Re: S.T.A.L.K.E.R Remastered

On Tue, 20 May 2025 19:15:01 -0600, "rms"
<rsquiresMOO@MOOflashMOO.net> wrote:

It's nice that they gave this 'legendary' edition to existing users,
but the general opinion is: skip the enhanced version and play the
original with mods. It's definitely not worth /buying/.

>
  Agree on all points, alas.  I played SoC through again recently with the
XRP(?) mod pack and enjoyed it well enough, with a simple install howto from
a youtube video.  It was still the same ole game though, no remaster will
change that.

So, since I got it free I just HAD to see what the "enhanced" version
had to offer. I flipped a coin* to pick between the three games, and
"Call of Pripyat" was the chosen game. A quick install later and...

Honestly, I couldn't tell the difference.

I think the options menu has fewer choices in video configuration? The
water effects might be a bit shinier too. But everything else
looked... well, OLD. When "Call of Pripyat" came out in 2009, it was
already a bit behind the curve visually, and this 'enhanced' version
didn't seem to improve anything. The models -guns, buildings, people-
were all as blocky as I remember, and the textures... well, maybe
there was a bit of upscaling? It was so hard for me to see any changes
I literally had to alt-tab out to make sure I had was running the
"enhanced edition" and not accidentally installed the original.

I didn't stick with the game very long --I wasn't really in the mood
for STALKER-- so maybe there's more improvements down the line. But
the first impression was very unfavorable. I'm glad I didn't have to
pay for this, and I'm sorry if anyone actually bought it.

The modded versions are so much nicer.











* heads: "Shadows of Chernobyl"; tails: "Call of Pripyat", lands on
edge: Clear Skies... because nobody wants to play "Clear Skies"