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S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2: Heart of Chernobyl

I wouldn't go below a 4070 series if you want to play this. Without FG it jitters and feels terrible even with 60+ fps. With FG it's great for me. At the moment, using the performance tweaks mod from nexus combined with the latest DLSS has made the game amazing but I'm using a really high end system. I'd use a 5000 series X3D or better CPU with a 4070+ GPU at 1440P at the minimum. It's a huge game world with an advanced engine that isn't nearly as optimized as it should be.

Using the tweaks I am, I've eliminated the vegetation LOD problem, fixed 90% of the shadow problems, fixed the eye adaptation problems that cause the interior's to be too dark and improved reflection quality in a major way. Combine that with the new DLSS which improves clarity to the entire image and provides superior AA...lets just say the game can look and run much better than the vanilla game does out of the box. I'm probably still getting 10fps higher than I was with vanilla despite the game looking much better. The only area in the game that has performance issues for me is the first town which is CPU bound. My 4090 drops to 70% utilization in this town and FPS drop from 120FPS to about 85FPS. It will probably be 6 more generations of CPU's before this town performs like the rest of the game on a 120hz monitor.

Modular Hard mode mod is where it's at in terms of bringing back animal skins, lowering med kit availablity and reblanceing the economy to difficult levels. It also brings back weapon cleaning tools and lots of random junk items to make looting more interesting. I would check it out if you like Gamma and Anomaly.
 
the_sextein said:
I wouldn't go below a 4070 series if you want to play this. Without FG it jitters and feels terrible even with 60+ fps. With FG it's great for me. At the moment, using the performance tweaks mod from nexus combined with the latest DLSS has made the game amazing but I'm using a really high end system. I'd use a 5000 series X3D or better CPU with a 4070+ GPU at 1440P at the minimum. It's a huge game world with an advanced engine that isn't nearly as optimized as it should be.

Using the tweaks I am, I've eliminated the vegetation LOD problem, fixed 90% of the shadow problems, fixed the eye adaptation problems that cause the interior's to be too dark and improved reflection quality in a major way. Combine that with the new DLSS which improves clarity to the entire image and provides superior AA...lets just say the game can look and run much better than the vanilla game does out of the box. I'm probably still getting 10fps higher than I was with vanilla despite the game looking much better. The only area in the game that has performance issues for me is the first town which is CPU bound. My 4090 drops to 70% utilization in this town and FPS drop from 120FPS to about 85FPS. It will probably be 6 more generations of CPU's before this town performs like the rest of the game on a 120hz monitor.

Modular Hard mode mod is where it's at in terms of bringing back animal skins, lowering med kit availablity and reblanceing the economy to difficult levels. It also brings back weapon cleaning tools and lots of random junk items to make looting more interesting. I would check it out if you like Gamma and Anomaly.
Click to expand...

Is the new DLSS supported in the new patch or is it something we need to enable in the control panel? Which tweaks are you using?
 
Flogger23m said:
Is the new DLSS supported in the new patch or is it something we need to enable in the control panel? Which tweaks are you using?
Click to expand...
DLSS4 or the updated frame gen still has not been implemented in the game, unlike Nvidia's day zero BS claim. Currently through the Nvidia app you can enable the updated frame gen, but not DLSS4.

Screenshot 2025-02-26 162136.jpgScreenshot 2025-02-26 162200.jpg
 
I'm talking about the latest version of DLSS that you can download from techpowerup. Just drop it in the game like all the others and it will make a world of difference. As for DLSS 4, I think Nvidia's drivers do support it but the game does not come with it or support it officially. One thing, if you use the latest version of DLSS it will look so much more clear that you will notice sprite trees in the distance and it looks terrible. You will want to use the vegetation LOD fix that is available from the performance tweaks mod page on nexus in combination with the latest DLSS.

Here is the performance tweaks mod and don't forget to choose the vegetation LOD fix separately which is an optional file for the performance tweaks mod.
https://www.nexusmods.com/stalker2heartofchornobyl/mods/7

Latest version of DLSS: https://www.techpowerup.com/download/nvidia-dlss-dll/

\Engine\Plugins\Marketplace\DLSS\Binaries\ThirdParty\Win64
Replace the existing DLSS dll file (nvngx_dlss.dll) with the new one

You can find installation directions for the performance tweaks and vegetation LOD fix included with the mod files or on the download pages for the mod files. It takes about 5 minutes to install all 3 of these items and it will change your game for the better. I've played 43 hours without a single problem using this setup.

Here is my full edited engine.ini command list for those who are interested in pushing shadows, reflections and eye adaptation with the vegetation LOD fix. Just add these commands to the vegetation LOD fix in your engine.ini file located at user/username/appdata/local/stalker2/saved/config/windows/engine

[SystemSettings]
r.Lumen.TranslucencyReflections.FrontLayer.Allow=1
r.Lumen.Reflections.DownsampleFactor=0
r.Lumen.Reflections.MaxRoughnessToTrace=0.27
r.Lumen.Reflections.Temporal=0
fg.CullDistanceScale.Bushes=2.0
fg.CullDistanceScale.Grass=1.5
fg.CullDistanceScale.Trees=1.0
fg.DensityScale.Grass=1.0
fg.MaxNumBakedFoliageActorsToProcess=32
fg.MaxNumComponentsToProcess=16
fg.MaxNumComponentsToTick=128
fg.MaxNumComponentsToTick.Near=64
foliage.DitheredLOD=2
foliage.LODDistanceScale=3.0
grass.CullDistanceScale=1.5
r.StaticMeshLODDistanceScale=0.2
r.EyeAdaptation.LensAttenuation=1.4
r.EyeAdaptation.ExponentialTransitionDistance=2
r.Shadow.FilterMethod=1
r.Shadow.MaxCSMResolution=4096
r.Shadow.CSMCaching=1
r.DFShadowQuality=3
r.Shadow.Virtual.SMRT.RayCountDirectional=5
r.Shadow.Virtual.SMRT.SamplesPerRayDirectional=0
 
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killroy67 said:
DLSS4 or the updated frame gen still has not been implemented in the game, unlike Nvidia's day zero BS claim. Currently through the Nvidia app you can enable the updated frame gen, but not DLSS4.

View attachment 713277View attachment 713278
Click to expand...
You can forcibly enable those disabled overrides for the game using a novel trick (google it):
1740608003756.png

(Note my GPU physically doesn't support Frame Generation so forcibly enabling it does nothing in the UI. But it did enable the others.)

However, in my experience, after forcing the DLSS Model Presets to Preset K (the latest), it still shows DLSS3 not DLSS4 in game:
1740608821492.png

So yeah, officially the game only supports DLSS3 at the moment.
 
and here i sit, still unable to play because I can't rebind keys to how I expect them to be bound.
 
Amazing, I didn't even expect that many sales this soon. I was thinking more like 2-2.5 million considering it is not on Playstation even.
 
Armenius said:
Redirect the binds with your keyboard or third-party software.
Click to expand...

I had to this garbage with Fallout 4 and I will never do it again. Lets spend a few hours combing over every default keybind and tell it to be a different key and then make sure there was no conflicts.

I don't get why companies make it so damn complicated, its re-binding a thing to a key. Some of them obviously get it but also so many don't
 
Bigbacon said:
I had to this garbage with Fallout 4 and I will never do it again. Lets spend a few hours combing over every default keybind and tell it to be a different key and then make sure there was no conflicts.

I don't get why companies make it so damn complicated, its re-binding a thing to a key. Some of them obviously get it but also so many don't
Click to expand...

hopefully there's a mod available that fixes this...when Jedi: Survivor was first released they didn't allow you to rebind movement from WSAD which is an absolute dealbreaker for me...so I went on Nexus Mods and found a mod that let me rebind it to the arrow keys...worked great...I think they eventually fixed it via an official patch
 
polonyc2 said:
hopefully there's a mod available that fixes this...when Jedi: Survivor was first released they didn't allow you to rebind movement from WSAD which is an absolute dealbreaker for me...so I went on Nexus Mods and found a mod that let me rebind it to the arrow keys...worked great...I think they eventually fixed it via an official patch
Click to expand...

that is amazingly bad....I keep waiting for games to just say you have to use a controller and you can't change anything about the control scheme.....
 
Bigbacon said:
I had to this garbage with Fallout 4 and I will never do it again. Lets spend a few hours combing over every default keybind and tell it to be a different key and then make sure there was no conflicts.

I don't get why companies make it so damn complicated, its re-binding a thing to a key. Some of them obviously get it but also so many don't
Click to expand...
Hours? It takes minutes for the movement keys to be rebound plus you can save the previous script for the next game that offends you.
Unless your serious about rebinding EVERY key.

I rebind most keys around the arrow keys and number pad. I have been using GlovePIE since Dead Space and it has worked on every game and every OS.

Arrow keys replace WASD.
Enter=Jump
Right Shift=Sprint
Right Control=Crouch
Delete=Inventory
End=Consumable
Page Down=Weapon wheel
Page up-Flashlight
Ins=Artifact meter
Pad1=Melee
Pad4=nades
etc.......
I use this layout for almost all games. If they won't let you rebind it, Autohotkey or GlovePIE. You don't need a mod to rebind keys when there have been solutions since W95.
I save the script for WASD to arrow keys and then just build upon that if the game doesn't support it.
https://github.com/GlovePIEPreservation/GlovePIE/releases
https://www.autohotkey.com/

GlovePIE is super simple and way easier than autohotkey to use and create scripts. I'll even make a script for WASD to 8462 for you.

1741291770993.png


1.Click on File then click New.
2.Then click GUI, then click Output to Emulate.
3. Click W on your Keyboard, then click Detect Input and click KP8 on your Keyboard, then click Apply.
4. Then click Output to Emulate.
5 Click A on your Keyboard, then click Detect Input and click KP4 on your Keyboard, then click Apply.
6 And so on.
When finished, it should look like this:

1741292931461.png



Do this till you have all the keys rebound that you want and save the script to whatever you want (I use the games name).
Shut down the program. Bring it back up and click on Open, find your file and click on it then click the Run button on the top, there you go it's done and will work till you shut it down.
You can even type the script if you choose.
 
polonyc2 said:
some actions are hard-locked to certain keys and cannot be changed?...I hate when games do that
Click to expand...
For me, it's right mouse button. I've been using RMB for jump since the 90s. It's impossible for me to unprogram myself to something else. Anyway, the game will let you rebind RMB but soon as you switch to the bolt RMB is now bound to the throw action. I have died countless times because I try to jump using RMB and forgot RMB throws bolts. Literally ran off ledges or failed jumping puzzles because of it.

To prove my point, I did alt bind jump to something on my keyboard. But because it's the other hand, that's not intuitive. So, the repeated cycle is I die to a stupid thing that involves jumping, then my brain sluggishly forces itself into a mode where it will use the other hand for jumping. Then it goes back to the default.

And before someone chimes in here, I don't want to bind jump to another mouse button. Fix yer damn game.
 
Not being able to change some of the key bindings in game did suck.. like climbing ladders which I usually bind to the same movement keys. But luckily none was a show stopper for me.
 
Absalom said:
For me, it's right mouse button. I've been using RMB for jump since the 90s. It's impossible for me to unprogram myself to something else. Anyway, the game will let you rebind RMB but soon as you switch to the bolt RMB is now bound to the throw action. I have died countless times because I try to jump using RMB and forgot RMB throws bolts. Literally ran off ledges or failed jumping puzzles because of it.

To prove my point, I did alt bind jump to something on my keyboard. But because it's the other hand, that's not intuitive. So, the repeated cycle is I die to a stupid thing that involves jumping, then my brain sluggishly forces itself into a mode where it will use the other hand for jumping. Then it goes back to the default.

And before someone chimes in here, I don't want to bind jump to another mouse button. Fix yer damn game.
Click to expand...
I had the exact same problem, but did a custom control bind to remap the bolt toss to a key other than the right mouse button. You will need to locate the "CustomizeControls.cfg" file and add the following above the lines for the Grenade keybinds. On my config, I have regular bolt throw mapped to left mouse button, and the weak throw remapped from the right button to the left control key. Please see the info I added into my config file.

Bolt : struct.begin
[0] : struct.begin
DefaultID = -1
bIsPlayerMappable = true
PlayerMappableOption = Bolt_ThrowStrong
InputActionSID = IA_Bolt_ThrowStrong
Key = LeftMouseButton
OldKey = None
Triggers : struct.begin
[0] = EPlayerActionInputTrigger::Down
struct.end
struct.end
[1] : struct.begin
DefaultID = -1
bIsPlayerMappable = true
PlayerMappableOption = Bolt_ThrowWeak
InputActionSID = IA_Bolt_ThrowWeak
Key = LeftControl
OldKey = None
Triggers : struct.begin
[0] = EPlayerActionInputTrigger::Down
struct.end
struct.end
struct.end
 
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OK, this is the only game that I haven't been able to get acceptable performance with my 3950x / 4090 combo. I was ready to write it up to my CPU being a bottleneck as the game refused to use more than 40% of my GPU with the Gamepass version. Anwyhoo, I had read a number of comments on Reddit and the Steam forums saying the non-GamePass versions run better than the Gamepass one, so I took a chance and bought a copy on GoG and out of the box the game runs like a dream now! I was able to move over all my save games, and the game is night and day difference performance wise. I had a stutter and insane mouse lag with the GamePass version which no matter what settings, low or ultra, 1920 x 1080 or 4k - I just couldn't find a fix for - but the game now runs everything silky smooth at 4k with epic settings. Just wanted to share!
 
loafer87gt said:
OK, this is the only game that I haven't been able to get acceptable performance with my 3950x / 4090 combo. I was ready to write it up to my CPU being a bottleneck as the game refused to use more than 40% of my GPU with the Gamepass version. Anwyhoo, I had read a number of comments on Reddit and the Steam forums saying the non-GamePass versions run better than the Gamepass one, so I took a chance and bought a copy on GoG and out of the box the game runs like a dream now! I was able to move over all my save games, and the game is night and day difference performance wise. I had a stutter and insane mouse lag with the GamePass version which no matter what settings, low or ultra, 1920 x 1080 or 4k - I just couldn't find a fix for - but the game now runs everything silky smooth at 4k with epic settings. Just wanted to share!
Click to expand...

Definitely good to know!! Thank ya sir
 
loafer87gt said:
OK, this is the only game that I haven't been able to get acceptable performance with my 3950x / 4090 combo. I was ready to write it up to my CPU being a bottleneck as the game refused to use more than 40% of my GPU with the Gamepass version. Anwyhoo, I had read a number of comments on Reddit and the Steam forums saying the non-GamePass versions run better than the Gamepass one, so I took a chance and bought a copy on GoG and out of the box the game runs like a dream now! I was able to move over all my save games, and the game is night and day difference performance wise. I had a stutter and insane mouse lag with the GamePass version which no matter what settings, low or ultra, 1920 x 1080 or 4k - I just couldn't find a fix for - but the game now runs everything silky smooth at 4k with epic settings. Just wanted to share!
Click to expand...
Weird what might cause that? I guess i should buy it on GoG
 
peppergomez said:
Weird what might cause that? I guess i should buy it on GoG
Click to expand...
I have no idea, but the lag, stutter, and low GPU usages I could not seem to find a fix for with the GamePass version are not there with the GoG version. I had actually found the Reddit threads discussing this when I googled "3950X Stalker 2" and there was a number of other people seemingly confused as to why the game was running so poorly on their systems using the same processor, and they fixed it by switching to the Steam version instead of the GamePass one. Anyways, I'm having so much more fun with it now being able to just play it and enjoy it with smooth frame rates.
 
Solutions for making STALKER 2 perform better:

1) Abandon the Game Pass version and buy the $60 retail one that for some reason runs much better on existing, identical hardware
2) Brute force it by buying a $3k GPU

:p
 
I haven't tried this a lot on the 5080, it still had some issues from what I recall. Sort of moved on to Monster Hunter at the moment.
 
welp after getting the 4090, I decided to finally finish the game and boy what a ride. My only gripe is those stupid gauss rilfes....stupid OP lol.

Loved the story, runs much better on the new DLSS 4.0 transformer model too! All in all I think I got my moneys worth out of this game. Love it.
 
Brackle said:
welp after getting the 4090, I decided to finally finish the game and boy what a ride. My only gripe is those stupid gauss rilfes....stupid OP lol.

Loved the story, runs much better on the new DLSS 4.0 transformer model too! All in all I think I got my moneys worth out of this game. Love it.
Click to expand...
Did it run smoothly for you in terms of not a lot of bugs
 
  • Improved the reaction of NPCs to the sound of footsteps.
Click to expand...
If stepping on glass now alerts them while sneaking around, then I'll be impressed!

The only good stealth in this game has thus far been scripted. Everytime I've tried to stealth in a seemingly non-scripted area it has been an unrealistic shitshow.

I hope they fixed the AI so they don't have radar to your current location. Nothing breaks immersion more than alerting the AI then sneaking 50 yards away into the shadows only to have them zeroing on your location as if they had ESP somehow. They also need to fix the alert cooldown period. Sometimes the AI, once alerted, won't give up on actively seeking you. We're talking minutes, not seconds.
 
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