STALKER 2 fans, get ready for a treat. One of the biggest complaints about STALKER 2 was the fact that your flashlight could not cast dynamic shadows. This was a feature that was present in the classic STALKER games. And, thankfully, a mod was released that enables it.
By using this mod, your flashlight can cast real-time dynamic shadows. As such, the environments can look more realistic at night. This is a major visual improvement. So, make sure to download the mod.
The original version of this mod, Flashlight Customizer, has been live for a while. However, it’s not that easy to install which is why I hadn’t posted it. Thankfully, we now have a simpler version of it.
So, to enable the real-time dynamic flashlight shadows, you’ll have to download Flashlight Customizer, Simple ModLoader and Console Enabler, and flashlight shadows.
First, you’ll have to copy the files from the first two mods to the folder “\S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Heart of Chornobyl\Stalker2\Content\Paks”. Then, copy the SaveGames folder from the flashlight shadows mod to “C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Stalker2\Saved”. And that’s it.
The modder suggests using the Epic graphics settings for this mod to work properly. Also note that it won’t work with the mod that disables the shader compilation process which occurs every time you run the game.
Speaking of STALKER 2, I also suggest taking a look at these other mods for it. Let’s start with the Draw Distance Mod. This mod will reduce the pop-ins of trees and vegetation. However, it comes with a pretty big performance hit. On my NVIDIA RTX 4090, I got a 10-20FPS performance hit. So, use it only if you have a high-end GPU.
Then we have this mod that attempts to restore most of the online A-Life functionality. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than the vanilla version. This is a must until GSC GameWorld fixes A-Life 2.0. Let’s also not forget this mod that adds a Parkour-like climbing system to the game. This is another must-have mod for all STALKER 2 players.
Finally, you can download a mod that will remove the inventory carry/weight limit. I’m not a fan of this last mod but hey, some of you may like it.
For what it’s worth, the devs have already released two patches. The first patch had over 650 fixes, whereas the second one focused on quest blockers. Sadly, these patches do not address any of the above issues. The good news here is that these mods are compatible with the game’s latest version. As such, you will be able to use them without experiencing any conflicts.
Have fun and stay tuned for more!
John is the founder and Editor in Chief at DSOGaming. He is a PC gaming fan and highly supports the modding and indie communities. Before creating DSOGaming, John worked on numerous gaming websites. While he is a die-hard PC gamer, his gaming roots can be found on consoles. John loved – and still does – the 16-bit consoles, and considers SNES to be one of the best consoles. Still, the PC platform won him over consoles. That was mainly due to 3DFX and its iconic dedicated 3D accelerator graphics card, Voodoo 2. John has also written a higher degree thesis on the “The Evolution of PC graphics cards.”
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i too love seeing modern games lacking features that games from 2004 had.
It's probably for visibility reasons tbh
its literally a simple check you can enable and disable
lmao, check this out https://youtu.be/ddG56sXrstw
I'm playing the originals while I wait for this console port to be fixed.
John, could you give this mod a shot and report about the performance impact?
And BTW, the Vulkan 1.4 specification was released to the public today, which once again pushes real-time graphics programming to the next level…
Here are some benchies, expect a 5FPS hit on a high-end GPU (like the RTX 4090). It's not as demanding as the Draw Distance Mod.
Settings: 4K + DLSS 3 Quality with Frame Generation + Epic Settings
Scene1: Vanilla: 126FPS – Modded: 121FPS
Scene2: Vanilla: 128FPS – Modded: 124FPS
Scene3: Vanilla: 120FPS – Modded: 115FPS
Scene4: Vanilla: 104FPS – Modded: 100FPS
Here are some benchies, expect a 5FPS hit on a high-end GPU (like the RTX 4090). It's not as demanding as the Draw Distance Mod.
Settings: 4K + DLSS 3 Quality with Frame Generation + Epic Settings
Scene1: Vanilla: 126FPS – Modded: 121FPS
Scene2: Vanilla: 128FPS – Modded: 124FPS
Scene3: Vanilla: 120FPS – Modded: 115FPS
Scene4: Vanilla: 104FPS – Modded: 100FPS
Should have been there day 2 at launch.
ctrl+F "peformance"=zero results.
I want to like this game, and I want to play it but the performance is so horrible I just can't go beyond the hour or two I've tried so far. And I have a 4090, 64GB Ram, and a decent i9 processor.
Sadly, I'll have to wait 6 months to a year and see if it's any better by then. Mods are fun but when they are required like this…no.
@johndio:disqus
Regarding the line "First, you’ll have to copy the files from the first two mods to the folder “S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Heart of ChornobylStalker2ContentPaks”. Checking both ' Flashlight_Tweaker-221-0-1-6-1733015926.zip ' and ' SimpleModLoader-304-0-0-7-1733043619.zip ' they both have a folder thats names "Stalker2" that mimic the above path, so "Stalker2ContentPaks"
So are you 100% sure we arent supposed to be unpacking to the root of the "S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Heart of Chornobyl" folder..?
I have tried installing these mods both ways and via VortexMM, none of the 3 ways resulted in a tweaked flashlight… I am on the steam version of the game.
regards
b.
you’ll have to put their pak files in that folder, not unzip them to that folder.
Hmm I have already tried " Flashlight Customizer, Simple ModLoader and Console Enabler," via Vortex mod manager, as they provide MM link suggesting it compatible , but couldnt get it to work.
I had wanted to tweak FL beam to be cast a little further and be a bit brighter etc.