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(Image credit: GSC Game World)
Stalker 2has been getting a broadly positive response since launch, but it’s clear the game isn’t yet everything it could be. Key among the complaints from players is that the A-Life 2.0 system the devs talked up years before launch doesn’t appear to be working in the game, and the fact that details on this system disappeared from the game’s Steam page made some players believe this was a case of false advertising. But the husband-and-wife team at the top of developer GSC Game World insist that unfortunate bugs and miscommunications are to blame here.
A-Life 2.0 is basically a fancy name for the game’s NPC AI. Theoriginal Steam pagedescribed it as a “life-simulating system” that would make “the game world feel alive as never before.” Of course, the AI ended up being one of the weakest elements of Stalker 2, with playersquickly getting tired of enemies spawning out of nowhere to instantly hunt you down.
GSC Game World CEO Ievgen Grygorovych tellsIGNthat in order to work properly, the A-Life 2.0 system requires a “much larger area” to spawn NPCs than what’s currently in the game. The spawn radius had to be cut down because the devs “were fighting with optimization,” particularly in managing memory resources. “To make it work we had to optimize some things, and they make A-Life work in many situations not as it should,” Ievgen explains.
“All these things connected make it look like it’s very broken and not working,” Ievgen says. “But we are now continuing working on the optimization part to bring more resources for the A-Life system, to increase the range where A-Life is actually visualized.”
As for the disappearance of any mention of A-Life 2.0 from Stalker 2’s Steam page, creative director Maria Grygorovych tells IGN that this happened because of an innocuous conversation with someone on the marketing team. “He told me there will be a lot of new players who don’t know what A-Life is. They need to understand what we’re talking about in this description. So I will try to change it to a more understandable form,” Maria explains.
“He did that without any discussion or permission,” Maria continues. “He didn’t ask, ‘Do we have some bugs with A-Life or something?’ Because we had. We knew that. It’s a really huge and difficult system. But, when he did that before release, it was a surprise for me, because I noticed it because of Reddit. We did the Steam page in 2021. So for me, I was shocked, honestly.”
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1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
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Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2
Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
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Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
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Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
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1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
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2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
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3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
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4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
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5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
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Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
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2Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
2Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
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3Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
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Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
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5Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
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Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”