I've installed the Oblivion Lost mod
http://stalker.filefront.com/file/Oblivion_Lost;86329
and patch:
http://stalker.filefront.com/file/Oblivion_Lost_Patch;86538
I'm really liking it. I had tried Faiakes mod, but I think it changed gameplay too much. I like Oblivion Lost better because of the realism and horror elements implemented in such a way that it breathes new life into the survival horror genre.
One thing that realllly ticked me off with (I believe it was) Faiakes mod was the random GHOSTS that would spawn and slowly drive my character CRAZY.... I was in the bandit's factory trying to save that Duty guy from the jail cell, and these random mutant boars and other ghosts kept spawning infinitely until I left the area...ARGH! That alone made me uninstall the game to go out and play Portal
Basically what Oblivion Lost does for STALKER is make it more like the developers originally intended. Why the developers didn't just make the game they way they wanted to in the first place is beyond me
It also supposedly enables Freeplay, so you can play the game after beating it, which is something gamers have been demanding since it was released.I'll list a complete list of features below... In the meantime, here are some of my first impressions.
With Oblivion Lost, it makes guns more powerful, harder to shoot off the hip, and overall more realistic. You really need to use the iron sights and single shots to really be accurate. Enemies will go down if you place your shots right. More powerful guns means you lose health quicker too... Bleeding doesn't really stop until you use bandages. Food doesn't restore health ( a feature I do miss )
Driving cars makes for fast travel, but cars don't seem to brake well for me, I usually run into an anomaly and lose health because I can't turn or stop fast enough. One time, I hit some sort of tornado anomaly and the thing launched me into the air! haha, I didn't know what to think... I'm sitting there in the car, flying upside-down wondering if I should try exiting it, or just see if it doesn't kill me when it lands... Well it landed on the ground, on it's wheels, and I drove off, no problem :-D
Nights are scary. It's pitch black unless the moon is out... And it's really awesome when it's pitch black and random streaks of lightning light up the area, showing you a basically a snapshot of what's around you... You are near invisible in the dark, but it's just as hard because you can't see any enemies unless you use night vision... If you turn on your flashlight, you automatically become a moving target, so the ability to sneak more effectively now is really sweet.
There's some people complaining that mutants don't respawn... They claim it's a glitch... Well I think that the "no mutants are respawning" problem is really more realistic that they don't... I mean, you kill a pack of dogs... they are not going to breed a new pack overnight. You shoot something, it dies. I think it's a nice realistic feature.
Overall, highly recommended if you want a good balanced survival horror game. Hasn't been too hard nor too easy if you are smart about playing it.
Here are a complete list of features and what it is supposed to do for Stalker:
FEATURES:
FREEPLAY
- New level changers (Stancia2 to Control Room, Control Room to Sarcophagus, Sarcophagus to Stancia1, Stancia1 to Pripyat, Cordon to Dark Valley and a new Radar to Bunker)
- Removed the scripted blowout from Stancia1 and the dead zone from Stancia2, so you can explore the whole Power Plant
- The last portal teleports the actor to the court, so the game is open-ended
A-LIFE
- Now almost everything can be happened, there's a chance to meet any NPC's on other levels
- Sometimes the army raids, sometimes not, this is totally random, too
- The mutants are making their ways through pass the Zone in big hordes
- The mutants are entering places what they aren't entered before, so there's an increased chance to meet them in human-being places
REALISM
- All weapons are stronger and well-balanced
- Almost to all weapons be able to attach addons
- Added realistic sounds to the weapons, rounds, ammos, materials, environment
- NPC's are bleeding, if they are hurted then fall down to the ground, and if they don't receive any medkits about a minute, then they die
- Bandages and foods don't heal the actor
- The average bleeding don't stop by itself, only the minor
- Added realistic head-bobbing to the actor when he is heavily wounded
- Well-balanced armor degradation
- The crosshair is reduced to a dot
- Reduced HUD and removed NPC counter
STEALTH
- The NPC's can't notice the actor during night if his flashlight is turned off
- If the actor turns on the flashlight, then his enemies spot him immediately
- Reduced the sound volume of the Knife, now it's a dangerous and invisible weapon during night, presumably the NPC's won't notice the actor if he is smart enough
WEATHER
- There are 24 hours cycle weathers in all levels
- The night is dark and scary
- Restored the Sun and the Moon
- Atmospheric sky textures
BLOWOUT
- The blowout is totally random, you never know that when it will start
- The blowout spawns mutants and artifacts in random places
- The NPC's are falling down when the blowout starts, and they stunned to the ground when it explodes, also the actor is slowed and has got some minor effectors
- The blowout is dark at night and shiny at daylight
- If the weather is rainy, then the blowout increases the intensity of the rain, the thunders and the wind
MUTANTS
- Added all cutout mutants (Dwarf, Chimera, Cat, Zombie, Izlom)
- They have got so many different types of skins
- Added the Psy Dog as a new mutant (with attack effector)
- Two boss enemy characters (Burer and Koshei) - you can kill them with special methods
VEHICLES
- Added all drivable vehicles (Niva, Zaz, Kamaz, Tractor, UAZ, BTR, Moskvich)
- The vehicles aren't floating
- Well-balanced driving properties
- Added realistic engine and gear sounds to the UAZ
ARTIFACT ACTIVATION
- This is a method of transforming the artifacts created by an anomaly back to the anomaly they were originally created in
- Each artifacts have got different HUDs
MISCELLANEOUS
- Replaced main menu music
- Main menu from the 2215 beta
- Added the "Turn on the engine" to the options/controls
- NPC's can buy everything from the actor but in very low prices
- All traders can repair
- New stalker and weapon textures
- More types of skins of stalkers and bandits
- Sleeping bag
- Replaced some dialog sounds to Russian
- Added some songs to the camping stalkers
