Feedback #2...weapons derived from...questions... Thread - Old Good STALKER Evolution mod for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl

I've been working very hard lately, and I thought that I "deserved" a couple of hours of playing time with OGSE. Let's just say that those two hours grew into...four...and...more...and...DON'T tell my wife!

I was SO tense the entire time, that my elbows HURT from burying them into my old chair's armrests, and the same's true for my ankles (my legs were flexing that much as I played!). I actually feel like I did an ACTUAL patrol in The Zone. Folks, this is no easy feat, especially after the number of times I've tested for various mods the regions of Cordon, Garbage, Agroprom, Agroprom Underground, and Bar. The changes that you made kept me on my feet like no other. Not once could I relax. The psychic attacks kept me on my toes, as did the new psi-blind-dog. Man, I was NOT expecting that at all---I thought it was just another blind dog, but I learned pretty quickly that my assumption was a big mistake. Its translucent glow effect was pretty cool, as it seemed to resemble its central nervous system - if that is what was intended, then congratulations to whoever thought of the concept (I'd push the details a bit further that way to make it a bit more obvious).

Alright, enough of the praise. Here are the issues that I found (just what you wanted, right?):

Hand grenades of any sort would NOT work in Garbage. I didn't think about trying out a VOG through the grenade launcher of my AK. My grenades worked fine before Garbage, and after, and even after I reentered Garbage from Agroprom. It was during the first trip through Garbage that they weren't usable at all - I couldn't even select them by dragging them to my hand inside my Inventory user interface. I seem to remember this happening as well for the LoNer1's Particle Paradise mod.
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Long-dead corpses still remain, even though all the others have been moved/eaten. I'm pretty sure that all of these long-dead corpses are ones that play some role in advancing the storyline - is there any way to remove them?
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The Clear Sky suit (the one with the full helmet) seems like its textures aren't yet finished. The details are quite plain, and surface effects, like gloss and shine, are noticeably missing from the helmet, especially its lenses.
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For some reason at the Agroprom Research Institute, there was an automatic triggering of loading of my last autosave, which was made when I was still in the Underground. I did NOT press any kind of "Save" or "Load" key to trigger this. It only happened to me once, thankfully.
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When I first approached Agroprom, I climbed a ladder to survey the compound's yard for enemies. Just as I got to the top of the ladder, a blowout started. What i saw when I looked down were two assemblages of soldiers, all of which were looking at the building that Mole was in. They were frozen in place, in spite of the blowout. I'm assuming that they were programmed to go into the room where Mole was located, but couldn't because he was still in there, waiting for me to rescue him. My advice would be to supply an alternate blowout shelter for the soldiers to run into should the even occur (there is that large, double-door wide entrance right off of the yard that would be perfect for them to use). Since they were stuck where they were at, I was able to kill most of them with three frags. The survivors were disorganized enough that I could make a mad dash for the floor where Mole was at, and then simply wait as the blowout cooked the survivors. VERY lucky timing on my part, but way too easy considering the circumstances.
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The PPSh-41 doesn't "remember" the last ammo type that was loaded into its chamber. It seems especially fond of not remembering that it has armor piercing ammo loaded up inside of it.
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SUGGESTIONS:
Supply an option in the Configurator user interface for tracers. Allow several options that would be:
(1) No tracers
(2) No tracers except for machineguns
(3) Orange-red colored tracers
(4) Yellow-green colored tracers

I can't give specifics here, but I strongly suggest getting a hold of LoNer1 to find out what he's been able to achieve with tracers. It's some pretty amazing stuff.
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There was a build of SuperMod that I played that removed a number of the barriers that existed as roadblocks in the game, especially the one under the railbridge at Cordon. It took me seven tries before I could get that piece of crap car over the railroad tracks where it's highly radioactive, but what a pain that was to do! So now I can drive from one military checkpoint to the railbridge, get out and transfer items to the other vehicle (either the car or BMP), and then to the other side of the map. It sure would be nice just to be able to cruise it from one end to the other.
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Increase the carrying capacity of items for the BMP. It's way too low at 100 kg. Cars seem too low as well. That said, if I vehicle is irreparible, and on its "last legs," then its carrying capacity should be scaled to that vehicle's condition. Healthier vehicles can thus carry more.
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When held in the hands, have the artifacts appear as they do as when they're on the ground. The big plain sphere is pretty boring to look at, and breaks the sense of immersion. I have a separate thread mentioning this already, but place it here so it doesn't get "lost."
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Weapon Development and Smuggling random missions:
I'll expound on this further in a later write up, but it's basically centered on some of the concepts that I proposed to LoNer1 a long ways back:
Moddb.com

There are a lot of posts there by me (which, not to blow my horn too loudly, I feel are unique, captures one's imagination. and definitely would fit well within the STALKER universe), and I'll leave it up to you whether or not you want to read through them all right now. The reason why I bring up these concept proposals by me is because I can see that the team has also thought similarly in regards to altering the mutants of The Zone, to expand their variety and capabilities. The ones that I proposed in the above link are largely confined to zombies, which I feel are "fine" as they are in the OGSE already (don't get rid of them!), but could certainly benefit from being given not only a new appearance, but new powers as well. The zombies I proposed had powers directly related to the anomalies that we routinely encounter throughout The Zone, tying them into the land, and also supplying a much greater sense of the workings of the C-Consciousness.

In any case, I proposed that their organs could be harvested, and if left near an anomaly, transformed even further into a new type of artifact. Whether transformed or not, the organ/new artifact could be converted into different types of weaponry with all kinds of wicked ways of dispatching and injuring the enemies (my favorite is the ammo that substantially "jerks" the target's body into a random direction - particularly "fun" if they're on an elevation). Why not do something similar for OGSE? In fact, an entire series of "never-ending" missions could be focused on exploiting the new weaponry, and/or preventing its creation and trade. I throw this out now so it can be thought upon, but I've really thought this through in the past, and since the above post, and I'd be happy to share those details with the other teammates.

In the case of the new psy-blind-dog, an example could be that its cerebral cortex is harvested, refined into a powder which is then combined with the refined organs of an electro-empowered mutant (perhaps a "Charged One" zombie from the above post?). This is setup as a VERY expensive grenade which does very little physical damage when it explodes, but anyone caught in it has ONE specific thought-identifier REVERSED. That identifier? Friend-Enemy. Everyone who is one's enemy is now perceived as a friend, and any friend is perceived as an enemy. However, this weapon isn't foolproof. Everyone that's caught in the weapon's radius KNOWS that they suffered some kind of psychic attack, so they're always actively FIGHTING what they're perceiving. Thus if they're struck by a cheap version of the grenade, there's only a 50% chance of having their thought-identifier reversed, and even for those that are now an enemy, they're uncertainty is affecting their aiming capabilities, which are reduced by 50% of the starting value. The middle-grade grenade has a 70% chance of being successful, and one's aiming capabilities are lowered by 30% of the starting value. The high-grade grenade has a 85% chance of reversing one's perceptions, and the aiming skills are reduced by only 10% of the starting value. Their comrades who were not caught by the psychic effect will NOT immediately start attacking them, but will attack the affected after two of their members have been slain (the first one killed could've been a tragic "friendly fire" incident). The length of the psychic-infection is based on the quality of grenade, Cheap=30 sec. (with a "mental check" being done every 10 seconds, if successful, the target STOPS attacking his target), Medium=45 sec. (mental check every 15 sec.), and High=1 min. (mental check every 20 sec.).
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Questions:
Do vehicles have a greater likelihood of exploding the more explosives they carry? If so, that's a really nice and believable touch.

Is there a way to repair damaged vehicles?

What does "habar" mean?

What does "Quad" mean? Is it a misspelling of "Squad?"
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Thanks again for hard work. I haven't played a game with this much enthusiasm since "Star Wars Knight of the Old Republic." Yes, OGSE is that good.

Good Night!
Kyle

Mar. 4, 2012

Don't have time now to read all in details, sorry, but the following strikes my eyes

Someone wrote: Hand grenades of any sort would NOT work in Garbage.

That's impossible. I could assume the A-Life in your game hanged. In this case hand grenades can be thrown but they do not explode; also you can't use your sleeping bag, radio, guitar, etc. But as it seems to me you are just encountering one of the thousand little bugs of original game: from time to time you can not switch to grenades. What to do? All STALKER fans almost unconsciously hide any weapon they hold in their hands, press 6 to take bolt, then hide it and press 4 to use hand grenades. That's all. Please try it.

Edited by: SimplyYuri

Someone wrote: press 6 to take bolt, then hide it and press 4 to use hand grenades

If all it takes to "fix" the "no-grenade" bug is to pull out one's bolts, then I'm more than happy to give a try. I'll be upset with myself if that's all there ever was to addressing this bug. Ah well, better to learn late in life than never.

I'll thank you in advance for your advice, as it sounds like you know what you're talking about.

Hi, that's me again!
Ok, nobody's going to inform your wife about anything! We certainly have a "Hush!-Hush!" treaty supplied with the mod.
Long-dead corpses will be seen to in the following versions. Nobody expected the vanilla game to become something more than a "one-time walkthrough", so the GSC / THQ did not care about removing them. We shall, I hope.
The auto-load error... Eh! It's the first time I hear anything like that!
I think some work is going to be done to avoid story-line performances (like saving Mole, Kruglov, helping Bullet, etc.) to be broken by Blowout.
PPSh problem noted and will be suggested for testing. We'll see to it.
Barriers from under the Cordon bridge and many other levels have already been removed in 0693.
Regarding new mutants' abilities and powers... Well noted. Let's wait a bit - maybe you find something more in the game and have more ideas

I don't think the cars' explosiveness has anything to do with the items in the trunk as for now. Maybe the feature is implemented some day, but I'm not sure.
The only way to repair damaged vehicles is by means of repair kits (not something special - same as used for outfit and weapons)
"Quad" and "habar"... Haven't these terms been used in the vanilla game? I've just checked it: "habar" has been used (at least 5 times in description of various stash contents).
"Habar" is a term used among stalkers; synonyms: stuff, items, supplies, goodies, valuables; mostly it means something valuable, that a trader is likely to buy gladly. Stalkers can say "habar" about just anything that has been acquired in the Zone - artifacts, parts of mutants, ammo, weapons, outfit, etc. E.g. "I have a secret place nobody else knows - I use to store some habar for a rainy day there: an AK with 5 boxes of APs, some medkits and antirad, food supplies and a couple of rare artifacts." Another one: "A loner came back from a deep raid. Man! If I had half of the habar he brought to the trader, I'd be a wealthy man far from this damn Zone! A couple of "Night Stars", a "Soul", 3 "Moonlights" and a SEVA outfit!"
As for "quad": yeah, it has much to do with "squad", but it is not a mistake. It means a "squad, consisting of four Dutyers" and is used only by dutyers.

And I want to add that such words as "habar" and "stalker", and also many anomalies names - even the phenomenon of the Zone itself - were taken from the famous Sci-Fi book "Пикник на обочине", written in the early 70s by the Strugatsky brothers. You can read about it here: En.wikipedia.org

Edited by: SimplyYuri

Thanks (again) for the feedback guys.

I am SO relieved to read that enough of the obstacles are being moved away to allow easier passage of vehicles from the end of one side of a map to another.

A little while ago I brought up to derranged of the True Zone Projects the idea of randomly altering the map every time one reenters it so that tactical options are altered to keep the area from becoming too predictable. My suggestions were to have doors and windows randomly opened/closed, and to randomly spawn debris like fallen trees (when they "disappear" next time it's due to it being chopped up for firewood), broken down vehicles, and the like. Even a set of randomly placed small defensive positions of semi-organized sandbags could be easily explained when it "disappears" from where it was because it wasn't needed any longer. A tow truck could also be placed to help cement in the Player's mind how these things can so quickly come and go (the tow truck would look functional, but the Player could be denied access to it because the keys aren't in the ignition).

In regards to the word "habar..."
---I have to laugh!

Filon, as soon as you said "habar=stuff" something rattled DEEP inside my brain. My brain said, "That's not an English term, but..." I did a keyword search. It's most likely a German-derivative. See near the bottom of here if you wish: Dictionary.reverso.net

So, I don't know how many tens of thousands of English players have played the game, but whenever one of us read "habar" most of us had no "for sure" idea as to what was meant. At least I wasn't alone in my confusion! If I'm going to make a mistake, then I certainly want others around me who are ALSO making the same mistake. Especially if my wife's around.

Someone wrote: As for "quad": yeah, it has much to do with "squad", but it is not a
mistake. It means a "squad, consisting of four Dutyers" and is used only
by dutyers.

That's VERY good to know. I've put it as a note that's sticking to the side of my monitor, so that the first time that term is encountered, I'll write a little explanation so that it makes better sense. I'll point out that a "quad" is a four-man element of Duty members.

I'm currently TRYING to finally read the now-classic novel known here as "Roadside Picnic." Work is crushing me right now, as are real life concerns (I'm selling artwork and prints at a small Arts and Crafts show this weekend), plus my desire to play more of the mod that just elevates STALKER to a whole new level, as well as polishing up the Russian-English translation. Oh, and I have two darling kids to raise too (they're "kind of" hard to "forget!").

If I only had MORE time!

Thanks again for giving me greater clarity. The information you provided will prove to make the translation better.

Good night and good day!

It is my pleasure to help you, just as you are helping us! Feel free to contact me regarding any questions regarding the translation - I'll be glad to help.
As for the randomly placed obstacles: unfortunately, the game engine has not been intended for such things You see, all mutants and NPCs don't actually "see" obstacles - it is the AI-map that determines if they can go this or that way. So, if an obstacle is added randomly, the NPCs and creatures will keep going through it, because the AI-map is still present there. It looks terrible. But there has been a different idea of how to make the Zone more random and dangerous
As for sandbags and alike stuff: the Team's concept regarding the Zone is "minimized presence of humans". Because it doesn't make sense that a guarded area is crowded with factions that look much like private armies, with hundreds of loners seeming to come into and out of the Zone freely, many of them being equipped with million-dollar exos and precious guns No bloody faction wars will ever be present in the Mod.

Someone wrote: Feel free to contact me regarding any questions regarding the translation - I'll be glad to help.

Good to know. Will do!

Someone wrote: But there has been a different idea of how to make the Zone more random and dangerous

One way to make The Zone more dangerous is to TEASE another teammate about something that you KNOW and then NOT state what it is YOU know. You're evil man. Evil !!!

I can't wait to be surprised by it.

Someone wrote: No bloody faction wars will ever be present in the Mod.

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At first I was like, "What, NO faction wars?" But I love them!
But then I was like, "Wait a minute, Filon's explanation makes a lot of sense..."
And then I was like, "Yeah, that makes a TON of sense. I like how these guys think!"

I can't find any holes in the team's logic in regards to not having large scale, multi-million dollar "soldiers" battling it out in the midst of another sovereign nation's territorial borders. Especially when that sovereign nation's ALREADY occupied by Russian military forces. Only smaller scale infiltrations could be possible since the region's borders are heavily guarded, and that has to be true for anti-aircraft weaponry as well.

Okay, I can't argue with the logic of that, but...are there large scale invasions of Russian forces into The Zone? That makes sense to me as well, and it would make sense that under such conditions that the factions might temporarily unite together against their common oppressor. Or...are there logical reasons for why the Russian forces don't do large-scale operations into The Zone? When I think about it, the value of the artifacts, greatly inflated through a militarily controlled black market, would supply plenty of reasons for why The Zone's inhabitants aren't rubbed out altogether, especially if, in the end, the majority of the artifacts and treasures end up in Russian officials' hands anyway. "Let the scumbag stalkers do all of the miserable hard work for us, as long as we get the majority of the plunder" type of attitude.

Do you already have an explanation for this written, or...?

Edited by: Kyle_K_ski

Kyle_K_ski wrote: Especially when that sovereign nation's ALREADY occupied by Russian military forces.

No, no, no. No Russian military forces. It is Ukraine and the army is Ukrainian. Just remember that the Russian is the common language for many nations

Yes, I know that Russian is a "mother-tongue" to many nations, but the center of my apparent confusion is this...

Here, in the U.S., there is a perception that the Ukrainian government is not "really" in charge, but rather that its policies are largely dictated from Moscow. My reference to the Russian forces stems from that point of view, which I freely admit may be largely, if not entirely, in error.

I've already spoken in some detail with KamikaZzeRu in regards to a number of points of what is "fact" versus fiction-driven-by-government propaganda. So I need clarity here. I'm happy to receive your insights.

Please check your Private Messages (I'll need perhaps a half an hour for it to be written from the posting of this reply).

Kyle_K_ski wrote: Here, in the U.S., there is a perception that the Ukrainian government is not "really" in charge, but rather that its policies are largely dictated from Moscow.

It's a lie as usual But I think we talk about STALKER, not about politicians full of deceit