Question from an OG Stalker

[JCHBK]

Been playing HOC since launch and have been following all the threads here since regarding bugs, ridiculous spawning, lack of A-Life, etc etc and waaaaaating for those to be addressed. The game is now stable for the most part so I can play/enjoy, except for that stupid spawning. Made it to Garbage and after reading how many game breaking bugs are still present throughout the game have decided - very reluctantly - to uninstall till its worth playing for the proper experience. I hung in there with CP2077 and played it through to the end pretty swiftly before it was truly polished and don't want to repeat this and lose out on that 'first time playthrough' as it should be.

Anyways, I'm thinking of firing up the classics and wanted to ask folks here what Mod(s) they'd recommend. I finished SOC (best gaming experience ever for me) and made it partway through CS and COP, but due to family/getting older never got round to finishing them. Not really interested in a massive overhaul such as Anomaly (which I understand is basically a new game in itself), but rather want a modernised yet closeish-to-vanilla play through if that even exists.

What would be great is if there is an all-in-one mod out there which I dunno, combines all three originals/maps into one play thorough with must-have mods. Does that even exist ? The modders are insanely good so wouldn't surprise me if there is, but hell knows where to look given how many there are available. Also, what game is typically used as a base for mods now - I'm guessing COP as it was released later ? More than anything, I'm looking for a bit of inspiration on where to go from here. it's personal preference, but eye candy is a must, so polishes like that I'd welcome first. Better A-Life aswell ofc.

Let me have it stalkers.

Cheers.

[mti_]

The big hitters are:

Misery - Overhaul for the third game

GAMMA - Combines maps of all 3 games (but obviously not the story) and SO much more.

those two are the real deal.
The are absolutely not "close to vanilla" though. Heavily modded and close to vanilla are basically mutually exclusive but these will take your Stalker experience to a new level rather than just polish up the original games a bit to somewhat modern standards.

[Elzquiem]

I've got you covered. Check this video : https://youtu.be/vFiaC-Cams8?feature=shared

[Bluehawk]

"What would be great is if there is an all-in-one mod out there which I dunno, combines all three originals/maps into one play thorough with must-have mods. Does that even exist ?"

If you want a repackage of maps, factions etc. from all three games- you want Call of Chernobyl. If you want "must have" mods added on top, you want Anomaly. If you want an even larger (possibly bloated) overhaul of Anomaly, you have GAMMA. And if you really want to push the engine to the limits of breaking, you have the infamous "Cumulative Pack", which is basically the spiritual successor to the "soup" mods.

[JCHBK]

thanks a lot people, looks like I'm sorted !

[JCHBK]

Originally posted by Elzquiem:

I've got you covered. Check this video : https://youtu.be/vFiaC-Cams8?feature=shared

haha, it's as if this video was made just for this question. quality.

[Panther]

Originally posted by Bluehawk:

"What would be great is if there is an all-in-one mod out there which I dunno, combines all three originals/maps into one play thorough with must-have mods. Does that even exist ?"

If you want a repackage of maps, factions etc. from all three games- you want Call of Chernobyl. If you want "must have" mods added on top, you want Anomaly. If you want an even larger (possibly bloated) overhaul of Anomaly, you have GAMMA. And if you really want to push the engine to the limits of breaking, you have the infamous "Cumulative Pack", which is basically the spiritual successor to the "soup" mods.

Ye Call of Chernobyl is the base that all the other mods people will suggest are built on.
I think the dev team broke up or got busy with other things, so still might be better to play Misery or Gamma.

[Greyfire]

GAMMA is going to be a bit complex. You will want to look into it in-depth before installing it. If you want something more plug-and-play then Anomaly is what you want. Anomaly itself can also be modded so, unlike GAMMA which is has a very complex download process and then comes equipped with like 400 mods, you can just get base-line Anomaly and choose which mods are best without going over every mod mod that comes with GAMMA and figuring out which ones you want to use or not. This keeps your folder small and helps your game run smoother knowing which mods are do what things.