Hal's Traders Overhauled mod for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl

At the time this mod was originally released in 2012, there were virtually no existing mods out there which improved on the trading system in Shadow of Chernobyl in a realistic and practical way, they were either lazy renditions of the original game's trader inventory, or they were outright cheats that unlocked all of the weapons and armor found in the game, and made them too easy to afford. After considerable frustration with the way the vanilla (original) game had played, I decided to create my own mod which would completely overhaul the traders and add more variety and immersion to the experience.

In the original unmodded game, the traders would always offer weapons and armor that you didn't need because you already had something better by the time they were unlocked. And it was hard to stock up on ammo because they would barely have any in stock, or even none at all. After weeks of thinking over how to balance the games trading system, I added and tested hundreds of new items, how much they would cost and sell for, and from whom specific items would be offered to make each trader in the game feel unique and worth the trip to visit more than once or twice. Traders now have a huge variety of items available, and none of their inventories are in any way similar. Prices, availability, and the value of items all vary greatly between each trader. However, it should be noted that the items which were added to the traders will not always be available, they are slightly randomized and the player may not always be able to find the specific suit/weapon they're looking for. In Hal's Traders Overhauled, the traders should now feel more unique, they buy and sell what they want based on how relevant the item is to them, and by the area that they are located in. The zone is now a much more economically diverse place for Stalkers from all walks of life.