Resolving Stalkers Season 5

[Neo Emolga]

Well, first thing first, I had to start this poll as I’m really struggling to keep Stalkers 5 going and I think the number of remaining people that are still participating is very low at this point (to the point where I don’t think completing the game under the standard method is possible now). I can’t blame the people who left, either, I haven’t been that active and this has been going on since October. I also haven’t gotten much done in the way of narrative posts because I’m busy and I’m kind of burnt out as well.

So here are the options on how we could go forward with this to finally finish this up, because I think it’s time. I’ll admit I pulled the same mistake that was done in Season 2. I made Stalkers 5 too big and too long and by the time I realized what I did wrong, it got to be too late and despite attempts to make things easier, it just hasn't been easier on me anyway.

I don’t want to outright pull the plug and end it (unless everyone agrees to it), so here’s some remaining alternatives that I think might be good to do to give this some decent closure. As nice as it sounds, there’s no “let’s just keep going as is” option because I’ve tried doing that and it’s just wearing me out and not working despite my best intentions and efforts.

OPTION #1 - KEEP GOING, BUT IN A STRIPPED-DOWN VERSION

This is the ultimate “let’s just cut to the chase already” scenario. And this is what it entails.

It will be assumed all components of the Sin Purge Ritual (United Universe, Holy Divinefire Reedmer, and Dawnlight Reckoning Summing) have been completed. Where it currently stands, these things are about 50% done. With these considered done, there’s 0% chance of a bad ending (under normal circumstances, the less of these three parts you had completed, the worse the ending would have been).

All Stalkers revealed. You’ll know exactly who the Stalkers are, as it will be assumed you finished all the routes and got to see who is who. I also have noticed a few of the puzzles have been abandoned and things are stuck at a deadlock because of that (and it hasn't been realized yet). It’s another thing that’s telling me the cord needs to be cut on that.

Searching and Interviewing are no longer options. You won’t need to do this, and you guys have more than enough weaponry, armor, and money to do what would be left. So what exactly would there be left to do? The simple answer is whoever is left in the game will fight off the remaining Stalkers and once the last Stalker is eliminated, you win. Basically, whoever is still left in the game will arm themselves to the teeth, you guys pick which Stalker you all want to fight, and the battle will play out so there’s at least some game and storyline element feeling to it along with some closure of having earned the ending.

The Phylacteries will be taken out. Instead, you’ll have to fight every Stalker, though you guys will probably not have too much trouble with it as long as whoever is remaining gears up.

OPTION #2 – FAST FORWARD TO THE ENDING

Personally, this is probably the option I’d choose.

Simply put, I just write the ending as if all the remaining components were completed successfully and you see what I had in mind for the ultimate ending. This also means Stalkers RPG is done for good and we close the book on it.

OPTION #3 – JUST END

Kind of like a Monopoly game that’s gone on until 2am, sometimes it’s just best to end it and get on with life. In terms of the overall storyline, this ends the game as if it didn’t happen.

The only difference between this and Option #2 is the slim possibility I may decide to try and “restart” Season 5 but with a MUCH smaller package. Certain things will need to be removed. Combat, while nice, just takes too long and takes too much energy to resolve. Map would be much smaller, Stalker routes would be much smaller, I might consider taking out weapons and just have armor and jewelry for dealing with traps and such. But again, this all is under a big “IF” umbrella that’s no guarantee, because I’m badly sacked for time and energy.

---

So with all that said, please vote on what option you’d like to go with. I’m leaving this open until March 5th, but if there’s a tie or I don’t get more than five votes, I’m going to default to Option #2.

@EmeraldSky @Noblejanobii @Scytherwolf @SlickSlack @Lychee @AD @Suicune’s Fire @Shruikan @Chibi Altaria @Bulbasaur @James-Typhlosion @TylerNinetales