This is a diary about STALKER: Call of Pripyat. There aren’t really any plot or story spoilers here; I’ve done my best to be generic in terms of describing this particular situation I found myself in. There are some details about some of the gameplay features of the STALKER games, such as Emissions, and some notes on enemy AI.
The STALKER games have something called Emissions. In Call of Pripyat (I never played Clear Sky, so I don’t know if it’s the same), Emissions are dramatic atmospheric events that occur once a day in the Zone, unleashing incredible amounts of radiation, killing anyone slow or foolish enough to be caught outside and unprotected. As if the game doesn’t brutally kill you enough without adding RADIOACTIVE ULTRA-DEATH FROM GOD.
When an Emission is brewing, the sky clouds over, thunder roars and lightning strikes, and a radio broadcast tells all Stalkers to get to cover. You’re given a few minutes to find cover, but it’s not clearly explained what constitutes “cover”, so the first time I was warned that an Emission was headed my way (I was outdoors), I hid inside a steel cargo container and wound up getting fried to death.
Only later I discovered that when an Emission is imminent, getting to cover is treated like a side-mission: your map will show you the nearest spot of cover, and when you’re safely in cover, the game will let you know with a message. If you step out before the Emission is over, you’ll get another message telling you to find cover again (or you’ll die and it won’t matter).
These Zone-wide Emissions serve two purposes. First, they repopulate anomalous areas with new artifacts (valuable, mysterious trinkets you can collect or sell), meaning even if you’ve looted a particular location before you’ll be able to find artifacts there again.
The second purpose of Emissions is to make a completely awesome big-ass gunfight between warring factions COMPLETELY MORE AWESOME.
To relate: I’m traveling around with a handful of friendly NPCs, when we spot a few members of an enemy faction amidst a cluster of decaying buildings. We shoot them down easily enough, not realizing that many, many more are just around the corner. Gunfire fills the courtyard, and one-by-one, my fellow Stalkers abandon me and join the new, extremely popular faction of No Longer Being Alive. I’m scurrying around, alone now, trying to get the drop on the handful of remaining enemies. I’m wounded, low on health kits, and worst of all, out of ammo for my scoped rifle. All I have left are shottie shells, and plenty of them, but I can’t get close enough to use them because the enemy keeps spotting me across the courtyard and driving me back with their ranged weapons.
I’m pinned down, basically. They’re not advancing on me, they’re just waiting for me to pop my head up. I can’t even loot my fallen comrades without bullets whistling past my head. I’m just squatting here, unhappy, contemplating the only effective weapon I have left: the well-worn “reload last save” button.
Then, the radio warning. Emission detected. Get to cover.
I check my PDA. The nearest cover is in a building across the yard. Also across the yard: a bunch of enemies pointing their guns at me. Oh what the fuck. Do I need this right now?
At least the enemy Stalkers have to find cover, too, meaning they’ll have to give up their advantageous posts and perches. I quickly skirt the courtyard. No gunfire: they must be scrambling to get to safety. In the shoddy shell of the building I’m in, I find steps up to a second floor walkway, scuttle across it, slip down some stairs into the enemy’s building, and find what appears to be the nearest acceptable cover I can reach: a small alcove under the concrete steps on the ground floor. I crouch, crab-walk in, and wait.
Between the rumbles of the Emission gathering strength, I hear some faint, shuffling footsteps. Moving toward me. Enemy AI in STALKER isn’t the best, but at least it’s not psychic like you see in a lot of other games. If your enemy loses sight of you, they lose sight of you. They don’t automatically know where you are. If you stay hidden and don’t make too much noise you can often escape or get the drop on them again.
Case in point, this poor dope who appears to be trying to slowly squeeze his way into my hiding space. Hi there. Have you met my friend, Shotgun Blast To The Head?
Long minutes pass while the radioactive storm goes overhead. My HUD shows my enemy count drop from four to three: I think one of them might have been caught outside and cooked in his suit. Thanks, helpful Emission! And thanks again, because I’m actually in a great spot now: behind enemy lines, wall at my back, in close-quarters with a shottie full of buck. I hear more shuffling and some voices as the enemy agents start to trickle out of their hidey-holes. Someone slowly starts walking down the steps I’m hiding under, muttering to himself in Russian. I creep out and wait for him to appear. If you think he was surprised to see me, well, you’re wrong, because he didn’t see me, because I shotgunned him in the back. Howdy ho!
I wait a few more minutes but don’t hear anything else. My HUD indicates there are two more Stalkers in the vicinity, but I don’t know where. I get restless and start creeping around. Spotting a downed sniper, I move toward him to collect his ammo, walking through a doorway just as another guy is creeping out of it.
It is not a proud moment for either of us as we bump into each other and frantically empty our guns in what can only be described as a “frenzy of missing everything.” I’m so jarred and startled and freaked out that when he finally goes down I kept shooting and shooting and shooting and shooting until my shotgun is empty. I crouch in the corner for another few minutes, listening to my heart pound and catching my breath. Finally, I sack up and collect the ammo I need for my rifle.
Only one enemy left on my HUD counter, no idea where. I creep around for a few minutes. This guy is dug in, not moving, not talking. Gotta be a sniper. I start scanning windows and ledges, hoping to spot him before he lets some sunlight into me. As I carefully exit the building, I look directly up over my head. There, barely visible on the roof several floors up is the barrel of a rifle, pointing out. Hey, bro.
I walk slowly backwards out into the yard, scoped in, as his body slowly starts appearing in my sights. As his head becomes visible to me, so does mine to him. We both fire simultaneously. Only he falls.
It’s over. Despite the odds, I survived, and all it took was a little luck, a few shotgun shells, and my little ace in the hole: a massive unholy irradiated tempest that blights the land and destroys all in its path.
38 Comments
February 16, 2010
I remember loving Shadow Of Chernobyl but disliking Clear Sky because it ran like crap on my computer. You make Call of Pripyat sound like Shadow Of Chernobyl is with mods, which means that GSC must’ve learned SOMETHING from the large modding community that’s been growing.
February 16, 2010
@Ryan Fry
The new STALKER is in technical terms definitely the high point. No crashes, very few bugs (I’ve run into two after 10hrs… amazing!) and a very steady framerate that doesn’t collapse if you turn on the good settings.
Great fun too, definitely a return to form. Lots of incredibly tense areas.
February 16, 2010
Hmm. I have CoP but haven’t installed it yet. (I’m currently busy with original Far Cry.) I’ll definitely have to try it out soon!
February 16, 2010
Awesome, sounds like the STALKER game I always wanted to play. Just have to find a way to tear myself away from BioShock 2, Mass Effect 2 and Supreme Commander 2.
February 17, 2010
I loved the two previous STALKER games and just got CoP today. Hope you post more adventures in the Zone!
February 17, 2010
S:COP sounds like a lot of fun. And it’s good to see you actually write something.
February 17, 2010
STALKER games have the power to make people live incredibles adventures. And being told the stories of these adventures by friends has been one of the best para-gaming experience I’ve experienced.
That’s why I bought STALKER in the first place. Now, thanks to you, I must have CoP.
February 17, 2010
That sounds awesome, brb buying the game.
February 17, 2010
This post makes me want to a) buy this game and b) say “sack up” a lot.
February 17, 2010
At first glance I am reminded of Metal Gear Solid
Jess
http://www.privacy-tools.de.tc
February 17, 2010
Yeah, if I didn’t have so many unplayed games I’d pick this up immediately, by Steam sales and a lack of free time have meant that I have a fair few other games to finish first.
Anyway, great to see some new stuff.
February 17, 2010
Very nice post! I didn’t make it very far through Shadows of Chernobyl and only briefly thought about getting S:CP, but I think I will now.
Very entertaining and well written post!
February 17, 2010
I played the original STALKER and now I’m thinking of picking up CoP. It sounds excellent. :D
February 17, 2010
Man, now I’m going to have to install Stalker, which I bought but never played. I also still need to beat: GTA4, Borderlands, Dragon Age, and Torchlight. Not to mention that all my free time is sucked up by TF2 and Oblivion…
February 17, 2010
I never played Clear Sky, and I haven’t bought Pripyat yet, but the first STALKER game was absolutely amazing. I’ve never played a game that you can lose yourself so easily in. I used to just pass the nights sitting around a fire with some other Stalkers at the bar area, just chatting in a language I don’t understand and listening to some guitar.
Dammit, now I have to install it again. Thanks, Chris.
February 17, 2010
Some observations:
Clear Sky, not Clear Skies. By the way, people, you can skip this one. The other 2 games are miles better.
I’m pretty sure emissions are called blowouts. In either case, they aren’t radioactive in nature, instead basically frying your mind (think of the Brain Scorcher if you’ve played ShoC). You can acquire medications in the game that allow you to survive one blowout in the open by making certain functions of the brain numb even if you have the worst armour in the game.
There is a fucking huge spoiler here, as well. The stalker shooting at Chris in the second picture will have a familiar look to anyone who’s played the other 2 games up to a point, and those of you who have should know pretty well how important to the story they are. Especially in this game after ShoC’s good ending.
That’s about all. CoP is good, buy it.
February 17, 2010
What a great account of events, enjoy your writing style. Looking forward to reading more. ^_^
February 17, 2010
I was holding off on making this purchase, but thanks to this article I just ordered a copy for myself and a friend.
February 17, 2010
Holy crap, a new post! You know, I really did give up on you Chris for awhile.
Anyways, at least this STALKER is better than “Shadow of Chernobyl”.
February 17, 2010
I lost interest in SoC really quickly because it glitched up beyond repair in my game, but what I absolutely loved was the extremely tense firefighting. Hiding in a house waiting for 14 army-trained soldiers to come in was the most thrilling gunfight I’ve ever had (in a game, mind you), and if this is a less buggy experience, I smell a purchase.
February 17, 2010
BLOWOUT SOON FELLOW STALKER
When?
NOW
February 17, 2010
Wow, that really makes me want to get this game. Good little story there.
February 17, 2010
Just got the game, agree that it is better than SoC in all respects except for one: GSC put a lot more work into making the English version of the game, meaning that almost all of the stalkers speak in english now instead of just the major plot ones. To me the game loses a little of its atmosphere when a Stalker says “Hey, Holster that weapon buddy” instead of “скройте ваше оружие!!”
also I vote “ALLLLOOOOOOHAAAAA!!” as the new “I said come in, don’t stand there!!” for annoying repeated phrase
February 17, 2010
I really enjoyed this post. It was quite exciting and got me interested in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series. It may have convinced me to look into buying it.
We’ll see.
February 17, 2010
Well, I started playing SoC. It’s pretty good.
February 17, 2010
Well, I went and bought CoP after reading this (horrah for the loyalty discount) - I had some awesome (near death) experiences in SoC, so I’m assuming this will be just as good.
February 17, 2010
RADIOACTIVE ULTRA-DEATH FROM GOD.
Bwahahah
February 18, 2010
RADIOACTIVE ULTRA-DEATH FROM GOD.
RADIOACTIVE ULTRA-DEATH FROM GOD.
RADIOACTIVE ULTRA-DEATH FROM GOD.
RADIOACTIVE ULTRA-DEATH FROM GOD.
RADIOACTIVE ULTRA-DEATH FROM GOD.
RADIOACTIVE ULTRA-DEATH FROM GOD.
RADIOACTIVE ULTRA-DEATH FROM GOD.
RADIOACTIVE ULTRA-DEATH FROM GOD.
RADIOACTIVE ULTRA-DEATH FROM GOD.
RADIOACTIVE ULTRA-DEATH FROM GOD.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
February 18, 2010
Gosh, I hope you only get emissions during the daytime. A nocturnal emission would suck.
February 18, 2010
Man, you’re kinda good at making people wanna buy a game.
February 18, 2010
curse pc-only games. I want to play this sooo badly now.
February 18, 2010
Hey, quick question for ya Christopher, how do you put a gun in a ragdoll’s hand? I was asking around, and some people said that you were the best person to ask. XD
February 18, 2010
To answer your sorta-question, Chris, yes - Clear Sky did have emissions/blowouts as well, and they worked pretty much the same way.
Honestly, I have to say that Call of Pripyat is probably the best entry in the series, bar none. They took the tense, mutant-filled atmosphere from Shadow of Chernobyl and combined it with the massive, RPG improvements to Clear Sky (For those who never played Clear Sky: the mutants were nowhere near as scary and prevalent as in SoC). All the while, they’ve finally made it much more stable and less buggy. The only bug I’ve run into so far (that I can recognize as being a bug, anyway) is the occasional issue where the game does not want me to pick up an object for some reason. The worst example of such was when I stumbled into a small cave system that housed several anomalies in it to wait out a blowout. While this was raging over my head, I pulled out my detector and found a floating artifact about 6ish feet above my head that refused to let me grab it, no matter from what angle or where it was. I eventually had to bounce it around the cave by shooting it with a pistol, till it eventually got near ground and the game decided that I could now pick it up.
In any event, this is still a lot less bugs than previous entries, and I love it. I have to wonder what else they might do with this game, but I’ve heard rumor that this is the final chapter in the trilogy. Does anyone know if this is true?
February 19, 2010
@[VGN] Chronos[Ha-G], There was a post on RPS that said that this was the last Stalker game that would not have a “2″ on the end of the name.
:D
February 20, 2010
I had a similar moment just like this. I was fighting a bunch of bandits who were sending a lot of lead at my position when suddenly this pack of mutated wild boars came from out of no where and wiped out all the bandits before riding off again. It was one of the few times where it felt that The Zone was actually looking out for me. :)
February 21, 2010
I love your writing style. Consistently makes me smile, just the peculiarly perfect syntax and clever wordplay. Case in point: “If you think he was surprised to see me, well, you’re wrong, because he didn’t see me, because I shotgunned him in the back.”
Nice to see you’re back and I very much look forward to more from Pripyat - the first is waiting on a computer to slow to play it, so it’s very much an unexplored, mysterious, dangerous world for me.
February 21, 2010
It was because of this post that I chose to get CoP
February 23, 2010
That’s an ace that even King Slick Lenny the III can respect, and I hear he cheats all the time.
Sorry, comments for this entry are closed at this time.