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

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Let's go with the news:

 

SALES & "SALES"/DEALS

The Red Solstice, squad-based sci-fi strategy/RPG hybrid, is available for free on Steam for the next 48 hours
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-red-solstice-squad-based-sci-fi-strategy-rpg-hybrid-is-available-for-free-on-steam-for-the-next-48-hours/
Last month, Ironward gave away free copies of The Red Solstice on Humble Bundle. In case you missed that offer, you can – once again – claim a free copy of this squad-based sci-fi strategy/RPG hybrid as the team is giving away free copies on Steam for the next 48 hours.

>>It's like the devs want to get rid of the game, because if what they want is more users playing, why not making it free for ever and charge for expansions/DLCs?

 

SOFTWARE

Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 17093 will come with Game bar and Graphics Improvements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/windows-10-insider-preview-build-17093-will-come-with-game-bar-and-graphics-improvements/
Microsoft has detailed the new features that will be implemented in Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 17093. Among them are some Game bar improvements (not performance-wise though), as well as some Graphics improvements.

 

Latest 'Steam Audio' beta taps AMD GPUs for spatial audio in games and VR
https://www.pcgamer.com/latest-steam-audio-beta-taps-amd-gpus-for-spatial-audio-in-games-and-vr/
AMD has teamed up with Valve to bring its TrueAudio Next technology to Steam games and VR applications. As such, Valve announced that its Steam Audio 2.0 beta release now supports TrueAudio Next, which allows developers to use a reserved portion of a support GPU to generate spatial audio.

>>That's a surprising move. You can read more at the article or over at Anandtech.

 

This PowerPoint presentation does a good job explaining Spectre and Meltdown
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-powerpoint-presentation-does-a-good-job-explaining-spectre-and-meltdown/
Have you tried wrapping your head around Spectre and Meltdown only to come away feeling confused? Don't worry, you're not alone. For that very reason, Red Hat's chief ARM architect Jon Masters gave a keynote on the recently disclosed vulnerabilities at FOSDEM, a free event for open source software developers, with a detailed PowerPoint presentation that breaks things down.
That presentation is now available to view (PDF) , and if you don't feel like wading through white papers like we did, you should check it out. It's not a quick read—there are 90 slides, which he presented during a 45-minute keynote—but it covers the technical details in mostly plain English language, at least as much as can be expected when discussing a technical topic in detail.

 

MODS/EMULATORS

This Planet Coaster map is both a working theme park and a playable Monopoly game
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-planet-coaster-map-is-both-a-working-theme-park-and-a-playable-monopoly-game/
If you've ever found yourself asking whether you should spend a night either building a theme park or playing a game of Monopoly, I've got two pieces of news. First, that's a really weird question to ask yourself, and second, you no longer need to ask it. Modder Chant has devised an exceedingly clever Planet Coaster park on a giant Monopoly game board, and it's not just for looks. It's an actual functioning Monopoly game scenario with custom rules you can play while you build your park. Check out the trailer above.

 

GAMING NEWS

Free demo for new psychological action thriller, Past Cure, coming next week
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/free-demo-for-new-psychological-action-thriller-past-cure-coming-next-week/
Phantom 8 Studio has announced that a free demo for its upcoming psychological action thriller, Past Cure, will be released on Steam next week. In order to celebrate this announcement, the team has also released a commented story trailer that you can view below.

 

Total War: ARENA open beta phase begins on February 22nd
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/total-war-arena-open-beta-phase-begins-on-february-22nd/
Wargaming Alliance and Creative Assembly have just announced that the open beta phase for Total War: ARENA will begin on February 22nd. Total War: ARENA is a free-to-play, team-based strategy game where players step into the boots of legendary heroes and figures from the past to forge their legacy through combat.

 

After more than a year, THQ Nordic releases a new patch for Red Faction Guerrilla Steam Edition
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/after-more-than-a-year-thq-nordic-releases-a-new-patch-for-red-faction-guerrilla-steam-edition/
Now here is a nice surprise. THQ Nordic has just released a new patch for the Steam version of Red Faction Guerrilla. The last patch for this game came in December 2016, meaning that this update comes after more than a year. Talk about dedication.

 

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds patch #5 now available on test servers, brings new anti-cheat system
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/playerunknowns-battlegrounds-patch-5-available-test-servers-new-anti-cheat-system/
As promised, Bluehole Studio has released the fifth update for PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds on its test servers. This patch brings the new anti-cheat system and once the following changes – on the test servers – are evaluated to be stable, they will be applied to the live servers.

 

Downward Spiral: Horus Station, sci-fi zero-gravity space adventure thriller, releases this Spring
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/downward-spiral-horus-station-sci-fi-zero-gravity-space-adventure-thriller-releases-this-spring/
3rd Eye Studios has announced that it will be releasing its zero-gravity space adventure, Downward Spiral: Horus Station, this Spring on PC, with optional Oculus Touch, HTC Vive and Windows Mixed Reality support. In order to celebrate this announcement, the team released the game’s debut trailer that you can view below.

 

Secret of Mana Official PC System Requirements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/secret-of-mana-official-pc-system-requirements/
Secret of Mana releases next week and Square Enix revealed the game’s official PC system requirements via its Steam store page. According to the specs, PC gamers will need at least an a 64-bit operating system with an Intel Core i3 at 2.4GHz, 4GB of RAM, and an NVIDIA GeForce GT730 or an AMD Radeon R7 240 in order to play it at 1280×720.

 

Metal Gear Survive open beta coming to Steam on February 16th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/metal-gear-survive-open-beta-coming-to-steam-on-february-16th/
Konami has announced that Metal Gear Survive will get an open beta testing on the PC. This open beta phase will begin on February 16th, will feature 3 missions across 2 maps in co-op mode, and will last until February 18th.

 

Gaming Istanbul 2018 saw a 20% growth over 2017, is now Europe’s 3rd largest gaming event
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/gaming-istanbul-2018-saw-a-20-growth-over-2017-is-now-europes-3rd-largest-gaming-event/
GIST 2018, Europe’s fastest growing video games trade and consumer show cemented its place in the heart of the gaming industry with more than 20% growth in visitors over 2017, making GIST Europe’s 3rd largest gaming event.

 

Dawn of War 3 didn’t hit the expected sales target and underperformed, will not receive new major content
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/dawn-of-war-3-didnt-hit-the-expected-sale-targets-and-underperformed-will-not-receive-major-new-content/
Dawn of War 3 was a really bizarre game. Instead of capitalizing on what it has achieved with its two previous games, Relic tried to streamline the third part in the Dawn of War series and offered an RTS/MOBA hybrid. Naturally, this disappointed a lot of its fans who were expecting something more than that. As such, it does not really surprise us that the game underperformed.

>>That's really unfortunate.

 

Vampyr will be released on June 5th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/vampyr-will-be-released-on-june-5/
Focus Home Interactive and DONTNOD Entertainment have announced that Vampyr will be released on June 5th. The final release date was revealed in the final episode of the game’s webseries, in which we also discover how Vampyr blends story and gameplay.

 

Metro: Exodus will feature physically-based rendering, overhauled lighting, dynamic weather system and more
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/metro-exodus-will-support-physically-based-rendering-overhauled-lighting-dynamic-weather-system-and-more/
The latest issue of GameInformer has revealed some really interesting new technical details about Metro Exodus. According to the magazine, this new Metro game will support physically-based rendering and will come with an overhauled lighting system.

>>You'll find a link to the GameInformer article in the next post, in another piece of news.