S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Announced, Could Ambush Multiple Platforms

[Sebenko]

This could be bad, very, very bad.

I really hope they dont feel the need to dumb it down for the console crowed. If they do dumb it down, the PC fans will reject them, the console crowed will love them, GSC sees that they got hell of a lot more money from consoles, abandons PC gamers. We the elite will then shed a tear for another fallen hero.

"The Elite". Right, cause nothing is better than perpetuating the stereotype that PC gamers are the bourgeois of the gaming world while we console peasants revel in a dumbed-down, worse version of the game. cause we'd totally be okay with that. cause ya know, were console peasants, and were fine with a dumb downed version of the product.

We are. We have cake. Haw Haw Haw!

But we "the elite" don't want you to have it (cake or Stalker) because console versions always end up dumbing down the PC version. Always. Seriously. This is, of course, not good for the image of console gamers in the eyes of Pc gamers.

 

[SenisterDenister]

I would be totally down for multiplatform! Opens it up to a much wider market and lets people have a go, who, may not have had, or wanted to previously

You clearly have not played any of the games to know what you're talking about. Go back to your JRPG, scooter.

 

[Kollega]

With all the hate against consoles flying around, it's easy to over look an important fact. That important fact is simple: the original STALKER is basically the Russian equivalent of Duke Nukem Forever in terms of development length. Rumor has it that without THQ's interference the game would NEVER be released. I wonder how long it's gonna take for them to make a sequel.

 

[mad825]

*sigh*
I guess now I've got another IP to catch up with.

anybody know how to complete a A-level course within a month?

 

[Rewold]

Maybe I'll try this game after it comes out. Always been a bit curious about this series but never actually played any of the games nor do I know anything about them.

 

[Sebenko]

With all the hate against consoles flying around, it's easy to over look an important fact. That important fact is simple: the original STALKER is basically the Russian version of Duke Nukem Forever in terms of development length. Rumor has it that without THQ's interference the game would NEVER be released. I wonder how long it's gonna take for them to make a sequel.

The managed two other games in a reasonable length. Maybe they'll have got the times down a little bit. There's probably a bit more pressure on them to release in good time, too.

 

[MattyDienhoff]

Another S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game? Awesome!

Multi-platform? Not so much, multi-platform FPSes tend to sacrifice depth and complexity for the sake of accessibility, usually to their detriment and I'm certain that would be true in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.'s case, the series wouldn't be the same without its harsh difficulty and strange blend of complexity and simplicity.

This reminds me of what happened to Operation Flashpoint. The first game was developed on the PC, and it was rough, tough and incredibly atmospheric despite being clumsy and complex in some ways. The cross-platform sequel, Dragon Rising, is probably better designed but feels... bland. It lost its spark. I hope that's not what happens to S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

 

[SenisterDenister]

With all the hate against consoles flying around, it's easy to over look an important fact. That important fact is simple: the original STALKER is basically the Russian version of Duke Nukem Forever in terms of development length. Rumor has it that without THQ's interference the game would NEVER be released. I wonder how long it's gonna take for them to make a sequel.

First of, they're Ukrainian, not Russian. Secondly, the game would have been released by 2008 whether or not THQ would have interfered, and after the release of the first game, the next two years had two more games come out vastly expanding gameplay and further delving into the setting. The game has been scheduled for 2012, and with GSC already having a sound footing in not only the game's setting, but through funding and everything else the game will be released on time.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 will probably be the closest thing that they were intending for their very first product.

 

[Kollega]

But we "the elite" don't want you to have it (cake or Stalker) because console versions always end up dumbing down the PC version. Always. Seriously. This is, of course, not good for the image of console gamers in the eyes of Pc gamers.

I am a PC gamer, always was, and i feel the need to ask you to do one simple thing: go jump off a bridge. You are a disgrace to all of us, console or PC owners. Can't we all just get along, without that unneccesary elitism?

EDIT: Okay, i apologize in advance, this was worded a bit more harshly than neccesary. But the point still stands - "all console players r dumb" is a cliche as trite as The Hitler Card, and simply not true.

 

[Kelethor]

This could be bad, very, very bad.

I really hope they dont feel the need to dumb it down for the console crowed. If they do dumb it down, the PC fans will reject them, the console crowed will love them, GSC sees that they got hell of a lot more money from consoles, abandons PC gamers. We the elite will then shed a tear for another fallen hero.

"The Elite". Right, cause nothing is better than perpetuating the stereotype that PC gamers are the bourgeois of the gaming world while we console peasants revel in a dumbed-down, worse version of the game. cause we'd totally be okay with that. cause ya know, were console peasants, and were fine with a dumb downed version of the product.

We are. We have cake. Haw Haw Haw!

But we "the elite" don't want you to have it (cake or Stalker) because console versions always end up dumbing down the PC version. Always. Seriously. This is, of course, not good for the image of console gamers in the eyes of Pc gamers.

So what your saying is, Console players deserve none of the fantastic games made for PC (Half life, Dragon Age, ETC) Because our pee sized brains and inability to comprehend anything more complex than "Use gun on Man" would make developers cringe at the idea of giving both a console gamer and a PC gamer the same game. This, needs to change. because if it doesn't developers will see that PC gamers hate the dumbed down version of the game, but the console fans are perfectly fine with it (some of us, IE me, will say that we don't need a dumbed down or lesser version of the game, but were the minority so who cares) and start developing worse games solely for the console. that way, they spend less time making a quality product, and more time raking in profits for console exclusive games. then, we both lose. Console gamers lose because were getting a poor quality version of the game, while the PC gamers get nothing at all. is that really what you want?

 

[Kollega]

First of, they're Ukrainian, not Russian.

In that particular case, i wasn't speaking of developers' country. I meant that it's an equivalent of DNF in the Russian market.

Secondly, the game would have been released by 2008 whether or not THQ would have interfered...

The fact that STALKER was infamous for being delayed still stands, i was just pointing that out. I don't really keep an eye on what people at GSC say, you understand...

 

[MattyDienhoff]

But we "the elite" don't want you to have it (cake or Stalker) because console versions always end up dumbing down the PC version. Always. Seriously. This is, of course, not good for the image of console gamers in the eyes of Pc gamers.

I am a PC gamer, always was, and i feel the need to ask you to do one simple thing: go jump off a bridge. You are a disgrace to all of us, console or PC owners. Can't we all just get along, without that unneccesary elitism?

In cases like this I just mentally replace the phrase "dumbing down" with the word "simplifying", because that's the reality of it as far as I'm concerned.

Mind you, there's nothing wrong with the fact that some games are simpler (in controls as well as features) than others. Games with simpler controls tend to play better on consoles, for obvious reasons. I'm just of the opinion that some games can't be simplified enough to make them suitable for consoles without diluting what makes them special, like in the Operation Flashpoint example I discussed a few posts up.

 

[thethingthatlurks]

First of, they're Ukrainian, not Russian.

In that particular case, i wasn't speaking of developers' country. I meant that it's an equivalent of DNF in the Russian market.

Secondly, the game would have been released by 2008 whether or not THQ would have interfered...

The fact that STALKER was infamous for being delayed still stands, i was just pointing that out. I don't really keep an eye on what people at GSC say, you understand...

Dunno, the constant release delays may have been the result of STALKER being GSC's first major title. Remember all the features they announced but didn't include in the game? I'm sure it would have been released at some point, and it probably would have been even better.

 

[Mr. McFuzzers]

I would love to play S.T.A.L.K.E.R. on one of my consoles and I thought that Fallout 3 was a little to easy so i'm looking foward to this.

 

[Sebenko]

But we "the elite" don't want you to have it (cake or Stalker) because console versions always end up dumbing down the PC version. Always. Seriously. This is, of course, not good for the image of console gamers in the eyes of Pc gamers.

I am a PC gamer, always was, and i feel the need to ask you to do one simple thing: go jump off a bridge. You are a disgrace to all of us, console or PC owners. Can't we all just get along, without that unneccesary elitism?

Wow, combine some humour with some legitimate worries about my favourite FPS getting dumbed down, and that's the response?

It's not like I put "the elite" in quotation marks for shits n' giggles.

Wall o' text snip

No, what I'm saying is that PC games that go multiplatform end up dumbing down. It has nothing to do with console gamer's "pea sized brain". Console games always end up dumbing down. Maybe it's the perception of console devs, maybe the publishers being dicks, or maybe the lack of buttons to do stuff with.

Also, use paragraphs. I couldn't read the second half of your post, so I have no idea what you're trying to say.

 

[Kelethor]

So what your saying is, Console players deserve none of the fantastic games made for PC (Half life, Dragon Age, ETC) Because our pee sized brains and inability to comprehend anything more complex than "Use gun on Man" would make developers cringe at the idea of giving both a console gamer and a PC gamer the same game. This, needs to change. because if it doesn't developers will see that PC gamers hate the dumbed down version of the game, but the console fans are perfectly fine with it (some of us, IE me, will say that we don't need a dumbed down or lesser version of the game, but were the minority so who cares) and start developing worse games solely for the console. that way, they spend less time making a quality product, and more time raking in profits for console exclusive games. then, we both lose. Console gamers lose because were getting a poor quality version of the game, while the PC gamers get nothing at all. is that really what you want?

I realize the person you're respoding to, kinda provoked your response. But, I'll say no, it's not about console players brains, or intelligence. Has absolutely nothing to do with the people at all. Has everything to do with what's inside the console itself. Hardware-wise, SoC, CS and CoP would not have been the same games as what came to PC. I definitely fear a general dumbing down of the game also, but I hope that GSC utilizes great scaling.

That having been said, the other thing I fear, is that GSC will stop innovating in areas that require high-end processing power. Sure, not everyone gets to experience some of those effects, but...some do, and technology is always improving. So, to cop-out simply to hit a bigger audience while dulling down the experience... dunno, I just hope they don't follow suit with Crytek (and yes, Crytek cop'd out, not because they made a console version, but because they specifically chose to cut things only PC's would be able to handle, out of Crysis 2).

You raise a good point. Im glad not everyone thinks that the console gamer's world is a land filled with barbaric idiots, clubbing away at one another with fanboy-ish glee. that being said, i'm saddened to hear that it's a tech problem. you'd think that after dropping nearly 300 dollars for a PS3 or and Xbox 360, id get a copy of Stalker that isn't composed of dumbed down game-play, poor graphics and shoddy AI.

 

[SenisterDenister]

All I can. My adequate gaming rig couldn't take the highest settings on the first S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game whilst it ran other games just flawlessly.

Either way, I am hoping they will release this for the XBOX360 as well. It would be epic to experience this game on a HDTV level!

And in between actual conversation we see the true face of a console player pop its head up to verify our fears.

 

[Mr Companion]

I hope this next one will be both scarier and more difficult than the last two games of the trilogy. The second one wasn't easy at all, but it also wasn't scary. And the third one was neither challenging nor scary. I hope they get back on track and really start fu*king with my head again. I want to once again feel the utter terror of The Zone.

 

[Asehujiko]

Fuck stalker and fuck the console version even more, where the hell is my next Cossack or HoAE?

There need to be more fantasy rts games where the dark lord of the undead shows up with an M1A2 Abrams tank, we have more then enough post apocalyptic fps games already.

 

[Mr Companion]

I hope this next one will be both scarier and more difficult than the last two games of the trilogy. The second one wasn't easy at all, but it also wasn't scary. And the third one was neither challenging nor scary. I hope they get back on track and really start fu*king with my head again. I want to once again feel the utter terror of The Zone.

Install the SMRTER mod for Call of Pripyat. That should increase the difficulty a tad

I might do just that. Thanks for the advice.