Not trying to give you guys a hard time- just saying is all.
Stalker games start out a lil hard and maybe folks lose interest easy with them. At first soc was buggy as crap- I could not play it and got it just out until patch 10003 it set for what a few months before that patch came out but was not until 004 until all quests and or kruglov quests was fixed. Tweak guide is your friend.
Folks need to baby stalker games a lil bit like when they pause- just take your hands off your keys and do not move your mouse or it might lock up- normally takes like 20 seconds up to 2 minutes and will start working again- you learn the places it does that at and will do it every time. I always do the -noprefect and -nointro switches and it always runs fine for me.
After you get into it get better gear it gets better or after you have played it 1 or 2x it is no game like it. it is meant to be hard its a survival game and only head shots kill any thing- so it will test your skills. You have to fight the bots and they will flank ya what ever and have perfect aim even in pitch black darkness and the mutants are cool. Mods add cut out mutants or some do any way. It gives me the best competition other than mp games and is why I like it so much. It is soc any way an awesome game.. I up gamma and bright a lil if dark out side.
Oh ya very important in stalker games- the lower you crouch and or iron site or scope the more accurate you are. It has 2 crouches- hold both l shift and l ctrl for low crouch the more accurate you are. In low crouch a pistol is as deadly as a rifle in stalker games even at distance and if in good condition and head shots. Point blank and rushed some thing jumps out at ya- its no matter just shoot um in the face until they fall. Stalker games are good at stealth too. Crouch you can walk right up on bots and knife them from behind what ever. You make no noise if crouched.
Give it a chance Id bet you would agree- and being its been patched and works. Save often I hard save from esc save etc- but still can act funny like at the military ware house area- missions do not always work right first time you have to stop playing re start the game or maybe spawn back in from the bar area or play from your last save game etc.. Stalker games can be finicky- They are great tho and blow fo3 out of the water as far as gun play and fps mechanics go. I like fo3 its nice and long and of the same genre but its now where as a good a shooter as stalker games are not as good of atmosphere either. And fo3 gives me or my system more probs than stalker games or after they have been patched any way..
Im no fan boy- I have cussed it a many times and been ban from gsc for complaining about bug stuff and fan boys slam or cuss me- I cuss them back I am ban- its funny. But I do point out both its good and bad as with all my games.. If you give it a real chance and get into it- you will be hooked and waiting on these mods like I am. Its play and atmosphere and world and sounds and anomalies and artifacts are awesome. You have to learn the artifacts and whats best to use or sell etc and find or buy better gear and collect your loot to sell or load up bodies and drag them because you can not carry but so much stuff. Do not leave your stuff on bodies and spawn to another area- its best to dump it on the ground if no stash box near by- it will stay there some dogs what ever can kick it around. You can not carry bodies through spawn points. They stalker games are unique nothing else like them.. You feel like you are a part of the game and after a while you think the glitchy stuff is normal or because of the radiation- its weird really.
Not trying to sound stupid- but master stalker games you are a real sp gamer is about all I can say- You will love them if give them a real chance. They are not for the weak or folks who need to play with trainers and be all god up like many folks and will cheat ya in mp games too. Search every inch of the maps your first time or 2 playing see what you find and use your bolts around anomalies so not to get zapped. Man I love these games. Clear sky pisses me off tho. COP is ok but not as good as soc. Well cs would be my fav it runs and looks great for me- but I can not complete it. I can never get the last flash drive in cordon and if I save at the npp and die or stop playing and start again streloks health bar is gone and I can not kill him to end the game- so I gave up on it.. I like the up grade systems in cs and cop is maybe the only thing better than soc. Set skill in game is no real mater stalker or master changes nothing really. Some artifacts in some patches might be more invis if playing master is about it- and depends on what patches you are playing- I prefer 10004 it has more mod options- 005 is ok- 006 is mp patch mostly..
I guess same reasons folks do not like metro 2033 is same reasons for not liking stalker games- they are hard- skin of your teeth games or starting out. Just know this. You can always run if not powerful enough or good enough gear. you do not have to take on every fight etc..
Do as you like but if you guys have them- give soc more a chance- make up your mind you are going to complete it- see how you like it after- is about all I can say..
If it is any thing I can do to help I will if I do not have videos or what ever I will make them for ya. As far as tweaking it or adding mods what ever- I can help ya a lot- just ask- and I like you all ok so its all good..
I used no walk throughs or nothing- which I do not for any of my games- I might look at one if stuck for months- or after I have played them a few times I look through them just to see what I might have missed etc..I have a complete soc video play through on youtube- the vids are not so good any more tho- yt has changed its codecs and few times and is why I am recording it again now and in wide screen.. I added all the extra videos dragging bodies and moving loot etc- I need to rename them so it is more easy to follow along etc..
Just starting out this vid might help and show ya all the goodies in the start camp.. If I care to work at it i can take all the military starting out with lil of nothing- its not easy at all tho.. I normally wait a lil now tho a hour or so and get some better stuff- but you can get good stuff fast killing them- or they patrols of 3 at a time any way..>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z_sMF2-Ero
My old play through starts at about vid # 32 [cordon1].. 3x lists in the pt stalker a-b-c some 424 vids total in the pt..>
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?p=PLEC4C972D65B4D9C0
See ya..