GSC Game World, the minds behind *STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl*, have unleashed a massive patch, version 1.2, addressing a whopping 1,700 fixes and improvements. This update tackles nearly every facet of the game, from balancing and location tweaks to quest fixes, crash resolution, performance boosts, and a significant overhaul of the much-anticipated A-Life 2.0 system.
Launched in November to considerable acclaim and boasting over 1 million sales, *STALKER 2* has achieved remarkable success, especially given the challenging circumstances surrounding its development. However, the game's launch wasn't without its share of well-documented bugs, particularly concerning A-Life 2.0—a system designed to bring the Zone to life with dynamic, emergent AI behavior. While initially touted as a game-changer, A-Life 2.0 fell short of expectations at launch. GSC Game World acknowledged the issues, detailing the problems in an interview with IGN and promising a fix. Patch 1.1 was the first step; patch 1.2 represents a substantial leap forward.
The comprehensive patch notes are detailed below:
STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl Update 1.2 Patch Notes
AI
This section addresses numerous AI-related issues, including improved corpse looting behavior for NPCs, fixing issues with NPC shooting accuracy, stealth mechanics, mutant behavior in combat, and resolving various problems with specific mutant abilities and interactions. Over 70 individual AI bugs have been squashed.
Balance
Balance adjustments include reducing the anti-radiation effect of the Weird Water arch-artifact, tweaking NPC damage output, rebalancing pistols and silencers, adjusting NPC armor and weaponry spawn rates, and making economic tweaks to repeatable missions. Several other minor balance changes have also been implemented.
Optimization and Crashes
This section focuses on performance improvements and crash fixes. Specific fixes include addressing FPS drops during boss fights, improving performance in menus, resolving memory leaks, and fixing over 100 EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION crashes and other errors. Further optimizations and stability improvements are included.
Under the Hood
Behind-the-scenes improvements include adding dynamic shadows cast by the player's flashlight, fixing issues with NPC relationships, renaming ammo types, improving cutscene transitions, and resolving various issues with quest logic, dialogue, and player teleportation. Over 100 additional improvements are included in this section.
Story
Main Story Line
This section details over 300 fixes to the main storyline, addressing issues with NPC spawning, quest progression, dialogue, and interactions. Numerous bugs affecting specific missions have been resolved, improving the overall narrative experience.
Side Missions and Encounters
Over 130 issues have been addressed in side missions and encounters, including fixes for quest progression, NPC behavior, rewards, and overall encounter design. Several inconsistencies and bugs affecting the open world have also been resolved.
The Zone
Interactable Objects and Zone Experience
This section includes level design improvements, fixes for interactable objects, artifact behavior, anomaly interactions, and visual polish for various locations. Over 30 issues have been addressed.
Player Gear and Player State
Fixes in this section address issues with character animations, weapon handling, anomaly interactions, suit upgrades, and various other player-related bugs. Over 50 bugs have been fixed.
Player Guidance and Game Settings
Improvements to player guidance and game settings include fixes for map tooltips, HUD elements, gamepad controls, keybindings, and UI elements. Over 120 fixes and improvements are included.
Regions and Locations
This section details over 450 improvements and fixes to various regions and locations, addressing issues with level design, terrain, lighting, object collisions, and audio. Numerous visual and technical improvements have been made to enhance the overall game world.
Audio, Cutscenes, and VO
Cutscenes
Fixes for cutscenes include addressing issues with model visibility, haptic feedback, and animation inconsistencies.
Voiceover and Localization
This section focuses on improving facial animations, fixing voiceover desync issues, and addressing localization problems in multiple languages.
Sound and Music
Audio improvements include reworked sound effects for anomalies, weapons, and environments, as well as fixes for various audio bugs and inconsistencies.
