• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. mod Improves graphics and Increases framerates by up to 25%

zekrahminator

McLovin
Joined
Jan 29, 2006
Messages
9,066 (1.37/day)
Location
My house.
Processor AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Brisbane @ 2.8GHz (224x12.5, 1.425V)
Motherboard Gigabyte sumthin-or-another, it's got an nForce 430
Cooling Dual 120mm case fans front/rear, Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro, Zalman VF-900 on GPU
Memory 2GB G.Skill DDR2 800
Video Card(s) Sapphire X850XT @ 580/600
Storage WD 160 GB SATA hard drive.
Display(s) Hanns G 19" widescreen, 5ms response time, 1440x900
Case Thermaltake Soprano (black with side window).
Audio Device(s) Soundblaster Live! 24 bit (paired with X-530 speakers).
Power Supply ThermalTake 430W TR2
Software XP Home SP2, can't wait for Vista SP1.
A very curious ArsTechnica member (Nivenhbro/jjwalker), as far as I can tell, got very bored one day and decided to start project Float32. The end result of all this concentrated boredom and effort is an extremely well done S.T.A.L.K.E.R. mod. Of course, as we all know, third party add-ons may easily be broken by the makers of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. with patches.

The modification boasts better bump mapping, adds real time calculated specular effects, improves full reflection vector calculations, and boosts soft shadow quality. At the same time of offering all these improvements and more, the mod improves efficiency of the game, increasing frame-rate by no less than 20%, which is no small feat. Using next generation (and NDA) hardware, The Inquirer claims that they see a 20-25% improvement in frame-rate.

If you want to try this modification for yourself, save a copy of your original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. files, and head over to NGOHQ.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site
 
Joined
Apr 2, 2007
Messages
2,817 (0.45/day)
Location
US
Processor Intel Q9400
Motherboard asus p5q-pro
Cooling Ultra120
Memory 6GB ddr2
Video Card(s) NVS 290
Storage 3TB + 1.5TB
Display(s) Samsung F2380
Case Silverstone Fortress FT02B
Audio Device(s) Creative X-Fi
Power Supply 750W PC P&C
Software win 7 ultimate 64bit
am i the only one who thinks that graphics in stalker sucks even when they are maxed out?
i mean, look at the models of enemies or npcs, the are so ugly and edgy.
there are plenty of games that have better graphics and require less power from pc and i do take the calculations of the life of the world in account...
 
Joined
Nov 24, 2006
Messages
1,042 (0.16/day)
Location
CT, USA
Processor q6700 @ 3.2ghz
Motherboard Asus p5w DH Deluxe
Cooling Scythe Andy Samurai, 4x80mm silenx, 2x120mm silenx fans
Memory 2x2gb G.Skill 4-4-4-12
Video Card(s) xfx black edition 6870
Storage 250gb seagate sata, 2x250gb seagate perp (raid0)
Display(s) dell 24"
Case Coolermaster atc s4000 sx-1
Audio Device(s) Creative Audigy2 Platinum
Power Supply Antec True Power Trio 650w
Software winXP pro x64
funny, I think they're pretty amazing once you really spend the time to adjust them

the atmosphere is by far the best in any games i've played - the swirling leafy winds, the anomaly effects, the only problem I have with it is the game is too short
 
Joined
Jan 31, 2007
Messages
1,404 (0.22/day)
Location
Bellevue, Washington
System Name BumBumBox
Processor AMD 5900x
Motherboard ITX
Cooling AIO
Memory 32GB
Video Card(s) 3080ti
Storage 2TB
Software Win11
wow the graphics are amazing once maxed out. are you looking at pics?
the only problem i have is that its not a true open end game like they said
 
Joined
Mar 12, 2006
Messages
326 (0.05/day)
Location
TX
Processor Ryzen 7 5800x3d
Motherboard Asrock b550m riptide pd
Cooling Thermalright Peerless Assassin
Memory 32gb (4x8) G.Skill RGB DDR4 @ 3200
Video Card(s) XFX Speedster QICK319 RX 7800 XT 16gb
Storage 1x Hynix P31 1tb (os) 1x 4tb SP UD90
Display(s) 1x Acer Predator X34, 2x 13.3 mobile USBC wings
Case Jonsbo D31 mesh
Audio Device(s) EVGA Nu Audio
Power Supply Corsair SF750w
Software Windows 11
I downloaded the mod but have yet to do anything with it. I am enjoying stalker thus far, done near 300 missions at this point, damn those side quests add up :twitch:

As far as graphics are concerned, I am running the rig listed in my profile, most notably the 2gb of ddr500, 8800GTS 320mb at 650/1800, and an x2 3800 at 2.6ghz. This is more than enough to push playable fps at 1920x1200 with the in game detail pushed to the hilt. I would say its probably one of the best looking games to actually play. I'm sure we all have pretty screen shots of sections of other games that we would like to share, but honestly some of the best visuals in other games have no real impact on the game, its just a few little surprises now and again that make you take a second to look around. In stalker I feel the graphics draw you into the game play more, running around and scanning for enemies just feels so much better than many other games I've played, and you can actually use the environment as cover rather well. Don't bother looking at stalker screen shots for reference, if you havnt played the game maxed out your not getting the feel for the game anyway.


Ive always said, I really don't care what the little bush looks like, can I use it, can i blow it up, can the AI use it, and should I even care? Stalker is an enjoyable single player game...I wouldn't buy the game for its multiplayer, but I haven't regretted the $30 price tag at all :laugh:
 

Ketxxx

Heedless Psychic
Joined
Mar 4, 2006
Messages
11,521 (1.75/day)
Location
Kingdom of gods
System Name Ravens Talon
Processor AMD R7 3700X @ 4.4GHz 1.3v
Motherboard MSI X570 Tomahawk
Cooling Modded 240mm Coolermaster Liquidmaster
Memory 2x16GB Klevv BoltX 3600MHz & custom timings
Video Card(s) Powercolor 6800XT Red Devil
Storage 250GB Asgard SSD, 1TB Integral SSD, 2TB Seagate Barracuda
Display(s) 27" BenQ Mobiuz
Case NZXT Phantom 530
Audio Device(s) Asus Xonar DX 7.1 PCI-E
Power Supply 1000w Supernova
Software Windows 10 x64
Benchmark Scores Fast. I don't need epeen.
STALKER visually isnt very impressive until the itx file has been tweaked, then it gets to look rather nice, but none the less still unspectacular, largely because of having to wait so long so the game engine does look dated. I guess all this mod means is i'll have to tweak the itx file for this as well :p
 

WarEagleAU

Bird of Prey
Joined
Jul 9, 2006
Messages
10,812 (1.67/day)
Location
Gurley, AL
System Name Pandemic 2020
Processor AMD Ryzen 5 "Gen 2" 2600X
Motherboard AsRock X470 Killer Promontory
Cooling CoolerMaster 240 RGB Master Cooler (Newegg Eggxpert)
Memory 32 GB Geil EVO Portenza DDR4 3200 MHz
Video Card(s) ASUS Radeon RX 580 DirectX 12 DUAL-RX580-O8G 8GB 256-Bit GDDR5 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video C
Storage WD 250 M.2, Corsair P500 M.2, OCZ Trion 500, WD Black 1TB, Assorted others.
Display(s) ASUS MG24UQ Gaming Monitor - 23.6" 4K UHD (3840x2160) , IPS, Adaptive Sync, DisplayWidget
Case Fractal Define R6 C
Audio Device(s) Realtek 5.1 Onboard
Power Supply Corsair RMX 850 Platinum PSU (Newegg Eggxpert)
Mouse Razer Death Adder
Keyboard Corsair K95 Mechanical & Corsair K65 Wired, Wireless, Bluetooth)
Software Windows 10 Pro x64
Nice to see me waiting to get the game has its benefits :)
 
Joined
Apr 2, 2007
Messages
2,817 (0.45/day)
Location
US
Processor Intel Q9400
Motherboard asus p5q-pro
Cooling Ultra120
Memory 6GB ddr2
Video Card(s) NVS 290
Storage 3TB + 1.5TB
Display(s) Samsung F2380
Case Silverstone Fortress FT02B
Audio Device(s) Creative X-Fi
Power Supply 750W PC P&C
Software win 7 ultimate 64bit
what i was trying to say is that the game is 5 years old already, 5 years ago this kind of graphics would be amazing, but now pff...
and yes, the wind special effect is pretty cool
 

Ketxxx

Heedless Psychic
Joined
Mar 4, 2006
Messages
11,521 (1.75/day)
Location
Kingdom of gods
System Name Ravens Talon
Processor AMD R7 3700X @ 4.4GHz 1.3v
Motherboard MSI X570 Tomahawk
Cooling Modded 240mm Coolermaster Liquidmaster
Memory 2x16GB Klevv BoltX 3600MHz & custom timings
Video Card(s) Powercolor 6800XT Red Devil
Storage 250GB Asgard SSD, 1TB Integral SSD, 2TB Seagate Barracuda
Display(s) 27" BenQ Mobiuz
Case NZXT Phantom 530
Audio Device(s) Asus Xonar DX 7.1 PCI-E
Power Supply 1000w Supernova
Software Windows 10 x64
Benchmark Scores Fast. I don't need epeen.
Exactly. Given the amount of waiting time this game should of been absolutely flawless. At least that would of allowed some advanced tweaks to improve the game engine and it would of still been half impressive, instead we got this.. this.. adbomination.
 

Ketxxx

Heedless Psychic
Joined
Mar 4, 2006
Messages
11,521 (1.75/day)
Location
Kingdom of gods
System Name Ravens Talon
Processor AMD R7 3700X @ 4.4GHz 1.3v
Motherboard MSI X570 Tomahawk
Cooling Modded 240mm Coolermaster Liquidmaster
Memory 2x16GB Klevv BoltX 3600MHz & custom timings
Video Card(s) Powercolor 6800XT Red Devil
Storage 250GB Asgard SSD, 1TB Integral SSD, 2TB Seagate Barracuda
Display(s) 27" BenQ Mobiuz
Case NZXT Phantom 530
Audio Device(s) Asus Xonar DX 7.1 PCI-E
Power Supply 1000w Supernova
Software Windows 10 x64
Benchmark Scores Fast. I don't need epeen.
Just a small note, looking at the itx file for this mod (note: i have not actually installked it yet, just checked the itx file out) it actually REDUCES a lot of in-game graphical quality and eyecandy.
 
Joined
Jun 29, 2006
Messages
423 (0.07/day)
Location
Infront Of PC ... Perth, WA
System Name NINJA ASSASSIN
Processor Intel Core i5 2500 @ 3.3GHz
Motherboard Asrock H61M/U3S3
Cooling Stock
Memory 8GB DDR3 1600MHz
Video Card(s) Gigabyte Windforce OC GTX 760 4GB
Storage WD Green 1TB :: WD Green 2TB
Display(s) 32" Teac LED TV
Case BitFenix Shinobi w/ Window
Audio Device(s) Creative SB VX 5.1
Power Supply XFX PRO 650W
Software Windows 7 Ultimate 64Bit
Like I've said before : :pimp:

These 3 files are awesome (check readmes for details on changes and game versions)

Image Quality --- http://stalker.filefront.com/file/Ultra_Graphics_Mode;78200 (This is a good one for those who have an awesome pc and complain the game engine is outdated lol ..... no offence to anyone)

Sound Quality --- http://stalker.filefront.com/file/Improved_Sound_Effects;78102

Full Game Mod --- http://stalker.filefront.com/file/Faiakes_Mod;78463

If you want to see real quality improvements :respect: then DL the top one (note it will probably drop your frames a bit :banghead: but it looks awesome :D )

I'm Running the 3 with the game @ 1280x1024 and everything maxed out ..... looks and plays so sweet. :rockout: :rockout: :rockout:

Edit - The Full Game (Faiakes Mod v1.7) has just been released today and is ... onced upzipped ... is 158mb of modded goodness. All the updated stuff is in the readme. Check it out, check em all out, theres some pretty good mods for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. out there.

:pimp: :rockout: :rockout: :rockout: :pimp:
 
Last edited:
Joined
Aug 12, 2006
Messages
3,278 (0.51/day)
Location
UK-small Village in a Valley Near Newcastle
Processor I9 9900KS @ 5.3Ghz
Motherboard Gagabyte z390 Aorus Ultra
Cooling Nexxxos Nova 1080 + 360 rad
Memory 32Gb Crucial Balliastix RGB 4.4GHz
Video Card(s) MSI Gaming X Trio RTX 3090 (Bios and Shunt Modded) 2.17GHz @ 38C
Storage NVME / SSD RAID arrays
Display(s) 38" LG 38GN950-B, 27" BENQ XL2730Z 144hz 1440p, Samsung 27" 3D 1440p
Case Thermaltake Core series
Power Supply 1.6Kw Silverstone
Mouse Roccat Kone EMP
Keyboard Corsair Viper Mechanical
Software Windows 10 Pro
Since the AA sucks max it out as high a rez as u can then it starts looking ok, if your card cant handle it BEAT it till it can! :laugh:

Stalker at 1920x1200+ "just" compensates for sucky edges

Anyhoo, Ket will probs do a better job :)
 
Last edited:
Joined
May 10, 2007
Messages
1,420 (0.23/day)
Location
London, England
Shame this doesn't work for everyone. I've tried it before, v1.001 and v1.003 of STALKER, neither worked on my X1800... and seems I'm not the only one, I searched Google and it seems other people have been getting messages saying "You graphics card doesn't support pixel shader v1.1 or higher" when trying to play the game.
Sucks really...
 
Top