Stalker 2 modder adds realistic Moon cycles to the game to make the open-world feel as real as possible

The release of the official Zone Kit modding tools for Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl has led to a new boon in modding for GSC Game World’s open world survival game. While players adding more obscene violence to the game and others rebalancing the entire experience, one fan has added realistic Moon cycles to the recent sequel.

Stalker 2 modder upgrades the Moon

Created by modder DMCooller, Stalker 2’s simply titled “The Moon” mod removes the static image seen in the current version of the game and replaces it with a constantly updating one. Synced to the game’s day/night cycle, players will notice the Moon shifting as they play.

With the mod installed, The Moon will display distinct phases and even sometimes appear larger than usual. Each Moon cycle will last 29.5 days with the satellite shifting between all twelve states as the cycle continues.

Right now, the Moon’s phases do not persist across saves meaning that you can save the game with a slim crescent, but load back in with something different. Additionally, if you have any mods that change the length of Stalker 2’s day/night cycle, the Moon will change depending on that mod.

This Stalker 2 mod is a beautiful detail that really makes the game’s open world feel just that little bit more real. However, modder Dmcooller has responded to fans that the base game is already extremely detailed, although many people don’t pay attention to the minute details within the game.

“There are numerous tiny details added by the devs already, but we do not always notice them, such as the bats I noticed at night, only when I was developing this mod,” he explained. The modder also wishes to add more stars into the game’s skies at night, “but it requires more resources”.