S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl developer GSC Game World has decided to play twenty questions and answer just some of the fan feedback they've been receiving on the sequel of their well-loved FPS series. The Community Q&A session tackled the development of its upcoming S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky as well as other interesting issues.

Read more about what the developers had to say in the full article after the jump!

GSC Game World, the studio behind S.TA.L.K.E.R., has formally announced that it is now a certified developer for the Xbox 360. It hasn't announced any games in the works as of yet but it was mentioned that the studio plans to come out with multiplatform games.

Here's hoping they'll port S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. Hopefully we'll see an Xbox 360 version of its prequel, Clear Sky.

For those of you who've played the PC exclusive S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, you might be pleased to know that the crew at GSC Game World is considering a console version release for the game after its initial success.

Knowing the FPS nature, as well as the dark, post apocalyptic theme, the game would definitely look pretty sleek if it were transferred onto a next-gen console. GSC project manager Anton Bolshakov stated that they wanted to expand their market with their plans to move to the console. He had this to say on the matter:

PC game development is very traditional for ex-USSR and over 90 percent of gamers here play on PCs. However, we are pretty aware of the tendencies in the markets internationally and have been considering console development for a while.

 
While they have no definite plans just yet, they have been considering this option for some time already. Whether or not this will push through for the recent game or its sequel is still unknown, it's also unsure what platform exactly we'll be seeing their debut on.

Until they have any more news on the matter though, we'll just have to hang tight and see what GSC has under its sleeves regarding the matter.

It appears that Ubisoft has taken the Far Cry franchise as its own and threw away certain aspects of the original, leaving a small share of past mechanics for previously announced Far Cry 2. As reported, players won't be stepping into the shoes of Jack Carver anymore, nor will there be any Trigens to deal with in any part of the story.

 

The savannas of Africa have been confirmed as replacements to the predecessor's Madagascar setting, offering more space, line of sight, driving room and sniping opportunities than cover in dense vegetation. Ubisoft, however, assured PC gamers that Far Cry 2 will stay exotically comparable to the original, but less on the story and more on gameplay mechanics.

The player will partake in a plot to eliminate an arms dealer who has been selling to both sides of a conflict in a weakened state in Africa. Instead of mutated abominations to gun down, the player has soldiers and animals to keep a keen eye out for; apparently, they've become the game's primary adversaries.

And instead of the tongue-in-cheek humor we've all come to love, Ubisoft is preparing a "simple drama management system" that will populate two large and fully open worlds with key characters. That same system will then assure that the bits of dialogue and the plot converge toward "major climactic events" in the game, propelling the player forward through the plot.

With regard to exoticism, Far Cry 2 will instead feature an improved artificial intelligence that is more behavioristic, allowing NPCs in the game, including enemies, to dynamically decide upon and undergo tasks in a day-to-day basis. "Our AI is needs-driven, and the main needs are Rest, Duty and Social," said game producer Louis-Pierre Pharand.

The sequel will feature SmartTerrain Points, or features in the terrain that NPCs in the game will interact with, in order to satisfy those needs. But while the game would tout wildlife congregating at food and water sources, Ubisoft's description of soldiers retreating to base camps during the night to rest clued avid gamers in to a similar AI once dominated by GSC Game World's S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl - the needs-related A-Life system.

More on the game will probably be revealed at the October issue of PC Gamer, if not leaked in detail already by various PC fans all over the world.

One thing you really have to admire about GSC Game World is its ability to make an FPS creepy by virtue of level design. In S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, the developers managed to bring out the feeling of utter helplessness and desolation simply by placing the perfect atmospheric placements, like dessicated bodies and dreary surroundings.

In S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky, we're certain to get even more of that feeling, as they've brought out their opening salvo for the FPS-loving masses: a trailer showing off multiplayer action inside the ruins of an old hospital. From discarded wheelchairs to exploding helicopters, this trailer certainly shows us that even the most depressingly creepy places can be full of life... and death, as a couple of headshots also managed to show.

In any case, we're eagerly awaiting additional word on this title. Hopefully GSC will come up with more info on this intriguing prequel to satisfy the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. in each of us.

There's a bit of trouble brewing for THQ's S.T.A.L.K.E.R as German fan site Oblivion-Lost went on strike to protest against issues regarding patches that developer GSC Game World has released to correct bugs in the initial release.

Apparently, most of the bugs in the game were fixed by the patch, but the fix itself became a problem of sorts as most users found themselves unable to load pre-patch game data after applying the GSC fix.

Frustrated, the site decided to show THQ that it means business. CVG was able to translate the text in Oblivion-Lost and it reads: "We are on strike - for so long until something changes and THQ US feel like releasing already completed patches and don't wait for weeks or even months, until the patch is available in every single localisation."

THQ's representatives could not give an official response to the subject. We'll keep you informed on what happens next in this unfolding drama.

Good news for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. fans! GSC Game World has just announced a prequel to the PC first-person shooter.

The prequel, dubbed S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky, is set a year before the events of the original video game. A group of stalkers reach the heart of the Zone, which happen to be the source of the disaster, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Unfortunately, they unleash a chain of events that lead to another disaster which leads to a ginormous explosion of anomalous energy found in the first game. The domino effect brings about changes in the Zone, with some known levels disappearing and others popping out of nowhere. Stalkers within the Zone died or got stuck in some levels.

The Zone becomes an unstable area altogether and the changes in the terrain brings about a war between the Factions. The Factions War breaks out, with the different groups vying among themselves for new territories, artifacts, and power. This time, players get to fill in the shoes of a mercenary caught in the Factions War. As the mercenary, players will get to meet the main character of Shadows of Chernobyl, Strelok, presumably before he got amnesia.

More info about S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky and the first screenshots after the jump!

 

Earlier last month, GSC Game World announced that it was going to unveil several new titles based on the phenomenally dark world of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. at the ESA's E3 Media & Business Summit this July. Beyond all doubt, it was a given that GSC Game World were targeting these new titles for the PC, where the franchise first debuted.

But a report by CVG identified GSC Game World's Anton Bolshakov, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.'s project lead, revealing a hint of "next iterations," despite very little clues as to whether the successors will come to any other platform except the PC. CVG believes it's definitely not impossible, even though GSC Game World's portfolio of games brands itself as a PC developer.

We can't really tell for sure, but if GSC Game World wants to develop for consoles, there's nothing much to stop them, except another huge budget to save up for. But we guess with creative-hub publisher THQ at the reins, GSC Game World might just give it a try.

Develop has recently announced the list of finalists nominated to receive awards offered by the Develop Industry Excellence Awards. Set for the region of UK and Europe, the awards will be held during the Develop Conference & Expo to be held this year at Brighton. Again.

 

Top of the nominees list is Realtime Worlds (Crackdown), bagging a whopping seven nominations. Evolution Studios (MotorStorm), Rare (Viva Piñata), SCEE Studio Liverpool (Formula One Championship Edition), and independent developer and publisher Introversion (DEFCON) get three nominations a-piece. Other nominees include GSC Game World (S.T.A.L.K.E.R.) from Russia, EA DICE (Battlefield series) and Avalanche from Sweden, Opera from Norway, and Fishlabs from Germany.

Some of the big names nominated for the 2007 awards night include Eidos Hungary, Ubisoft France development studios, Eden Studios, and Kynogon. The fate of these nominees will be decided by a panel of almost 100 industry experts who choose only excellence over anything else. Stuart Dinsey, publisher of Develop magazine, stated:

In a period which has seen the launch of two home consoles, the continued improvement of Xbox 360 and PC software, and the mobile games market emerge as a genuine creative and commercial alternative to the more traditional games platforms, only the most excellent titles have any chance of standing out from the crowd.

Two other special awards, Development Legend and overall Grand Prix, will be given away in the awards night on July 25 to be honored to individuals, companies, or titles deserving in the eyes of the magazine's editorial staff.

 

In an official press release, GSC Game World announced that there were new titles slated up for the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. franchise, which was a big hit with PC gamers, despite certain controversial mishaps. There has been no mention of the target platforms for these titles, although the GSC Game World portfolio points us in PC direction.

"We are very happy of the players' positive reaction to S.T.A.L.K.E.R. all over the world," said Sergiy Grygorovych, CEO of GSC Game World. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, a creepy, RPG-like shooter, recently released worldwide, following a publishing backing by none other than "creativity hub" THQ.

GSC will be revealing the concepts and ideas, as well as the titles, of the games at this year's E3 Media & Business Summit 2007 on July 11 to 13. Fans can be assured that if they head on over to Santa Monica at that time, they will find GSC Game World's presentation at the Barker Hangar, booth #426.