can't believe there's an anon that hasn't played stalker
everything everyone said is right but i'm gonna chime in anyway
I've got over 1k hrs stalkan but I hated the game the first 2 times I tried to get into it
I've got a buddy where it took like a half-dozen separate attempts over a decade before it clicked for him
>stalker is buggyis a maymay and artefact from first release, even vanilla is stable and works nowadays
stalker general in /vg/ maintained a mega repo including portable repacks of all the games in the series but I haven't been on cuckchan in like a decade now so idk if it's still there
once you get the game and ZRP (zone reclamation project) or starter pack if you want a little more pretty the critical thing is to set it to master, disable crosshair, and play until at least X-18 before you mod it. if you really can't stand it you can quit after agroprom but that's a representative sample of vanilla. I recommend LURK 1.1 or the AMK merge that adds the LURK guns for your first modded playthru.
everyone's right about CS being a mess too. in order to make it tolerable I had to install the arsenal overhaul port from COP and then do a line by line of all the guns to make them reasonably accurate and lethal. in CS vanilla all your weapons are slingshots reskinned to look like guns and if you use the wrong ammo the rocks are actually peas. it's fun but a fixer-upper. skip it at first
COP is the proper sequel and my favorite. vanilla is very tame and reasonably ridiculed as STALKER: The Ride because bandits aren't hostile by default, dangerous mutants are very rare, and a couple other things. but it's also the only one to actually feel like the zone because of the big maps where you actually have downtime to appreciate the atmosphere. atmosphere is the thing stalker does better than any game ever. despite that the cramped and claustrophobic SOC maps and the sheer volume of bandits, mercs, monolith, and more bandits packed into the tiny maps ruins that a lot. misery is a trash-tier maymay but I still have really comfy memories of going on expeditions hunting for artifacts and mutant meat to cook on the grill for dinner in the les miserable edit. in SOC that's unimaginable
COP is the only one I recommended doing your first play modded. vanilla is fun and the scripted quests are good for 2, maybe even 3 plays but it's oriented towards scripted quests and imho outside
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