THQ and GSC Game World have released the first patch for their post-apocalyptic FPS S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. The 3.8MB download will update the game to version 1.0001 and contains well over 60 fixes — mainly multiplayer-related issues. Unfortunately, the patch also breaks all saved games, so be sure to back-up your current saved games and try out the patch to see if it really warrants installation for you or not. According to this post on the [H]ard Forums, some of the unlisted fixes include traders selling more items, changes to the AI (hiding is easier), damage has been changed so enemies will be easier to takedown, and your suit now degrades. A follow-up thread on the Oblivion-Lost Forums mentions a merchant that can fix armor, but it apparently hasn’t been implemented despite the patch change of allowing armor degradation.
Upon its release, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. received favorable reviews, especially praising its atmosphere, concise recreation of Chernobyl, and frantic gameplay. Bugs and poor performance hampered the game, but fixes such as this one improve the game while the community waits for an official patch to cure these issues.
