I finally installed STALKER today to see how good it was and am so far very impressed. The outdoor graphics put Oblivion to shame. On my setup I have it running at 1280x1024 with detail on max with dynamic lighting and it runs very smoothly with no slowdown at all. The outdoor textures look great and there is no lose of detail at distance.

The game is also great fun so far and for me I think many elements show what was missing from HL2. Much more non linear too.
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Hello,

I do have the game, the special edition to be precise, but unfortunate due to my current PC's limitations I haven't been able to run it yet.

I kind if had hoped to play it before the expansion was released.
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When is the expansion due out?

And any news on when you will be able to expand/build your PC?
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Hello Harrison,

I only know that it is suppose to be released this Fall or at least in Winter, but not an exact date yet.
The expansion actually takes place before the main game and introduces some new areas.

As for my PC, well I finally have received my mom's inheritance so I should start to consider what hardware I would like to have in my PC.
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Ive got it but my pc struggles to play it at `1024x768. I have an ok machine 2.

3700
2gig ram
512 7600GS
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I'm running it with a 7800GT 256MB and it runs well, as I said above. I didn't think the 7600GS would be that far behind in performance.
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@Harrison

Finally got to try out STALKER and it was a good experience to say the least. Good gameplay, combined with atmospheric sounds and graphics, did the job.

Looking forward to explore this game in the near future.

@Ghost

Have you tried it out yet, Ghost?
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Hello P G,

Not yet, I still haven't got the computer to run the game properly but I am working on that, hopefully I will have a new PC soon. (guess I should ask you guys for a list of recommendations)

Anyway, I understand that the game does need a couple of patches to run balanced and that there are also some modifications that improve the gameplay.

Perhaps we should make a list of all recommended patches and modifications.
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I've only ever played the game as it comes without any modifications and it has worked perfectly. I did however install the official patches when I first installed it as I read some of the missions could get stuck. And so far I've not had any problems.

I've not got too far in the game yet though. I just played it a few times to explore how the game looked and played, but it is down on my list of games to revisit soon and complete.
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It's definitely worth playing through. I went through it earlier this year, and though it can get both tedious and hard in places my overall impression is that this was one of the most memorable games I've played in a long while. The atmosphere in this is just about unmatched, the feeling of being in a desolate wasteland nowhere near the top of the foodchain will really get to you at times. Trust me, don't leave this game unplayed even though it has its small problems.
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