Posts by Izuno

Quote from DD

Stalker looks pretty, but the gameplay in the videos looks to be very... dry. Of course it's hard to tell, but from what I saw it looks like a game where you run around until you see a monster, then you run backwards while shooting at it with a semi-automatic sniper rifle.

You will get no arguement from me on that. To date the press/consumers out there still view Stalker as a pretty tech demo, as nothing shown to date really says "wow that's good gameplay"

i am working very hard with our UK office (which is globally managing Stalker) to help turn the tide. but the game is still pre-alpha and the developer is very very very very ... very secretive about all the gameplay stuff. Believe me i'm trying, but there is only so much I can do.

I do appreciate your honest feedback and believe me, I will do whatever I can to make sure the "why it's cool" footage etc gets shown sometime before the damn thing ships.

Quote from FrieChamp

I read that Brian Farrell, THQ CEO, said that Stalker was delayed because it shouldn' have to compete with DOOM3 and Halo2. DOOM3 is gonna be released already at the beginning of august and Halo2 is a console game (for now), so I think the real reason is something else...

August: Doom3

Sept: HL 2

Oct and Nov: Zillion console titles like Halo 2, GTA:SA, THUG2, MGS3, GT4, SW:Battlefront...plus titles like Battle for Middle Earth, CoD PC expansion and CoD console versions.

In reality these titles will compete with Stalker or any other PC title. Retailers wouldn't take as much inventory of Stalker for an Oct/Nov ship date because their stores will be dominated by the console heavy hitters. Stalker would get crushed at retail if shipped between now and the end of the year. Think about it: relatively unknown developer, a publisher not known for PC games, and completely original IP (no brand, not a sequel, not WW2, not sports etc). Personally I think it is a very wise decision. Plus this will give the developers more time to fine tune the mod tools, not to mention expand the open multiplayer beta coming later this year.

hmm...i don't think this is for a shooter...i'm thinking it's for a cross platform 3rd person action game they were pitching around...but hey go interview for it someone and let us know.

as for food, it comes down to execution. it could go either way and i wont pass judgement until i see it.

true, VC was an 80s Scareface version of GTA3, but that was enough to make the game much cooler to me...hence i liked it better.

personally i think GTA:SA sounds even cooler with the larger area, multiple cities and more hip/hop gangster theme. i mean, at least it's different from the GTA3 and Vice. again, proof is in the playing. anyway i need something new for my PS2. other than SSX3 it's basically gathering dust right now.

I am in London this week for a global meeting on Stalker. everyone at our UK office was talking about this...the stabbing made front page in all the papers. everyone here thinks it's absolutle rubbish for blaming a game for the murder. still a tragedy though.

ok...so jetlagged...one more quick meeting today then im off to tour london tomorrow before heading back to the US.

cheers!

i still would have liked "Rise of the Empire" better...but oh well. I'm sure the movie will have a good script and even better acting. Let's hope the story revolves around Jar Jar...I mean he hardly got any screen time in Episode II. They should also focus on parlimentary proceedures in the senate...forget the action and lightsaber stuff. People don't go to Star Wars movies for action or special effects. They go to see animated characters with funny accents and to help them fall asleep in the theare.

Star Wars Episode III: So Very Boring

Yeah...that woudl have been a good title.

i like that they got packaging pics...even if those are just concept proofs.

shockingly, IBM makes some great value laptops (assuming you don't need to game) that are quite powerful, under $1600 and very reliable. i have had my 700 mhz IBM thinkpad for over 4 years now and it is still great for email and word/excel.

but if you want to go cheaper/more powerful but no "major" brand name, try ibuypower, falcon northwest as suggested....look in the back of PC Gamer magazine for a lot of ads that can give you an idea of fair pricing in the market.

Quote from FrieChamp

They need to be .mdl format and then it's best to use a "cycler" entity. Then just add the path.

you may also want to try the env_model entity in Hammer.

Quote from JynxDaddy

omg mazy be an ati fanboy with me Im getting my first ati card soon 9600xt .... shutup im poor.

9600xt is a pretty good value card...i think you can get the 256 mb version for under $175 now. i think you'll be ok for most of the next gen engine based games like hl2/d3/stalker/bf2

you know, it would be great if there was a universal guide to what how each card fairs with each new game engine, especially for those on a budget who want something good but can't drop 5 bills on a 6800 or X800.

Quote from Zaphod

I doubt a freaky monster like that has blood in him that you would want to drink

omg Zaph is becoming a vampire!

Being the lazy sob i am...is there any hand to hand fighting? there's melee right? i'd love to be able to use my greater-than-human strength to smack around some ...erm...smacktards in the game.

i think this is the first game that has me excited play as a vampire cause it reminds me of how badass Blade, and the villians, were in..erm...Blade.

Quote from Zaphod

does it have dual dvi outputs?

yes

excellent question.

right after E3 I was given one of our Athlon 64 machinces with the 6800 ultras for a low low price.

I love the 6800u but honestly I don't have any games that push it. I only have Far Cry on 1280x1024 (native resolution of my LCD) but with full effects (4x AA, 8x AF and everything maxed) I get at least 40 frames/second most of the time. Problem is i don't find Far Cry fun so i don't play it, plus the MP is pants.

In all other games the FPS limit on max settings seems to be the refresh rate of my monitor which is stuck at 100 hz or something...but the image quality is amazing in all aspects. Yes, it takes up to slots and 2 power outlets, so you'll want a newer rig with a 400 watt power supply. if you don't have such a rig or a can't spend the extra $$$, get the ATI.

One of the key differences between the 6800u and the X800...

the 6800u supports DirectX 9.0c. the X800 series does not. Right now there are no games that support 9.0c, and I don't think HL2 or Doom3 will have feature complete 9.0c renderers so you won't notice.

STALKER (yes we know i'm biased) will have a full DX9.0c renderer and you'll need a compatible card to see all the effects. I've seen the difference between 9.0c and 9.0b and for the most part you can't tell, but in STALKER you can in some places and it is completely stunning. The 3.0 pixel shader in 9.0c is "awesome". Remeber the Unreal 3 engine tech movie from a couple months ago? That's the quality it can do. The 6800u is the only card currently on the market than can do this stuff.

I highly doubt you'll see much performance difference between the two, or image quality for the most part unless you're playing STALKER...erm...whenever that gets released . However, the differences between 9.0c and 9.0b in the game won't diminish it that much...most people may not even notice but since we're generally more in toon with image quality we might see it.

/gets of soap box...gets back to work.

omg this is going to be the best vampire related RPG game built from teh HL2 source engine everrrrrrr!

seriously, looks very cool, and i like the real time combat--as opposed to turn based in KOTOR (KOTOR still rocked, though)

gg

:-?

not sure...active a lot in the last 2 years...less in the years before that...it's been so long i forgot.

Already looking better ---> lighting, textures, geometry.

keep up the good work.

don't expect too much love, Zaph... with big titles like this they usually leave their other 3rd party developers to acquire the game by their own means, except for management. you may get lucky, though. this is essentially how it works at all publishers :-/

i've already planned to buy my copy and hopefully expense it as competitive research, but maybe i'll get lucky.

we just found out...we're already sucking up to people at Activision to get free copies...but we may end up buying in the store...dunno.

Get your machine pimped now!

for details clix here:

http://www.stalker-game.com/index_eng.html

then clix on "engine" header in upper right.

info is somewhat out of date, but for the most part pretty accurate.

omg best thread ever

~~~~

"4 out of 4 tildes!"