GSC Game World has rolled out the first patch for STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl. The update, scheduled to arrive between November 25 and December 1, targets PC players and Xbox Series X/S users alike.
Patch details:
- The patch tackles memory allocation problems that previously led to abrupt crashes, stabilizing sessions on both PC and Xbox Series X/S and reducing long run-time instability during graphically intense moments.
- Several blockers that prevented players from advancing the main storyline have been removed, ensuring a smoother narrative flow and fewer interruptions to key plot moments.
- A bug where non-player characters could become stuck inside objects has been fixed, eliminating scenarios where allies or enemies could be rendered unreachable.
- Quest markers now display more reliably, preventing misdirection and improving overall tracking in crowded or visually busy areas.
- Story cutscenes have been refined for better timing and continuity, reducing visual glitches and ensuring cinematic sequences play out as intended.
- Quests Visions of Truth and Small Incident have received balance adjustments and pacing improvements to clarify objectives and heighten engagement.
- Prices for weapons with attachments have been adjusted to better reflect in-game value, influencing loot decisions and weapon upgrades during play.
- NPC behavior has been enhanced, yielding more natural reactions and improved pathfinding as players explore the world.
- A bug causing facial animations for NPCs to be missing has been corrected, restoring expressive cues during conversations and encounters.
- A bug that caused NPCs to appear in the wrong places has been resolved, preserving the intended spatial layout and encounter design.
- Visual effects have been refined for greater atmosphere, delivering more convincing lighting, weather, and debris interactions that boost immersion.
- The exchange screen now closes reliably after trading, preventing stalls and keeping the interface responsive during sessions.
- Notifications during dialogs are now displayed correctly, avoiding garbled text or mis-timed prompts that could distract players.
- Text fixes have been applied and several tips corrected to improve in-game guidance and consistency across missions.
The developers also indicated that future updates will address quirks in the A-Life system and improve gamepad precision by tuning analog-stick dead zones.
Let readers know that a patch for the PC version released earlier in STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl removed shader recompilation and raised frame rate. In the days following launch, GSC Game World announced that STALKER 2 had sold over one million copies.
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