GOTY. Period. End of Discussion

[Greyfire]

I voted for it without hesitation.

It was worth voting for strictly based on atmosphere alone. As someone who has been gaming on PC and console since 1988, there have been many great immersive experiences along the way, and the original Stalker is one that is right at the top, and Stalker 2 is no different. What the development team at GSC has accomplished is truly remarkable considering the hardships of their journey. Die-hard fans who expected perfection should be ashamed, and new players who expected their entitlements to be catered to should move out of their parents house and get a job.

The fact that GSC has released several statements regarding their heartfelt dedication to making Stalker 2 their best game ever, and that they intend to give fans what they want, AND then releasing 3 patches in the first week says a lot about their integrity.

And whats to come? More groundwork in the form of patches, a free multiplayer addition is on the way, and 2 expansions / DLC. Also, once the official SDK is released - modders will have a field day with this world. Not to mention that GSC has also stated several times (as well as included it as a feature of the game) that they are fully supporting the modding community.

With this information, and the fact that GSC has already moved in the direction of making good on their commitment - anyone who is angry enough over the condition of the initial release that they would throw curse words at GSC should just quit gaming and find a new hobby - something like collecting sea shells. I can understand some disappointment but, seriously - grow up. No game developer is obligated to release perfect games, or games that please the most entitled fans. You choose to buy a game, and if the game isnt up to snuff for you - then YOU made a bad choice...deal with it. When mature adults make choices that dont work out, they see it through, or chalk it up as a loss and move on. What happens in these forums is pathetic. We should absolutely praise GSC. During the development of this game their country was invaded, and they went to war for their freedom. A developer named Volodymyr Yezhov went to war to defend his country and made the ultimate sacrifice. We should pay our respects when humans uphold honor, bravery, and courage to step away from our silly world and give their life to do what they believe is right. Its a miracle we got the game the way we did. RIP Volodymyr Yezhov - the REAL Stalker.

For me - I have experienced only 2 crashes in 40+ hours. One came from simply turning the camera in a circle really fast, and another came as I was selling a stack of beers to Hamster. Both of those crashes were more than several hours apart.

My system: Self Built
Mainboard - MSI Z690 Gaming Pro
i5 12600k - Arctic Freezer II 360
RTX 3060 TI FE
32 GB Steel Viper Gaming RAM
Samsung NVME 1TB Gaming Drive
NZXT Case

I am playing with settings mostly on Epic with some on high, and some on medium, and a couple on low. I have experienced very little frame stability issues - maybe a 2-5 FPS loss in populated areas. Also, I have yet to experience any game breaking bugs. That said, with all the complaints going around regarding bugs and performance, until I get to that stage in which most of the game breaking bugs are said to be happening - I will consider myself lucky and blessed...of which I am rarely lucky.

I want to go back to mods for a moment because modding IS the Stalker legacy. Would Stalker 2 even be a thing without revolutionary mods like Call of Chernobyl, Misery, Anomaly, and GAMMA? The Stalker modding community maintained Stalkers mythical relevance for well over 10 years. Anomaly is arguably one of THE best mods ever created in gaming history. Period. Anomaly is such a great mod that it is basically a stand alone successor of the original Stalker, and now IT gets modded. I mean, anyone who is not playing with mods is "kind of" not playing the REAL Stalker experience. GSC embraces the modding community - they intend for their game to be modded; there is nothing wrong with modding.

Mark my words today - this game will be up for the Labor of Love award and it will win. Players who have all this hatred in their hearts will regret not being more supportive in these early days. We will be playing this game for many years to come, and it will uphold the same legacy as the original Stalker. Many gamers only heard about The Zone - and far fewer had the bravery and skill to consider surviving it. Those of us who LIVED in The Zone for thousands of hours, and mastered hunting mutants, dispatching Monolith, and maintaining our gear - WE truly became Stalker, and this is our game.

I, for one, got exactly what I expected from GSC, and I am proud to vote for this game as Game of the Year.

[Raz_1_1]

Right on the spot.Bang on..

[space]

nah, not even close

[Marlicus]

agree - most fun ive had in a game in a long time

[Zibigan]

Just because you say it as fact does not mean it is. Stalker 2 will not come close to winning a GOTY award.

[Greyfire]

Originally posted by Zibigan:

Just because you say it as fact does not mean it is. Stalker 2 will not come close to winning a GOTY award.

When did I say it was fact that Stalker 2 would win GOTY? GOTY isnt a fact anyway, its an opinion. No matter what game wins it, it will just be based on the collective majority of one opinion. I dont really care how close it comes - for me, its GOTY and I am proud to support my opinion.

[Bleu]

Let me reward you, with a clown, like y'all are, Bugged mess alpha stage, enemy spawn behind you, you can almost feel the enemy breath on your neck, No A life, sleep system bugged, hunger system bugged, GOTY just because the game is called STALKER? y'all are Monoliths , I give Wukon the GOTY, finished product with great Story, We have to wait further for Stalker to be a Better game

[Silentghost]

How are you having fun in a game with a respawning band aid AI system? i simply refuse to play this until it is fixed. That system is pure garbage. The worst way of placing enemies i have seen in what 30 years? the system is just spawning random enemies in your location. Imagine if dark souls did that LOL

OP
I am playing with settings mostly on Epic with some on high, and some on medium, and a couple on low. I have experienced very little frame stability issues - maybe a 2-5 FPS loss in populated areas.
(this is a flat out lie. A 4090 drops to 40 fps in that first town)

the game is UNFINISHED.

[alquemir]

Without working A-life this is not a true STALKER game.

[PuffyLunk]

you guys still getting riled up by this chatGPT AI written garbage???

[micronauta]

For me too 👊👊👊👊

[Stalker2010]

Yet we're still discussing.

[Greyfire]

Originally posted by Bleu:

Let me reward you, with a clown, like y'all are, Bugged mess alpha stage, enemy spawn behind you, you can almost feel the enemy breath on your neck, No A life, sleep system bugged, hunger system bugged, GOTY just because the game is called STALKER? y'all are Monoliths , I give Wukon the GOTY, finished product with great Story, We have to wait further for Stalker to be a Better game

Thanks! And I gave my reasons why I feel its GOTY, and none of them have to do with it just being called Stalker. Enemies arent spawning behind me, A-Life needs work but its not too far off, and I am not sure what the bugged sleep system or the bugged hunger system is.

P.S. Get that grammar game up, my guy. I know its cliche to point it out but, its difficult to take anyone serious who doesnt take their communication game serious.

[Zibigan]

Originally posted by Greyfire:

Originally posted by Zibigan:

Just because you say it as fact does not mean it is. Stalker 2 will not come close to winning a GOTY award.

When did I say it was fact that Stalker 2 would win GOTY? GOTY isnt a fact anyway, its an opinion. No matter what game wins it, it will just be based on the collective majority of one opinion. I dont really care how close it comes - for me, its GOTY and I am proud to support my opinion.

"GOTY. Period. End of Discussion"

[DopeDawg]

Low standards is the reason every release is an open beta nowadays. But I guess OP is 12 years old and he simply doesn't know what a good game meant back then

[Greyfire]

Originally posted by Silentghost:

How are you having fun in a game with a respawning band aid AI system? i simply refuse to play this until it is fixed. That system is pure garbage. The worst way of placing enemies i have seen in what 30 years? the system is just spawning random enemies in your location. Imagine if dark souls did that LOL

OP
I am playing with settings mostly on Epic with some on high, and some on medium, and a couple on low. I have experienced very little frame stability issues - maybe a 2-5 FPS loss in populated areas.
(this is a flat out lie. A 4090 drops to 40 fps in that first town)

the game is UNFINISHED.

Because that is not the game I am playing. And hey - worst enemy placing in 30 years?...make a game then and show us all how its done. Also, its not a flat out lie but, it is the truth. You may have zero clue but, there are players running this on low at 60 FPS in 1080p on 1650s. Get some study time in, and we can continue.