Call of Chernobyl: Ragnarok Stand Alone Extreme Graphics Update (Beta) file

Call of Chernobyl: Ragnarok Stand Alone Extreme Graphics Update

A stand alone version of Call of Chernobyl with a number of mods added, with an emphasis on better graphics for modern computers. It is not optimized for size or to run on computers in any way and is meant to modernize the graphics and gameplay with newer AI and weapons. It should be said that, it's somewhat in Beta and there are known issues, particularly in that the Tile-bump textures don't align perfectly and that for some unknown reasons due to various mods clashing, companions will unfollow you. I've decided since it will likely take me months to fix these issues, I'm going to go ahead and release the mod anyways.

It has new music, textures, shaders and other features designed to run on the new 64 bit engine, and features new HD models. It incorporates features and assets from numerous mods I've assembled in to one, and my own tweaks, however while it is not super buggy it has one major flaw in that companions will unfollow you at random, so the game is meant to be played solo. The game is meant to be a stand alone mod and can be played by itself without any need for adding it to your Call of Priypat folder. Just unpack the file with a zip folder and you should be good!

The Mod is meant as a precursor to another mod I'm working on, called Chernobyl: Ragnarok, which will include numerous previously cut factions from previous versions of the Stalker games focusing in part around the cut faction Ragnarok or Final Day, however this particular mod features little changes to the base Call of Chernobyl game. It is also is not entirely finished with a few textures out of place and an insane bug where companions unfollow you for no reason, that I am still working on and is likely due to a clashing mod somewhere. I have yet to finish it, but given that I've put this much work in to the mod I've decided to release it in a beta fashion. The game, in all honesty is heavily based around other mods, and in particular Max's Mod for call of Chernobyl. It should be noted that I created hardly anything for this mod and have copied all the textures and what have you from other mods or locations, so I don't take credit for owning ANY of this. I also have added large amounts of music that I myself did not create. I don't intend to sell it, and therefore it is not a copyright infringement. Most music is non-standard and parodies or altered forms of the original anyways.

The game features shaders, textures and models from HD CoC, Radiophobia, Call of Priypat Complete, and numerous other graphical updates I can't track down. It has many songs added, included some copyrighted that I don't intend to sell so it's not a copyright infringement and I don't take credit or ownership of them. It has HD models, and numerous bug fixes to reduce crashing as well as AI enhancement which makes fighting groups of enemies a lot more fun, and they randomly spawn in less. It takes longer for background functions to update, so it can take a while for enemies or traders to respawn with items. Weapons are rebalanced to be more powerful and don't heal the enemies with each shot like 1.4, with hits being a lot more likely to land. It also makes it easier to die. The economy has been reworked a lot, and it's not quite as buggy or tough as nails as the original, while still being easy to die A LOT even with full armor. You can wear helmets with most suits of armor, and they have all been weakened a bit to reflect that. Ammunition is cheaper and now stored in blocks of 60 to reduce how many background items there are and reduce slowing down the game, plus it's just faster and nicer. Exoskeleton weight is increased to 200 kilos, to reflect the ability to carry lots of weight and, let's face it most experienced stalker veterans increase player carry weight anyways as we've all been-there-and-done-that with stockpiling items. This gives a more fair limitation that is still just a bit annoying. Items like Hercules increase carry weight to 100 kilos, while water and energy drinks increase it by 20 kilos for a short duration. The game is tough, but it is fair, with radiation still being insane and anomalies able to kill you in a single hit even with full armor sometimes which is, yes just as annoying as the original.

The best way to understand the graphical updates is just to look at them! I haven't changed the background menu which is still not 4k, but I will in later updates, and the menu and credits songs are different. I added a lot of new music, including ambient music from half-life which fits extremely well. The only issue really is that some music is too loud sometimes and I've added tools to make it possible to adjust the sound volume of ogg files, just go to tools and use SAVandT. Another tool I added is crazybump, which allows you to make bump-textures for your own textures. I have yet to fix some texture files so, sorry about that, you won't notice it except for in the labs and right outside the duty base. I've included numerous screenshots and game files for you to get started with right away, or you can start from the beginning. All the graphical and game presets are already there to my liking, so be warned about that. It is not optimized in any way for older computers.

Known bugs
-Certain tile Textures don't align with their bump-textures correctly, and at least one brick texture. I've spent hours trying to fix this, too much time really and have decided to release it anyways. One day I will come out with a patch
-Companions unfollow you at random for no reason and especially on level changes or if you reload the game. I think it has something to do with them thinking they are a part of a squad as a result of a squad PDA mod, and it may not be fixable. However, I prefer to play with this version of the game even if that's the case as companions are kind of OP anyways. If playing without companions is an issue for you, this mod will not work, and it will potentially screw up companion quests if you die or leave, so be warned of that. I will release a patch in the future which may fix this issue, but it may take months of testing for me to figure out and I don't want to wait that long.
-Unload all weapons sometimes crashes the game, you really shouldn't use it but I left it in the game in case you can figure out how to work out the kinks
-The game is set on 4k from the beginning. If this crashes your game, then try lowering the graphics settings inside of the file. This may be hard for you to do and is a bit of an oversight by myself. The game is meant to be played on 4k and is meant for good computers, so be warned! It is not optimized in any way. Go to the users folder in appdata and change the user file feature "vid_mode 3840x2160" to "vid_mode 1920x1080" if your computer can't do 4k at all, or whatever graphics resolution you want.

Fixed bugs
-Fixed a number of crashing issues related to the force_wounded script that I fixed by adding in various scripts from other games, notably from Dr. X.
-Fixed issus and conflict issues from Outfit Marauders and got it to sync with Arsenal Overhaul

Features
-The game is based on Max's CoC mod, so it includes all of these features
-Updated Graphics and shaders (game is preset on ideal settings including 4K from the beggining)
-HD models for CoC
-New 64 bit engine that runs with more memory and textures
-Arsenal overhaul mod with new scope textures
-Outfit Marauders so enemies drop outfits
-Quick travel mod so you can quick travel between certain chosen locations
-Changed enemy AI so the fight in groups and don't spawn at complete random
-PDA displays squads like in Clear sky
-Trading is completely overhauled, and traders spawn in with more stuff
-Added in more artefacts and changed their features a bit, their drop rate is also increased
-Time is slowed down to about 5 times that of the regular game so you can enjoy the game more without extreme changes
-Door tweaks so they are easier to open and close and close faster
-Traders will buy gear on any condition, certain items work better and are modified, and gear has much higher durability
-No more toolkits for mechanics to upgrade
-Many more small Quality of life tweaks

I have to give credit to Max's CoC mod, Radiophobia, Call of Priypat remake, Complete, Anomaly, and numerous other mods I copied and ported stuff from. This is my series of mods and I really hope nobody sees me as a thief for stealing all my favorite features. Have fun, and be warned there are a few issues I have yet to resolve. If you fix it, please let me know so I can include it in the update.