The Eternal Suffering mod for S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat

Micro development report for autumn, 2023.
(We sorry for the technical glitch (duplication of news).
For this we will add one more point at the beginning of the post:

0. Added "pistol build" (the ability to use pistols in all weapon slots). Beta tests have shown that more pistol cartridges accumulate on the first tier (from caches) than are consumed. Unfortunately, “shooting Macedonian style” is not provided:

The first seven points make the game much easier. They were implemented based on feedback from several streamers from the first beta tests.

1. 1^st tier plot was corrected. Plot quests and difficulty in general were made significantly easier:

— the number of enemies at Cordon and Swamps territories has been reduced, their rank and weapons strength have been decreased;

— strong mutants were removed from the Cordon at the very beginning of the game; they appear after moving from tier 0 to tier 1;

— the first Controller in the Swamps has been significantly weakened; in fact, this is a sub-controller with an aura weaker than the normal Tier 1 Controllers have;

— the first finding a psionic mutant in the Swamps was moved from the first visit to the Swamps to the time after the fight with the first Controller;

— the quest to rescue Shustry (Sidorovich’s agent) has been removed from the plot storyline into an optional one as difficult (it takes place entirely in the underground facilities without the possibility to save).

2. Single loot boxes with very rich random content (usually ammo, medical kits, boosters, artifact-shells), useful for playing on a high difficulty economy (usually even richer than the dead “Seekers’” caches) have been added to each location.

3. The likelihood of weapon misfires has been reduced, now their possibility is shifted towards the worser weapon condition.

4. Portable “cleaning kits” for slightly worn weapons (no worse than 90%) “in the field”, without visiting a technician (these are not the repair kits that restore from 76% or more) have been approved.

5. A lot of gameplay tips have been added in the form of game dialogs, tutorials and instructions, notes in the PDA encyclopedia for novice players who are little familiar with the hardcore mode; two hundred actual tips have been written, they are shown when loading a saved game. Following them will save you from many mistakes.

6. It was decided to make the experience subtracting when saving system (“hardcore mode”) optional on difficulty levels up to “master”. At the “legend” level, it will be impossible to disable this parameter. Let us remind you: on the 1^st tier when this mode is on, 4 experience points will be deducted for each save (points number increases with each tier). It has not yet been decided what content will be added to players who have completed the game in hardcore mode.

7. The main character receiving damage animation (its screen effect) has been enhanced to an acceptable level. Damage effects do not make you helpless as before. Screen swinging due to the Controller's psi-aura exposure has been slightly reduced.

8. An old bug (still from GSC) of aura growth has been eliminated. Now the aura damage increases very smoothly without jumps along the entire radius as you approach the monster. The correction is also important because mutants with auras have been added to TES.

9. A damage sequence scheme has been approved (different from LADCE). Fixed an old bug with protecting the suit using protecting tablets; the aerosol will be separated and, possibly, used in the future as an independent powerful booster/protector.

10. Fire Poltergeist attack frequency has been increased; auras have been added to the Pyromancer and Inductor.

11. Software tools to speed up the quests creation several times were developed, which already speeds up the story lines and quests writing.

12. The idea of rare, unique and legendary mutants is being discussed: they will be similar to ordinary ones, but have additional or completely different abilities and increased HP.

— Rare mutants will strengthen the gulags of ordinary ones (1-2 per location).

— Unique - very rarely found far from roads and people, as well as in previously explored dungeons, included in the plot story line.

— Legendary mutants will be encountered no more than 1-2 times per game and will become a real challenge for any master.

An approximate list of their types and abilities has been compiled. They are supposed to give significantly more experience and a 100% chance of getting unique body parts for transmuting special artifacts.

13. The concept of mutants’ armor has been revised. Large, powerful species will receive armor, which will require armor-piercing ammunition to shoot them. New types of ammunition for different shooting ranges and weapons have been introduced for balance.

14. All ammo packs were retextured. Textures are clearer and more readable from a distance.

15. Now the already approved plot of Tier 2 is being programmed.

16. A lot of minor UI bug fixes, such as:

— turning on the NVD without a flashlight (previously this was impossible); separate NVD power supply from a battery;

— fixed instantaneous loss of a quarter of the new flashlight charge;

— accidental (erroneous) inserting the battery into a completely new flashlight is excluded;

— added switching off the NVD built into the binoculars, so that it does not become blind during the daytime;

— now, when switching to an optical sight, the NVD built into the helmet is automatically switched off;

— the NVD status is preserved when loading a saved game;

— change in the psi-helmet status: now it will not interfere with wearing regular helmets.

We have done a lot of work and will try not to slow down.
There is a group for quick feedback in Telegram,
and you can help financially by becoming our patron.