The story of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games going wrong is as old as the series itself, to the point where it’s become a part of playing the game, at least on PC. “Stalker 2” is no exception. While the game was developed under particularly difficult circumstances as the developer’s life was turned upside down due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, hopes for a more stable and smoother game were not unfounded. In fact, the game’s savior may be a long-standing tradition.
Of course, I’m talking about community-made mods. The first thing I want to point out is that the development team has worked together over the past few days to release patches that go a long way toward fixing some of the bugs that exist (of course I saw a lot of them during my S.T.A.L.K.E. review). But, true to tradition, tech-savvy fans have begun working to tweak Noosphere’s inner workings to make the entire experience just a little better.
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Even today, just a day after launch, we’re seeing mods released that aim to solve technical issues. one day! That’s crazy. You could almost say that an A-team of over 30 Europeans expect This will happen. Thanks to these guys, people who are tired of questionable video games can still jump into S.T.A.L.K.E.R.2. This is a good thing! This is a game that definitely shouldn’t be missed because of a few flying objects or a crash or two.
For those unfamiliar with S.T.A.R.D.’s modding history, the community often goes out of their way to help improve the state of the game. The ZRP (or Zone Replication Project) is one of the most famous examples. A community-led effort to fix bugs in STALKER – Shadow of Chernobyl. It’s so popular and so well-respected that people often recommend it when playing the game for the first time, such is the positive impact it has on the game. It stops crashes and randomly corrupted save files, and even adds various quality-of-life features to make the gaming experience more enjoyable.
A lot of attention is being focused on bugs right now, as we’re currently seeing the release of a new S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game. But it’s also worth sending flowers to the other creative minds in the Stalker mod field, who I’m sure will return to their old ways with Stalker 2. Many people love the Autumn Aurora 2 mod, which revolutionizes visuals, sounds, and more. It’s also built on the aforementioned ZRP mod, so a lot of people grabbed those two and gave the original Stalker a go.
I still have STALKER 2 – the original, basic version – to play. I haven’t finished it yet. But after I’ve had my fill, I know for a fact: the one thing that will keep me coming back to the game over the next few months will be community-effort mods. Something that reduces friction as much as possible. I love the quirky stuff too! There will be a lot of that, mark my words. Once the dirty work of fixing bugs is done, you can bet modders will start messing with the game.
After all, the area is a strange place. Anomalies are everywhere. But once the clutter is removed, you and I should be able to see the beauty of this game. Well, after that, who can tell!
