The news:

SALES & "SALES"/DEALS

World of Tanks has surpassed 160 million registered players, Update 1.0 is now available
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/world-of-tanks-has-surpassed-160-million-registered-players-update-1-0-is-now-available/
Wargaming has announced that World of Tanks has passed 160 million registered players, and that its major update 1.0 is now available, unleashing Wargaming’s high-end Core graphics engine exclusively for PC players. The biggest ever update to the game takes tank combat to new heights with improved visuals, 29 completely reworked battlefields, a new soundtrack, and the new Glacier map.

There's a new Humble Bundle: the Humble Jumbo Bundle 11!

There's also a new sale on the Humble Store, with Rockstar: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/rockstar-sale/

At GOG, we have a new daily deal: Project Highrise and its DLCs are up to 80% off: https://www.gog.com/promo/20180321_daily_deal_project_highrise

And lastly, we have the Steam Midweek Madness deals:

• Like the Humble Store, Steam has a IGF & GDC nominees Sale: http://store.steampowered.com/sale/igf2018/
• Mortal Kombat X is 66% off: http://store.steampowered.com/app/307780/Mortal_Kombat_X/
• Europa Universalis IV is 75% off: http://store.steampowered.com/app/236850/Europa_Universalis_IV/

SOFTWARE

NVIDIA GeForce 391.24 WHQL driver is available, optimized for Sea of Thieves
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/nvidia-geforce-391-24-whql-driver-is-available-optimized-for-sea-of-thieves/
NVIDIA has released a new driver for its graphics cards. According to the release notes, the NVIDIA GeForce 391.01 WHQL driver is optimized for Sea of Thieves. In addition, this driver fixes an issue that prevented the NVIDIA Freestyle being enabled for supported games and some display flickers continuously after disabling and enabling the GPU using Device Manager, or when rebooting the system in Volta GPUs.

>>Download them from here.

Futuremark shows accurate reflections with DXR, first raytracing tech demo coming at the end of 2018
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/futuremark-shows-accurate-reflections-with-dxr-first-raytracing-tech-demo-coming-at-the-end-of-2018/
Futuremark has shared with us some GIFs, showing some of the visual improvements that are coming with real-time raytracing. According to the team, real-time raytracing can render accurate real-time reflections of dynamic objects, can produce reflections of objects that exist outside the main camera view, can produce accurate, perspective-correct reflections on all surfaces in real-time, and they can make other surfaces (than mirrors) look more realistic too.

MODS/EMULATORS

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GAMING NEWS

CD Projekt RED opens new Wroclaw studio to help with the development of Cyberpunk 2077
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/cd-projekt-red-opens-new-wroclaw-studio-to-help-with-the-development-of-cyberpunk-2077/
CD PROJEKT RED, developers of Cyberpunk 2077, The Witcher and GWENT, announced that it will open a new division — CD PROJEKT RED Wroclaw. Located in the city of Wroclaw, south-western Poland, the new studio will join forces with CD PROJEKT RED Warsaw and Cracow, and bolster development of Cyberpunk 2077 — the upcoming futuristic AAA role-playing game.

Agony has been delayed
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/agony-has-been-delayed/
Madmind Studio’s first-person survival horror game that is powered by Unreal Engine 4, Agony, was meant to hit Steam on March 30th. However, the team has announced that the game has been delayed, and there is no ETA on when it will come out.

The spiritual successor to Rollcage, GRIP, will release later this year
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-spiritual-successor-to-rollcage-grip-will-release-later-this-year/
Wired Productions has announced that GRIP – the ferociously fast, futuristic combat racer – is set to arrive on PC via Steam in 2018. In order to celebrate this announcement, the team released a new trailer for its racing game that you can view below.

Attack on Titan 2 is easily the best KOEI Tecmo game on the PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/attack-on-titan-2-is-easily-the-best-koei-tecmo-game-on-the-pc/
Attack on Titan 2 has just been released on the PC and we are happy to report that this is THE BEST Koei Tecmo game on Steam. To be honest, after Dynasty Warriors 9 we were a bit worried about the state of the next KOEI Tecmo PC game. However, Attack on Titan 2 actually ‘feels‘ like a PC game.

Star Wars Battlefront 2 Update 2.0 detailed, adds pre-compilation of DX12 shaders to reduce stuttering
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/star-wars-battlefront-2-update-2-0-detailed-adds-pre-compilation-of-dx12-shaders-to-improve-stuttering/
Electronic Arts and DICE have released a new major update for Star Wars Battlefront 2. As promised, this patch makes a lot of changes to its progression system. Star Cards, or any other item impacting gameplay, will only be earned through gameplay and will not be available for purchase.

A Way Out – Official PC Requirements + Launch Trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/a-way-out-official-pc-requirements-launch-trailer/
Electronic Arts has released the launch trailer for A Way Out and revealed its official PC requirements. According to the PC specs, PC gamers will need at least an Intel core i3-2100T or an AMD FX 6100 with 8GB of RAM and an NVIDIA GTX 650Ti or an AMD Radeon HD 7750.

The news, part two:

GTA Online rolls out Southern San Andreas Super Sports Series with new vehicles, races, Adversary Modes
https://www.pcgamer.com/gta-online-rolls-out-southern-san-andreas-super-sports-series-with-new-vehicles-races-adversary-modes/
After its somewhat lacklustre Occupy and Bunker series one-two punch last week, GTA Online has unveiled the Southern San Andreas Sports Series. Set to run for the next several weeks, the first of a staggered string of rollouts introduces five cars and a new racing mode.

Smoke and Sacrifice is like Don't Starve as a dark fantasy RPG
https://www.pcgamer.com/smoke-and-sacrifice-is-like-dont-starve-as-a-dark-fantasy-rpg/
In Smoke and Sacrifice, you're a mother searching for her child in a bizarre underworld. All sorts of creatures inhabit this landscape, including jellyfish-like creatures called polyps and a cute hybrid of hogs and porcupines. It immediately reminds me of Don't Starve to play—you craft things to survive, which is extremely familiar. While you start by creating boots, melee weapons and small bombs, though, eventually you'll be creating steampunk-infused mechs. There's a lot going on here.

Vivendi sells off Ubisoft holdings, Tencent buys in
https://www.pcgamer.com/vivendi-sells-off-ubisoft-holdings-tencent-buys-in/
When French media conglomerate Vivendi turned its eyes toward Ubisoft a couple of years ago, I thought for sure that Ubisoft was hosed. Ubi bobbed and weaved admirably, but Vivendi brings almost irresistible financial muscle to the fray. Even when it appeared to back off, it remained poised to strike. But today the they announced a surprise deal that will see Vivendi drop its Ubisoft holdings entirely, and guarantee that it won't acquire any new shares in the company for five years.

>>flashfire926 made a thread abut it yesterday.

The creators of Machinarium and Chuchel are making a horror game
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-creators-of-machinarium-and-chuchel-are-making-a-horror-game/
During a GDC interview with PC Gamer, Lukas Kunce of Amanita Design, creators of point-and-click classics like Machinarium and the slapstick comedy adventure Chuchel (which is a riot), confirmed that the studio is working on four new games, one of which is the studio's first attempt at horror.

New players cannot currently join Sea of Thieves (Updated)
https://www.pcgamer.com/new-players-cannot-currently-join-sea-of-thieves/
The open world multiplayer pirate-'em-up Sea of Thieves launched yesterday, and in the finest tradition of online game releases, it was a mess. Our own hearty band of brigands struggled to get aboard until late last night (although they still managed to put together this handy beginner's guide), and developer Rare acknowledged on Twitter today that a large number of players are also having issues.
Update: We were able to get in about 30 minutes ago in a two-player sloop, but it took several tries.

Lumines Remastered is coming to PC in May
https://www.pcgamer.com/lumines-remastered-is-coming-to-pc-in-may/
Earlier today Nintendo hosted a showcase for some flagship indies coming to Switch this year. Among those was Lumines Remastered, a new and improved version of the 2004 PSP title. That original ended up releasing for a whole swathe of other platforms – including PC – but the good news is that the Remastered version is coming to PC too.

The Stanley Parable creator wants his next game to defy the rules of games
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-stanley-parable-creator-wants-his-next-game-to-defy-the-rules-of-games/
Davey Wreden, creator of the The Stanley Parable and The Beginner's Guide, discussed his current game design goals during an indie panel at GDC 2018 today. Wreden didn't officially announce or nail down anything, but he did offer an intriguing glimpse at some of the ideas he's "shooting for" and what we might see next from the eccentric designer.

Runescape 'Pieces of Hate' concludes pirate questline after 13 years
https://www.pcgamer.com/runescape-concludes-pieces-of-hate-questline-after-13-years/
With tales of 16-year-old missions, raids that took a decade and a half to implement, and variations of the game to suit both nostalgic and modern players—Runescape's constant evolution never fails to impress me. To this end, one questline has now been seen through to conclusion, some 13 years after first gracing Gielinor.

Dark Souls 3 alpha cut content shows Oceiros' baby wasn't always invisible
https://www.pcgamer.com/dark-souls-3-alpha-cut-content-shows-oceiros-baby-wasnt-always-invisible/
I've spent the last few months following Lance McDonald's Bloodborne alpha cut content videos, wishing he'd move onto Dark Souls so I could write about them here. Yesterday, praise the sun, the series turned its attention to optional Dark Souls 3 boss Oceiros, the Consumed King.
The unhinged paledrake sorcerer is best remembered for being unusually vocal (against most other Soulsborne baddies) and for cradling an invisible child—the latter of which was, apparently, originally visible.

Hitman's best level is free for a limited time
https://www.pcgamer.com/hitmans-best-level-is-free-for-a-limited-time/
Despite perpetual snow warnings, the Met Office reckons Spring has kicked off in the Northern Hemisphere. If you can't be convinced, you might fancy a complimentary trip to sunny Sapienza. Hitman's best level is going free for a limited time.

Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia release date delayed (Updated)
https://www.pcgamer.com/total-war-thrones-of-britannia-release-date-system-requirements-revealed/
Update: Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia has been delayed by two weeks. Originally scheduled to land on April 19, the turn-based war series offshoot is now due May 3.

Warhammer Age of Sigmar Champions is an augmented reality trading card game, due this year
https://www.pcgamer.com/warhammer-age-of-sigmar-champions-is-an-augmented-reality-trading-card-game-due-this-year/
Warhammer Age of Sigmar is a tabletop board game that was launched by Games Workshop in 2015. Warhammer Age of Sigmar Champions is an upcoming AR trading card game heading to PC this year, courtesy of PlayFusion.

The creators of Machinarium and Chuchel are making a horror game
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-creators-of-machinarium-and-chuchel-are-making-a-horror-game/
During a GDC interview with PC Gamer, Lukas Kunce of Amanita Design, creators of point-and-click classics like Machinarium and the slapstick comedy adventure Chuchel (which is a riot), confirmed that the studio is working on four new games, one of which is the studio's first attempt at horror.

I liked all of their games so far, but as someone who holds Machinarium as one of the best P&C adventures ever made and their best game, I really hope one of those 4 games is its sequel.

I'd rather see better (much, much better, everything movable/breakable) physics than ray/path tracing, but this is really good - objects seem to blend into the scene seamlessly instead of sticking out by themselves.

I miss the days when I was playing FEAR, and you were able to shoot out the lights. I thought that was amazing back then, and I thought it was a breath of fresh air to see Metro 2033 and LL doing it as well.

I value physics interaction a whole lot more than RT tbh. I love BF1 when I fire a cannon at a house and watching it crumble. Interactions like that can be quite immersive. 

There are a lot of things that past games did but current games no longer do that add a lot to the experience. Remember the first Tomb Raider and how the dead enemies remain there, without vanishing? That was great! Nowadays, you almost have no time to see them fall dead before disappearing.

Maybe that's why I liked Assassin's Creed so much, because the dead remained there until the mission was over.

It honestly feels like we get some new tech or mechanic for a generation, but then it's done away with because it would tank said systems. I just dislike how this works every few gens. I want to be able to smash a wall, break a window properly and switch off/break the lights whenever I please. 

I'd also love for AI to be able to lose sight when the lights go off, since I would as well. AI also being able to interact with destroyed environments would also be a nice boon. 

People aren't ready for realistic physics yet. A lot of realistic physics just aren't fun.

People need to first have realistic visuals, after that they will demand realistic physics and AI to match it automatically.

The thing is, visuals tend to lend themselves to physics as well. Imagine having a photo realistic world, yet you cannot touch and interact with it in nearly any way, it would greatly hamper the general immersion one could gain if they could. This is why I think that physics needs to evolve and AI need to be improved over time. having the same dumb as bricks AI is getting overly stale these days, to the point where it's like looking at AI from Time Crisis. 

That's what I just said. But first you need realistic graphics for people and devs to realize that.