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GSC may be preparing a console version of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. An early build was leaked

IbizaPocholo

NeoGAFs Kent Brockman


USA blogger nevajno1kto said that he got his hands on an early build of STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl for consoles. According to him, the release of the entire trilogy is planned in the future.

He published an archive of more than 4 GB with an early build and instructions for launching. The game works but crashes on PCs with AMD graphics cards. It also supports gamepads. And in the gameplay itself, the interface and other elements there are differences from the original.

The source notes that the game is being developed on a modified X-Ray Engine, but this is not done by GSC Game World. The company only supervises the process. At the same time, the studio itself has not yet commented on the leak.



Cutting the gameplay of an unannounced port of the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. trilogy for consoles.
The video shows a merged Stalker Shadow of Chernobyl build with support for gamepads, an updated interface and inventory adapted for consoles.

I still remember the rumors about the 360 version back in the day.
 
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EDMIX

Member
Was recently thinking about replaying that whole series.

Will watch for them PS4 collection lol
 

Kydd BlaZe

Member
Playing it with a controller would be great.
Tried mapping a controller with it years ago (no native controller support) with third party software and it felt like a nightmare. I never mastered kb&m controls so I play with a controller on PC. Never really could play STALKER with the controller. The aiming and gunfights were BRUTAL.
 

lh032

I cry about Xbox and hate PlayStation.
I'm not so sure about that. Firefights against humans tend to be more of a medium to long range affair and most of the time you will be trying to pick out distance enemies hiding against dark foliage or buildings. Aiming was quite difficult even with a mouse.
aim assist baby!!!!!!!

Hopefully with Gyro implemented as well.
 

CamHostage

Member
So, consoles would = Xbox, right?

(Or maybe not... I thought Microsoft was sponsoring/publishing STALKER 2, but turns out it's just an exclusivity deal, and possibly a short one at that.) (I'm still glad MS is treating the sequel as prime Xbox product though no matter how long or short the window, GSC deserve a bright spotlight.)

Also, even though this seems meant for consoles (though there's some confusing wording about what's "confirmed" in this leak,) a revamped STALKER 1 could also be useful for Steam Deck (the game is currently marked as unsupported for Deck.) And it could be good for the game overall to get a slight refresh even for PC gamers (provided they don't "dumb it down" as it were; unfortunately a PC remastered release would probably split the player base so that could be a negative of having a PC re-release.) The original game has some clunkiness that could be ironed out in a cleaned-up version. (Some patches are out there as it is to deal with a few of the bugs and expansion-improvements.)

STALKER will be getting some reverse attention when the new game finally releases and always has players online, so hopefully this remaster turns out well.
 
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S0ULZB0URNE

Member
Tried mapping a controller with it years ago (no native controller support) with third party software and it felt like a nightmare. I never mastered kb&m controls so I play with a controller on PC. Never really could play STALKER with the controller. The aiming and gunfights were BRUTAL.
Yup no native support is why I am glad to hear this ;)
It was to many things to map and the sticks felt off.
 

S0ULZB0URNE

Member
I'm not so sure about that. Firefights against humans tend to be more of a medium to long range affair and most of the time you will be trying to pick out distance enemies hiding against dark foliage or buildings. Aiming was quite difficult even with a mouse.
I am sure it will be alleviated with this version.
 

PanzerAzel

Member
Playing it with a controller would be great.
I’d find that would be nearly impossible. Firefights in STALKER typically occur at long distances where pixel precision is needed, not to mention rapid target acquisition as enemies are quite quick and accurate. Playing with a controller would quickly drive me mad.

Though I’m speaking on mods here, not the vanilla trilogy, but even so I find a mouse is nigh required to stand any chance.
 

Kupfer

Member
Hopefully with Gyro implemented as well.
I play it on the Deck right now with gyro aim activivated when aim down sights and it works flawlessly. The game itself runs and looks better than it did in 2007 on my PC.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. could definitely work on consoles without too many problems.

I’d find that would be nearly impossible. Firefights in STALKER typically occur at long distances where pixel precision is needed, not to mention rapid target acquisition as enemies are quite quick and accurate. Playing with a controller would quickly drive me mad.
As I said, works great as long as you aim with the gyro function. You're on point pretty quickly, aiming roughly at the enemy with the joysticks and fine tuning via real movement. Feels immersive too!
 
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Dr.Morris79

Member
uLBw6y3.gif
 

Kupfer

Member
So, this is basically Russian Fallout..? (that's not a bad thing, at all)
*Ukrainian, not Russian - and no, not really.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is way more gritty and unforgiving than Fallout. If Fallout still comes with comic-like jokes and retro charm, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is dirty and depressing, dark, dank and brutal. Give it a shot if you didn't play it yet, it is still playable today and feels up to date.
 
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I'm going to laugh so hard if this really comes to fruition. The idea of taking one of the jankiest games of all time, barely held together on PC, stripping it of mod support, and trying to play it with a freaking console controller, is just far too insane for me to even imagine.
 
I'm going to laugh so hard if this really comes to fruition. The idea of taking one of the jankiest games of all time, barely held together on PC, stripping it of mod support, and trying to play it with a freaking console controller, is just far too insane for me to even imagine.
I actually like the idea a lot, because it presents a reasonable challenge for the devs to where the console version could potentially end up as a better version.

Also some here will question how it's even possible, but if we've figured out how to adapt PC games to console controls for over 30 years at this point I think S.T.A.L.K.E.R. can be figured out too.

It can't control any worse than Quake 3 on the Dreamcast. That's the bottom of the bar for me.
 

TintoConCasera

I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
I play it on the Deck right now with gyro aim activivated when aim down sights and it works flawlessly. The game itself runs and looks better than it did in 2007 on my PC.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. could definitely work on consoles without too many problems.

As I said, works great as long as you aim with the gyro function. You're on point pretty quickly, aiming roughly at the enemy with the joysticks and fine tuning via real movement. Feels immersive too!
May I ask how was the battery life and performance on the Deck?

Tried it on PC some time ago but got turned down due to crashes. Wouldn't mind playing in on the Deck if it works nice, I already fell in love with gyro-aiming when playing Ion Fury.
 

oji-san

Banned
Would be nice as i always wanted to try it but can't play without controller. the question is how will it look? i don't think this will be a remake so only a port might not look so hot.
 

Kupfer

Member
May I ask how was the battery life and performance on the Deck?

Tried it on PC some time ago but got turned down due to crashes. Wouldn't mind playing in on the Deck if it works nice, I already fell in love with gyro-aiming when playing Ion Fury.

I'm not going to lie and since I'm on vacation without my deck right now, I can't test it. Battery life of course varies for everyone depending on settings, but I played it at 40fps/40hz and medium to high settings and I think it should have been about 3 1/2 - 4h, which would be 10W - 12W consumption. Performance is flawless. Not a single crash and a steady framerate.
 
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Mahnmut

Member
*Ukrainian, not Russian - and no, not really.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is way more gritty and unforgiving than Fallout. If Fallout still comes with comic-like jokes and retro charm, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is dirty and depressing, dark, dank and brutal. Give it a shot if you didn't play it yet, it is still playable today and feels up to date.
I've just installed it, what are the must have mods for this game ?
 

Drizzlehell

Banned
I wonder what would be the reaction to those games from the modern Fortnite crowd. Back in the day you had to approach those games with a huge amount of patience and get past a lot of slav jank before being rewarded with a decent experience. Even the original Metro 2033 looked like Call of Duty compared to Stalker, and I don't think a lot of fans appreciate this fact due to nostalgia goggles, lol.
 
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Stalker 1 is a pc ass pc game if I remember back in the day. Hard to translate to consoles.
Well, times have changed man. These new consoles can handle PC games of the past. Ive been interested in Stalker for a while. Im tempted to buy Chernobylite because I heard its kind of similar.
 
Well, times have changed man. These new consoles can handle PC games of the past. Ive been interested in Stalker for a while. Im tempted to buy Chernobylite because I heard its kind of similar.

It definitely would be do-able on a console. But the shooting mechanics etc are so tuned around mkb it would be a much lesser experience on controller in my opinion.
 
I've just installed it, what are the must have mods for this game ?

You've got two solid options:

1. Zone Reclamation Project (ZRP). Huge bug fix patch infused with some optional QoL improvements. The way to go if you want a strictly vanilla experience.
2. XpressTuning's Remaster Edition. I am a huge fan of S.T.A.L.K.E.R, borderline obsessive. So a while ago i merged the best possible graphical mods that don't cause any unforeseen headaches with ZRP in a tight package that you just copy-paste and be done with. On top of it, you can optionally apply the ENB custom preset that's stickied on my mod page there.
 

Mahnmut

Member
You've got two solid options:

1. Zone Reclamation Project (ZRP). Huge bug fix patch infused with some optional QoL improvements. The way to go if you want a strictly vanilla experience.
2. XpressTuning's Remaster Edition. I am a huge fan of S.T.A.L.K.E.R, borderline obsessive. So a while ago i merged the best possible graphical mods that don't cause any unforeseen headaches with ZRP in a tight package that you just copy-paste and be done with. On top of it, you can optionally apply the ENB custom preset that's stickied on my mod page there.
Thanks man !
 

Kupfer

Member
I've just installed it, what are the must have mods for this game ?
Sorry,
I'm not a modding guy when it comes to S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
Playing it vanilla nowadays. A decade ago I had Complete Mod installed which made the game look better, more atmospheric but also darker and gameplay was more difficult and hardcore IIRC.
Was fun when you know the game and want it to feel fresh, but for a first time S.T.A.L.K.E.R. campaign vanilla is still fine I think.

Edit :
Listen to xpresstuning xpresstuning I guess :p
 
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I'm not so sure about that. Firefights against humans tend to be more of a medium to long range affair and most of the time you will be trying to pick out distance enemies hiding against dark foliage or buildings. Aiming was quite difficult even with a mouse.
Well I mean hopefully they would play test it and make surer the aiming feels good enough. I play Hell Let Loose on PC as well as PS5 and it feels great on both platforms. That game game has medium to very long engagement distances.
 

CamHostage

Member
May I ask how was the battery life and performance on the Deck? ...Wouldn't mind playing in on the Deck if it works nice

I'm curious about Deck as well, it's still listed as "Unsupported" for Deck (which I already speculated would be one of the benefits of this apparent remake/remaster,) but it seems like it is playable more or less. (I'm curious if Kupfer reached whatever roadblock or issue which caused it to not flip from "Unsupported" to "Playable" in Steam's verification process? Surely it was a big enough game to go through the process. Maybe it was a minor yet flaggable issue, but Clear Sky and Call of Pripyat also are flagged Unsupported, not just blank for untested.)

It's a heavy-playing game without that twitch play that you'd usually associate with a portable, but I actuallly like slow and methodical games on a handheld where I can sit comfortably and focus rather than sitting at a desk with a PC, so Deck might be a good way to play this if it worked out.
 
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Kupfer

Member
I'm curious about Deck as well, it's still listed as "Unsupported" for Deck (which I already speculated would be one of the benefits of this apparent remake/remaster,) but it seems like it is playable more or less. (I'm curious if Kupfer reached whatever roadblock or issue which caused it to not flip from "Unsupported" to "Playable" in Steam's verification process? Surely it was a big enough game to go through the process. Maybe it was a minor yet flaggable issue, but Clear Sky and Call of Pripyat also are flagged Unsupported, not just blank for untested.)

It's a heavy-playing game without that twitch play that you'd usually associate with a portable, but I actuallly like slow and methodical games on a handheld where I can sit comfortably and focus rather than sitting at a desk with a PC, so Deck might be a good way to play this if it worked out.
To that I can say that SoC works right out of the box. No tinkering with any versions, patches or the like.
As I said, the performance is consistently smooth and I had no problems of a technical nature.
I think the reason S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is so neglected is that it has quite complicated/keyboard-based controls. There are more commands than the Deck has buttons.
It took me about half an hour to set up the controls so that they work well and I didn't have to give up anything.

This includes
  • quick use of bandages,
  • quick use of medipacks,
  • quick save,
  • quick load,
  • crouch,
  • deep crouch (prone),
  • open map,
  • open PDA,
  • call the menu,
  • lean left,
  • lean right,
  • drop weapon,
  • pick up items,
  • reload,
  • change ammo type,
  • flashlight,
  • night vision,
  • sprint,
  • use,
  • quickly switch between weapons,
  • switch between all weapon slots,
  • open inventory,
  • left mousclick click and right mousecklick in inventory,
  • aim down sights
and I'm sure I'm forgetting some more.

However, you can configure the controls to double-assign some buttons via normal keypress and long keypress (to differentiate between using bandages and medipacks. For example "use" (x) and "reload" (longpress x), or flashlight (press D-pad up) and night vision (long press D-pad up). Same for open PDA, open map and so on. This helped me a lot.

Furthermore, it is useful to bind a radial menu to the left trackpad, which is triggered by touch and release. With this you can cover the keyboard keys 1 - 9 (weapon selection & equipment selection) and it feels like a modern weapon wheel (like in GTA / RDR for example). The right trackpad should remain mouse, because you operate the menu, the inventory and conversations with the mouse. Sometimes you have to drag and drop.

I even had a button for "quick pull out knife and attack" to destroy crates and containers without the need wasting ammunition for it.

Another highlight for me is the possibility to add the gyro function as soon as you aim down sights. This makes aiming much more natural and feels good, especially old PC games without aim assist benefit massively from this (like F.E.A.R.).

So if you have that in mind, take the time to adjust everything to your liking, I see no reason why it's still listed as unsupported and why not to play the game on the Deck. It feels really good and I was able to play through it from start to finish without any problems.

I'm only talking for SoC, I didn't try CS and CoP yet.
 
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