STALKER 2's latest update expands its A-Life NPC simulation bubble, seemingly without a scary performance tax

STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl has a new update out, 2.1, which builds on the excellent 2.0 patch by upgrading that most beloved and contentious of STALKER series features: the A-Life system that governs simulated NPC behavior. It's now possible to whack up the distance at which A-Life NPCs (who, unlike scripted characters, will wander around, fight others over faction turf, and sometimes hunker down for a campfire-side guitar sesh) are visualised, while audio tweaks can make these unplanned shootouts audible from further away. The effect, in theory, is a better sense of the Zone's inhabitants going about their bang-banging business, even if Mr. Main Character here isn't close by.