My name is Kruglov. I am a professor of biology, I study the Zone. Yesterday, for example, I found an animal of particular interest - Antropomorphus Dendromutantus Vulgaris. I mostly find and document new species of mutant animals, their traits and distinctive features. The information is then thoroughly studied and transferred to the outside world. Some of it, of course, goes to the Barkeep. My discoveries have helped to save the lives of many stalkers.
― Kruglov introducing himself
Professor Kruglov (Ru. Круглов) is a character in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl.
Background[]
Ph.D. in biology. Studied pathogenic mutations in animals outside the Zone. Came to the Zone to study blind dog mutations[non-game. 1]. He is a colleague of Professor Sakharov and is known to also work with Barkeep.
He is very enthusiastic about the Zone (although, obviously, aware of its dangers) and considers it the greatest chance of increasing humanity's scientific knowledge and revolutionizing technology[quote. 1]. Despite the Zone's dangers, he considers it as a great opportunity, which puts him at odds with both Duty and Freedom[quote. 2].
Appearances[]
Shadow of Chernobyl[]
The player first meets Kruglov during their first visit to the Wild Territory, where he and his teams have been pinned down at the crash site of their helicopter, which was shot down by a group of mercenaries led by Wolfhound. Upon noticing the player, he sends them a call for help.
Should the player help Kruglov, then after killing Wolfhound and his men, they will have to escort him through a construction site where more mercenaries attempt to ambush the duo. After fighting off the mercs, the player must clear the way through a burner-filled tunnel leading out to Yantar. Successfully escorting Kruglov safely to Yantar will have him thank the player by giving them his flash drive, which can be given to Barkeep for 5000 RU. In addition, Sakharov will give the player a free SSP-99 Ecologist suit for rescuing Kruglov as an extra reward.
If Kruglov is killed at any point during the escort, or the player ignores his call for help, then the player can still retrieve his flash drive, although its content will have been wiped out with a posthumous message[quote. 3]. One can still give the flash drive to Barkeep, although he will not give any money for it and simply make a sarcastic remark about its contents[quote. 4].
Provided Kruglov has been escorted to Yantar safely, he will later be found at the mobile lab and take part in radiation measurements around the Production complex for Sakharov. He initially refuses to do it on his own, but will accept carrying out the measurements if the player accompanies him. One must then escort Kruglov to the nearby lowlands, and take him back to the bunker safely. Kruglov can once again die at any point of the mission due to the numerous Zombified Stalkers around the area; if he gets killed before the measurements are done, then the player will obtain a lower-grade Psi-helmet from Sakharov. If Kruglov manages to survive, he will return to the lab and remain there for the rest of the game. If Kruglov died in the Wild Territory, then Assistant Semenov will take over Kruglov's role in Yantar.
Related missions[]
- Meet Kruglov - The player must help Kruglov escape from a mercenary ambush and lead him safely to Yantar.
- Take radiation measurements - The player must escort Kruglov while he probes the psy-field around the area.
Dialogue[]
| Quote | Condition |
|---|---|
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After passing the watchtower with the merc sniper |
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Cutscene |
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After the first call for help |
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After Wolfhound's first threat |
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After Wolfhound's second threat |
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After Wolfhound's third threat |
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First time approaching Kruglov in Wild Territory |
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After agreeing to help Kruglov |
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In combat against mercenaries |
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| |
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After repelling a mercenary ambush |
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Approaching the Burner tunnel |
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After passing the Burner tunnel |
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| Quote | Condition |
|---|---|
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In response to Sakharov's first remark |
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After reaching the drainage pipe |
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After the first measurement |
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After the second measurement at the end of the drainage pipe |
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Before the blowout |
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Idle, after the blowout |
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Helping Kruglov after the blowout |
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After returning to the bunker |
Glitches[]
- There is a bug causing Kruglov to not follow the player after one talks to him and suggests him to follow. This is probably caused by saving right before Kruglov asks the player to help him, making him to fight like a usual NPC. The only way to avoid it is not to save before attacking mercenaries as there is no way to make Kruglov follow the player after this bug occurs.
- Near the end of the first escort mission, before the Burner anomalies in the tunnel, it is possible that Kruglov may freeze and not follow the player after he goes through the tunnel. It is also possible that he will go through the tunnel, but talking to him will crash the game.
- Another bug is that he may go through the anomaly tunnel unharmed, but then he will draw his weapon, aim at the tunnel, and freeze. These bugs can be avoided by going back to a previous save game and restarting the mission. This anomalous behaviour may also be caused by enemy units spawning randomly within the NPC's detection radius. Elimination of these units will end the anomalous behaviour and progress the game normally in the fully patched version.
- In the earlier versions of the game, it is possible to use following bug: after escorting Kruglov and protecting him from the mercenaries, one can simply press "Esc" after receiving the flash drive and repeat it indefinitely. Every flash drive obtained can be exchanged for 5 000 RU from Barkeep.
- If one manages to keep Kruglov (or Semenov) alive by killing all the attackers quickly, then after talking to Kruglov he will reply normally but won't actually leave the area.
- There is a bug/exploit that allows player to ignore further main quest segments and complete the game. To do this, the player needs to rescue Kruglov in the Wild Territory and escort him to Yantar; there, one needs to kill Kruglov inside the bunker (the only possible way in vanilla game is to damage and kill him with grenades from outside the bunker). Sakharov will react as though Kruglov was killed during the measurements mission, and the player will receive a Not adjusted psi-helmet and subsequent instructions to loot Vasiliev's body.
- The same exploit applies to Semenov if Kruglov was not rescued/escorted
- In rare cases, he may attempt to shoot enemies that get too close to the mobile science lab. However, the door will not open and the player cannot make him budge until the assailants are killed.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- "Antropomorphus Dendromutantus Vulgaris", which Kruglov mentions in his introduction, translates from Latin as "humanoid ordinary wooden mutant", i.e. Pinocchio.
- Kruglov, like all Ecologists, becomes hostile to player if one joins the Freedom faction.
- Kruglov does not react to the player killing his fellow scientists.
- Kruglov starts initially armed with nothing but a Walker P9m, but can be given any better weapon for combat use, which is likely necessary in order to maximize his chances of survival during both of his missions.
- Kruglov's flash drive contains information that the source of psy radiation is located in the center of Yantar lake, while in actual game, it's hidden in Lab X-16. This is probably due to the earlier versions of the game, where the source was really located in the middle of the lake.
Notes[]
References[]
- Sources
- ↑
stable_bio_name.xml, id=ros_kruglov_bio
- Quotes
- ↑ Kruglov: "The Zone is a wonderful gift to humanity. Of course normal existence here is not possible due to the high radiation levels, and aggressive mutants. All of these things are obviously extremely dangerous but they are also things of great scientific value. The Zone is almost a natural experiment, a treasure for scientists! The extent to which humanity's knowledge could be increased through the study of the Zone is unfathomable. Technology, medicine, new plants- medical and edible, biotechnology, cures for incurable diseases…anything! Perhaps we can solve the food problem for the entire planet. If people didn't interfere, science could lead humanity into a new Golden Era!"
- ↑ Kruglov: "So you understand that too? It's wonderful to discover that there are those among you who are not narrow-minded practical people. I've always said it's important to look at the whole set of issues from a broader perspective, to distance ourselves from the simple human measures. Even if the Zone has done harm to humanity, it can still be of great use to us!"
- ↑ Professor Kruglov's flash drive (corrupted): "I, professor Kruglov, am deleting the results of our research for the sake of science and humanity as a whole. Dangerous knowledge must not pass into the hands of unreliable people who will seek to use it for the achievement of their criminal objectives. Those who read this note should know that our group was shot down above the Wild Territory by Mercs led by a notorious cutthroat called Wolfhound. By the time you read this we will probably be dead."
- ↑ Barkeep: "Well, well. Information? Straight from professor Kruglov? You taking the piss or what? "I am professor Kruglov and I am deleting reports about our research for the sake of science and humanity..." And this is the info you were supposed to get!? Well, shit...I'm sure Duty will be "happy" about this."
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