S.T.A.L.K.E.R. mod Improves graphics and Increases framerates by up to 25%

[zekrahminator]

A very curious ArsTechnica member (Nivenhbro/jjwalker), as far as I can tell, got very bored one day and decided to start project Float32. The end result of all this concentrated boredom and effort is an extremely well done S.T.A.L.K.E.R. mod. Of course, as we all know, third party add-ons may easily be broken by the makers of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. with patches.

The modification boasts better bump mapping, adds real time calculated specular effects, improves full reflection vector calculations, and boosts soft shadow quality. At the same time of offering all these improvements and more, the mod improves efficiency of the game, increasing frame-rate by no less than 20%, which is no small feat. Using next generation (and NDA) hardware, The Inquirer claims that they see a 20-25% improvement in frame-rate.

If you want to try this modification for yourself, save a copy of your original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. files, and head over to NGOHQ.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[a111087]

am i the only one who thinks that graphics in stalker sucks even when they are maxed out?
i mean, look at the models of enemies or npcs, the are so ugly and edgy.
there are plenty of games that have better graphics and require less power from pc and i do take the calculations of the life of the world in account...

 

[TUngsten]

funny, I think they're pretty amazing once you really spend the time to adjust them

the atmosphere is by far the best in any games i've played - the swirling leafy winds, the anomaly effects, the only problem I have with it is the game is too short

 

[Conti027]

wow the graphics are amazing once maxed out. are you looking at pics?
the only problem i have is that its not a true open end game like they said

 

[wickerman]

I downloaded the mod but have yet to do anything with it. I am enjoying stalker thus far, done near 300 missions at this point, damn those side quests add up

As far as graphics are concerned, I am running the rig listed in my profile, most notably the 2gb of ddr500, 8800GTS 320mb at 650/1800, and an x2 3800 at 2.6ghz. This is more than enough to push playable fps at 1920x1200 with the in game detail pushed to the hilt. I would say its probably one of the best looking games to actually play. I'm sure we all have pretty screen shots of sections of other games that we would like to share, but honestly some of the best visuals in other games have no real impact on the game, its just a few little surprises now and again that make you take a second to look around. In stalker I feel the graphics draw you into the game play more, running around and scanning for enemies just feels so much better than many other games I've played, and you can actually use the environment as cover rather well. Don't bother looking at stalker screen shots for reference, if you havnt played the game maxed out your not getting the feel for the game anyway.


Ive always said, I really don't care what the little bush looks like, can I use it, can i blow it up, can the AI use it, and should I even care? Stalker is an enjoyable single player game...I wouldn't buy the game for its multiplayer, but I haven't regretted the $30 price tag at all

 

[Ketxxx]

STALKER visually isnt very impressive until the itx file has been tweaked, then it gets to look rather nice, but none the less still unspectacular, largely because of having to wait so long so the game engine does look dated. I guess all this mod means is i'll have to tweak the itx file for this as well

 

[WarEagleAU]

Nice to see me waiting to get the game has its benefits

 

[a111087]

what i was trying to say is that the game is 5 years old already, 5 years ago this kind of graphics would be amazing, but now pff...
and yes, the wind special effect is pretty cool

 

[Ketxxx]

Exactly. Given the amount of waiting time this game should of been absolutely flawless. At least that would of allowed some advanced tweaks to improve the game engine and it would of still been half impressive, instead we got this.. this.. adbomination.

 

[Ketxxx]

Just a small note, looking at the itx file for this mod (note: i have not actually installked it yet, just checked the itx file out) it actually REDUCES a lot of in-game graphical quality and eyecandy.

 

[Casheti]

I agree it looks crap. Uninstalled it ages ago.

 

[mikey8684]

Like I've said before :

These 3 files are awesome (check readmes for details on changes and game versions)

Image Quality --- http://stalker.filefront.com/file/Ultra_Graphics_Mode;78200 (This is a good one for those who have an awesome pc and complain the game engine is outdated lol ..... no offence to anyone)

Sound Quality --- http://stalker.filefront.com/file/Improved_Sound_Effects;78102

Full Game Mod --- http://stalker.filefront.com/file/Faiakes_Mod;78463

If you want to see real quality improvements then DL the top one (note it will probably drop your frames a bit but it looks awesome )

I'm Running the 3 with the game @ 1280x1024 and everything maxed out ..... looks and plays so sweet.

Edit - The Full Game (Faiakes Mod v1.7) has just been released today and is ... onced upzipped ... is 158mb of modded goodness. All the updated stuff is in the readme. Check it out, check em all out, theres some pretty good mods for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. out there.

 

[mandelore]

Since the AA sucks max it out as high a rez as u can then it starts looking ok, if your card cant handle it BEAT it till it can!

Stalker at 1920x1200+ "just" compensates for sucky edges

Anyhoo, Ket will probs do a better job

 

[Ripper3]

Shame this doesn't work for everyone. I've tried it before, v1.001 and v1.003 of STALKER, neither worked on my X1800... and seems I'm not the only one, I searched Google and it seems other people have been getting messages saying "You graphics card doesn't support pixel shader v1.1 or higher" when trying to play the game.
Sucks really...