Oso

The  is a major location appearing in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Lost Alpha standalone mod.

"You made it after all stalker. You turned out to be much stronger than we initially thought. Well, the time for us to talk has come. Head towards the signal. We'll be waiting for you."

- Follow the signal

Overview

 * v1.30013 - 1.3003:


 * The  is first observed during the Swamps cutscene at Doc's house where the Sin Spy is briefed by the Leader.
 * The player may not normally interact with any element of the level, but any cutscene may be paused and screenshots taken at any time. These screenshots will be appended with the "(la13u_oso)" identifier.
 * No gamefile data has been found referring to the level with any other name than "Oso".
 * See the Gallery 2 entry for the Oso location within the Lost Alpha worldmap.
 * v1.4002:


 * Game development was predicated upon removing the whole "Illuminati" thread from the game.
 * Both visits to the Oso are possible but sometimes the second visit during Follow the signal can dump the player in the Swamps near the level changer to Outskirts.
 * v1.4005:


 * Neither visit is possibe.
 * The Swamps cutscene with Doc still takes place as in all previous versions, but no level change occurs.
 * Approaching the cellar door on Generators 2 / "Unknown Area" to satisfy the Follow the signal fork, crashes the game.
 * v1.4007:


 * The Swamps cutscene plays out as in v1.4005.
 * The Follow the signal fork, briefly takes the player to the Oso anteroom shortly after which point they are awarded 10 skill points and whisked away to Cordon and Freeplay.

Swamps visit

 * As the player approaches the rendezvous with Doc, control is taken away from the player while the Swamps cutscene setpiece plays out.
 * The player is present as an observer when the cutscene resumes in the Oso where the Sin Spy is briefed. The scene is dark and poorly lit for the cutscene (see video below), however if subverted, the location is quite well-lit.
 * Since the scene ends with the player's mini-map returning, the scene may be subverted for investigative purposes. Unfortunately, this is plot breaking.

Ending visit

 * A second visitation via cutscene is possible for the player if the Follow the signal storyline task is triggered and completed.
 * The entities in boxes and their Leader are not present this time and are replaced with the delusional and compartmentalized Commander and the Sin Spy thug that has been following the player for most of the game.
 * This second 'visit' will end the game and lead to Freeplay.
 * The Talk to ghost at the cemetery task may also still be active, however that task is not completable if the task leading 'here' is taken beforehand and will leave the other task on the player's PDA during Freeplay.
 * Some earlier aspects of the cutscenes during the game, the weird happenings after the Kill the sniper task become less mysterious.

Subversion

 * v1.30013 - 1.3003:


 * Although the scene prevents the player from interaction with the characters and ordinarily progresses to Freeplay; subversion is possible with a save / reload right at the end of the sequence just as the player interface (mini-map and status bars) reappear.
 * The reload plays the last part of the cutscene after the removals team have departed and concentrates upon the Sin Spy draining the player's "life-force".
 * Several characters remain behind in a dormant and non-confrontational stance and rudimentary interaction is possible via PDA.
 * Such subversion terminates the storyline and no progression to Freeplay is possible as a result; however, the opportunity to finally get to grips with the Sin Spy is available.
 * The player's deceased actor is also present but erroneously carries the unremarkable name of "Jascha Rode" and depending on reload variation may or may not be dressed in the player's armour, with the defaulting suit being a Leather jacket.
 * Four scientists are in the general area, but only two are in the Oso with the player. All are named Mendeleev.


 * v1.4007:


 * Since the location is effectively cut from the game and only potentially visited at the end of the game as described in the Overview, any attempts to explore the level are counterproductive with unusual results.
 * If console commands are used to jump to the level (see Cheating Stalker's Guide For Jumping The Levels, with a value of "jump_to_level la13u_oso"); then the player is transported to the Oso antechamber corridor.
 * A short walk triggers the reconfigured "Alternate Ending", further transporting the player to Cordon and Freeplay, with the award of ten 'skill points'. Obviously this is a loophole cheat.

Trivia

 * Completes the Storyline and transitions the player to Freeplay.
 * If subverted, the two scientists each carry a SSP-99 Ecologist suit and one has an unusual "detector".
 * The commander, Vadja Berman is lootable for his .44 SPL Revolver and any of the relevant corpses may yield coordinates to a stash but this is of academic interest only since subversion breaks the storyline progression.