STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl: patch 1.1 brings more than 1,800 bug fixes with 110 GB and A-Life 2.0 brings 410 comments
Image: GSC Gaming World
Almost a month after the release and the numerous fixes made to versions 1.0.1, 1.02 and 1.03, which have already resolved many problems, now comes version 1.1. a massive patch with over 1,800 bug fixes. The A-Life 2.0 AI system, which players miss a lot, will also be included. The patch measures 110 GB.
Patch 1.1 is a real heavyweight
In the patch notes, GSC Game World talks about the game’s first major patch, which addresses a huge number of the game’s issues with over 1,800 fixes. This is also reflected in the download size, as patch 1.1 is extremely large at 110 GB – the entire game “only” takes up a little over 150 GB of storage. This means that players must re-download STALKER 2 almost entirely, which the developers ask for your understanding given the significant changes.
The patch to version 1.1 of STALKER 2 measures 110 GB
In addition to numerous bug fixes aimed at solving technical problems such as crashes, poor performance or problems with peripherals, improvements for balancing and AI are also integrated. And the latter is clearly at the center of this patch, since GSC Game World promises “the first iteration” of improvements to the A-Life system for NPCs, which has been sorely missed by veterans of the series.
What is A-Life?
A-Life is an NPC simulation system that was already a core element of the original trilogy games. In order to keep the area “alive”, all NPCs pursue their own goals and move independently in the game world, and can fight and even die. NPCs can exist in two states: online in close proximity to the player, with full AI simulation and ultimately also rendered by the game, and offline with a very simplified simulation when they are far from the player.
A-Life hasn’t worked at all in Heart of Chornobyl so far, which, given how important the system is to the gaming experience, has garnered significant criticism from players and has also raised the question of whether it was even implemented in the game. When asked, GSC Game World stated that aggressive performance optimization had prevented A-Life from working as intended. Until now, enemy NPCs would often spawn behind the player or in areas that had already been cleared, massively harming the game’s immersion and fairness.
According to the patch notes this should now be complete, NPCs should now exist offline for the first time and move accordingly around the map, where the player can then encounter them. They must also actively pursue their objectives and attack enemies and mutants. The transition from offline to online mode or vice versa should now be smooth. Since GSC Game World speaks of the “first iteration” of A-Life 2.0, it can be assumed that not all planned features are working as expected yet and that more fixes may follow.
A lifelong video game enthusiast, Julien reviews the latest releases and explores the technologies transforming the gaming world.
