S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl's 1.5 Patch is here, introducing various tweaks and fixes, but it's the first phase of GSC Game World's modding tool that's dominating our interest… and our hard drives.
"Shape the Zone in Your Way with the Stalker 2 Zone Kit," GSC Game World said. "Modify existing content or create new experiences — animations, weapons, mechanics, and even wonders of the Zone."
Sounds great, right? Which it is, if you happen to have 700GB of space free… on top of the 160GB you need to run the base game itself.
The reason, GSC said, is because as part of its partnership with the modding community, the team is sharing a slew of uncompressed files so modders are using original assets in the development of their mods, which is better for everyone, of course.
"The size of the mod kit is a result of the in-game assets being uncompressed for the mod makers," GSC told PC Gamer. "It's a big game, and the assets are many, resulting in a considerable size of the download. The Zone Kit is currently in phase one, so we'll explore the opportunities to optimize its size (if possible) in the future."
"Yeah, we launched the Zone Kit as Phase 1, because we want to develop it together with Mod Makers," a community representative explained on Reddit. "It already has a lot of features, but still this is Phase 1. On Phase 2 there will be even more things to do with the Zone via the Zone Kit."
"Underneath the technical problems that plague STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl is a unique greatness," we wrote in our S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl review, giving it 8/10. "It emerges as a refreshingly brutal shooter that strives to hook you with its incredible atmosphere and leave you invested by the end of this long, arduous journey." Read more on how S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 has changed everything for the studio amid the full-scale invasion of Ukraine here.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
