I have the lost alpha downloaded but I don't think I ever attempted to install and/or run it; I wouldn't even know what OS to use. I forget the build version but it was like 5GB or something so I really wanted to check it out because I think the fan base added or optimized a good portion of it. The artist Pavel mods for the games were really cool too but I think the only one I got to work was the one for CoP.
It's definitely a game for those who don't simply want to level up and walk over enemies later in the game. Heck, even in the exo armor it was still super sketchy near the power plant itself; death was almost certain if you were careless.
The hit probability calculation in ShoC was a poor design choice that amounts to rolling the dice for accuracy regardless of your aiming ability.
Getting rid of it does not make the game easy, it just rewards you for proper aim instead of randomly punishing you.
If you line up a shot and stay stable it will go where you want.
one of the other best things is right when the game came out some guy rushed to the ending and he got the death by coin ending. He posted how dumb he thought the game was. It was amazing. The first time I've ever seen someone get beaten by a single player game so bad he didnt even know it. Dude literally lost the game. GOAT.
This is one of the few FPSs where I almost never engage NPCs without solid cover and trigger discipline, and sometimes just don't engage at all. It's exactly what I want from an FPS game.
If you shoot at an NPC in STALKER (especially if you play it proper...on hardest difficulty), you're in for an intense firefight, and if you aren't prepared, and that NPC has friends, you'll probably lose. I played through Misery on CoP at the hardest difficulty, and there has never been an FPS that made really consider firing a bullet like that. It's the antithesis of the Western philosophy of "I'm a badass" game design.
In STALKER, you're nobody. The Zone doesn't need you. You're not a badass, or a superhero. You're a human being in desperation. Desperation is lacking from modern gaming.
Ah...turns out I was playing Lost Alpha version which is quite a bit different from what I played before. The starting area and missions and everything really isn't the same. It didn't feel much like a 20007 or whatever-modern game, either, so it makes sense. installed Complete, and much better...for an hour, anyway.
Ugh....I can't imagine not knowing how to play the game and jumping into Lost Alpha. Stay faaaaar away from that thing.
Man, I remember pirating Stalker back in the day and it wouldn't run more than a few minutes it was so buggy.. I've had all 3 in my Steam account for years. I finally look into playing it, buggy mess so I instead get the Lost Alpha or whatever it is. It runs better but STILL a buggy mess. How did people actually finish this game? It crashes constantly.
Keeping all these things in mind, you can clear out multiple human enemies with low-quality armor in close-quarters combat equipped only with a good handgun if you know what you're doing.
In fact at one point in the story of Clear Sky, you get knocked unconscious by two bandits near a meeting point. They loot all your gear and to get them back you have to use a basic 9mm handgun and defeat them at the campfire near which they're resting. One carries an SMG and the other one a shotgun, so you have to position yourself carefully and take out the one with the shotgun quickly. The whole scenario is very tense as it plays out.This is actually a really fun way to play the game and really makes you get tactical on your positioning. I like to go through areas with nothing but a 1911.
Not so great with mutants though. I always like to keep a slug-loaded shotgun for that. I once played through the entire Clear Sky swamp with nothing but the over-under shotgun and slugs. That's also fun!
This is almost exactly what I was going to say, although I remember Clear Sky as more meh than difficult. Mo debinitely harder than the other two though, as well as being buggier, and there’s an excellent mod that fixes the bugs so it’s certainly worth playing all three.The hardest part of the game is getting it to run without crashing... sorry, couldn't help myself.
As per the actual difficulty, i found the first game middle of the road, clear sky super hard, and then call of pripyat a tad too easy if you knew where to go to get some of the better gear early on.
Regardless, any of the games are worth experiencing just for the atmosphere, if anything.