Scratch

This is the way it is with the Zone: if you come back with swag - it's a miracle; if you come back alive - it's a success; if the patrol bullets miss you - it's a stroke of luck. And as for anything else - that's fate.

-Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky





Location

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. takes place in an area called "The Zone", which is based on the real-life Zone of Alienation. It encompasses roughly 30 square kilometers and features a slice of Chernobyl extending south from Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant; geographical changes for artistic license include moving the city of Pripyat into this area (it is actually to the north-west of the power station), although the city itself is directly modeled on its real-life counterpart, albeit smaller in size.

History

After the initial Chernobyl Disaster, attempts were made to repopulate the area, primarily with scientists and military personnel. However, in 2006, almost 20 years after the first incident, a second disaster occurred, killing or mutating most of the inhabitants.

Shadow of Chernobyl begins years later, after people have begun coming to the zone in search of money, valuable artifacts and scientific information.

Mutants

In keeping with the post-nuclear decay within The Zone, extreme radiation has caused mutations among animals and plants in the area, which were not formed through the natural process of evolution. As such, creatures within The Zone are vastly different from their real-world counterparts (which include dogs, boar, crow and many others). Additionally, some areas of The Zone contain mutated humans, the majority of whom were caught in the second nuclear disaster. Several creatures which are present in the game can not be enabled without game modification.

AI of wildlife is highly developed and many realistic behaviors, such as fights over food and pack mentality, can be observed in non-scripted events. The game engine was designed so that animal behavior is calculated even if the player is in a different part of the world.

Anomalies, Artifacts and Radiation

As a result of the second Chernobyl disaster, The Zone is littered with small areas of altered physics, known as anomalies. There are several different variations, each one having a unique impact upon those who cross its path. They can be potentially deadly to the player and other NPCs, delivering electric shocks, or pulling them into the air and crushing them. Most anomalies produce visible air or light distortions and their extent can be determined by throwing bolts (of which the player carries an infinite supply) to trigger them. Some Stalkers also possesses an anomaly detector, which emits warning beeps of a varying frequency depending on their proximity to an anomaly.

Anomalies produce Artifacts, the valuable scientific curiosities that make the Zone worth exploring monetarily. As well as being traded for money, a number of Artifacts can be worn so that they they provide certain benefits and detriments (for example, increasing a Stalker's resistance to gunfire while also contaminating him with small amounts of radiation). Artifacts are found scattered throughout the Zone, often near clusters of anomalies.

Radiation caused by the nuclear incidents at Chernobyl occur in specific invisible patches throughout The Zone. Although most areas in The Zone have no radiation, areas near abandoned construction equipment that was used in the post-accident clean-up, certain military wrecked vehicles, and a variety of other locations create small to large fields of radiation, some of which cannot be passed through without the proper equipment.

Gameplay

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is a non-linear, sandbox game. Players have a relatively free-reign to explore the world and also have many opportunities to interact with other characters.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is primarily an FPS (with many similarities to tactical shooters such as Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon), but features many RPG elements as well. The player does not gain additional abilities or statistics like most RPGs, but is instead allowed to use various types of equipment found that is either purchased or found throughout the game world. There are a large number of items in the game, so the player has customization choices which are constrained primarily by how much exploring they do.

The game also attempts to blend the story and character interaction which are commonly associated with RPGs. However, Unlike RPGs such as Fallout, conversation branches are extremely limited and do not significantly influence the course of the game, aside from accepting or declining missions.






S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl previously known as S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Oblivion Lost, is a first-person shooter computer game by Ukrainian developer GSC Game World, published in 2007.

It features an alternate reality theme, where a second nuclear disaster occurs at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the near future and causes strange changes in the area around it. The game has a non-linear storyline and features gameplay elements such as trading and two-way communication with NPCs. The game includes elements of role-playing and business simulation games.

The background and some terminology of the game ("The Zone", "Stalker") is borrowed from the popular science fiction book Roadside Picnic by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky and the 1979 film Stalker by Andrei Tarkovsky, which was itself loosely based on the book.

In S.T.A.L.K.E.R., the player assumes the identity of an amnesiac "Stalker", an illegal explorer/artifact scavenger in "The Zone", named 'The Marked One'. "The Zone" is the location of an alternate reality version of the Chernobyl Power Plant after its second (fictitious) explosion, which contaminated the surrounding area with radiation and caused strange otherworldly changes in local fauna, flora and even the laws of physics. "Stalker" in its original (film) context roughly meant "explorer" or "guide", as the stalker's goal was to bring (guide) people into the Zone. On July 11th, 2007, GSC Game World announced a prequel S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky which would be released on 29th of August in 2008.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. stands for "Scavenger, Trespasser, Adventurer, Loner, Killer, Explorer, Robber".





S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky, is the stand-alone prequel for Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl, a first-person shooter computer game by Ukrainian developer GSC Game World.[3] The game consists of a roughly 50/50 mix of new areas and old, remodeled areas from the previous game. The X-ray graphics engine has been updated to version 1.5 and includes DirectX 10 support (later patch 1.5.06 included DirectX 10.1). Additionally, the AI received an overhaul to accommodate the new faction wars feature.

The player assumes the role of Scar, a veteran Stalker mercenary who was injured and rendered unconscious by an energy emission while guiding a group of scientists through the Zone. Scar, the lone and somehow lucky survivor, is rescued by Clear Sky, a secret and independent Zone faction dedicated to researching and understanding the Zone in order for humanity to better understand what kind of phenomena it is facing. It is not known how Scar survived, but it is noted he has suffered damage to the nervous system and now has an unusual characteristic around him. After becoming familiar with Clear Sky, a patrol at an outpost in the swamps is under attack and Lebedev requests Scar helps them out, especially as some of the men there saved Scar's life. After fighting off mutants keeping the team pinned, a second emission suddenly occurs. Scar is once again the sole survivor, recovered shortly after the emission died down. The leader of Clear Sky, Lebedev, is amazed by how Scar is still alive.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. varies from the first game in the way that there are factions within it that you can interact with, within the zone.





The events of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat unfold shortly after the end of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. Having discovered about the open path to the Zone center, the government decides to hold a large-scale military "Fairway" operation aimed to take the CNPP under control.

According to the operation's plan, the first military group is to conduct an air scouting of the territory to map out the detailed layouts of anomalous fields location. Thereafter, making use of the maps, the main military forces are to be dispatched.

Despite thorough preparations, the operation fails. Most of the avant-garde helicopters crash. In order to collect information on reasons behind the operation failure, Ukraine's Security Service send their agent into the Zone center.
From now on everything depends on the player.






Clear Sky: A faction which has dedicated themselves to researching the Zone. They are lightly armed, low in manpower, and isolated in the swamps. Most of their manpower comes from wandering stalkers who are found in danger or in need of help by some of the main members of Clear Sky. These stalkers, appreciating the help of Clear Sky, join the faction, and some leave after paying their debt to the Clear Sky. Scar is always aligned with them throughout the story of Clear Sky.


Loners: Rookie or free stalkers, who are not interested in other factions' goals and seek for treasure. Almost all of the other major factions get their manpower from this group, which is the largest in the zone. Those who have trained and suffered enough of Zone's dangers may be accepted by other factions. When this faction was introduced in Shadows of Chernobyl, it showed that there were stalkers who had no affiliations to other groups. Usually the most you will find are rookie camps, or small groups, but some like Bes's group in the Cordon, are looking for greater treasure by cooperating with the Army. They are regarded as the golden neutral faction of the zone.


Bandits: A large unorganized group of robbers and murderers. They capture and rob wandering stalkers and they are always hostile to almost all of the other factions. Any stalker who kills another stalker, or robs him of his belongings can be called a Bandit. They are one of the largest groups of stalkers in the Zone, trying to control the southward areas.


Duty: A group of dedicated soldiers and soldier wannabes which are under command structure of a military hierarchy. Being the most organized and fundamental group in the Zone, they are trying to prevent the Zone from spreading, and waging a "crusader" like war against mutants and other factions that have bad intentions. They also train, accomplish day and night watch duties, patrol their territory, and they also do research about the Zone, mainly about how to end it. They are allied with the scientists, and are rumored to be neutral towards the Army (but Army are hostile towards the Duty). They continuously clash with Freedom.


Freedom: Originally, the founder of this faction and the founder of the Duty's faction were friends, but later their vision for the future of the Zone greatly differed from each other, leading them and their followers to wage war against each other. While Duty restricts the Zone from the outsiders, Freedom aims for the opposite; basically Freedom wishes the outer world to be allowed freely into the Zone, also using the artifacts as they wish. They also believe in studying the zone. Freedom isn't very organized; they only have a sort of duty distribution which enables everyone to do what they are good at.

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Mercenaries: An elite armed forces hired by an unknown customer, rumoured to be the grunts of the other Western European countries, which are trying to understand the happenings in the Zone. Others say this fraction is a secret Russian army group, disguised in a Western-based equipment, and trying to stop the independent research and military development. In any case, Clear Sky doesn't give enough data for us to make a certain claim, apart from being hired guns to do dirty work. The Mercenaries are far less powerful in manpower when compared to their state in Shadow of Chernobyl and can be eliminated with a single mission easily.

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Monolith: A mysterious and unknown faction of Stalkers. From PDA records and logs, their intent would be to protect the NPP and the Wish Granter, which they revere. No one knows who they are aligned with, their mood or other intentions they have. They simply ward off those who stray too close to the Centre, shooting everyone on sight and never asking questions. There is no contact with them on a personal level, which leaves much speculation to be solved about them. They may be agents of the C-Consciousness. It is not quite clear how they recruit, except for perhaps the end of Clear Sky with the seemingly brainwashing of Stalkers.

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Military Stalkers: Another secret organization which hires stalkers to accompany with the officials, for stopping the stalker activity. They cannot be found around by traveling; they only made a brief appearance in Shadow of Chernobyl's final scenes. They are heavily armed, mostly using silenced marksman rifles and are sent to some critical areas by the command of the Army.

Army: The Ukrainian Army which are keeping the Zone unreachable from the outsiders. They are mostly drafted soldiers with limited skills, but also have a special task force in their ranks. Clear Sky also showed us the military somewhat made relations with some of the loner stalker groups, making profit while stalkers make theirs. The Army power in the Zone is very limited, along with their equipment, because of the economic reasons and having most of their forces fighting at the barrier.

Renegades: An elite bandit group which wasn't introduced in the Shadow of Chernobyl. They raided the Zone from the North-West and captured Limansk, isolating themselves within the area. They also try to control the Swamps, which makes them to wage war against Clear Sky eventually. They cannot be joined.






People new to this game must play the vanilla version of the game first! It's easier and it gives you some time to get ready for harder modifications!