Official Site: http://stalker-a.com
STALKER Apocalypse is a new story driven first person shooter that's being made by our studio, West Games. Our team is made up of ex-S.T.A.L.K.E.R. developers and other talented team members. We were formerly developing a game called Areal, but after raising funds on our website and listening to our fans, we decided to re-focus our vision, and develop what is now STALKER Apocalypse (trademarked). STALKER Apocalypse features a unique story and plenty of familiar elements that will undoubtedly please our fans. There will be single player, multi player and split screen game modes. Stalker Apocalypse is being developed on Unreal Engine 4, and will be released on PC (Windows, Mac) and console (Xbox One, PS4) platforms.
STALKER Apocalypse is divided into separate dynamically changing zones. The world around you is constantly changing independently of your actions. Returning to somewhere that you've already been to doesn't mean that everything will be the same – the surroundings will likely change, and so will the people in them. Even territorial boundaries can change. People move around, form groups, and even die or go missing without a trace. Territorial surroundings will change on a constant basis, whilst preserving set paths and landmarks. Herds of mutants will migrate and populate previously safe zones. Anomalies will disappear and re-appear in places that were not dangerous, and make them impassable.
Temporary environmental shifts completely change a set territory within a zone. No one can live through these shifts. You can detect an incoming shift through a couple of means: either through a device that tracks abnormalities, or through a subtle change in vision which alerts you to a shift that will happen nearby.
Certain places within zones can become more dangerous than they seem at first. That's why within zones, even seemingly short distances might not be straightforward and can present many unexpected circumstances. To discover an Anomaly, you must look for obvious abnormalities and increased danger. Anomalies are all different and do different things to the environment. They can be very destructive or relatively passive, and much about them is a mystery.
An easy way to locate anomalies is to use certain metal alloy bolts to detect them. If you throw these bolts into the air and they do not fall back down, then you have more than likely entered into an anomalous zone, and should be on alert. Anomalies do not exclusively cause destruction, though they are very capable of doing so. Quite often, they displace environmental features and even people. If you are in an anomalous zone, you could be instantly teleported into another location. Anomalies are not permanent, and change locations very frequently. Their characteristics are never exactly the same, and you can never be safe from potential anomalies.
Abilities fundamentally alter your senses and your grasp on reality. They come in the form of alterations, which people have made from the by-products of Anomalies that appear in the world around you. They give you temporary mutations or heighten your senses, and almost always have significant side-effects. You can find alterations by exploring the world, or by trading with certain people.
Using some alterations will permanently change your physical appearance. For example, using adrenaline will allow you to heal rapidly, but it will leave noticeable scarring if you get hurt while using said alteration. Alterations become slightly more powerful with each use, but are usually hard to find.
Adrenaline significantly enhances your ability to take damage, and gives you invincibility for the first 5 seconds that you use it. Your vision becomes slightly blurry and becomes bloodshot red. The effects usually wear off within thirty seconds of use.
Focus slows down time and gives you unprecedented accuracy. It can help you get out of a tight spot, or easily snipe an enemy. The effects of focus do not last long, and usually wear off after roughly 5-15 seconds. Significant use of Focus will change the color of your eyes.
Stealth heightens all of your senses and highlights enemies around you. You become more agile and harder to trace. It's perfect if you are stalking someone or are being stalked. Using Stealth frequently will highlight some of your veins and make them bright yellow.
There are many more alterations to discover in the world of STALKER Apocalypse, but we want them to be a surprise. Some alterations are rarer than others, and some can be considered as more useful than others.
When entering zones, there are no rules, there is no way to be prepared for combat, and there are no warning signs that alert you to imminent danger. Dangerous mutants don't attack when they are prompted to; they attack silently and aim for the throat. That's why when you venture out of safe places, you have to be constantly on alert, and you need to expect danger.
Even if you're just traveling down a road, you need to be able to analyze your surroundings, predict where the best place to hide is, and have an escape route ready. Not all enemies can be defeated by raining bullets on them. You need to observe your enemy and find out what his strengths and weaknesses are. You can set traps, activate lures and attack when you are ready. Sometimes, the best course of action is not to attack at all, and instead sneak past your enemies.
The weapon wheel is where you can choose between all the weapons that you have. Your inventory is also accessed through the weapon wheel. You can select ranged weapons, melee weapons, alterations and much more within the weapon wheel.
Ranged weapons include anything that you can use to defeat an enemy from afar. You can make use of standard pistols, snipers, automatic rifles, sub-machine guns and grenades. You won't always have access to these standard guns, because ammunition is scarce and guns are hard to find. In these cases, you'll have to make use of less traditional methods of defeating your enemies.
Crafting allows you to make defensive and offensive items by utilizing the items that you collect in your inventory. You can craft a makeshift bow, or cobble together some form of defensive armor. You can make traps or make a sound-emitting lure. Crafting is essential, and is a life saver when you run out of bullets to shoot.
Melee combat is a very important aspect of STALKER Apocalypse. Hammers, axes, machetes, pipes and much more are readily found throughout the game world. Melee combat is divided into 3 components: dodging, locking onto your enemy and attacking.
Alterations are extremely valuable in a combat situation, but are extremely hard to find. They are very capable of single-handedly saving you from an otherwise certain death. Making use of alterations noticeably changes and enhances your abilities.
On foot, you can run, crawl, jump, crouch, and walk your way around the world of STALKER Apocalypse. Some places are only accessible on foot and hard to reach. Some locations are inaccessible without the proper equipment.
Motorcycles or ATVs allow you to speedily traverse most areas, but you become an easy target for enemies. Some areas are safer than others for motorized transport.
Cars allow you to travel fast and relatively safely, but they are rarely in working condition and not all areas are accessible by car.
Air transport is by far the safest option for travel, but helicopters are extremely hard to find and almost never work. Sometimes anomalies can make inoperable air transport vehicles work, but only for a limited time.
Artifacts are abnormal substances that are found within zones. Artifacts are valuable, and finding them is the main way that you make money within the game. Some artifacts are unique in that they can be very useful or very valuable. Artifacts are rare and are very hard to find. It's hard to discover them, and it's hard to find a moment wherein you can “assemble” them. Making an assembled artifact requires multiple artifacts, and completely changes an artifact's properties. You can see some artifacts from a distance, but they are usually very hard or impossible to reach. Refined or assembled artifacts are especially valuable.
There are also artifacts that are not worth much, and which do not have any useful qualities. They are usually sold as souvenirs.
The effects that zones have on living beings aren't well researched, but what is known is that those effects have lead to the appearance of mutants. Any animals or other living beings that have been in a zone are considered to be mutants. Some of them look very similar to their un-mutated counterparts, while others are so mutated that it becomes hard to tell what they originate from.
The most frighting types of mutants are the ones that were at one point human. They are especially dangerous, because they retain a semblance of their former intelligence, and their attacks can be more cunning. Sometimes, you encounter newly mutated humans who are visibly struggling with their rapid mental decay. Their urge to attack you is unfortunately always stronger than their will to not do so.
There are mutants that are even more dangerous, to the point where the local population deems the area immediately surrounding them as inaccessible.
Everyone knows that you cannot live in the zones. Still, there are people who go there and live there. All STALKERS are unique; each of them has something to to say and everyone has an unlikely reason for being in the zones. The zones are dangerous – venturing into a zone can always lead to death, so that's why even the most experienced and hardened people need to band together to form cohesive groups.
STALKER Apocalypse is being developed on Unreal Engine 4. Using an existing game engine allows us to greatly speed up development and add features that we otherwise wouldn't have time for. Right now, we are utilizing all assets and models that we have access to, and use them within the game world as temporary “rough drafts”, which will be replaced as development continues by optimized assets that are of the highest caliber in terms of quality.
This approach means that we can develop the game effectively and efficiently, without having to wait for finished components and 3d models first. In effect, our studio divisions work simultaneously, without having to wait for one another. All resources are made in multiple variants that are adapted for specific platform needs.
Stalker Apocalypse has single player, online and local split-screen modes.
Single player features a detailed and a story centric campaign, with an open world and plenty of side quests.
Stalker Online allows you to enter Stalker Apocalypse's open world with up to 24 other players. Stalker Online features missions, side quests and much more. You can also play in cooperative and competitive online game modes. Online gameplay is hosted through dedicated servers, and on PC, you can set up your own servers if you want to.
Split-screen (on consoles only) allows you to play with up to four players locally. You can go into Stalker Online while in split-screen or just play locally with your friends.
We will support the use of virtual reality through Oculus Rift. Each stalker should try this unique technology. Oculus Rift should be absolutely required for FPS games, so that you can be fully immersed in the world of Stalker Apocalypse.
Nobody knows when the first anomalous zones appeared. Many say that they were always there, and have just started to emerge more often. The first recorded anomalous activity occurred in the early 1960's. Governments from various countries used all of their power to keep secret the appearance of anomalies. Studying anomalous zones yielded unique knowledge – specifically, the discovery of artifacts allowed for a tremendous leap forward in science.
The most powerful countries initiated a ruthless competition for control of the anomalous zones. In order to gain access to these anomalous zones, wars began, revolutions were instigated, and artificial environmental catastrophes were created with the help of new technology that was developed from artifacts. Staying in these secret anomalous zones became the most important source of strength for superpowers. When it seemed like all the zones were divided among various governments, and when it seemed like the world's countries came to an agreement on the order of who studies anomalous zones, a global cataclysm unexpectedly started.
No one really knows the reason the reason why it started, but some speculate that the reason is kept secret in the darkest depths of governmental agencies. In the 1980's, the amount and size of anomalous zones constantly increased. By the beginning of the 1990's, anomalous zones could no longer be realistically kept secret from the general population. Mass evacuations of cities, and the closure of whole regions brought about mass panic in the general population. The world as we knew it crumbled.
Everyone knows that living in the zones is impossible. Everyone knows that the zones are expanding. Everyone knows that humanity is doomed. But there are those who have not given up. Those who try to survive. Those who have the hope to find salvation. They are Stalkers. Only Stalkers enter into the anomalous zones, in their eternal quest to find the unknown “holy grail”. They survive in the zones and reach the most distant corners of the world, with the sole purpose of taking with them everything that has made contact with anomalies.
Throughout the game, you control two characters, who each have their own reason for being in the Zones. Outside of missions, you can switch between these two characters at any time.
One of the characters is a person who has accepted a contract to head into the Zones and figure out what's there. She works for a morally dubious corporation and takes on missions that are on a need to know basis. The other character that you control is a native of the Zones, and was a researcher before the apocalypse. He is part of a group known as Stalkers, and is on the verge of finding out the cause of the apocalypse.
Side missions within the game are highly varied and are often dynamic. They range from random encounters to missions that provide deep insight into Stalker's world. They are never just simple fetch quests. Side missions always have a level of uncertainty to them, and are different each time that you play them. There are always multiple ways to go through a mission, and constantly changing elements like random groups of people, herds of mutants, and changing terrain serve to spicen up gameplay, as well as add endless replay value.
There is no moral high ground in Stalker Apocalypse. You will be forced to make hard choices, with outcomes that are often unpredictable. Sometimes, there is no right choice, and you might end up losing people along the way. Your decisions shape the direction of the story and define who you are as a person in Stalker's unforgiving world.
