STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl's developer, GSC Game World, has released a significant update with Patch 1.2, addressing a comprehensive list of 1,700 fixes and enhancements. This update significantly improves the A-Life 2.0 system, which is a cornerstone of the game's AI behavior and emergent gameplay. GSC Game World describes this patch as "massive," affecting every aspect of the game including balance, locations, quests, blockers, crashes, and performance.
Since its launch in November, STALKER 2 has received positive feedback on Steam and achieved over 1 million sales, marking a significant achievement for the Ukrainian studio amidst challenging circumstances following Russia's invasion in 2022. However, the game faced criticism due to various bugs, with A-Life 2.0 being a primary concern. Originally designed to simulate a more dynamic and responsive game world, A-Life 2.0 fell short of expectations upon release, prompting GSC to commit to resolving these issues.
Patch 1.1 laid the groundwork for these improvements, and Patch 1.2 continues this effort with detailed enhancements. Below are the patch notes for STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl update 1.2:
AI
- Fixed a bug with A-Life NPCs unable to properly approach corpses. Now they can pick up the best loot and weapons from them, and switch to more powerful weapons.
- Improved corpse looting behavior for NPCs.
- Fixed an issue where NPCs could loot body armor and helmets from corpses.
- Fixed an issue where NPCs could not loot the corpses of NPCs from another faction.
- NPC shooting accuracy reconfigured; bullet dispersion accuracy adjusted for all distances and all weapons.
- Added randomization of accurate shots in bullet sprays.
- Reduced wall penetration from certain NPC’s weapon bullets.
- Improved Stealth; fixed an issue where after a melee attack, the NPC could end up behind the player.
- Adjusted the time of identification of the player character by NPCs.
- Fixed an issue where NPCs at Malachite location could notice players at a long distance and through objects.
- Improved mutant behavior in combat; fixed various issues including AI getting stuck, mutants not attacking, and incorrect positioning.
- Added roar ability for Controller.
- Fixed issues with A-life NPCs healing, spawning corpses, accessing quest locations, and spawning endlessly near Rookie Village.
- Resolved numerous issues with NPC animations and behavior, including stuck guards, rats spawning incorrectly, and NPC reactions to player actions.
Balance
- Reduced the anti-radiation effect of Weird Water arch-artifact.
- Fixed an issue where a grenade could damage Burer when its shield was active.
- Adjusted the number of shots needed to kill Pseudodog summon.
- Increased frequency of Jump Attack for Blind Dog mutant.
- Rebalanced pistols and silencer attachments.
- Decreased spawn rate for NPCs in exoskeletons and reconfigured armor distribution.
- Increased radiation damage based on accumulated rad-points.
- Reduced the chance of spawning NPCs with high tier weaponry in early stages.
- Added ability to trade with additional NPCs at Hubs.
- Made economy tweaks for *A Job for the Barkeep* repeatable missions on Veteran difficulty.
- Implemented several minor balance tweaks.
Optimization and Crashes
- Fixed FPS drops during boss fight with Faust.
- Resolved performance drop issues on closing PDA or Pause Menu.
- Improved performance by disabling navigation mesh rebuild properties for multiple objects.
- Fixed memory leaks related to item manipulation and over 100 EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION crashes.
- Addressed input lag after enabling VSync with enabled FidelityFX Frame Interpolation.
- Added Framerate lock during the pause menu, main menu, and loading screens.
- Included other optimization tweaks.
Under the Hood
- Player's flashlight now casts shadows on objects.
- Fixed issues with NPC relationships, ammo names, dialogue freezing, and quest logic.
- Improved transitions from cutscenes to gameplay and fixed various dialogue and mission-related bugs.
- Added custom Aim Assist logic for invisible targets for all supported controllers.
- Fixed broken NPC animations and teleportation issues.
- Polished PDA models and implemented over 100 other improvements in Optimization & Crashes and Under the Hood sections.
Story
Main Story Line
- Fixed numerous issues with NPC spawning, mission progression, and dialogue loops across various missions.
- Addressed problems with quest items despawning, NPCs becoming hostile, and mission objectives not completing properly.
- Improved AI behavior and interactions during key story missions.
- Resolved over 300+ quest issues within the Main Story.
Side Missions and Encounters
- Fixed issues with mission availability, NPC behavior, and encounter mechanics.
- Added new notes in the open world and hubs, and improved level design for various encounters.
- Resolved over 130+ issues related to side missions and encounters.
The Zone
Interactable Objects and Zone Experience
- Improved level design for interactive doors and level art for destructible medical boxes.
- Fixed issues with artifact spawning, anomaly damage, and visual effects.
- Addressed over 30+ additional issues related to interactable objects and Zone experience.
Player Gear and Player State
- Fixed issues with character animations, weapon handling, and anomaly interactions.
- Added new animations and fixed various bugs related to player gear and state.
- Resolved over 50+ bugs related to player gear and state.
Player Guidance and Game Settings
- Improved map tooltips, gamepad controls, and HUD elements.
- Fixed issues with upgrade visibility, ammo counters, and mission tracking.
- Integrated Razer Chroma Illumination and haptic effects for supported devices.
- Added new key binding options and improved UX in the upgrade menu.
- Resolved over 120+ fixes related to player guidance and game settings.
Regions and Locations
- Fixed multiple issues where players could get stuck or soft locked in various locations.
- Added teleport anomalies and removed invalid artifact spawners.
- Improved visuals, weather systems, and terrain across multiple locations and regions.
- Implemented over 450+ improvements in this section.
Audio, Cutscenes, and VO
Cutscenes
- Fixed issues with cutscene interactions, missing models, and haptic feedback.
- Addressed various other cutscene-related problems.
Voiceover and Localization
- Improved facial animations for NPCs and fixed voiceover desync and localization issues.
- Addressed over 25+ other issues related to voiceover and localization.
Sound and Music
- Reworked sound effects for anomalies and weapon selector menu.
- Fixed issues with mutant sounds, combat music, and ambient sounds.
- Added new music themes and improved audio environments in multiple locations.
- Included various minor improvements and sound fixes.
