Prerequisites

• Game copy. You need to have the base game, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Heart of Chornobyl, purchased.
• Access to the Zone Kit.
• Enough disk space - approximately 700GB. Modding involves creating and storing new files, so ensure you have enough free space on your hard drive.
• For Steam Workshop upload:
  • A Steam account.
  • Stalker 2 is in your Steam library.
  • You are logged into your Steam account on your computer.
• For mod.io upload:
  • A mod.io account.
  • Access to the email address associated with your account for authentication.

NOTE

Due to technical limitations, the path to the project must be as short as possible. Use a simple directory, such as C:\ZoneKit

Current limitations and known issues:

• No possibility to edit levels, WIP
• WWise project absence at ZoneKitproject, WIP
• It is possible to create and edit mods based on Blueprints, but such mods are not yet supported in the game - known issue, WIP

Creating a new mod

Follow these steps to create a mod:

1. Launch the Zone Kit.

2. Select the Create Mod button on the top toolbar.

   

3. In a pop-up window, select a template – currently, only the Default template is available.

   
   

4. Choose the directory where to save the mod and enter a title without using special characters or spaces.

   
   

5. Optionally, fill in the fields.

• Author – enter your name or nickname.
• Description – provide a brief description of the mod’s purpose.
• URL  – provide a link to your website or project page.
  By default, Show Content Directory is selected. After creating the folder, it automatically opens in the Content Drawer.

6. Select the Create Mod button.

In the bottom-right corner of the screen, you see a message confirming the successful creation.

In the open Content Browser, you can see the program folder if you selected Show Content Directory – this folder stores the content copied from the template.
If you cleared the Show Content Directory checkbox, you can find your folder at the following address: All → Plugins → [YourModName].

Well done! Now you can proceed to creating and editing content for your future mod.

NOTE

Before working on the mod, make sure you have selected it as active in the top toolbar.

Modifying original content

To be able to modify the original content in the mod, check out the required assets/folders in the mod's folder. There are two ways to do it:

Copy to the mod directory and change

• Select the active mod in the toolbar where you are going to add the content
• Open the Content Browser and locate the folder or asset you need.
• Right-click on the asset, folder, or group of items you want to transfer to the mod.
• In the context menu, select the Checkout option. The content is copied to the mod directory, keeping the folder structure intact.

Change and save to the mod directory

• Select the active mod in the toolbar where you are going to add the content.
• Open the Content Browser and locate the folder or asset you need.
• Open the required asset and make the desired changes.
• Select the Save button.
• In the Check Out Assets window, which lists the modified assets, select the Check Out Selected button. The original assets remain unchanged, and the modified assets are copied to the mod's folder.

ATTENTION

This functionality does not work with World Partition yet. Do not try to modify and check out levels, external actors, and external objects.
The functionality works fine with other assets: blueprints, materials, mat instances, textures, skeletal meshes, animation sequences, sound events, etc.

Redirection 

If you select a mod, you turn on the redirection. After the user checks out an asset, all objects that referenced this asset in the /Game folder now reference its duplicate from the active mod folder. The effect is visible both in the Content Browser and PlayInEditor – to see the impact, modify the asset in the mod folder.

If you select None and thus turn off the active mod, the redirect is canceled, and all links return to their original state. If the original asset has a duplicate, you can only open the original with the mod turned off. If the mod is enabled, its duplicate opens instead of the original.

If you delete an asset from the mod folder while the redirect is enabled, the redirect is removed from the assets being deleted, and the assets are deleted correctly, without losing links.

Example video: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ChdjwGEc3-59jnS6HzAZwQCe0OjalN5G/view?usp=sharing

ATTENTION

Redirect does not work with levels and external actors. Do not try to check out these assets, it may lead to a crash.

Creating a configuration mod

Follow these steps to create a configuration mod:

1. Create a mod with the editor. See how to do it in Creating a new mod.
2. Locate the configuration file you want to modify in the Content folder. Then find it through the in-built OS or other means outside of the editor (f.ex. Explorer) and copy it into your mod folder. Make sure to preserve the full folder hierarchy – this means you should replicate the exact path from the original Content folder within your mod folder.

Example: If the configuration file was in …\Stalker2\Content\GameLite\GameData\Credits.cfg, the in mod folder it should be in …\Stalker2\Mods\mod_name\Content\GameLite\GameData\Credits.cfg

3. Open the file with any text editor, make the changes, and save it.
4. Pack the mod with the editor. See how to do it in Packaging a mod.

Packaging a mod

NOTE

Before working on the mod, make sure you have selected it as active in the top toolbar.

Follow these steps to pack a mod:

1. Select the Package Mod button to cook the mod. 

   

2. To track the packaging process, select Show Output Log in the pop-up in the bottom-right corner.

   
   

The bottom right pop-up message appears once the cooking is done successfully.

Make sure the final packaged mod is in the …\Stalker2\SavedMods\Staged directory.

Checking packaged mod files with UnrealPak

If the mod doesn't work as expected in the game, it's worth checking whether all the files were included in the packed mod.

Follow these steps to check the list of files in a packaged mod using UnrealPak:

1. Open the …\Engine\Binaries\Win64 folder.
2. Open cmd in this directory.
3. Enter the command: UnrealPak path to pak/utoc/ucas file -list.

Example: UnrealPak D:\SDK\Stalker2\SavedMods\Staged\test_cfg\Windows\Stalker2\Mods\test_cfg\Content\Paks\Windows\test_cfgStalker2-Windows.pak -list
You see information about the packaged mod.

NOTE

To get the full list, repeat the steps for all types of files: pak/utoc/ucas. 

Steam Workshop mod upload

Before uploading a mod, ensure that you are logged into your Steam account and have a copy of Stalker 2 in your Steam library.

Uploading a new mod

Follow these steps to upload a mod:

1. Select the active mod you want to upload to Steam Workshop.

2. Select the Steam Workshop Upload button in the toolbar.

   
   

3. Select the New Mod option in the pop-up window.

4. Fill in the fields for the mod name and description. Specify the mod language using the API Language Code (see Languages Supported on Steam), and choose its visibility settings.
5. Leave Package mod before upload selected if you haven’t packaged the mod manually after the latest changes.
6. Select the Upload button.

The mod рackaging process starts, and the mod uploads to Steam Workshop.

After the upload is complete, a message appears.

Updating an existing mod

Follow these steps to update an existing mod:

1. Select the active mod you want to update.
2. Select the Upload Steam Workshop button in the toolbar.

3. Select the Update Mod option in the pop-up window.

4. In the Select mod to update, select the already uploaded mod that you want to update. The mod's title and description are pulled in. You can optionally update them.

   
   

5. Fill in the Change Note field with the modifications you made to the mod.

NOTE

If you are uploading the mod without any file changes, the Change Note won't be added to the mod's page.

6. Specify the mod language using the API Language Code and optionally choose its visibility settings.
7. Leave Package mod before upload selected if you haven’t packaged the mod manually after the latest changes.
8. Select the Upload button.

The mod рackaging process starts, and the mod uploads to Steam Workshop.

After the upload is complete, a message appears.

mod.io create and upload

Before uploading mods to mod.io, you need to create an account on this platform.

Initial authentication

Follow these steps to authenticate:

1. Select the mod.io button in the editor.
2. Select Create & upload.

3. In the Content Creation & Upload Tool window, enter the email address associated with your mod.io account.

4. Enter the code sent via email in the Authentication Code field.
5. Select the Authenticate button.

Now you can create a new mod on the platform or edit an existing one.

Uploading a new mod

Follow these steps to upload a new mod:

1. Select the Create Mod button in the Content Creation & Upload Tool window.

   

2. Choose the path to the Logo File.

• the image must be in PNG format.
• 512x288px or larger.
• 16:9 aspect ratio recommended.
• 8MB maximum.

3. Enter the title and summary in the respective fields.
4. Select the Submit button.

A message confirming that the mod has been created appears. A new item appears in the My Mods section on mod.io.

Follow these steps to upload files to the created item:

1. Select Yes in the Mod Created window.

2. Select the Create mod for PC button, regardless of the platform it was created for.

   
   

3. Specify the path to the folder with the packed mod, which is typically located at Stalker2\SavedMods\Staged\mod_name
4. Fill in the Version String and Changelog fields.

5. Select the Submit button. The files are uploaded to mod.io. A success message appears in the Output Log.

   
   

6. Well done! The mod has been uploaded to mod.io. Now all that’s left is to get approval from the moderators.

Updating an existing mod

Follow these steps to upload the update of an existing mod:

1. In the editor, select the active mod you want to upload.
2. Select the mod.io button.
3. Select Create & upload.

4. In the Content Creation & Upload Tool window, select the Edit Mod button.

   
   

5. Expand the Browse Mod list and select the mod you want to update.

   
   

6. Optionally, change the mod's name and description.

7. Select the Edit Files button. In the next window, you see the files that were uploaded previously. 

   
   

8. Select New Modfile to go to the file upload window.

   
   

9. Specify the path to the folder with the packed mod, which is typically located at: Stalker2\SavedMods\Staged\mod_name
   Indicate the version of the updated mod and add changes to the changelog.
10. Select Set as Active Release if you want the new version to be released immediately.
11. Select the Submit button.

After the upload, you see a message confirming the successful upload.

Recommended approach for testing mods In-Game

To verify the functionality of a modification in a real gameplay environment before its release, it is recommended to use the private visibility option when uploading to mod.io or the Steam Workshop.

After uploading the mod:

• Set the visibility parameter to Private.
• This allows subscribing to your own mod via the chosen platform.
• Once subscribed, the mod will be automatically mounted in-game, enabling testing of its features.

If the mod functions as intended during testing, its visibility can then be changed to Public, making it available to other users.