STALKER 2 news - Modding is priority - says the developer

Source

• GSC wanted to make a sequel on the original X-Ray engine, but it is outdated. The developers sifted through other options for the actual engines but settled on the Unreal Engine.

• GSC calls mod support a priority and will try to implement it already in the release version of the game. The modding community is very important for developers. Support for mods on Xbox is also being explored.

• Bocharov promised that STALKER 2 on release will be much more stable.

• The life simulation system A-life has become “more meticulous and more detailed.” All interactions between factions, monsters, NPCs will take place even while the player does not see it. “A-life 2.0 is a different level of performance. We’ll pay enough attention to it closer to release. It’s a wildly cool system that works really well and there will be something to show. “Bocharov gave an example of a fight between wild boars, the consequences of which the player can see. He did not disclose what would really work “at a new level”.

• The open world of the Zone will offer a “non-linear storyline with a huge number of branches and different endings.” It is promised that the Zone will match the scale of history. The single-player mode is the main one in STALKER 2.

This is Excellent news. mods have been heart and soul of STALKER series and it also have some of the best modders.

Cant wait for this masterpiece. GOTY 2021.

Looks under the couch, in the hallway, under the bed, in the shed and nope can't seem to find a **** to give about this shitty game and its shitty modding.

Oh and its being made for console, so now its a console shooter, you know the ones the OP hates on all the time 🤣🤣🤣

@i_p_daily: all you do is flame and troll. Reported.

STALKER 2 either going to destroy by console or Save by modders. Its up to them.

modders will win.

27-4.

Considering the role of modders in the original STALKER's post-launch, probably a good idea. Just in case.

@ghosts4ever: Could you try to write like a normal human being? Seriously, you've been on these forums long enough, you should at least be able to make sence most of the time, but you don't.

@ghosts4ever: No matter how you want to damage control it, Stalker is now a console shooter, the exact same as the ones you hate.

On topic. The reason why they are focusing on mod support is because they know it'll run like shit, just like the first one, and they expect the community to fix their broken, half-assed game.

@sheevpalpamemes: Don't forget to report yourself.

Say wanna take a pic of your PS5 to prove you have one, since you got caught out lying about having a Series X 🤣🤣🤣

i've heard them mention this a-life system they're using to bring the game world to life a couple of times now but it's hard not to be sceptical about that sort of thing after cyberpunk. wild boars fighting is a pretty random thing to use to show it off too lol.

Wut

@Macutchi: S

A spelling mistake because I'm using my phone. God, what a burn. ^^

@Macutchi said:

lol

Don't really care about modding but I'll probably give this game a try.

Amusing how some people say they don't care about a game yet they come in threads to shit on them. It's the same song and dance...

Sad. 😎

Isn't funny how some people like to sniper post about other people and don't have the testicular fortitude to actually quote that person.

Sad 😎😎😎

Code for "our game is shit, please modders fix it for us, please".

^I ain't fixing shit! As far as Stalker 2 goes, it won't be the new Crysis.

@vfighter: are you saying all bethesda games are shit?

Their priority should be making a great game that won't need fixing after release.

If we learned anything from Cyberpunk 2077 we shouldn't praise developers for consumer friendly ideas until we see what they deliver in the end. They could say it was free and I'd be less inclined to try it. Just show me an awesome real-time trailer that leaves me saying "holy ****" or something to that effect. Start there.

I’m not reading anything that the original didn’t already accomplish many years ago.

I have to wonder if the developers understand what they’ve bitten off as they seem to speak so novel to the previously established. This shouldn’t be noteworthy, it’s been done. Unreal doesn’t fill me with confidence either; tbh I’d feel more comfortable with a proprietary engine custom built for their needs. X-Ray, while buggy as ****, was brilliant in its versatility and longevity, exemplified by the modding community. That engine is STILL putting out to this day, 14 years post.

Which, if anyone knows anything about these games at all, understands that modding is where its true lifeblood lay. The STALKER series are pretty damn average games in vanilla, but there’s potential for brilliance. If GSC can replicate that brilliance in its potential in affording the community the tools to bring it to its fullest, then I’m game.

But I’m not holding my breath. Much of brilliance is inadvertent...

Current UE is pretty amazing tbh. Extremely flexible and just sooooo easy to work with, relatively speaking.

Can't imagine a situation in which UE4/5 would hold them back. If anything they'll be devoting more time to making the best game they can rather than taming a fussy engine. Added bonus, so many quality libraries to pull from and so many people up to speed on the ins and outs. A whole lot less reinventing the wheel.

STALKER always better than Crysis.

STALKER was more of proper PC game while Crysis was more of cinematic action packed console shooter that was PC exclusive.

If that's a priority, it means that they are not even going to try to make a good game, after all, why bother, when modders are going to fix it for you?

That all sounds good, especially how they're focusing on A.I, which is part of what made STALKER so special. I'm still skeptical this game will be any good, but so far I haven't seen any major red flags. I'm just so used to being disappointed these days it hardly feels worth getting excited about anything before it's released.

Unreal Engine is far more versatile than X-Ray, and more modder friendly too. The modding community surrounding Stalker is testament to the enthusiasm of Stalker fans, and less the modding capabilities of the X-Ray engine. It's always cool when a developer makes their own engine (and it's actually good), but there's also no denying UE is a safe choice and a solid framework for making good looking games.

Even though the Stalker games are old now, a lot of things about them are still novel even today. I don't care if they don't radically expand on what they original did because so few games even attempt to do what Stalker does.

Hope they can work the npc interaction well. Maybe a CPU hog if it really running on fullscale interactivity.

Modding is a priority because this developer has no talent, so they want the modding community to carry the game. 🤦‍♂️

They are more talented than your average rockstar and naughty dogs who make movie games.

modders only edit the game. base game still made by developer. STALKER still popular because of modding.

We all know the game will launch broken. Mod creators will be their slaves for the years to come, and fixing that game will be a pain. Twenty Rockstar devs would make a better and more polished SLAKER game than the whole of the dev team in charge of Stalker2. Even Bethesda has a higher chance of releasing a game with less bugs.

They can make more polish game but couldnot make better game. not in any shape or form.

Please remind me the score of RDR2 here on GS and Meta. I am waiting.

You are basing this on ... nothing?

This developer has already made Cossacks and STALKER games, which earned a bunch of awards and recognition.

STOP RUINING EVERYTHING Ghost is my target

@hardwenzen: But I feel he made a good thread, hihi ^^

For real, more focus on singleplayer FPS. More focus on moddability of our games. Stuff is fantastic 👍

From what I've read up on on Unreal, it's not all sunshine and roses. We'll see. And no, it's also a testament to X-Ray as well as a passionate modding community. They can only do so much, and that engine has held up remarkably well to what it's accomplished over vanilla.