Interviews with Anton Bolshakov, Crappy Ladas, DX10... and marketing.
07 November 2006
Comments by juni0r
1714hrs
An interview with Anton Bolshakov recently says a lot and not very
much. He is willing to surrender his car to fans if the game doesn't
come out in Q1 2007. If its a crappy old Lada no one will care, and
split up between, well... thousands of followers, this doesn't go
too far. So, predictably no hard date for release.
It seems like, stuff that were rumours before are now facts, like
no driving. I understand their justifications but find the huge playing
area ideal for vehicles. If you want to drive around like an idiot
then yes, you will find ourself taken out pretty quickly, but it shouldn't
be dropped. Still, things like this, it appears they will still be
"in" the game, and perhaps cheats will allow for them to
surface.
It is a good idea to be able to play any given game on a lower spec
machine, so the DX 8.0 is a good scheme but, my argument would then
be, by the time it comes out, what about DX 10? So again, the whole
idea of perfection before release is all fine and good but you will
always need a upgrade, patches, a sequel. New technology is always
coming out. By Q1 2007 there might be a few upset people unable to
take full advantage of their latest and greatest gfx cards and processors.
That being said, I'll be happy to know I'd only need a $1000 machine
to get into playing S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
All in all we should be able to get our hands on more videos and other
promotional material as the pre-release marketing campaign begins.
That will include a MP demo.
If you would like to see the interview click below;
http://forum.v5g.de/showthread.php?t=5006
It was posted with the original source and translated by http://www.Oblivion-Lost.de
Top ^
Video Google, Interviews, Video Cards... and S.T.A.L.K.E.Rish weather.
06 July 2006
Comments by juni0r
2357hrs
Managed to get several new videos down via http://video.google.com
and have the look at these .gvi files once the Google Video Player
was installed. Unfortunately they're all in Russian expect for another
which was in German. Anyone who might know a translation for the Stalker
AI video, the Introduction or "Stalker running with DirectX 9"
into English would be much appreciated. Perhaps just a thread discussing
their content in English, especially the AI one.
Also got down the old Interview with Oleg (in English) and the Nvidia
guy, Kieth Galocy. Being that the game was still called STALKER :
Oblivion Lost it shows how dated it is. Still, though there was nothing
new in the content there, was nice to see some new sequences of game
action.
The weather here in Wellington, New Zealand (nope not Kansas, USA),
is quote Stalkerish I can tell you. That miserable rain kinda weather.
http://video.google.com/videosearch?sourceid=gvc&q=S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
Video Cards
Starting to think about putting together a machine in the coming months
for a gaming platform to run S.T.A.L.K.E.R. one of those essential
components is the video card. For a bottom of the rung deal to start
with, not wishing to invest too much in the early stages, the Radeon
9600 Pro looks like the deal. Comes with DVI as a nice bonus... It
just seems so unnatural to be proposing any sort of of Windoz type
setup after finally coming back to MacOS. Still, also its not for
another 9 months or more before this webmaster will seriously start
to shake regarding the desperate need for a PC to run this highly
anticipated game. 3 million polygons per frame at 60 frames per second...
arrrrrrh. OC14 with BG15 grennnnade launcher... and suppressor...
happiness.
I am supposing that in the months after release it will be time to
invest in a Nvidia GeForce since this is what the boys at GSC Game
World have worked the game around. In the meantime, in regards value
for money and some serious fun, perhaps even for giving the unofficial
2215 Build a burl, the Radeon will do the trick just nicely. And quite
frankly, the way the game market is at present, it is the only reason
I'll splash out the cash.
For a beta that is several years old, unofficial and riddled with bugs. So, that gives some idea of how long I've been hanging out for this game.
http://www.ascent.co.nz/ProductSpecification.aspx?ItemID=338635
Top ^
Dean Sharpe Interview, PDAs, Artificial Intelligence... and realism.
01 July 2006
Comments by juni0r
Time Unknown
What follows is an interview with Dean Sharpe at E3 2006, a developer
brought in by THQ to refine the project. Comments follow.
May 19, 2006, 2:41 am
Heres the article from the Australian gaming magazine Atomic -
E3 2006: The truth behind STALKER
By Logan Booker | May 18, 2006
Stalker at E3, part 1
E3 was full of surprises, but none quite as engaging - or alluring - as the behind-closed-doors demo of STALKER: Shadows of Chernobyl. We've heard the supposed problems at developer GSC Gameworld, read the financial forecasts from THQ stating the game's release as 'sometime next year', stories of cut features and even the (thankfully) quickly squashed rumour that the game had been scrapped.
Some of it is true, some isn't. Obviously, we know now the game is still on track and that the release will indeed be early next year. A major development did however occur - around a year ago THQ brought in freelance developer Dean Sharpe to transform the game from an undefined mess of potential to a sprawling masterpiece.
Sharpe is now executive producer as well as product manager for STALKER. It was he who talked us through the action, displayed on a nice, big LCD and explained a few of the concepts.
The first was a new PDA mechanic, much like Doom 3 or, if you're old enough to remember, System Shock. PDAs can be found by searching the bodies of fallen enemies. The PDAs act as journals, and provide GSC with a great (and apparently now-popular) way to explain the story.
'You'll find everything about what the person has done, he'll write things in his diary and you get all that information. That's how a lot of the story is conveyed,' explained Sharpe. Sharpe also said that every character in the game has voice however, the characters we talked to in the demo had temporary voice clips.
The scripted sequence that followed came as a bit of a shock.
'This is an example of a little bit of how the game has changed over the year,' said Sharpe. 'You wouldn't have [this] type of thing in the game before - it was completely open-ended. So now we've added scripted events to make sure you can actually follow the story.' We had to ask at this point about STALKER's much publicised 'A-Life' AI system.
'It's still there, but with scripting elements as well that make sure that you can make it through the game ... It's still very, very open-ended.
The only difference is that there are now scripted events throughout the world that will let you progress. But once that scripted event happens that area then opens up to the entire world again,' explained Sharpe.
As the demo continued, Sharpe pointed out a few of the game's features, including visibility and noise status bars on the HUD, allowing the player to gauge how loud or how visible they are to enemies. By shooting out lights and walking instead of running, these conditions improve so you can sneak around and kill enemies silently.
Also adding to the realism was tinnitus and vision blurring from explosions - get too close and although you might escape damage, these impairments could get you killed anyway.
Speaking of getting killed (and being human and all) you can of course take damage. First you'll have to deal with a 'bleeding' condition, which comes up as a green, yellow or red - in order of severity - teardrop-shaped icon on the right of the screen. You can pick up bandages to remove this condition, and health packs actually get some health back.
Weapons are also very customisable. We were shown a M16-like weapon that had a grenade launcher, scope and silencer attached, which Sharpe explained could be found or bought in the game. And they're just not for show. We saw grenades fly and the THQ representative playing the game made ample use of the scope to pick off opponents.
One thing we noticed during a area change was a loading screen. Sharpe said that not only do these loading screens appear between areas, but also as you walk about the world. So the game unfortunately doesn't feature a seamless world as we once believed.
'There aren't levels so to speak, but there are level loads when you go into areas to bring in new assets,' explained Sharpe.
As we made our way through this new area - a sewer system of sorts - a Geiger counter made itself very apparent; it's clicking and beeping warning of impending radiation. As you might expect, if you're dumb enough to ignore the warnings, you will get radiation sickness. While iodine and Prussian blue don't make an appearance, you can drink vodka to cure yourself. 'The scary part is - not just the guys at GSC [but] people in Ukraine believe that,' said Sharpe.
The end of the demo came as quite a surprise. As our stalker trudged through a long, dark tunnel, we were suddenly set upon by a mutant that took control of our mind. A red head-with-brain-inside icon appeared on the right of the screen, and that was that.
According to the THQ representative who played through the demo for us: 'The guy that killed me there was a mutant who takes control of your mind, sucks you towards him and rips your face off and throws you back again.' The mutant then proceeded to walk over and start eating our corpse. Lovely.
So, what has changed in the game? Sharpe was able to enlighten us.
'There isn't that much that's been cut … I've made some minor changes. There were some types of mutants that I pulled out. I took out sleeping and eating - a couple of the minor RPG elements. I also shortened the amount of dialog in the dialog trees - there [was a lot] of back and forth that wasn't needed.'
What was most surprising however was Sharpe revealing that 'I may or may not take out the vehicles - I haven't decided yet'. Vehicles were a big part of the game's original feature-set. If they were to be removed it would pose more than a few design problems, considering the size of the 30-square kilometre area covered in the game.
Finally, we asked about the engine. When STALKER started development, DirectX 8 was all the rage. GSC hasn't been idle and there's now DX 9 capability. 'The DX 9 renderer is up. That has been put in over the last year,' said Sharpe.
We left the demo confident that the game is finally on track. Here's hoping for a Duke Nukem Forever closed-door session next E3.
Comments
I hope that the PDA system is intuitive and original, otherwise we
simply have more cloning going on. But it will be a good way to record
character history and to manipulate actions.
There are a few concerning things here, not least of which is the
AL. So long as the scripted elements are for controlling the storyline,
fine. If it puts the whole thing on rails, not good. If the AL we
have come to expect is scarce, then this will simply become another
HL2 or Doom3. It won't be any different, asides the setting. We didn't
wait over 3 years for that. I didn't find the HL2 opponents either
intelligent in their actions or challenging in combat. Scripting is
ridiculous this far down the track.
Personally I'm up for as tactically realistic game as possible so
the visibility and noise elements are wholly welcome. There will be
no shouts of "camper!" when a sniper puts to good use his
talents with that VSS and PSO-1. It has to be an intelligent game,
otherwise I might as well just go off and play Doom3. Being shot hurts,
and you best avoid it. No 100% health meaning you can take several
bursts from a mini gun. Nope, its pink mist time, if the tr729.mpg
file is anything to go by. One has to be very thankful for realistic,
real world, true-to-life customisable weapons, but we knew this would
be part of the game anyway. Nothing new there, but eagerly awaited
nonetheless.
Too many loads is going to be a drag. No one wants this. It can really
put the dampener on an otherwise brilliant game. I seriously hope
GSC are looking into reducing this. If a game loses its flow then
the player (who often isn't the most patient person in the world)
may even abandon it for something that doesn't stall. Remember, in
Q1 2007, there will be new competition out there and you can't have
such a thing ruining an otherwise great game. HL2 and Doom3 have had
their day. CGC / THQ have to concern themselves with elements like
this to take on the new challengers. They can't simply rate themselves
against the aforementioned.
If the vehicles are taken out then we have a problem with getting
around such a vast area. They've already ditched the state of repair
elements which is more than a bit of a shame. This means that if vehicles
do remain, there will be no new features of gameplay which differentiate
it with the likes of HL2. There will be no negatives for having mobility.
At the end of the day, if too many of the RPG elements are stripped
away, the game will loose much of the potential that was to make it
different from other FPS games. The Dealer, trading all make it a
more believable world, interactive. I most certainly don't want another
"shoot 'em up".
There are at least six another months before S.T.A.L.K.E.R. : Shadow
of Chernobyl is released. We can only hope that it indeed is a game
somewhat close to the sort of product we have been waiting so long
for. To be truly unique in any design field one must come outside
the norm, take risks, get outside their comfort zone. GSC Game World
have shown us they can do it - I just hope they don't head back in...
You can see some attempted rumor busting at the following URL, though,
you know what they say about the fat lady singing...
Top ^
Short Story Update, PSO-1 Range Finder, Chevrons... and two-way rifle ranges.
28 June 2006
Comments by juni0r
0813hrs
Short Story Update
Okay, after reviving some of my enthusiasm for the upcoming release, I have had the short story back out on the desktop. With that some ideas on detail where I'll go into the use of the PSO-1 scope's rangefinder and reticle. This has come from some ideas on ballistics that may or may not show up in the final game. It would be nice, in theory to have a system where realistic trajectories could be mapped, turned on or turned off (arcade mode). This would be a bonus for those who like combat simulation likes of Ghost Recon and those of the traditional arcade persuasion.
The PSO-1 Range Finder
Trust the Russians to come up with something very simple yet effective.
How it works is, you estimate your range by lining up the horizontal
line on the left range marker with the feet of of your target (standing)
and it gives you their approximate range in metres from the vertical
curvature. If they are prone or crouched there is a bit of guestimation.
Imagine them standing if prone, double it if they're kneeling. Each
chevron is equal to 250m, so you use your rangefinder data and transfer
that. For a target at 250m or closer you use the top-most chevron,
for 500m the second and so on... For points of distance in between
simply cast your aim between the two relevant chevrons.
Have fun hitting the mark. Remember, you're on a two-way rifle range
so its not going to be easy.
Top ^
1st Quarter 2007 Release, Build 2215, A-Life... and backwards compatibility.
27 June 2006
Comments by juni0r
0932hrs
Q1 2007 Release Date
After the best part of a year we are back. Things seem to be making
real progress again after very little has been heard in real terms
of seeing this game reach its fans. The last thing we need is news
of another delay, but now it is official. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. : Shadow
of Chernobyl is a Q1 2007 release date.
Build 2215 MP Beta
This 2004 unofficial and leaked multiplayer beta is rumoured to be
about. Giving a bit of taste as to what to expect is about as far
as it will go - the fans have been itching for something like this
and perhaps it suggests that GSC Game World needed to get something
out there, a demo or whatever, to satisfy the supporters out there
- something to keep them happy until shipping. It doesn't appear that
will be the case. So you end up with releases like this.
At the end of the day though, it will be the A-Life which sets this
game apart. The graphics will be great to look at generating awesome
effects, but it is the world that differentiate it from others. How
do the NPCs behave, the creatures, within the world? We won't get
this in a MP beta.
Being over 2 years old, this beta won't be anything like the final
product visually but might give some idea on how the game might play
in this mode on a LAN via older generation machines. Using DX8 and
lacking the real resource hungry effects the focus on 2215 will simply
be playability. And a demonstration of backwards compatibility drawing
as many people into the game as possible. It would be nice to think
you could join in on a game of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. without the need for
the latest and greatest machine. A P3 600 with a mediocre 128Mb video
card might even do it.
Developers Diary
Just to get up to speed there are a few things worth reading out there.
Interview with Oleg Yavorsky
http://www.firingsquad.com/games/stalker_interview/
You can find a video interview with Oleg at the following URL, detailing
a game overview;
http://pdl.stream.aol.com/aol/us/aolgames/gamespot/action/stalkers/stalkers_pc31403_vi1_qt_dl.mov
Designer Diary #4
http://videogames.aol.com/videogame/stalker-shadow-of-chernobyl/762/game-previews?articleID=208905
Top ^
Bodies, Weapons, Designer Diaries... and Shadow of Chernobyl Q&A
17 May 2006
Comments by juni0r
This is particularly interesting, and is one example where we can
only hope that the promises produce results in the final product,
but it is hard to expect.
"We've paid special attention to body physics, as well. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. has an advanced skeletal animation system that controls realistic body movements at a very high level of detail. Each human character in the game contains about 50 bones, all of which can be adjusted--right down to the pinky finger. Our engine defines human movement based on the maximum tensile strength of bones, joint stiffness, and weight, among other factors. All of this contributes to the way in which a body will react when it is falling or being shot. Watch for the way bullets will even leave trace holes in the bodies. Given this level of detail, we felt we would be remiss not to tie this in to the gameplay. For instance, if you're severely injured, you'll move more slowly. Hand injuries will cause tremors and difficulties when aiming; leg injuries will cause you to limp. It's a liberating experience to utilize physics in this way. We have even set the game so that different types of clothing and weaponry affect the way you'll be affected by gunfire or other factors.
"We have, for obvious reasons, given similar attention to the game's weapons--we're modeling the game's weapons after their real-world counterparts to enhance gameplay, so they don't feel like merely new skins. For example, we have modeled the approximate range of each weapon, but this is only the beginning of what the physics engine has allowed us to do. Some weapons will have greater penetration ability, while others will have modeled scatter ranges for burst shots. And virtually any type of weapon can be modified with laser sights, muzzles, or grenade launchers. Realism further dictates that weapons have limited life spans, misfire tendencies, and so on, so you'll often find that when visiting the game's illicit merchants to equip yourself, you'll get what you pay for. Add to this the inclusion of a fine assortment of bladed weapons, and it will be a long time before you get to see the full range of impact types a body can take."
Designer Diary #7
http://videogames.aol.com/videogame/stalker-shadow-of-chernobyl/762/game-previews?articleID=238372
This one goes into some details on Direct X 9 and what you can expect
regarding the visuals, the eye candy. Again, it is from a month or
two back.
Tarrackin's Home Scroll
http://juni0r.orcon.net.nz
Copyright © Leon T. Harrison 1996-2007. All Rights Reserved
Internal Links
External Links
