THS (2009) S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl

Roadside Picnic and Tarkovsky's Stalker

The Zone concept comes from a book called "Roadside Picnic" by brothers Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. The publisher is SF specialist Gollancz. ISBN : 0575 070 536

The film is called "Stalker" and is by Andrei Tarkovsky. You can find out more about the DVD through Amazon.

Find the film Stalker at Amazon

[ Chernobyl ...and the reality of stalkers ]

[ Overview ] [ X-Ray Engine ] [ A-Life ] [ Trading ] [ Clans ]

PC Spec Requirements

Minimum	Recommended
P4 2.0 Gb / AMD XP2200+	Core 2 Duo E6400 / AMD X2 4200+
512Mb RAM / 10Gb HDD	1Gb RAM / 10Gb HDD
nVIDIA Geforce 5700 / ATI Radeon 9600	nVIDIA Geforce 7900 / ATI Radeon X1850

10 January 2007

Chernobyl ...and the reality of stalkers.

2351hrs

What follows is from my Online Diary, 26 October 2006. It gives some insight, via National Geographic magazine, into the modern day realities of the Zone.

Finally get down to read that piece on Chernobyl. Some of you out there will know I've been following the game S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl. As a result of doing up a website for the upcoming FPS I'd done a bit of research into the accident and recalled some of my prior knowledge on the incident. With this National Geographic article I was to learn a bit more, including an interesting fact regarding the term "stalker". More on that in a moment.

One gets the sense, of a lack of willingness by authorities, wherever they may be, to take responsibility. We see this with documentaries the other night, called "Let Us Spray" regarding the production of 245T in New Plymouth. We see Australia and the US paying out veterans for Agent Orange related illness yet here, in New Zealand, where they made the stuff for the US government, for use in Vietnam, our vets are still getting the run around. And so we come to something like Chernobyl and we have inaction. Sounds like current vets and the issue of Depleted Uranium, never mind the environmental and civilian concerns.

There are many more factors pinning back action in this case but the fundamental principles remain the same. In the face of great sacrifice, and ongoing suffering, we see ongoing suffering and a lack of respect, dignity and in many cases service.

The routine test which went catastrophically wrong causing number 4 reactor at the nuclear plant to blow remains a menace to the environment and those who remain there. 26 April 1986. I still remember seeing the television coverage, those men, faces masked, knowing that they knew their number was up. One of the scariest thoughts I can say I ever had.

There was 400 times the fallout as that from Hiroshima. Several hundred thousand people had to be evacuated. 1,100 buses come into Pripyat, the city two miles way, where most of the plant's employees lived, and by 1700hrs that day, the entire city was a ghost town. I somehow doubted, to read that, the West could act with such efficiency. Today the city is used to research fallout.

There is a concern now that, as a result of the sarcophagus collapse, which was put in place to contain the damage and spread of the accident, a fresh hazard occur. Plans are underway to put in place a second check, resembling a huge aircraft hanger, to contain the threat further, estimated to cost around $800 million. Perhaps a small price to pay. It will end up being 350 feet high, high enough to cover over the Empire State Building.

Asides from the hundreds of workers, called liquidators, who came in at the time to fight the fires and contain the radiation, including coal miners who dug under the core of the reactor allowing liquid nitrogen to be pumped in, "stalkers" from the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences work at the sarcophagus today to monitor radiation levels and the state of the reactor. It is something that must be done, and several have died over the years doing exactly that.

For those who have survived, the impact is not only physical consisting of heart disease, cancers and deformities but also the psychological including women who believe any baby they might give birth to will be unhealthy, and therefore have no future.

The photographs are eery to say the least. No lack of thought provocation.

Well, to talk of my domestics today is going to be decidedly bland, so I shall refrain. Besides, more important things to be doing... like catching up with emails! And there I shall leave it, for at least a day. But, if I spend a few minutes tidying up this hovel of mine, I can at least do some training practice.

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26 June 2006

Game Overview

In 1986, night of the 26 April at 0123hrs, the number four reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded. This is the worst known accident of its kind in the nuclear age. Being that the developers GSC Game World are 100 km's away from the Chernobyl area, in the city of Kiev, this became the basis for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. You play the part of a Stalker in the year 2012, a scavenger who is searching out for irradiated objects after something strange happens at the site in 2006. These events have created a massive area now known as The Zone.

While most FPS games are pushing the massive online multiplayer concept, where single player missions seem to be a warm up only, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. appears to very much be going in the other direction. It is no surprise that GSC Game World have gone down this road deeming the RPG elements. Harking back to real adventuring. And on top of that, we have the unique AI concepts which are non-scripted, making the solo game surely much more realistic, and challenging, in an ever-changing virtual world. You may no longer have to duel with fellow humans in order to feel the sweat on your brow.

From the writer's point of view, this is all good. Massive multiplayer is not the be end and end all and it only demonstrates a lack of creativity and resourcefulness on the part of game developers. You can soon get bored of it, and many of us can't find that many people, much less broad band connections, to make the experience a consistently pleasurable one.

Something fresh and part of the whole roleplaying experience is the need of your character to eat. If you don't eat enough it has consequences for your stamina, and therefore your ability to fight and survive in The Zone. Drinking too much vodka will get you expectantly drunk and most certainly effect your aim when shooting.

On watching the footage, even before you learn that the world is a digital duplication of a real 30km/sq area in Chernobyl, there is a sense this is unlike any other game before it. A non-linear approach introduces built up areas, ruins, huge open areas and oppotunities for all forms of tactical play. Missions will not be dictated by the a map's given geographical layout, only by the choices of the player as they guide their Stalker through the world. You will certainly have objectives, namely quests, but it will be up to you how you get there and which one's you choose. This in turn tells us that, unlike most games your adventure is not "on rails", dictated to you by the environment, one activity leading on automatically to another.

To give you an idea of the overall scale of the playing area, if you got into a car and drove at 100 km/h it would take you a full 20 minutes of game time to get from one side of the map to the other. Now, it is unlikely you could travel that fast constantly, and I doubt you could travel in anything resembling a straight line considering terrain, built up areas and various hazards and creatures you're going to encounter.

Asides from various mutant creatures you'll find in The Zone, there are about 120 other Stalkers in the game, along with a military presence. Due to the non-scripted AI nature of Stalker, you will see a multitude of different reactions based on their needs, the weather and perceived threats. Survival is the name of the game and reactions even consider the lay of the land. Soldiers in The Zone use Combat AI to properly move as soldiers do in the real world, using cover, fire and movement and adapting to best outwit their opponents. There is certainly no cause for predictability of action as you will find in most games up until now.

All in all S.T.A.L.K.E.R. made some big promises in the gaming world - its now time to cash in.

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Unlike many other FPS games, Stalker does not use a outside engine to produce its world. Instead GSC Game World have their own proprietary system called X-Ray based on their own requirements to foreful their vision of the game universe. Based on released media, it is doing a very good job indeed, even bringing along some unique, firsts in the gaming industry for the ride.

In the Engine video for Stalker you even see the player character shooting into the sky at a flock of crows, and one of them drops to the ground. This is the sort of universal interaction we want. The playing area is huge, mapped out from the real site in which it is depicted and this makes for massive play area.

The physics engine allows for the interaction and terrain elements as they are in real life including gravity with regards falling objects, and penetration regards ballistics and potential cover. This entails details of trajectory for weapon fire in regards range, making it increasingly difficult to hit targets at longer ranges. It is yet to be established how closely it models the requirements of authentic real world marksmanship. It makes sense considering the PSO1 scope and features a reticule rangefinder. These elements provide more realism and a challenge for players. A new skill to acquire and another way of pursuing the thinking player's game rather than simple, fire and whatever the sight is on will be hit. Such a system may be able to be turned off for an "arcade" mode.

After seeing the DX9.1 demo I am wondering if ballistics will be effected by objects between the shooter and the target. In the video we see the Stalker shooting through glass to hit a soldier. Bullets are effected quite a lot by glass and other materials, both regards accuracy and their potential for doing damage on target. Later we see our intelligent Stalker taking out a soldier through a wall rather than exposing himself unnecessarily. He knows his target is there, and lets loose from cover. My question is, had of this been at greater distance, would the ballistic performance be effected? Concrete is good, plaster board is not.

A Life - is the artifical intelligence system which controls the creatures you find in the game. It is unscripted so instead of predetermined behaviours based on predictable movements and what the player does, you find activities of the world's inhabitants are much more flexible and realistic during game play. Mutants, for example, will follow basic needs as any animal does in the real world; hunt, sleep, eat, seek shelter, defend itself. You will see creatures fighting amongst themselves, reacting to changes in weather, hunting and even changing their behaviours due to light conditions during the day / night cycle.

You will find that, unlike many games up until now, other inhabitants won't necessarily attack you even if they know you are present. They may be too tired, have sized you up and decided you're too dangerous, or they are wounded so wish to retreat. This is far more realistic than the aggressive kill kill kill attitude of scripted AI. Survival is the name of the game, so you'll find, often, if you don't bother someone or something, they won't always bother you.

Opposing Stalkers and military units will work in similar ways, determining strengths and weaknesses and potentials for success. If you are well armed and particularly are in a group, they will try and avoid you, if not, its on. And when it comes to combat it will be deadly. There will be great efforts made to out-flank you, and terrain and other environmental conditions will be used to gain the upper hand. Teamwork seriously means something in Stalker. If you play aggressively and you will play the price.

Based on how you decide to play the game, it may well be possible for you to venture into the Zone without killing another human being. Without an aggressive nature being played out, the AI will react quite differently than would be typical. This would be a unique prospect for any FPS. With S.T.A.L.K.E.R., it is simply another way to interact with a very atmospheric and complex virtual world.

The ultimate RPG element could be construed to be trading. Here, while you collect up alien artifacts you can deal with traders and other Stalkers in the game. The Dealer is your man to trade with inside the Zone. According to stlkwlk3 he acts as a mentor at the beginning of the game, then gives you missions and quests. If you work these these and complete them he gives you cash. In straight out trade you deal in weapons and equipment, ammunition, provisions, upgrades and the gaining of information, allowing you to learn more about the Zone and therefore penetrate deeper into it, allowing for greater benefits along the way. The Dealer is the one who gradually uncovers the plot as you progress through the game. Keep people on your good side, then you can greatly benefit through trade. Being a hard nut in Stalker will just get you killed. Being wise and easy on the trigger will provide you with enormous advantages as you move through the harsh world of the Zone.

Being that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is based in Chernobyl, former USSR, trade currency is Rubles. It remains to be seen if other world currencies such as the Euro or US Dollar will be tendered in the Zone. Not so likely as barter is more the rule of the day.

As it relates to trading, the RPG elements will find a certain amount of restraint with regards the amount of equipment a character can carry. This further holds to the sense of intelligent play as it will become impossible to carry a virtual armoury as you can in most FPS games. Another welcome balancing factor. You can not carry two dozen hand grenades on top of three assault weapons, half a dozen pistols and a claymore. Those who would become reliant on having massive amounts of weapons and ammunition on hand will be in for a nasty surprise. Give me a SVD, a Groza (or SPAS12 depending on the environment, a USP (.45 thank you), and a few grenades and I'll be a happy Stalker.

This brings a different perspective of the online gaming Clan concept directly into the gameplay of single player. It reflects real society and our human condition as social animals gathering for mutual support. So, while it will naturally occur in MP, it goes down well in single player mode as well. But if you insist on scrapping it out, things could go very bad. You gain strength in numbers but you also become more obvious as a threat to outsiders and can make yourself more vulnerable as a result. This dynamic is worth waiting for and I can see it being copied in game software houses already.