Just over a week after the release of Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl, developer GSC game World is back with the post-apocalyptic shooter’s first patch, promising over 650 fixes for Xbox and PC.
Stalker 2 received solid critical reception last week, but it was a rare review that didn’t acknowledge its significant technical issues. “There are plenty of cases where those bugs still affect missions, get you killed, or leave you stumped,” we noted in our three-star review, “and it all hurts the game‘s natural playability quite a bit, even if it’s often fun.” .
However, GSC game World quickly acknowledged the concerns and promised that a first batch of fixes was on the way. And that initial patch is here, bringing “over 650 fixes, including quest crashers, memory leaks, crashes, and minor bugs.”
There are AI improvements, “approximately 100” bug fixes, audio and sound adjustments, balance changes, as well as a host of tweaks aimed at improving everything from the combat and open-world experience to the character models and gameplay. scenes. The GSC release notes are quite extensive, but you’ll find the full breakdown below.
Concluding its announcement for patch 1.0.1, the studio thanked fans for their “feedback, passion, and support,” adding that “work on the game and future patches” continues. He also noted that he is already addressing A-Life’s bugs, and that those fixes will come at a later date.
Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl, of course, got off to an impressive start despite its technical issues. Earlier this week, GSC game World revealed that the shooter has already sold 1 million copies, and that figure doesn’t include all the players exploring The Zone through game Pass.
And finally, as promised, the full patch 1.0.1 release notes:
AI fixes:
- Fixed NPC groups getting stuck and dying near the Shelter during the Active Broadcast.
- Fixed issue where Burer could drop any quest item from the player’s hands.
- Added missing sound effects for Burer’s ‘Telekinesis’ ability.
- Fixed issues with NPCs occasionally getting stuck and not reaching the quest location. This could have caused the inability to interact with the NPC or advance to the next stage of the quest due to the quest NPC’s inactive behavior.
- Fixed issues with performance drops/possible crashes due to lack of memory in NPC-filled hubs and locations during long game sessions.
- Fixed issue where NPCs would move to A pose or start flying after death.
- Fixed issue where NPCs could not track whether a target in cover was covered in gunfire, causing them to shoot to take cover.
And others, more than 20 different problems with AI.
Optimization fixes:
- Fixed issue with invisible NPCs/mutants appearing in field of view while the player was scanning the scope.
- Fixed fire VFX not rendering at certain camera angles.
Additionally, we fixed approximately 100 different bugs, including possible memory leaks and EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION issues.
Audio and sound fixes:
- Fixed issue where combat music would continue to play while combat ended.
And 7 other minor audio and sound errors.
Balance settings:
- The cost of repairing weapons and armor is reduced.
- Significantly higher cost of artifacts (more revenue per sale).
- The monetary reward for most quests is increased by 2 to 3 times.
- Improvements to armor and weapons on novice difficulty.
- Mutant damage is moderately reduced on Novice difficulty (more changes to mutant health balance in the Combat Balance section).
- Damage to the player’s weapon is reduced by 23 percent on Novice difficulty.
- Armor durability is increased by 12.5 percent.
- Added a silencer accessory for PTM to a specific stash in the Minor Zone.
- Fixed selling prices for exoskeletons, now they are more expensive to sell.
- Fixed selling price of upgraded weapons.
- Rebalanced Hercules Consumable: Removed player speed debuff; Increased effect parameters (player can now carry more weight after consuming).
Some additional minor bug fixes.
Combat balance:
- Reduced the weight of some mission elements (including the weight of scanners).
- Bloodsucker’s damage has been slightly rebalanced.
- Reduced the range of protection against Bloodsucker attacks (more weapon damage).
- Reduced Boodsucker’s HP regeneration outside of combat.
- Controller HP is reduced moderately.
- Burer HP is reduced moderately.
- The boar’s HP is reduced moderately.
- Meat HP is reduced moderately.
- Boar damage from headshots changed to 100% body damage.
- Increases damage to the boar from limb shots.
- Flesh damage from extremity shots is increased.
- Significantly increased melee weapon range.
- Knife melee distance slightly increased.
Controller input:
- Increased gamepad dead zones
Characters:
- Fixed eyes and teeth on NPC models.
- Some minor NPC model and animation fixes.
Cut scenes:
- Missing images were added to the television screens in the final scene.
- Fixed issue with deer animation in the opening scene.
- And another 20 different mistakes in the scenes.
game settings and menus:
- Adjusted garbled text at the bottom of the Shader Compilation screen.
- Fixed issue where the ‘Nvidia Reflex Low Latency’ option was not saved on subsequent game launches.
And 10 more minor problems.
Interactable objects:
- Fixed physics issues with destructible and moving objects, including those floating in the air.
- Fixed interaction message with glass doors in the SIRCAA inner courtyard causing a passage block.
- Fixed missing interior doors in the X-11 lab elevator.
And more minor errors.
Main and secondary missions:
- Resolved numerous quest blockers and bugs encountered in specific conditions. Key fixes include:
- Fixed missing interaction with dead blind dogs in the Nightingale’s Hunt quest.
- Fixed incomplete objectives in the Search and You Shall mission.
- Fixed several issues in the There and Back quest, including one where the artifact could not be found.
- Resolved the dialogue loop with Zotov during the mission A Needle in a Haystack.
- Fixed progression blockers in the Answers Come at a Price quest, including issues with bandits after a broadcast and missing Heavy Key item.
- Fixed quest markers for NPC locations in the Hot on the Trail quest.
- Fixed issues related to doors in the quests In Search of a Guide and The Side Hustle.
- Fixed issue when the cutscene does not start during the Just Like the Good Old Days mission.
- Fixed issue when Lodochka was missing from Camp Quite during the quest Like Old Times.
- Fixed an issue during Like Old Times when Lodochka acts aggressively after bringing him the Emitter.
- It is now possible to turn off the electricity in the flooded area during the mission To the Last Drop of Blood.
- Fixed several issues in the On the Edge mission, including inactive NPCs, stuck doors, and Monolith attack progression.
- Fixed progression blockers in the mission A Minor Incident, including issues with Bayun’s necklace and closed doors.
- Fixed performance drops and confusing objectives in the In Search of Past Glory mission.
- Fixed issues in the Visions of Truth quest, including stuck NPCs and blocked progression after dialogues.
- Resolved stuck scenes and blocked progression in the missions Dangerous Visitors, Gray’s Last Hunt, and The Eternal Shining.
- Fixed NPC and enemy spawn behaviors in The Boundary and Escape from the Cage missions.
- Modified missions such as Down Below, Budmo! and A Big Score to resolve stuck NPCs, misaligned markers, and missing dialogue options.
And approximately 120 more themes within the main line, side quests and encounters.
Open world experience:
- Fixed stretched or missing limbs on humanoid corpses.
- Fixed missing fast travel routes, including the concrete plant for Toadstool.
- Resolved issues with speakers, fast travel, and interactions with NPCs in various locations, such as the Scientists’ Bunker and the Chemical Plant.
- Adjusted hostile NPC behavior during Arena quests, including bandit tactics and increased ammunition for fighting the Tyrant.
- Fixed quest progression on Black Sheep and The Key to Freedom quests.
And approximately 50 other problems were solved.
Guidance, equipment and weapons for the player:
- Fixed a bug that allowed items to be sold to the merchant for more money than they actually cost.
- Fixed input blocking issues with PDA, inventory, and attachments when interacting with artifacts.
- Fixed flashlight behavior after saving/loading.
- Resolved issues with grenade type selection, compass markers overlapping, and missing mission markers.
- Fixed inconsistencies with weapon and armor upgrade effects, including upgrade prices and rollbacks.
- Improved HUD behavior and lengthened the duration of Point of No Return hints during the Downstairs mission.
- Fixed a bug where the player could sell quest items using the gamepad.
And about 50 minor “anomalies”.
Voiceovers and facial animations:
- Restored missing facial animations for Sava in the Hot on the Trail quest and Mugwort in The Eternal Shining quest.
- Fixed missing voice lines during the mission Let No One Leave Unsatisfied.
- Fixed radio call effects so that NPC voices properly reflect distance during communication.
And a couple more things are fixed.
World:
- Fixed flickering textures in several locations, including the Sphere, Military Base, and Chemical Plant.
- Resolved movement issues, including getting stuck in certain locations during missions such as Once More Unto the Breach and A Tough Awakening.
- Fixed artifact spawn points in some areas.
- Fixed NPC behavior during encounters.
- Adjusted voice volume during storms to improve audio balance.
And approximately 50 more errors.
