STALKER Weather Overhauled mod for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl

Author: Trojanuch

Readme File:
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S.W.O. (S.T.A.L.K.E.R. WEATHER OVERHAULED) v2.2
Modification for 'S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl'
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General informations:
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Current version: 2.2.2
Last updated: 07.05.2008
Tested on Stalker Ver.: 1.0004, 1.0005, 1.0006 (all language versions)

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Credits:
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Trojanuch - author
Alex (aka Alexsoft) - 3d graphics advisory, BETA-testing
cmlPL - promotional movies creation
DC - BETA-testing
Decane - user.ltx advisory, BETA-testing
Gnomus - BETA-testing
Mr Fusion - sun_dir settings, general advisory, scripting (in future builds)

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What's new?
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Features:

- compatibilty packages for AMK v1.4 (incl. translated eng v1.x and v2.x series) and Oblivion Lost v2.0 (separate readme's in proper folders)

- new, completely overhauled weather settings for all outdoor game levels (full and unified cycle for Cordon, Garbage, Pripyat, Yantar, Dark Valley etc) making the game radically changed in its visual outcome.

- included Sky4CE SkyGraphics Mod v1.77 - introduced depth of field effect

- more detailed weather cycle, number of phases multiplied (there are more than 40 phases of the cycle, instead of vanilla 24) - a lot of 30 minutes and even 15 minutes phases (instead of commonly used 1h ones) to better reflect and control the subtle lighting weather changes

- cycle synchronized for Kiev, UK, 01.05.2012 (original idea by MrKlorox Badmagic and their DarkerNights mod, so credits for it go to them), timings takne by web calculators , accurracy - minute scale.

- new, sun-based lighting system which makes the game look much more like real-life. During the day the sun always gives at least some lighting, but the color, intensity of it and the way it transits form one setting to another is depended on the time, clouds, fog, angle etc.

- proper light and shadow balance. Shadows are properly desaturated and dark and accurately contrasted with areas lighted up by the sun.

- completely re-done sun and shadow positioning - shadows are realistically long and point to the proper direction. All this perfectly synchronized with time of day, geographical orientation (sun rises in the east and sets in the west) and visible sun position.

- visible sun travel "emulated" with proper sky texture transition and sky texture color settings

- realistic sunsets and sunrises

- effective, completely redone rain periods and thunder-storms

- included StalkerSkies and S.H.A.R.P.E.R.v95

- included thunder sounds by Darius6 and Hectrol, also reconfigured thunderbolts to make them more random and effective

- three optional night variations - darker, brighter and normal

- BETA FEATURE: added full weather cycle for all indoor game levels - so that you can see the proper weather trough all gaps, windows, holes etc.

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3rd party additions:
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- integrated StalkerSkies (by Combragol) - SS textures mixed with the vanilla ones to create the best sky transitions and sun travel possible
- clear weather in Yantar, dark valley, Pripyat, Stancia etc. - all of those use the same cycle as cordon, garbage etc. (original solution for this taken from Oblivion Lost Project by Kanyhalos)
- thunderbolt sounds (by Darius6)
- thunderbolt sounds (by Hectrol)
- s.h.a.r.p.e.r. v95 texture pack (by nocturnal)
- Sky4CE SkyGraphics Mod v1.78 (by Sky4CE)
- Nuclear Spring v1.0 (by SoundPath)

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Changelog:
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v1.1
- Fixed the issues with near objects in fog being transparent
- Fixed the issues with a lot of materials (like asphalt on roads) shining in sun
- Fixed the issue of the cycle being not synchronized with the summer time change in Ukraine (thx to yellow_helicopter)
- Some lighting settings tweaked and balanced
- Some thunderbolt settings tweaked
- Rain settings tweaked a lot
- Fog settings completely revamped - I try to use to reproduce the air perspective effect (the objects become a little blue and desaturated in distance)
- Added new thunderbolt sounds (by Darius6)
- Added detail (texturesdetail) textures from sharper v95 (by nocturnal)
- Added two optional editions - darker and brighter nights

v2.0
- Whole cycle redone from scratch - lighting have been toned, became more realistic
- Redone the sun-rises and sunsets - they are less dynamic but more realistic
- Attempt to fix all reported bugs - fog and material mostly
- Changed shader support for vanilla (dropped float32 for a while)
- Customized some of the sky textures (night one especially)
- Edited or created of more than 25 light-boxes (#small textures)
- Created 3 separate, custom user.ltx presets

v2.0 STATIC
- Very extensive tweaks to almost all aspects of weather and lighting (all phases almost completely redone)
- Most of the light-boxes redone form scratch
- 4 new custom user.ltx presets - dedicated for SL

v2.1
- Completely redone whole lot of settings in weather config, mostly concerning proper shadow colouring
- Completely redone and simplified all light-boxes - effect: more toned and realistic graphics
- Completely redone rain and storm periods - purpose: effectivity
- Re-added full 'Float32 support' (Float32 v2.0 included in the package)
- Recutted the 'recut' 'S.H.A.R.P.E.R. v95 Texture Pack'
- Added the comp-pack for olp v1.33 mod
- Repackaged the mod into two, convenient versions (including the SL edition)
- Fixed few glitches in user.ltx (like 'mouse lag' bug)
- Added '#extreme' preset for FDL (thx to Pixel)
- Redone the night optionals - increased the variety to four distinct versions

v2.2
- a lot of settings tweaked again - main purpose was to balance shadow colors and brightness
- nights presets revised - nights made generally more bright
- thunderbolts and storms completely revised - main purpose was to make the storm build-up more flouent and to make thunderbolts better match sound
- completely changed sun positioning (thx to Mr Fusion)
- fixed issue with sun_dir console calculations and log flood during nights (thx to Mr Fusion)
- BETA FEATURE: added full weather cycle for all indoor game levels - so that you can see the proper weather trough all gaps, windows, holes etc.
- added compatibility package for AMK 1.4
- added some new thunderbolt sounds (by Hectrol)
- added Sky4CE v1.77 shaders (by Sky4CE)
- user.ltx settings changed in order to make graphics a little more eye-candy

v2.2.1
- fixed rain timing problems for AMK 1.4 comp-pack
- fixed AMK 1.4 comp-pack for Static Lighting (thx to aydin)
- fixed ogg comments for thunder sounds by hectrol (thx to Shadow State)
- changed the sunset timings - the 'true' night begins later (thx to Eric the fish)
- added config presets for Sky4CE

v2.2.2
- fixed rain timing problems for regular SWO and OLP comp-pack
- added compatibility package for OLP (Oblivion Lost) v2.0
- added recutted Nuclear Spring texture pack (flora, material and ground textures only)
- added Sky4CE v1.78 shaders (by Sky4CE)

Changes in upcoming Builds:
- adding the proper moon-flare and moonlight for nights
- customizing and adding the full set of day-time sun flares

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Authors note:
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This mod started out as a little tweak to the weather cycle which was used in the Oblivion Lost mod. During my work on it I started to change more and more variables, replace the sky textures, create new periods and so on... At some point I decided to animate sunrises and sunsets. The effect is almost totally new cycle with almost everything customized in order to make the weather in STALKER the most realistic and eye-pleasing experience.
The feature which I am personally most proud of is the totally new lighting system - it is sun-based meaning that the only real source of light is the sun. As we all know the sun does not shine in the same way during the day - the light intensity, color, direction change dynamically as the sun makes it's voyage form east to west. Not to mention other factors such as clouds, fog, rain all those things have their role in the outcome of the light the sum gives.
My aim was too reproduce this effect in the Stalker world, to make the sun light realistically transformed during the whole cycle. If think I've managed to achieve this aim.
I hope you'll enjoy my mod and give me some feedback about it, so I can make the future versions even better. I also would like to thank all the ppl who tweaked the STALKER weather before me, I checked almost all the tweaks available before I embarked on creating my own. All of them had their role in inspiring me - and I would like to credit their authors for it. So please check the list of credits below.
At the end I would like to encourage you t post your comments, suggestions, observation - and generally feedback in the feedback thread - the link too which is in the bottom.
See you somewhere in the zone!

Pozdrawiam!
Trojanuch

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Thanks:
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- MrKlorox Badmagic authors of The Darker Nights - First Stalker weather tweak I can remember and I play this game form start
- Kanyhalos - OL custom weather and default cycle for all level integration
- Combragol - StalkerSkies creator
- Edomae - author of the great Realism Graphics Mod which inspired me and with which I spend many, many hours in the zone
- jjwalker - author of the mind-blowing Float32 shaders - must have for all FDL Stalker players!
- miraclefreak - author of the REAL ATMOSPHERE Patch for StalkerSkies
- All the ppl who gave me feedback on my mod after it's release - especially DC, Decane, derBaron, emace, Eric the fish, Gnomus, Groundhog, miraclefreak, powerslave, silverpower and yellow_helicopter
- Also I would like to thank ppl who uploaded my mod to various places and decided to host my mod. Credits for this goes to: Hoogim, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.(StalkerFiles), @LPKorn3324 (stalker.funday.pl)

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Installation Notes:
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I. FOR S.W.O.v2.2:

1. copy the gamedata from the [#1 - S.W.O.v2.2] > [#shared] folder to your main Stalker installation dir

2. choose the version of SWO that you want to use ([#FDL], or [#SL]) and copy the [gamedata] from the [#1 - S.W.O.v2.2] > [#optionals] > [#your choice] > [#base] folder to your main Stalker installation dir (this will give you SWO with #normal_nights preset)

3. OPTIONAL: copy over the [gamedata] from the [#night presets] > [#your choice] to your main Stalker installation dir (overwrite files when prompted) to change the outcome of nights

4. copy the included user.ltx of your choice from the [user.ltx_presets] folder into [documents and settings] > [all users] > [documents] > [stalker-shoc] (you will have rebind your keys and re-set other in-game settings after this)

5. OPTIONAL & RECOMENDED: copy over the [gamedata] from [#2_-_Sky4CE_MOD_v1.77] to your main Stalker installation dir (refer to the Sky4CE readme for details)

6. OPTIONAL: copy over the [gamedata] from [#3_-_S.H.A.R.P.E.R-Textures_v.0.95_RECUT] to your main Stalker installation dir

II. FOR S.W.O.v2.2.2 UPDATE:

1. install S.W.O.v2.2

2. copy the gamedata from the [#1 - S.W.O.v2.2.2] > [#shared] folder to your main Stalker installation dir

3. FOR #FDL ONLY: copy the [gamedata] from the [#1 - S.W.O.v2.2.2] > [#optionals] > [#FDL] > [#base] folder to your main Stalker installation dir

4. OPTIONAL & RECOMENDED: copy over the [gamedata] from [#2_-_Sky4CE_MOD_v1.78] > [#base] folder to your main Stalker installation dir (refer to the Sky4CE readme for details)

5. OPTIONAL: copy over the [gamedata] from [#2_-_Sky4CE_MOD_v1.78] > [#presets] > [#your choice] to change basic Sky4CE configuration

6. OPTIONAL: copy over the [gamedata] from [#4_-_Nuclear_Spring_v1.0_RECUT] to your main Stalker installation dir - to have new flora and envirnoment textures

FOR COMPATIBILITY PACKAGES:

pls refer to separate readme files available inside the comp-packs directories

NOTE:

if you did not install or use any mods previously - in the fsgame.ltx (main STALKER dir) change the first line into:

$game_data$ = true| true| $fs_root$|

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Technical notification:
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Compatibility with other mods:

- This mod should be compatible with any other mod that does not tweak the weather (ex. Faiakes MOD or Redux) - simply install S.W.O. as on 'pure Stalker'.
- If the mod changes the weather cycle in Stalker (but it does not make it chaotic, dynamic etc.), and you would like to use my settings instead, simply copy entire S.W.O over, overwriting all files (for ex. this method works for Priboy Story).
- If you use a mod that features chaotic weather (like ABC Inferno) - I don't know if it can be made compatible - didn't look in the matter so far (there is exception for OLP and AMK which are made compatibile using special compatibilty packages available inside S.W.O. package)

Game Performance:

- At the moment I don't know if this mod will slow the game down on weaker machines.
- For me it does not reduce FPS. Please choose the user.ltx preset and SWO edition (FDL or SL) according to your machine specs.
- Also since I changed the visibility and fog distance settings it can have some impact on AI detection behavior - I did not see this mod to cause any problems in this matter in vanilla and in few common mods (Redux, OLP) I tested it with, but - who knows.

Optionals:

- please choose the edition of 'S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Weather Overhauled' that you like most, you have two options: 'Full Dynamic Lightning' and 'Static Lightning'.
- please, always use one of the user.ltx presets enclosed with this mod, note that you will have to rebind your keys and re-set other in-game specific settings after replacing your user.ltx with one from the mod's package.
- Check out the '#addons' folder - you'll find OLP v1.33 and AMK v1.4 compatibility packages there

User.ltx Presets overview:* low-end - This one is based on "medium" in-game preset, the resolution is set to 1024, all settings set to give maximum performance.
* mid - Medium setting, based on the in-game "high" preset, 1024 resolution.
* hi-end - This one is designed to give the best visual quality, the in-game preset is maximum and the resolution is 1280. I have an average of 50 FPS on 8800GTS 640 with this one.- You can customize the presets from the mod’s package - but avoid using the in-game preset switch (medium, high, maximum etc.).

Static Lightning:

- The most important difference in this version is that the sun sets in the west and rises... in the west too :). This is because the shadows that outdoor objects drop are NOT DYNAMIC - these are shadow maps 'drawn' in the level. Those shadows always point to the east. Therefore the sun all the time has to shine from the west side of maps (although it changes in height)
- In addition to the above - you mat witness that the starry night sky gets is displayed in 180 degrees rotation after the night-time storm just before the sun-rise. This is because during the storm the I have to rotate the sky textures to get them 'ready' to display sun-rise on the west side (second such rotation takes place during day-time storm).
- Although this version is bug-less in most part there are some known issues I would like to mention here. Those include:- strange overbrightness on characters in various places (especially when you are standing on the edge of lighted up building).
- strange, very dark shadowing on characters - for example when you jump on top of the car-wreck in junkyard in Garbage - your character becomes dark- Again you have two nights variants: 'brighter' and 'darker' one. The [#darker nights] optional is more realistic - but CAUSES AN ISSUE with ground texture being invisible when lighted up by flashlight (you can only see a monochromatic surface instead of texture pattern). Use the [#brighter nights] optional to fix this (but at the cost of realism).
- Again I have prepared 4 different user.ltx presets - they are constructed in the similar way to their FDL counterparts. I tested them and #low-end version does not really look a lot-worse than #extreme - so don't worry.
- Finally - I wanted both editions of my mod to look similar in their 'style’ and I think that I've reached this goal. But ways to achieve it had to be TOTALLY different for FDL and SL. If you would like to see how much the settings must differ for both versions - try to run the S.W.O.v.2.0_SL in Full Dynamic Lighting

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Main discussion & feedback threads:
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[eng] GSC Forum:
Gsc-game.com

[pl] Stalker.pl Forum:
Forum.stalker.pl

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Release threads:
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GSC Forum:
Gsc-game.com

O-L.de Forum:
Board.oblivion-lost.de

Stalker.pl Forum
Forum.stalker.pl

Stalker.funday.pl Forum
Stalker.funday.pl

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MEDIA:
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Movies (by cmlPL):

Youtube.com - S.W.O.v2 Trailer (YouTube.com)
Youtube.com - S.W.O.v2 Trailer#2 (YouTube.com)

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Legal:
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For all cases of modyfying and including this mod please
contact me at: trojan158@poczta.fm

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created 07.05.2008 by Trojanuch
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