S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Developer Considering Move To MMOG

GSC Game World, the studio behind the hit FPS S.T.A.L.K.E.R., have said they are giving "serious consideration" to the creation of a S.T.A.L.K.E.R.-based MMOG.

CVG has reported on the development, which first came to light in a short Q&A based on questions the company has received from various fan sites. The questions related primarily to the in-development prequel, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky, which the company said will continue to offer support for the DirectX 8 renderer, "which will let users of weaker machines into the world of S.T.A.L.K.E.R." Owners of newer DirectX 10 video cards will see improvements in the game's visuals, however, as GSC Game World is working to optimize the X-Ray engine for new features and a higher level of detail.

Asked about the possibility of "S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Online," the company responded, "We do not quite understand what you mean by "online." If it is the cooperative mode, then no, there will be none. Even at the time of development of the first part of the game we said that a cooperative mode is impossible, since Life Simulation would be different at each computer. Synchronizing it would be practically not doable. If you mean an MMOG, then we are seriously considering it."

The full Q&A, composed of five questions, is available at the GSC Game World S.T.A.L.K.E.R. forum.

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Stalker itself was supposed to be a 120 players per instance multiplayer game. This talk of how "Even at the time of development of the first part of the game we said that a cooperative mode is impossible," is a complete retcon to what they were saying 5 years ago, fitting snugly into the reason why some dedicated fans decided to tell them to go f**k themselves (that being lying and misleading their fanbase). In the old (pre-release) page they even mistakenly linked to their purported No.1 fan, who had posted a big nice picture of an old lady giving them the finger.

The only good thing GSC have done yet, imo, is Oles Shishkovtsov contribution in "Game Programming Gems 2" back in 2001, when the game "was in the final stages before release". Ha. Mhm.

Sheesh, they should just work on the X-Ray engine and leave game design to the pros.

Even if we do see a STALKER: Clear Sky before 2015, which would be in line with their release schedule thus far, I doubt it will be cause for hair-and-clothes ripping.

Five years is a long time in a development schedule. I'm not so sure that acquiescence to the forces of reality constitutes "lying," to be honest, and STALKER turned out to be a superb product.

And I pray GSC stays away from the MMOG idea. It's a money pit and a death trap, and the world needs another MMOG a whole hell of a lot less than it needs rich, engrossing single-player experiences. Why they would even consider such a move is completely beyond me.