If you choose among modern computer games those for which the most modifications have been created, then Stalker will definitely take first place. This stealth shooter, which tells the story of the events in the Chernobyl radiation zone, has become a real masterpiece, which can be very rarely found among projects released by companies in the post-Soviet space. This series of games is great in its own right, but it is also notable for the fact that fans have already created quite an impressive number of mods for it, each of which adds different elements, from new weapons to full-fledged storylines. By the way, the last option is quite common, because the Stalker universe is vast, so you can create many different narratives on behalf of different heroes. But what makes “Alternative” stand out from others? The passage here has not changed, the game mechanics have not changed either. What is the difference?

Description of the mod

First of all, you should pay attention to the fact that this modification not only adds a storyline. It makes it non-standard, alternative, and also introduces a rather impressive number of side quests into the gameplay, which do not affect the plot of the Stalker: Alternative mod. The passage, as mentioned earlier, is practically no different from the original games and from other modifications. Naturally, there are some tricks here, such as freedom of action or strict obedience to orders (depending on the path you choose for yourself). But all the outstanding moments in this game are worth analyzing separately, as well as deciding on recommendations that will help you complete the Stalker: Alternative mod. The passage will not take you much time, like most modifications, but it will allow you to look at the world of “Stalker” from a completely different perspective.

Character selection

So, it’s worth starting with the fact that in all the original games and modifications, the developers and creators independently determined which character the gamer would play for. As for this mod, you are given the full option - you can enter a name for your character yourself, as well as choose his appearance. However, this is not a particularly significant difference in the modification “Stalker: Alternative” - the passage does not change in any way, the appearance of the character only affects what photo is displayed in the dialogues, and the name affects how non-player characters will address you. This is just a nice feature that you shouldn’t linger or focus on for long. It's time to move on to more important issues that can also affect your progress. "Stalker: is the latest version of this mod. And it is on the basis of it that further consideration of the issue will take place.

Scene selection

At the very beginning of the game, you arrive in the Zone to serve there. And then you are presented with the main choice in the game - which path will you take? Your passage of the game "Stalker: Alternative" will completely depend on this. And it is here that the essence of the name of the modification is fully revealed. So you have two options. You can obey the order and go do what you were sent here for, that is, serve. On the other hand, you can go over to the other side and become a free stalker who will carry out many tasks, travel around the Zone, facing all its dangers. This is the choice the “Stalker: Alternative” modification offers you. Playing as a military man and as a stalker is worth considering separately, since they represent completely different concepts that lead to different endings to the game.

We play as a free stalker

If you decide not to obey the will of the military and go free, then you will have a huge advantage - freedom of action. You will be able to travel around the Zone and complete tasks intended for the stalker, which will lead you to the end of the story. At the same time, you should take on side quests that will allow you to acquire weapons, ammunition, ammunition, and so on. Naturally, no one canceled an important part of the Stalker series - the search for hiding places. You will do this for someone in accordance with some quest, or for yourself, and maybe you will notice hiding places by accident. In any case, they will help you complete the game and allow you to get the most out of the Stalker game. The “Alternative” mod, the passage of which can be divided into two parts, is not limited only to the fate of the stalker. You can easily replay the game by choosing a different direction. And this is the beauty of this modification.

Walkthrough as a military man

The disadvantage of the storyline for the free stalker is that there is nothing new in it. Naturally, the quests there are all original, the side quests are quite interesting, but the concept does not change at all compared to the original version or other modifications. What “Alternative” really appreciates is playing as a military man. Here everything is completely different; the game “Stalker: Alternative” completely changes its appearance. A walkthrough guide will allow you to study all the details, but it is much better to do it yourself. So, you agree to be a military man, which means that you will have to obey all the orders that your superiors give you. You need to follow the routine and complete story-based military missions. In addition, non-plot quests will be available to you, and most importantly, some of the tasks of the free stalker will also be open to you. That is, this mode is much more attractive to fans, as it offers a new perspective on the game from a completely different character. This has never happened before, and you should definitely try this option.

Alternate endings

"Stalker: Alternative" lives up to its name not only because it has two storylines to choose from. If you decide to play as a military man, then the ending of the game will depend on your actions. In total, this storyline has three branches, each of which leads to an original ending, so it is recommended to try all three methods, since the length of the game is not so long, and each of the ending options deserves attention.

Side quests

This is not to say that side quests in Alternative deserve special attention. Naturally, they are attractive and interesting, but still the emphasis here is on something completely different, namely on the possibility of playing as a military man. Most of the non-plot quests relate specifically to the free stalker, so completing them is the last thing you should focus on.

This section does not cover all the quests of the "Alternative 1.2" mod.

In the "Alternative" mod, the player plays for himself, can choose a name for himself and change the icon that is displayed in dialogues. Read how to do this in the Player Profile. A lot of interesting things can be learned from dialogues. At first glance, they seem to tell you about elementary things that you know well from the original plot of the game, and this is not just like that, you need to pay attention to these things. All the necessary information is in the PDA and in the documents found.

In the PDA in the “Journal - Personal Notes” section there will be information, after studying which you can go on quests and complete them. In version 1.2, two quests are available from personal notes, which originate in Prezonye.

Start of the game

You fly to Prezonye as a civilian to sign a contract for service in the Zone. Before leaving the military base, look into the control room. It contains a computer that you can hack a little later. Check all computers, PDAs, laptops, and safes for possible hacking.

To hack PDA computers and safes, you need programs that will be given to you by Kalancha, about whom you can find out from Sidorovich. There are six programs in total: three for hacking computers and three for hacking safes with electronic locks; all programs are required to progress through the game.

There is transport in the mod, in order for the transport to start, you need to set the action on the keyboard key to “Enable” in the control options, by default there are spaces.

When talking with Strelok, in the Prezonya bar, you will have to make a choice (the further development of the plot will depend on the choice) to serve under a contract, or to become a free stalker.

Free stalker

Having chosen the fate of a free stalker, freedom of choice opens up before you, but it is not clear what to do with it. You need to follow Bullseye's advice and meet with the Mayor. What you need to do to progress through the story is highlighted in green in the dialogue. Pay attention to the military man who will come to the bar after talking with Strelok. Help the saleswoman who sells in the store, you will definitely need empty boxes. Residents of Prezonye sleep at night.

The quest to find Strelok's hiding place remains from the original game. The Strelka flash drive contains other information. After the Extreme is found in the cache, an unusual journey through the Zone will begin.

Quest from Cardan.
Cardan will ask you to bring three toolkits, one at a time. All three sets are located on Zaton. To complete the second task you will need at least the first computer hacking program. When you try to hack, save before hacking; it may not work the first time. The outcome of the third task determines whether Cardan will give the task on Jupiter or not.

Quest "Parallel World"
The "Parallel World" quest begins after the laptop in your house is hacked. All information on completing the quest, in addition to tasks, is displayed in the PDA in the “Journal - Parallel World” section. You must do exactly what is described. If it says “stood on a pile of leaves for a long time,” then you need to do that, and not run around the pile and kick the leaves. When you get to the Dark Land and find a cache, do not forget about the map and the knife, at the moment the knife is a weapon. And anti-mutant artifacts are weapons of mass destruction. The main thing is to know which artifact to use at what time. It is better to leave everything found in the Dark Land there, it may come in handy.

Quest "Legend"
The "Legend" quest will begin after hacking the PDA in the bunker at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant-2. Nesterov is located in the Dark Land on Mozgolom.

Quest "Find the Chemist's swag"
The quest "Find the Chemist's swag" will begin after information was obtained by hacking into the computer of scientists on Jupiter. Once you have found all four artifacts, the quest will end. After the domed room in which the installation is located, walking along the corridor, pay attention to the container on the left, before going down the spiral staircase.

Quests related to other quests
The quest to eliminate the plague from the Zone will begin with the task “Find guards” for scientists on Jupiter. To continue the quest, you need to hack the PDA in the X-8 laboratory, which is located on Jupiter, and bring the corpse of an unknown animal to the scientists. What Ozersky asks must be done periodically. The further continuation of the quest is connected with the quest "Legend". The quest will end with the task “Destroy the uterus of an unknown animal.” There are two options for completing the quest: 1. when you know the probable location of the unknown animal’s lair, you can immediately go and finish this quest. 2. If you go back down to X-8 and find the second PDA, you'll be in for a surprise. When you say to Ozersky, “What did you say? The Zone itself? The Zone, well, of course the Zone. Okay, I have to go.” this means that you know who you should talk to now. After completing the quest, be sure to talk to your “ally”.

The "Legend" quest is connected to the simple quest "Find the Antidote". When you bring the antidote to Nesterov, the quest to turn on the antennas on the Radar will continue.

Unimplemented quests that were continued in version 1.2
In version of the mod Alternative 1.1 there were quests that were not fully implemented. The task “Find documents from X-8”: the obtained documents could be given to “Duty” or “Freedom”. In version 1.2, it matters who you give the documents to.

The quests associated with a girl named Sonya, which began with the task “Find the girl with the photo,” never developed into a separate storyline, but were continued and influenced the ending of the “Legend” storyline.

While spending the night at home, it is possible that unexpected guests will come and need your help. The second night guest who comes to the GG's home has received a quest for the GG. The peculiarity of this quest is an attempt to implement an alternative delivery and summing up.

Service under contract.

The storyline for the military man was continued and has three endings.

While serving in the Zone, you need to clearly carry out assigned tasks, just like in the army. Playing through the game as a military man, it is possible to complete some of the quests of a free stalker.

Good luck, Stalker!

Detailed description of quests

Free stalker

Saleswoman and boxes

Having decided to help the saleswoman, we go to the Bar and buy a map of Prezonya. There is a car parked near the store, we get into it and drive to the boiler room, there are four boxes on the ground floor. We take one at a time and drag it to the car, position ourselves so that we can take all the boxes and get into the UAZ, drive to the store and carry the boxes to the counter, take everything, talk to the saleswoman.

Find the girl with the photo.

The task is taken from Sidorovich. He says you need to find out at rookie camp. If Tolik is alive, he will give you a tip to cross, to the Swamp. If Tolik has given up, we go to the Swamp without a tip, the crossing is located in a barbed wire fence, which is not far from Sidorovich’s bunker. You need to walk along the fence towards the Checkpoint. The girl at the Clear Sky base. She tells you that no one knows about her presence in the Zone.

Let's go to Sidorovich, you have two options: take the money or say that you haven't seen the girl. In the first case, every stalker will try to take revenge on you for betraying Sonya. In the second case, you have a new task “Warn Sonya”. We go to the Swamp and in the church we free Sonya from captivity. We accompany Sonya to the base, you need to walk next to her when she reaches the fence, we stand and wait until she disappears from the PDA, quickly go to the teleport and wait for her near the gate. Sonya asks you to find the customer, take this task and go to the Cordon. In the house behind the railway bridge, on the right side, we talk with the stalker. After the conversation, we return to Sonya, she will thank you.

Cardan's quests

All three instrumental sets are located on Zaton. The first set is in the forestry boiler room, on the mountain from the barge. The second one, under the iron scaffolding in the laboratory, is where the helicopter fell on the concrete. You can get into the laboratory only after hacking the computer on the second floor, at the table. To hack, you need at least the first hacking program, which is provided by Kalancha based on Clear Sky. In the laboratory, the set is in a room where a large gauss cannon is installed.

Set No. 6 is found by the mercenaries who are at the wastewater treatment plant. You need to go at night, as Cardan asked, and quietly steal the set, which is located in the room where the mercenary is snoring. It may happen that the mercenary, before going to bed, grabs a set, in which case he needs to be killed and take the set. If it doesn’t work out quietly, we take all the mercenaries to the treatment facilities and catch up with the one who escaped near the transition to Cordon, take the kit to Cardan. This is a backup option when you really want to get a rapid-fire shotgun as a reward, and the task for recruitment No. 6 can be passed in any case.

If the circumstances are successful, Cardan will ask you to free Brother Pilot. We fly to Jupiter by helicopter from the Clear Sky base. At night, in container warehouses, we make our way into the hangar where the Pilot is kept. When Pilot was freed, two options now appeared: clear the entire camp or leave quietly. The choice will depend on how you solve the problem with the bandit who is guarding the Pilot. After accompanying the Pilot to Yanov, we fly to Cardan and finish the quest.

This quest begins after the hacking of the PDA at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant-2, Strelok spoke about this bunker at the beginning, but only asked us to forget. The bunker, in the original, is where Sidor sits. You can get there by jumping through teleports, or using the Punch device to enter the coordinates. Whoever hacked the laptop in the Guide has these coordinates. The device is located in Extreme's cache in Pripyat.

If you jump on teleporters without the device, the first time you get into the bunker you will be thrown out of it, continuing to jump on teleporters you will end up in the bunker behind bars. In the bunker under the PDA bench (you must have a hacking program) we hack it. You can get out of the bunker by approaching the grate; the teleporter you threw out the first time will repeat its action.

We go to Strelok, he will send you to the Anarchist, who will tell you his story, an entry will appear in the PDA, Journal-Legend. We go to the Ferris wheel in Pripyat, we find a piece of paper with a note. In Monolith Management we do what is written on the piece of paper. We talk with Jester and complete her task. Afterwards, if you have already brought the foot-and-mouth disease carcass to Ozersky, then a message will come from him. Let's go to Ozersky, they will send you to him anyway. He will tell you about Nesterov.

Nesterov in the Dark Land on Mozgolom. If you have not met him before, he will ask you to bring an antidote. We bring him an antidote, for which he will tell you how to restart the generators at Chernobyl NPP-2 (without the “Puncher” device, this will not be possible). You have the first coordinates to enter into the device if you hacked the laptop in the Guide. We restart the first generator, look for a note in the generator, then the second and third, similar to the first. We go to the Radar and turn on the antennas (stock up on artifacts from psi radiation and those that increase endurance, don’t forget about first aid kits). Let's go to the Joke.

To get a continuation, you need to find any stalker who has a dialogue about the Forester. We go to the Forester and listen to his assumption. We talk with the girls, both are on Yanov. In the end, you decide to go and turn off the Radar yourself. A surprise and another choice awaits you in the laboratory at Radar. In one of the options, you will have to go through a psychological quest that will require endurance, patience and attentiveness from you. When you get to the secret part of the laboratory, find a laptop, take it with you, it will be useful to you. After some time, a task and a description for it will appear. The description says where you can find the first and second PDA, but you will have to look for the third one. I consider further description of the storyline inappropriate; you will not be interested in playing.

A parallel world

The quest will begin after hacking the laptop in the house that you buy from the Mayor. All the necessary information, in addition to tasks, will be displayed in the PDA (Parallel World Magazine) after each computer hacking. In the Swamps, B. The Doctor will tell you about the ford. We go to the ford, through the railway tunnel we find ourselves in the Dark Land. Swamp. We find and hack a computer in the house. In the West Pripyat on the roof of the "Yubileiny" we hack the PDA and read. After waiting for some time on a pile of leaves, you will be taken to the place you need to find, it is in the West. Pripyat, not far from the dry cleaner. In a littered tunnel, we hack into a laptop, read, stand in the doorway and wait. We find ourselves in the Dark Land. Dump.

In one of the houses, which is not far from your place of appearance, we hack into the laptop and read. We find the first cache, there is a map in it, the map contains three sheets of maps. On the map of TK. The landfill is marked with three places, red dots. At the moment you need to go to a point in the middle. There you will find another surprise, do not forget that a knife is a weapon, this is relevant at the moment. Using a knife, you will obtain the coordinates written down on a piece of paper. We enter the coordinates into the "Puncher" device, inspect the second cache, read the note from the cache. We head to the hangar, do not forget that artifacts can be weapons. We find the third cache, which is located in a crevice next to the armored personnel carrier. We enter the coordinates found in the cache and get to Mozgolom.

Upon entering the location, we receive a task to find and disable the psi installation. The installation is located under a building that is surrounded by satellite dishes and can be accessed through an elevator shaft. The switch for the psi installation is on the table, turn it off, talk to Nesterov, find and hack the computer in the freight elevator shaft and get the location of the transition to the Dead City.

In the gym, when a laptop is hacked, we get information about how to return from a parallel world. You can get out of the Dead City, just like you got in, through the sewers. There are two hatches through which you can get into the sewer, one of them has a passage.

There are two meditation areas at the Dark Land landfill, located in different railway tunnels. (Before leaving, I recommend that you leave everything you find in the Dark Land; it will be useful in the future.) When you enter these zones, effects are played; after playing, you need to wait for a while. After one zone you will get to the Swamp, then I think you will get out.

Through the second zone, to the Lost Village. In the attic of the flock near the corpse we find a note and learn that we need to get under the roof of the house. To get into the attic of the specified house, you need to collect empty boxes and, using them, build a ladder inside the house and jump under the roof. We look for the cache, read the note, go to the store and turn off the teleporters. Now you can get out through "Limansk" or "Collector". This ends the quest.

Find Chemist's swag

The quest will begin after obtaining information from the computer of scientists on Jupiter. The information will be entered in the “Artifacts - Sunlight” section, where the code to the door to the laboratory on the Generators will be indicated. After talking with the Swamp Doctor, who will express his assumption, we head to the laboratory on the Generators. You need to go down to the lowest level, where there are only corridors. There is a hatch in the ceiling, but you can’t get into it, on the right side of the hatch there is a staircase, up it, a teleport will take you into the room. Into the room from the hatch, there are two corridors, the long one goes to Jupiter, the short one goes to the Collector.

In the Collector we find a computer that is important to you and hack it. After reading the information, you will need to find the door indicated in the photo. After the anomaly, walking along the corridor, pay attention to the container on the left, before going down the spiral staircase. Through the door we find ourselves in the second part of the Collector. We find a safe there, crack it, you already have two Chemist artifacts.

On Jupiter, where the railway entrance to the plant is, to the right of it there is a channel and a grate, following which you will end up behind bars, there is another safe. In the West There are no Pripyat mountains, but nine-story buildings can pass for them. Two twins connected by an anomaly, along which you can climb to the top, where the fourth Chemist artifact will be waiting for you.

Strelka flash drive and Extreme's cache.

The Strelka flash drive is located in the same place as in the original game, but when you take it, you will have another task; after reading it, we go to Jupiter. The plane is located behind the cemetery above the train tunnel where the controller lives. On the wing of the plane, the PDA from which you will receive two photos showing hiding places.

We head to Pripyat, find the house shown in the photo. We climb through the ruins to the second floor and travel through the teleports until we find ourselves in a room with a working radio. There is a backpack in it, in which there is a teleporter "Puncher" and a photo depicting the next hiding place, there is a note for the photo. In order to get to the cache in Western Pripyat, you will need an empty wooden box. In the "Puncher" there is an image of a house, put a pointer on it and click on enter, you are on the roof of the house. We jump from the roof of the house onto the roof of the entrance, place the box, from the box to the balcony, hack the PDA, and get the coordinates. We enter the coordinates into the device, in one of the hiding places there is also a PDA from it we get a photo in the “photos” section. The photo shows a place located at the Jupiter plant.

We find this place, behind the PDA bars, and get the coordinates from it. We enter into the device, move behind the bars, rise to the roof. At the other end of the roof we find ourselves on the landing, we find a backpack, there is a reward in it. A continuation of the storyline is planned.

Endings mod Alternative version 1.3.1

For the military:

1. Completion of the contract

Having completed three secret tasks, the GG completes the contract ahead of schedule and flies to the mainland.

2. Prison

If he refuses to cooperate with a representative of the “Awareness” project, the GG is taken into custody and sent to the mainland, where he is imprisoned.

3. Poltergeist

GG agrees to cooperate with the representative of the "Awareness" project and undertakes to find a complete package of documents from the X-18 laboratory, which consists of 5 parts. While searching for parts 4 and 5 of the document, the GG encounters a ghost. If the GG ignores the advice of the ghost and continues to search for documents, then he remains forever in the Zone, ending his human path and becoming a poltergeist.

4. Leaving the Zone

GG agrees to cooperate with the representative of the "Awareness" project and undertakes to find a complete package of documents from the X-18 laboratory, which consists of 5 parts. While searching for parts 4 and 5 of the document, the GG encounters a ghost. Having listened to the advice of the ghost, GG goes in search of a tunnel through which he will get out of the Zone.

5. Revenge

This ending is possible, if the GG surrenders Sonya to Sidorovich, receiving 50 thousand for it, then when communicating with stalkers, the GG can be killed, avenging Sonya’s death.

For the stalker:

1. Suicide

If GG agrees to take the box to the Clear Sky base at Victoria's request. As a result, GG realizes that he has made another mistake that cannot be corrected. He realizes that his death can stop the Zone and decides to commit suicide.

2. There is no way out

With the correct passage of the plot, but if the GG surrenders Sonya to Sidorovich, receiving 50 thousand for it, then no one will be able to leave the Zone, including the GG.

3. Love

This ending is possible only after saving Zoe. GG will have the opportunity to leave the Zone with Zoya

4. I won't let you

This ending is possible only after communicating with the Joke and if the GG decides to tell someone about the existence of the Joke.

5. Asylum

If the GG made the wrong choice when submitting documents from X-18 and incorrectly disposed of the documents of the “Awareness” project, then upon returning to the “Hold” a psychiatric hospital will be waiting for him in two possible exits. The third possible exit does not bode well.

6. Surprise

No matter how you progress through the story, this ending is possible. When returning to the "Hold", if the GG goes along a corridor that he does not need to go along, he will be warned about this, then it will be a surprise.

7. Second chance

If the GG made the wrong choice when submitting documents from X-18, but correctly disposed of the documents of the “Awareness” project, then upon returning to the “Hold” the GG will have a chance to correct one of the mistakes and he will be able to exit the “Hold”.

8. My room

If the GG made the wrong choice when submitting documents from X-18 and incorrectly disposed of the documents of the “Awareness” project, then upon returning to the “Hold”, upon entering the ward, the GG will find himself in a psychiatric hospital.

If the GG uses the second chance, then upon entering the chamber he will wake up before being sent to the Zone and decide not to fly to the Zone to sign the contract.

If the GG made the right choice when submitting documents from X-18 and correctly disposed of the documents of the “Awareness” project, then upon returning to the “Hold” and entering the chamber, he will wake up before being sent to the Zone and decide not to fly to the Zone to sign the contract. And he will be able to get out of the Hold without any problems.

The Stalker Alternative project received a long-awaited plot continuation and grew to version Alternative 1.3. Like previous versions, the mod remained on the previous platform Stalker Shadows of Chernobyl 1.0004. Unlike the previous part, the game acquired not only a number of plot changes, but also acquired a lot of gameplay innovations. As before, the player will have to play for himself, that is, the developer left the opportunity to create his own character before starting the game. A new storyline, 8 additional locations, 8 unique endings, a lot of interesting quests and unique cut scenes will be presented to players during the passage of the Alternative 1.3 mod.

STORYLINE CHANGES:

The plot of the game has become much more diverse, the game has eight full-fledged and unique endings (4 each for the stalker and the military man). Playing as a military man becomes a little easier, due to his full state support. When playing as a stalker, the plot was continued, so now the player will be able to get a full answer to the tormenting question of the main character in the previous version. This became possible thanks to the introduction of new story quests. Unlike the previous part, the start of the game has been changed, and the beginning of the storyline takes place immediately after the events described in the original version of the game Stalker PM. Additionally, a new storyline has appeared in the game, which originates in the Prezonje location. Please note that due to the non-linear nature of the storyline, the main character will periodically need to make choices, which may subsequently change the course of the game. This is implemented through dialogues; for convenience, they will be orange, so before making decisions, make saves.

MAIN CHANGES:

• New plot of the game (the old one is completely cut out);
• The player creates the GG independently before starting the game;
• Added 8 new locations (out of 30): Hold, D-6, Cemetery, Tunnel, Hidden Road, Dark Hollow, Rostock Factory and Catacombs;
• New story quests;
• New mutants with unique features;
• A new storyline has been added, which begins in the Prezonye location;
• 20 new artifacts have been added to the game;
• During the passage, the most important plot points will be accompanied by cut scenes;
• It became possible to test suits with a closed breathing system and oxygen cylinders. Thanks to them, the main character will be able to be in underground locations with almost no restrictions (these do not include the X-8 laboratory and Chernobyl NPP 2, these costumes are not required for them).

GAMEPLAY FEATURES AND WALKTHROUGH TIPS:

• During the passage, carefully read the dialogues, information in the found documents, incoming messages (highlighted in red), this will at least save your nerves and save time.
• Pay attention to the section in your personal PDA with the title "Journal - Personal Notes", the information contained in it will help you complete unfinished ones and find new quests.
• Before descending into underground locations, do not forget to wear a suit with a closed breathing system, equipping them with oxygen cylinders; without them, it is impossible to be there.
• During the passage of quests, NPCs highlighted in red (indicated as enemies) are not always such; with some you can start a dialogue. Therefore, before shooting, try to resolve the issue peacefully.
• Many unfriendly stalker bases can be penetrated without firing a single shot, so try to correctly assess the situation and take advantage of the opportunity to penetrate the facility unnoticed.
• Do not forget that some personal PDAs and computers can be hacked; they can become not only sources of important information, but also open up new story branches.
• New artifacts have appeared in the game, there are about 20 of them. From the start of the game they have no names or descriptions of their properties. This will happen until they are studied in laboratory conditions, so the first specimens will not be detected by detectors and their searches must be carried out almost “blindly”.
• In order to profitably sell the found artifacts and trophies, in the form of mutant body parts, the main character needs to go outside the zone. According to the plot, some locations are located outside the Perimeter and are not on the game map of the Zone, so getting to them is not so easy.
• Transitions to locations are not marked on the map, but all are open from the start of the game. This means that you can find them yourself or wait for information about the location according to the plot.

INSTALLING THE MOD:

• Install the game Stalker PM version 1.0004;
• Unzip the downloaded archive with the mod.
• Copy the resulting bin and gamedata folders to the folder with the installed game Stalker PM 1.0004

***General.***

What is a mod? For me it's something like a hodgepodge. I would call this modification light OP2. What awaits us here? It is possible to choose who to play for. Military or free loner. 8 endings, 4 for each. Many locations and new tasks. You can install a weapons pack, which I’ll talk about a little later, and + many other little things. In words it looks very attractive. But in reality, everything is bad. I played three for a long time, played as a military man, and after a long break I decided to go through all the endings as a stalker. But something went wrong.

***Who should I play as? Plot***

If you haven’t played the mod and want to try it, I recommend playing as a stalker. Because the first hours of the game will delight you. To leave the Dressing Room, you need to pay the sentry, then go wherever you want. Collecting artifacts and mutant parts is one of the main incomes in the Alternative. We collect spillikins and animal paws, go to the Dressing Room (again, paying 10k for the transition with swag) and sell everything at a high price. Therefore, there is a stalker case. And money is very necessary here so that further tasks and opportunities open up. And as for me, playing as a stalker is much more interesting than playing as a military man (although I only opened one ending). I expected something more grandiose from playing as a military man (as well as from the mod itself), but in reality I got insanity. By the way, the plot component, quests and dialogues are the same.

First, we are shown the GG’s dream, and it becomes clear that the GG is flying to the Zone to figure out why he is having these dreams. Therefore, we are made to understand that fashion has a specific purpose that we must fulfill. Although we must come up with the name of the GG ourselves (if we want). Playing as a military man and a stalker have some overlap. The same tasks can be completed for both, but some are not available to anyone. So what can we learn by playing as a military man? Well, only that the endings and the plot itself are half dead. I have no interest. Even 3 secret tasks that will allow us to finish the contract ahead of schedule were done out of the blue. And then, these tasks are interconnected, although logically this should not be the case. And, playing as a military man, we will not be given an answer to those very dreams that are not good.

It's easy to guess that all the actions of the mod take place after the events of the trilogy. But in fashion it’s hard not to notice that the plot is done, again, somehow. The fan and the attack of the mercenaries, Gray and the bandits, Kruglov and the mercenaries, documents in X18, documents in X16 and Ghost, Voronin’s tasks, Lukash’s tasks, the storming of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant by the military. We can see all this with our own eyes, but we’re not playing for the legendary Marked One. These moments are simply not removed. Even one of the first missions for a military man, where you and Degtyarev head through the Overpass to Pripyat to evacuate the military in the Laundry. A la economy version of Call of Pripyat. Why invent something new if you can take the old and cut it completely?

The endings also leave much to be desired. 2 endings for the military depend only on a banal choice of dialogue. Do you want to leave the Zone since the contract has been completed? Or do you want to go to prison because you wanted to have sex with an American woman or will you help O-consciousness? And the other 2 won't be any better. After helping the O-consciousness to find documents, we turn into some kind of creature that will mutter something. And the last one is leaving the Zone through the metro tunnels. By the way, you will only stay in the tunnel for a couple of minutes and will not encounter any resistance.

Almost most of the tasks are built on the “Guess it yourself” principle. And there are a lot of such examples: How does the GG know where the teleport to the Clear Sky base is? How does GG know that to descend into the Overpass you need a suit with WHSD, and Degtyarev led GG there and didn’t bother to mention a certain gas? How should the GG know that in order to get into X8, you need to have a program for hacking PDA? Most of all I like tasks with girls. For example, searching for the wife of a certain man in the Dressing Room. Do you seriously think that players are capable of accidentally stumbling upon Pda, at the end of the ATP road? 1 in 1000? This is the best case scenario. It's difficult to walk without a guide. And the search for a girl in the Swamps. The continuation of this story is fun. We must find the stalker at Cordon who ordered the girl. By chance circumstances, we find a stalker (where usually they cannot be), we start a conversation with him and he decides to ask what GG heard about that same girl? Logic, where are you? But where are you, floating dead in a radioactive swamp, face down? Bad luck to you. Bottom line. The plot, dialogue, and logic were not possible in this mod. Let's move on.

***Gameplay***

As I wrote above, there are some notes of interest here for a couple of hours. We are starting from scratch. In one sweater, and we gradually grow, but no, we grow rapidly. We’ll leave the dressing room with one TOZ, and you’ll be able to come back with a VSS and a scientific “Vega” suit (hello forest thicket). + there are still things from the original TC, so you won’t have any problems getting the initial equipment. Literally, after playing for a couple of hours, we can already get an exoskeleton that carries 250 kg + with good characteristics and VSS with automatic target acquisition, with a magazine for 25 rounds, with the highest accuracy (which even Gauss does not have), low weight, with low recoil , increased bullet speed, and the 9*39 caliber is the most lethal in this mod. A universal barrel for killing all living things, just buy a 9*39 caliber in the Dressing Room from a merchant. And all this can be obtained by completing a number of simple tasks from Cardan, which do not require any effort. And that’s it, you just don’t need anything else. We add recipes for absolutes here, make changes to 14 art slots, cook spillikins and turn into a machine for destruction. Yes, you can get pleasure from pumping up the GG (searching for a good gun, armor, cooking art, and so on), but this can be done in the first hours of the mod, then you need to go through the plot, which is boring and not interesting.

Having gone through original locations with original moments from PM, the entire gameplay turns into stupid running from one point to another. Go from Chernobyl NPP2 to the Dressing Room for 2 lines of dialogue with Strelok? Certainly. Go from the Waiting Room to Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant 2 and back to complete the second uber-duper secret task of turning on the antenna? Please. The Walking Simulator is in full swing. Of course, the punch helps to cover long distances, but it does not replace the boring story gameplay.

But in fact, you can find action in this mod. In the form of bugs, the fashion, or rather the endless spawning of NPCs. Monoloitovtsy alone are worth something in Eastern Pripyat. An exciting shooting range in the spawn of believers, near the old cbo. Until you run out of ammo or your computer burns out from sorting through corpses. The same parsley with stalkers in the Red Forest (I had to kill them to get into the Forgotten Forest, playing as a military man). And the endlessly appearing controllers on Jupiter?

Separately, I would like to note the “excellently” balanced pseudo-dogs and partly bloodsuckers. Not only do these dogs not die with one shot of 9*39 caliber to the head, but they have a psionic blow that can kill the GG after 5-6 times, if you do not have proper protection from psionic influence. And after clearing the dogs’ den, near the Bar, after a while as many as 7 pseudo-dogs appear. The chair burned quite beautifully. A whole clip of Saiga sometimes doesn't help to kill one creature. Bloodsuckers, on the other hand, do not cause as many problems as the same pseudo-dogs, but sometimes these abilities of theirs irritate.

***Huge mistake with this mod***

I advise you to install the mod without a weapon pack. I'm a big fan of guns, but not so much that "Eww, left-handed barrels, mod is crap!! 111! 1!" I like a large arsenal because there is a choice. But here, he is superfluous. A bunch of guns taken from different mods, mostly from OP2. You simply won’t see more than half of it, but do you know why? But because they were stuffed into rare hiding places. And to get this rare cache, you need luck. But don't rejoice. Having received a cache from a dead rookie bandit, you will find nothing there except a useless knife. Different Walters for different calibers. And so on and so forth. Different calibers, tracer bullets, smoke grenades, illuminating grenades. Why is all this? Calibers are a huge pile of brown mass that are simply not used. OP2 doesn’t even have this, although this mod can be stretched out over whole months, if not a year. Why do I need double-barreled 16*70 caliber shotguns? But this is not the most important thing. I was burning for something else. From the re-equipment of the NPS. Master bandits in exoskeletons run around with these double-barreled shotguns that pose no serious threat. It feels like the great Monolith dug up several boxes of weapons nearby from the Second World War and that’s all they use. And mercenaries with ultrasound. God. And all this is absolutely unnecessary if you have a universal Vintorez that burns everything around. There is simply no better barrel. One shot one kill. Shot in the little toe of the left foot - a dead man. And melee weapons... Not only do knives need to be inserted into the pistol slot (I think I could be wrong, I played for a long time), but they are also useless. To break the box, you need 2-3 second hits. Moreover, they added some new animations of PC mouse strokes. Need to kill your enemy quickly? Press RMB and wait 2-3 seconds while the GG shows off. Quick strikes are out of the question. And even without this pack in the original mod, the knife is the same G, but at least the lethality is normal. The weapon pack is absolutely unbalanced and is sewn here haphazardly so that it is.

I tried to complete the game as a stalker and find all the endings. At first everything went great when I just started receiving equipment. But having acquired Vintorez, Nanosuit, all the recipes for artifacts and 14 filled slots for these arts, it’s time to go through the same plot and quests. And this house, for 200k. In order to get several, again, not interesting quests. The stupid running around, and later teleportation from transition to transition, became very annoying. I endured it and gave up. There is no pleasure, and you can't do anything.

The mod is broken everywhere. In the plot, dialogues, gameplay. At first it’s difficult, a little later we run around the Zone like a tank, and no one can kill. It's worth trying, who hasn't played? Perhaps it’s worth it, it’s not the worst mod, but you can’t call it good either. Clear skies, stalkers.