The Stalkers Journal Thread - MISERY mod for S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat

greetings Stalkers,

I thought we as the community could collect here new hints for the Stalkers journal, which is showed during the loading screen. I think most of us know the "old" ones by heart, and maybe we can collect some new hints and tips without giving away too much.maybe some of it will make it into the new version

I'm not entirely sure what changes regarding repairing, hunting, stealth and so on are changed with the new release, could someone with an insight keep an eye out please so no old info gets passed along?

Misery Stalker Journal:

The extremely thick skin of Pseudogiants has more resemblance with the Armor of a Stalker than the skins and pelts of other Mutants. So think again what ammo to use.

Small amounts of radiation will go away in time without the need for countermeasures. So Dog chops are a tasty snack for on the way, and will conserve your stash of Cigarettes and vodka.

following NPC's when they go somewhere can give you additional firepower and diversion for tough locations or provides loot without the need of spending your own bullets.

A Foe is seldom alone.

Compare vendor prices, buying as well as selling. I'd be a shame to throw away hard earned cash after you made it back to base (this time)

Monoliths are fearless fighters who rather die and take you down with 'em instead of being interrogated.

If you face a chimera try to take cover inside a building, it may well save your life.

standing on a rock or a similar high object will bring you out of the reach of many mutants. however you will need to get down eventually so don't get tempted and make very shot count.

the more you carry the faster you burn up calories, and the faster you grow tired.

only a fool or a very wealthy man doesn't take the time to use materials at hand to keep his gear intact.

Nimble provides a great service for Stalkers with the right budget. It's advised to safe before ordering though, just in case he doesn't bring you what you had in mind.

Play close attention to your surroundings Stalker, learn from the inhabitants of the Zone and learn their habits.

gunfire attracts all sorts of predators, be it human or not. remember that you are never alone in the zone, and danger is lurking nearby just waiting for you to concentrate on one thing.

Psy mutants have an aura around them which will penetrate even the newest scientific countermeasures when you get too close. so keep your eyes open and aim well and you might just make it.

Stalkers won't forget it if you attack them, even if by accident. after all the zone quickly eradicates those who can't use their weapon properly. so aim your grenades carefully and double check who you're shooting at.

Factions patrol the zone day and night, but they do have certain locations they prefer. Those are good to know if you don't want any trouble or are looking for some.

Sound travels trough bushes or darkness and can be a reliable warning system. Don't be too trusting though, only Strelok can hear the faint touch of a cat's step.

it's good to keep one or more backup stashes somewhere. just in case you run into bigger trouble then expected.

the wrong timing and your position of an attack can and will quickly lead to your painful death. the zone doesn't allow second chances so make sure you are ready for what comes around.

Make sure there is no danger near by before harvesting the fruits of your work. It is the most dangerous when you 'think' it is safe. Watch your back Stalker!

Quick and Auto safes can become corrupted and ireparably bugs may force you to start a new game. Make frequent hard saves and this wont become an Issue.

Taking selfies in the zone can be very dangerous ... it gives photobombing a whole different meaning. It was not uncommon for the odd hand holding a selfie stick to be the only remains of early stalkers. It appears mutants don't like them either

Friendly Stalkers moving around in the Zone can buy heavy mutant pelts and damages guns at a lower price from you. If your back is already hurting from the weight you could consider taking the cash instead.

Even though factions patrol the Zone randomly, there are certain places and certain paths which the faction frequents. Learn those places and it may be of help in the future.

MISERY Developers suggest frame limiting at no higher then 60 FPS for increased performance. Check out the community for news, updates, discussions and assistance: moddb.com/mods/stalker-misery

The effects of medical, booster and anti-rad items are not cumulative. Wait until the first item's effects have stopped before using a second Stalker, or risk wasting those valuable resources.

Edited by: Keksfront

That was cool The cats-don't-make-a-sound one was amazing.

Good start! Some will obviously change when 2.2 is released. I wish I could see some of the "Oh shit! That never happened before ?!?" faces LOL.

How about "It is the most dangerous when you 'think' it is safe" Watch your back Stalker!

and Don't text and drive ... Oh and Don't use quick saves - Either will wreck your day.

Also, you need to make sure they are non-class specific. Different classes have different tolerances for radiation, etc.

"Taking selfies in the zone can be very dangerous ... it gives photobombing a whole different meaning. It was not uncommon for the odd hand holding a selfie stick to be the only remains of early stalkers. It appears mutants don't like them either"

Thanks I edited the post!
Are there any easy "tweaks" that will prevent bugs or settings which could help if you have performance problems?

Also Jasper could you say something for stealth facts, or will those be changed in 2.0?

jasper34 wrote: Also, you need to make sure they are non-class specific. Different classes have different tolerances for radiation, etc.

I checked tushkano, dog & pseudodog chops radiation (up to ~150msV) fades away without player loosing health in time. If you have no previous radiation. Everything higher needs to be countered, just watch the health bar closely if you dont loose any you're good to go. Recon can also eat snork hand without a penalty if I remember correctly.

Lets go lets go stalkers what can you think of for the STALKERS Diary???!!

Everything I know of benefiting performance is in my profile comments. The best without incurring the expense of an SSD is the tweaked game_relations.ltx file. I highly suggest frame limiting at no higher than 60 FPS for everyone.

As to stealth, something to the effect of "Choose your armor and weapon wisely Stalker; not being seen or heard protects better than the most shiny armor"

The single biggest danger to your game is vanilla quick saves. I've harped on it for nearly 2 years. I made it part of my signature and convinced the team to include a note during install which hopefully will eradicate corrupted saves permanently. "Quick is only better if it's hard, Hard saves that is"

jasper34 wrote:

Everything I know of benefiting performance is in my profile comments. The best without incurring the expense of an SSD is the tweaked game_relations.ltx file. I highly suggest frame limiting at no higher than 60 FPS for everyone.

As to stealth, something to the effect of "Choose your armor and weapon wisely Stalker; not being seen or heard protects better than the most shiny armor"

The single biggest danger to your game is vanilla quick saves. I've harped on it for nearly 2 years. I made it part of my signature and convinced the team to include a note during install which hopefully will eradicate corrupted saves permanently. "Quick is only better if it's hard, Hard saves that is"

"MISERY Developers suggest frame limiting at no higher then 60 FPS for increased performance. Check out the community for news, updates, discussions and assistance: moddb.com/mods/stalker-misery"

Regarding stealth, I know now that the classes have certain stealth bonuses & penalties (well Im pretty sure recon has a bonus) and then there are of course factors like weather, day/night/fog ect as well as Ghillie suit. Im not sure how much will be changed in the new version, I heard that camo weapons also give you stealth bonus is that true?
Either way I sneak in Misery like I would in real life, moving slowly and staying to cover. I dont know however if bushes actually protect you from npc sight, since they can aim pretty well trough them while shooting. Also how about running, walking, crouching ect?

Every armor and helmet has a rating for day and night. Weapons don't have ratings. Essentially, if it is shiny, you may pay for the bling with your life.

There are a number of new tips, some related to new features. It is a good idea to keep consolidating the ones you like best in that original post.

we only have 25 so far :/

jasper34 wrote:

Every armor and helmet has a rating for day and night. Weapons don't have ratings. Essentially, if it is shiny, you may pay for the bling with your life.

There are a number of new tips, some related to new features. It is a good idea to keep consolidating the ones you like best in that original post.

So the green eco suit has better camo then the red one (both bad though), and Bulat & trenchcoat have the best camo values?
Does rain influence stealth as well?

You're probably not going to want to replace them all ... consider those which are still very valid for first time Misery players. When new release comes out there will be a plethora of first timers. I still see comments from new players all the time, even with new release pending. In fact, I strongly advise people to familiarize themselves with the Misery style so the learning curve is reduced. Without handing them a tutorial, I think you want to both inform (hint) and entertain some.

If it's shiny, like screen helmets, armors with built-in screen helmets, exo, etc generally poor camo during daylight. Rain and fog have always influenced line of sight which affects initial detection. Flashlights and probably other things I've forgotten can give you away. I think it is really well done. The things you would expect to really give you away for the most part now do. It would be great if passing though grass/bushes, puddles sounds gave you away, but I don't think that's possible on this engine. The armors have the ratings for camo within their descriptions now, so not too much needs to be said about them other than choosing the right gear for the job.

If you are jumping, running or otherwise drawing attention to yourself you will expect an enemy to notice you faster.

There is at least one tip I would like to utterly replace. That My Little Pony reference ...

"Wait, was that sound outside my window or my helmet ?!?" That just gave me an idea for an effect of helmet damage ... loss of hearing until repaired bwah ha ha.

Edited by: jasper34

jasper34 wrote:

You're probably not going to want to replace them all ... consider those which are still very valid for first time Misery players. When new release comes out there will be a plethora of first timers. I still see comments from new players all the time, even with new release pending. In fact, I strongly advise people to familiarize themselves with the Misery style so the learning curve is reduced. Without handing them a tutorial, I think you want to both inform (hint) and entertain some.

If it's shiny, like screen helmets, armors with built-in screen helmets, exo, etc generally poor camo during daylight. Rain and fog have always influenced line of sight which affects initial detection. Flashlights and probably other things I've forgotten can give you away. I think it is really well done. The things you would expect to really give you away for the most part now do. It would be great if passing though grass/bushes, puddles sounds gave you away, but I don't think that's possible on this engine. The armors have the ratings for camo within their descriptions now, so not too much needs to be said about them other than choosing the right gear for the job.

If you are jumping, running or otherwise drawing attention to yourself you will expect an enemy to notice you faster.

There is at least one tip I would like to utterly replace. That My Little Pony reference ...

"Wait, was that sound outside my window or my helmet ?!?" That just gave me an idea for an effect of helmet damage ... loss of hearing until repaired bwah ha ha.

The Pony Ref, should stay. Seriously. I took it to heart and I figured out how to get NPCs to do work for me all the time. Its great, funny and bountiful....in corpses >;)

Also, having a damaged helmet wouldn't affect being able to hear. Short of a bullet in the ear or a blast. Seriously though. If that were true, nobody would hear anything on a battle field lol

Plus the more obvious point. If yer helmet is caved in so badly that it would block hearing....well your head was(WAS) inside it hint hint

Edited by: ZoneWizard

No problem, tinny ringing sound in your ears you can't differentiate sounds through. All helmets that are airtight interfere with hearing unless they have an active system to compensate. Damage to the helmet would mean damage to the active systems and decrease in hearing.

Yes....I stand corrected in regard to closed systems. A closed system may impede sound outside of the suit.

But damaged systems....mmmm, nah, see my point on that is still valid. If damage is enough to damage anything within the helmet. The head inside is mush or at the very least dead.

Sound is tricky. =)

Setting aside the lack of concussive symptoms which would be a nice touch, the simple speakers inside a football helmet get jarred loose frequently without turning the Quarterbacks head into mush. Delicate electronics do not like being subjected to sharp impacts. I worked on military ruggedized electronics for 21 years in harsh environments. Fortunately, I didn't work on stuff that was shot at The idea was a fantasy anyway; I don't think the engine can compare the degree of wear on your gear and adjust how well you hear. A squealing sound would be most annoying.

jasper34 wrote:

Setting aside the lack of concussive symptoms which would be a nice touch, the simple speakers inside a football helmet get jarred loose frequently without turning the Quarterbacks head into mush. Delicate electronics do not like being subjected to sharp impacts. I worked on military ruggedized electronics for 21 years in harsh environments. Fortunately, I didn't work on stuff that was shot at The idea was a fantasy anyway; I don't think the engine can compare the degree of wear on your gear and adjust how well you hear. A squealing sound would be most annoying.

I too have such experience. I worked in a US gov contracted radio plant. I literally made radio equipment for battle areas.

I still must disagree. I know football helmets are not really that similar to what a closed system military helmet standard would be allowed. Well, in the USA anyway. Why I do agree electronics are tricky to keep in good repair. If it would be allowed in a military helmet, it would be able to with stand shell shock to a certain degree. I honestly don't know the specific example of damage though it must pass. I just put them together. But I know there are certain standards of damage it must pass and still work.

I agree military battle helmets would be designed to higher standards. I don't personally envision most of the gear in the zone to be combat/battlefield grade gear. Some is, but much is just improvised gas masks. Again, it was basically a jest, not serious.

In your case, radios are designed to withstand moisture, a wide variety of temperatures, dust, and the worst case normal vibration. Aircraft/helo avionics have a tougher vibration standard and combat systems are often ruggedized to withstand varying degrees of EMP. I've never seen ballistics specifications, but like you said true combat helmets would have to be pretty robustly designed. That's part of why they are so darned heavy.

thanks jasper for: "The effects of medical, booster and anti-rad items are not cumulative. Wait until the first item's effects have stopped before using a second Stalker, or risk wasting those valuable resources."

if I remember back to my miserable beginings this would have been a lot of help, especially regarding anti rads and stamina boosts