Stalker 2 developer GSC Recreation World has launched the sport’s first main replace, patch 1.1.
The replace makes over 1,800 fixes and changes, GSC stated, together with the primary iteration of A-Life fixes.
Stalker 2 launched late final month to a constructive reception on Steam and a million gross sales. It’s a success for the Ukrainian studio, a miracle, actually, contemplating the harrowing circumstances that adopted Russian’s full-scale invasion of the nation in 2022. However Stalker 2 suffers from well-documented bugs; chief amongst them A-Life 2.0.
A-Life was a key characteristic of the primary Stalker recreation that ruled AI habits throughout the sport world. At a excessive degree, it’s a system for simulating life within the Zone that works its magic seemingly independently of the participant’s actions or whereabouts. It helps to create convincing AI and the emergent gameplay Stalker is known for.
GSC had stated A-Life 2.0 would make the Zone really feel alive as by no means earlier than, that it could gasoline emergent gameplay on a scale beforehand thought inconceivable. Certainly for some followers, A-Life 2.0 was Stalker 2’s largest promoting level. However when Stalker 2 really got here out gamers found that A-Life 2.0 didn’t work correctly, with some questioning whether or not it was even within the recreation in any respect.
In an interview with IGN, GSC defined what went improper with Stalker 2’s A-Life 2.0, and vowed to repair the system. Patch 1.1, then, is step one on that highway.
A-Life fixes added with patch 1.1 embody the problem with spawning NPCs behind the participant’s again. Gamers can now encounter roaming NPCs throughout the Zone extra typically, and the space at which A-Life NPCs are seen to the participant is tremendously prolonged.
Elsewhere, there’s a lengthy checklist of AI enhancements, stability modifications, and hundreds of different fixes Stalker 2 followers will profit from. This patch fixes mainline missions, story development and facet missions, crashes, and plenty of, many bugs. It additionally improves efficiency and optimization. The patch notes, posted to Steam, are nicely value trying out if you happen to’re taking part in.
GSC warned that patch 1.1 is a huge obtain, so gamers ought to brace themselves for that. “We perceive that the dimensions of the patch is large and the method of downloading will take a while,” the developer stated. “We want to thanks on your understanding, and we’ll work on this side as nicely.”
Wesley is the UK Information Editor for IGN. Discover him on Twitter at @wyp100. You may attain Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.