasn't shown.


Quote:
They looked back at the trilogy and identified what people loved about it, but also at how developing a game evolved since then, digital distribution etc.
Old X-Ray hasn’t been updated since 2011 when Stalker 2’s development was halted
They’ve been working on a new engine, X-Ray 3.1 for a year
The engine can handle advanced photorealistic graphics, a unique lighting system but also older technologies without affecting the game’s look (I think he means it has ray tracing but also traditional lighting)
The engine is multiplatform and they want to finish developing it by the end of this console generation. They hope Nintendo will have a stronger console out by 2020
A-Life was difficult to work with. In an era when many gamers did not have Internet, they wanted to make a singleplayer game that felt like an online game, where stalkers have personalities and animals follow their instincts and a food chain
Stalker 2 will be an online game, no singleplayer – „why create a simulation, when we can have real people in the game now? Why write NPC behaviour systems, when you can have real people doing what they want. They will fill the game world with their real life, not an artificial one. We just have to give them the right tools”
The timeline is not locked, they might even soft-reboot it
Players won’t be split into factions from the start. All players have the same common quest. When a players reaches the goal, a blowout will redistribute the Zone’s balance of resources. They hope this mechanic will create dynamic clan systems, with players creating their own alliances and fights. Some will want to maintain the state of the Zone, others will want to update it as it would be better for their alliance. This is based on the Clear Sky faction system.
You can be a loner and don’t join any alliance
BUT! They still have an AI system, jokingly named „O-Consciousness”. This constantly updates the game world – from the state of the resources, to moving anomalies and controlling mutants.
They considered a battle royale mode but they think it may not even be popular anymore by the time the game launches. Faction war has always been popular in the Stalker community, however. Players will have the freedom to create arenas and battle royale modes if they want (I think he means in-game, not through modding)
They want to keep the game on for a long time, so they’re aware of the need for constant updates. They need it to bring a steady strem of money, but they don’t want it to be pay-to-win and they won’t split the community through DLCs
They will have cosmetic transactions: a lot clothes, player and weapon skins, music for the fireside guitar. There may be a mod workshop.
In-game money can be bought with real money. There will be a „contraband store” where players can buy equipment for in-game money, but hunting artifacts will be more profitable
The game has perma-death. After you lose three characters, you’ll have to buy new ones with in-game currency. Yes, this means you may have to pay real money. Joining an alliance and making friends will thus be beneficial.
They don’t want to reveal the anomalies, mutants and artifacts because they’re still designing them. They claim some anomalies wouldn’t work in a singleplayer game and they want to make surprising new mutants.
Yeah, if that is true, i would not care for STALKER 2 if it came out tomorrow.
Posted on Reply
#45
rtwjunkie
PC Gaming Enthusiast
Yep, totally not interested. Because what it will be is never completing the game if they try to put an objective in there, since players will just be trying to wipe out any competition.
Posted on Reply
#46
neatfeatguy
droopyROQuoted from another forum, don't know the source.


Yeah, if that is true, i would not care for STALKER 2 if it came out tomorrow.
If that info is true, I'll pass. I'm so fricking tired of games forcing multiplayer into them.....I hate playing games with random, whiny, little piss-ants and forced crap to make playing the game a hassle such as;

"The game has perma-death. After you lose three characters, you’ll have to buy new ones with in-game currency. Yes, this means you may have to pay real money. Joining an alliance and making friends will thus be beneficial. "

"In-game money can be bought with real money. There will be a „contraband store” where players can buy equipment for in-game money, but hunting artifacts will be more profitable "

I'm so tired of companies putting out a game and then trying to nickle and dime everyone in some stupid ass way.

If this news is fake - that'll be good to hear. I wouldn't think they'd just make up stupid stuff like it, it sounds more like something EA would do. I'll be patiently waiting to see how the game pans out.
Posted on Reply
#47
Fx
droopyROQuoted from another forum, don't know the source.


Yeah, if that is true, i would not care for STALKER 2 if it came out tomorrow.
Interesting... If this is true, I'm not happy about this direction. I wouldn't mind if this existed as a standalone release after STALKER 2. I have come to love the series for its SP attributes which offered an experience that no one else has offered.
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#48
Ahhzz
Yeah, much less inclined to follow now. I also don't see how having to buy new characters with in-game money (which you can buy with real money) is not Pay 2 Win.... I'll take a pass.
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#49
Fx
AhhzzYeah, much less inclined to follow now. I also don't see how having to buy new characters with in-game money (which you can buy with real money) is not Pay 2 Win.... I'll take a pass.
I've always been a big fan of games that make death a harsh punishment, but only at the expense of your ingame assets. I also don't like people being able to buy back in with RL cash. If there is any system that I hate in games, it is pay-to-win.
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#50
Ahhzz
Gotta agree there.

Speaking of RL Cash, All the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games are on sale at GoG, 75% off ;)
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