Chernobylite 2: Exclusion Zone News

Hi,

It’s been three months since the Early Access launch of Chernobylite 2. I won’t sugarcoat it - these have been extremely difficult months, possibly one of the hardest periods in The Farm 51’s history. During this time, we’ve been analyzing every post you’ve written, every review you’ve submitted, and every video you’ve uploaded. We’ve done everything we could to fix your issues, implement your suggestions, and expand the game with new content and mechanics. We’re convinced that thanks to you and your feedback, Chernobylite 2 is a much better game today than it was three months ago. But still not as good as you expected us to deliver…



The abundance of critical comments has made it clear that we can no longer confidently follow the roadmap we initially laid out and simply hope that in the end, everything will magically fall into place as the game of our - and your - dreams. In trying to meet the expectations of all our fans, and after numerous studies and focus tests, we went too far and lost sight of what made you love the first Chernobylite. The prequel was a brutal and grounded survival experience that offered freedom in how players tackled challenges. That experience was lost under a pile of limiting stats, “bullet sponge” enemies, forced co-op, and unclear gamey mechanics. We want to return to that experience, but to do so, we need to take a big step back.

What does that mean in practice? Some elements of the game will be cut, others will be completely redesigned, and some will be pushed to a later stage so the beginning of the game feels less overwhelming. We’ll rework and trim down the story. We’ll entirely rebalance the game and shrink the map to make the core areas denser and more engaging. We’ll darken the lighting and tone down the colors. In short: we want to prioritize quality and atmosphere over quantity and mechanical complexity.



I expect not everyone will like the changes, so I’m asking you to give us honest feedback on each of them as they start appearing in upcoming updates.

Thank you all for participating in Early Access. We truly needed this experience.

Artur Fojcik, Game Director

P.S. Despite all the upcoming changes, we’ll continue doing everything we can to preserve your saves and maintain your progress.

As the Zone continues to evolve, so does Chernobylite 2.

With your feedback guiding us and our vision for Early Access steadily advancing, this update introduces several gameplay improvements, major new mechanics, and a critical technical leap forward. Whether you're in it for the tension, the lore, or the power fantasy of surviving the unknown - there's something new waiting for you.
Let’s take a closer look at what’s just landed in the latest build.

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[h2]Community-Driven Changes[/h2]
Following community feedback, we’ve adjusted how melee combat works in third-person view when lock-on is disabled. Attacks are now directed based on camera orientation rather than the character’s body position, which gives players much more fluid control during combos.

Additionally, lock-on functionality is now available in first-person mode. While this seemed like an odd request at first, we gave it a shot… and it feels surprisingly intuitive. Try it out and let us know what you think!

What’s more important, at least to some of you, is that now you can finally dismantle your gear for additional resources. This was requested by many of you and we understood how you can feel rewarded more for keeping surplus equipment and using it to boost your base upgrades for example.

Long story short, your weapons and clothing can now are not only possible to sell. So keep those spare trousers or used-up revolver. It may still be of value!

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[h2]New Features[/h2]
A new “Events” system brings dynamic and unpredictable encounters to the Zone. From lost vendors to ambushed patrols, or visions of Tatyana suddenly becoming hostile, the world responds in strange and often dangerous ways now. Remember: your visions might quickly turn into a deadly danger.

Introducing the “Influence” mechanic: every action you take, completing missions or defeating powerful enemies, now shifts the balance of power between factions and the Chernobylite threat. Over time, you can make the Zone safer, unlock new quests, or attract more friendly NPC patrols and traders.

Say hello (or don’t) to a terrifying new nemesis: the massive flying creature you may remember from your first moments in the Zone now returns as a persistent hunter. If it finds you, hiding or fleeing are your best options. Fighting is… not advised.

We’ve added a new ranged weapon: the Heavy Machine Gun. It’s perfect for players who hate reloading and love turning whole cases of ammo into loud noise and total destruction. Just make sure you’ve packed enough bullets. Shouting “suppressing fire” while using it is completely understood.

On the melee side, the Sledgehammer joins your arsenal as the heaviest-hitting weapon in the game. It’s slow to swing, but if it connects, it will devastate anything in its path. The only more dangerous thing in the whole world is one’s mum's slipper, but we don’t plan on adding a weapon of mass destruction into the game.

[hr][/hr]
[h2]Improvements[/h2]
All placeholder weapons have now been replaced with finalised models and textures. Non-crystal weapons dropped by enemies should now visually match their stats and can be properly upgraded at your base.

We’ve completely reworked first-person melee combat based on your feedback. Attacks should feel more responsive and better aligned with your input. Let us know how it feels after the update!

The third-person melee targeting (without lock-on) has also been overhauled for more intuitive control, especially when chaining longer combos.

A large number of foliage-heavy areas have been visually improved or completely rebuilt. These spaces now not only look better but also provide more interesting opportunities for combat and exploration.

Numerous side characters have received visual upgrades, with added details that help them stand out more in the world and feel less generic.

We’ve also redesigned many of the minor boss characters to make them more visually distinctive and memorable.

You found a rifle you don't want to use? Or carrying three pistols you want to sell? Remember to unload the valuable ammo! Thanks to this small change we feel like making another small step towards giving the "real impact on the world" vibe. These little things are what make us feel in control.

So similar to dismantling unnecessary gear, ammo unloading presents you with additional things to remember! And to use on a regular basis. Just open your inventory and see how much ammo you get by going through your backpack collection of weapons.

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[h2]Technology[/h2]
Shader compilation time at the start of the game has been drastically reduced and now it’s 8-10 times faster than before. Additionally, shaders are now precompiled across all graphics settings, which should significantly improve first-launch performance for most players.

We’ve also upgraded the game engine to Unreal Engine 5.5, paving the way for better optimisation, visual improvements, and more efficient development going forward.

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[h2]Bugfixes[/h2]

We've fixed hundreds of bugs, both those you reported and those we found ourselves. Some of the more important ones include:

[h3]Community Bug Report Changelog[/h3]

• Fixed numerous wrong invisible walls around the zone
  
• Closed numerous gaps and holes in the environment
  
• Fixed Khulan's animation after talking to her inside the player's base
  
• Fixed barrier being too close to the playable area near Power Plant
  
• Fixed crashes during shader recalculation
  
• Fixed positions of NPC inside the base and in crucial placements
  
• Fixed visible compass indicators on NPC without any interaction
  
• Fixed floating rooms above players in the training area
  
• Fixed duplicated NPCs after quests ended
  
• Fixed crash occurring in Alina's "Connections" training
  
• Fixed repair table logic. It no longer takes money for a fully repaired weapon and players can properly repair weapons above 100%
  
• General world design fixes - removed dozens of floating or misaligned objects and loot.
  
• Replaced remaining WIP&placeholder notes around the world
  
• Moved misplaced Luka from the Power Plant location
  
• Fixed missing interaction indicators after loading the previous save
  
• Fixed missing interaction clouds on mission interactable objects after loading a save from previous revisions
  
• Added missing keybind on the controller for repairing player's weapons inside vendor UI
  
• Fixed broken powergloves VFX after striking anything with it when it is fully charged
  
• Fixed disappearing enemies during the last fight in the "Discretion Guaranteed" mission
  
• Fixed interaction indicator on doors which blocked "Like a Mage" quest
  

[h3]“Our” Changelog[/h3]

• Fixed floating placeholder room above base
  
• Made several objects static where it better fits the environment
  
• Fixed missing companions from the base
  
• Updated "Anti-gravity" training with additional information for easier completion
  
• Updated "Tactical Pockets" training with additional information for easier completion
  
• Fixed performance drops during call with Megan inside Apartment
  
• FPP aiming crosshair fixed for Power Glove
  
• Fixed blocker on Training center when loading from default save
  
• Fixed levitating resources
  
• Improved camerawork in several dialogues
  
• Fixed bugs related to reputation with factions
  
• Fixed VO of several NPCs and added new ones
  
• Fixed problems with incorrect collisions in many places
  
• Fixed hair on several NPCs
  
• Fixed incorrect names in dialogues
  
• Fixed bladearm chernohost behaviour near edges
  
• Fixes incorrect loading of some objects
  
• Added bladearm chernohost boss attacking sounds
  
• Fixed freelook bug when doing fast hand attack in FPP
  
• Fixed getting stuck in Cranes boss body if he falls on player
  
• Fixed input icon for PS5 controller for Crouch action
  
• Fixed various meshes positioning
  
• Fixed tablet being visible with equipped power gloves after leaving photo mode
  
• Added transparency to flowers leaves
  
• Fixed chernobylite rocks glow
  
• Fixed zoom out button on map
  
• Several incorrect VFX have been fixed
  
• Fixed Theodor animations in Last bastion of science
  
• Several fixes concerning the display of the UI
  
• Fixed Eternal One boss pose after defeating him
  
• Fixed incorrect interactions with objects (boxes, doors)
  
• Removed Parts of unfinished quest
  
• Fixed players RPG rockets always hitting player
  
• Fixed RPG not disappearing from inventory after giving it away to mercs in Stealing from thieves and robbers
  
• Missing pickup prompt from Luka's Sword in Stranger in The Woods
  

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That’s all for now — but not for long. With this major update out in the wild, we’re already working hard on the next milestone from our Early Access roadmap. Your feedback continues to shape the Zone. Keep sending it our way.

See you in the Zone!

TF51

We have the last entry revealing the coolest (at least in our opinion) features that appear in the new Megapatch. As promised, today we will be talking about a giant lizard. With wings!

Remember that scene from the intro when you wake up in the capsule and suddenly, out of nowhere, a huge winged creature flies in and wipes out everything around with a laser fired from its body? Good. Because that's what you'll be dealing with now.



Chernobylite Fallout, as we call him, is not an ordinary boss - he doesn't sit idly hidden in some dungeon just waiting for you to come. This huge monster literally combs the Zone in search of his prey - you. He appears out of the blue and attacks without warning. Compare this to the Black Stalker in Chernobylite 1, who appears when you stay in one place for too long. The only difference is that in such a large area, you can never be sure when or where this monster will appear.



What is the best tactic? Run. Seriously, if you try to fight it, we guarantee you will end up like fried potatoes. Mmmm…



And that's it for today. We hope that over the last few days, we have managed to whet your appetite for the upcoming Megapatch. And believe us, what we have presented to you so far is just the tip of the iceberg. There are a lot of changes and new features waiting for you, which you should be pleased about - after all, most of them were suggested by you :)

Take care and wait for the Megapatch!

[hr][/hr][h2]We're working on our new game! Add it to your wishlist![/h2]
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2075100/Chernobylite_2_Exclusion_Zone/

Another day and another secret from the new Megapatch is revealed.

We really wanted your actions in the game to have a real impact not only on the plot, but also on the entire world of Chernobylite 2. And we're not just talking about visual changes (remember blowing up the Duga radar in Chernobylite 1).

Until now, after completing a quest, you received a reward and improved or worsened your relations with the factions. We weren't entirely convinced that players would feel that their actions had a real impact on what was happening around them. That's why in the new update we decided to give this system a little more depth.



We are introducing a new influence mechanic. It’s very simple: each of your actions, whether it is completing a quest or defeating a very strong opponent, changes the balance of power between the factions and also affects the halting of the threat from Chernobylite, which brings certain benefits.

The changes occur during sleep. The map in the summary shows the path your character has taken, as well as which of your actions (e.g. a completed quest) had an impact on a given area and which faction's eyes you gained.



Is it worth the risk? Yes. Because the safer the Zone is, the more new quests will appear on the map. This can also attract more friendly NPC patrols and even new traders.

So you see that after the new update you will actually shape the Zone. But which way it all goes depends only on you.
Be with us tomorrow too. We’ll talk about the great lizard :)

[hr][/hr][h2]We're working on our new game! Add it to your wishlist![/h2]
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2075100/Chernobylite_2_Exclusion_Zone/

Welcome to the first part of a mini-series of posts in which we will gradually reveal the contents of the new Megapatch, the premiere of which is just around the corner. Of course, we’ll not reveal literally everything - this will happen on the day of the update's release. We’ll show you what we think are the most important and exciting new features that will appear in the game.

Let's start with something light... Or heavy. It depends on your point of view. Because the first thing we’ll show you is a new weapons in the arsenal. The first of them is the sledgehammer - a huge hammer that can deal massive damage to enemies.



Like other weapons in the arsenal, this one is also fully modifiable. So there is nothing to stop you from creating an even bigger hammer, which, for example, deals additional damage with ice or electricy.



Of course, the disadvantage of such a weapon is its slowness in dealing blows. You have to swing hard to be able to land an accurate strike. Therefore, for those who value speed in fighting with enemies, we have a suitable alternative - a heavy machine gun.



A powerful rifle with an equally capacious magazine can wreak havoc, regardless of whether you're attacked by a single enemy or a whole horde. Perfect for close combat...



...and from a distance (after modifications).



Of course, you have to reckon with the fact that reloading ammo in this beast takes some time. But that's a small price to pay to effectively (and effectively) deal with the filth that's rampant in the Zone.

This was the first in a series of posts. In the next episode: who’s the real “influencer”.

[hr][/hr][h2]We're working on our new game! Add it to your wishlist![/h2]
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2075100/Chernobylite_2_Exclusion_Zone/