I finished STALKERSOUP 1.1.0019.5, here are my final thoughts.

I guess I'm pretty sad it's over, but nothing lasts forever. Of course, this isn't the end of STALKERSOUP, but when more versions are going to release, I'm going to probably have to update my game and make a new playthrough. However, I don't think I have enough motivation to go through this again. I have over probably 300 hours in this playthrough alone, but I can't go through this again, even if it might be enjoyable. Here are some recommendations I have about the game:

-You should make it less overkill in the late game. What I mean is that you should make it so that it does become easier as you get better loot, but not as easy as I had, for example. My artefacts plus my suit grant me these stats:
 INCINERATION +215
 ELECTROCUTION +145
 CONCUSSION +186
 LACERATION +154
 IRRADIATION +178
 POSSESION +200
 LIQUEFACTION +151
 EXPLOSION +183
 PENETRATION +216
 OXYGENATION +754
 HEMORRHAGING -1274
 CONDITION +4570
 CARRY WEIGHT 360kg

Pretty overkill, right? Maybe you should make more late game suits like the SKAT-15 M3, Prototype Nanosuit V2 and SKAT-15 M3 'Storm' less powerful, since I am basically immortal. The only things that can kill are the electro-chimeras that sometime do that weird animation that immobilizes you and kills you, and the river in the Red Forest.

-Maybe dim down the Last Days after that Dead City. I mean, they are everywhere, and I mean everywhere. You go to a new area, get ready for about 10 LDs, you pick up anything related to ZEP or the Gold Bars, get ready for another 10 LDs, and they're also extremely powerful, and have about 8 different suits that the player cannot obtain. I understand that the entirety of Level 1 is basically focus on the LDs and the Military, but still, it's insane how many there are. However, they don't really pose a big threat, since my stats make them look like slight annoyances, oh and also the Advanced Suit System, that basically eliminates the sense of strategy, since you can go spray and pray and still be unable to die, if you have enough medical supplies.

-Make getting Rubles a little harder. I had 6.2M Rubles by the end of the game, and most of them came from the Hunterantula (And as a side note, I have very, very big Arachnophobia, which led to me having by far the scariest time playing S.T.A.L.K.E.R. I literally had to 1 shot snipe them or lure them out so I can shoot them from a long distance, I juts couldn't let them get in a 50m radius from me, and if I did, I would just instantly pause the game, rethink my entire existence, and reload a save. They didn't pose a threat too, it's just the fact that they are spiders, move fast, and are very big) and their legs. The Librarians and Werewolves also gave me loads of cash, but they aren't as common. I get that in the end game, you won't be buying practically nothing, since you already have the best loot, but still, it's a lot.

-Add a little bit more handholding. I mean in some parts i was basically forced to look on the guide, since I had no idea if I did the right thing and was supposed to move on, still had something to do, or just bugged the game. Some crucial things that you need to do are told in 1 string of dialogue or in a Personal Log entry and unless you note them down like I did towards the end, you'll basically be stuck without the guide.

And now time for my final verdict:

 Story: 10/10
 Gameplay: 8.5/10
 Content: 10/10
 Translation: 9/10 (Some parts are fully broken)
 Characters: 10/10
 Difficulty: 7/10 (Very hard in the beginning, very easy in the end)
 Community: 10/10
 Crashes: 4/10 (I can't even go to Rostok without 3 crashes for example, but it's because of my extremely immense stash size)
 Guide: 10/10
 Maps (Overground): 9/10
 Maps (Underground): 7/10
 Factions: 9.5/10
 Updates: 7/10
 My Opinion: My favourite mod of all time/10
 OVERALL: 9.25/10

This is my favourite mod of all time, and it's a lot saying that, since I played many mods that loads of Stalkers regard as the best, but this one still remains my favourite.
 I started playing in the end of December 2021, gave up on it in Early January 2022, started playing again in mid-late November 2022, and finished it in late December 2022, a couple of days a year ago when I started, so it technically took me a very tiny bit over a year to beat this mod.
 For me, this is a 10/10 mod, but if let my opinion aside and analyse the reality, it falls in the 9+ category.

One final question, was there anything added to the Storm story from 1.1.0019.1 to 1.1.0019.5, because I'd be more than excited to finish it, even if the guide doesn't go that far.

Thank you for the best experience and some of the best memories that I had playing S.T.A.L.K.E.R. mods, or if I think about it, the best experience and memories playing games.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you Stalkers!

Hi Swilc Sans

Thank you for the superb and exemplary feedback!

Before I comment further, would you please let us know if you've just finished playing version 1.10019.1 or 1.10019.5? This is because there's a massive difference between them, after 18 months of work from the devs 

Sword2012 wrote:

Hi Swilc Sans

Thank you for the superb and exemplary feedback!

Before I comment further, would you please let us know if you've just finished playing version 1.10019.1 or 1.10019.5? This is because there's a massive difference between them, after 18 months of work from the devs 

I finished 1.10019.5, but my original saves were from 1.10019.1 and I just updated to the new .5 version. I finished the game right where the guide ended, with talking to Crest. Is there any more content? because I haven't been able to figure anything out, and I'd be more than happy to truly finish STALKERSOUP.

Swilc Sans wrote:

One final question, was there anything added to the Storm story from 1.1.0019.1 to 1.1.0019.5, because I'd be more than excited to finish it, even if the guide doesn't go that far.

Hi Swilc Sans,

As Sword has already said, thank you for your very helpful feedback. Some of us old-timers tend to forget what it feels like to play this game for the first time.

To answer your final question as best I can: there is new gameplay in 1.1.0019.5 that extends beyond 0019.1, but so far I have been unable to find the next clue to reach the new content without resorting to info portions. To be honest, I am not sure whether 0019.5 is supposed to take the story further, or whether the extra content in the game files is intended for a later update. If it was meant to be in 0019.5, then either some code is missing or I just haven't spoken to the right person yet.

If you would like to play the next section, or at least the parts that can be reached, let me know and I will put some 'cheat' notes together.

Hope you have a good Christmas, and hoping that the New Year brings good things (including more StalkerSoup) for us all.

Quote :

Previous post:

You could add some info notes, I want to squeeze as much from STALKERSOUP as I can. Do it when you have time however, I don't want you to lose some time doing this rather than enjoying the holidays etc.

To the best of my knowledge, the extra playability at the end of 1.10019.5 was awaiting content from a developer in Ukraine. As we don't even know if he's still alive, TB is working on this instead

The merc faction you mentioned, usually led by an ex-Spetsnaz Last Day master, is known as 'Interception', and this will be made clear in the forthcoming patch

Their job is travel to the most dangerous areas of the Zone after each emission, searching for the rarest artefacts as they show up on their detectors, and return them to the Last Day stockpile

Anyone carrying these artefacts is a target for them, which is why the Collector and Caesier had to carefully stash all theirs in order to get away. The fact that you're carrying them now makes you an automatic target for Interception

Personally, I use the current 'end' of the game as freeplay to hunt them instead, thus thinning out their ranks, and sending out a message to any merc thinking of joining them...

Sword2012 wrote:

To the best of my knowledge, the extra playability at the end of 1.10019.5 was awaiting content from a developer in Ukraine. As we don't even know if he's still alive, TB is working on this instead

The merc faction you mentioned, usually led by an ex-Spetsnaz Last Day master, is known as 'Interception', and this will be made clear in the forthcoming patch

Their job is travel to the most dangerous areas of the Zone after each emission, searching for the rarest artefacts as they show up on their detectors, and return them to the Last Day stockpile

Anyone carrying these artefacts is a target for them, which is why the Collector and Caesier had to carefully stash all theirs in order to get away. The fact that you're carrying them now makes you an automatic target for Interception

Personally, I use the current 'end' of the game as freeplay to hunt them instead, thus thinning out their ranks, and sending out a message to any merc thinking of joining them...

I know the full STALKERSOUP lore surprisingly. It really is a miracle how I managed to understand everything that was being told to me (Of course in the POV of the insane STALKERSOUP world that is). But I still don't know how there are so many Last Days, I mean they are probably more numerous than the Monolithians. It's also quite crazy because they are supposed to not be the most known faction (obviously), which makes getting this many members extremely unlikely, also because they don't use the brainwash strategy that the Monolothians use (which is already pretty niche, since not many Stalkers reach the CNPP). I just don't know how they gathered such an army, because from what I've picked they recruit Stalkers who reach the Dead City and manage to live there for 1 week.

Quote :

But I still don't know how there are so many Last Days, I mean they are probably more numerous than the Monolithians. It's also quite crazy because they are supposed to not be the most known faction (obviously), which makes getting this many members extremely unlikely, also because they don't use the brainwash strategy that the Monolothians use (which is already pretty niche, since not many Stalkers reach the CNPP). I just don't know how they gathered such an army, because from what I've picked they recruit Stalkers who reach the Dead City and manage to live there for 1 week.

My apologies, but this should become clearer later on as the storyline develops,

Spoiler:

Also, the Encyclopedia gives you more information about each faction and how they recruit, though this section will expand greatly in a later patch... 

Sword2012 wrote:

Quote :

But I still don't know how there are so many Last Days, I mean they are probably more numerous than the Monolithians. It's also quite crazy because they are supposed to not be the most known faction (obviously), which makes getting this many members extremely unlikely, also because they don't use the brainwash strategy that the Monolothians use (which is already pretty niche, since not many Stalkers reach the CNPP). I just don't know how they gathered such an army, because from what I've picked they recruit Stalkers who reach the Dead City and manage to live there for 1 week.

My apologies, but this should become clearer later on as the storyline develops,

Spoiler:

Also, the Encyclopedia gives you more information about each faction and how they recruit, though this section will expand greatly in a later patch... 

Ok that makes sense now. I've heard many Last Days speaking German whilst in combat and I've always wondered why. So the Last Days hire mercs in their ranks from the other European countries. And yeah I've noticed that their leaders aren't to keen to each other, this being made obvious in that one mission from the Dead Marshes where you get that note from the commanders that hate each other.