Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl is another Unreal Engine 5 release that has its fair share of technical issues despite the visual fidelity on display. Many modern releases compile shaders at first launch on PC to ensure that there aren’t stutters during gameplay, but for some reason, Stalker 2 compiles shaders on each launch. Depending on the CPU, this can often take a while, and If you want to skip the shader compilation process in Stalker 2, and the starting videos, here is how.
Skip Stalker 2 Shader Compilation
To skip the shader compilation process, we need to create an “Engine.ini” file for Stalker 2 and add a few commands to skip the process entirely.
- Make sure Stalker 2 isn’t currently running
- Head over to the following location:
Steam
C:\Users\[WINDOWS USERNAME]\AppData\Local\Stalker2\Saved\Config\Windows
Game Pass (Xbox App)
C:\Users\[WINDOWS USERNAME]\AppData\Local\Stalker2\Saved\Config\WinGDK
- Here, create a text file called “Engine.ini“, and make sure its extension is set to ini instead of txt.
- Open the file using a text editor like Notepad or Notepad++
- Paste the following lines:
[SystemSettings]
r.PSOWarmup.WarmupMaterials=0
- After you’re done, save the file (Ctrl + S) and close the Notepad
- Relaunch Stalker 2 and the game will skip the shader compilation step entirely
While this will save you the headache of going through the process at each launch, we recommend enabling the process again during the following:
- Whenever a new game update is installed
- Whenever you update your GPU drivers
In most games, the shader compilation step is automatically initiated when the above scenarios occur, so you must remove the lines from the Engine.ini file, or set the value of r.PSOWarmup.WarmupMaterials to 1.
Skip Stalker 2 Intro Videos
You can save a few more seconds at launch by skipping the intro videos and logo splashes at the launch of Stalker 2. To do this, we’ll use the handy STALKER2Tweak tool created by Lyall.
- Head over to the following GitHub link, and download the latest version of STALKER2Tweak
- Select either the Steam or Xbox zip file under “Assets” to initiate the download
- Once downloaded, extract the zip file in the installation folder of Stalker 2
steamapps\common\S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Heart of Chornobyl
That’s all you need to do, and the next time you launch Stalker 2, you’ll skip through the intro videos. The STALKER2Tweak also adds the following improvements and features:
- Enable developer console.
- Disable mouse smoothing and fix X/Y sensitivity mismatch.
- Adjust the viewmodel FOV.
- Disable pillarboxing/letterboxing in cutscenes.
- Fix vert- FOV when playing on an ultrawide display.
You can adjust these by editing the STALKER2Tweak.ini file.
All credits go to Lyall for creating and testing the tool. You can learn more about their work at their Ko-fi and Patreon.
Shader compilation aside, if you’re looking to improve the Stalker 2 PC experience, you can disable mouse smoothing, vignette, and even adjust the FOV beyond the in-game limit. If you’re struggling to maintain a decent framerate, check out our recommendations for the best graphics settings for Stalker 2.
