User:Matsu-Taka



"Stay Cheek Breeki, my friend!"

- Boris

​Introductions...
Yeah, as you can clearly see, before that I don't even know of such game would even exist. My usual games of the line are mostly RTS games, like 'Command & Conquer' series, 'Age of Empire' series, and perhaps 'Kerbal Space Program' as well. Then later, I was recommended with 'Warframe', and had such a blast with it - million of hours of spare-time spent into it for literally 2 years, and still kicking even now...

Then, watching some more of YouTube gameplay and happened to read someone's comment "Boris would be pleased" in addition of multitudes of replies said "Oy, blin!". Scouring Boris' videos and finally found Lost Alpha. Before, I did tried all 3 canon STALKER games, but in rather messed up order; Clear Sky, then Call of Pripyat, finally Shadow of Chernobyl. And then the first, fresh-start of Lost Alpha experience was born...

2 months into the game, and as Boris stated in his video, the game played fine but was otherwise prone to crashes, "Some things do not change, some things never should". However, I did find a lot of fun playing Lost Alpha than what I've experienced in crashing the whole thing upside-down, although my gameplay did suffered the worst with 3-times start-overs, not because of the whole 'crash' thing, but with inadequate progression = ill-prepared 'safety margin'...

Entering 'Lost Alpha'...
I'm not a new STALKER player, but I've had some fantastic experience with all 3 canon STALKER games. So first, I have something I've got to make it clear: unlike those skillful master players that played Lost Alpha with... well, 'Master' setting, I don't. In all of STALKER games, the highest I've ever played was 'Veteran'... with a simple reason of simply having fun...

"What is the point of playing games, if all you ever get is rage?"

- Shakezilla

Prior entering Lost Alpha [but after experiencing Shadow of Chernobyl], I've already developed the patience and calmness of 'sniping' [courtesy of me being an animator and a 3DCG artist - patience is art], and also a fanboy of anything 'long-barreled', so that's why all I've ever used was none other than a few pistols and sniper rifles. In all 3 canon STALKER games, an 'H&K G36' along with an early-entry 'SVU' [eventually replaced with an 'SVD'] were always be my 'safety margin' in the field of STALKER multi-verse. 'Semi-auto' firing is key, 'Silencer' is a must, and higher-ground is my best friend...

Upon entering Lost Alpha, however, is then everything changed. The game now felt more complex; very-limited weight, rebalanced weapons, up-scaled survival setting, you name it. But somehow, it fits relatively well with my old STALKER style, although the added 'survival' mechanic also somehow complicates my instinct [but later remedied with the use of vehicles]...

In the list of waiting completion from downloading the latest [and apparently final] LA-DC 1.4007, I might as well add something in here. It's pretty much empty, and that's no fun...

My Really-Favourable Pages...

 * Armours
 * Weapons
 * Vehicles
 * Artifacts
 * Technicians
 * Upgrades

My Really-Fun Weapons...
At least, there were no significant changes to nearly all my favourite weapons. Back in SoC, CS, and CoP combo, all I've ever used were the Enfield L85A1, SIG SG-550, or H&amp;K G36 coupled with long-range OTs-03 SVU, Dragunov SVD, or Railgun. However, since Railguns have had significant changes between SoC or CoP with CS [and, it is essentially a 'fantasy' weapon], I couldn't like it more than any patented 'gas-operated' battle and sniper rifles (yeah, I'm a weapon addict, if you're even at least wondering)...

Tier-1

 * CS-2 Body Armour - Advanced Steel Helmet
 * FN Five-SeveN - Z&amp;M LR-300 Mossberg Maverick 88 - OTs-03 SVU
 * [originally favoured 'Sniper' AKM in 1.4005, and has deprecated since early acquisition in 1.4007 was not legitimately possible]

Tier-2

 * EXO-Prototype - Sphere-12 Helmet
 * H&amp;K USP Compact - SIG SG-550 - Dragunov SVD (later replaced with Mk 11 Mod 0)
 * [at this stage, nearly all weapons were silencer-equipped, best for midnight raid]

Tier-3

 * Freedom Keeper Battle-EXO
 * Desert Eagle .44 Magnum - H&amp;K G36 - Barret Model-98B
 * [except for the G36, everything are loud as hell screamin' the front doors]

My Other Interests...

 * DarkScape - my best sniper-fire playground
 * UAZ Jeep - my most trusted partner
 * Silencers - my best friends

Prep for Combat
No soldiers want to charge head-first and then get shot butt-hurt. I've retained some knowledge of 'sniping' from all 3 canon Stalker games, that somehow surprisingly worked well during my time in this latest v1.4007...
 * "First Things First" - always planned ahead and calculate my distance to objective[s], bring enough primary and secondary supplies for my journey:
 * x6 Medkit, x6 Army-Kit, x6 Science-Kit
 * x20 Bandages
 * x10 Antirads
 * Never forget DRUGZ - always carry some of these as a back-up plan.
 * [TIP - twice the amounts upon entering Damned, Pripyat, or CNPP complex]
 * "Welfare Overwatch" - get rested and supplied enough for any designated trips prior any minor or major transition:
 * x3 Onigiri or Yakiniku
 * x3 Juice, x3 Coke or Pepsi
 * [TIP - get sleep for more-or-less 6-7 hours prior entering new area (press ESC to skip dream), and always keep hunger, thirst, inventory, and clock periodically in-check (otherwise known as very often)]

Travel-Mate
Since v1.4005, I've got an unexplainable admiration to UAZ - nah, probably because of my other admiration with an RTS game titled "World War III - Black Gold"...
 * "Appended Cargo" - save up some incentive for an UAZ, with or without buying it from Barkeep:
 * as per v1.4007, Lada Niva appears to be a bit more-resilient to gunfire [but not impact, as always], the ZAZ handles off-road better, Moskvich presents the most fuel-economic available
 * [all 3 cars have trunk with same 160-kgs worth weight capacity]
 * UAZ practically offers versatility, high-resilience to gunfire [second-best after BTR, and slightly-expanded 200-kgs worth weight capacity
 * [however, it is also known for its fuel-hog - 2.5 liter worth of Petrol can effectively from 0 to maximum cap]
 * Rove-Mate" - save up some capacity aside to carry tertiary supplies for my UAZ's "welfare":
 * x3 Fuel jar
 * x3 Toolbox
 * [TIP - most smaller vehicles are much easier to control when viewed with F3 orbiting 3rd-POV, while the largest Kamaz Heavy Truck with F1 1st-POV, and the most expensive BTR with F2 3rd-POV because of its turret]

Only-God-Knows-What
Otherwise known as Artifacts. Along with weapons and survival mechanics, it is generally the "bread and butter" of LA-DC. I don't use much of these during my first Veteran playthrough, except for some "situational conditions" such as the Vehicle Graveyard and the Damned...
 * Throughout the first playthrough I only carry 4 Pupils, 2 Shells, 2 Goldfishes, 2 Rocks, 1 Kolobok, 1 Mama's Beads, and 1 Green Beads - whilst disposing [sell] the rest.
 * Despite of being capable to be equipped all at once, I've NEVER actually tried to - primary reason being they simply take-over belt slots that otherwise could be used for ammo.
 * I did, however, often juggled them in few, various ways to meet conditional demands - my long-term set-up is 3 Pupils, 1 Shell, 1 Goldfish, 1 Rock, and 1 Mama's Beads:
 * Pupil - kinda new in v1.4007, an ultimate Tier-4 radiation remover [Rad -5] with no negative. Sakharov has a recipe for this baby, but sadly... nobody wants to buy it
 * Shell - changed in v1.4007, an ultimate Tier-4 radiation protector [Rad protect +26] with no negative, practically my best friend when wearing low-radiation protection armours, such as Exoskeleton
 * Goldfish - also changed in v1.4007, an ultimate Tier-4 bullet-proofing [Bullet cap +26], but emits severe radiation [Rad +4]
 * Rock - also changed in v1.4007, an ultimate Tier-4 rupture-proofing [Rupture +26], but emits severe radiation [Rad +4]
 * Kolobok - also changed in v1.4007, an uncommon Tier-2 health healing [Health restore +6], but makes the wearer hungrier [Statiety +2] and emits slight radiation [Rad +2]
 * Mama's Beads - also changed in v1.4007, an exceptional Tier-4 wound healer [Wound-healing +8], but makes wearer hungrier [Satiety +4] and emits severe radiation [Rad +4]
 * Green Beads - also changed in v1.4007, an exceptional Tier-4 psychic protector [Telepathy +26], but emits severe radiation [Rad +4]

Sniper-Fire 101


"I am The End, I am here to bring you to your ultimate fate."

- The End

There are lots of play-styles that could be played in LA-DC - some prefer knives to point-blank fights, others rely in range to blistering auto-fire. Me? I simply prefer a laid-back, noiseless, extended-range sniper-fire from heightened elevations - decreased my music volume and maxed my sound volume, from now on... my hearing is my eyes [courtesy of The End, the Father of Sniping]...
 * Consider maximizing Sharpshooter skill sets for better shot grouping.
 * Unless forced to commit early skirmishes, scouting and finding the best position for a counter-strike is the best solution.
 * Firing from a higher elevation is recommended due to many beneficial factors:
 * in most cases, bullet-drop significantly increased, gaining additional stopping-power [even without upgrades]
 * naturally, head-shots are practically easier to take
 * safer firing-point from all melee attackers
 * When snipe-firing in an open-terrain:
 * avoid multiple firing in the same spot - 'snipe-move-snipe' strategy is the best solution
 * prior taking shot[s], use 'low-crouch' position to fully reduce aiming sway
 * always triple-check your surroundings at all times, especially your 'six'
 * avoid taking actions out of necessity nor habit like 'early reload'
 * if possible, taking cover behind a wrecked vehicle will help sensor blocking, whilst allowing you snipe-firing with ease
 * [the best, practical example for this is a wrecked Moskvich at the far-corner of Radar complex entrance, near the corner-wall]
 * avoid using trees as cover
 * When snipe-firing in an urban areas, where enemies are high above ground:
 * refrain snipe-firing head-on - find similar or higher elevation
 * upon taking retreat or detour from attacking snipers, avoid moving forward nor backward against them
 * if there are no feasible covers around, 'low-crouch' combined with 'lean' will help avoid above-ground snipe-fires

My Wish-Lists...

 * Lots of sniper rifles, but no anti-materiel fire?
 * Something like 'KSVK 12.7', or 'AW50', or 'DSR-50 BMG' would be nice
 * [no such thing as discouraged anti-materiel weapon usage as anti-personel, isn't it?]
 * More vehicles:
 * As User:Byte Me has stated earlier, a game that offers content, suddenly cuts content... uh, what?
 * Although I kept myself to using UAZ, I would very much appreciate how a fixed ZIL-130 or RAF 33111 would be in action
 * A feature to flip a rolled-over vehicle with a push-of-a-button
 * More enemies, please:
 * Notably the bandits, Mercenaries, and Monolithians
 * Twice the number would be really fun!
 * Or, at least, every bad guys in every areas have their respawn points
 * How about an optional function that increased 50% the population in Storyline, and another 50% in Freeplay?
 * Slight change to mechanic:
 * 2 primers and a secondary is a bit overkill
 * 2 universal weapon slots instead is much more fun [Lara Croft-style, dual-wield pistol-fire, everyone?]
 * Differentiate the number of belt capacities between armours sounds nice

My Favourite Galleries...
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