S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl	2007
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky	2008
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat	2010
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Lost Alpha (Unofficial)	2014

Key points

Strong modding community.^[1]

Retail CD-keys and some of the Steam ones are now redeemable on GOG.com using the reclaim page.

Use the Multi-Patch to replace GameSpy features.

General information

Official website

Developer's forum

The S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Wiki

TweakGuides guide

GOG.com Community Discussions for game series

GOG.com Support Page

Steam Community Discussions

Steam Users' Forums for game series

Availability[edit]

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		Uses Tages + Solidshield DRM. StarForce for Russian release^[2] It has been disabled via patches.
GOG.com
Steam		Comes with 1.5.10 patch preinstalled.^[3] Tages DRM is reported to be inactive.^[4] Some CD-keys can be redeemed on GOG.com

Essential improvements[edit]

Patches[edit]

The latest version of the game is Patch 1.5.10. This version allows for additional effects with DirectX 9 rendering that were previously reserved only for the DirectX 10 renderer. It also fixes many game breaking bugs, improves overall performance and fixes some problems with Tages DRM.

The Multi-Patch replaces the GameSpy master servers and optionally forces Vsync. The Steam version is already patched.

Skip intro videos[edit]

Use replacement files

Apply the S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky intro skip.

Large Address Aware[edit]

Improves stability on systems with at least 3GB RAM by allowing the application to use more than 2GB RAM.

Modifications[edit]

The Sky Reclamation Project (SRP) is an unofficial patch which fixes bugs that remain in the latest official patched version of the game.

Clear Sky Complete focuses on improving graphics, sound and gameplay. A limited range of bug fixes is also included.

Game data[edit]

In-game general settings.

Configuration file(s) location[edit]

System	Location
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\Stalker-STCS

CD key, language and GameSpy ID are stored in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\GSC Game World\STALKER-STCS

Save game data location[edit]

System	Location
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\Stalker-STCS\savedgames

Save game cloud syncing[edit]

System	Native	Notes
Steam Cloud

Video settings[edit]

In-game general video settings.

In-game advanced video settings.

Graphics option	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution
Multi-monitor		See the WSGF entry.
Field of view (FOV)	90° (65° Vertical) - See Field of view (FOV).
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed	Use Borderless Gaming or similar software.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)	Up to 16 samples.
Anti-aliasing (AA)	Up to 4x MSAA + Transparency Anti-aliasing.
Vertical sync (Vsync)	In-game Vsync option is broken. Use the Multi-Patch to fix it.
60 FPS
120+ FPS	No frame rate or refresh rate cap.^[5]

Field of view (FOV)[edit]

Changing FoV^{[citation needed]}

Download FOV switcher.
Copy it to the installation folder.
BACKUP your original xrgame.dll somewhere. In the case of problems just copy it back.
Run fov_switch.cmd
Use the mouse wheel to scroll through all available variants.
In the opened window enter the number from 1 till 52 depending on your game version and chosen FOV.
To enable the external cam in singleplayer mode of Clear Sky (by F6-F8 buttons) just enter these commands in console:

bind cam_1 kF6
bind cam_2 kF7
bind cam_3 kF8

Input settings[edit]

In-game control settings.

Keyboard and mouse	Native	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support

Audio settings[edit]

In-game audio settings.

Audio options	Native	Notes
Separate volume controls		SFX and music only.
Surround sound		Up to 7.0 output^[6]
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
EAX support		EAX 2.0

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	CC	Notes
English
French
German
Italian
Polish				Features optional Polish voice-over translation.
Russian
Spanish
Turkish				A Turkish fan patch is available here. (Mirror)
Ukrainian				An official Ukrainian patch is available here, can be installed over the Russian version of the game only.

Network[edit]

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Players	Notes
LAN play		32
Online play		32	Use the Multi-Patch to replace the GameSpy master server.

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting
Direct IP

Ports

Protocol	Port(s) and/or port range(s)
TCP (outbound)	3783, 6515, 6500, 6667, 13139, 27900, 28900, 29900, 29901

Issues fixed[edit]

"Unable to connect to master server" error[edit]

The GameSpy master server has been shut down; use the Multi-Patch.

System requirements[edit]

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	2000 SP4, XP SP2	XP, Vista SP1
Processor (CPU)	AMD XP 2200+ Intel Pentium IV 2.0 GHz	AMD 64 X2 4200+ Intel Core 2 Duo E6400
System memory (RAM)	512 MB	2 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	10 GB
Video card (GPU)	ATi Radeon 9600 nVidia GeForce 5700 128 MB of VRAM DirectX 8.0 compatible	ATi Radeon HD 2900 XT nVidia GeForce 8800 GT 512 MB of VRAM DirectX 10.1 compatible

References

[1] S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky Game - Mod DB

[2] FILEnetworks Blog: S.T.A.L.K.E.R : Clear Sky (English) - Cracked or not?

[3] Planning to buy Clear Sky - Steam Users' Forums

[4] GamersGate version has no DRM - why Steam? - Steam community discussions

[5] New 120Hz Games Report

[6] PC Gaming Surround Sound Round-up

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

Developers

	GSC Game World
Publishers
	Deep Silver
Engines
	X-Ray Engine
Release dates
Windows	August 22, 2008