Forums > Game Forums > S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl > Patch Guide?
Zovni (10504) on 10/10/2011 3:09 AM · Permalink · Report
Hey there,
I'm late to the party and the previous mod thread is locked, so I'm posting this in the hopes you fine people can help me sort this mess as there seems to be a gazillion mods and patches online for this thing.
I know of the Stalker Complete and Oblivion Lost mods, but I'm less concerned with overhauling the game to so-called "current standards" and more about getting a stable, correctly localized experience that retains the true art style and features and doesn't leave me wondering if that bit of untranslated dialogue contained important plot exposition. So... as of right now I think the highest official patch level is 1.0006 (I only found the 1.0005, and then the 1.0005 to 1.0006 files around).
Where do we go from there?
Slug Camargo (583) on 10/15/2011 1:02 AM · Permalink · Report
Well, by now I assume you don't even care, but I thought I'd pop in to say the only thing you really need is the second to last official patch --that would be 1.00000005 or something like that. The next one only makes multiplayer tweaks.
Also, with that patch the game played perfectly for me from start to finish, so there's no need for fan-made tweaking unless you're in for a second, more complex/tough/pretty playthrough.
Slug Camargo (583) on 10/15/2011 3:14 AM · edited · Permalink · Report
In the technical aspect, nothing I can remember. Like I said, with that patch my experience was pretty flawless. Maybe there were some crashes, but I probably shrugged them off because I remembered what the pre-patch game was like. I definitely don't remember any game-breaking bug.
One thing I didn't know when I first played and you might want to take note of is that there are 7 different endings. Two of them (including the official one the sequel takes off from) come from following the "Kill Strelok" quest all the way to the end. Meaning, if you enter the nuclear plant without following ALL the leads of the "Kill Strelok" quest, you're gonna miss those "main" endings.
It works out like this: Once inside the plant, there are two paths: The first path leads to the Wish Granter, which in turn leads to one of 5 endings depending on certain actions you took throughout the game; and the second path leads to a lab where you'll get a bunch of answers about the Zone, plus you'll have to choose one of the aforementioned two "main" endings.
The thing is, the door to the lab is locked, and you need Fang's decoder to open it. This decoder is located in a stash to which you'll be led by "Doc", who in turn is hidden in Strelok's old hideout but will only show up once you followed the proper leads in the "Kill Strelok" quest.
So, tl/dr: Provided you did things right, you should be entering the nuclear plant with Fang's decoder in your inventory, and then you can save the game at the branching point and thus get access to three different endings: The two "main" ones at the lab, and one from the Wish Granter.
Do not enter the plant before getting Fang's decoder.
Finally, as I mentioned, the wish you make to the Wish Granter is chosen for you depending on how you played the game. Here is a spoiler-free guide to the possibilities:
- Your reputation is "Excellent": You wish for the Zone to Disappear.
- Your reputation is "Terrible": You wish for humanity to be punished.
- You have over $ 50,000: You wish to be rich.
- Both General Voronin (leader of Duty) and Lukash (leader of Freedom) are dead: You wish to rule the world.
- No other criteria are met: You wish for immortality.
Finally-finally, even though the "Kill Strelok" endings are the ones you want to get in order to have closure and a proper storyline-launching platform to play the sequel, it is definitely worth to try with the Wish Granter too: No spoilers, but let's just say the cutscenes are pretty clever and rather amusing, in a very S.T.A.L.K.E.R.-y way.