New Game Start – Working on a free play attempt
When you start a new game with this mod, intro and tutorial will be skipped, and you appear in a location, loadout, unlocked rank and money from your election.
This is intended to play a “new game” role-playing combined with overhaul mods like “Modular Hard Mode” or “Desolation”, accompanied by A-Life mods like “Shay’s Living Zone” or “A-Life Found A Way” and all the mods you want.
You can play secondary (blue) missions, repeatable tasks/quests offered by NPCs or exploring out there in The Zone and its many secrets that many missed in their first playthrough.
Also, the main history missions are totally playable, but it has no sense. If you want to play main story, play the game without this small addon.
But I am totally honest: you may need some role-playing inspiration to have fun without main mission. I wrote some “role-play suggestions”, at the end of this description.
I’m a “modding newbie” and, for sure, the way to achieve this could be much better (scripting first steps in game and so on) and still this is many features far from what I want. But this is what I could make until now.
-Change the player relation values with factions to “friends”/”enemies”. This will allow making start presets like “Start as Monolith”, “Start as Military” (as the hubs does not attack you) and so on. I test RelationPrototypes.cfg or Relations.csv files with no luck.
-Change the starting process to auto-finish the first mission (remaining it playable or not, could see) or just script-end all main story missions to set up a “finished game” state. I tried with auto-script commands and .cfg files with no luck.
-Test locked zones or things that are closed at game start, but main mission’s progression unlocks. For example, the mod to get you the Lesser Zone North Gate Key because that. But, i.e. what happens with Pripyat?
-Test traders or NPCs for balance relations, or even add more “repeatable” tasks to NPCs (or new ones?). For now, make new story quests seems impossible. Who knows in the future.
-Some way to script rank changes without progressing in the main history (i.e. reaching Zone regions or enemies/mutants killed).
-Other small things like hide the first scenario teleport, make a working first auto-save, add a note or something in the inventory with a story or randomize the weather and day hour in the starting.
-Rebalance things (loadouts and so on) or new start locations.
How to use?
Place the mod files, with your desired configuration, in your mods folder (normally “C:\Users\\AppData\Local\Stalker2\Saved\Config\Windows”).
I let a “default config” in the mod zip file root, but remember you can use all the “Options” subfolder as your liking.
I think it’s pretty understandable. Each number is a category: choose one each. Base file (1) must be always present. And place the optional “Opt.” files you want.
I made the mod for being “modular” in mind, to allow players doing the combination he wants. Also, this ensures more compatibility in possible new features.
Now start a new game. You will see an “ugly” teleport, for a few seconds you will be in the game start location. Then, you appear in your selected location, this will load in a moment, and a lot of PDA messages receiving your loadout will appear.
It’s better to let some seconds go while the process ends, but you will see it’s just some seconds.
Sometimes the game could crash in this process: just try again. And send the error reports if remains!
Also! Many locations do not trigger an “autosave” on the start (doing scriptly generates errors) so make a fast-save game better.
How it works?
When the new game starts, the intros and all the tutorial are skipped (trick discovered on “Skip Prologue” mod). When the next quest starts, the player is teleported, but the location is overwritten where you choose. Then, player receive a loadout (trick discovered on “Radium New Game” mod), also overwritten. Also, some commands are applied via scripting (rank and money set-up – maybe more in the future).
You will note that the main history mission “Behind Seven Seals” is active. You can ignore or unmark it, play it (not recommended) or execute “XDKFinishQuest E02_MQ03 true” with UETools to forget it (I have no luck automating).
Why not a save file with spawned items and teleported player?
Yeah, it’s an option, but this addon is mainly made for play with mods that changes items and looting, that need a new generated game for the dynamic generators and other stuff. This ensures total compatibility, as is just a 100% new game.
Also, this way doesn’t need to mess up with overwriting or renaming save files and makes it easy to offer variations.
What are the downsides?
If you don’t make the story progression, but you want to wander around The Zone, much of things will remain like “in the start” of the game. Faction relations or locked doors/zones.
For example, the addon gives you the Lesser Zone North Gate Key in all loadouts because of that. If you discover more of these, remember me!
But I don’t know, for example, what the game do in this stage to access Pripyat (or leave Pripyat) that I think that is “closed” (there were some ways from Yaniv trains?).
So all of these things are untested (you can leave SIRCAA by the stairs?) and need a solution. My first attempt was to load another fast-travel marker in these cases (i.e. Yaniv or Zalissya) to at least allow guide fast travel, but failed in the “auto add marker” scripting.
If you reach some traders like Bison in Prypiat or Hawaiian or Wreck in Yaniv Station, you will realize that he doesn’t sell you anything. I’m not sure if the game needs “sleep hours” to generate stocks, if you must up trader faction relation (I think could be made by repeatable tasks) or if it’s something from MHM mod that I’m playing with.
Ah! And remember, you may discover locations before fast travel to them. Btw, there are Monolith squads spawning besides the main story (I’m using “Shay’s Living Zone”, maybe for that).
Why you added the pak file to change the player rank to “master” in the default config?
As some kind of “free play” is the objective, we must “unlock” all the Zone features, that you normally unlock progressing in the main history, that possibly you’re not going to play.
That’s why I included the “master” rank by default, but you can choose what you want combined.
Keep in mind that “rank” (don’t be confused by the difficulty) controls spawns of enemies, items or squad levels. Also, mods like “Modular Hard Mode” use at its basis for many features.
So, this is the way to get an “unlocked Zone” from the beginning. The good… and the bad. Beware, you must run if you have “bad luck in the randomized spawns”, now all unlocked and hard-real!
Why you added the pak file to disable the rank change on main missions in the default config?
Continuing with the above, if anyone plays the main history, missions could reach some points in the scripts that triggers a rank change (like “rank = experienced”).
It’s an experimental and not tested feature. I hope, not much needed as I do not recommend to play main history with this mod. But up you to play at your liking.
Why you added the pak file that lower times for repeatable quests/jobs in the default config?
Something also I feel needed for “free play”. You need “things to do”, at least this quests, as a way to increase relations points with a faction or get money.
So this reduces wait time from 24 to 8 in game hours and increased the number of different quests offered from 3 to 4 (for NPCs that can offer it).
MHM also changes this files, but only these variables, so it’s compatible.
TODO/WISHES/FUTURE PLANS
Faction-role starting.
Randomize the weather and day hour in the starting.
More repeatable tasks with NPCs and closed-history world.
New system for rank progression without playing in the main history.
Search and fix “locked” Zones or NPCs because of main story non-progression.
What to do with main story (close it, finish all…).
Other small things, like hide the first scenario load, add a note or something in the inventory with a story or do a first auto-save.
Rebalance things (loadouts and so on) or new start locations.
LOADOUTS
All: A bunch of basic consumables (medkits, bandages, some food and drinks, an antirad). A little rng on quantity you get.
Basic: Debut suit, AK-74U, PTM pistol (not Skif one) and Echo detector.
Medium: Sunrise suit, PA-10 Gas mask, AKM-74S (with some extra AP ammo), M860 Cracker shotgun, UDP pistol, some grenades and Hilka detector.
High: SEVA Suit, Dnipro (with some extra AP ammo and attachments), Saiga D-12 shotgun, Rhino pistol, some grenades and Bear detector
Artifact Hunter: SSP-99 Ecologist, M860 Cracker shotgun, Buket S-2, UDP pistol and Bear detector.
Mutant Hunter: Marauder Suit, Ballistic Helmet, Saiga D-12 shotgun, Viper-5 SMG, Rhino pistol, some grenades and Echo detector.
Sniper Merc Assassin: Mercenary Suit, PA-10 Gas Mask, Mark 1 EMR (with some extra AP ammo and attachments), Viper-5 SMG silenced, UDP pistol silenced, any grenade and Hilka detector.
