Another critique that Anomaly gets, from the Stalker purists especially, is how drastically different Anomaly is compared to the OG trilogy. Anomaly is far from Stalker but prettier, it's fundamentally a different experience, just set in the same setting. Now look, this is definitely not a problem on it's own, Anomaly is fantastic and a breath of fresh air to veterans who've gotten bored of replaying the OGs; the problem comes from rookies who's introduction to the series is Anomaly, who then assume certain things that Anomaly introduced to the series were always part of the series, like super hardcore survival mechanics, a lack of story, and certain lore elements. It's the opposite; the OG games have surprisingly simple mechanics, where most of the difficulty comes from the combat, and all 3 games have fascinating stories and lore, and even get a bit philosophical if you dive deep enough. And some of the lore Anomaly adds contradicts/ruins OG lore and is obviously not canon, since it's fan lore. This divide of OG fans and Anomaly newbies especially has the chance of becoming a problem when Stalker 2 comes out, since all said Anomaly newbies will see S2 as a """downgrade""" to Anomaly, since it won't have a bajillion tacticool AK variants or a complex health or repair system, even through S2 is a sequel to the OG games and NOT Anomaly. Multiple Stalker YT channels like Anomalous Dugout and Can't Game Right have made videos about this. So yeah, TL;DR, peeps who get into Stalker via Anomaly will have the wrong idea about what the series is all about, and might even dunk on S2 unfairly because it isn't Anomaly 2.0. Solution? Play the OG games first. Not only are they the best way to get into the series since they're absolutely not as hardcore as Anomaly, the bigger story focus will also work much better in getting peeps actually invested in the Zone and it's stories compared to Anomaly. Again, Anomaly is frickin great. Just don't skip three whole games to play it first, and then complain about having a hard time getting into it; Anomaly was made with the assumption that anyone who's playing it has played the OGs first, and it's familiar with the dangers of the Zone. And don't miss out on the great stories and world building of the trilogy, which Stalker 2 will build on as well. Good hunting stalkers.
I myself was introduced to Stalker via Anomaly, since I didnt really have a PC growing up. But, it made me want to know more about the Lore, each faction, the story of Strelok, etc. That made me appreciate it even more. I am also in the mindset that this is just a fan made mod project, not an official game, so I enjoy it for what it is. Now, I will also agree some people might see Stalker 2 as a downgrade, but I see it as more content for me to enjoy regardless. It's not the mechanics I fell in love with, it was the universe of Stalker. I am also a huge history buff, especially when it comes to Alternative history, such as with The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.
@@bluetherobot glad to hear that you've gotten into the universe! Really hope you get around to playing the OGs, maybe when the OXR Gunslinger remaster mod comes out for all 3. Shadow of Chernobyl has the best main story, Clear Sky fleshes out the factions really well, and Call of Pripyat has the best side quests. Sad thing is while there are many like you that get into Stalker from Anomaly, but still understand what Anomaly is, it isn't always the case. Hopefully more content creators like you and Drewski give some love to the OGs, and Stalker 2 will bring the full story and lore of the Zone to a wider audience.
The feeling I had in SoC was of just passing through a tiny snapshot of a shifting zone, whereas in Anomaly/GAMMA it was about laborious exploration and encyclopaedic knowledge of a stable zone. Both worth it. I had experiences in the original three that will stay with me for life.
@@sneedle252 good description! That's something that makes both Anomaly and the OGs special in their own ways; since the Zone in Anomaly is pretty stable, and there are no major story developments that will majorly shake up the Zone, the Zone becomes a sandbox of sorts that the player slowly conquers bit by bit, like a pioneer that has been dropped into the great unknown, and slowly but surely works to understand and survive in it. Whereas the OGs, by making the Zone be a constantly changing entity between the 3 games, have the Zone be something that is unconquerable and incomprehensible no matter what the player does, in order to tell it's Lovecraftian story effectively.
anomaly is a solid base for mod packs - like "guns blazin" EFP and more hardcore slow-paced GAMMA. misery 2.1.2 will forever be my favorite stalker mod though.
I started my gamma trek last month... I'm hooked.. I had to restart to brand new games several times until understanding how to maintain your equipment. but after figuring out I have set a goal to go north and see the sarcophagus of chernobly. I'm actually excited to accomplish this.
Well the story will be great, hopefully, and then, once the modding starts happening, it will allow people to experience another form of the game. Maybe even a more impressive Anomaly. Anomaly 2? Lol
@@Caes3r_ I think the devs have taken into consideration the fact that a large part of the community loves anomaly. I'm sure that S2 will have a large open world atmosphere.. Probably not as dynamic as Anomaly obviously. If that's the case. The people who have made anomaly great will just mod Stalker2. Either way, we're all just along for the ride
I have my gripes with gamma, I think normal anomaly is the best experience, but that's just my opinion, anyway I have noticed something, this game has a VERY HIGH rate of turning people new to the franchise to instant fanatics of it. Every person I've introduced stalker to reported being addicted a week or 2 later. I always recommend people the vanilla games first to learn the world, as to avoid that "this game is too hard and unintuitive" effect which puts many off, but hey, I guess I can't really blame them, more content and "polish" all for free. It's nice to see the popularity of the game leaking into the western world, even if it is heavily modified, but this will definitely get a lot more people on the stalker 2 hype train, because man, GSC deserve a god damn medal for what they've created.
Amazing that this series I've played, including mods like Misery/Call of Chernobyl and now Anomaly/Gamma have become so popular. Why did it take so long when these mods have been available under some shape or form for over a decade? Hell, I've still got my STALKER: Clear Sky disk around here somewhere I played as a teenager.
@@DankRobot I'd argue them literally monetizing content is even worse. They outright said when you Pre-Order and buy the special edition ( Pay them more ) you will get to hear NPC's tell more stories around the campfire and play more songs on the guitar. So basically they are walling off immersive NPC interactions through a pre-order and special edition paywall.
I started out with oblivion lost back in 2010 then quickly switched to super mod pack (smp) once I finished the game. The story of SoC got me hooked which made me buy the other 2 games. 13 years later I randomly come across stalker videos and end up discovering Anomaly and GAMMA and man, the experience is hardcore. Been having a blast and I think I'm addicted to stalker again.
Same man. I played the hell out of Super Mod pack. When that died I never thought I would have that type of gameplay again. Yet here we have anomaly and even more so gamma.
small pet peeve but Anomaly isnt a Shadow of chernobyl mod, its a standalone mod(pack) based around Call of chernobyl, a sandbox freeplay mod itself of Call of pripyat, the last entry in the series. just a small detail for those interested in the evolution of stalker mods, otherwise fantastic video
Hell nah, stalker anomaly does definetly make you feel like just another stalker better than the originals, but it's definetly not a replacement for them. I cringe every time i see someone play anomaly or even worse gamma before the originals Anomaly and Gamma are just so much more enjoyable after playing them that it's not even comparable. Anomaly's hated because it's even more popular than the originals, but it's still amazing how it's even possible to merge all 3 games and add a shit ton of stuff while it still being somehow more bug free than the originals
Okay one thing here is misleading - Anomaly isn't hardcore, or rather it is right out of the box, but just diving into game options you can make it very casual and much easier game.
As a player of the original in 2007, and the subsequent games, I fucking love Anomaly and GAMMA. Firstly the fact it flipped the AK working parts from left to right but also, ITS FUCKING AWESOME.
@@bluetherobot hello, my advice to you, don’t rush through the first original part, just wait for the release of the “Stalker Shadow of Chernobyl update” mod, this mod updates the graphics, fixes a bunch of errors and significantly improves performance and much more, but does not change the original plot, just a 2007 game year will look like a modern AAA game. Which you can play with pleasure. There is a developer channel on UA-cam where he posts development diaries and talks about changes in the game, I’ll post the link below.
It puzzles me why STALKER mods like Anomaly, GAMMA & Co. are so popular. My fondest memories of STALKER are of part 3, because it was the most well-rounded part mechanically, because every place I visited was connected to a story, because I was only in new and larger areas, because of the fast travel system, because all the anomalies and quests were "hand-built" and because the decisions I made had an impact on the zone and on the "people" I "met" there. For example, whether I gassed the "nest" of bloodsuckers or not. If I wanted to dive into the zone again, I would therefore look for a game experience that offers something comparable. Why I should play something that's a rehash of part 1, only with more "stuff", some of which just makes the game more complicated and inaccessible instead of better, doesn't make sense to me. Even the story, from what I've heard, is supposed to be an inferior copy of part 1. Also, don't mods like this actually devalue what my alter ego has achieved in the previous games? After all, virtually everything is reset to a state from before STALKER 1.
Because people want different experiences. It's a fun time, and I myself enjoy all of those different mods. If it isn't for you, that's fine, but theres no question why they are popular. They are because they are great experiences.
For me its the opposite I started playing anomaly and I wanted to try the originals so I bought Shadow of Chernobyl I got so bored that I requested a refund to buy something else and just keep playing anomaly
It is certainly the best free roaming game based on STALKER. - I give the mod that. But even those who enjoy playing Anomaly a lot describe it as a love-hate relationship. - STALKER is just more than looting, levelling, shooting, trading, crafting and surviving. Even though there is an unrivalled variety of mods and add-ons for Anomaly, some of which are very impressive, there are hardly any that address this shortcoming. Most popular mod packages such as GAMMA or Escape from Prypjat only focus on making survival even harder or introducing game mechanics that make the game even more inaccessible/complicated.
because for some of us, the original games are just too fucking dated. I spent years playing basic ass fucking generic FPS games on console, i like more hardcore games, that are challenging to play while giving me the freedom to add stuff that i want to use. All the OG games are pretty much generic shooters with a decent story and the basic modicum of economy and survival elements. If i want to experience the Story of those games, i will watch them on UA-cam and avoid the meh gameplay.
Greetings from someone who was introduced to S.T.A.L.K.E.R by S.T.A.L.K.E.R Anomaly. The first time I played it, I was *completely* dumbfounded. I felt like I have been given little to no information or any guides on how to progress, so I had to rely on friends... During my playthrough, it was quite hard the first time, even to the point where I classified Anomaly as "Dark Souls" difficulty. (AKA *very* fucking hard.) However, after trial and error, and little advice from left and right from friends, I managed to beat Anomaly's story mode, and now, here I am, attempting to beat Anomaly's story mode yet again in my own settings, and etcetera. Of course, I am also anticipating the release of S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2, where I expect another S.T.A.L.K.E.R game, not Anomaly 2. A good take on the technical issues. I have yet to mod Anomaly for my personal liking, and judging from the setups, tutorials, guides, whatever, it can be a *big pain in the ass.* Keep the videos up! P.S, I will play the three S.T.A.L.K.E.R games soon enough. Word.
You had a similiar journey like I did. Started in Anomaly, completely dumb founded by how much there was to learn. Now, Im here looking at Ironman runs and installed new mods. Excited to see the story in Stalker 2.
@bluetherobot In this particular video do you only have Anomaly and EFT mods installed or there is some other mods also, if so can you provide a list of all of them you are using in this video?
I think the hate comes from the fact that some people think this is what stalker was originally supposed to be like. Original stalker games were supposed to tell a story of important characters while keeping the atmosphere and gameplay good, but still focusing on the story. Anomaly tries to make you feel like it's your story with complete freedom over your choices, and it tries to make you feel what would it be like to be an average stalker in zone, while bumping up the immersion to the MAX. I also heard that people hate anomaly because it's a sandbox, they can't get immersed, there's nothing to do, they have no goals.
Some people need a bit more direction, while others need no direction and can come up with their own goals. Each style of playing is great, and I couldn't be happier with the amount of content Stalker fans get to enjoy.
I like it. However, after almost three playthroughs I've gotten wiser to spawn points and what typically spawns there. If they could improve with more spawn locations and vary them more. Nothing livens things up like changing maps from Garbarge heading north to Rostok and lo and behold a Chimers in the distance running at YOU. Mix it up and make it more unpredictable and it will continue to be popular for replayability.
we hate anomaly because of its fanbase, im one of those people who played the original triology before some of the anomaly" enjoyers" existed, anomaly and its trillion mods make wrong impression of the series and when stalker 2 comes out, those guys will shit on it and might even end the game series.
I myself was introduced into the Stalker series by Anomaly. I fell in love with the lore of The Zone. I wanted to know more about Strelok. I bought the original games, and are now playing through them. I understand Stalker 2 won't be Anomaly, more story driven. I'm sure im not the only one. Why can't we all just enjoy the zone together?
i have no problem with the game, its great that you can customise it freely, i just dont like the fanbase comparing it to 2007 games and wanting stalker 2 to be like anomaly@@bluetherobot
Ahh yes, the classic example of gatekeeping. Ya love to see it. Remind me a lot of the Halo fanbase, rallying against the addition of sprint because the OG games didn't have it. Well let me tell ya something. Drop the nostalgia for a sec and take a look at those three games. Why would i want to suffer through gameplay that is mid for a story that is good? If I want to learn about the story I can either read the wiki or watch it on UA-cam... Simple as. I am here to be immersed in the zone, making it feel much more alive than a static handcrafted world. I want the realism of fighting for your life in a hellhole against muties, bandits, Monolith, UNISG while searching for the ultimate prize... cold hard cash. One day i will make it out of the zone with something worth all the pain and suffering... or I will die here, becoming another dead stalker to be looted and picked apart by the animals and mutants.
Its literally just an 8gb free portable exe game, you can get it running in less than 10 minutes for free But if you do consider playing the original games first, they're kinda old and might feel outdated in many ways but your time in anomaly will be much more enjoyable. + the story is fucking amazing and worth the $10 the trilogy costs on sale
Played the originals when I was a kid always loved the franchise even if it didn’t understand it as deeply. Anomaly is a great place to jump into the series gameplay wise most younger people won’t touch anything that doesn’t look like it came out last year and the originals while deserving of all the respect they’ve earned and truly masterpieces of the time are a bit dated and definitely not as easy of an entry point as anomaly and it has done an amazing job of growing the stalker community and it’s hard to believe this is a fan game
Anomaly GAMMA is now a testing platform, where all the ideas can be freely introduced and tried out. What would be really great, if some modders could make a remake of the old games on x64 x-rey engine, with improved textures, models, animations. With smoothen out, outdated and from the get go broken, visuals. I thinking, that this revamp could use models from builds of cancelled, 2011 STALKER 2, of course reworked. At least the NPC models, because they ware made by the original GSC team. Other things could be taken from the mods of the Anomaly, remodel and reanimations of mutants, weapons, detectors etc. In short, maintaining overall structure of a game, but improving textures, models, animations.
Oh, I just saw a mod that would bring old Exo Suits from Stalker 2. I was confused at first, but now you just told me about the 2011 one. I'm gonna do some research.
@@bluetherobot yeah, there was already a Stalker 2... but never finished. Game was cancelled in 2012 and the GSC went bankrupt. There are some videos on YT with captured footage from early builds of 2011 Stalker 2, and also 5 years old vid with narrated starting version of the story. Those early builds, concept arts an other materials are out there, archived by now anonymus people, who obtained them somehow. Because of existance of those materials and assets, created by original GSC crew, that though came to me, about using some of those to create a remakes of original trilogy, but technologically somewhere in between the official installments.
@@bluetherobot it was a totally new and original story, settled after the events from a trylogy. From what was presented in the video, Strelok had reclaim his identity... Pavel Konstantynovitsh Streletski(!). It's quite common Polish last name, Strzelecki, so that could mean he had Polish ancestors, because name Konstantyn is rare, but also given to the children in Poland. Rest i will leave for you to discover. I don't want to ruin the fun for you ;D
Modded Anomaly is absolutely beautiful and realistic on a sensory level, and playing it on one life turns up the realism hugely. It also features quite dodgy AI in many respects (though compared to what?, I know), an excess of bullshit to do with the mechanics of the game ("bullshit deaths" and cheesing potential), and lacks the tact in balancing mystery with comfort and threat to direct the player's behaviour that Shadow of Chernobyl had (very basic objective: explore north, follow the road - generated by the design of the levels which featured a central road north and a beautiful minimap system that just gave the player a direction). The original SoC, and to an extent CoP, also made the games a complex relational web, that shifted, whereas the characters' interactions are much simpler in Anomaly - tending to just be a matter of repetitive quests for allied factions and immediate shootouts with enemy factions. There are not multiple different situations, the choice to surrender to bandits or shoot them, situations where you can interact with characters, but if you brush past them to where they don't want they attack etc. The factions/characters have also been turned into caricatures in Anomaly, in particular Freedom. The dialogue is more stilted, there's more in the way of fanservice, and the placement of types of mutant makes little sense. There is also much less of the beautiful transition between the relative mundanity of the lower zone in SoC, to the gradually more inhospitable, more anomalous, more radioactive north. This was also a problem in CoP, with artificial impossibility to climb some slopes vs others being a very immersion jarring addition, compared to using radiation, the pressure of time, natural curiosity, the natural human tendency to follow the road etc. In Anomaly, there has been no equivalently compelling tying of geography to time and difficulty as was present in the first three games.
I've had the Stalker trilogy in my GOG library for years but never really got around to checking them out. But lately I've been getting into "Into the Radius VR" which shares a lot of inspiration with the Stalker games, and I've started to really feel like I should play them. But I'm not sure if I should just play the originals, or one of the standalone mods like Anomoly, Gamma, or True Stalker. I've gotten used to Radius' tactile base system, where your weapon stash is a physical place where you can place your weapons and gear where you want them, you can physically clean your guns with a brush and rod, and you need to keep up with empty magazines so you can reload them. Which of these experiences would be the closest to that outside of VR?
This is such a great question. Firstly, love Into The Radius. Excited for the second one. Also, the best part of the entire Stalker library, you can pretty much start wherever. But as for your question as to which one feels more like that Into Radius outside VR, funny enough, the Stalker Anomaly modpack I'm using called EFP or Escape from Pripyat. Inspirations from Tarkov, you can make your own hideout with furniture and what not. Cleaning weapons actually in both the EFP and GAMMA modpack are important, and if you need any help installing EFP, my discord has all the videos to help.
If you are actually interested I'd recommend playing the main games in order without or with minimal mods first. You will never make it through ShoC if you play a modern overhaul modpack for Anomaly first because you will be used to a much more large complex game with many more QOL features. Playing the original games first will also introduce you to the world and core features much better and make you appreciate the wonders of modern stalker mods much more.
I have my little after ork stalker anomaly save file. I just play free mode as Bandit and sometimes just sit in the base at the fire chilling with the boys listening to stories( i speak russian) good vibe and guns feel good
Its a separate mod for the way I have it, but in the option, I believe somewhere in gameplay, you can turn it all off. Mask overlay, breathing fog, etc.
Imagine if you asked someone if they play the original doom and they say that they love it, but have only played it through the Brutal DooM mod. They've never played the original, just a mod built off of it's foundation. Some Doom mods don't even require a copy of doom, just like these stalker mods.
One of my favorite songs to use from Epidemic Sound, which is all royalty free music if you subscribe to their website to use it. But this is it on UA-cam: ua-cam.com/video/BqMUVIYrh14/v-deo.htmlsi=0KHT0KzFzXe6Uaa8
I did play all 3 Original games, then MISERY for CoP (which then gave some features to Anomaly), then Call of Chernobyl which was hard at the beginning. Then l discovered Anomaly, first, only played it in vanila version, was hard, but after a while, when l got used to it, it became easier. And then came the addons... oh boy the addons haha. Even now, l have the Expedition modpack + additional 39 addons to it. To make a fine balance between Fun and "why the F do you do this to yourself" haha. Since as l told a friend, Stalker Anomaly has 2 stages (imo)... 1st Stage: "Why is game so hard?!" and 2nd Stage: "How can I make this game harder?" l'm on stage 2, well... after stage 2, since l made the game harder, at my current play, l only got around 30k, constantly hungry, so yea, fun times!
This is exactly the same journey that I'm on now. Lol. Now I want more mods, on top of the EFP pack I have, and already do. Lol. I do want to check out Expedition as well.
@@bluetherobot To be honest, EXP doesn1t add anything new, it has some nice integrated mods in it, like BaS a nice sleep mod, where the cam zooms out and you see what is happening while you sleep and ofc some nice skinds for the AI. l won't list all the 39 addons l use too haha, but how my setting is... Traders don1t sell guns, backpacks and armor, only attachment, ammo, food and meds. The player to trader sell is set to 0.5x, while the trader to player sell is 2x along with Repair cost and Upgrade cost. Mission money is set to 0.5x too, so it's hard to come by money. Also, since l got "NPC Loot Claim" addon, for some reason it does give all sort of durability guns, even 100%, so, l set it that traders only buy guns that are 75% or better. Funny thing is playing with harder faction (BVandit, Freedom, Merc) is hard, but also easy since more enemies = more loot = more money. But playing with a faction that has lots of allies... yea, less people to shoot = less loot = less money. Currently playing as Duty, on my laptop l was Bandit and l can see the difference, l struggle with Duty for money and food haha.
@@bluetherobot I'd say binos haha. l been always using Sniper and shotguns. Though with Duty l try AR / MMG run. Though once you get used to who is saying what, even if russian, you will know. Though Expedition changed Monolith voice, they don't have classic "za Monolith", so it's hard to guess haha.
While I do agree that Anomaly is great, I don't want it to overshadow the original trilogy. Anomaly wouldn't exist without the first three games made by GSC Game World, and I believe that people getting into STALKER should also play the original games that GSC made.
While I would say it's recommended that people try out the original games, it's not a must thing to do. I think the consensus, even amongst Anomaly only players, such as myself, is that they know Stalker 2 won't be just Anomaly 2, but what we're excited for the most, is the modding for Stalker 2.
If you enjoy storyline and quests play op 2.2 its gigantic mod with a lot of new story lines, i only wish it would have the weapon animations from efp or gamma
Couple of things. Most people that know about Anomaly and play it, love it. It's only a small percentage of people that don't. Secondly, Stalker isn't a popular game by any sales metric. It's a cult niche title that has gotten more attention over the years, but it's still a small crowd.
For sure, it's definitely a niche, but an ever growing one, especially since the announcement of Stalker 2, and after the rise in popularity of Stalker Anomaly.
@@bluetherobot Which, also to be considered, is partially because you get all three games for free, bundled together. I've never played any of the Stalkers, but I'm playing Anomaly (and Gamma) right now because it's free.
Anomaly is anomaly, you are not getting the other 3 games free bundled together... You're not experiencing the original games in anyway other than the setting. The original games have their own stories and quests which are not replicated in Anomaly at all that drive the games. You're also missing the journey of progressing through the stalker games and their mods just jumping into the latest most mashed together thing. Understand I say all this as someone who plays Anomaly today, but I've spent thousands of hours in the original games and other mods, I've experienced the things unique to each of them and I think you're missing something starting with Anomaly.
@@SpitFir3Tornado I sort of agree, but also don't. I've played Baldur's Gate 2. I've played the Fallout franchise. I've played Witcher and Cyberpunk. No offense, but Stalker has never struck me as a particularly "fascinating" story game.
@@JJokerMoreau I'm not claiming it's the greatest narrative game ever. I'm saying you're missing the great story and questing of the original games in Anomaly etc.. Even if the stories can be a bit convoluted or whatever, they are great and they are what established this setting.
I get people want new players to experience the first games, but im a 15 year old with no money soo... I kinda have to start with anomoly.😅 Any tips for me to ease into the series better? I'll get the og's for Christmas.
I bought all 3 games just last week and have played them. I beat SOC in a couple days and absolutely loved it. I made it to the fleshly fight in clear skies and just quit because clear skies is fucking terrible in my opinion. (Probably a skill issue with the bleeding aspect) I couldn’t find myself progressing well in that game either. M I watched a story vid and got the full clear skies story down and started COP. I didn’t make it extremely far but I did enjoy it completely. I’m skipping solely anomaly and jumping straight into gamma. Wish me luck boys.
I'd gladly choose a game that's free and good rather than the modern garbage from greedy AAA developers who can't even make games as immersive as Anomaly
Yeah. I recently had some people pop into my livestream saying why. I guess due to them worrying that Anomaly players will look at Stalker 2 as Anomaly 2, instead of just Stalker 2, and then be disappointed, and that Anomaly isn't truly Stalker. I don't see that being too much of an issue myself, and see Anomaly as just another gateway to the incredible world of Stalker.
@@bluetherobot Anomaly has a super rich modding history that goes back way before it existed and you sorta glossed over 90% of it. Stating first that its a mod of Shadow of Chernobyl and not mentioning how it is built off of Call of Pripyat at all was really the only thing that miffed me, but not mentioning the mods anomaly grew out of such as Misery and Call of Chernobyl also really bothered me. I get that you can't be omniscient and know all the lore behind the obscure modding scene of stalker, but that is sort of what leads to most of the hate towards gamma/EFP and by proxy anomaly. Other really great mods like lost alpha and gunslinger also tend to get overshadowed entirely. Sadly this is what leads to alot of the petty gatekeeping in parts of the community. Also this is just me nitpicking, but i think its important to include some footage of mostly vanilla anomaly in videos like this to paint a picture of what the mod REALLY is to people who are new in the community. I've met too many folks who think anomaly is unplayable without stuff like Screen Space Shaders and Aggressor ReShade and that simply is not true. Regardless i glad ya took a shot at making a video like this. Anomaly is a really interesting topic that lots of people want to learn more about, though it can be difficult to understand.
I myself think this was just a simple video about Anomaly. Nothing too in depth. Now that video would be like an hour long if I went into every single detail, which I might do in the future. This was just a simple video.
@@bluetherobot yea and ngl i think thats just fine, better to have people attempting to make content on the subject than there be nothing at all whatsoever.
I do think this is a great microcosm of the new vs old players with anomaly though. You come in as new guy introduced to the games with anomaly and then start spreading incorrect info about the original games and the history of the mod (I say all this at least partially in jest). Anomaly has a ludicrously complex ancestry that I wouldn't expect you to understand unless you had lived through and played the past decade+ of mod development for these games, and that's not gatekeepers its just how complex it is. Unless you were playing these mods as they came out and witnessed the changes each brought and built upon you just wouldn't know how complex the history is. It'd be more accurate to say Anomaly was based on something like Call of Misery, itself a port of Misery mod for CoP into the standalone Call of Chernobyl mod than it is based on ShoC. If I want to play stalker it is the game I'm most likely to go play today but understand if it's where you start you are missing out on that journey through the original games and the many mods that followed them.
@@DankRobot openxray has so many more improvements compared to the original xray and anomaly's xray in terms of performance in stability. to just shrug it off as the same xray engine isn't that helpful
Why? Because i absolutely hate that fucking weird weapon FOV thing that old games like CoP, SoC, CS have... you know... the Battlefield 2 type shit. Plus the story of stalker is... okay. It's interesting but nothing that i would suffer through the mid gameplay for.
Decent vid but to provide a little constructive criticism, you repeat your points nearly verbatim a little too much. I get reiterating a point to summarize a segment of your script or to emphasize but it comes off as a bit repetitive and made me think I had accidentally rewinded a few times.
My issue and the reason I prefer a mostly vanilla experience with all three of these games is the fact that in their unending pursuit of realism they wind up producing something that is about as far removed from grounded as can be. No human beings sprints at a snail's pace, no human being needs to eat and drink every 30 seconds... It's just obnoxious. Every item requiring an animation to use is pretty cool though. In the end I just prefer mostly vanilla
I'm actually really enjoying Gunslinger right now due to those reasons. I like simplicity, but overall graphics and animations make a world of a difference. I love the world of Stalker, and I just always want to be immersed in it. Why I also love Anomaly and its many mods. It's a choose your own adventure game.
@@bluetherobot just dropped on consoles, Devs said mod support is coming later this year. Been years since I played these games, shadow of Chernobyl is still my favorite.
Anomaly, and it’s favorite child GAMMA, imo add survival elements to a sandbox that was already begging for them. Playing the original series is great, but feels empty and arcade like without the challenges of surviving in the Zone via food and water as well as environmental stuff like the radiation and anomalies. GAMMA does lean a bit much into ballistics and armor values, but it’s still my favorite collection of mods that enhance the ‘spirit’ of the Zone: which to me is survival itself as a tourist in this fantastical world
Anomaly and Gamma is just piling bloat on top of piles of useless shit. Something garbage like Reborn is more intresting to me because it tries to do something original. The only intresting shit that comes out is in russian lol
Anomaly and Gamma definitely isn't useless, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion. As for Reborn, never heard of it, but will definitely look into it.
We don't like it because the world scale is so bad in that game. 01:30 - Look at the trees, the movement speed, the weapon, it's so wrong. The weird world scale is the only thing that keeps us from playing stalker.
The world scale is literally like any other game TF you on about? The weapon is in "low" ready? Like what? Are you dumb or something? Do you understand the concept of FOV and movement speed? You know you can speed up or slow down depending on weight carried and capslock right? I've been on youtube for a longtime but this is legit the stupidest take I have seen on here.
The games graphics are not bad and the level seen is too trivial to use as a reason. You can mod movement speed and the weapons are great, and there are dozens if not hundreds of modded weapons to add if you know how. It's not meant to be another generic arcade shooter. If that's what you're looking for then look elsewhere
@@bluetherobot you might enjoy it for a while from inexperience but when you get the world mechanics you will start questioning the point of it, and there will be none. The gameplay is flawed, but even worse: theres no foundation for it
6:30 I literally found one 1h30m video tutorial from @Blondefire_HeyBlondie to Anomaly that explained things in such great manner that 3 yo would be able to play this game. And the video is 2 years old already. So its not like there is no tutorialing etc, there is and it's awesome. The only thing I wish Anomaly had is ... more info in the guide tab in pda, cos sometimes things are not obvious at first and it would help new players. Cos they might ask "OK NOW WHAT?" a lot. Imagine ... Anomaly wiki with searchable terms in the pda already. That would be the best!
@@bluetherobot Glad you liked the idea! To not make it overpowered it could have a database mechanic, that you have to retrieve as part of the quest (go find me this database and then follow up quest to get item/artifact from this database), bought from Sid 1st tier, Barman 2nd, and someone at north like Beard 3rd final tier, or from talking with npc or simply pda's from looting. Ehhh if I only knew how to make mods
Wow. This video resonated with a lot more of you than anticipated. I hope you enjoyed the video, and welcome to the channel!
Another critique that Anomaly gets, from the Stalker purists especially, is how drastically different Anomaly is compared to the OG trilogy. Anomaly is far from Stalker but prettier, it's fundamentally a different experience, just set in the same setting.
Now look, this is definitely not a problem on it's own, Anomaly is fantastic and a breath of fresh air to veterans who've gotten bored of replaying the OGs; the problem comes from rookies who's introduction to the series is Anomaly, who then assume certain things that Anomaly introduced to the series were always part of the series, like super hardcore survival mechanics, a lack of story, and certain lore elements. It's the opposite; the OG games have surprisingly simple mechanics, where most of the difficulty comes from the combat, and all 3 games have fascinating stories and lore, and even get a bit philosophical if you dive deep enough. And some of the lore Anomaly adds contradicts/ruins OG lore and is obviously not canon, since it's fan lore.
This divide of OG fans and Anomaly newbies especially has the chance of becoming a problem when Stalker 2 comes out, since all said Anomaly newbies will see S2 as a """downgrade""" to Anomaly, since it won't have a bajillion tacticool AK variants or a complex health or repair system, even through S2 is a sequel to the OG games and NOT Anomaly. Multiple Stalker YT channels like Anomalous Dugout and Can't Game Right have made videos about this.
So yeah, TL;DR, peeps who get into Stalker via Anomaly will have the wrong idea about what the series is all about, and might even dunk on S2 unfairly because it isn't Anomaly 2.0.
Solution? Play the OG games first. Not only are they the best way to get into the series since they're absolutely not as hardcore as Anomaly, the bigger story focus will also work much better in getting peeps actually invested in the Zone and it's stories compared to Anomaly.
Again, Anomaly is frickin great. Just don't skip three whole games to play it first, and then complain about having a hard time getting into it; Anomaly was made with the assumption that anyone who's playing it has played the OGs first, and it's familiar with the dangers of the Zone. And don't miss out on the great stories and world building of the trilogy, which Stalker 2 will build on as well.
Good hunting stalkers.
I myself was introduced to Stalker via Anomaly, since I didnt really have a PC growing up. But, it made me want to know more about the Lore, each faction, the story of Strelok, etc. That made me appreciate it even more. I am also in the mindset that this is just a fan made mod project, not an official game, so I enjoy it for what it is. Now, I will also agree some people might see Stalker 2 as a downgrade, but I see it as more content for me to enjoy regardless. It's not the mechanics I fell in love with, it was the universe of Stalker. I am also a huge history buff, especially when it comes to Alternative history, such as with The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.
@@bluetherobot glad to hear that you've gotten into the universe! Really hope you get around to playing the OGs, maybe when the OXR Gunslinger remaster mod comes out for all 3. Shadow of Chernobyl has the best main story, Clear Sky fleshes out the factions really well, and Call of Pripyat has the best side quests.
Sad thing is while there are many like you that get into Stalker from Anomaly, but still understand what Anomaly is, it isn't always the case. Hopefully more content creators like you and Drewski give some love to the OGs, and Stalker 2 will bring the full story and lore of the Zone to a wider audience.
THANK YOUUUUUU youre so based.
The feeling I had in SoC was of just passing through a tiny snapshot of a shifting zone, whereas in Anomaly/GAMMA it was about laborious exploration and encyclopaedic knowledge of a stable zone. Both worth it.
I had experiences in the original three that will stay with me for life.
@@sneedle252 good description! That's something that makes both Anomaly and the OGs special in their own ways; since the Zone in Anomaly is pretty stable, and there are no major story developments that will majorly shake up the Zone, the Zone becomes a sandbox of sorts that the player slowly conquers bit by bit, like a pioneer that has been dropped into the great unknown, and slowly but surely works to understand and survive in it.
Whereas the OGs, by making the Zone be a constantly changing entity between the 3 games, have the Zone be something that is unconquerable and incomprehensible no matter what the player does, in order to tell it's Lovecraftian story effectively.
anomaly is a solid base for mod packs - like "guns blazin" EFP and more hardcore slow-paced GAMMA. misery 2.1.2 will forever be my favorite stalker mod though.
Heard good things about Misery
I started my gamma trek last month... I'm hooked.. I had to restart to brand new games several times until understanding how to maintain your equipment. but after figuring out I have set a goal to go north and see the sarcophagus of chernobly. I'm actually excited to accomplish this.
Its so exhilarating once you get it.
i beat anomaly and felt empty for 5 days because i was so o sad it was over
@azure8676 to think there's so much more.
now do gamma :)@@azure8676
@@azure8676 you should play some mods from the vanilla series, there are a lot of chapters out there, like ogsr gunslinger or goldsphere ogsr
Anomaly is great but the problem is it gives people a wrong idea what Stalker is and i think many will be disappointed by Stalker 2 because of it.
I still think people will think it'll be a good game.
@@bluetherobot idk man people already complain that it looks too story focused
Well the story will be great, hopefully, and then, once the modding starts happening, it will allow people to experience another form of the game. Maybe even a more impressive Anomaly. Anomaly 2? Lol
@@Caes3r_ I think the devs have taken into consideration the fact that a large part of the community loves anomaly. I'm sure that S2 will have a large open world atmosphere.. Probably not as dynamic as Anomaly obviously. If that's the case. The people who have made anomaly great will just mod Stalker2. Either way, we're all just along for the ride
I would think that people who are interested in anomaly have already played at least one of the first games
I have my gripes with gamma, I think normal anomaly is the best experience, but that's just my opinion, anyway I have noticed something, this game has a VERY HIGH rate of turning people new to the franchise to instant fanatics of it. Every person I've introduced stalker to reported being addicted a week or 2 later. I always recommend people the vanilla games first to learn the world, as to avoid that "this game is too hard and unintuitive" effect which puts many off, but hey, I guess I can't really blame them, more content and "polish" all for free. It's nice to see the popularity of the game leaking into the western world, even if it is heavily modified, but this will definitely get a lot more people on the stalker 2 hype train, because man, GSC deserve a god damn medal for what they've created.
Exactly what happened to me. Now I'm hooked onto the entire Stalker Franchise. Just bought all of them.
Amazing that this series I've played, including mods like Misery/Call of Chernobyl and now Anomaly/Gamma have become so popular. Why did it take so long when these mods have been available under some shape or form for over a decade? Hell, I've still got my STALKER: Clear Sky disk around here somewhere I played as a teenager.
Yup, at least watch a lore video before doing GAMMA/Anomaly you will enjoy and understand what's going on more.
ngl I wouldn't give GSC a medal for creating nfts
@@DankRobot I'd argue them literally monetizing content is even worse. They outright said when you Pre-Order and buy the special edition ( Pay them more ) you will get to hear NPC's tell more stories around the campfire and play more songs on the guitar. So basically they are walling off immersive NPC interactions through a pre-order and special edition paywall.
I started out with oblivion lost back in 2010 then quickly switched to super mod pack (smp) once I finished the game. The story of SoC got me hooked which made me buy the other 2 games.
13 years later I randomly come across stalker videos and end up discovering Anomaly and GAMMA and man, the experience is hardcore. Been having a blast and I think I'm addicted to stalker again.
Thats such a cool story man. Definitely miss the old Oblivion days.
Same man. I played the hell out of Super Mod pack. When that died I never thought I would have that type of gameplay again. Yet here we have anomaly and even more so gamma.
small pet peeve but Anomaly isnt a Shadow of chernobyl mod, its a standalone mod(pack) based around Call of chernobyl, a sandbox freeplay mod itself of Call of pripyat, the last entry in the series.
just a small detail for those interested in the evolution of stalker mods, otherwise fantastic video
Thanks for the information, and glad you enjoyed the video!
I dont see how ppl could hate it
Some people don't think it's a "real" Stalker game.
@@bluetherobot I think it's MORE stalker than stalker. I just got into the GAMMA mod, and it's blowing my mind.
@@mattkomlofske8912Yeah, G.A.M.M.A. seems to be the most popular modpack for Anomaly with the closest one to being as popular to it being EFP
I would say the same, but I guess that makes those who gatekeep extra mad. Lol@@mattkomlofske8912
Hell nah, stalker anomaly does definetly make you feel like just another stalker better than the originals, but it's definetly not a replacement for them. I cringe every time i see someone play anomaly or even worse gamma before the originals
Anomaly and Gamma are just so much more enjoyable after playing them that it's not even comparable.
Anomaly's hated because it's even more popular than the originals, but it's still amazing how it's even possible to merge all 3 games and add a shit ton of stuff while it still being somehow more bug free than the originals
This moded game make most of AAA games feels pathetic, backward and sad.
Okay one thing here is misleading - Anomaly isn't hardcore, or rather it is right out of the box, but just diving into game options you can make it very casual and much easier game.
Oh for sure. This was just a general overview, but yes, you can also make it a run and gun shooter, lol. Depends on the settings.
As a player of the original in 2007, and the subsequent games, I fucking love Anomaly and GAMMA. Firstly the fact it flipped the AK working parts from left to right but also, ITS FUCKING AWESOME.
Oh man. Now I'm going to be playing the originals here shortly, since I bought all of them recently on steam since they were on sale.
@@bluetherobot hello, my advice to you, don’t rush through the first original part, just wait for the release of the “Stalker Shadow of Chernobyl update” mod, this mod updates the graphics, fixes a bunch of errors and significantly improves performance and much more, but does not change the original plot, just a 2007 game year will look like a modern AAA game. Which you can play with pleasure. There is a developer channel on UA-cam where he posts development diaries and talks about changes in the game, I’ll post the link below.
@@bluetherobotua-cam.com/video/XspPoRs2AVw/v-deo.htmlsi=OuPbrYx2GCs2XiIS
Yup, both of those mods represent what S.T.A.L.K.E.R. should have been from the start.
I know there are popular modpacks for Anomaly such as G.A.M.M.A. and the lesser-known modpack called "EFP" (Escape from Pripyat).
Funny enough, you're seeing EFP on screen.
EFP is so underrated. i like it so much more than gamma
wasn't EFP the king before Gamma?
@@Caes3r_ it still is, far as im concerned. the only reason gamma is more popular is because of drewski, and it being slightly easier to set up
Yoooo my guy. Wild to see you in ny recommended.
Good to hear ya again :D
And to gove my two cents, in obsessed with Anomaly.
10/10 from me
Holy shit dude! It's good to see you too man! Dude, please join my discord.
@@bluetherobot As it's almost 2am for me and I was watching this from bed, I shall tomorrow. But I shall!
It puzzles me why STALKER mods like Anomaly, GAMMA & Co. are so popular.
My fondest memories of STALKER are of part 3, because it was the most well-rounded part mechanically, because every place I visited was connected to a story, because I was only in new and larger areas, because of the fast travel system, because all the anomalies and quests were "hand-built" and because the decisions I made had an impact on the zone and on the "people" I "met" there. For example, whether I gassed the "nest" of bloodsuckers or not.
If I wanted to dive into the zone again, I would therefore look for a game experience that offers something comparable.
Why I should play something that's a rehash of part 1, only with more "stuff", some of which just makes the game more complicated and inaccessible instead of better, doesn't make sense to me. Even the story, from what I've heard, is supposed to be an inferior copy of part 1.
Also, don't mods like this actually devalue what my alter ego has achieved in the previous games? After all, virtually everything is reset to a state from before STALKER 1.
Because people want different experiences. It's a fun time, and I myself enjoy all of those different mods. If it isn't for you, that's fine, but theres no question why they are popular. They are because they are great experiences.
For me its the opposite I started playing anomaly and I wanted to try the originals so I bought Shadow of Chernobyl I got so bored that I requested a refund to buy something else and just keep playing anomaly
It is certainly the best free roaming game based on STALKER. - I give the mod that.
But even those who enjoy playing Anomaly a lot describe it as a love-hate relationship. - STALKER is just more than looting, levelling, shooting, trading, crafting and surviving.
Even though there is an unrivalled variety of mods and add-ons for Anomaly, some of which are very impressive, there are hardly any that address this shortcoming. Most popular mod packages such as GAMMA or Escape from Prypjat only focus on making survival even harder or introducing game mechanics that make the game even more inaccessible/complicated.
because for some of us, the original games are just too fucking dated. I spent years playing basic ass fucking generic FPS games on console, i like more hardcore games, that are challenging to play while giving me the freedom to add stuff that i want to use.
All the OG games are pretty much generic shooters with a decent story and the basic modicum of economy and survival elements.
If i want to experience the Story of those games, i will watch them on UA-cam and avoid the meh gameplay.
Stalker anomaly feels like what you remember of the first time you played stalker
I can say after playing Shadow of Chernobyl, that makes sense.
Greetings from someone who was introduced to S.T.A.L.K.E.R by S.T.A.L.K.E.R Anomaly.
The first time I played it, I was *completely* dumbfounded. I felt like I have been given little to no information or any guides on how to progress, so I had to rely on friends...
During my playthrough, it was quite hard the first time, even to the point where I classified Anomaly as "Dark Souls" difficulty. (AKA *very* fucking hard.)
However, after trial and error, and little advice from left and right from friends, I managed to beat Anomaly's story mode, and now, here I am, attempting to beat Anomaly's story mode yet again in my own settings, and etcetera.
Of course, I am also anticipating the release of S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2, where I expect another S.T.A.L.K.E.R game, not Anomaly 2.
A good take on the technical issues. I have yet to mod Anomaly for my personal liking, and judging from the setups, tutorials, guides, whatever, it can be a *big pain in the ass.*
Keep the videos up!
P.S, I will play the three S.T.A.L.K.E.R games soon enough. Word.
You had a similiar journey like I did. Started in Anomaly, completely dumb founded by how much there was to learn. Now, Im here looking at Ironman runs and installed new mods. Excited to see the story in Stalker 2.
Stalker Anomaly and single player Tarkov (SPT-AKI) are my favorite survival games
I wish I can cover SPT without getting copyrighted.
@@bluetherobotquite some people do it as long you dont explain how to install it etc
@@bluetherobot you get copyrighted if you post things about SPT??? never heard of that
@kriegsmarinekonigstiger4038 its a big issue actually. Bluedrake42 had a huge case about that.
I think you will like EFP (Escape from Pripyat).
Just a well rounded summation, good vid 👍
Thank you, I appreciate that.
@bluetherobot In this particular video do you only have Anomaly and EFT mods installed or there is some other mods also, if so can you provide a list of all of them you are using in this video?
All the mods I use are in my discord, with each tutorial video linked with it.
I think the hate comes from the fact that some people think this is what stalker was originally supposed to be like. Original stalker games were supposed to tell a story of important characters while keeping the atmosphere and gameplay good, but still focusing on the story. Anomaly tries to make you feel like it's your story with complete freedom over your choices, and it tries to make you feel what would it be like to be an average stalker in zone, while bumping up the immersion to the MAX. I also heard that people hate anomaly because it's a sandbox, they can't get immersed, there's nothing to do, they have no goals.
Some people need a bit more direction, while others need no direction and can come up with their own goals. Each style of playing is great, and I couldn't be happier with the amount of content Stalker fans get to enjoy.
I like it. However, after almost three playthroughs I've gotten wiser to spawn points and what typically spawns there. If they could improve with more spawn locations and vary them more. Nothing livens things up like changing maps from Garbarge heading north to Rostok and lo and behold a Chimers in the distance running at YOU. Mix it up and make it more unpredictable and it will continue to be popular for replayability.
we hate anomaly because of its fanbase, im one of those people who played the original triology before some of the anomaly" enjoyers" existed, anomaly and its trillion mods make wrong impression of the series and when stalker 2 comes out, those guys will shit on it and might even end the game series.
I myself was introduced into the Stalker series by Anomaly. I fell in love with the lore of The Zone. I wanted to know more about Strelok. I bought the original games, and are now playing through them. I understand Stalker 2 won't be Anomaly, more story driven. I'm sure im not the only one. Why can't we all just enjoy the zone together?
i have no problem with the game, its great that you can customise it freely, i just dont like the fanbase comparing it to 2007 games and wanting stalker 2 to be like anomaly@@bluetherobot
@noir1923 i agree, and im sure more than you think understand stalker 2 will not be anomaly 2.
Ahh yes, the classic example of gatekeeping. Ya love to see it.
Remind me a lot of the Halo fanbase, rallying against the addition of sprint because the OG games didn't have it.
Well let me tell ya something. Drop the nostalgia for a sec and take a look at those three games.
Why would i want to suffer through gameplay that is mid for a story that is good? If I want to learn about the story I can either read the wiki or watch it on UA-cam...
Simple as.
I am here to be immersed in the zone, making it feel much more alive than a static handcrafted world.
I want the realism of fighting for your life in a hellhole against muties, bandits, Monolith, UNISG while searching for the ultimate prize... cold hard cash.
One day i will make it out of the zone with something worth all the pain and suffering... or I will die here, becoming another dead stalker to be looted and picked apart by the animals and mutants.
I mean, the video make good point, but I wish it made distinction between Anomaly an its modpacks such gamma, epp or expedition, and its addons
Some people still confused Gamma as a standalone title. Lol. But there's a lot of modpacks to choose from.
I always loved anomaly
But nothing tops shadow of Chernobyl for me
Always a classic
I have wanted to get this game and play it for awhile now. I would love to try it out.
I can show you how to install it and what not brother.
Its literally just an 8gb free portable exe game, you can get it running in less than 10 minutes for free
But if you do consider playing the original games first, they're kinda old and might feel outdated in many ways but your time in anomaly will be much more enjoyable. + the story is fucking amazing and worth the $10 the trilogy costs on sale
Played the originals when I was a kid always loved the franchise even if it didn’t understand it as deeply. Anomaly is a great place to jump into the series gameplay wise most younger people won’t touch anything that doesn’t look like it came out last year and the originals while deserving of all the respect they’ve earned and truly masterpieces of the time are a bit dated and definitely not as easy of an entry point as anomaly and it has done an amazing job of growing the stalker community and it’s hard to believe this is a fan game
The community has been very supportive.
Anomaly GAMMA is now a testing platform, where all the ideas can be freely introduced and tried out.
What would be really great, if some modders could make a remake of the old games on x64 x-rey engine, with improved textures, models, animations. With smoothen out, outdated and from the get go broken, visuals. I thinking, that this revamp could use models from builds of cancelled, 2011 STALKER 2, of course reworked. At least the NPC models, because they ware made by the original GSC team. Other things could be taken from the mods of the Anomaly, remodel and reanimations of mutants, weapons, detectors etc. In short, maintaining overall structure of a game, but improving textures, models, animations.
Oh, I just saw a mod that would bring old Exo Suits from Stalker 2. I was confused at first, but now you just told me about the 2011 one. I'm gonna do some research.
@@bluetherobot yeah, there was already a Stalker 2... but never finished. Game was cancelled in 2012 and the GSC went bankrupt. There are some videos on YT with captured footage from early builds of 2011 Stalker 2, and also 5 years old vid with narrated starting version of the story.
Those early builds, concept arts an other materials are out there, archived by now anonymus people, who obtained them somehow.
Because of existance of those materials and assets, created by original GSC crew, that though came to me, about using some of those to create a remakes of original trilogy, but technologically somewhere in between the official installments.
That is so cool. So has the story changed quite a bit, or will we never know officially?
@@bluetherobot it was a totally new and original story, settled after the events from a trylogy. From what was presented in the video, Strelok had reclaim his identity... Pavel Konstantynovitsh Streletski(!). It's quite common Polish last name, Strzelecki, so that could mean he had Polish ancestors, because name Konstantyn is rare, but also given to the children in Poland. Rest i will leave for you to discover. I don't want to ruin the fun for you ;D
@@adamcichon6957 that sounds awesome. Would be interested in learning more. Im still playing the originals.
great video man!
Thanks man! Appreciate the kind words.
does anyone know what causes the faint glass tapping noise that occurs when walking or running on dirt? I cant ignore it and it's driving me mad!
What mod pack are you using?
@@bluetherobot G.A.M.M.A... only realised now this isn't a G.A.M.M.A video, it's okay though I fixed the issue :3
@@SkonnchyHow did you fix this man???
Modded Anomaly is absolutely beautiful and realistic on a sensory level, and playing it on one life turns up the realism hugely.
It also features quite dodgy AI in many respects (though compared to what?, I know), an excess of bullshit to do with the mechanics of the game ("bullshit deaths" and cheesing potential), and lacks the tact in balancing mystery with comfort and threat to direct the player's behaviour that Shadow of Chernobyl had (very basic objective: explore north, follow the road - generated by the design of the levels which featured a central road north and a beautiful minimap system that just gave the player a direction).
The original SoC, and to an extent CoP, also made the games a complex relational web, that shifted, whereas the characters' interactions are much simpler in Anomaly - tending to just be a matter of repetitive quests for allied factions and immediate shootouts with enemy factions. There are not multiple different situations, the choice to surrender to bandits or shoot them, situations where you can interact with characters, but if you brush past them to where they don't want they attack etc.
The factions/characters have also been turned into caricatures in Anomaly, in particular Freedom. The dialogue is more stilted, there's more in the way of fanservice, and the placement of types of mutant makes little sense. There is also much less of the beautiful transition between the relative mundanity of the lower zone in SoC, to the gradually more inhospitable, more anomalous, more radioactive north. This was also a problem in CoP, with artificial impossibility to climb some slopes vs others being a very immersion jarring addition, compared to using radiation, the pressure of time, natural curiosity, the natural human tendency to follow the road etc.
In Anomaly, there has been no equivalently compelling tying of geography to time and difficulty as was present in the first three games.
Well gladly all 3 original games were on sale. So I will also be playing those coming soon.
I've had the Stalker trilogy in my GOG library for years but never really got around to checking them out. But lately I've been getting into "Into the Radius VR" which shares a lot of inspiration with the Stalker games, and I've started to really feel like I should play them. But I'm not sure if I should just play the originals, or one of the standalone mods like Anomoly, Gamma, or True Stalker. I've gotten used to Radius' tactile base system, where your weapon stash is a physical place where you can place your weapons and gear where you want them, you can physically clean your guns with a brush and rod, and you need to keep up with empty magazines so you can reload them. Which of these experiences would be the closest to that outside of VR?
This is such a great question. Firstly, love Into The Radius. Excited for the second one. Also, the best part of the entire Stalker library, you can pretty much start wherever. But as for your question as to which one feels more like that Into Radius outside VR, funny enough, the Stalker Anomaly modpack I'm using called EFP or Escape from Pripyat. Inspirations from Tarkov, you can make your own hideout with furniture and what not. Cleaning weapons actually in both the EFP and GAMMA modpack are important, and if you need any help installing EFP, my discord has all the videos to help.
Awesome, I will check out the EFP pack, and the discord channel. Thanks for the reply, and Merry Christmas :)
@VanaheimGames Merry Christmas to you as well.
If you are actually interested I'd recommend playing the main games in order without or with minimal mods first. You will never make it through ShoC if you play a modern overhaul modpack for Anomaly first because you will be used to a much more large complex game with many more QOL features. Playing the original games first will also introduce you to the world and core features much better and make you appreciate the wonders of modern stalker mods much more.
I just had to reinstall gamma last night. So excited to play it when I get off work just watching all the videos on it I can to keep me satiated 😂
Haha. Just finished my playthrough of EFP, so gonna install Gamma next
you must be playing on maximum settings? my Stalker Anomaly doesn’t quite look like this lol
Well textures and reshade, with screen space shaders help quite a bit.
Hate because big mods better like lost alpha, dead air, ogse... like because hipe
Some people do find it intimidating.
I have my little after ork stalker anomaly save file. I just play free mode as Bandit and sometimes just sit in the base at the fire chilling with the boys listening to stories( i speak russian) good vibe and guns feel good
Man. I want to learn more Russian just for moments like that.
im here reloading twitter expecting PIONER to release
I can't wait for Pioner
Man I just recently started stalker anomaly I'm trying to turn off the helmets overlay and can't find out how
Its a separate mod for the way I have it, but in the option, I believe somewhere in gameplay, you can turn it all off. Mask overlay, breathing fog, etc.
just an hint: there's a tutorial, it's everything on the PDA (the in game "smartphone")
Oh really? Like an actual Tutorial?
Imagine if you asked someone if they play the original doom and they say that they love it, but have only played it through the Brutal DooM mod. They've never played the original, just a mod built off of it's foundation. Some Doom mods don't even require a copy of doom, just like these stalker mods.
I mean, anyone can play anything really.
Nice video. What song starts at 2:55?
One of my favorite songs to use from Epidemic Sound, which is all royalty free music if you subscribe to their website to use it. But this is it on UA-cam: ua-cam.com/video/BqMUVIYrh14/v-deo.htmlsi=0KHT0KzFzXe6Uaa8
Your video is very pleasant. I like it a lot!
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
I did play all 3 Original games, then MISERY for CoP (which then gave some features to Anomaly), then Call of Chernobyl which was hard at the beginning.
Then l discovered Anomaly, first, only played it in vanila version, was hard, but after a while, when l got used to it, it became easier.
And then came the addons... oh boy the addons haha. Even now, l have the Expedition modpack + additional 39 addons to it.
To make a fine balance between Fun and "why the F do you do this to yourself" haha.
Since as l told a friend, Stalker Anomaly has 2 stages (imo)... 1st Stage: "Why is game so hard?!" and 2nd Stage: "How can I make this game harder?"
l'm on stage 2, well... after stage 2, since l made the game harder, at my current play, l only got around 30k, constantly hungry, so yea, fun times!
This is exactly the same journey that I'm on now. Lol. Now I want more mods, on top of the EFP pack I have, and already do. Lol. I do want to check out Expedition as well.
@@bluetherobot To be honest, EXP doesn1t add anything new, it has some nice integrated mods in it, like BaS a nice sleep mod, where the cam zooms out and you see what is happening while you sleep and ofc some nice skinds for the AI.
l won't list all the 39 addons l use too haha, but how my setting is...
Traders don1t sell guns, backpacks and armor, only attachment, ammo, food and meds.
The player to trader sell is set to 0.5x, while the trader to player sell is 2x along with Repair cost and Upgrade cost.
Mission money is set to 0.5x too, so it's hard to come by money. Also, since l got "NPC Loot Claim" addon, for some reason it does give all sort of durability guns, even 100%, so, l set it that traders only buy guns that are 75% or better.
Funny thing is playing with harder faction (BVandit, Freedom, Merc) is hard, but also easy since more enemies = more loot = more money. But playing with a faction that has lots of allies... yea, less people to shoot = less loot = less money. Currently playing as Duty, on my laptop l was Bandit and l can see the difference, l struggle with Duty for money and food haha.
Got you. I do what to try a monolith run, just so I don't have to guess who I can shoot, or not shoot from far away. Lol.
@@bluetherobot I'd say binos haha. l been always using Sniper and shotguns. Though with Duty l try AR / MMG run. Though once you get used to who is saying what, even if russian, you will know. Though Expedition changed Monolith voice, they don't have classic "za Monolith", so it's hard to guess haha.
While I do agree that Anomaly is great, I don't want it to overshadow the original trilogy. Anomaly wouldn't exist without the first three games made by GSC Game World, and I believe that people getting into STALKER should also play the original games that GSC made.
While I would say it's recommended that people try out the original games, it's not a must thing to do. I think the consensus, even amongst Anomaly only players, such as myself, is that they know Stalker 2 won't be just Anomaly 2, but what we're excited for the most, is the modding for Stalker 2.
Took time for me to like the game. Most unique game I've ever played.
It really is. Nothing out there like it.
thats why newcomer should play stalker soc or the two other maingames before going to play anomaly :)
I myself got into Anomaly first, but I love the challenge and hardcore nature.
Nyet. Game look like pile of cow excrement. Will play Anomaly instead... look slightly better.
If you enjoy storyline and quests play op 2.2 its gigantic mod with a lot of new story lines, i only wish it would have the weapon animations from efp or gamma
I will definitely look into this
@@bluetherobot i mean it has about 400 hours of contents i think
Recently OP 2 OGSR was released with more improved weapons component, but I don’t know if there is an English version.
Thats the original engine with mods on steroids ? I always heard it had potential but this almost looks like a different game
Yes, this is just Call of Pripyat with Gunslinger added on, plus reshade.
Couple of things. Most people that know about Anomaly and play it, love it. It's only a small percentage of people that don't. Secondly, Stalker isn't a popular game by any sales metric. It's a cult niche title that has gotten more attention over the years, but it's still a small crowd.
For sure, it's definitely a niche, but an ever growing one, especially since the announcement of Stalker 2, and after the rise in popularity of Stalker Anomaly.
@@bluetherobot Which, also to be considered, is partially because you get all three games for free, bundled together. I've never played any of the Stalkers, but I'm playing Anomaly (and Gamma) right now because it's free.
Anomaly is anomaly, you are not getting the other 3 games free bundled together... You're not experiencing the original games in anyway other than the setting. The original games have their own stories and quests which are not replicated in Anomaly at all that drive the games. You're also missing the journey of progressing through the stalker games and their mods just jumping into the latest most mashed together thing. Understand I say all this as someone who plays Anomaly today, but I've spent thousands of hours in the original games and other mods, I've experienced the things unique to each of them and I think you're missing something starting with Anomaly.
@@SpitFir3Tornado I sort of agree, but also don't. I've played Baldur's Gate 2. I've played the Fallout franchise. I've played Witcher and Cyberpunk. No offense, but Stalker has never struck me as a particularly "fascinating" story game.
@@JJokerMoreau I'm not claiming it's the greatest narrative game ever. I'm saying you're missing the great story and questing of the original games in Anomaly etc.. Even if the stories can be a bit convoluted or whatever, they are great and they are what established this setting.
Am I the only one who doesnt get how hes in x18 and his flashlight works just fine????
Lol. It did shut off on me at one point.
I hate because dosen't play Addaraya - Gurza Dreaming in 100 Rads Bar.
I love for all the rest...
Lol. Thank you for that.
I get people want new players to experience the first games, but im a 15 year old with no money soo... I kinda have to start with anomoly.😅 Any tips for me to ease into the series better? I'll get the og's for Christmas.
Definitely start with the Loner faction, and do those starter quests in Rookie Village.
@@bluetherobot yessir
@@bluetherobot should I just download anomaly or should I download any mods with it?
@@liamratliff3824 try anomaly first, then add mods when you're more comfortable.
If you need any help, feel free to join the discord.
@@bluetherobot I'm doing good rn, got my first ak already, I took out a bunch of bandits with my sawn off, I died a few times tho...
is that your discord chat going off or is it mines???
that could be yours. lol
@@bluetherobot yeah i think it was,i was muting every discord i had 🤣
I hate it when that happens. Being a part of over 100 discords.
@@bluetherobot hahaha yes..i was gonna count....but then i relized i had to include group chats...but yeah...love these stalker vids
Well I'm glad you enjoy them.
You're not gonna talk about the upcoming Stalker 2?
Oh I will. Definitely.
@@bluetherobot Cool live stream man, cant wait for your next adventure...
@BobZOMG1984 glad you enjoyed it. Definitely more to come every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10am EST
If you like anomaly you have to check out gamma
I am checking out the EFP Modpack currently. The Gamma Modpack is on the list.
@@bluetherobot hell yeah, I need to try the efp pack! Hear it’s damn good
Good video
Thank you very much! Appreciate that you enjoyed it.
I bought all 3 games just last week and have played them.
I beat SOC in a couple days and absolutely loved it.
I made it to the fleshly fight in clear skies and just quit because clear skies is fucking terrible in my opinion. (Probably a skill issue with the bleeding aspect) I couldn’t find myself progressing well in that game either.
M
I watched a story vid and got the full clear skies story down and started COP. I didn’t make it extremely far but I did enjoy it completely. I’m skipping solely anomaly and jumping straight into gamma. Wish me luck boys.
because it's fast food tier experience and people get mad you call it fast food
I mean, you can make it your way. lol
I really liked stalker anomaly overall
Except that fucking boar hunting mission
You got this man. I believe in you. If I can do it, you can too. Is it the one in the starter village?
Yet the main mod hasn't been updated in centuries
Even with it not being updated recently, its still super popular.
Food and water food and water That's all I do
You're a mad man! But I like your style.
I'd gladly choose a game that's free and good rather than the modern garbage from greedy AAA developers who can't even make games as immersive as Anomaly
100% right there.
people hate stalker anomaly ?
Yeah. I recently had some people pop into my livestream saying why. I guess due to them worrying that Anomaly players will look at Stalker 2 as Anomaly 2, instead of just Stalker 2, and then be disappointed, and that Anomaly isn't truly Stalker. I don't see that being too much of an issue myself, and see Anomaly as just another gateway to the incredible world of Stalker.
15 second in and i am throwing my hands up lol
What do you mean?
@@bluetherobot Anomaly has a super rich modding history that goes back way before it existed and you sorta glossed over 90% of it. Stating first that its a mod of Shadow of Chernobyl and not mentioning how it is built off of Call of Pripyat at all was really the only thing that miffed me, but not mentioning the mods anomaly grew out of such as Misery and Call of Chernobyl also really bothered me.
I get that you can't be omniscient and know all the lore behind the obscure modding scene of stalker, but that is sort of what leads to most of the hate towards gamma/EFP and by proxy anomaly. Other really great mods like lost alpha and gunslinger also tend to get overshadowed entirely. Sadly this is what leads to alot of the petty gatekeeping in parts of the community.
Also this is just me nitpicking, but i think its important to include some footage of mostly vanilla anomaly in videos like this to paint a picture of what the mod REALLY is to people who are new in the community. I've met too many folks who think anomaly is unplayable without stuff like Screen Space Shaders and Aggressor ReShade and that simply is not true.
Regardless i glad ya took a shot at making a video like this. Anomaly is a really interesting topic that lots of people want to learn more about, though it can be difficult to understand.
I myself think this was just a simple video about Anomaly. Nothing too in depth. Now that video would be like an hour long if I went into every single detail, which I might do in the future. This was just a simple video.
@@bluetherobot yea and ngl i think thats just fine, better to have people attempting to make content on the subject than there be nothing at all whatsoever.
I do think this is a great microcosm of the new vs old players with anomaly though. You come in as new guy introduced to the games with anomaly and then start spreading incorrect info about the original games and the history of the mod (I say all this at least partially in jest). Anomaly has a ludicrously complex ancestry that I wouldn't expect you to understand unless you had lived through and played the past decade+ of mod development for these games, and that's not gatekeepers its just how complex it is. Unless you were playing these mods as they came out and witnessed the changes each brought and built upon you just wouldn't know how complex the history is. It'd be more accurate to say Anomaly was based on something like Call of Misery, itself a port of Misery mod for CoP into the standalone Call of Chernobyl mod than it is based on ShoC. If I want to play stalker it is the game I'm most likely to go play today but understand if it's where you start you are missing out on that journey through the original games and the many mods that followed them.
Actually Anomaly is built off the Open X-Ray engine which itself is a fork of the Call of Pripyat official game released by GSC Game Worlds.
I forgot to mention Xray as well. Thank you. Plenty of history I missed, but that would be a long video...
Anomaly is not built off the Open X-Ray engine. It runs on its own fork of the GSC's x-ray engine called Monolith
@@creepi. Still the same x-ray engine at its core.
@@DankRobot openxray has so many more improvements compared to the original xray and anomaly's xray in terms of performance in stability. to just shrug it off as the same xray engine isn't that helpful
@@creepi.Wait so openxray is better than xray monolith?
Is it a mod or a standalone game????????
Technically it's labeled a mod, but it really plays like a standalone game.
@@bluetherobot is it a mod or a standalone game
Do i need to buy one of the stalker games to play it???
Ah, no. You just download it from Moddb. You don't need previous titles. If you need help, I have a tutorial install video in my discord.
Wish they bring it to xbox one
Stalker 2 will
@@bluetherobot I know but it be cool if the xbox version get this mod
Hate? Why would anybody hate GAMMA? :D Why would anybody "hate" any videogame?
I ask myself that question all the time.
That was a very long way of saying "this game is not for wimps"
I mean. It's one way of saying it. Lol
the explanations are to broad I wanted precision on why this game is good.
There's too many to count. Which is why it's broad.
Why? Because i absolutely hate that fucking weird weapon FOV thing that old games like CoP, SoC, CS have... you know... the Battlefield 2 type shit.
Plus the story of stalker is... okay.
It's interesting but nothing that i would suffer through the mid gameplay for.
free
HI, IS IN SPANISH?
No
Good video, but holy fuck get your audio in check. You almost blew my headphones out.
Thanks, but my audio levels were fine on my end. Levels were good, not peaking at all. Not sure what part you're talking about.
Gone baby gone. Heavy breathing bull. Deleted after 30 min. It is GONE🥳
You deleted what exactly?
The game.
You know you could turn that off in the settings, right?
@@nxmx6ixNope. I played for 30min and just ditched the game. FC3 is better.
Decent vid but to provide a little constructive criticism, you repeat your points nearly verbatim a little too much. I get reiterating a point to summarize a segment of your script or to emphasize but it comes off as a bit repetitive and made me think I had accidentally rewinded a few times.
I understand. Thank for the constructive criticism. I had to edit this a bit hastily, due to outside circumstances, but again, I appreciate it.
@@bluetherobot Totally understandable. Keep up the good work!
@thespacedisland5746 will do. Glad you still enjoyed it.
My issue and the reason I prefer a mostly vanilla experience with all three of these games is the fact that in their unending pursuit of realism they wind up producing something that is about as far removed from grounded as can be.
No human beings sprints at a snail's pace, no human being needs to eat and drink every 30 seconds... It's just obnoxious. Every item requiring an animation to use is pretty cool though.
In the end I just prefer mostly vanilla
I'm actually really enjoying Gunslinger right now due to those reasons. I like simplicity, but overall graphics and animations make a world of a difference. I love the world of Stalker, and I just always want to be immersed in it. Why I also love Anomaly and its many mods. It's a choose your own adventure game.
@@bluetherobot just dropped on consoles, Devs said mod support is coming later this year. Been years since I played these games, shadow of Chernobyl is still my favorite.
It's gonna be a great time
Anomaly, and it’s favorite child GAMMA, imo add survival elements to a sandbox that was already begging for them. Playing the original series is great, but feels empty and arcade like without the challenges of surviving in the Zone via food and water as well as environmental stuff like the radiation and anomalies. GAMMA does lean a bit much into ballistics and armor values, but it’s still my favorite collection of mods that enhance the ‘spirit’ of the Zone: which to me is survival itself as a tourist in this fantastical world
I hate the letting system it stupid
The looting system?
@@bluetherobot yes just break boxes and open few repair ones
From what I've seen, the state of the community is terrible.
Its either you are very helpful, or gatekeep the Stalker games. Every community has people like that.
That is far from true, unless you want to start talking about "American grass"
@@DankRobot American grass? Like to elaborate?
@@racerwilson152 Ignorance is bliss sometimes
First. Also, great vid mate 👍 watched to the end!
Thanks brother! We just gotta get some games in next.
Anomaly and Gamma is just piling bloat on top of piles of useless shit. Something garbage like Reborn is more intresting to me because it tries to do something original.
The only intresting shit that comes out is in russian lol
Anomaly and Gamma definitely isn't useless, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion. As for Reborn, never heard of it, but will definitely look into it.
@@bluetherobot reborn is insane and borderline unplayable, but it atleast tries to do something new.
Brutally honest, hell yeah.
We don't like it because the world scale is so bad in that game.
01:30 - Look at the trees, the movement speed, the weapon, it's so wrong. The weird world scale is the only thing that keeps us from playing stalker.
I mean, thats not a huge deal for me, but I can see that being a reason for you.
You can mod the movement speed.
The world scale is literally like any other game TF you on about?
The weapon is in "low" ready? Like what? Are you dumb or something? Do you understand the concept of FOV and movement speed? You know you can speed up or slow down depending on weight carried and capslock right?
I've been on youtube for a longtime but this is legit the stupidest take I have seen on here.
That is very true...@@tmgn7588
The games graphics are not bad and the level seen is too trivial to use as a reason. You can mod movement speed and the weapons are great, and there are dozens if not hundreds of modded weapons to add if you know how.
It's not meant to be another generic arcade shooter. If that's what you're looking for then look elsewhere
if you like anomaly you just need to work on a better taste
Bad take
@@bluetherobot you might enjoy it for a while from inexperience but when you get the world mechanics you will start questioning the point of it, and there will be none. The gameplay is flawed, but even worse: theres no foundation for it
I'm still playing it, and so are thousands of others.
@@bluetherobot deflect much
@elio3985 upset much? Its a youtube video. Ain't that deep
you just say the same thing over and over and over and over and over and over.. again.
I mean, to each their own opinion. Thanks for the comment
Because it is a shit game,and I like shit games
6:30 I literally found one 1h30m video tutorial from @Blondefire_HeyBlondie to Anomaly that explained things in such great manner that 3 yo would be able to play this game.
And the video is 2 years old already. So its not like there is no tutorialing etc, there is and it's awesome.
The only thing I wish Anomaly had is ... more info in the guide tab in pda, cos sometimes things are not obvious at first and it would help new players. Cos they might ask "OK NOW WHAT?" a lot.
Imagine ... Anomaly wiki with searchable terms in the pda already. That would be the best!
That searchable wiki idea would be amazing. I'm surprised it's not a thing already tbh.
@@bluetherobot Glad you liked the idea! To not make it overpowered it could have a database mechanic, that you have to retrieve as part of the quest (go find me this database and then follow up quest to get item/artifact from this database), bought from Sid 1st tier, Barman 2nd, and someone at north like Beard 3rd final tier, or from talking with npc or simply pda's from looting.
Ehhh if I only knew how to make mods
@@BOKKENMMB there's never a bad time to start learning. Might as well learn now. Especially before Stalker 2 comes out.
only reason I didn't like anomaly was the repair system
hahaha popular where?¿ I just heard of this today, and I have 35 years playing fps xD
I mean... just because you haven't heard of it, doesn't mean others haven't.
@@bluetherobot haha I was joking bro I love your vids
Ah, my bad. Hard to sense sarcasm over text. Appreciate it.
@@bluetherobot I didn't mean to be an asshole haha but my friends only play fornite so nobody to talk about stalker xD and I was hyped .