It seems better set up for mass market success, and I support this for the sake of the devs, but for me personally when I read:
Most weapons thankfully use interchangeable ammo types across the class
minimap has been replaced with a compass permanently affixed to the top of the screen, pointing to nearby points of interest and quest markers
I can only think “mods will fix this”.
I’m not fussed about the minimap, I play with it off anyway. I might turn off the compass too if given the option, I like checking the PDA for directions.
The ammo though is a travesty to me. Maybe I’m overly sensitive but for me it’s such an immersion break, and these games thrive off of immersion. That’s the whole dang point! Interchangable ammo is such a “video gamey” thing that every time I loot a container and see “assault rifle ammo” I’m going to be pulled out of the zone mentally.
STALKER always used interchangesble ammo types though right? AKs used 7.62×39, NATO used 5.56X45, shotguns used 12 guage etc.
I don’t remember how the minimap worked but didn’t it have your quest marker on it too?
The guns in the original games would share ammo pools if they were of the same caliber, the article described a simplified pool by class of weapon.
So now rather than separate 5.45mm and 5.56mm you have “assault rifle ammo”. It sounds minor, but one of the aspects of STALKER has been inventory management and making the choice when to main one caliber. At least for me. Hence my waiting on mods.
As for the minimap, the article is describing an additional always on compass with quest markers in the style of the modern Fallout games. I hope to be able to turn that bit of visual clutter off, and also hope that the game isn’t designed so much with the assumption I’m using it that I can’t find objectives without it.
Can’t wait. Also really appreciate the fact that in my third world country it seems to be priced very fairly, instead of the usual “Original USD price converted + 20% more just because fuck you”.
