Free version of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. released in 2009?

[Anthony817]

Wow, I had NO idea that GSC released an old build of their amazing game dating from 2004! This beta is a full game, and includes a ton of content they removed from the game! It has a totally different physics engine, monsters and even includes the drivable vehicles!

I am in a mood to play Stalker today, and this was too good of a find to not share with other fans of the series, and I know Half-Life and Stalker fans are 1 in the same!

This is totally legal, so nothing is to worry about.

Due to popular demand, GSC Game World has released an old version of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl - 'xrCore' build 1935, Oct 18 2004.

Originally announced in November 2001 for a 2003 release, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl (or S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Oblivion Lost as it was known then) was renowned for its long development cycle and frequent delays.

Whilst in development, numerous video clips and hundreds of screenshots were circulated showcasing the game's X-ray graphics engine which featured HDR rendering, parallax and normal mapping, soft shadows, motion blur, widescreen support, weather effects and day/night cycles.

The game was also hailed for its proprietary ALife artificial intelligence engine, where NPCs would accomplish tasks, combat, rest, feed and sleep. The non-scripted and innovative nature of the characters meant that there were an unlimited number of random quests.

However, when S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl was finally released in March 2007, much of what was promised had been cut or changed, such as using vehicles, monsters and many of the role-playing elements.

Now GSC Game World has released a build from 2004 which utilised a completely different physics engine than the one used in the final retail version. This build is fully playable and contains all of the original levels as well as those that were cut such as Dead City, Swamp and Generators.

This version is not so much a demo or mod, but more of an insight into the game's development. Curious fans of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. will find this both fascinating and intriguing although may wonder why some elements were removed from the retail release.

GSC Game World have issued a disclaimer where they cannot guarantee stability, so bugs and crashes will occur. They have also said that they will not provide technical assistance.

Installation instructions
Download the files from the link below and extract them to a new folder
Delete the 'savedgames' folder
Run the game with run_alife_s.bat

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Build 1935 - Shacknews.com

Download and extract these files to the build folder for better visual effects

Download profile_vis_fix.rar from Sendspace.com - send big files the easy way

Here is a patch for the beta.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=AETKI2TJ

Here is a user guide on running the game and how to save etcetera...

http://sdk.stalker-game.com/en/index...5:_Quick_Guide

I also recommend this mod that makes the game more stable and improves graphics.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/w6tu4b

[NicholasWolf]

can it be ported to dreamcast?

[Anthony817]

Haha no man, this is PC only sorry.

I am a big fan of Stalker, and our mod Paranoia is very much inspired by the Stalker games. That is why I am posting this here, and also, the creators of Stalker were huge Half-Life fans, and even included a Gordan Freeman character as a dead NPC you can find in game.

This runs on older pc's, so anybody can give this game a try, one of the best experiences on the planet. This game blows Fallout 3 out of the water. If you like open world games in a nuclear radiated wasteland, then this is the best game out there by far.

If you like Half-Life, you should get this game on PC, it has zombies and mutants all in it.

Also, Dreamcast uses a version of Direct X 6, and this game is Direct X 8, so there is no way it would run on Windows CE on a Dreamcast.