I needed to do that shit with GFWL otherwise the game wouldn't launch. I have never encountered Shambler's other issues though. 

is an absolute disaster. I bought it for �4 in the steam sale and haven't been able to get it working. I feel bad for anyone who spent more than I did on the game. 

I got Dark Souls and gave up on it after 5 minutes of just trying to start a god damn game. That UI is unforgivable. 

is an absolutely brilliant 2d beat 'em up, megaman, metroidvania-ish, kind of rpg platformer thingy game... with a really great soundtrack.

Get on it! 

Sad to hear your having so many issues :(

I didn't follow any guides. I just downloaded dsfix and edited the .ini with my settings and off I went.

I already had a G4WL account that I used for some other games so that wasn't really a problem. I never tried to run the game in offline mode (and I would suggest that for dark souls, running online makes the game better in a lot of ways. Summoning/invading etc only works when you are online obviously and is a pretty cool mechanic).

I can't talk about using kb+mouse to control the game. Honestly every single article/comment/guide I read about the pc controls just said PAD OR GTFO and I have to agree.

It is a fucking awful port. Dreadful in fact and ticks all the boxes for "stay the fuck away". If the game wasn't as captivating as it is then I would have never even touched it. 

good job that I have my consoles to play it on. I'm glad I did because it's one of my favourite games of all time, probably in the top 3. 

People in the office were playing it on PC and was thinking I'd get around to it sooner or later. Guess not. 

Dark Souls is a console game, it is designed for the PS3 and the controls are perfect for the controller. Trying to use a mouse/keyboard is unwise with this game. I would highly recommend to attach a controller to the PC port, the game is good because the controller scheme is well thought out and implemented, it is worth learning.

After seeing the Daz derpathon through Dark Souls and that DS2 is coming out soon I decided to break my usual habit and try a pure magic character build and it was awesome. Once you get the crystal spells from Logan and a couple of good rings it is possible to create a pure glass canon mage build that can easily one shot any mob (including giants / large demons) and make mince meat of most bosses.

I tried the new DLC content and really did not like it compared to the original. Most fights are melee only and the difficulty level is extremely high compared to the original, but the story for the new area is brilliant. 

It is all entirely irrelevant to me now. Tried, failed, ignored.

Except: *IF* DS2 works out of the box, I will give it a try. As per Derpz, it still intrigues me. 

I really enjoyed the balance of DS1, after you get the hang of the game it really feels perfectly tuned.

I played Dark Souls 2 last year at a convention and it was rock solid in comparison. You can get staggered out of defence quite a lot easier, the swings take a lot more stamina too. The whole thing feels slowed down and tougher. Now I hear if you crank up your agility it feels a bit more like DS1. Graphically it's greatly improved from the last game. I hope gameplay has been tweaked by the time it's released. 

k I've finished call or pripyat. Actually despite giving the impression that I was significantly into the game, i had nowhere near enough cash to buy the seva suit or get buddies to get to pripyat so I had to go back and do a tonne of side quests anyway. So I did probably about 40% of the side quests overall. But in the end didn't need to do so many because the end was fucking easy.

I might see if there's any big mods for it (with new levels).

glad I reinstalled it though, it was worth a playthrough.

necros if you do want to play stalker, i'd say go for the third one, it's the most polished.
actually, here's my thoughts here: http://www.electricescape.com/etherealhell/index.php/game-reviews/2009-reviews/item/stalker-call-of-pripyat 

You could only play on static lighting? Shame. The game looks tons better with the highest lighting settings. The engine has it's problems though. Crashes and most annoyingly the poor level streaming. I read a interview with the engine designer saying how it was his biggest mistake and didn't have the time and resources to correct it, his next engine running Metro 2033 is supposed to have really good level streaming. I haven't played that yet though.

One thing I liked about the design in CoP was that the world was much more concentric and hublike, compared to SoC where you often had to do long and dull walks to get to places. Might have been an engine limit at the time? I never played Clear Sky, since it's supposed to be sub par.

The ending is pretty easy, yeah. Compared to Shadow of Chernobyl where it literally is hell on earth. Actually I don't think I finished it, running out of anti rad in the last part is pretty much a death sentence. 

Is call of pripyat only on steam? any way to get it without the DRM? (legit i mean...) 

Clear Sky ending was the hardest I think...I only watched it in youtube because the game crashed a couple levels before the end and wouldn't let me continue, but I remember thinking that looked fucking hard.

just torrent it if you can't buy it anywhere anymore, it's not like GSC are around to get the profits. the steam version is buggy i believe. I didn't notice any drm shit with my install. 

Restarted Hotline Miami and OH LOOK I MANAGE TO FORGET JUST HOW FUCKING FRUSTRATING THE BOSSFIGHTS ARE. 

Those of you planning on playing any of the STALKER games should absolutely play them with the Complete mods (available for every title in the series). They greatly enhance the game's visuals and fix tons of bugs and crashes.

Also, play on easy. I usually play games on hard but STALKER has a terrible combat system. It's all about the atmosphere anyway. 

Don't, and only play on Master. That difficulty level makes all the weapons extremely lethal, both for you and for your enemies. No bullet sponges. 

definitely complete for the first two. but it wouldn't work for the third game I had to completely reinstall the game. but yeah it does greatly improve the visuals.

I actually did play on easy for the last game haha, but it was actually a little bit too easy. maybe easy/normal for the first two, and normal/hard for the third. I think they got the difficulty levels sorted better for pripyat. 

http://forum.zdoom.org/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=37369 

Not sure why one would play that rather than Quake.....but they seem to have done a very neat job of it! 

just a few notes about my life with stalker mods

shadow of chernobyl
complete works fine, but there are way better mods now. complete looks like an ugly unwanted child in comprison with autumn aurora 2. i'm not exaggerating. also complete is just too easy and the game economy is too benevolent. not a chalange at all. another alternative is shadow of chernobyl mod pack 2013, especially the beta version that uses photorealistic zone 2 textures. imho autumn aurora 2 is better - increased foliage draw distance makes all the difference. still hoping l.u.r.k will see the daylight eventually..
aa2 needs version 1.0006, mod pack 2013 1.0005.

clear sky
i have something called radioactive edition - CS and CoP pack - and CS complete doesn't work for me. game crashes every 5 minutes when i reach garbage/broken scripts etc... no go for me. i tried mystery mod /graphics overhaul only/ + some smaler mods /sleeping bag.../ and i was ok. graphics of mystery mod is realy realy impressive. there is also mod pack 2013 for clear sky combining mystery + complete/cs remix/absolute nature/guns form misery etc... unlike vanila complete it is stable /at least for me/ and graphics is even better than mystery. ghost land mod is still unfinished, but it looks like a ultimate clear sky mod and i put a lot of faith in it.

call of pripyat
complete mod looks fine, but it completely broken for me /tested with the above-mentioned radioactive edition/. i was unable to finish quests, game repeatedly crashed... i would say it's not worth it. even the unmoded game is fine and hd project moves graphics to the next level. alternative is misery mod. be prepared for high difficulity and a lot of new game mechanics. it's hardcore and definitely not for stalker beginers. visually it's stunning.

jakub 

Only scrubs play on anything but Master difficulty.

Jokes aside, for someone first venturing into Stalker, I would recommend starting with Shadow of Chernobyl as it introduces the player to all aspects of gameplay, story, and setting, letting the player settle in, while Call of Pripyat kinda just throws you into the gameworld without explaining much.
The game is still pretty unforgiving though, so if you're totally new to Stalker you should probably start playing on Stalker difficulty.

Also, in my opinion, it's the overall better game, aside from the bugs, some of which are gamebreaking - I wouldn't recommend a mod like Complete (or any other graphical enhancement mods) on a first playthrough as these often mess with the sound- and graphical effects to such a degree that much of the eerie atmosphere from the vanilla game vanishes. One of the stronger points of SoC vs CoP is the atmosphere of the surroundings and the general sense of mystery regarding the Zone, which I'd say is one of the most important factors in making the game feel so unique. Therefore I'd rather recommend a mod like the Zone Reclamation Project, which only aims to fix glitches and annoyances, while keeping the atmosphere of the original game intact. I haven't tried it myself though so I can't personally vouch for it, but it's supposed to do what it sets out to do well.

Regarding why I think the original game is better; the atmosphere, as mentioned, is very unique - on my first playthrough I had such a weak system I had to play on low visuals, with static lighting, but I was still amazed by the level of immersion, although playing on high graphics would probably be preferable, as the lighting does have a lot to say for the overall mood of the game. The story and the lore (such as entries in the player character's PDA one can read), as well as the sound design, contributes to making the zone feel mysterious, oppressive... which is further enhanced by the often brutal, unforgiving gameplay. The gameworld also often feels alive, with the things you come across alluding to being part of a bigger picture and serving some kind of twisted purpose. I think this is also reflected in the way the story and overall game progression unfolds, with things getting progressively more brutal, surreal and nightmarish, it kinda reminds me of Apocalypse Now in some regards.

The gameplay also contributes to the world feeling oppressive, as you can't actually repair any equipment, so you often have to discard whatever you're carrying and pick up something from the ground just to survive. This becomes especially apparent near the end of the game, where it really feels like the world around you only wants to see you dead. 

Call of Pripyat, on the other hand, has an extremely boring and predictable story (and the story in the original game did a lot for the game's sense of mystery), and the three major areas the player travels through feel kind of like carnivals - there are these "attractions" or "hotspots" where one can find clusters of anomalies, enemy hideouts and such, while the rest of the zone is overall quite empty. This makes travelling from one "attraction" to another quite boring, and making the gameworld feel more constructed and arcade-like.

On the other hand, it is much more stable than the original game, with very little in the way of bugs and glitches, and nearly no gamebreaking ones. One can easily play the vanilla game, no mods, and not have to worry about crashes and the like (although I'd recommend a fov fix as the default fov is at like 65 or something equally horrid). It has many gameplay features not found in the original, such as making looking for artifacts harder and more worthwhile (in SoC they are just scattered across the ground), stashes being properly hidden, sidequests that span over time and maps, as well as being able to repair and upgrade equipment - this last one probably contributes to the game feeling less unforgiving, but it also makes it a bit easier, again making the gameworld feel less oppressive.

Now you may think I hate CoP, but I actually don't, I think it's a great game, both on its own and as a Stalker game - it's just when comparing it to the original game I have to favor the original, as the atmosphere and overall impression of that game had a much bigger impact on me, and CoP felt more predictable. Both are well worth playing though. I think the perfect Stalker game would combine the best parts of SoC and CoP, too bad we won't ever see Stalker 2.

For second playthroughs of the games, I recommend http://www.moddb.com/mods/old-good-stalker-evolution
for Shadow of Chernobyl, and Sigerous Mod 1.7 for Call of Pripyat. Both of these keep much of the atmosphere and overall feel of the vanilla games intact while adding stuff like more missions, weapons, items, and characters, without adding a lot of unnecessary shit like so many other mods do - I believe later versions of Sigerous Mod also do this, which is why I recommend 1.7.

Regarding OGSE, the only thing I didn't like was that the ambient music is disabled, which kinda ruins the atmosphere. This is supposedly easily fixed by messing with some config file, but I have no idea how as googling didn't help me get much wiser.

Clear Sky can easily be skipped. 

All three STALKER games are now available on GOG. 

Thanks for the comments on the various STALKER mods. I'm always looking forward to playing those games and while I've loved the Complete mods, I'd like to try out something different the next time I give the games a playthrough. Autumn Aurora has been on my ModDB tracking list for a good while now, might give it a try next.

One thing I hate is having to constantly tinker with the backpack and its effect on stamina. There's so much walking in the game that there should be infinite sprint rather than the irritating system they have now.