Posts from STALKER

Update from 12/19/20:

Description of changes compared to the previous official mod release (some of the changes were available for some time, but were not officially announced).
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The mod has been adapted for ERA 3.2 + HD mod 5.2 RC 15.

Many graphical elements of the game interface have been changed/added (after the ERA added the ability to render arbitrary images in text dialogues).
The threshold for the negative value of "demoralization" during anomalous effects has been changed to "-7" points.
The appearance of some monsters has been changed.
Animations for some special abilities of creatures have been changed/added.
The animation for the Regeneration, Prayer, and Poison spells has been changed.
A transparent animation display mode has been set for some spells.
Changes to locations:
The Bay
The initial The Bay location has been simplified. The hero receives a fixed amount of experience from the "chests" available in this location. A guaranteed bonus in the form of containers with equipment for the hero has been added. The number of Snorks near the Watchtower in The Bay has been reduced (but the chance of a random hero for these Snorks has been increased).
Oasis
The number of Arachnids near the Shrine of Return in the Oasis location has been reduced.
The amount of gold required to purchase a First Aid Kit has been reduced.
Radar
A quest has been added to access the area with the Blade Guardian.
Descriptive dialogues have been added, explaining some of the mechanics of creatures (for story-driven quests - in the form of hints).
Additional conditions have been added to make the battle with Tazar easier (Masian's quest + a condition to increase magical critical hit in the first round of this battle).
An additional condition has been added for the battle with Styg (hint - presented as several dialogue messages on the way to her location / during the inspection of her lair).
The cost of purchasing/upgrading Archangels has been changed.
The cheat menu has been disabled. To activate/deactivate it, you now need to enter a command in the game chat (the commands themselves are described in a text file in the mod archive).
The ability to activate the mode of 100% appearance of a commander for Random Heroes has been added, after the Marked One reaches level 33 (there is also the possibility to return to "standard" settings).
Some changes have been made for Vano's personal quest.
And many more improvements, mainly of an explanatory nature.

Update from 01/05/21:

A graphical information icon has been added to the dialogues at the start of the map and in the Tips, indicating the benefits of purchasing different versions of healing potions.
A message-tip with color-coded highlights has been added to the "Outpost Duty" quest, reminding players of the deadline for completing the request (the original deadline was excessive, but some players, upon first arriving at the quest location, decided it was too difficult and postponed it to later stages, where it became impossible to complete. However, the quest itself served as a kind of tutorial and allowed for a battle with a guaranteed victory, provided that the necessary morale and luck conditions were met and the player arrived before the specified deadline).
The battle in the garrison before the hero Shina ("Saving the Duty's scientific group and destroying the chimera") has been simplified: the number of Shadow Dragons has been reduced to 15 (in case the player has significantly delayed the progress in previous stages. Even with this change, the battle has a winning outcome, but since most players who left any comments complained about the difficulty, the map has undergone many simplifications).
Color highlights have been added to the dialogues with the Duty's assault group Commander and immediately before the Ruins of Sin, to help players understand when to check their equipment for changes in the properties of certain components.
A well has been added to the location near the Wasteland Guardian, allowing players to leave this location if they are delaying the scenario in the hope of farming resources, which could lead to a situation where their personal teleportation beacon becomes unusable, and they have not yet acquired an improved version.
A color highlight has been added to the dialogue with the Guide (first encounter), to provide a clearer understanding of the changes in the properties of some of the items in his equipment.
The artifact required to open the chest with the "statuette part" has been renamed and given to the hero Fedot Cherny. This may allow players to gain access to an increase in the recruitment rate at Shevchenko a couple of weeks earlier than planned.
Color highlights have been added and some syntactic corrections have been made to the dialogues for "Vano's Personal Quest".
Due to the significant changes to the map in the direction of simplification, I decided to restore the option for the player (optionally) to use a mode that best reflects the development of the combat aspect of the gameplay (a simplified version of what was present in the early versions of the mod). The player can activate this mode only after the Marked One reaches level 33. The commands to activate/return to the standard mode have been added to the Tips and to the external text file included in the build.
Animations have been added for the Wasteland Guardian and Replicant creatures, for some possible battle scenarios, provided that the player equips certain artifacts before these battles.

Update from 01/26/21:

    The overall difficulty of completing the starting location, Zaton, has been reduced. A technical message has been added when a quest is given by the Duty outpost (regarding the timing of the battle with the Snorks). Before the battle with the Snorks, a dialogue is now displayed for the player, offering a choice of difficulty for this battle.
    The ability to choose the difficulty of battles with "Random Heroes" has been added when the Marked reaches level 33. The choice is available through a dialogue window, activated by right-clicking on the "Sleep/Wake Hero" icon (the icon has been changed for clarity).
    Some monsters in the underground level of the map have been changed/added.
    The ability to unlock certain areas of the map has been added based on specific player actions (to visually indicate possible passage to these areas).
    The battle with the Wasteland Guardian has been made more difficult. Now, the battle and the location itself are only accessible if the player arrives at the location BEFORE approaching the Lapis Lair (a warning message is displayed after taking the "last" of the available "Watchtowers" in the tunnels).
    The ability to acquire the "Learnability" skill for free has been restored when obtaining the "Axe of Crushing" artifact.
    The AI hero, Sanya Void, has been strengthened.
    Some audio dialogues have been added/changed when interacting with certain objects.
    The ability to dismantle the "Last Argument" artifact has been removed.
    Auto-saving has been added to the following events: "Battle with the Snorks," "Stig Outpost."
    A visual hint has been added for the Watchman on "Amber" to clearly indicate the conditions for accessing this location.
    The combat significance of the "Gorgonites" creatures for the hero, Rashka, has been increased.

Update from 02/06/21:

    The mod has been adapted for ERA 3.3.4.
    Recommended graphics settings for the game have been expanded (to be selectable in the HD mod). The resolution of 1280*720 is now set as the default.
    The save file for the "I Am a Marksman" expansion has been "rebuilt" (some dialogues have been changed due to changes in the game engine). Some conditions for awarding scenario artifacts/spells have been changed for some of the storyline branches. The issue with the phantom dog being displayed after it is activated as the player's main hero has been fixed.
    A network property has been added to the "Stalker Suit" artifact.
    An additional property has been added for neutral monsters in the "Zombie 50% + Difficulty" mode. Now, in this mode, neutral creatures will receive increased damage parameters depending on the "lost in anomalies" defense points of the Marked One (simulating a furious attack by mutants sensing the victim's vulnerability).
    A battle scenario with the AI hero Korvak has been added.
    The specialization, some secondary skills, and artifacts of the hero Korvak have been changed.
    Special abilities have been added for the creatures "Jerboa" and "Jerboa Leader" for the duration of the battle with the hero Korvak.

Update from 11.05.21:

 Added an object-marker in Skadovsk with an explanation of possible first-aid kit options (multiple visits, visual + description).
 Removed additional Knowledge parameters from many artifacts that previously added them.
 Changed the chance of receiving the Knowledge parameter when gaining a level as the Marked One.
 Reworked the functionality of the "School of Magic", "Academy of War", "Training Arena", "Fountain of Luck", and "Blessing of Venus" buildings.
 Changed the way the "Bloodlust" enchantment is obtained (now through an artifact).
 Changed the scenario of the battle with Sancho (made it more difficult).
 "Disabled" some of the objects in the "Tree of Knowledge", the visual remains.
 Changed the scenario of "spawning" anomalies in some areas of the map (affects starting bases, narrow passages, locations for completing story quests).
 Added vulnerabilities to certain elements for some monsters (all undead are vulnerable to fire, "walking swamp creatures" - to lightning, some monsters - to poison (there is a post-effect while under the influence of poison) and hypnosis).
 Changed movement penalties for the "Lava" surface.
 Changed the way the "Pathfinding" skill is obtained.
 Introduced a system of Ranks and Status for the Marked One's team.
 Changed the way Healing and Repair are paid for.
 Changed the way "payment" is made for upgrading Grom at the Watchtowers.
Now, resources are not required for the upgrade, but the presence of "Stalker Luck" is necessary (this parameter accumulates when winning battles and completing some quests).
 The difficulty of completing the scenario after level 33 is divided into two options.
 Simplified mode:
 No "Random Heroes" spawn, no part of the penalties for "changed team states". The main gameplay is focused on finding loot, which is received for increasing the team's status. The Rank will not increase in this mode. Stalker Luck has a standard accumulation rate. Some artifacts become unavailable in this mode (since their functionality is unlikely to be relevant for it).
 <veteran zone> mode:
 "Random Heroes" in this mode are deterministic. The player can find out information about them (specialization, added units, spells) by clicking on the monster on the location (to choose a specific strategy for the upcoming battle). Separate battle scenarios are written for some of these heroes.
 There are penalties for receiving negative states for the Marked One's team.
 Stalker Luck has an increased rate for winning against ordinary monsters and an additional bonus for winning against "Random Heroes".
 Depending on the Rank, the player will have access to new quests with unique rewards for completing them. Part of the story inserts are available to the player only after completing these quests (some quests have several possible outcomes).
 Quests to find caches with loot (depending on the Rank) appear only in the second half of the game (unlike the simplified mode).
 One of the types of resources has been added/replaced (Mythril has been changed to "Spare Parts for Repair"). Now the player has the option to create items (medical supplies). This skill can be improved by first receiving "recipes" to improve the produced drugs.
 Spare Parts for Repair can be used both for field repair of armor (requires the "Repair Kit" item) and for the production of Epinephrine. They can be obtained either as trophies from bandits/Random Heroes, or by disassembling the "Protective Plate" artifact (requires the "Repair Kit" item).
 Quests given for Ranks/Status are recorded in the Journal (inside the hero's window) and have visual/textual accompanying hints.
 Some properties of previously added artifacts have been changed (for greater relevance when used).
 Rewards in resource banks have been changed (for the <veteran zone> mode - rewards depend on the player's Stalker Luck).
 The economic system has been reworked.
 Some story monsters have been added (unique abilities/visuals).
 The effects of some enchantments/resistances have been changed for some monsters/artifacts.
 Story dialogue inserts have been added in the "second" half of the story.
 The consequences of deactivating anomalies in the <veteran zone> mode have been changed.
 Some parts of the "underground" locations have been changed. The "Mercenary Outpost" has been added. "Territorial limiters" have been set when initially laying out potential routes after reaching level 33 (they are subsequently removed depending on the player's progress).
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 And many other changes/additions (I just can't remember everything)
 Preview of some of the added artifacts and the hero "doll":

 

  
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Video of some of the added/changed story battles:
Mercenary Outpost


Battle with Ulysses


Battle with Fedot the Black

Update from 07/09/21:
     
     The mod has been adapted for ERA 3.8.0.
     Added functionality to view monster stats on the adventure map for the <veteran zone> mode.
     (Key combination: Ctrl+Alt+Left Mouse Button)
     Added several plot dialogues.
     Disabled the alphaj.dll library (transparency support). Now, transparency is provided directly by the game engine. Added/redrawn PNG files for updated dialogues.
     Added/modified many objects for the adventure map with semi-transparency (total number is about 90/not all are used/)
     Backgrounds for plot battlefields have been converted to PNG format.
     Defs of some adventure map objects have been converted to PNG format.
     Added the "Fearlessness" property to Grom when he receives Epinephrine (for the duration of the drug).
     Added the "Hand Grenade" spell to the AI for the player character, Aksa.
     Added some visual hints in the dialogues regarding the location of the Sniper's stash.
     Added the hiding of Brokhild's outpost until the Marked One talks to Holrst.
     Added some explanatory dialogues about the principles of operation of some artifacts.
     Added an option for quick saves on the F9 key.
     Modified/added Defs for some objects/creatures/artifacts.
     Added an additional and main version of the battle in the "Mercenary Outpost" quest, with changes.
     Added an option to choose the display of the number of anomalies.
     Added explanatory notes for the quests in Sukhov's biolaboratory, regarding the moment with the possible
     increase in the cost of purchasing Controller Brains by Sukhov, as well as bonuses for possible subsequent cooperation with him.
     Added a function to automatically close the hero's dialogue window after using the "Teleportation Beacon (experimental)" artifact.
     Added "Soft Shadows" objects to some parts of the locations.
     Fixed the condition for the triggering of the Executioner spell.
     The "I am Sniper 01" add-on has been adapted for ERA 3.8.0
     Improved dialogues in the "X-10", "X-13" locations, and for Vano's quest.
     Fixed the name of the replacement Def file for the battle in X-13 (due to the transition to PNG format)
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the following, in dynamics, looks much better than in static form
[spoiler=Preview of some added objects/dialogues:]













[/spoiler]

Update from 16.09.21:

The mod has been adapted for ERA 3.8.10.
The way Inferno is used by the Fire Sprite in battle against the Ulysses hero has been changed, along with minor changes related to this.
Objects of the type "rain" with semi-transparency have been added (4 types of effects /downpour, drizzle, bubbles from falling drops/).
The effect of drizzle is also used as an imitation of a wet surface.
The definitions of the spells "Quicksand", "Wall of Fire", "Force Field", "Undead Extermination" have been changed,
as well as all Elemental Defenses.
The background of the spellbook has been changed /to a darker background for better contrast (reasons are described below)/.
Color highlights have been created for the names of spells of each school of magic /for a clearer association with the schools of magic/
(this was necessary due to the changed visual effects of some spells).
The spell icons in the spellbook have been reworked with a PNG variation of frames.
The visuals of the objects "Tunnel Gate" and "Hidden Cache (resource bank of the Dungeon faction)" have been changed.
The visual of the creature "Mechanical Helper" has been changed.
The size of the creature "Golden Dragon", displayed on the adventure map, has been increased.
The visuals of the monsters "Warden X-10" (now a single-cell creature), "Mechanical Helper", and "Prospector" have been changed.
The monster "Reaper" and the artifact "Mines" have been added.
Triggers for activating some creatures' special abilities have been replaced
(this should contribute to a more "precise" temporal response to the creature's actions when the ability is activated).
An additional condition has been added for mana regeneration in battle from the "ammunition cart" in the <veteran zone> mode.
The definitions of the spells "Wave of Death" and "Poison" have been changed.
A questline has been added for the Reaper (destroyer of Watchtowers).
A function has been added to view possible spells for "Random Heroes" in the <veteran zone> mode.
A flag "not subject to morale" has been added for the creatures "Rift Lynx".
Some text dialogues and artifact descriptions have been corrected.
An object of the type "Barrier" and its activating chain have been added to access the "Amber" location.
The pictures in the dialogues "Glossary: Warden X-10" have been corrected.
The visual of the spell "Wave of Death" has been changed (the previous version is also left in the mod's resource folder).
A "most faithful ending" option has been added. The "I-Shar" expansion has been adapted for it.
A combat version of this ending and a final dialogue have been created. The dialogue "I-Shar's message on the Oasis" has also been expanded.
An option has been added to extend the lifespan of the experimental TP beacon of the Branded, for players who have prolonged the playthrough
of the "tunnel part" of the story.
A function has been added to forcibly disable the experimental TP beacon of the Branded after a certain stage of the plot.

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Preview of the added story battlefields:]
Battle with the Reaper


Mercenary Outpost


Battle with Ulysses

Demonstration test showing some of the changed spells: