S.T.A.L.K.E.R: MISERY

The bodies we found before didn't have those!

The content of this article relates to: S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: MISERY, a third party modification not endorsed by GSC Game World. The information in this article is not to be considered part of the official canon.

Overview

MISERY is a mod for S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat that aims to enhance the game in various aspects, most importantly texture quality, difficulty, new items and in-game mechanics. Inspired by movies like The Road and I Am Legend as well as the game Metro 2033, MISERY concept-wise was meant to provide a highly challenging experience with a unique setting and atmosphere. Our goal is to throw the player into a miserable environment and give them only one objective: to survive. This survival-driven aspect is particularly explicit in MISERY: you only have limited resources at your disposal and have to deal with various threats when you’re at your weakest and most vulnerable. The implication of this is clear: the player is forced to re-think their habits and get used to new and demanding conditions of the Zone as envisaged by MISERY developers.

Features

Gameplay

People, mutants and birds are ripped apart if not in shelter during emissions.
Actor belongs to “Ukrainian Special Services (USS)” and not “Free Stalkers”.
Actor feels more alive thanks to various sound and movement tweaks, general improvements to interaction during firefights as well as the ability to use consumables and other equipment.
Corpses and dead animals can be dragged (“Shift” + “Use” key).
No weapon restrictions in safe zones.
First person perspective by default, but can change to third person perspective possible with a single button.
New screen shake effects when firing a weapon (resembling recoil shock/shake effects). This effect varies depending on the caliber fired and your choice of USS class.
Your flashlight does not illuminate your weapon anymore (only when reloading and sprinting), which makes it easier for your eyes to focus on your surroundings in low-light conditions.
Headlamp is no longer default equipment and has to be purchased or scavenged off of corpses, however a hand held flashlight is now included with all classes.
Nightvision and headlamp has to be powered with special UPD power supplies which in turn must be recharged with battery packs or by repair merchants for a steep price.
3GB RAM enabled for system engine (prevents crashes on lower-end PCs).
Unique version of Massive Simulation Overhaul (MSO) that makes NPC behavior more challenging and diverse. It even adds a variety of NPC professions (like Hunters).
Virtually all items cost considerably more money and quests provide far less in the way of reward money.
In depth maintenance system for weapons and armor allowing the player to repair their own gear with the numerous repair items in the mod.

Classes

MISERY incorporates three new classes which add a unique element of gameplay in the main storyline. Each class in it's own respects all relates to the overall difficulty a player may experience in the main play through as each one has it's own strengths and it's own weakness's.

USS Assaulter

Big, heavily equipped soldier skilled in handling heavy and assault class weaponry. Due to high body mass he needs to sleep and consume more to remain in good condition. Can hurl heavy weight around and still fight effectively.

PACK RAT – almost no extra penalty for getting over maximum convenient carry weight
STRONG GRIP – extremely low chance of dropping gun in hand
HEAVY WEAPONS EXPERTISE – significantly lowered recoil and increased aiming speed and accuracy for machine guns and explosive weapons (RPG-7 and RG-6)
STURDY – very low chance to suffer the heaviest aim displacement effect even when heavily damaged and almost no movement penalty even at very low health

Notes: Arguably this class emulates the PC character capabilities of the original game more closely than the other two and is likely a good choice for newcomers to the mod. The Assaulter is built for direct combat with hostile forces as it features the highest health, highest bleeding resistance, competent at engagements at all ranges with all weapon classes but specializing in medium range combat due to high proficiency with Assault Rifles and Heavy Weapons, maximum stamina recovery bonuses from combat oriented suits and thanks to a large carry weight capacity (plus pack rat perk) allows for usage of large quantities of equipment in the field such as carrying multiple firearms with large quantities of ammunition with remarkably low stamina penalties. Unfortunately they suffer from extreme stamina penalties while wearing gas masks and closed cycle breathing suits/modules so they are ineffective in combat while wearing such gear (does not apply to Combat Helmets with integrated gas masks) with the possible exception to a heavily modified SEVA suit. They also receive the lowest benefits from drugs and medical items and have the lowest anomaly/radiation resistance of the three classes.

USS Recon

Lighter, stealthy soldier with speed-up metabolism, increased agility but low damage resistance. Special training allows to take the biggest advantage in drugs and medicaments but at the cost of greater side effects.

FAST TAPPING – fire rate for pistols increased by 40%
MOBILE AIMING – very low penalty for weapon aim sway and gun accuracy after movement
PRECISE BLADE – knives overall do medium damage but are much better at penetrating armors allowing to bleed-out armored enemies
STEALTH – step sounds in all stances are much quieter which results in enemies reacting to them slower
BULLPUP AFFINITY – all bullpup rifles, regardless of type receive a small bonus to sway rates, recoil, aim speed and accuracy

USS Sniper

Medium build survivor who is the least dependent on food and drink and may run for long distances without rest. Able to stay awake for long periods of time. Special training in breathing mechanisms results in a very controlled aim.

KEEN EYE – ironsights zoom-rate increased by 25% (does not affect shotguns and pistols)
SHOOTER’S STANCE – almost completely steady aim and significantly better accuracy of all weapons when crouching and low-crouching
DOUBLE-BARRELED MASTERY – first shot from of a double-barreled weapon has greatly reduced recoil and second shot can be made 50% faster
SURVIVAL EXPERT – significantly better chance at extracting uninfested raw meat and scientific specimens from mutant corpses and much lower penalties from consuming raw meat.

Difficulty

Stronger and deadlier anomalies.
Zombified stalkers are mindless wanderers that attack everything and are killed effectively only with shots to the head, spine or heart and they carry only low grade weapons in terrible condition.
Recoil on firearms is dramatically increased, to the point that single shots must be used in most engagements, bursts and full auto fire are only useful at very close range and even then weapons need to be heavily modified for recoil control to be used in short burst at any significant distance.
Fewer weapons in good condition and less ammo. No more “killing zombies to easily find loads of weapons and ammo”.
Most forms of damage has been greatly increased, firearms in particular inflict greatly increased damage but this applies to everyone in the zone including the player character and enemies.
Many mutants are considerably more dangerous; individual pseudodogs can be lethal, Controllers kill in 2 or 3 mind blasts and have an extremely dangerous psi field that constantly inflicts damage if the player gets too close.
Completely revamped armor system that emulates the real world National Institute of Justice standards with lower end non armor piercing rounds inflicting very little damage to users wearing tough Military grade body armor.
No valuable gifts in your stash after completing quest achievements like “A Friend of Stalkers” or “Mutant Hunter”.
Changes to actor health system, item effects, economy and damage system in order to attain a very high difficulty.
Universal silencer has been removed: you will need the correct sound suppressor variant for your weapon caliber.
No warnings, task messages or safe-zone indications on PDA before and during emissions (only sirens).
A more natural day/night rhythm (i.e. without resorting to drugs and other stimulants) is advised if you want to avoid a blurred vision caused by headache or sudden sleepiness.
Consumables won’t restore your health but are needed to stave off hunger.
Optional hardcore game start: “Chorna Doroha” (The Black Road) in which you start with little to no gear.
Advanced game progression ensures a challenging gameplay from beginning to end of the game.
Factions are reacting much faster to your gameplay choices and faction relations.
All artifacts are harmful even when not placed on belt unless they are stored in Artifact Containers.
Bloodsuckers are no longer breathing heavily when invisible. (The predators have evolved!)

Black Road

The Black Road, also known as Chorna Doroha, is an optional game mode difficulty where the player starts with a knife and a wind-up flashlight, stranded in the middle of an abandoned saw-mill in Zaton surrounded by Zombies at night. This added element of difficulty makes scrounging and scavenging for supplies an even greater asset when starting a new-game. Players will be unable to view the map to find the nearest Safe zone as they will be devoid of a battery to power their PDA. Also there is another option to make traveling through the Zone even more difficult than it was earlier – now, during daytime, sun shining leads to much greater radiation from which the player can't protect himself with anything but anti-radiation artifacts, and after sunset, when radiation lets the player leave safe areas, mutants wake up and go for hunting.

Rookie mode

Rookie mode is the normal MISERY game, but with few tweaks to the player's immunity and resistance to the environment as well as tweaks to traders to make game a little bit easier and more friendly to newcomers. It is advised to start an adventure in MISERY with this mode so as to not be overwhelmed by the level of difficulty the mod provides. However, players who are experienced veterans of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series and are comfortable with playing on the highest two difficulty settings should be able to adapt to the "Normal" difficulty mode without too many complications.

Mutants & Wildlife

Cat

Izlom

Weather & Emissions

Emissions in the Misery mod do not pop up on your PDA
Emissions can be signified by weather changes in the sky by rapid darkness and a large mushroom cloud
Prior to hearing an emission there will be a loud siren, if you hear the siren run for cover
Cover locations won't be listed in your PDA either

Factions

Bandits

Loners

Mercenaries

Military

Monolith

Freedom

Duty

Weapons

Handguns: GP100, TT-33, Stechkin APS, Walther P99, Ots-33 Pernach, Obrez, GSh-18

Sub Machine Guns/Carbines: UMP45, SG 552 Commando, Skorpion Vz. 68, PPSh-41, M4A1 Carbine, AK-105

Assault Rifles: XM8, SKS-45, STG-44, FN FAL, M16A1, IMI Galil, FAMAS G2, AKS-74 Cobra, AKS-74, AKM, AEK-971, Steyr AUG

Shotguns: TOZ 66 Sawn-off, Saiga-12K, Mossberg 500 (shortened)

Marksman Rifles: VSK-94, TRG-42, SG 550 Sniper, M14 DMR, Mosin-Nagant, M24 SWS (Green Dragon), Karabiner 98K, Karabiner 43, Sako TRG-42

Heavy Weapons: RPK-74

Items

Sleeping Bag

PDA-marked Backpack (for creating stashes)

Stimpacks and variants (Improvised Stimpack, Military Stimpack, Scientific Stimpack)

Expanded Drugs (i.e. Morphine Ampule, Cocaine, Marijuana)

Zone-produced Consumables (i.e. Flesh Bacon, Bloodsucker Goulash, Beard's Tea, Metal Bottle)

Imported Consumables (i.e. "Abakan" Beef Tushonka, Smoked Sausage, Russian Chocolate, Nemiroff Vodka)

Cigarettes (i.e. Soviet cigarettes, Russian brand cigarettes, Western cigarettes)

Weapon Repair Kits

Armor Repair Kits

Ghillie Suit

Anomalies

Visuals & Soundscape

Darker and grittier textures.
Revamped audio for surroundings.
Revamped graphics including textures and landscape.

Known Issues

In some instances, although rare with the recent 2.1.1 patch, save files would sometimes be corrupted and thus unplayable.
Earlier versions of MISERY were notorious for constant crashes. This has since been significantly reduced in patch 2.1.1.
It maybe impossible to complete the game in 2.1.1 patch because of a bug in the kindergarten level wich results in a crash. *Note* There is a solution for this issue: Go into Gamedata/Configs in the directory and find alife.ltx change switch_distance from 300 to 10, load the game and try it, if it works and it should.. save after cutscene exit game and change the switch back to 300. Location is C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Stalker Call of Pripyat\gamedata\configs scroll down to alife.ltx