STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl Tweak Guide

[Page 8] Advanced Tweaking (Pt.2)



Console Commands


The command console in STALKER can be opened and closed at any time by pressing the '~' key (the key below ESC). This console is an area which allows you to enter a range of commands, for the purposes of adjusting the game engine's parameters. Most console commands are also used in the User.ltx file as covered on the previous page. So the best method to implement an advanced feature is to first test a command in the console, fine tune the value you may wish to use for that command, then if you wish to use it permanently, edit your User.ltx file accordingly if the change hasn't already been stored there.


The procedure to use a console command is simple - enter the relevant command followed by a space, then the appropriate value. For example entering the following command in the console:


r2_tf_mipbias 0.5


Tells the game engine to assign a value of 0.5 to the variable r2_tf_mipbias. The impact of this change should be immediately visible on screen. If you just want to know what the current value of a command variable is, enter its name without any added value (e.g. just enter r2_tf_mipbias to see its current value).


Importantly: Entering new values for variables in the console may automatically write the change to your User.ltx file, meaning it will be implemented the next time you start STALKER. So make sure to backup your User.ltx first before messing around in the console, and ideally first check the current value for a variable and note it down before testing new values in case you want to quickly get back to the original value.



Click to enlarge

The full list of console commands for STALKER is provided further below in alphabetical order, along with descriptions wherever possible. Some important things to note about this list:


  • You can use the Page Up and Page Down keys to scroll through text in the console.
  • Detailed descriptions for most of the useful console commands are already provided on the previous page, as the User.ltx settings and the console commands of the same name operate exactly the same way.
  • Changing a variable in the console can become permanent since it is written to your User.ltx file. Make sure to set a variable back to its default or desired setting, or restore your backed up User.ltx file afterwards if you just want to experiment and not keep your changes.
  • Several commands were added as of the 1.0006 Patch - they are marked as New, Altered or Removed


  • _preset [Minimum, Low, Default, High, Extreme] - Same as the in-game Quality Settings option.

    ai_use_torch_dynamic_lights [on, off] - Same as the in-game NPC Flashlights option.

    beclient - New

    bemsg - New

    beserver - New

    bind [action,key]- Binds an action to a particular primary key.

    bind_console

    bind_list - Lists current key bindings.

    bind_sec [action,key] - Binds an action to a secondary key.

    cam_inert [0.000,1.000] - Controls camera inertia.

    cam_slide_inert [0.000,1.000]

    cdkey

    cfg_load [filename.ltx] - Loads a configuration file with the specified name from the same directory as User.ltx.

    cfg_save [filename.ltx] - Saves current configuration to a new .ltx file with the specified name in the same directory as User.ltx.

    chat - New

    check_for_updates

    cl_cod_pickup_mode [0,1]

    cl_dynamiccrosshair [on,off]- Same as in-game Dynamic Crosshair option.

    cl_voteno

    cl_votestart

    cl_voteyes

    clear_log - New

    demo_play [demoname] - Plays back a pre-recorded timedemo - see Conclusion for details.

    demo_record [demoname] - Records a timedemo - see Conclusion for details.

    disconnect - Exists current game to main menu.

    dump_open_files - New

    dump_resources - New

    flush - Creates log of actions under the \Documents and Settings\All Users\Shared Documents\STALKER-SHOC\logs directory.

    g_always_run [on,off] - Toggles always run/always walk.

    g_autopickup [on,off]

    g_backrun [on,off]

    g_corpsenum [0,100]

    g_eventdelay [0,1000]

    g_game_difficulty (gd_novice,gd_stalker,gd_veteran,gd_master) - Same as in-game Difficulty option.

    g_kill

    g_restart

    g_restart_fast

    g_swapteams - Swap team for artefacthunt game.

    get_server_address - Lists server's IP address.

    help - Lists all console commands.

    hud_crosshair [on,off] - Same as in-game Show Crosshair option.

    hud_crosshair_dist [on,off] - Same as in-game Crosshair Target Distance option.

    hud_info [on,off] - Removes hud elements

    hud_weapon [on,off] - Same as in-game Show Weapon option.

    list_actions - Lists all bindable character actions.

    load [savename] - Loads the saved game with the name specified.

    load_last_save - Loads last saved game

    main_menu - Takes you straight to the game's main menu screen.

    mm_mm_net_srv_dedicated [on,off]

    mm_net_con_publicserver [on,off]

    mm_net_con_spectator [1,32]

    mm_net_con_spectator_on [on,off]

    mm_net_filter_battleye - New

    mm_net_filter_empty [on,off]

    mm_net_filter_full [on,off]

    mm_net_filter_listen [on,off]

    mm_net_filter_pass [on,off]

    mm_net_filter_wo_ff [on,off]

    mm_net_filter_wo_pass [on,off]

    mm_net_player_name [String]

    mm_net_srv_gamemode [st_deathmatch,st_team_deathmatch,st_artefacthunt]

    mm_net_srv_maxplayers [2,32]

    mm_net_srv_name [String]

    mm_net_srv_reinforcement_type [0,2]

    mm_net_use_battleye - New

    mm_net_weather_rateofchange [0.000,100.000]

    mouse_invert [on,off] - Same as in-game Invert Mouse option.

    mouse_sens [0.050,0.6000] - Same as in-game Mouse Sensitivity option.

    name [String] - Sets your Player Name.

    net_cl_clearstats

    net_cl_icurvesize [0,2000]

    net_cl_icurvetype [0,2]

    net_cl_interpolation [-1.000,1.000]

    net_cl_log_data [on,off]

    net_cl_resync

    net_compressor_enabled - New

    net_compressor_gather_stats - New

    net_compressor_status - New

    net_dbg_dump_ export_obj [0,1]

    net_dbg_dump_import_obj [0,1]

    net_dbg_dump_update_read [0,1]

    net_dbg_dump_update_write [0,1]

    net_cl_update_rate [1,100]

    net_dedicated_sleep [0,64]

    net_sv_clearstats

    net_sv_gpmode [0,2]

    net_sv_log_data [on,off]

    net_sv_pending_lim [0,10]

    net_sv_update_rate [1,100]

    ph_frequency

    ph_iterations [15,50]

    quit - Exits game to Desktop.

    r1_dlights [on,off] - Toggles dynamic lights, only impacts on torchlight.

    r1_dlights_clip [10.000,150.000] - Sets dynamic light clip range.

    r1_glows_per_frame [2,32] - Controls maximum number of light sources.

    r1_lmodel_lerp [0.000,0.333] - Controls the Linear Interpolation of lighting.

    r1_pps_u [-1.000,1.000] - Controls Per Pixel Shader functionality.

    r1_pps_v [-1.000,1.000] - Controls Per Pixel Shader functionality.

    r1_ssa_lod_a [16.000,96.000] - Controls Level of Detail in game world.

    r1_ssa_lod_b [16.000,64.000] - Controls Level of Detail in game world.

    r1_tf_mipbias [-0.500,0.500] - Controls mipmap LOD bias which affects texture clarity.

    r2_aa [on,off] - Toggles fake Antialiasing blur effect.

    r2_aa_break [0.000000,1.000000][0.000000,1.000000][0.000000,1.000000] - Controls extent of fake AA.

    r2_aa_kernel [0.300,0.700] - Controls overall blurriness of fake AA.

    r2_aa_weight [0.000000,1.000000][0.000000,1.000000][0.000000,1.000000] - More precisely controls bluriness of fake AA.

    r2_allow_r1_light [on,off] - Allows DX8 lighting under DX9 lighting model.

    r2_gi [on,off] - Toggles Global Illumination.

    r2_gi_clip [0.000,0.100] - Controls Global Illumination clip distance.

    r2_gi_depth [1,5] - Controls Global Illumination shadow depth.

    r2_gi_photons [8,256] - Controls Global Illumination effect.

    r2_gi_refl [0.001,0.990] - Controls Global Illumination reflectivity.

    r2_gloss_factor [0.000,10.000] - Sets level of Specularity/gloss of objects.

    r2_ls_bloom_fast [on,off] - Toggles enhanced Bloom effect.

    r2_ls_bloom_kernel_b [0.010,1.000] - Determines level of haze from HDR/Bloom effect.

    r2_ls_bloom_kernel_g [1.000,7.000]

    r2_ls_bloom_kernel_scale [0.500,2.000]

    r2_ls_bloom_speed [0.000,100.000]

    r2_ls_bloom_threshold [0.000,1.000] - Controls overall level of the lighting effect used.

    r2_ls_depth_bias [-0.500,0.500] - Controls how far visible light sources shine.

    r2_ls_depth_scale [0.500,1.500] - Controls the impact of lighting on shadows.

    r2_ls_dsm_kernel [0.100,3.000]

    r2_ls_psm_kernel [0.100,3.000]

    r2_ls_squality [0.500,1.000] - Same as in-game Shadow Quality option.

    r2_ls_ssm_kernel [0.500,1.000]

    r2_mblur [0.000,1.000] - Controls Motion Blur effect. Only works if -mblur switch is also enabled.

    r2_parallax_h [0.000,0.500] - Controls Parallax Mapping which affects texture surface depth.

    r2_slight_fade [0.020,2.000]

    r2_ssa_lod_a [16.000,96.000] - Controls Level of Detail in game world.

    r2_ssa_lod_b [32.000,64.000] - Controls Level of Detail in game world.

    r2_sun [on,off] - Same as in-game Sun Shadow option.

    r2_sun_depth_far_bias [-0.500,0.500]

    r2_sun_depth_far_scale [0.500,1.500]

    r2_sun_depth_near_bias [-0.500,0.500]

    r2_sun_depth_near_scale [0.500,1.500]

    r2_sun_details [on,off] - Same as in-game Grass Shadows option.

    r2_sun_focus [on,off]

    r2_sun_lumscale [-1.000,3.000] - Brightness of Sun's light.

    r2_sun_lumscale_amb [0.000,3.000] - Brightness of ambient light from Sun.

    r2_sun_lumscale_hemi [0.000,3.000]

    r2_sun_near [1.000,50.000]

    r2_sun_near_border [0.500,1.000]

    r2_sun_tsm [on,off]

    r2_sun_tsm_bias [-0.500,0.500]

    r2_sun_tsm_proj [0.001,0.800]

    r2_tf_mipbias [-0.500,0.500] - Controls mipmap LOD bias which affects texture clarity.

    r2_tonemap [on,off] - Toggles Tone Mapping effect for the HDR lighting.

    r2_tonemap_adaptation [0.010,10.000]

    r2_tonemap_amount [0.000,1.000]

    r2_tonemap_lowlum [0.000,1.000] - Controls effect of tone mapping on darker areas.

    r2_tonemap_middlegray [0.000,2.000] - Controls overall look of HDR effect.

    r2_wait_sleep [0,1]

    r2_zfill [on,off]

    r2_zfill_depth [0.001,0.500]

    r2em [0.000,4.000]

    r__detail_density [0.200,0.600] - Same as in-game Grass Density option.

    r__geometry_lod [0.100,1.200] - Same as in-game Objects Detail option.

    r__supersample [1,4] - Same as in-game Antialiasing option.

    r__tf_aniso [1,16] - Same as in-game Anisotropic Filtering option.

    ra

    renderer [renderer_r1,renderer_r2a,renderer_r2] - Same as in-game Render option.

    rs_c_brightness [0.500,1.500] - Same as in-game Brightness option.

    rs_c_contrast [0.500,1.500]- Same as in-game Contrast option.

    rs_c_gamma [0.500,1.500]- Same as in-game Gamma option.

    rs_fullscreen [on,off]- Same as in-game Full Screen option.

    rs_refresh_60hz [on,off] - Same as in-game Frequency 60Hz option.

    rs_stats [on,off] - Toggles display of game engine statistics, including FPS.

    rs_v_sync [on,off]- Same as in-game Vertical Sync option.

    rs_vis_distance [0.400,1.500]- Same as in-game Vision Distance option.

    save [savename] - Saves the current game under the name specified (default is quicksave).

    screenshot [1] - Saves a JPG screenshot under the \Documents and Settings\All Users\Shared Documents\STALKER-SHOC\screenshots directory.

    snd_acceleration [on,off] - Toggles hardware sound acceleration.

    snd_cache_size [4,32] - Sets size of sound cache.

    snd_efx [on,off] - Toggles Sound Effects on or off.

    snd_restart - Restarts the sound engine; should be used after altering any snd_ variables.

    snd_targets [4,32] - Sets the number of channels for audio.

    snd_volume_eff [0.000,1.000] - Same as in-game SFX Volume option.

    snd_volume_music [0.000,1.000]- Same as in-game Music Volume option.

    start

    stat_memory - Toggles the display of memory-related statistics for the game engine.

    sv_addmap

    sv_anomalies_enabled [0,1]

    sv_anomalies_length [0,180]

    sv_artefect_respawn_delta [0,600]

    sv_artefact_spawn_force [0,1]

    sv_artefact_stay_time [0,180]

    sv_artefacts_count [1,100]

    sv_auto_team_balance [0,1]

    sv_auto_team_swap [0,1]

    sv_banplayer

    sv_banplayer_id

    sv_banplayer_ip

    sv_bearercantsprint [0,1]

    sv_changegametype

    sv_changelevel

    sv_changelevelgametype

    sv_client_reconnect_time [0,60]

    sv_console_update_rate [1,100]

    sv_dedicated_server_update_rate [1,1000]

    sv_dmgblockindicator [0,1]

    sv_dmgblocktime [0,600]

    sv_dump_online_statistics - New

    sv_dump_online_statistics_period - New

    sv_forcerespawn [0,3600]

    sv_fraglimit [0,100]

    sv_friendly_indicators [0,1]

    sv_friendly_names [0,1]

    sv_friendlyfire [0.000,2.000]

    sv_hail_to_winner_time [0,60]

    sv_kick

    sv_listmaps

    sv_listplayers

    sv_listplayers_banned

    sv_max_ping_limit [1,2000]

    sv_nextanomalyset

    sv_nextmap

    sv_pda_hunt [0,1]

    sv_prevmap

    sv_reinforcement_time [-1,3600]

    sv_remove_corpse [-1,1]

    sv_remove_weapon [-1,1]

    sv_return_to_base

    sv_returnplayers [0,1]

    sv_rpoint_freeze_time [0,60000]

    sv_setenvtime

    sv_setweather

    sv_shieldedbases [0,1]

    sv_spectr_firsteye [0,1]

    sv_spectr_freefly [0,1]

    sv_spectr_freelook [0,1]

    sv_spectr_lookat [0,1]

    sv_spectr_teamcamera [0,1]

    sv_startteammoney

    sv_satistic_collect [0,1]

    sv_statistic_save

    sv_statistic_save_auto [0,1]

    sv_status

    sv_teamkill_limit [0,100]

    sv_teamkill_punish [0,1]

    sv_timelimit [0,180]

    sv_unbanplayer_ip

    sv_vote_enabled [0,1]

    sv_vote_participants [0,1]

    sv_vote_quota [0.000,1.000]

    sv_vote_time [0.500,10.000]

    sv_votestop

    sv_warm_up [0,3600]

    texture_lod [0,4] - Same as in-game Texture Detail option.

    unbind [action] - Unbinds any primary keys from the specified action.

    unbind_console

    unbind_sec [action] - Unbinds any secondary keys from the specified action.

    unbindall - Unbinds all keys from all actions.

    vid_mode [WxH] - Same as in-game Resolution option.

    vid_restart - Restarts the graphics engine; should be used after changing certain graphics settings such as texture_lod and vid_mode.



    For the most part all the useful and most important console commands are described above and in much more detail on the previous page. However if a description for an important command is missing, please Email Me with the details. In general I've left some of the more obvious and/or less useful console commands without a description, and of course there are a few commands for which I don't know the precise functionality.



    The next page completes the Advanced Tweaking with Command Line Switches.