STALKER 2: Shadow of Chornobyl arrived late final 12 months in a reasonably incomplete state. Technical points with graphics, animations, sound, and quest design have been the largest issues. However taken collectively, they mixed to empty laptop and console sources. The one choice left to builders at GSC Recreation World was to dial again the efficacy of their vaunted A-life AI system for non-player characters. Almost three months later, the sport continues to be removed from good, however the Ukrainian group has made nice strides in enhancing the general expertise. In actual fact, the most recent patch goes to avoid wasting you a great deal of time.
Patch 1.2 dropped on Feb. 13, and you will discover the prolonged patch record of adjustments on the official web site. My favourite of the bunch is the introduction of an icon to lootable weapons within the sport world, a well-recognized coloured defend that exhibits their situation — yellow for serviceable, and pink for damaged. Beforehand you needed to decide weapons up and consider them in your stock to see their situation. You possibly can’t simply promote damaged weapons, so lugging them round doesn’t make quite a lot of sense. So, along with the time saved messing round within the stock screens gamers also needs to have fewer points with encumbrance slowing them down.
With a said 1,700 particular person adjustments, there’s loads to undergo within the patch notes. However, by and enormous, builders appear to be pacing with the neighborhood, which has been taking its time with the sport. There are much more bug fixes for late-game enemies and quests than within the final patch. The efficiency of A-life has been expanded as effectively. In response to the notes, A-life now permits fellow STALKERS to do issues like render help to their comrades, loot extra highly effective weapons from our bodies, and extra successfully seek out and combat again in opposition to the participant character. Even bullet penetration has been tweaked a bit of their favor.
Different options embrace tweaks to lighting, together with the flexibility on your private flashlight to forged shadows. I spent just a bit little bit of time with the sport after the patch dropped immediately, however I additionally get the sensation that the darkish, shadowy corners of inside areas are darker now than ever earlier than. Taken collectively, that ought to make for a good moodier expertise in an already evocative sport.
But it surely’s the little quality-of-life options, like in-world weapon situation indicators, which might be going to actually enhance the expertise.
