STALKER Call of Pripyat Guide

STALKER Call of Pripyat is a sequel to STALKER Shadow of Chernobyl and expands on the adventure into the Zone. Not only are the graphics more detailed, but there are larger maps, more mutants, more quests and more accessories. If you were thrilled with the first STALKER, you will like Call of Pripyat even more!

Prepare to go further into the Zone and find some interesting artifacts while surviving against the elements and mutants.

Follow my step-by-step guide on installing, configuring and optimizing STALKER Call of Pripyat in Linux with PlayOnLinux.

Note: This guide applies to the retail version of STALKER Call of Pripyat. Other versions may require additional steps.

Tips & Specs

To learn more about PlayOnLinux and Wine configuration, see the online manual: PlayOnLinux Explained

Mint 14 32-bit
PlayOnLinux: 4.2.1
Wine: 1.7.1

Installing Wine

Click Tools
Select "Manage Wine Versions"

Look for the Wine Version: 1.7.1
Note: Try using stable Wine 1.8 and 1.8-staging

Select it
Click the arrow pointing to the right

Click Next

PlayOnLinux will automatically download it and save it in this directory:
/home/username/.PlayOnLinux/wine/linux-x86

Note: username is where you put your login name

Its a good idea to backup this directory to another computer because you won't have to keep downloading wine versions when you need them.

Extracting

Note: PlayOnLinux may also install the compatible version of Gecko also.

Installed

Wine 1.7.1 is installed and you can close this window

Setup PlayOnLinux

Launch PlayOnLinux
Click Install

Click "Install a non-listed program"

Click Next

Select "Install a program in a new virtual drive"
Click Next

Name your virtual drive: stalkercop
No spaces
Click Next

Select all three options:

• Use another version of wine
• Configure Wine
• Install some libraries

Click Next

Select Wine 1.7.1
Click Next

Note: If you are running a 64-bit system, PlayOnLinux will prompt if you want to use a 64-bit or 32-bit virtual drive.
Always select 32-bit virtual drive.

Wine Configuration

Applications Tab
Windows version: Windows 7
Click Apply

Graphics Tab
Check "Automatically capture the mouse in full-screen windows"
Check "Emulate a virtual desktop"
Desktop size: 1024x768
Click OK

Install Windows Packagaes (libraries)

Select these libraries:

• POL_Install_corefonts
• POL_Install_d3d compiler
• POL_Install_d3dx9
• POL_Install_d3dx10
• POL_Install_d3dx11
• POL_Install_registered fonts
• POL_Install_tahoma
• POL_Install_vcrun2008
• POL_Install_xact 2009
• POL_Install_xaudio
• POL_Install_xinput

Note: Each libraries will automatically download and install

Click Next

Installing STALKER Call of Pripyat

DVD version - select "CD-ROM"
Download or Steam version - select "Select another file"

Click Next

Click Next

Click Next

Uncheck:

• Install GameSpy Comrade
• Install Adobe Acrobat Read

Click Next

Click Ok

Click Next

Check "I accept the agreement"
Click Next

Uncheck "Allow to send this information..."
Click Next

Click Install

Click Next

Enter Key from insert
Click Next

Uncheck "Launch STALKER"
Click Finish

PlayOnLInux Shortcut

Select "Stalker-COP.exe"
Click Next

Name your shortcut: STALKER COP
Click Next

Select "I don't want to make another shortcut"
Click Next

PlayOnLinux Configure

Back to PlayOnLinux
Click Configure

Display Tab
Direct Draw Renderer: opengl
Video memory size: amount of memory on your video card
Offscreen rendering mode: fbo

Wine Tab
Click Configure Wine

Libraries Tab
Select *d3dx11_42
Click Edit
Click Disable
Click OK

Select *d3dx11_43
Click Edit
Click Disable
Click Ok

Click OK

Wine Tab
Click Windows reboot

Launch STALKER COP

Select STALKER COP
Click Run

Note: STALKER will run in a virtual desktop at 1024x768
We will change the resolution in-game

Click Options

Change resolution to increase the size of the screen.
My GeForce 550 Ti could handle 1680x1050

Higher resolution = more detailed graphics lower frame rates
Lower resolution = less detailed graphics higher frame rates

Experiment until you get smooth gameplay that your video card can handle.
Render Type can make a huge impact on frame rates and also display amazing in-game lighting and shadows.
Click Apply

Click Advanced
The Advanced options can also increase in-game detail but also hurt your frame rates.
Experiement with lower settings and then increase slowly.

Click Apply

Conclusion:
After increasing the lighting settings and playing with the advanced settings I ended up with a beautiful world of textures, skies and special effects. My GeForce 550 Ti handled everything perfectly. I'm actually curious what I'm missing not using DirectX 11?
The game played perfectly and I was able to do a few test quests and checkout several locations on the first map. All the controls and settings worked just fine too.

Screenshots:

 

High Res Screenshots:

 

This game looks really interesting !

I never played the first stalker. I just readed the novel, but I believe it's not the same history.

 

The first one Shadow of Chernobyl is amazing! Maps aren't quite as big, but the graphics and action are extremely satisfying. Some of the mutants are pretty darn cool too.

 

The best one is the last in the series. But the first two are really fun to play as the atmosphere in the game is unmatched by other games.

 

Do you mean "Clear Sky"?
Isn't that one a prequel?

 

The PlayOnLinux script didn't work for me but this guide did the trick! Thanks a lot booman, it works great using wine 1.8!

 

Thank you for letting us know...
This is why I've been dedicated to manual installations in PlayOnLinux. I can't count how many times a script didn't work.... so I figured out another way to make games run with a bit trial-n-error and some stubborness.