Path: ...!local-3.nntp.ord.giganews.com!Xl.tags.giganews.com!local-2.nntp.ord.giganews.com!news.giganews.com.POSTED!not-for-mail
NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 09 Nov 2024 16:17:04 +0000
From: Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com>
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action
Subject: STALKER 2... Gone Gold
Date: Sat, 09 Nov 2024 11:16:48 -0500
Message-ID: <rn1vijp0v9kt4k95ses3ukqn3sp7g4qc85@4ax.com>
X-Newsreader: Forte Agent 2.0/32.652
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Lines: 61
X-Usenet-Provider: http://www.giganews.com
X-Trace: sv3-fnD4vJpwZVLbFrB5pMVlcq50O5IRe4M/ckDYvCJQzF38Ggm8D40mh7JziTK1Krrjo6kVXjE4CCxCHoE!UtlpCDyjHnlKsozJLt12eldMI7o+F4Pd1uhLOfFX5c1EuCImWqp6iDDnfLRosRdKVOU+Em9P
X-Complaints-To: abuse@giganews.com
X-DMCA-Notifications: http://www.giganews.com/info/dmca.html
X-Abuse-and-DMCA-Info: Please be sure to forward a copy of ALL headers
X-Abuse-and-DMCA-Info: Otherwise we will be unable to process your complaint properly
X-Postfilter: 1.3.40
Bytes: 3696


So reportedly STALKER 2 has 'gone gold', that is, its reached its
final 'ready for release, no more features or fixes added' version. It
has a reported released date of November 20th of this year. 

Will it really make it?

It's been a rough road for STALKER 2, with many failed attempts to
first get it off the ground, and then a long development cycle (and
missed release dates) for its current iteration. Its understandable if
some look askance at this latest announcement; history would be on
their side, after all. But I think this time, it's really going to
happen.

I'm somewhat torn about the news. I have a mixed relationship with the
STALKER games. I admire what they try to do, even as much as I damn
them for their actual implementation. There's a lot of fun to be had
in the STALKER games, but a lot to dislike too. I got a lot of
enjoyment playing them even as I hated the experience. 

It's a weird franchise.

So news about the STALKER 2 release? I'm similarly ambivalent. A part
of me wants to rush out and buy it right away

    [Not gonna happen. Not so soon after the "Mechwarrior 5: 
     Clans" reminded me of the folly of doing so]

                 but another part says, 'Wait, wait. Remember all the
bits you disliked about "STALKER" and "Clear Skies" and "Call of
Pripyat". Wait a few months or years until the cost has gone down, and
the price of your disappointment is less severe'. There's no rush,
after all.


Except then I remember Ukraine, and wonder if maybe there is a rush...
especially since it seems likely the US is going to abandon that ally
in a few months (Putin could never manage to win in Ukraine through
force of arms, but he has certainly has talent for leveraging American
idiots to his advantage). So there's a big part of me that wants to
buy STALKER 2 just to show support --Slava Ukraini!-- for that nation
through the purchase of their best video game.

Although that money would probably be better spent just sending to a
pro-Ukraine charity. So that's what I'll probably do instead.

    [Who knew that a decision about a buying a video game 
     might have such vital geo-political consequences? ;-)]


Still, even ignoring such topics and whether or not I'd actually LIKE
the game, it still excites me just to see the game actually get
released. It's been a road fourteen years long (a development cycle as
protracted as "Duke Nukem Forever"!) and even if the actual game isn't
to my taste, I hope it succeeds. It's creation has obviously been a
labor of love for its developers, and the franchise has been
foundational to modern PC gaming. 

Now if only it actually gets released. ;-)