Are you stuck in loading screen limbo? The Compiling Shaders bug in STALKER 2 is freezing up games and making progress impossible. The bug seemed to appear after the 1.0.1 Patch and is hitting some PC users hard — the game locks up while compiling shaders, forcing you to turn off the game to escape an infinite loading screen.
If you’re on PC and dealing with this issue, other players have found solutions that are reportedly working as of the time of this writing. If you’re still dealing with compiling shaders and don’t to wait for a patch, check out the instructions below. This bug doesn’t seem to appear on Xbox Series X, but we’ll update this article with any information if it pops up. For now, this seems like a PC-only problem.
These bug fixes come from the incredibly helpful community members at the Stalker 2 Reddit, check out this post for more ideas how to fix this issue on PC.
How To Fix Compiling Shaders Bug On PC
The Compiling Shaders is found on the Windows and Linux Operating Systems — when starting the game, a loading screen will appear and begin compiling shaders. If you’re stuck at this screen, try these options.
- Windows: Go to C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Stalker2\Saved\
- Delete any files with the .UPIPELINECACHE file type.
How To Fix Compiling Shaders Bug On Linux
If you’re using Linux, follow these steps instead.
- Linux: Go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\shadercache\1643320\
- Delete the folder’s contents.
- May have to delete the folder twice.
Compiling Shaders Alternate Fix On PC
On Windows PC, if you’re a beginner user and need help finding the files, follow these steps.
- Windows (Alternate Method): Search for Disk Cleanup in your Search Bar at the bottom of the screen.
- Open Disk Cleanup and check the box to the left of ‘DirectX Shader Cache‘.
- Press Okay to delete.
And that should be it. For some windows users, you may need to do BOTH steps — deleting the DirectX Shader Cache and deleting the .UPIPELINECACHE file type.
Compiling Shaders Fix on Steam
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There’s one more fix you can try for Steam users.
- Steam Fix: In your Steam Library, right-click on the title of the game (STALKER 2) to open a sub-menu.
- Select ‘Validate Game Files‘.
This will run a check on your installation folder and reset any files that shouldn’t be changed. This fix seems to work for some players — so it can’t hurt to try.
Those are all the methods we’ve found so far for fixing the Compiling Shaders bug. This issue will probably be fixed in the near future in a patch, but there’s nothing worse than waiting for a game to get patched so you can keep playing. Check back soon for more updates on Gameranx.
