Stalker 2 patch 1.1 fixes A-Life 2.0 along with 1800 updates, but it's 110 GB large

LectureMaster

Has Man Musk


After its troubled launch, Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl is getting the care it needs with a new patch that changes more than 1,800 aspects of the game, most notably its notorious A-Life system. There have been various patches along the way that bettered performance, but the A-Life system is the core of the game and can have a major impact on gameplay.

The 1.1 update makes sweeping changes to NPC AI. These A-Life NPCs are meant to pursue their own goals when not in proximity to the player, but until now, they've felt scarce. Encounters could be few and far between, and you should come across other people wandering in The Zone more frequently.
The downside is the size. Coming in at 110GB, this patch is larger than many entire games. Stalker 2's devs acknowledged the size of the patch on Steam: "We understand that the size of the patch is huge and the process of downloading will take some time. We would like to thank you for your understanding, and we will work on this aspect as well."

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110Gb patch. Glad I have gig fibre... But still..

Tom Delonge Reaction GIF
 
did they fix the controller issues? they clearly didn't playtest the game on controller before launch because their axial dead zone on the left stick was hilariously bad, and the inner dead zone on the right stick seemed to be square shaped, which is also hilariously bad.
 
did they fix the controller issues? they clearly didn't playtest the game on controller before launch because their axial dead zone on the left stick was hilariously bad, and the inner dead zone on the right stick seemed to be square shaped, which is also hilariously bad.

my Xbox updated the game in the background it seems and I tested it... yup, they actually fixed controller inputs since launch.

I honestly didn't expect that tbh, as it seems controller issues often stay unresolved or take ages to get fixed
 
This is cool, because it means they're serious about improvements. I'm waiting it out for a while (mostly because I want a new video card first), but I'm excited for when I finally get to play this thing.
 
No official word but iirc there was a leak during the ABK trial talking about a 3 months exclusivity for Xbox/MS. So maybe around February unless they bought more time.
Hopefully longer tbh. The more time they have to actually finish the game, the better. Because in it's current state, it's Early Access in disguise.
 
did they fix the controller issues? they clearly didn't playtest the game on controller before launch because their axial dead zone on the left stick was hilariously bad, and the inner dead zone on the right stick seemed to be square shaped, which is also hilariously bad.
That was fixed in the very first patch

Also it's only 12GB on xbox
 
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did they fix the controller issues? they clearly didn't playtest the game on controller before launch because their axial dead zone on the left stick was hilariously bad, and the inner dead zone on the right stick seemed to be square shaped, which is also hilariously bad.

Why would you not play this with a mouse and keyboard?
 
Hopefully longer tbh. The more time they have to actually finish the game, the better. Because in it's current state, it's Early Access in disguise.
Could be longer it's old info.
But many games are kinda early access now but it's still fantastic. I stopped when Indiana Jones released but going by what I played I'd still say it's my #2 this year in it's current state. Love it. And if they get that AI thing working now 🔥
 
No official word but iirc there was a leak during the ABK trial talking about a 3 months exclusivity for Xbox/MS. So maybe around February unless they bought more time.

They might also have other priorities first. I dont think we will see it on Playstation right after the exclusive window.
 
Awesome that Alife is getting looked at as that's one of the reasons I've been holding off buying the game. Anyone here having a much better experience due to this patch?
 
I need some feedback from stalkers fanboys that a-life is actually fully back to at least the level of previous games and it's not just smoke and mirrors.
 
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I'm glad it's only 12 gigs on the Xbox. I still have flashbacks from having to redownload the game prior to launch despite doing a preload earlier.
 
did they fix the controller issues? they clearly didn't playtest the game on controller before launch because their axial dead zone on the left stick was hilariously bad, and the inner dead zone on the right stick seemed to be square shaped, which is also hilariously bad.
>Name is kevboard
>PC gamer
>Plays PC-centric fps with a controller

Could this be any more disappointing?
 
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did they fix the controller issues? they clearly didn't playtest the game on controller before launch because their axial dead zone on the left stick was hilariously bad, and the inner dead zone on the right stick seemed to be square shaped, which is also hilariously bad.
They did on PC at least because it was one of the most perfect dead zones I tested (dead zone = "0")
 
did they fix the controller issues? they clearly didn't playtest the game on controller before launch because their axial dead zone on the left stick was hilariously bad, and the inner dead zone on the right stick seemed to be square shaped, which is also hilariously bad.

The dead zone issue was mostly fixed a while ago, FYI.
 
Amazing patch! I could immediately tell that A-life was back. Before the 1.1 patch, I never even noticed NPCs traveling to and from locations. I would just see random spawns of groups that clearly had no continuity in the world over time.

After the patch it was clear that the engine is keeping track of NPCs, and they are moving through the world over time, even when you don't see them. Also a lot more conflicts popping off between factions close to camps. Never saw any of that before the patch.
 
Sitting out for another patch or two. It's getting there, and fortunately for me I didn't get to far into the game (just been sent to a place called The Sphere).

Further improvements to their simulated world, and a smoother performance mode are my main hopes (but I will 30fps it if I have to).
 


Seems there's still some ways to go to attain the same level of interactivity and simulation as in the past games. Hopefully in time modders will unlock the true potential of A-life 2.0 if GSC can't manage.
 
So...how is the A-Life now? More like previous games at least? I'm a big S.T.A.L.K.E.R fan (specially Shadow of Chernobyl), but I don't know much about this entry.
 
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