STALKER 2 developers GSC Game World have announced the 2.0 «Return to the Zone» update, which is scheduled to be released on August 20th, along with the «Price of Hope» expansion.
STALKER 2 developers GSC Game World have announced the 2.0 «Return to the Zone» update, which is scheduled to be released on August 20th, along with the «Price of Hope» expansion.
The developers claim that they have made more technical changes than ever before: they have significantly updated the game engine, added new mechanics, and also prepared several surprises for gamers.
«In Update 2.0 'Return to the Zone', we’ve radically redesigned how the Zone looks, feels, and lives,» the game’s website stated .
The update is reportedly completely free. It includes the following changes:
Among other things, the developers have changed the lighting in the Zone. «In open spaces, the sun shines just as brightly, but now its rays fall on the environment in a completely different way — shadows and reflections have played in a new way,» the game’s authors assure. They have also worked on indoor spaces: now the lighting in buildings and dungeons looks much more realistic.
Additionally, the landscape and vegetation have been reworked to look more natural, hundreds of bugs with objects floating in the air have been fixed, and a host of other bugs have been fixed that made it seem like anomalies were appearing where they shouldn’t be.
Special attention was also paid to the fog effect. «From now on, it’s not just a weather phenomenon, but a full-fledged game mechanic in the arsenal of every stalker. In the fog, it’s much harder for both you and your enemies to see and hear each other. You can use this to act unnoticed, or simply enjoy the indescribable atmosphere of the Zone shrouded in fog. It’s up to you!», said the GSC Game World studio.
The game’s authors also reworked the «Light Rain» weather scenario.
The developers assure that the A-Life system now models the behavior of the game’s characters much more realistically.
«In practice, this means that there are more places where you can meet the inhabitants of the Zone. People and mutants are now more likely to fight for parking spaces near bonfires, bus stops, and other key points, and stalkers collect bribes from the fallen at all times, not just when they are in your field of vision,» the authors explained.
There was also serious «under the hood» work on behavior modeling, which «doesn’t directly affect the A-Life system, but makes life in the Zone much more realistic.» So, the authors eliminated errors when enemies would sometimes shoot or throw objects at walls, got rid of unwanted clusters of NPCs in certain places, and fixed dozens of other bugs.
The updated game will also feature a much more diverse fauna: the appearance of bloodsuckers and carnivores now varies depending on which corners of the Zone you encounter them.
With this update, the game’s creators also added the «Custom Rules» difficulty level so that gamers can perfectly customize the gameplay for themselves.
Also added is the «Master» difficulty level and an additional «Expedition» mode, which can be activated at any other difficulty level. «Be sure to try them if you’re looking for a more rigorous stalker challenge,» the game’s creators urge.
Also, with this update, stalkers will have access to not one, but three types of binoculars. «Each binocular differs in its „filling“, available functions and purpose. Find a suitable model in the Zone or buy it at a high price from some merchants,» the developers say.
The same goes for new weapons and sights. The game has a new Arev assault rifle, GP3A and SKP marksman rifles, and the Fora-230 submachine gun.
The choice of optics has also become richer: a new three-fold sight has appeared for Western weapons and a collimator sight for Eastern ones.
In addition, from now on, many different indicators during the game are recorded on the «Statistics» page in the PDA.
The official Zone Kit modding toolkit has also undergone changes, adding tools for narrative design, audio, and localization.
As previously reported by dev.ua, GSC Game World recently revealed the exact release date of the new story expansion «The Price of Hope» for the shooter STALKER 2.
