S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl Xbox PC Gaming

[David76]

The development of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 has been pretty peculiar, to say the least. Announced over a decade ago only to be scrapped soon thereafter, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 was re-revealed back in 2018 as S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl. The game was looking to finally launch in April of this year, but that will not be the case. It's now been confirmed that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 has been delayed to December 2022.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 will now be released on December 8, 2022. Developer GSC Game World made the official S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 delay announcement in a post to its Twitter account.

 https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1481279837469872129

These additional seven months of development are needed to fulfill our vision and achieve the desired state of the game. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is the biggest project in the history of GSC, and it requires thorough testing and polishing. We are convinced that development should take as long as necessary, especially in the case of such a project.

This decision is not an easy one, but we are doing the best possible to deliver you a game that can live up to the expectations

It's hard to ignore the coincidental timing of this delay announcement. Back in December of 2021, GSC Game World announced that they would be implementing NFTs into S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, news that was immediately met with strong backlash from fans. GSC quickly backtracked on the decision. It's unknown if the new delay has anything to do with the developer's scrapped NFT plans.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 was originally set to launch in April, but has been delayed all the way to December 8, 2022.

 

[David76]

Things to know....

LOW AND MEDIUM PC REQUIREMENTS
Every second of footage that we have seen of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 has made it abundantly clear that the horror shooter is going to be a graphical powerhouse, so it's no surprise that its PC version has some pretty steep requirements, even on the lowest settings. For starters, an SSD and a whopping 160 GB of free storage space are requirements across the board.

Other than that, on low settings (which will run the game at 1080p and 30 FPS), you'll need either an i7-7700K or Ryzen 5 1600X, along with either a 6 GB GeForce GTX 1060 or an 8 GB Radeon RX 580. On medium settings, to play at 1080p and 60 FPS, you'll need either an i7-9700K or a Ryzen 7 3700X, and either a GeForce RTX 2070 Super, an RTX 4060, or a Radeon RX 5700 XT. On both low and medium presets, you'll also require 16 GB of RAM.

HIGH AND EPIC PC REQUIREMENTS
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl will let PC players play the game at the highest possible settings. The High preset, which is the recommended one, will run the game at 1440p and 60 FPS, you will need either an i7-11700 or a Ryzen 7 5800X, along with either a GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, an RTX 4070, or a Radeon RX 6800 XT. Meanwhile, on Epic settings, you'll be able to run the game at 4K and 60+ FPS, and will need either an i7-13700KF or a Ryzen 7 7700X, and either a GeForce RTX 4080 or a Radeon RX 7900 XTX. On both High and Epic settings, you'll also need 32 GB of RAM.

XBOX STORAGE REQUIREMENTS
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is clearly going to be a massive game, not just in terms of the size of its open world (which is an eye-watering 60-plus square kilometers big), but also, clearly, with its graphical and technical ambitions. That's plainly evident in its massive 160 GB storage requirements on PC (among other things), and unsurprisingly, the game has similarly high storage requirements on console. Pre-loading for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 went live not too long ago, at which point it emerged that the game requires 147 GB of free storage space on Xbox Series X/S- so make sure you have ample space free.

DLSS 3 SUPPORT
Let's stick with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2's technical bullet points a little while longer, because clearly, there's a lot to talk about on this front. For instance, Nvidia has officially confirmed that the game's PC version will launch with support for DLSS 3 with Frame Generation and Super Resolution. Thanks to DLSS 3, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 will boast an average of 2.4x performance improvements for GeForce RTX 40 Series cards, with frame rates on RTX 4090, for instance, surpassing 120 FPS. Additionally, PC players will also be able to utilize Nvidia Reflex, allowing for up to 45 percent latency reductions.

MOD SUPPORT ON XBOX
The S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series has always boasted a thriving and active modding community, and even though the series is coming back after a long hiatus, developer GSC Game World has confirmed it doesn't intend to abandon that franchise tradition. Speaking recently with YouTube channel Radio Times Gaming, GSC Game World's technical producer Yevhenii Kulyk confirmed that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 will feature full mod support on Xbox Series X/S as well, with a pretty extensive toolset at that. Kulyk said, "We are basically creating and preparing a big toolkit that will provide the mod makers with all necessary tools to create mods from the smallest ones, to like, big total conversions."

XBOX SERIES S PERFORMANCE
GSC Game World has confirmed a few times that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 will feature 30 FPS and 60 FPS options on Xbox Series X, but what can players expect on Microsoft's less powerful current-gen console? Details are a little murkier on the Xbox Series S front, but GSC Game World's lead producer Slava Lukyanenka did say in an interview with Wccftech back in September that, at the time, the game was running at about 35 FPS on the Xbox Series S, and that the studio was still making improvements and optimizations. Hopefully, that means we can expect stable, consistent frame rates on the lower-end console.

DIFFICULTY OPTIONS
It goes without saying that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is going to be a challenging game – refusing to hold players' hands even in the slightest is what the series has always been known for, after all – but the upcoming shooter will still allow players to customize their experience's difficulty. The game will feature three difficulty options, though you can expect it to be pretty hard even on Normal difficulty, as the developer confirmed in an interview with Windows Central. Then there's a higher difficulty, which "doesn't just make the gameplay more difficult, but also strips back HUD and UI elements", as the studio puts it.

MAIN STORY LENGTH
Clearly, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is going to be a massive game, not just in size and scope, but also in terms of its runtime. Speaking in an interview with Gamersky, GSC Game World revealed that the shooter's main story is going to be about 40 hours long. Meanwhile, previously, the studio has said that players can put well over a hundred hours into the game, depending on how much they engage with all of its optional content, which, of course, also includes multiple endings and repeat playthroughs.

WEAPON BALLISTICS
We've spoken extensively about S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2's gameplay in past features, which is why we've focused on other elements here, but there is one particular detail worth going over that we haven't previously covered. An extensive gameplay deep dive in August revealed that the game will tout realistic ballistic simulations, which means every single shot you fire will be influenced by factors such as distance, wind speed, what weapon you're using, and whether or not your target has armour equipped. As is the case with pretty much everything else in this game, firefights will demand attention.

POST-LAUNCH PLANS
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is going to keep players busy for a while after its release, given its size and scale, but developer GSC Game World still has more content that it intends to deliver. That will include two post-launch expansions that will be covered by a season pass, as confirmed by the studio as part of the aforementioned gameplay deep dive in August. Details on what these expansions will entail, how sizeable each of them will be, or when they will launch haven't yet been announced, however.

 

[Ghost]

Played the first 90 minutes on Series X and loving it so far despite the jankyness and the frame rate isn't the best but it's the kind of gameplay loop I love.

 

[Bob the Ninja]

I'm about 3 hours or so in, only a few main missions in and primarily picking up stashes and exploring at the moment so I can't speak to the story. It's janky, performs worse than it should for the horsepower and while it looks good it's not stellar. It is for all of those things 100% everything I love about Stalker, bugs included as they're just kind've a given. The gunplay is good and brutal at the start, even on medium/normal difficulty you will die relatively frequently which is a refreshing change from most games these days. The atmosphere is where it shines again if you like the Stalker universe it hasn't diverged at all, no goofy vanilla pixar blx here - it's nicely tuned wasteland misery with enough action, horror and interesting puzzles to make you lose yourself in it.

I'd agree with some of the better reviews I've seen in that if you are a Stalker fan and know what to expect with the jank get it now, if not wait for a few patches.

 

[Ginger Ted]

I'm having a great time with it so far. I like the atmosphere a lot.

 

[David76]

Patch 1.0.2 is out that squashes several main story progression bugs

Spoiler: Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl Patch 1.0.2

• Stalker 2 Patch 1.0.2 fixes progression blockers in six main story missions
• Developed by: GSC Game World
• Platforms: Xbox Series X|S and PC

• Fixed an issue when the second wave of Monolith soldiers would not spawn during the "On the Edge" mission, blocking further progression.
• Fixed the issue when Richter could be found dead during the "A Minor Incident" mission, blocking further progression.
• The fixed issue was a player could get stuck after installing the fuse in the Wild Island area if they got the Emitter from Faust's Cell first during the "Just Like the Good Old Days" mission, blocking further progression.
• The fixed issue was when a player could not successfully complete the "All That is Left" mission while exploring the Chemical Plant region.
• Fixed issue when quest enemies could spawn in unreachable areas for a player during the "Down Below" mission, blocking further progression.
• Fixed an issue when Scar could be missing during the "Visions of Truth" mission.
• A few more EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION errors are fixed.

And they've just released Patch 1.0.3. According to the 1.0.3 patch notes, GSC Game World has fixed multiple LowLevelFatalError and ACCESS_VIOLATION_ERROR issues, as well as squashed multiple bugs found in some of the game's main and side missions. An issue causing save files to be lost after hard rebooting your console has also been fixed. Check out the full list of Stalker 2 Patch 1.0.3 fixes below.

Spoiler: Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl Patch 1.0.3

• Patch 1.0.3 is the third Stalker 2 update this week
• Platforms: Xbox Series X|S and PC
• Xbox Game Pass tier: Ultimate and PC

Crashes and memory leaks

• Multiple ACCESS_VIOLATION_ERROR fixes.
• Multiple LowLevelFatalError crash fixes.

Controls adjustments

• According to your feedback, we adjusted the following parameters/values to decrease input lag on keyboard+mouse input:
• Mouse Smoothing is disabled by default.
• Mouse Acceleration is disabled by default.

Additionally, default values of mouse sensitivity were updated to allow a predictable default experience for our players with new values of two parameters mentioned below:

• Camera sensitivity: 25%.
• Aim sensitivity: 15%.

Main and Side missions

• Fixed issue with Monolithians that were able to chase players outside during the In Search of Past Glory mission.
• Fixed an issue where the NPCs Hamster and Ricochet would die after trying to enter a building during the mission On the Edge.
• Fixed issue with Bayun cat which could despawn before player loots a collar from it during In the Name of Science mission.
• Fixed issue with the player potentially locking oneself during Dangerous Liaisons mission.
• Fixed issue with Roosevelt becoming hostile upon noticing a player going stealthily through the Commissary during King of the Hill mission.
• Fixed an issue when Sava despawns in front of the player after the dialogue in the bunker during A Heavy Burden mission.
• Fixed issue with NPC's despawning when player successfully finishes Legends of the Zone mission.

AI

• Fixed an issue with mutant bodies stretching after a shot from an automatic weapon.
• Fixed an issue that caused NPCs to block the doors during the Back to the Slag Heap mission.

Balance

• Fixed issue with Sidorovich not selling certain ammo types.

Saves

• Fixed issues with missing player saves after a hard reboot of the PC/Xbox.

 

[David76]

GSC GameWorld has released a new major title update for STALKER 2, Patch 1.1, and shared its full changelog. Update 1.1 is, believe it or not, 110GB in size. According to the devs, it fixes over 1,800 issues for PC and Xbox gamers.

It's also worth noting that Update 1.1 packs numerous fixes and tweaks for its AI, main quests and side missions. Since those contain spoilers, though, I have not included them below. Those interested can find those fixes here.

Spoiler: STALKER 2 Patch 1.1 Release Notes

[H2]A-Life fixes[/H2]

• Fixed the issue with spawning NPCs behind the player's back.
• Players can now encounter roaming NPCs across the Zone more often.
• Greatly extended the distance at which A-Life NPCs are visible to the player.
• Fixed the aggressive optimization issue that prevented A-Life NPCs to exist in Offline (out of player's visualization range).
  • In Offline mode, A-Life will continue to advance towards their goals over time.
  • Players may now have opportunities to encounter A-Life NPCs they've previously met by following in the same direction as the NPCs.
• Improved A-Life NPCs navigation in Offline using GameGraph (global AI navigation map):
  • Fixed multiple issues where NPCs would fail to follow or find a path to their designated goals.
  • Fixed several issues with NPC being stuck in Online-Offline transition state,
• Enhanced A-Life NPCs' motivation to expand territory and actively attack enemies and mutants.
• Fixed issues that could result in fewer A-life NPCs encountered than intended.
• Further contextual actions improvement to ensure seamless transitions between Offline and Online states for NPCs engaged in these actions.
• The groups exploring the Zone are now more diverse regarding possible factions and group sizes.
• Fixed issue that while roaming over the Zone, Human NPCs didn't satisfy their communication needs and talks.

And some other development related improvements.

[H2]AI improvements[/H2]

• Reduced the number of summons and increased time between spawns of Pseudodog phantoms.
• Fixed an issue when zombies would have their arms and legs twisted while knocked down.
• Fixed an issue when large mutants would hide behind small cover, such as trees.
• Fixed an issue when mutant limbs stretch sometimes when firing automatic weapons.
• Fixed an issue when bloody visual effects played a few times after Rat's death from grenade.
• Fixed an issue where NPCs quickly detected the player when he was crouching.
• Fixed an issue where NPCs would enter doors without opening them.
• Fixed the issue when the controller could take the main story NPCs under control.
• Fixed an issue when Chimera would try to enter a narrow passage that it couldn't enter instead of hiding in ambush.
• Fixed an issue when NPC was teleporting to the restricted areas such as safe zones and hubs.
• Fixed an issue where mutants that were in cover did not change their cover when receiving damage.
• Fixed visual effects of Burer's telepathic ability.
• Minor combat behavior fixes for NPCs shooting from covers.
• Fixed Burer's throwing objects animation.
• Fixed some issues with NPC staying idle and refusing to start mission-related dialogs.
• Fixed an issue when mutants kept attacking zombies in knockdown.
• Fixed an issue when NPCs are stuck in aiming animation.
• Fixed an issue when death animation was replayed for an NPC who was resurrected as a zombie.
• Fixed an issue when a neutral NPC stays neutral after a player hits them by melee attack.
• Fixed an issue with some NPCs' broken arms while shooting.
• Generic improvement of combat experience and NPC pathfinding in big fights with lots of corpses.
• Fixed an issue when Player was able to kill the chimera with the help of carousel anomaly.
• Fixed an issue where NPCs would clip through objects and walls when shooting from covers.
• Minor improvements for peaceful behavior of NPCs.
• Fixed issue where NPCs wouldn't stop combat on emission start.
• Fixed an issue when some mutants couldn't jump off an obstacle.
• Fixed issue when NPCs were stuck after the end of emission.
• Fixed bandits' behaviour after emission ends during the mission Bullseye.
• Fixed an issue where NPCs could teleport if the NPC couldn't build a route.
• Fixed an issue where NPCs could stop talking to each other after loading a save.
• Fixed an issue when mutant dead bodies fly to a long distance from the places where they were killed by the shotgun.

And over 50 more minor "anomalies" were fixed.

[H2]Balance adjustments[/H2]

• Increasing rewards for several missions.
• Fixed issue when artifacts with Physical Protection effect give maximum possible effect.
• Changed "Goldfish" artifact value to 14000 coupons.
• Fixed issue when player is able to have infinite coupons via selling and returning back any stackable consumable.
• Fixed infinite money exploit with splitting a stack of weapons from selling windows.
• Fixed issue when A-Life NPC's can be spawned dead with full clips of ammo.
• Increased Snork's abilities cooldown time by 30%.
• Gauss rifle damage was increased.
• Recalculated rewards for the Harpy's missions.
• Fixed instant player death after getting almost full radiation bar.
• Fixed that Poltergeist and Burer do not deal damage with thrown objects in some cases.
• Removed the POS 8x scope from the assortment of several merchants.
• Tweaked damage from PSY fields.

With over 10 more minor fixes delivered.

[H2]Crash Fixes, Performance, and Optimization[/H2]

• Investigated, and applied further improvements to dead zones and curves for gamepad movement, aiming and camera controls for a more smooth and controllable experience using sticks on controller.
• Performance improvements in largely populated areas of the map.
• Fixed performance drops on NVIDIA RTX 3000 series video cards with enabled FSR frame generation.
• Fixed issue with game freezing on exiting a tunnel during A Light in the End of the Tunnel mission.
• Fixed issue with not working Razer Kishi Ultra controller, which connected via Bluetooth or cable connection.
• Fixed issue where MSI Force Pro Wireless Controller didn't work via Bluetooth or dongle connection.
• Fixed issue when Xbox X/S controller didn't work via Bluetooth connection.
• Controller input improvements.
• Fixed issue with visual artifacts in In-Game UI with DLSS enabled.
• Fixed issue when building disappears in player's camera at Factory location.
• Fixed issue with a building near Yantar popping into Player's view while approaching it.
• Fixed fps drops that could be created by large amounts of water particles.
• Fixed fps drops during interaction with corpses in shallow water.
• Fixed multiple EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION crashes.
• Fixed multiple Fatal Errors, Low Level Fatal Errors, and Assertion Failures.

Overall, over 200 crashes were investigated, and further fixes were implemented.

[H2]Cutscenes[/H2]

• Multiple improvements to facial animations and voiceover for both languages in several cutscenes.
• Fixed an issue with missing frames in several cutscenes.
• Fixed an issue with missing NPCs in several cutscenes.
• Fixed issue when main characters and NPCs can have idle behavior or detached parts of the body/equipment in several cutscenes.
• Fixed an issue with missing subtitles in several cutscenes.
• Fixed an issue with missing Haptic feedback in several cutscenes.
• Fixed an issue with the final cutscene not playing in The Eternal Shining mission.
• Fixed the issue where the cutscene at the end of the Back to the Slag Heap mission did not start.
• Fixed an issue where Player could die during the cutscene during the The Last Step mission.

Overall, over 80 cutscenes issues were addressed.

[H2]Interactable Objects[/H2]

• Fixed physics for ammo boxes and broken lamps.
• Fixed some issues where NPCs could get stuck in a doorway at different locations.
• Fixed issue where ladder descends, sound could loop and Players would clip through the ladder after climbing from it.
• Fixed sound on interacting with the dead body.
• Fixed issue where NPC touching the door during movement or combat caused the door shaking.
• Fixed that interaction hints for loot and pick-up bodies appeared at different distances from the body.
• Fixed the interaction prompt for healing being active when the player did not have medkit.
• Fixed the issue when some consumables could have been non-interactable.

[H2]Open World Direction, Exploration, and Zone Experience[/H2]

• Fixed that Lightning Ball sometimes gets stuck during movement in Opachychi village.
• Fixed that sometimes artifacts did not appear in arch anomalies.
• Improved dead bodies physics.
• Fixed when player's equipment was damaged while player was crouching in Razor.
• Fixed corpses disappearing issue.
• Fixed stretched texture on some trees in the open world.
• Fixed an issue with Toxic Cloud anomaly idle VFX.
• Fixed an issue with rat swarms spawning above the cave in Mist archanomaly.
• Fixed an issue when characters became wet in dry spaces after loading the last save.
• Fixed an issue with sharp weather changes present at 4:30 morning time and 23:59 night time.
• Fixed that Wandering lights anomaly doesn't always spawn its artifact.
• Fixed issue with Bulba arch-anomaly sometimes not appearing.
• Fixed issue with non-lootable corpses spawning at the border between Cordon and Lesser Zone regions.
• Fixed that player was unable to reach the artifact near "Abandoned Hamlet" on Swamps.
• Increase distance for combat barks.
• Fixed an issue where NPCs would get stuck in a doorway during the emission in Zalissya hub.
• Fixed an issue where NPCs could spawn and get stuck on isolated surfaces (cars, boxes etc.).
• Improved bullet penetration visual effects.
• Improved cloth simulation for corpses of NPCs.
• Fixed issue with blood decals.
• Fixed an issue where far distance areas of the environment appeared too bright at night.
• Fixed an issue where Zombies' waking-up animation was restarted every time Player looked away.
• Fixed an issue where sometimes an emission started during a cutscene would not end.
• Fixed an issue where diggers around the Slag Heap did not stop being aggressive to Player after the end of combat.

And some other improvements.

[H2]Player Gear and Player State adjustments[/H2]

• Fixed issue that helmets don't have Psi and Rad protection.
• Fixed issue with armors "SSP-100 Discovery" and "SSP-99 Ecologist" have no PSI protection.
• Fixed issue when players can not install Lead Container upgrade on PSZ-5V Guardian of Freedom Suit.
• Smoke was made less intense at shots from a weapon with silencer.
• Fixed broken arm during magazine attachment to machine gun.
• Fixed bullet visibility in magazine during reload.
• Added splashing sound for bolts hitting the water surface.
• Fixed an issue where empty shells were ejected instead of bullets when unloading after ammo type was changed.
• Improved interruption for animation sequences with weapon reload and consumable items usage.
• Fixed issue with bolt impact sound missing during long distance throws.
• Minor fixes for rifle scopes appearance.
• Fixed issue with items not being consumed when used via quick slot hotkeys.
• Fixed issue where main weapon upgrades were applied to installed underbarrel modules.
• Minor fixes for animations of jammed weapons.
• Fixed an issue when the player was able to equip the detector with the primary weapon simultaneously.
• The cause of death is now correctly displayed on the Death Screen.
• Fixed issue where Player would clip into the wall or other object while performing a melee stealth kill close to it.
• Fixed issue with VFX particles for psy phantoms missing, when shooting close to their models.
• Fixed an issue that could cause losing controls after playing guitar.
• Fixed an issue where player could get unlimited carrying capacity, upgrading unequipped armor.
• Fixed an issue where player could get unlimited stamina after starting dialog while crouched.

And over 50 other issues were addressed.

[H2]Player Guidance, Game Setting and Menus[/H2]

• Updated in-game tutorials to improve first time user experience.
• Fixed an issue where the player would approach a mission location and new weapons would randomly spawn and equip in hand.
• Fixed an issue where the player is unable to swap compared weapons' positions while trading.
• Enabled upgrades for X7 suit.
• Added possibility to revert detachment of pre-installed modules in Upgrade menu.
• Added unique markers for mutants with electro collars.
• Reworked UI of system notifications for received items.
• Updated descriptions of multiple armor upgrades.
• Fixed issues where mission markers on NPC disappeared forever after NPC became hostile towards Player.
• Removed ability to trade with NPCs at Noontide base.
• Reworked a few UI elements in the Upgrades menu of the PDA.
• Reworked design for a few icons in the PDA menu.
• Fixed an issue where the upgrade tree UI changed its direction inconsistently after switching between different weapons.
• Fixed missing animation for ammo type change from gamepad.
• Fixed threat indication appearance after closing the main menu.
• Fixed missing mouse scroll sound in PDA.
• Fixed that output device option resets after restarting the client.
• Fixed issue when after loading a specific save file, a black screen appears.
• Removed redundant pop-up window on resetting settings to default.
• Upscaling quality settings in options were translated.
• Stashes marker color changed to violet.
• Fixed technicians not being able to install certain armor upgrades.
• Fixed that SSP-100 Discovery armor cannot be upgraded by any technician.
• Fixed an issue where consumables could not be applied via quick slots.
• Fixed issue where crosshair doesn't appear after reload if R button was pressed again.
• Fixed scrolling issue inside a note in PDA.
• Fixed an issue where the user would move slowly and was unable to sprint after loading a save file that was created when the user was leaning.
• Fixed issue with "HDR White Point" option.

And almost 100 other "anomalies" were fixed in this section.

[H2]Achievements[/H2]

• Fixed the issue when "The four Winds" achievement cannot be received.
• Fixed issue when "Bingo" achievement cannot be received.
• Fixed issue when players were unable to unlock achievements in the EGS store.

[H2]Saves[/H2]

• Fixed the issue when the player was unable to load existing saves after the title and steam process was terminated unexpectedly.
• Fixed issue with missing save files after PC\Xbox hard reboot.

[H2]Other improvements[/H2]

• Over 15 localization and voiceover updates.
• Over 40 audio adjustments and volume tweaks of various types.
• Over 20 improvements to some character and NPCs visuals appearance.

[H2]And over 500 fixes for[/H2]

• Foliage.
• Texture flickering.
• Bugs in navigation meshes.
• Collisions.
• Errors in object positioning and contextual actions.
• VFX-related fixes.
• Non-destructible objects.
• And more.

 

[Gemma]

I've given up on this. It is frustrating me too much. I'm trying to escape the swamps and I last about 10 seconds on my save before radiation kills me. Rinse and repeat. No fun.

 

[Franco Pinion]

I've given up on this. It is frustrating me too much. I'm trying to escape the swamps and I last about 10 seconds on my save before radiation kills me. Rinse and repeat. No fun.

Drink vodka. Seriously, drink lots of it. 100% radiation protection (from both radioactive areas and artifacts), slight downside is that you're permanently drunk. Well, it's the zone, where vodka treats radiation poisoning. I've even got an achievement for getting a headshot while drunk

 

[Gemma]

Drink vodka. Seriously, drink lots of it. 100% radiation protection (from both radioactive areas and artifacts), slight downside is that you're permanently drunk. Well, it's the zone, where vodka treats radiation poisoning. I've even got an achievement for getting a headshot while drunk

Interesting. I'll need to start collecting vodka! I've always just left it when searching for items.

 

[David76]

GSC GameWorld has released its first roadmap outlining new upcoming features for Q2 2025. A-Life 2.0, which has seen multiple updates, will offer "smarter" human combat, including better use of flanking and cover. They'll also have limited grenades, which should make for realistic fights.

What's more intriguing are the Mutants since they'll react to threats and even eat corpses. While the gameplay purpose is a little out there, it does add to the immersion. After all, how else do Mutants subsist in the Zone? They're also getting their own loot, providing more reasons to hunt them.

Other notable features include the option to skip shader compilation, an increase to the player's stash window, and support for widescreen aspect ratios. More fixes for Anomalies are also on the way, alongside stabilisation and optimisation improvements. You can also look forward to two new weapons, potentially including the long-requested AK-47.

The Beta Mod SDK will also launch with a closed beta scheduled beforehand. Alongside a mod guide, there will be integration with mod.io and Steam Workshop. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.

Spoiler: Roadmap

"Throughout the year, we will be delivering updates and hotfixes dedicated to making the game better in every aspect. With proper planning, double testing (internal and closed beta for big updates) of all features and fixes, and your feedback, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl will become the game we imagined — and you deserve.

To keep things clear and on track, we're breaking the roadmap down into quarterly updates. Every three months, you'll get the full scoop on what's coming. Patch notes will confirm when it's live in-game."