Carzy Zarx’s PC Gaming Emporium - Catch Up on All the Latest PC Gaming Related News

[JEMC]

Wednesday news:

 

SALES & "SALES"/DEALS

DSOGaming Christmas Giveaway – Win Our Top 10 Most Optimized PC Games Of 2017
http://www.dsogaming.com/editorial/dsogaming-christmas-giveaway-win-our-top-10-most-optimized-pc-games-of-2017/
On Sunday, we announced our Top 10 most optimized PC games of 2017 and today we’re launching our annual Grand Christmas giveaway. This basically means that ten of our readers will be able to win one copy of the games that were featured in that list.
You can participate in this giveaway via three ways: By simply leaving a ‘Thank You’ comment below (duplicate or off-topic comments will be deleted), by re-tweeting our giveaway or by sharing our Facebook post.
The first winner will get our tenth most optimized PC game, the second winner will get our ninth most optimized PC game, the third winner will get our eighth most optimized PC game, etc.

 

Humble indie mega week sale discounts Hollow Knight, Stardew Valley and more greats
http://www.pcgamer.com/humble-indie-mega-week-sale-discounts-hollow-knight-stardew-valley-and-more-greats/
Ahead of the Steam winter sale and on the heels of the Humble 'Jingle Jam' Bundle, Humble Bundle is holding a hefty indie sale this week. The 'indie mega week sale' is live now and runs through 10 am Pacific this Christmas—Monday, December 25.

 

Meanwhile, on Steam their Midweek Madness feature only features one game, and for little more than 24h. That game is Prison Architect and can be yours 75% cheaper than usual.

 

ARK: Survival Evolved has surpassed 12 million players, supports crossplay between Windows 10 and Xbox One
http://www.dsogaming.com/news/ark-survival-evolved-has-surpassed-12-million-sales-supports-crossplay-between-windows-10-and-xbox-one/
Studio Wildcard has issued a press release, announcing that ARK: Survival Evolved has surpassed 12 million players worldwide. In addition, the team revealed that the game supports crossplay between the Windows 10 and the Xbox One versions.

 

SOFTWARE

Denuvo server issues prevented players from playing Batman: Arkham Knight, Mad Max & Shadow of War
http://www.dsogaming.com/news/denuvo-server-problems-prevented-players-from-playing-batman-arkham-knight-mad-max/
It appears that some Denuvo server problems prevented PC gamers from playing their legitimate copies of Batman: Arkham Knight and Mad Max. According to reports, both of these games were not launching at all in the past couple days. And while both of them seem to be working right now, a lot of reports suggest that these issues were caused by the Denuvo anti-tamper tech.

>>Another reason to "love" Denuvo...

 

Steam Community access has been blocked in China
http://www.pcgamer.com/steam-community-access-has-been-blocked-in-china/
It appears that access to the Steam Community, including forums, user profile pages, and inventories, has been blocked in China. According to Greatfire.org, a site that monitors online censorship in the country, access to steamcommunity.com has actually been 96 percent blocked since December 15.
Store.steampowered.com remains available, meaning that users in China can still purchase and play games. But anything that requires interaction with others is off the table. Why the ban was put into place isn't clear, but one possible motivating factor is the changing face of gaming, and the gaming industry, in China.

>>Because China.

 

MODS/EMULATORS

After 4 years of development, Half-Life 2 free standalone fan expansion “HL2 – ICE” has been released
http://www.dsogaming.com/news/after-4-years-of-development-half-life-2-free-standalone-fan-expansion-hl2-ice-has-been-released/
After four years of development, modder ‘Timian’ and his team have released a new fan expansion for Half Life 2, HL2 – ICE. ICE continues the game’s storyline somewhere in the Antarctic through ice landscapes and underground bases.

>>If you're interested, you can download it from moddb.

 

Skyrim Project Optimization is a mod that improves performance via Occlusion Culling
http://www.dsogaming.com/news/skyrim-project-optimization-is-a-mod-that-improves-performance-via-occlusion-culling/
Modder ‘pritster5’ has released a really interesting mod for Skyrim: Special Edition, Skyrim Project Optimization. This mod basically aims to improve performance in almost all interiors of Skyrim by using Occlusion Culling.

>>You can get this mod from Nexus mods. And talking about Nexus mods...

 

Nexus Mods to launch a 'mod author donation system' early next year
http://www.pcgamer.com/nexus-mods-to-launch-a-mod-author-donation-system-early-next-year/
The 2015 attempt to bring paid mods to Steam was an unmitigated disaster, but that's not going to stop Nexus Mods from taking a different shot at a paid-mods system of its own. The site recently announced plans for a new "mod author donation system" that will enable mod makers who opt in to earn a few bucks, or other rewards if they prefer, from their work. That doesn't mean that users will have to start paying for mods, however: Nexus Mods founder Robin "DarkOne" Scott made it clear that the mods will remain free.

 

GAMING NEWS

Call of Duty: WWII – New patch adds full support for Splitscreen, brings various multiplayer fixes
http://www.dsogaming.com/news/call-of-duty-wwii-new-patch-adds-full-support-for-splitscreen-brings-various-multiplayer-fixes/
Sledgehammer Games has released a new patch for Call of Duty: WWII. According to the release notes, this patch adds full support for Splitscreen and allows PC gamers to use Keyboard and Mouse with a Controller as well as Controller with a Controller.

 

Danger Zone – New update adds 12 levels and a revised progression system
http://www.dsogaming.com/news/danger-zone-new-update-adds-12-levels-and-a-revised-progression-system/
Three Fields Entertainment has released a new update for its vehicular destruction game, Danger Zone. This update adds 12 new levels to the game (bringing the total number of levels to 38), as well as a revised progression system.

 

SoulCalibur VI – First gameplay video shows Mitsurugi fighting Sophitia
http://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/soulcalibur-vi-first-gameplay-video-shows-mitsurugi-fighting-sophitia/
Gamespot has released the first gameplay video for SoulCalibur VI, showing Mitsurugi fighting Sophitia. Since this is the first SoulCalibur coming to the PC, this video will give you an idea of what this upcoming fighting game is all about.

 

First episode for narrative adventure game, The Council, releases in February 2018
http://www.dsogaming.com/news/first-episode-for-narrative-adventure-game-the-council-releases-in-february-2018/
Focus Home Interactive has announced that the first episode for The Council will release in February 2018. In order to celebrate this announcement, the publisher released a teaser trailer for this new adventure game that can be viewed below.