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Pour One Out for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, Hello to Survarium

Developers of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 move onto a free-to-play online shooter.

No Caption Provided
I know, I still haven't played S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
I know, I still haven't played S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

When GSC Game World ran into financial problems, the hail mary attempts to save S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 reeked of desperation. There were few viable solutions, and today’s news is that veterans of the team have left to form a new studio and make a brand-new game.

Those veterans have formed Vostok Games, and are already talking about Survarium, a free-to-play MMO shooter, set in the post-apocalyptic near future. The art already has a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. vibe.

The developers have also recorded a developer diary that includes some discussion about GSC Game World closing, what it was like to close the book on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, and the plan for Survarium.

Survarium is based on the studio’s own Vostok Engine, and is scheduled for a late 2013 release on PC.

Patrick Klepek on Google+

113 Comments

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edmundus

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Edited By edmundus

Such is life in the zone.

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BigChickenDinner

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Edited By BigChickenDinner

@loopy_101 said:

@x0mb13 said:

@loopy_101 said:

I was interested up until I heard F2P.

I was interested in your opinion until i saw you dismiss a game based purely on its distribution method.

I would pretend I'm interested in what you think about my opinion but I don't make room for half-arsed, 12 year old, comebacks.

Excuse me also for not liking micro-transactions, having to deal with horribly implemented in-game currencies and generally receiving a broken, glitchy, experience that tends to feature heavily in the vast majority of F2P games.

You sound like a cranky person.

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Th3_James

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Edited By Th3_James

Gotta love that eastern block. I have all the STALKER games and will probably get this whenever its out.

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Maluvin

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Edited By Maluvin

@SoulEdgeSlayer said:

@loopy_101: I know many F2P games are glitchy, filled with microtransactions and the like, but there are a few out there that are perfectly fine.

League of Legends (one of the biggest games in e-sports right now) is a F2P games, and it is constantly being balanced, tweaked, and made better for the consumers. Everything that you can buy with real money in that game can also be earned though just playing. Also, the newly released Super Monday Night Combat is free, and it looks pretty fun.

I thought skins were only available through real world money. Been a while since I played so I could be wrong. Granted skins don't make a difference when it comes to actual gameplay.

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MordeaniisChaos

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Edited By MordeaniisChaos

Pour one out huh? Someone musta read the RPS article :3

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mordukai

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Edited By mordukai

@Th3_James said:

Gotta love that eastern block. I have all the STALKER games and will probably get this whenever its out.

I just wish they would use some of the funds for QA. They got heart and balls I'll give them that but they usually end up being a technical cluster fuck of some sort.

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theotherbelmont

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Edited By theotherbelmont

Nooo! How will I get my fix for Geiger counter sound effects now?

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arch4non

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Edited By arch4non

There is no god.

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loopy_101

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Edited By loopy_101

@x0mb13: I know from experience it'll be shit because of the reasons I've already stated. GSC Gameworld are fantastic developers but given how ambitious this project will be, the fact that it is joining the MMO trend and the way it is going to make money are all more than enough to alienate a few of their fans. Don't belittle me for not liking the decision. There are many other business routes GSC could of taken, even falling back on Kickstarter if they really had to.

And just to make a point, TF2 was BETTER when there were no micro-transcations. Legitimate owners of the game, like myself, continue to play TF2 Beta because ironically there are no bullshit broken weapons or items on any of the classes. Besides of which, now it is F2P, the level of hacking players and number of people who simply don't know how to play have increased dramatically. The switch was a kick to the nuts for all of us who bought The Orange Box if anything.

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kkotd

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Edited By kkotd

Yeah, they can count me out. I don't want an MMO that will no doubt be Freemium with shit like XP boosts, ammo packs and health kits for sale. It's a damn slippery slope when you have a post apocalyptic game on a F2P basis. The devs and publishers can exploit the players very easily, charging for the bare essentials and calling it a game mechanic. Where-as some games charge for mounts to move around easily, this game could charge for a water bottle to make living easier.

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oraknabo

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Edited By oraknabo

I really hope someone leaks stalker 2 on a torrent site some day.

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tebbit

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Edited By tebbit

Did they ever actually say MMO?

I'm pretty sure they mentioned Online, but never MMO, so... COULD BE INTERESTING.

@MrKlorox said:

@bybeach said:
And just to mention it GSC had a few ladies. It has become a belief of mine that rpg games with many many parts, even a game like Stalker, benefit from more women involved in art and storyline, the dialogue choices, etc.
Finding a lady in The Zone was harder than finding a black dude in The Jetsons. But this time the concept art looks like there might finally be female Stalkers, or whatever they're gonna be called.

Stalkerettes?

Dear God.