Then you'd rather damn us all and have what the other worked hard for be for nothing. Honestly, if you cannot see it, you'd be a fool not to.

No, it's that fearing Epic as competition, it's fearing the loss of actual standards, having real competition, and instead trading it for false competition, where some dolts out there think it's exactly the same as real competition, further confusing and muddying up the definition of it. 

PC gamers are clearly pissed about what Epic is doing. They aren't "whiny" man-children, they aren't "entitled toxic masculine males", they are honest to god real people who don't want a rich company dicking them around like it's a game of sodding, fucking musical chairs, and you know what?, I'm sick of that game too, I've been sick of it for years and it needs to fuck off and die. People that support that are honestly no better than monkeys flinging feces at a glass window, because they don't know any better. 

I'd rather have real competition, real progress, not devolution, not being held back because some rich fuck wanted to make an extra mill or lock you down to their bank account, that happens to be run by a PLC, that has to and does adhere to greedy shareholders. 

The Thursday news. Again, all in one post:

SALES & DEALS

Steam's daily deal is Night in the Woods, 40% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/481510/Night_in_the_Woods/

On the Humble Store, Plague Inc: Evolved is the new Spotlight Deal, 60% off for the next 3 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/plague-inc-evolved

And at Fanatical, there are two new deals:

• The new Bundlefest bundle is the Legends Bundle, that consist of 3 Legend bundles based on FPS, Strategy or Anime games for the next 7 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/collections/legends-bundles
• And the Resident Evil franchise is on sale for the next 24 hours, up to 80% off: https://www.fanatical.com/en/franchises/resident-evil

SOFTWARE/DRIVERS

Denuvo 5.6, used in Metro Exodus, has been cracked in five days
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/denuvo-5-6-used-in-metro-exodus-has-been-cracked-in-five-days/
Metro Exodus and Far Cry New Dawn are the latest games powered by the Denuvo anti-tamper tech. From the looks of it, 4A Games and Ubisoft have used a new version of this anti-tamper tech, Denuvo 5.6, which has been cracked in just five days.
This version of Denuvo is newer than what was used in Ace Combat 7 and Resident Evil 2 Remake. Still, this didn’t really stop the scene groups from cracking the game. Now as with all the Denuvo cracks, this does not remove the anti-tamper tech. As such, players cannot use this cracked version in order to measure the performance impact that Denuvo has on this specific title.
>> It's a lost battle.

MODS/EMULATORS

Paradox has launched its own modding platform with Microsoft
https://www.pcgamer.com/paradox-has-launched-its-own-modding-platform-with-microsoft/
Paradox Interactive has launched Paradox Mods, a modding platform that works across both PC and Xbox One. The publisher partnered with Microsoft to launch it, and you can start downloading mods now.
Paradox's games typically have great mod support and armies of diligent modders churning out everything for overhauls to minute tweaks right from the get-go, so this probably isn't going to change much on PC. I use Steam Workshop for all my Paradox games, and it's fine.
The new platform will allow Xbox One users to enjoy some of those mods, however, or at least the 30 console-tested Surviving Mars mods it's launching with. For modders, getting their mods out to both PC and console players is as simple as uploading it, where it will become available for everyone. Presumably, however, some mods will be more suited to the PC version. There are considerably more mods available on PC, too, where the platform also supports Cities: Skylines and Stellaris.

Deus Ex gets a new Topaz Gigapixel AI-enhanced texture pack, demo version available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/deus-ex-gets-a-new-topaz-gigapixel-ai-enhanced-texture-pack-demo-version-available-for-download/
Modder ‘DaveW’ has released a demo version of a brand new AI-enhanced texture pack for the classic Deus Ex game. This mod uses Topaz Gigapixel AI upscaling techniques in order to improve the textures and keep them as close to the original vision as possible.
Unfortunately I haven’t installed Deus Ex and the modder did not release any comparison screenshots in order to showcase these new textures. As such, I can’t really comment on the quality of the textures and whether they are better than those included in some other texture packs that were released for this shooter.
The only screenshot we’ve got from this AI-enhanced texture pack is the following one, however the downside here is that this is a coloured area so we can’t really be sure about the overall quality of the new textures. They appear to be better but that’s it.
>> It would be better to read some user opinions, but if you don't care and want to try it now, you can get this mod from ModDB.

Mr. X becomes Mr. Sex in a revealing Resident Evil 2 thong mod
https://www.pcgamer.com/mr-x-becomes-mr-sex-in-a-revealing-resident-evil-2-thong-mod/
Resident Evil 2 is an excellent game, but it's also very one-sided. We're thrown into the lap of a flimsy rookie cop who becomes a hero on his first day. Meanwhile, Mr. X has been hitting the gym, keeping close track of his macronutrient intake, and ignoring his friends to get that hard body, the hard body required to properly represent Umbrella as an unstoppable PR tyrant. Killing you is just damage control.
Finally, we can admire all the hard work Mr. X put in head on. The Beach Boy X mod strips Mr. X of his clothes but for some sweet shades, flip-flops, and an Umbrella thong. The medium is the message.
Download the Beach Boy X mod here, where you'll also find some simple installation instructions. Careful though, because these files are hot.

GAMING NEWS

Open-world space action single-player RPG, Starpoint Gemini 3, has been officially announced
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/open-world-space-action-single-player-rpg-starpoint-gemini-3-has-been-officially-announced/
LGM Games, creators of the Starpoint Gemini franchise, announced today a brand-new title. The new installment is an open-world space action single-player RPG that puts the player in the cockpit of Captain Jonathan Bold, a space adventurer travelling the vast universe of Starpoint Gemini 3.

Fallout 76 player who spent 900 hours in-game says they've been banned
https://www.pcgamer.com/fallout-76-player-who-spent-900-hours-in-game-says-theyve-been-banned/
There's someone out there who loves Fallout 76 so much they've played it for more than 900 hours. The heart is a strange thing. Tragedy has unfortunately struck this unlikely relationship, as the survivor in question has also, over the course their long journey, amassed a ridiculous amount of ammo, so much that Bethesda apparently reckons it's an exploit and they've been indefinitely banned from digital West Virginia.

Former EA and DICE boss is making a futuristic co-op action game
https://www.pcgamer.com/former-ea-and-dice-boss-is-making-a-futuristic-co-op-action-game/
Former Electronic Arts chief design officer Patrick Söderlund has revealed a little bit about what he's been up to since leaving the publisher last year and founding a new outfit called Embark Studios. More than 50 employees have been hired since then, an office has been established in Stockholm, and—this is the interesting part—work has begun on a new game.

Apex Legends' new weapon is an energy assault rifle with a hitscan beam mode
https://www.pcgamer.com/apex-legends-is-getting-a-new-gun-tomorrow/
As promised, here it is: The Havoc is an energy assault rifle compatible with the Turbocharger hop-up that eliminates the autofire charge delay, and more interestingly the Selectfire Receiver, which enables shooter to switch from a standard autofire mode to a hitscan charged beam weapon, meaning that you're going to instantly hit whatever you're aiming at.

What is happening to everyone in The Sims 4 StrangerVille?
https://www.pcgamer.com/what-is-happening-to-everyone-in-the-sims-4-strangerville/
Strange things are happening in The Sims 4. In a brief preview this morning, EA and Maxis premiered a new soon-to-be-available game pack for the ever-expanding Sims universe, called StrangerVille.

Hearthstone designer wants to know why people aren't playing it as much
https://www.pcgamer.com/hearthstone-designer-wants-to-know-why-people-arent-playing-it-as-much/
Hearthstone is still the king of digital CCGs, but it also appears to be kind of stuck: Monthly active users have been on the decline for awhile, and Activision Blizzard COO Coddy Johnson said during the company's most recent earnings call (the one where the company announced record revenues and laid off 800 people at the same time) that it "experienced sequential declines in net bookings from players making in-game purchases." Wondering why? Lead balance designer August Dean Ayala wants to know, too. So a couple of days ago he asked.
>> And you can get some free cards from the HCT Winter Championship.

Anthem's 'Day One' patch is live now
https://www.pcgamer.com/anthems-day-one-patch-will-actually-go-live-today/
The Day One patch is now live, weighing in at just under 5GB in size. If you're already playing Anthem, you should be able to download it now, and if you're waiting for the full release, you'll get it when you get it.

Space Engineers finally gets a release date after five years in Early Access
https://www.pcgamer.com/space-engineers-is-leaving-early-access-after-more-than-five-years/
Space Engineers, one of the best space games on PC, is finally leaving Early Access after more than five years and 200 updates. The stellar sandbox will reach 1.0 on February 28, accompanied by a major survival overhaul. It will be one of the biggest overhauls it's seen and, according to Keen Software's Marek Rosa, Space Engineers will evolve from a sandbox into a game.

The Division 2 PC technical test starts today
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-division-2-pc-technical-test-starts-today/
Ubisoft is hosting a PC technical test in The Division 2 for a couple of days, starting today, for a limited number of randomly selected players. Check your inbox for an invite. The test will end on Friday.

Black Ops 4 loot boxes weren't part of the original plan
https://www.pcgamer.com/black-ops-4-loot-boxes-werent-part-of-the-original-plan/
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's design director, David Vonderhaar, has defended an interview where he said Blackout characters would be only be locked behind missions. The interview resurfaced after the latest update, Operation Grand Heist, snuck loot boxes into the game and trapped the new characters inside them.

Untitled Goose Game release date pushed back
https://www.pcgamer.com/untitled-goose-game-release-date-pushed-back/
Untitled Goose Game, where you play a horrible goose and must ruin everyone's day with your honks and mischief, has been delayed. Originally due out early this year, it's been pushed back to the equally vague later this year. The goose, of course, is to blame.

THQ Nordic raises funds to buy even more studios
https://www.pcgamer.com/thq-nordic-raises-funds-to-buy-even-more-studios/
THQ Nordic has acquired a lot of games and studios over the last few years, and the publisher has just raised over £171 million/$223 million that it intends to put towards even more acquisitions. It's big, but it wants to be bigger.
11 million new Class B shares were issued on Wednesday, and the money raised has been earmarked for "new acquisitions of franchises, game development studios or other assets which complement the operations," THQ said in a statement.
>> They want more?!

That's a really small case, how was working on it? Also, given its size, 150W PSU and lack of room for a GPU card, am I right assuming that it's for an HTPC?

I see. An AMD APU was the best (almost only?) option, and I see you went with the best one. That someone will surely enjoy it, even if it's for non-demanding games.

And thanks for your feedback on the build, I'm always curious about how it is working on such cramped cases. The last two times I've changed my PC I've thought about going small factor, mATX rather than mini as I have several HDDs and need the extra SATA ports, but I always end with regular sized ones.

Yeah... It's the path I went. Smaller ITX PC... And then just went the external HDD route.
But now I am taking it a step farther and building a NAS.

The era of 6-8 internal drives, 2-4 GPU's, water cooling loop, triple monitors is long over for me. And I don't regret it either.

I wouldn't mind going thatg route as well, but it's not a good option for me, as least money wise.

I have an SSD as the main system drive and a 1TB HDD only for games, plus 3 mass storage drives from years ago and a blu-ray drive (yes, I still use those every now and then). That means that I'd need a 4-bay NAS, and those are crazy expensive. Add the fact that mATX mobos cost the same or more than regular ones and the end result is that it's cheaper to keep going ATX.

Friday news:

SALES & DEALS

Thimbleweed Park is free on the Epic Games Store
https://www.pcgamer.com/thimbleweed-park-is-free-on-the-epic-games-store/
In case you missed the announcement a couple weeks ago, Thimbleweed Park, the goofy X-Files-esque point-and-click adventure from Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion creators Ron Gilbert and Gary Winnick, is now free on the Epic Games Store.
Thimbleweed Park tells the tale of Ray and Reyes, a Mulder-and-Scully-like duo investigating a murder in a very strange small town. As is so often the case in such locales, it features a cast of bizarre supporting characters including a foul-mouthed clown who's been cursed to wear his makeup forever, a game designer who returns home following the death of her uncle, and a pillow salesman who also happens to be a ghost.
>> And the next game will be Slime Rancher.

Square Enix Steam sale discounts almost everything by 50% or more
https://www.pcgamer.com/square-enix-steam-sale-discounts-almost-everything-by-50-or-more/
Square Enix has is having a publisher sale on Steam this weekend. It's a big sale, too, with almost every game getting a 50 percent discount or more, including newer releases like Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Just Cause 4 and Dragon Quest 11.
Thief's recent anniversary has got me thinking about that series a lot lately, and I'm close to committing to playing the every single one of them again. I've already got them, but if you don't, you can get all of them for less than a fiver. The last is the weakest of the bunch, but even that features some solid stealthy shenanigans.
(...)
The sale will run from now until February 25, and you can check Square Enix's publisher weekend page for all the deals.

At Fanatical, there are 4 new deals:

• The new Star Deal is Redout Pack, with the game and 2 DLCs with a 84% discount for the next 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/redout-pack:
• Dovetail Games (Train and Flight Simulators) stars the publisher sale, with up to 75% deals for the next 7 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/dovetail-games
• Middle-earth: Shadow of War Definitive Edition is 77% off for the next 3 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/middle-earth-shadow-of-war-definitive-edition
• And lastly, we have the new and also last of the BundleFest bundles, the Brawler Bundle, with 4 games plus 1 DLC with a 96% discount for the next 5 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/brawler-bundle

SOFTWARE/DRIVERS

AMD states that all of its DX12 GPUs support real-time ray tracing via Microsoft’s DXR fallback layer
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/amd-states-that-all-of-its-dx12-gpus-support-real-time-ray-tracing-via-microsofts-dxr-fallback-layer/
“Real-time ray tracing” are the latest and hottest buzzwords on the PC. And while NVIDIA users have been enjoying these effects, AMD claimed that all of its current DX12 graphics cards support ray tracing via Microsoft’s DXR fallback layer.
Now as you may know, only the RTX series is currently capable of running the real-time ray tracing effects in the latest games and that’s because AMD has not added support for the fallback layer on its drivers.
>> Then they should enable it and prove it!

MODS/EMULATORS

-empty-

GAMING NEWS

Fenimore Fillmore: 3 Skulls of the Toltecs Remaster comes to Steam on March 15th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/fenimore-fillmore-3-skulls-of-the-toltecs-remaster-comes-to-steam-on-march-15th/
Casual Brothers has announced the release date for the remastered version of the 1996 point n click adventure game, Fenimore Fillmore: 3 Skulls of the Toltecs. Fenimore Fillmore: 3 Skulls of the Toltecs is described as a cult title which received the highest praise from both the press and the great fans of the genre.

First Metro Exodus post-launch patch released, improves RTX, DLSS & performance on lower spec PCs
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/first-metro-exodus-post-launch-patch-released-improves-rtx-dlss-performance-on-lower-spec-pcs/
4A Games has released the first post-launch update for Metro Exodus. According to the release notes, this patch brings general stability fixes, as well as DLSS fixes and improvements to sharpness and RTX fixes and optimizations.
>> And here you can find some before and after screenshots.

Playstation-exclusive GUNGRAVE VR is officially coming to the PC on March 6th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/playstation-exclusive-gungrave-vr-is-officially-coming-to-the-pc-on-march-6th/
XSEED Games has announced that GUNGRAVE VR, the VR shooter featuring third- and first-person gameplay modes previously released on PlayStation VR on PlayStation 4, and GUNGRAVE VR U.N, the standalone episode 2 content that greatly expands the story and gameplay, will be coming to Windows PC via Steam. According to the team, the title will be releasing on PC with support for both the HTC VIVE and Oculus Rift VR headsets on March 6th.

New gameplay trailer released for first-person fixed-time investigative thriller, The Occupation
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-gameplay-trailer-released-for-first-person-fixed-time-investigative-thriller-the-occupation/
White Paper Games has released a brand new trailer for its upcoming first-person fixed-time investigative thriller, The Occupation, showcasing 10 minutes of gameplay footage. The Occupation is a clock-watching narrative thriller with multiple outcomes with politically driven themes highlighting the shades of grey people believe to be hard facts.

Latest Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 trailer focuses on its Endgame
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/latest-tom-clancys-the-division-2-trailer-focuses-on-its-endgame/
Ubisoft has released a brand new trailer for Tom Clancy’s The Division 2, showcasing its Endgame. According to the publisher, the game was built with an “endgame-first” mentality, ensuring players always have access to fresh, unique, and diverse activities long after completing the main campaign.

Friday news, part two:

A sci-fi author is disputing a possible Elder Scrolls trademark
https://www.pcgamer.com/a-sci-fi-author-is-disputing-a-possible-elder-scrolls-trademark/
Sci-fi author Jay Falconer is opposing a trademark application from ZeniMax Media, Bethesda's parent company, over the word 'Redfall'. ZeniMax made the application last year, and there's a possibility it's The Elder Scrolls 6's official subtitle. The case could extend well into 2020, potentially stopping Bethesda from using the name in trailers, previews and whatever else it has planned.

PUBG and free to play MMO Tera are colliding next month
https://www.pcgamer.com/pubg-and-free-to-play-mmo-tera-are-colliding-next-month/
PUBG and free to play MMO Tera don't seem like a logical pairing, but here I am, posting a trailer full of elfy-types and cute critters doing their best PUBG cosplay, complete with functioning AK-47s. "Planes, crates and goodies" will appear in the fantasy world for a month-long collaboration, because why not? Check out the trailer above.

Overwatch teaser possibly points to new hero
https://www.pcgamer.com/new-overwatch-hero-30-teaser/
Blizzard today released a teaser for the next bit of Overwatch content. It's an in-universe declassified report written by a Captain Cuerva that mentions an encounter with someone named Baptiste. According to the log, a strike team was ordered to retrieve or eliminate Jean-Baptiste Augustin, mentioning that "no one leaves Talon."

If Hunt: Showdown's new monster can't attack you, he'll attack whatever is nearby
https://www.pcgamer.com/if-hunt-showdowns-new-monster-cant-attack-you-hell-attack-whatever-is-nearby/
Co-op horror FPS Hunt: Showdown is adding a new enemy to bring a little chaos to your monster-banishing expeditions. Its called the Immolator, and you can get a glimpse of it in the all-too-brief teaser above.

Offworld Trading Company's multiplayer mode is going free for everyone
https://www.pcgamer.com/offworld-trading-companys-multiplayer-mode-is-going-free-for-everyone/
If the life of a Martian mogul sounds intriguing but you're not quite ready to commit to it wholeheartedly, an upcoming multiplayer client update for the interplanetary corporate warfare RTS Offworld Trading Company might be just the thing. It will enable players who don't own the game to play it anyway—against each other—for free.

Guild Wars studio ArenaNet confirms layoffs
https://www.pcgamer.com/guild-wars-studio-arenanet-will-reportedly-undergo-layoffs/
A report out of Kotaku indicates that ArenaNet, the developer of the Guild Wars MMOs, will undergo layoffs that will see a "significant" number of employees let go. An internal email reportedly sent by the CEO of ArenaNet parent NCSoft said that the company aims to "cut costs across the organization," a process that will include a merger of ArenaNet and NCSoft's publishing divisions.
Update: In response to our inquiry, ArenaNet issued the following statement:
"We can confirm that due to the cancellation of unannounced projects, ArenaNet will make staff reductions. This is part of a larger organizational restructuring within NCSOFT in the west, but the Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2 game services will not be affected, nor is any upcoming game content canceled."

Star Wars Battlefront 2 is adding Anakin Skywalker to the roster
https://www.pcgamer.com/star-wars-battlefront-2-is-adding-anakin-skywalker-to-the-roster/
Anakin Skywalker, grumpy Jedi and soon-to-be Sith Lord, is heading to Star Wars Battlefront 2. He's arriving in the Chosen One update, and I assume he's the pre-youngling murder version of Anakin, so he'll be doing good things like killing robots and fighting Count Dooku.

Airborne Kingdom lets you build and run your very own flying city
https://www.pcgamer.com/airborne-kingdom-lets-you-build-and-run-your-very-own-flying-city/
Airborne Kingdom has very quickly shot to the top of my list of management games to keep an eye on. I confess that it only took a gif of an adorable clockwork building, but it also promises more than fetching dioramas.
It's a peculiar combination of city management and exploration, tasking you with the construction of a fantastical flying city, which you'll then sail across the skies of a randomly-generated desert, meeting tribes and attracting new citizens.

GTA Online gets ludicrous new sports car, Doomsday Heist pays double this week
https://www.pcgamer.com/gta-online-gets-ludicrous-new-sports-car-doomsday-heist-pays-double-this-week/
Why is it that GTA Online cars get me so damn excited when in real life, I don't even have a driving licence? I ponder this contradictory state of affairs while making heart eyes at GTA Online's latest vehicular addition, the Principe Deveste Eight. It'll set you back $1,795,000 from Legendary Motorsport. But hey, regular players can spend February's free GTA money to take the cost down a little.

Battletech, the turn-based tactical game of mech combat, is free for the weekend
https://www.pcgamer.com/battletech-the-turn-based-tactical-game-of-mech-combat-is-free-for-the-weekend/
The giant fighting robots game Battletech is really good: It pulled 85/100 in our 2018 review, and it's come a long way since then through numerous updates and the first of three planned expansions. And if that's not enough to convince you to give it a shot, maybe this will: It's free on Steam until Monday.

Time now to check the weekend deals from GOG and Steam:

+GOG

• At GOG they're celebrating the new Lunar Year with the Lantern Festival Sale, with more than 200 games up to 85% off.
• And the 2K Publisher Sale will still last until Monday, with up to 80% deals: https://www.gog.com/promo/20190211_2k2weekz_weekly

+Steam

• At Steam, the first of the four deals remaining is the daily deal, Galactic Civilizations III, 70% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/226860/Galactic_Civilizations_III/
• TerraTech is free to try and 40% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/285920/TerraTech/
• Starpoint Gemini Warlords is 80% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/419480/Starpoint_Gemini_Warlords/
• And last, but not least, there's the weeklong deals.

And that's all. Have a happy and gaming weekend.

1660Ti reviews are out.

Meh

I am both impressed and underwhelmed by the 1660Ti.

It beats the pants off the RX 580... And gives competition to the Vega 56.
But meh. The lack of Ray Tracing doesn't really make me moist.