S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Complete 2009

I still crash at startup:

XR_3DA.exe caused ACCESS_VIOLATION in module "c:\program files\steam\steamapps\common\stalker shadow of chernobyl\bin\XR_3DA.exe" at 001B:0041F9B0, ISpatial_DB::insert()+192 byte(s)

I don't know how much time I am going to spend trying to figure it out. I do want to play the game but it was only a couple bucks and I don't want to troubleshoot it all day.

This is where the crash information is stored:

http://sdk.stalker-game.com/en/index...

Common recommendations: run installer as Administrator, start a new game.

I'm planning to do a lite version of this mod for Clear Sky with respect to its improvements over older Shadow of Chernobyl. CS doesn't need much tweaking.

Just got S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and I'm getting the same weird BugThing error that Cobble mentions. Trying to patch but Steam's servers are getting hammered - is there a way to manually download/install patches for Steam games? When I downloaded a 1.0005 patch from FileFront, the patch couldn't find my game, which I'm assuming is because Steam installs it in a weird way. Even the shortcut on my desktop points to Steam.exe with an -app#### suffix.

The Steam release should already be fully patched.

Steam is patched automatically, you just have to wait till it's done with all updates. When you launch the game, you will see the version number on the lower left corner, it should say ver. 1.0005. This should be sorted out before applying the mod.

Steam forums can be helpful in troubleshooting the game install, quite a few people can't get it to work: http://forums.steampowered.com/forum...

Warlock wrote:

Just got S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and I'm getting the same weird BugThing error that Cobble mentions. Trying to patch but Steam's servers are getting hammered - is there a way to manually download/install patches for Steam games? When I downloaded a 1.0005 patch from FileFront, the patch couldn't find my game, which I'm assuming is because Steam installs it in a weird way. Even the shortcut on my desktop points to Steam.exe with an -app#### suffix.

On the initial download from steam the game is on 1.0005 already. There arent any more patches through steam that I have seen.

I am not sure what the deal is with it really. One thing i haven't done is try to launch it without the mod. maybe I will try that and it will tell me if its the game itself or the mod thats causing it to happen. All i know is I launch the game, select new game... it appears to work then hangs on the prefectching objects screen. If i let it sit it will eventually crash with the error or posted earlier, usually after 15 minutes or more.

I did some reseach to try to pinpoint why its not working but after crawling through the mod comments and the steam forums i havent found anything yet. At some point I will probably just write the game off as not worth the trouble.

Correct, the game comes pre-patched to 1.0005. If you have a problem with unmodified game, you can create a ticket and Steam support will most likely be able to help you with that.

This is the error log that I'm getting:

Expression : assertion failed
Function : CLocatorAPI::ProcessArchive
File : E:\stalker\sources\trunk\xrCore\LocatorAPI.cpp
Line : 337
Description : hdr

Usually the first thing to do is to Verify integrity of game cache via Steam shortcut properties. It fixed my game a lot of times.

You have to make sure the game works before applying the mod.

Expression : assertion failed
Function : CLocatorAPI::ProcessArchive
File : E:\stalker\sources\trunk\xrCore\LocatorAPI.cpp
Line : 337
Description : hdr

When you install any mod, there could be a 'thumbs.db' hidden file in each subfolder in gamedata\textures. It doesn't come with mod, but for some reason it gets created by OS and prevents the game from starting on some systems. Just delete them.

Yeah that error message was both pre- and post-installation of the mod, so I'm really not sure what's happening. I shouldn't be surprised considering the game isn't really designed to run on Windows 7, but I'll keep working on it.

As a matter of fact, I'm 1 for 3 out of the games I've installed so far from the Steam sale that have just worked - I had to mess around with Indigo Prophecy as well.

EDIT: Ok, I validated before installing the mod, and had to re-install something after the validation. That's fine, I thought to myself, it must be an update or a file that's missing.

Now I validate again, and it does the same thing AGAIN - it seems to be going faster this time but it's still downloading something. No idea what.

And now it works! So, to recap, I:

1. Installed via Steam.

2. Crashed.

3. Validated and downloaded some more stuff.

4. Applied the patch.

5. Deleted a few things in the Textures folder, uh, just because?

6. Validated again and downloaded some more stuff.

7. ?

8. The game now works.

No clue what changed - I also disabled my second monitor (had to to get Indigo Prophecy to work) but I doubt that had anything to do with anything.

I gave up. The error happened to me without the mods so its definitely the game itself. I tried every fix that everyone here, and on the steam forums suggested. Validating never finds anything new to download. I have deleted textures, tried unofficial patches.. etc

oh well.

So I grabbed STALKER SoC on a sale about a year ago and I'm using it to break the choke hold Starcraft 2 put me in.

First impression was... pretty bad. I actually got sick from the motion and textures. I made some adjustments, but it was still an awkward game. I found some fun things to do, like lure the AI into anomalies and watch em get squished, but breaking the game was about as far as I got. After trying to play the game without mods for a couple hours, I found out about this mod package and installed the new version 1.4.4. Didn't encounter any of the errors mentioned above.

OMG WOW. Night and day. If you ever attempted this game and gave up, its worth revisiting with this mod. I can honestly say that shot for shot it beats Fallout and Oblivion for beauty. Everything is better. I can't believe this mod exists and is free. Someone should be paying these guys. Thanks artistpavel.

Now I can play this game with some seriousness. My very first save was at nighttime. The campfire aesthetic is bang-on. No game has ever made me feel exactly the sensation of walking around outside at night with a flashlight - like normal camping, but with mutant dogs faintly barking in the distance. It was creepy as hell, and awesome.

I've been wanting to play one of the STALKER games ever since I read the book is was sort-of based on (Roadside Picnic, fyi).

edosan wrote:

I've been wanting to play one of the STALKER games ever since I read the book is was sort-of based on (Roadside Picnic, fyi).

I really wish they would play up that aspect... villages at the edge of the zone, sneaking through checkpoints and military patrols. A family that depends on you to bring home resources, so that if you don't touch 'base' for a while there are repercussions that may or may not make you a horrible human being.
I really wish I were better at modding and had more time on my hands.

Rezzy wrote:

I really wish they would play up that aspect... villages at the edge of the zone, sneaking through checkpoints and military patrols. A family that depends on you to bring home resources, so that if you don't touch 'base' for a while there are repercussions that may or may not make you a horrible human being.

That sounds awesome. So awesome.

Sorry to revitalize. Just wondering if and how this works with the Steam version of the game.

Yes, there's no modification to the base files, you're just providing alternatives that the game uses with a higher priority.

I also plan on doing this sometime soon. The original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. remains my favorite in the series.

SuperDave wrote:

I also plan on doing this sometime soon. The original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. remains my favorite in the series.

The moment when (spoiler?)

Spoiler:

you walk on top of reactor 4

is a great one for me. It's a nice moment because after fighting your way through, it's peaceful. One tip, stack up anti radiation anomalies and carry a pile of anti-radiation meds.

Scratched wrote:
SuperDave wrote:

I also plan on doing this sometime soon. The original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. remains my favorite in the series.

The moment when (spoiler?)

Spoiler:

you walk on top of reactor 4

is a great one for me. It's a nice moment because after fighting your way through, it's peaceful. One tip, stack up anti radiation anomalies and carry a pile of anti-radiation meds.

Spoiler:

Another great moment in middle of that scenario is the inclusion of the sand room at the end of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. film. It was this wonderful nod to its existence, though I wish I could have explored it more without the military trying to kill me.

So I picked this up over the Steam Sale (take a shot). Does this make a significant difference in the gameplay? Should I play Vanilla STALKER first and then this, or can I just jump directly to this?

mudbunny wrote:

So I picked this up over the Steam Sale (take a shot). Does this make a significant difference in the gameplay? Should I play Vanilla STALKER first and then this, or can I just jump directly to this?

From Legion's original post, it appears like it is more of a cosmetic treatment (a facelift and straightening out a few crooked teeth):
"It's a significant set of graphical upgrades paired with some bug fixes and only minor retouching of the core gameplay. It's billed as "vanilla 2.0", an attempt at making a better "vanilla" STALKER experience rather than trying to alter the game."

I'll go in fresh with this installed.

There is no reason to play vanilla now that this exists. I've done side by sides, just of the opening areas, and the improvements in the environmentals alone are game changing in my opinion. The mounting of the mod itself was painless, as far as these things go. DO IT!!!

TheWanderer wrote:

There is no reason to play vanilla now that this exists. I've done side by sides, just of the opening areas, and the improvements in the environmentals alone are game changing in my opinion. The mounting of the mod itself was painless, as far as these things go. DO IT!!!

Third'ed. I used SC2009 on my first play-through, and have zero regrets (just reading about the things it's fixed is enough to make me glad I did it). It made for an absolutely breathtaking experience.

I think the best illustration of the loving attention to detail that went into this mod is that somewhere in the release notes, it mentions a fix to make the sun follow the proper path across the sky for the Northern Ukraine in early May of 2012 (when the game takes place).

I must be one of the few people that actually played vanilla S.T.A.L.K.E.R. through to completion. Actually I beat it at least twice because I didn't do all of the cool things that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. lets you do. I had heard of the accident in Chernobyl before the game was made but because of this game I actually did some research into the events that caused the meltdown at the reactor.

To this day, seeing the reactor for the first time in the game was one of the most intense feelings I've had while playing a game.

The game still doesn't have most of the crazy things I saw in previews of the game. I swear there were hovering military drones, a railgun, and some pretty impressive optics on a very futuristic looking gun. There were also some enemies that were cut.

I've already started my Complete 2009 game and once again I eagerly await experiencing all of the games great moments once again.

I remember getting up to the inside of the NPP on v1.0 before losing interest, that was the point at which it changes up to be more fast paced, rather than slow and steady. The early patches were ones which invalidated your save games, and I didn't want to patch up and lose progress so after a while I archived my saves and uninstalled.

Gimpy_Butzke wrote:

I must be one of the few people that actually played vanilla S.T.A.L.K.E.R. through to completion. Actually I beat it at least twice because I didn't do all of the cool things that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. lets you do. I had heard of the accident in Chernobyl before the game was made but because of this game I actually did some research into the events that caused the meltdown at the reactor.

To this day, seeing the reactor for the first time in the game was one of the most intense feelings I've had while playing a game.

The game still doesn't have most of the crazy things I saw in previews of the game. I swear there were hovering military drones, a railgun, and some pretty impressive optics on a very futuristic looking gun. There were also some enemies that were cut.

I've already started my Complete 2009 game and once again I eagerly await experiencing all of the games great moments once again.

There are no military drones, but they do have a the railgun and futuristic looking gun. You don't get either until the very end, and the railgun is only available in one of the endings.

I've been enabled by this thread, started another run today using complete 2009 and it does look beautiful, I'm even willing to shove my foot in my mouth when I said a couple weeks ago that Fallout 3 out-stalked Stalker. Both are great games, but this mod makes the game truly shine to it's full potential.

This mod literally made the game playable for me -- vanilla STALKER crashed to desktop every few minutes, but Complete fixed that.