Stalker...

[Husar]

Weird, the Stalkers won that almost alone when I got there, so my tactic was trying to catch up with them because I wanted some kills as well.
I'm now somewhere in the red forest or so and got killed by a bunch of mutant dogs. Guns are pretty accurate now, but the fighting is still a lot of fun.

And Bob, I agree with the manual that this is a tactical shooter.
It's like Boiling Point with some streamlining and just generally better in every aspect.
I also wonder why some say the graphics wouldn'tbe overwhelming. They aren't revolutionary maybe, but they are about the best I've ever seen, ok, I'm not a shooter person usually, but with all the lighting effects etc it just looks great.
And it's scary, especially when you are low on ammo because you forgot to buy some before walking into a zombie-infested region.

[econ21]

Thanks, I made it through the Agroprom battle after a few basic discoveries (I am also not a FPS player), vis:

1)the variable rate of fire button; I went to single shot mode for greater accuracy.

2) the ] and [ quick healing keys which helped.

3) low crouch for greater accuracy

4) finally, I gave up on the iron sights and used the cross hairs. It seemed to work better - the red colour helps you pick out the targets from the scenery and you can see when the dot is on a head (it's almost like a laser sight).

The stalkers still got wiped out, but camping by the bus at the entrance, I was able to pick off the military one by one.

Rescuing Mole was thankfully painless. Now I have a AK74/2 and am below ground for the first time. I agree it looks great and is rather scary (so much so, I have stopped playing for the night).

Some of the quests are weird though. For example, one was clearing out the bandits below agroprom and wanted me to go back to the trader within 1 day for a reward. Given the effort of getting through those three levels from the trader to agroprom, the idea that I am going to waltz back just for some worthless reward is strange.

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

You think Agroprom's scary? I'm considering stopping play two levels later...

[Husar]

I'm quite surprised how efficient close combat can be in this game. Especially if things can jump...
Just had a go at those mutant dogs again but they are just too many so far.
There was also an interesting arena fight including close combat, well, I think I need more shotgun ammo for those dogs, just found a nice pumpgun but it has only 8 bullets in it and the dogs are many including some which seem to be fake(yes, anomalies messing with your mind I think).
I'm trying not to spoil anything, it's a really cool game and I heard there are 7 different possible endings of which 5 are "bad" and 2 are "good" so there may be some replay value.
I'm actually planning a second go anyway, there are some things that could be optimized about my tactics and I should learn to stick to one or two guns and one suit instead of taking my whole equipment with me. There are actually chests where you can store things, one is next to the arena guy but I heard there are some close to traders or so. But I already put some spare suits into one... I'm usually overweight which stops me from just running through the bunch of evil monster dogs.

[Bob the Insane]

Some of the quests are weird though. For example, one was clearing out the bandits below agroprom and wanted me to go back to the trader within 1 day for a reward. Given the effort of getting through those three levels from the trader to agroprom, the idea that I am going to waltz back just for some worthless reward is strange.

To true, I have become very selective... However once you get some endurance boosting artifacts on your belt and find you can run continously as long as you are not carrying to much then getting back and forth to the trader is a lot less painless. You can basically ignore the dogs and such...

[Mikeus Caesar]

If you've not gone beyond the first fight in the arena at the Bar, don't read this.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

How the heck do i kill the guy in the exo-skeleton armour? He has amazing armour, an F200 machine-gun, and i have 5 grenades and a knife. What can i do!?

[Husar]

Curry:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

That's what I thought before I got him in the first try.
I hid behind some crates close to him and when he had to reload I followed him with my knife, one hit was enough to kill him I think.
I was quite surprised how nicely that worked out.
Didn't even bother with grenades, but they can be used quite effectively as well.

[Mikeus Caesar]

Curry:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

That's what I thought before I got him in the first try.
I hid behind some crates close to him and when he had to reload I followed him with my knife, one hit was enough to kill him I think.
I was quite surprised how nicely that worked out.
Didn't even bother with grenades, but they can be used quite effectively as well.

Thanks Husar.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I was thinking of trying that knife, but after the level with the two Spetsnaz where i failed spectacularly on the last guy after sneaking up behind him with the knife, only for him to turn around and nail me, i haven't been too enthusiastic about the use of the knife.

[Husar]

I just finished the game!
Got one of the "bad" ends.
But since I pretty much rushed through in the end, there is a lot of replay value for me I think, did almost nothing in the military warehouse area and was generally not very successful with sidequests.

[econ21]

What gun progression did people follow? I've got the fast-firing AK74/2 from Strelok's stash and am reluctant to give it up for the Obokan or British gun I could buy in the Bar. I tend to use single shot and that fast-firing may be useful when being mobbed by dogs etc. What did other players swap it for?

[Crandaeolon]

Basically I went with the philosophy that the best gun is whatever the enemy uses. Or more specifically, what ammo they carry. The weight limit is so painful that I usually left base with only one gun and around 300-400 ammo for it, plus some spare shots of the "other" type (5.45 vs. 5.56).

Early on there's not much choice, and the fast-firing AKM 74/2 is a pretty obvious weapon once you get it. It accepts both a scope and a (russian) grenade launcher. It's a good gun for the early areas where 5.45 ammo is plentiful. I never bothered with Obokan; Strelok's AKM remained in good enough condition while still exploring the early areas.

I skipped the IL86 as well, using the AKM until I found a scoped TSR 301 in the Wildlands. The TSR also accepts a NATO grenade launcher which makes it a nice, light and versatile weapon. Used the TSR until I bought a GP-37 from the Freedom base in Warehouses area after doing a couple of missions for them (price tag of 72k, ouch), and used it as the mainstay weapon from that point onwards. Tunder is a rather common weapon later, with powerful ammo and an integrated grenade launcher, so it should be a good choice too if you bring a dedicated sniper rifle.

Never bothered with handguns except for the very beginning and fiddled only occasionally with shotguns or sniper rifles. Scoped assault rifles are adequate for sniping, though in retrospect it'd probably be a good idea to bring a real sniper to Pripyat and onwards.

[Mikeus Caesar]

I'm currently heading for the X16 labs. My weapon loadout is a modified Tunder (it fires the very common 5.45 ammo), an auto-shotgun (can't remember the name) and a modified Desert Eagle (it fires rifle rounds, it's like a frigging cannon).

[econ21]

I'm currently heading for the X16 labs. My weapon loadout is a modified Tunder (it fires the very common 5.45 ammo), an auto-shotgun (can't remember the name) and a modified Desert Eagle (it fires rifle rounds, it's like a frigging cannon).

Interesting - I am going to the same place and I've found none of that stuff! (I've followed the main quest in a fairly straightforward manner). [i]EDIT: Doh! I just realised I am on X18 not X16!

I'm now settling on my opinion of Stalker - it's a pretty good tactical shooter, as has been said. It gives a lot of tactical freedom and strikes a nice compromise between realism and gameplay (medpacks + the AI makes few, if any, one shot kills).

[Bob the Insane]

For me, I on my way to the center and I am carrying a G-37 and the modified Desert Eagle... I found it near Gordon Freeman's body...

To be honest I feel that I am a little under-equiped...

[Lemur]

I just started the game. Hopefully I'll have some time between work and the little lemurs to get into this thing.

[Husar]

Well, started with a pistol, then some AKs until a mercenary dropped a TRS-301 which I kept until one of the freedom guys "lost"(he really didn't need it anymore) his GP-37. With that I made my way to the power plant and only very close to the end could I get my hands on that FN2000 and the gauss rifle but used the FN2000 mostly, the Gauss thing is VERY powerful and VERY accurate but well, not much ammo and low rate of fire made me keep the assault rifles.

[econ21]

Does anyone know if the condition of your gun affects its accuracy (sort of like how armour condition affects all stats) or does it just affect jam frequency?

Using the rapid firing AK74/2, returning from Agroprom, I could drop the bandits in Garbage when they were just stickmen on my crosshairs.

Now, going back to a Dark Valley full of soldiers, I seem terribly inaccurate. The crosshairs seem pretty useless at range; even with the scope, I shoot multiple times at the head and it does little.

It may just be the difference between fighting bandits and soldiers. But I was wondering if the degraded condition of my gun mattered? Or possibly even the grenade launcher I fitted to it? (I know in Ghost Recon, fitting a GL to your OICW reduced its zoom.)

[Mikeus Caesar]

I think condition does affect accuracy. Oh well.

Anyway, new weapons loadout since yesterday. GP-37 (very good, exceedingly so!), a Vintar sniper-rifle, a SVmkU2 sniper-rifle and the modified desert eagle.

X16 is scary as hell. It's dark, and there are zombies and snorks everywhere, not to mention the occassional burner anomaly.

[econ21]

Gun condition does not seem to affect the visible "stats" - those lines that show a gun's accuracy etc. This is unlike armour degradation, which does affect the reported percentage bonuses. I now think gun condition is not the culprit for my problem. I took off the GL and engaged some bandits - they dropped like flies, one hit at very long range. Unfortunately, I've cached the GL for the moment, so I can't test whether that is a factor. Maybe it's nothing to do with my gun; maybe bandits are just easier to hit - they seem to sidestep less than the soldiers, so are easier to get a bead on.

[Husar]

Soldiers have better armour than bandits, try to aim high in the upper torso/head region, it usually helps.

[Bijo]

All that talk about STALKER.... makes me wanna play it. Resist, resist, resist

[Husar]

Some bad rumours I just read about.
But that doesn't really make the game itself any worse.

[Mikeus Caesar]

All that talk about STALKER.... makes me wanna play it. Resist, resist, resist

If your computer is up to spec, i highly recommend getting it. Much more challenging than other FPS's, even on the lowest difficulty setting. Plus it has the most bizarre but brilliant plot ever.

[Whacker]

Has anyone made it inside the reactor sarcophagus yet?

This is what I'm curious how they modelled in-game: http://www.spaceman.ca/gallery/chernobyl?page=1

[Lehesu]

The game worth 30 US?

[Husar]

Has anyone made it inside the reactor sarcophagus yet?

Yes, otherwise I couldn't have finished it yet.
But I didn't really want to spoil anything, especially not the end.

The game worth 30 US?

Well, I spent 40EUR and think it was worth it.

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

Finally got through X18 (Creepy!) and have 2 decent NATO guns ( ) but that dumb scientist dies too easily...

[Sir Moody]

im playing with the Realism Pro mod and it makes the game even better - realistic bullet spread (accuracy depends on ammo type, barrel length and muzzle velocity) makes fighting a good deal harder and with the damage up'd heavily you really have to play it smart no more fighting out of cover and the early bandits can easily one shot you with the sawn offs if you get too close

it also ups the amount of ammo found on bodies so while you will be using more ammo you can get most of it back

[Lemur]

Finally finished the game, very good stuff! I saved near the end and played with different endings, which was kinda neat. Getting the "best" ending was quite a bit of work.

I've been having problems applying mods, however. There are a couple of appearance tweaks that make things more Fallout-ish, and I tried to apply them, only to wind up having to re-install the game. I must be a complete idiot, 'cause I unpacked the ten data files, hid the compressed files, applied the mods and killed the app.

Oh well. I can only hope that Fallout 3 feels half this much like Fallout.

P.S.: Did anybody else fall in love with the Vitnar BC? I used that gun alone for the last three areas, and never regretted it. Ten shots, silenced, accurate, uses the best ammo in the game, etc. Headshot city with that thing.

[Husar]

Yes, I used it(the Vintar) to get to the best end in my second go. Quite a nice rifle, but the ammunition is a bit rare, especially when the enemies all use different ammo.

Oh, and getting to the best end is quite some work indeed, I was really unsure whether I'd ever get to some sort of end that way.

edit: For mods I found this mod manager which seems to work fine and already came with a few small mods. Mods need to be compatible though, but you could just try it anyway, didn't try any extensive modding myself.