How Long To Beat Stalker Call Of Pripyat
Is for informative and interesting gaming content and discussions. Please look over our and before posting. If you're looking for 'lighter' gaming-related entertainment, try!The goal of is to provide a place for informative and interesting gaming content and discussions. Submissions should be for the purpose of informing or initiating a discussion, not just with the goal of entertaining viewers.For an in-depth explanation of our rules don't forget to check our andSubreddit CalendarWant to schedule an AMA with us? Read our for more information! Stalker mods have really let the game grow over the years despite the developer's lack of presence. The mods that have come out of the scene have ranged from bug fixes to complete overhauls.
I'm now playing Call of Pripyat everyday, and it does absolutely rock. I'm not quite at Pripyat, still setting things up. I luv the rpg elements of this, having a fight go poor with a Bloodsucker because I was using slugs in my long barrel shot gun, should have been using shot in my other semi auto-short barrell that I use. Jupiter map seems to be the most affected, but I have had Pripyat crashes too. I have had to go around areas sometimes, a long way out of my way, to avoid having a crash as I move from Point A to Point B, which is annoying because those NPC/AI engagements are often a good source of loot which I have been unable to collect.
In this post I'll list off mods I've either A) Played or B) Heard excellent things about.A bit of a warning:MOST MODS ARE NOT COMPATIBLE WITH EACH OTHER!Vanilla Stalker is buggy, some mods make it buggier. Prepare yourself for crashes and remind yourself to keep calm and cheeki breeki. Save Games usually are not compatible from mod to mod.Installing ModsMost mods (if a installer is not included) rely on dropping a 'gamedata' folder into your stalker directory. Uninstalling them is as simple as deleting this folder.
Mods with installers will usually come with uninstallers.If your game fails to start, do the following:. Delete gamedata folder, try to start game. If it crashes:. Verify game cache, try to start game. If it still crashes:. Uninstall game and delete folder.
This is your last resort and you probably will never have to do it.Tips. Make a copy of your vanilla game folder before modding and keep it around. It's really convenient to delete a modded game folder and just bring over the vanilla game contents to get a fresh start. It's a huge time saver.S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Lost Alpha Free Standalone Game.
Want to play Stalker for free? Well here's one way but it's more than that. It's a reimagining of SOC with everything from levels to interface.
Story lines are altered and original concepts from SOC's development were reintroduced. Huge project and a great standalone game. Shadow of Chernobyl (SOC)The first in the series and what many will say is the best of the original three.
Released in 2007 and while it brought many computers to their knees, this game was groundbreaking. The modding scene was (and still is) strong with this one.Bugfixing mods (aka mods that don't alter the vanilla game TOO much). A community effort to fix everything broken with the game. Supposedly compatible with many other mods.
This mod is specifically aimed towards bugfixing the vanilla game. Promises better performance and a very customizable experience. While this is mostly a stability mod, it adds various things like drivable vehicles, monsters, blowouts, and gun balancing. The Complete series is one of the most well-known and popular mods though not all will agree with the decisions took in development for it. Included are new textures, sounds, music, weather, bug fixes, AI improvements, interface and more. Many reccommend it to first time Stalkers who want a more modern looking game without changing the vanilla gameplay too much.
Some will bash it for having altered some difficulty settings and making the game 'easier' which is subjective and I don't have an issue with. NOTE Some redditors have pointed out this mod is rather outdated and is not the best to recommend to new players wanting a vanilla experience.Graphical OverhaulsThis category can overlap with the bugfixing mods but most of these focus on amazing visuals instead of bugfixing. One of my favorite mods for SHOC as it completely changes the look and feel of the already amazing atmosphere. New tree models, textures, weather, sounds, weapons, and music.
It's hard to describe the pure beauty of this mod but trust me, it's. Newly released graphical engine overhaul which adds better lighting, dynamic textures, DOF, and other visual features. Popular Texture pack incorporated into a lot of mods.Gameplay OverhaulsThese mods change a lot. Most add many weapons while others change the element of gameplay. This mod makes Stalker even harder.
No minimap, limited ammo and a grueling environment. Recommended for experienced stalkers and TURN YOUR CROSSHAIR OFF! This mod makes you appreciate your pistol. New models, over 80 weapons, animations, ballistics, weather, interface, and overhauled stealth mechanics. One of the biggest community modpacks to date. Adds 30+ locations, 14+ monsters, 13 factions, insane amount of weapons, and plenty of new quests promising 200-300 hours of content.
The feature list is too big to put here but trust me, it's huge. Creator is technobacon and the latest thread on Steam for it is over.
It even has its own. This is a huge mod, I can't stress that enough. Have yet to try this but supposedly overpassing STALKERSOUP in features and size. Most of what I see is in Russian but I'm sure most people can figure out how to install it. F.O.T.O.G.R.A.F. Instead of shooting bullets you'll be shooting pictures as you document the zone. Very interesting concept.
Adds a new story line and made from the same developers who eventually went to make one of the most popular mods of the 3rd installment, MISERY for Call of Pripyat. Tons of features and completely new experience for SOC.
Brings Faction Wars to SOC. Factions will act independently and take over territory around the zone.
Eventually turning into a warzone. Was built on top of this so it may be more up to date. Thanks to for the mention. thanksS.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear SkySecond game in the series released in 2008. Very bad reception at first due to bugs and poor optimization. Modders have gave the game a little love over the years but it is still considered the red-headed stepchild of the series.Vanilla Experience.
Similar to OGSE and Complete, this mod aims to rebuild the vanilla experience while optimizing and adding a few features. Similar to ZRP for SOC, a community effort at fixing bugs. Still in development. The next Complete mod, does similar things that Complete for SOC did.Graphical Overhauls. An attempt at bringing the look and feel of the popular Misery mod to COP.
Popular Texture pack incorporated into a lot of mods.Gameplay Overhauls. Adds the option of joining any faction from the start and performing random missions and tasks to gain reputation. Fantastic mod. One of my favorite mods for Clear Sky as it adds high quality weapons and animations to the game. This could be listed under Vanilla as well but it's a fantastic mod that adds a bunch of bugfixing, graphical features and new items. Haven't tried this one but supposedly has a big mix of russian made mods translated to english. Call of PripyatFinally we get to my favorite in the series.
Released in 2010 this game was applauded for being the most stable and optimized game in the series. It also has had huge modding support from the scene.Vanilla Experience. Yet another Complete mod for CoP. Does the same as the previous mods in the series.
NOTE Supposedly unstable.Graphical Overhauls. One of the more popular weather mods for the series. Completely changes the feel of the world. Accurate sun positioning, longer nights with moon phases, new skyboxes, blowouts, fallouts, and psi storms. A must have mod that is usually included in other mods. Popular Texture pack incorporated into a lot of mods.Gameplay Overhauls. You can't hear people talk about Stalker mods without hearing about Misery.
This mod completely overhauls the game into a grueling torture of difficulty and detail. Hundreds of new items, gun repair mechanics, in depth artifact mechanics, and more. This is NOT for the feint of heart, but many will argue it makes Stalker feel more like a Stalker game should feel. Unforgiving but rewarding. This mod adds tons of guns with excellent textures, sounds, and animations. Very vanilla experience but with more equipment. Highly recommended.
Tons of new guns (93 models), fantastic animations, weapon extensions, gear and more. Haven't tried it but from the little I can find it seems to be a big overhaul. My first experience with Oblivion Lost was coming out of the bunker at the beginning of the game into a torrential rainstorm. I made my way through the starting town, reached the road, and heard a strange noise.So I stopped. It's STALKER. You stop when you hear strange things.And over the hill from the wilds, what do I see? Dozens, upon dozens of pigs.
A horde of mutant, screaming swine heading straight at me illuminated by nothing but lightning.So I ran. Straight back through the town, into the bunker, and I cowered by the merchant while thunder crashed overhead, and pigs screamed in the town, and Stalkers shouted and poured ammunition into the mutant swarm.And eventually it stopped. The storm ended, the gunfire stopped, and I heard no more pigs. I ventured out, walked into the town, and found complete carnage. Dead pigs everywhere, the bodies of Stalkers contorted all over the place, even a squad of soldiers lying in the street. Not a single living thing survived in the entire town, and I was less then ten minutes into the game.So naturally I looted the hell out of the town, wandered onto the road, and was immediately devoured by a bloodsucker.
Actually, you know what? I think I can beat that story from the same playthrough.I was on my way back to the Bar from the Army Warehouses, loaded down with all manner of fancy weapons, armor, and artifacts.
I reach the exit of the zone, come over a hill, and immediately find that the spawn and pathfinding have declared it to be 'Fuck You, Stalker' day. Sitting on the road, right in front of the exit, are the following:.
4 Controllers. 20-odd Zombies. 5 Burers. 2 Pseudogiants (Presumably because fuck you, Stalker.)And so here's how things went down. The Controllers immediately spotted me, dragging my face in and kicking it out, and because there were so many, it was a continuous cycle. The moment one attack was finished, another would begin, over, and over, and over again so that I was effectively stun-locked and could do nothing.The Zombie horde started shuffling towards me, moaning like death incarnate.The Burers ran in and started beating the crap out of me.The pseudogiants, oddly, did nothing. I guess they figured I was in enough pain as it was.And that's how I died.
Controllers playing ping-pong with my face, swarmed by zombies, and clubbed to a pulp by dwarves.It is simultaneously the most horrifying and most hilarious death I have ever experienced.
It's easy to understand why brutalism has been such a potent source of architectural inspiration for games. The raw forms - solid, legible and with clear lineation - are the perfect material for level designers to craft their worlds with. Simultaneously, these same structures are able to ignite imaginations and gesture outwards, their dramatic shapes and monumental dimensions shocking and attention-seizing.Brutalism is a branch of architecture that spans roughly 30 years (1950s-1970s).
It was borne out of the devastation of two world wars, when there was a need to rebuild. In this aftermath brutalism became a vital global phenomenon. If you live in a city, you've no doubt passed by a hulking example.The term derives from a French invention: b ton brut, meaning raw concrete. This is the structure's most prominent feature - sheer concrete surface, often left rough, exposed or unfinished. Significant in the emergence of brutalism was the architect Le Corbusier and his Unit d'Habitation. Built from reinforced concrete, the housing unit was an attempt to create what Le Corbusier called 'a machine for living' - a place that met our every need.
It was a thoroughly modern, progressive and even utopian conception of architecture. Regardless of the visual force of brutalism, it's impossible to divorce it from this socio-historical background.Read more.
In a restaurant somewhere in sunny Los Angeles County, 13 years ago, two old friends were having lunch. Wine and conversation were flowing. They remembered how they'd met at LucasArts in the 90s. They weren't there to talk business but they did because video games were their bread and butter. One of the men, Jack Sorensen, was reeling-off job opportunities he knew of - he being executive vice president of worldwide studios at games publisher THQ. 'THQ Australia?'
But the other man, Dean Sharpe, didn't seem interested. He had closed his own studio Big Ape Productions a couple of years earlier, dropped off the radar and taken a break, and now he was ready for something new. But Sharpe wanted a challenge.Sorensen dangled the bait.
'It was somewhere during the second bottle of wine he mentioned he had this crazy thing in Ukraine,' Dean Sharpe tells me over Skype now (he never did get fully back on the radar and he's a hard man to find). 'Wow Ukraine,' he thought to himself, 'that sounds interesting.' Sorensen outlined his problem: THQ had a team making a fascinating game in Ukraine called Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl. The game was dark and massive, set around the twisted disaster zone of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
It was part shooter, part role-playing game, part eerie open-world sandbox adventure. But Stalker was overdue, long overdue, and Sorensen needed someone on the ground out there to finish it - someone in Ukraine to be THQ personified, day in day out, doing whatever it took to get the game done.Read more.
How about a STALKER battle royale game? There's one in development. It's called Fear the Wolves and it's made by Vostok Games, the studio formed from the ashes of STALKER developer GSC.Fear the Wolves takes place, like STALKER, in the creepy radiation-blasted wasteland of Chernobyl. It's a 100-player deathmatch where you can play lone wolf or in squads - but players won't be the only enemy.
Deadly anomalies constantly threaten your health, mitigated somewhat by protective gear found while exploring. Of more pressing danger, however, will be the mutated forms lurking in the shadows.Fear the Wolves will be released at some point this year on PC and consoles - presumably much later this year. There'll be an early access phase on PC beforehand.Read more. Like a lot of you (I'm guessing), I've never even tried the multiplayer modes in the terrific Stalker series, but it's good to know that I'll be able to if I ever get the itch.
GSC Gameworld's post-apocalyptic horror shooter games are the latest to be rescued from GameSpy oblivion, via automagical Steam patches, or if you don't own the games on Steam, one equally magical manual multi-patch for all three games. One of the pleasant parts of writing about games is just meeting the people who share your weird career. I went to a media dinner at PAX East this year and had the chance to get to know some editors that I hadn t met before.
The guy sitting next to me happened to be primarily a console gamer, but that actually ended up being a neat opportunity for us to have a kind of cultural exchange. I got to learn about the state of Kinect games and Halo, and he got to hear me explain the appeal of Arma, a game that inspired me to memorize the NATO alphabet.I took his business card and emailed him a few of my favorite Arma videos by Dslyecxi and CHKilroy later that night, hoping they would give him a sense of the beautiful coordination that s possible in a systems-driven, moddable, massive-scale multiplayer game.
A few days after PAX East, I got a wonderful reply our conversation and the videos I d passed along had inspired him to build his first PC in 15 years.I love being a PC evangelist. With my colleague s note, though, came a tough question: What are the three PC-only games I missed in the last 15 years that I absolutely have to play?Daunting, right? These are the games I recommended, pasted verbatim from our email exchange://From: Evan LahtiSent: Tuesday, May 5, 2014 4:01 PMTo: James VideogamesSubject: Re: ARMA WONDERSHey James,Late follow-up here, but whoa, how exciting! Let me know if you need a hand with the build.
Happy to pitch in or mail along one of our PC building issues.Glad to hear you re willing to dig through some of PC gaming s wondrous past. Give GOG.com a gander for most of that. Fallout 2 is a must; building a grounded, variously amoral character in that setting holds up well. Deus Ex demands a bit of modding to make comfortably modern, though there are some great guides out there. TLJ is a wonder.But man, this is a dream question. It s the gaming editor s equivalent of being visited by an alien, then asked to provide the three products of humanity they re most proud of. The approach I ve taken here is to suggest three games that are deeply representative of what there is to love about PC gaming as it exists right now.
I don t know if I can say that these are absolutely, individually the best games ever made and I remember you mentioning not being particularly interested in MOBAs, so I ll omit those but as a group I think that these games form some good kindling for what ll hopefully be a passionate relationship with PC gaming going forward.Play these games:Civilization VCiv is two things to me: the best board game in the world (that you can happen to play alone) and history, reverently presented in an elegant, entertaining form. The care with which Firaxis animates its tiny, tiled Earth and digital figurines does so much to make its subject matter vibrant. Beyond that, it s a wonderfully arranged set of rules that sets up meaningful decisions around how you develop your civilization. You have to zero-in on short-term and long-term goals while bumping up against the cultural, political, and territorial ambitions of the other civs in your world; it s one of the few experiences where I can drop a dozen-some hours into a game, lose, and enthusiastically start a new game the next second, certain in my new, improved plan to achieve a science victory.My best advice, if you aren t big on history, would be to dig up a mod for whatever your favorite fandom might be LOTR, Game of Thrones, The Elder Scrolls Avatar: The Last Airbender? A weird amalgamation of Blizzard properties? My Little Pony? I don t know what you want.
Perhaps your lifelong dream was to found a civilization dedicated to Arnold Schwarzenegger. Play as the Geth for all I care.Papers, PleaseA lot of the publishing friction that used to exist for individual and small game creators has been removed over the past few years, and it s a trend that s invited more weird, thoughtful, emotional narrative and systems-driven games. Papers, Please is my favorite from the past year; Lucas Pope takes a depressing setting (a fictionalized stand-in for a post-USSR Europe) and an uncomfortable subject (poverty and totalitarianism) and molds it into dystopian Oregon Trail told through rubber stamps and passport photos.You play an immigration checkpoint officer, reporting into work each day to check over documents for errors. Each person processed correctly earns you money that goes towards maintaining the survival of your family (expressed as an end-of-day score screen where you pay to heat your squalid apartment, for example), but there s only so much time in each day to earn this money, so there s a real pressure to analyze quickly.
Without spoiling anything the mundanity of all that is undercut by a series of moral decisions you have to make; in my review, I described it as the intersection of efficiency and intrigue. The need to focus on paperwork to detect forgeries while weighing your conscience and the need to collect your meager paycheck to support your family. The confluence of all that is brilliant. Another quote: A paperwork sim might sound mundane, but spotting a mislabeled gender or a forged stamp produces real pride, and Papers, Please keeps boredom at bay by gradually introducing incentives for bending or breaking the rules.When you re done, do Kentucky Route Zero, The Castle Doctrine, The Stanley Parable, Gone Home, and The Swapper.S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat + the CoP Complete modDespite being our designated shooter guy, I made the mistake of waiting years to try STALKER. Pripyat is the third expansion, and the Complete mod dials up the production quality of the game s skyboxes, textures, and other assets to modern standards without altering the story or gameplay. Complete is what I d recommend for a first playthrough, but feel free to give Misery a look if you re feeling especially masochistic.Other than Arma, and with FEAR as a close second, the most memorable firefights I ve had in video games have been in STALKER. Imagine fighting on open terrain, in the dark, with limited ammo, against an unknown number of bandits that are crawling around in some beat-up, abandoned factory.
Pripyat prompts you to play with a ton of spontaneity, and that scrappy quality of its firefights distinguishes it from anything else in gaming. The closest approximation might be clearing out a dangerous, random bandit camp in Skyrim, but that s always felt more like an exercise in picking apart an outpost at my own pace rather than being forced to fight on the fly.STALKER isn't afraid to leave itself unexplained, and you realize how rare the experience of encountering enemies with zero introduction to how they operate is in modern gaming. In other words, without the heavy-handed explanation and focus-tested tutorialization you d get from many Western shooters. That doesn t mean STALKER is tough per se I d describe it more as a game that trusts you enough to feel around in its (haunted, radioactive) world with your arms extended, make mistakes, and learn through that experience. This approach to design is also part of the DNA of DayZ and Arma.
How Long To Beat Stalker Call Of Pripyat 1
Have fun fighting invisible radioactive monstrosities in swamps during a lightning storm!Mechanically, too, STALKER mixes fidelity with playability in some nice ways; guns degrade and require specific types of ammunition, but every rifle and pistol feels as comfortable as a Call of Duty weapon.Also:FTL, the pinnacle of the current roguelike craze. I suppose it s out on iPad, too.Skyrim + mods, most of which are single-click installs these days through Steam Workshop (like Skyrim Unbound is especially good for a second playthrough, as it makes how you enter the world selectable from the outset. You can cut the Dragonborn aspect of the game out completely I wanted to play as a completely martial, magicless atheist, so this was especially helpful.games,Evan LahtiEditor-in-Chief, PC GAMERevan@pcgamer.comtwitter.com/elahti//From: James VideogamesSent: Tuesday, April 15, 2014 7:01 AMTo: Evan LahtiSubject: Re: ARMA WONDERSHeya Evan,Great catching dinner with you too, man. It's a rare treat to pick someone's brain who's deeply ensconced in granular PC gaming. I know folks who experiment with ArmA and EVE Online, etc. But no one who plays seriously.
These videos are fascinating especially the half hour one. I don't necessarily know if I'm tempted to play now, but it's certainly reinforced my fascination.Your selection of highlights did, however, inspire me to purchase components to build my very first PC since ye olde Packard Bell I had back in '97.
Pretty excited about it to be honest. My question for you: What are the three PC-only games I missed in the last 15 years that I absolutely have to play? Archaic mechanics and aesthetics don't frighten me, so don't hold back.
Fallout 2, The Longest Journey, and Deus Ex are already at the top of my list.Best,James//On Fri, Apr 11, 2014 at 10:55 PM, Evan Lahti wrote:Hey! Great having dinner with you. Here's a few Arma videos that'll give you a sense of why folks get into it:Some gritty, tough, guerrilla-style PvPsizzle reel of momentslonger video that shows a large-scale infantry battle with a bunch of new (but relatively experienced) players, basically like a training mission for recruits against AIhttp://youtu.be/BguGRjPqCtM?t=5m6s.
Around seven months after the release of Misery 2.0, its team are back with a new update. Misery 2.1 might not be a big change numerically, but the STALKER: Call of Pripyat mod has received some major revisions to AI, weapons, gear, economy, interface and difficulty. It's such a dramatic overhaul that the creators now consider it to be 'a completed modding project', and, as such, are moving on to something else.That something else is a Kickstarter project for The Seed: a post-apocalyptic interactive novel set in Eastern Europe. They're looking for 15,000 to finish their 2D psychological story.For Misery, the team have produced a typically gloomy trailer.You can see the full mod patch list over at the Misery site, and download version 2.1 at ModDB. And, if you want to know more about The Seed, head over to the team's Kickstarter page. Remember when buying a game didn’t feel like a guarantee of seeing the ending? There are still hard games out there, Dark Souls flying the flag most recently, but increasingly, the challenge has dripped out or at least softened, often leading to sadly wasted opportunities.
What would Skyrim be like, for instance, if its ice and snow wasn’t simply cosmetic, but actually punished you for going mountain climbing in your underpants?With a quick mod – Frostfall in this case – you’re forced to dress up warm before facing the elements, and things become much more interesting. That’s just one example, and over the next couple of pages you’ll find plenty more. These aren’t mods that just do something cheap like double your enemy’s hit-points, they’re full rebalances and total conversions. Face their challenge, and they’ll reward you with both a whole new experience and the satisfaction of going above and beyond the call of duty.MiseryGame: Stalker: Call of PripyatLink: ModDBAll those weapons scattered around? Now more dangerous. Magic mini-map?
Valuable quest rewards? Things you do get: thirsty, and factions who send goons after you if you anger them.
On the plus side Pripyat is much more active, with a complete sound overhaul, and new NPCs to meet – who all have to play by the rules too, with no more infinite ammo. If you can survive here, you’ve got a good chance when the actual apocalypse comes.Project NevadaFallout: New VegasLink: Nexus ModsNevada is a good example of making things more difficult without being openly psychotic. Levelling is slower, players and NPCs get less health, and obvious features are now in, such as armour only being a factor in headshots if the target actually has head protection.
It’s also possible to toggle some extra-hardcore options, such as food no longer healing and taking care of hunger/thirst/ sleep on the move. There’s a sack of new content, and an Extra Options mod is also available, offering even more control.Brutal DoomGame: DoomLink: ModDBDespite what modern ‘old-school’ shooters would have you think, Doom was a relatively sedate experience – fast running speed, yes, but lots of skulking in the dark and going slow.
Not any more! Brutal Doom cranks everything up to 11, then yawns and goes right for 25.6. We’re talking extra shrapnel, execution attacks, tougher and faster monsters, metal music, and blood, blood, blood as far as your exploding eyes can see. It’s compatible with just about any level you can throw at it, turning even E1M1 into charnel house devastation. The enemies don’t get it all their own way, as Doomguy now starts with an assault rifle rather than simply a pistol, and a whole arsenal of new guns has been added to the Doom collection – including the BFG’s big brother.Full Combat Rebalance 2Game: The Witcher 2Link: RedKitThis streamlines the combat and makes the action closer to how Geralt’s adventure might have played out in the books.
He’s more responsive, can automatically parry incoming attacks, begins with his Witcher skills unlocked, and no longer has to spend most fights rolling around like a circus acrobat. But he’s in a tougher world, with monsters now figuring out counterattacks much faster, enemies balanced based on equipment rather than levels, and experience only gained from quests, not combat. Be warned this is a 1.5GB file, not the megabyte Hotfix that’s claimed.RequiemGame: SkyrimLink: NexusElder Scrolls games get ever more streamlined, and further from the classic RPG experience. Requiem drags Skyrim back, kicking and screaming. The world is no longer levelled for your convenience. Bandits deliver one-hit kills from the start. The undead mock arrows, quietly pointing out their lack of internal organs with a quick bonk to your head.
How Long To Beat Stalker Call Of Pripyat Cheats
Gods hold back their favour from those who displease them. Most importantly, stamina is now practically a curse. Heavy armour and no training can drain it even if you’re standing still, and running out in battle is Very Bad News. Combine this with Frostfall, and Skyrim finally becomes the cold, unforgiving place it claims to be.RadiousTotal War: Shogun 2Link: TWCenterNot only is this one of the most comprehensive mods any Total War game has ever seen, its modular nature makes it easy to pick and choose the changes that work best for the experience you want. Together, the campaign AI is reworked, as are the skills and experience systems, diplomacy and technology trees. There are over 100 new units.
Campaigns are also longer, providing more time to play with all this, with easier access to the good stuff early on in the name of variety. There’s even a sound module that adds oomph to rifles. Add everything, or only the bits you want. It’s as much of a tactical decision as anything else on the road to conquering Japan.Game of ThronesGame: Crusader Kings IILink: ModDBReal history doesn’t have enough bite for you? Recast the whole thing with Starks, Lannisters, Freys and the rest and it will. This doesn’t simply swap a few names around, but works with the engine to recreate specific scenarios in the war for the Iron Throne.
Individual characters’ traits are pushed into the foreground, especially when duels break out. Wildlings care little about who your daddy was. It’s best to know a fair amount about the world before jumping in, and the scenarios themselves contain spoilers, but you’re absolutely not restricted to just following the story laid down in the books.Realistic WeaponsGame: Grand Theft Auto IVLink: GTAGarageGuess what this one does. A bowling league for Roman?
Cars that drive themselves? A character who appears to tell Niko “You have $30,000 in your pocket, you don’t need to goon for assholes” after Act 2? No, of course not.
These guns put a little reality back into the cartoon that is GTA. Ghostview for windows 10. The missions weren’t written with that in mind, obviously, but there’s nothing stopping you from giving it a shot.
Worst case: murdering random civilians on the street is much quicker, easier and more satisfying. At least until the cops show up to spoil the fun. Range, accuracy, damage, ammo and fire rate are all covered, though be warned that you shouldn’t expect perfect accuracy from your upgraded hardware. This is GTA after all. Realism is not baked into its combat engine.The Long WarGame: XCOM: Enemy UnknownLink: NexusModsYou’re looking at eight soldier classes, many more missions, invaders as focused on upgrades as your own science team, and a much longer path to victory.
Research is slow, not least to make early weapon upgrades more useful, while the aliens are constantly getting more powerful. Their ships are better, their terror missions are more regular, and more of them show up for battle. In exchange, you get to field more Interceptors, the council is easier to appease, and the ETs don’t cheat as much.Ziggy's ModGame: Far Cry 3Link: NexusModsZiggy makes Rook Island a more natural place, removing mission requirements for skills, cutting some of the easier ways to earn XP, increasing spawn rates to make the island busier, and throwing away the magic mini-map in favour of a compass. The second island is also unlocked from the start.
Smaller changes include randomised ammo from dropped weapons, being able to climb hills that you should realistically be able to, and wingsuit abilities made available earlier to get more out of them.TerrafirmacraftGame: MinecraftLink: TerrafirmacraftMinecraft has a Survival mode, but it’s not desperately challenging. Terrafirmacraft takes it seriously, with hunger and thirst that must be dealt with at all times, and key elements added such as the need to construct support beams while mining to prevent cave-ins, and a seasonal cycle that determines whether or not trees will produce fruit. Many more features are to be added, but there’s enough here already to make survival about much more than throwing together a Creeper-proof fort.Synergies ModGame: Torchlight IILink: Synergies ModThis adds a new act to the game, over a hundred monsters, new rare bosses, a new class – the Necromancer – more and tougher monsters and the gear to take them on. There are also endgame raids to add challenge once the world is saved yet again, and more on the way – including two new classes (Paladin and Warlock). It’s the top-ranked Torchlight II mod on Steam Workshop, and easily the most popular. Be aware that it’s still in development, and has a few rough edges.Civilization NightsGame: Civilization VLink: Steam WorkshopWhile Brave New World has officially given Civ V a big shake up, for many players Nights remains its most popular add-on.
It’s a comprehensive upgrade, adding new buildings, wonders, technologies and units, with a heavy focus on policies and making the AI better. The single biggest change is how it calculates happiness, citizens adding cheer simply by existing, but the slow march of war and other miseries detracting from the good times. Annexed a city? Don’t expect too many ticker-tape parades.
Yet keeping happiness up is crucial, as it’s also the core of a strong military. This rebalancing completely changes how you play, while the other additions offer plenty of scope for new tactics and even more carefully designed civilisations.Ultimate Difficulty ModGame: DishonoredLink: TTLG ForumsThis makes Dishonored’s enemies more attentive, faster and able to hear a pin drop from the other side of the map.
When you get into a fight, it quickly becomes an all-out street war. The biggest change is to Dishonored’s second most abusable ability: the Lean (Blink of course being #1). Corvo can no longer sit behind scenery, lean out into an enemy’s face and be politely ignored. He’s now much more likely to be spotted – especially in ghost runs, where his advantages are now limited to the Outsider’s gifts rather than the Overseers’ continued lack of a local Specsavers.HardcoreGame: Deus ExLink: ModDBNew augmentations! Randomised inventories! Also a few time-savers: instead of separate keys and multitools for instance, a special keyring has both, while upgrades are used automatically if necessary.
Difficulty also changes the balance considerably, from the standard game to ‘Realistic’ mode where you only get nine inventory slots, to ‘Unrealistic’, which makes JC Denton the cyborg killing machine he’s meant to be, but at the cost of facing opponents who warrant it. In this mode he gets double-jumping powers, and automatically gobbles health items when he gets badly wounded. Good luck though, I still got nowhere. Remember when buying a game didn’t feel like a guarantee of seeing the ending? There are still hard games out there, Dark Souls flying the flag most recently, but increasingly, the challenge has dripped out or at least softened, often leading to sadly wasted opportunities.
What would Skyrim be like, for instance, if its ice and snow wasn’t simply cosmetic, but actually punished you for going mountain climbing in your underpants?With a quick mod – Frostfall in this case – you’re forced to dress up warm before facing the elements, and things become much more interesting. That’s just one example, and over the next couple of pages you’ll find plenty more. These aren’t mods that just do something cheap like double your enemy’s hit-points, they’re full rebalances and total conversions. Face their challenge, and they’ll reward you with both a whole new experience and the satisfaction of going above and beyond the call of duty.MiseryGame: Stalker: Call of PripyatLink: ModDBAll those weapons scattered around? Now more dangerous. Magic mini-map? Valuable quest rewards?
Things you do get: thirsty, and factions who send goons after you if you anger them. On the plus side Pripyat is much more active, with a complete sound overhaul, and new NPCs to meet – who all have to play by the rules too, with no more infinite ammo. If you can survive here, you’ve got a good chance when the actual apocalypse comes.Project NevadaFallout: New VegasLink: Nexus ModsNevada is a good example of making things more difficult without being openly psychotic. Levelling is slower, players and NPCs get less health, and obvious features are now in, such as armour only being a factor in headshots if the target actually has head protection. It’s also possible to toggle some extra-hardcore options, such as food no longer healing and taking care of hunger/thirst/ sleep on the move.
There’s a sack of new content, and an Extra Options mod is also available, offering even more control.Brutal DoomGame: DoomLink: ModDBDespite what modern ‘old-school’ shooters would have you think, Doom was a relatively sedate experience – fast running speed, yes, but lots of skulking in the dark and going slow. Not any more! Brutal Doom cranks everything up to 11, then yawns and goes right for 25.6. We’re talking extra shrapnel, execution attacks, tougher and faster monsters, metal music, and blood, blood, blood as far as your exploding eyes can see. It’s compatible with just about any level you can throw at it, turning even E1M1 into charnel house devastation.
The enemies don’t get it all their own way, as Doomguy now starts with an assault rifle rather than simply a pistol, and a whole arsenal of new guns has been added to the Doom collection – including the BFG’s big brother.Full Combat Rebalance 2Game: The Witcher 2Link: RedKitThis streamlines the combat and makes the action closer to how Geralt’s adventure might have played out in the books. He’s more responsive, can automatically parry incoming attacks, begins with his Witcher skills unlocked, and no longer has to spend most fights rolling around like a circus acrobat. But he’s in a tougher world, with monsters now figuring out counterattacks much faster, enemies balanced based on equipment rather than levels, and experience only gained from quests, not combat.
Be warned this is a 1.5GB file, not the megabyte Hotfix that’s claimed.RequiemGame: SkyrimLink: NexusElder Scrolls games get ever more streamlined, and further from the classic RPG experience. Requiem drags Skyrim back, kicking and screaming. The world is no longer levelled for your convenience. Bandits deliver one-hit kills from the start. The undead mock arrows, quietly pointing out their lack of internal organs with a quick bonk to your head. Gods hold back their favour from those who displease them. Most importantly, stamina is now practically a curse.
Heavy armour and no training can drain it even if you’re standing still, and running out in battle is Very Bad News. Combine this with Frostfall, and Skyrim finally becomes the cold, unforgiving place it claims to be.RadiousTotal War: Shogun 2Link: TWCenterNot only is this one of the most comprehensive mods any Total War game has ever seen, its modular nature makes it easy to pick and choose the changes that work best for the experience you want.
Together, the campaign AI is reworked, as are the skills and experience systems, diplomacy and technology trees. There are over 100 new units. Campaigns are also longer, providing more time to play with all this, with easier access to the good stuff early on in the name of variety. There’s even a sound module that adds oomph to rifles. Add everything, or only the bits you want. It’s as much of a tactical decision as anything else on the road to conquering Japan.Game of ThronesGame: Crusader Kings IILink: ModDBReal history doesn’t have enough bite for you? Recast the whole thing with Starks, Lannisters, Freys and the rest and it will.
This doesn’t simply swap a few names around, but works with the engine to recreate specific scenarios in the war for the Iron Throne. Individual characters’ traits are pushed into the foreground, especially when duels break out.
Wildlings care little about who your daddy was. It’s best to know a fair amount about the world before jumping in, and the scenarios themselves contain spoilers, but you’re absolutely not restricted to just following the story laid down in the books.Realistic WeaponsGame: Grand Theft Auto IVLink: GTAGarageGuess what this one does. A bowling league for Roman? Cars that drive themselves?
A character who appears to tell Niko “You have $30,000 in your pocket, you don’t need to goon for assholes” after Act 2? No, of course not. These guns put a little reality back into the cartoon that is GTA. The missions weren’t written with that in mind, obviously, but there’s nothing stopping you from giving it a shot. Worst case: murdering random civilians on the street is much quicker, easier and more satisfying. At least until the cops show up to spoil the fun.
Range, accuracy, damage, ammo and fire rate are all covered, though be warned that you shouldn’t expect perfect accuracy from your upgraded hardware. This is GTA after all. Realism is not baked into its combat engine.The Long WarGame: XCOM: Enemy UnknownLink: NexusModsYou’re looking at eight soldier classes, many more missions, invaders as focused on upgrades as your own science team, and a much longer path to victory. Research is slow, not least to make early weapon upgrades more useful, while the aliens are constantly getting more powerful.
Their ships are better, their terror missions are more regular, and more of them show up for battle. In exchange, you get to field more Interceptors, the council is easier to appease, and the ETs don’t cheat as much.Ziggy's ModGame: Far Cry 3Link: NexusModsZiggy makes Rook Island a more natural place, removing mission requirements for skills, cutting some of the easier ways to earn XP, increasing spawn rates to make the island busier, and throwing away the magic mini-map in favour of a compass. The second island is also unlocked from the start. Smaller changes include randomised ammo from dropped weapons, being able to climb hills that you should realistically be able to, and wingsuit abilities made available earlier to get more out of them.TerrafirmacraftGame: MinecraftLink: TerrafirmacraftMinecraft has a Survival mode, but it’s not desperately challenging.
Terrafirmacraft takes it seriously, with hunger and thirst that must be dealt with at all times, and key elements added such as the need to construct support beams while mining to prevent cave-ins, and a seasonal cycle that determines whether or not trees will produce fruit. Many more features are to be added, but there’s enough here already to make survival about much more than throwing together a Creeper-proof fort.Synergies ModGame: Torchlight IILink: Synergies ModThis adds a new act to the game, over a hundred monsters, new rare bosses, a new class – the Necromancer – more and tougher monsters and the gear to take them on. There are also endgame raids to add challenge once the world is saved yet again, and more on the way – including two new classes (Paladin and Warlock). It’s the top-ranked Torchlight II mod on Steam Workshop, and easily the most popular. Be aware that it’s still in development, and has a few rough edges.Civilization NightsGame: Civilization VLink: Steam WorkshopWhile Brave New World has officially given Civ V a big shake up, for many players Nights remains its most popular add-on. It’s a comprehensive upgrade, adding new buildings, wonders, technologies and units, with a heavy focus on policies and making the AI better.
The single biggest change is how it calculates happiness, citizens adding cheer simply by existing, but the slow march of war and other miseries detracting from the good times. Annexed a city?
Don’t expect too many ticker-tape parades. Yet keeping happiness up is crucial, as it’s also the core of a strong military. This rebalancing completely changes how you play, while the other additions offer plenty of scope for new tactics and even more carefully designed civilisations.Ultimate Difficulty ModGame: DishonoredLink: TTLG ForumsThis makes Dishonored’s enemies more attentive, faster and able to hear a pin drop from the other side of the map. When you get into a fight, it quickly becomes an all-out street war. The biggest change is to Dishonored’s second most abusable ability: the Lean (Blink of course being #1).
Corvo can no longer sit behind scenery, lean out into an enemy’s face and be politely ignored. He’s now much more likely to be spotted – especially in ghost runs, where his advantages are now limited to the Outsider’s gifts rather than the Overseers’ continued lack of a local Specsavers.HardcoreGame: Deus ExLink: ModDBNew augmentations! Randomised inventories! Also a few time-savers: instead of separate keys and multitools for instance, a special keyring has both, while upgrades are used automatically if necessary.
Difficulty also changes the balance considerably, from the standard game to ‘Realistic’ mode where you only get nine inventory slots, to ‘Unrealistic’, which makes JC Denton the cyborg killing machine he’s meant to be, but at the cost of facing opponents who warrant it. In this mode he gets double-jumping powers, and automatically gobbles health items when he gets badly wounded. Good luck though, I still got nowhere.