Today we have some news to forward. Rumors are that the release will be postponed until a further date. Unfortunately, it’s true. We regret this decision, but here let us lay out the motivation behind this.
There are several factors we took into consideration. The main reason is, the game engine was updated, and the last 2 months didn’t seem to be enough to debug and fix a game, which was made for almost 5 years. We underestimated the time needed to make such a big project… The release date that you saw on ModDB was set sometime around January, after we published the New Year 2012 video. It’s only our fault, that our guess was wrong, and we couldn’t keep up the pace.
If we are talking about a dreamgame, our dream, we can not let gamebreakers hide in our files. We started to concentrate on fixing all possible defects, and with the help of pro stalker enthusiasts, we can test pretty much everything now… but it takes time. Our bugtracker and Dropbox folder is used daily more than the Moscow-Washington hot-line during the Cold War.
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We are also cooperating with GSC for a long time. They were very kind and helpful. We listen to their advices, constructive critics, since they have more experience in gamedev than us. We’ve even got some never published materials from them, which we got green light to release for modders to help in the creation of new wonderful mods for this mythical game. Our cooperation has been fruitful so far and if everything goes like that in the future we all will have the game we dreamed about.
 Harpy monster made for LA by iwann |
 Old AK74 model brought back by Lijenstina (model) and Cromm Cruac (texture) |
We wish we could tell you all the things, which happened to us, or the features we added to the game so far but we can’t do it at this point. OK, we will tell one, the multicore support for new CPUs. It’s really hard not to talk about many factors, which also caused delay now. Believe us, we have a really good reason, which we will tell you about as soon as we can. Let the dust clear up a bit, and we – and definitely You – will be the happiest stalkers in the world.
sacce says:
if this is going to be as good as we think it is i can wait until you think it is ready.
but please don’t let the project just die.
E.Eliveld says:
Wel after waiting such a long time, some time more will be not a problem ;-) Like DangerDav wrote, since no Stalker 2 will be released you guys are the only one… Maybe because ‘There can be only One”?
Keep on the work.. I will be waiting around the corner… or inside the bushes. Like a STALKER.
Piskun says:
Children, many thanks for your arduous toil!
It is heavy to wait, when it is audible that it was closed Stalker-2.
I in you trust! I you will wait!
Ego. says:
Awwww, I was really hoping for this mod to be released on my holidays.
But I do respect how much time it takes to complete a near bug-less mod.
ghost says:
I think it’s a good news. The problem with most of the mods was they were not different enough from the original game. Exactly the same engine, with all its limitations, same maps, same game elements, mechanics. Then – they were bugs which spoiled the joy from the gameplay. Each time I tried a new bigger mod I knew it would not be perfect. I knew it would be far from being perfect. And it applies even to every game I played. Hard limitations which made me be sure I won’t see anything breath taking. Here we have five years spent by the best of the best. Here we have a chance to see something huge. I WILL wait for it as long as it takes. It will be the first title made to be perfect. It’s almost impossible to achieve in today world, with budgets, deadlines and such. With the need to pay salaries to hundreds of peoples. It’s the main reason the perfect game was never made. But soon we’ll find out all about it.
rimcius says:
Sad news. But hey – these developers do not own anything to us and we are not in position to demand anything from them either. We need to be more thankful because someone is doing really hard work and it is not going to be easier if we are going to complain instead of support them. Patience is the key.
Adolfo says:
The important thing is to keep in contact, that is crucial for modding communities. I remember I was very dissapointed with another mod that never got released and the modder just vanished. This is certainly not the case. It is a fine pice of work, so keep it up because I will keep waiting for the realease. Good hunting Stalker!
murak says:
I will wait for as Long as it takes, I dont think the devs have to apologize for taking the time to make their dream game, its up to them to deside. This news are better than silence. Id love to hear mor about the New engine and the colaboration with gsc.
Achileos says:
I’ve been playing Stalker with different mods, mostly AMK, since 2007. The game is simply beautiful, as no other. I will wait, as long as it takes to see the Lost Alpha finished. It really doesn’t matter when that will be, this year or the other. What is that matters, is to have the Lost Alpha perfect, as it can be. Any hope is better than no hope. keep up the good job!
Red_Army says:
I don’t get it. But wait, I actually do. We are being trolled, hardly, insanely trolled by the DEV team. “Reasons”, blah blah blah. I’m losing patience.
froejam says:
I have no argument against you wanting to quash bugs and all that, but it is painful when the only official release in months is news like this. You guys could keep up interest better by releasing a bit more media. I get that you want to keep most of your new features secret, but a little media now and then goes a long way toward building hype. No need for specifics, just teases and hints. That way all the big status updates don’t all have to be you guys apologizing for needing more time.
McMick says:
I feel completely different about the situation than DangerDav. I’m pleased to see that you’re taking your time with this mod to get it closer to perfection, because as you know almost every S.T.A.L.K.E.R. mod out there, even the best ones, are full of bugs and many will crash randomly. I do agree with DD about the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 cancellation generating more excitement for this mod, but to me that is all the more reason to get it right before release. I’m currently in the middle of Stalker Soup, and one thing I’m getting tired of is crashing! I’m looking forward to LA more than anything, but there are other mods to occupy time with until then. Thanks for all your efforts!
DangerDav says:
I can’t even begin to express how disappointing this news is to me. The thought of even just getting a beta in August was literally awesome, but now no beta and once again, another delay. Another delay amongst the dozens.
I feel like you guys really lucked out with Stalker 2 going down the drain, this is the only Stalker related anything coming out, I’ll wager that might be the only reason it holds interest with the fans.