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

[JEMC]

It's Friday, and these are the news:

SALES & DEALS

Fortnite exceeds 8.3 million concurrent players
https://www.pcgamer.com/fortnite-exceeds-83-million-concurrent-players/
It's no secret that Fortnite is a monster, but because it's not on Steam it's impossible to say exactly how monstrous it really is, as Epic generally doesn't share those numbers. Epic Games Korea CEO Sung Chul Park recently did, however, telling Korean site Inven that the game has exceeded 8.3 million concurrent players.
The report doesn't get into specifics like when the peak was hit or how long it held, but it's such a ridiculous figure that it almost doesn't matter—especially considering that Fortnite only ("only") hit 3.4 million concurrents in February, when it surpassed PUBG's then-huge peak concurrent player record of 3.2 million, set in January.
>> Kerotan made a thread about it.

ARK: Survival Evolved is free to play this weekend on Steam, you can download it now
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/ark-survival-evolved-is-free-to-play-this-weekend-on-steam-you-can-download-it-now/
Studio Wildcard has announced that ARK: Survival Evolved is free to play this weekend on Steam. PC gamers can download the game right now and start playing, and as always all of your progress will be transferred to the game once and if you buy it.
>> Check it out over here. And the game is also 60% off.

Hitman 2, PUBG and more on sale at Fanatical
https://www.pcgamer.com/hitman-2-pubg-and-more-on-sale-at-fanatical/
If you’ve got a craving for murderous, bald men or hiding from 99 people trying to hunt you, Fanatical should have you covered this weekend. Both Hitman 2 and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds are on sale, so you could throw caution to the wind and do both.
>> But that's not the only sale going on at Fanatical, because there are another three:

• The Star Deal is Bioshock Infinite, 80% off for the next 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/bio-shock-infinite-aspyr
• The Borderlands franchise is on sale up to 78% off for the next 7 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/franchises/borderlands
• There's a new Titan Bundle, with 40 games up to 98% off: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/titan-bundle

 

On the Humble Store, the weekend sale is the Festival of Speed MK 2, with up to 80% discounts on racing games for the next 3 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/festival-of-speed-mk-2/

SOFTWARE

AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition 18.11.1 is optimized for Battlefield 5, Fallout 76 & Hitman 2
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/amd-radeon-software-adrenalin-edition-18-11-1-is-optimized-for-battlefield-5-fallout-76-hitman-2/
AMD has released a new driver for its graphics cards. According to the release notes, the AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition 18.11.1 is optimized for the latest triple-A games; Battlefield 5, Fallout 76 and Hitman 2.
The driver also fixes an application crash while launching or playing Assassin’s Creed: Origins in Windows 7, some corruption issues when viewing lava or water in Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus and some intermittent application crashes when using DirectX 12 API in Strange Brigade.
>> Download them from here.

NVIDIA GeForce 416.81 WHQL is available for download, optimized for Battlefield 5
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/nvidia-geforce-416-81-whql-is-available-for-download-optimized-for-battlefield-5/
NVIDIA has released a brand new driver for its graphics cards. According to the release notes, the NVIDIA GeForce 416.81 WHQL driver is optimized and provides the optimal gaming experience for Battlefield 5.
Furthermore, this driver addresses some major issues related to the Turing graphics cards. More specifically, it fixes the multi-monitor idle power draw being very high, some stuttering issues with HEVC video playback and the blue-screen crashes when exiting games when using a G-Sync monitor with a non-G-Sync monitor.
This latest driver also packs the fixes and improvements that were featured in the previous hotfix. It also improves overall stability in ARK: Survival and addresses some mouse cursor issues that were causing FPS to go out of sync with windowed GSync.
>> Download them from here.

MODS/EMULATORS

Playstation Classic is using the open-source PCSX emulator in order to play its games
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/playstation-classic-is-using-the-open-source-pcsx-emulator-in-order-to-play-its-games/
A lot of console gamers were hyped when Sony announced the Playstation Classic. However, it appears that Sony has not developed its own emulator and instead it is using the open source PCSX emulator that most PC gamers have been using all these years.
What ultimately this means is that the overall emulation may not be that “authentic” as some gamers may have expected. We’ve seen this happening in SNES classic and to be honest I was expecting Sony to put some more effort to it.
Ironically, Sony had tried in the past to sue a team developing an emulator for the first Playstation console (yes, we’re talking about Bleem).
>> Is it ironic or rather hypocrital?

This Commodore 64 demake of Limbo looks incredible
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-commodore-64-demake-of-limbo-looks-incredible/
Name any ye olde computer system, and you can be certain there's a healthy online community dedicated to it. That holds especially true for the Commodore 64, which was among the top home computers of the 1980s, especially in the United States. I was still using mine well into the '90s (you can't go past some Giana Sisters), but there remain folk who still hold it dear, 36 years after its release.
And here's a good recent example: cracking crew Excess, which dates back as far as 1991, has just released a playable demo of Limbo, demade for the Commodore 64. It was released at a recent X demoscene party in the Netherlands, an event dedicated to the Commodore 64. It's been going strong since the mid-90s.

Star Wars: Empire at War looks new again thanks to this mod
https://www.pcgamer.com/star-wars-empire-at-war-looks-new-again-thanks-to-this-mod/
Star Wars: Empire at War, one of the best space games on PC, has never looked this good before. The Empire at War Remake mod has been around for years but the latest incarnation is especially swish, as you can see from the fancy Star Destroyer battle above.
“This mod catapults Empire at War into 2018,” reads its ModDB summary. “It maintains the game's design philosophy, while adding new units, better graphics and deeper gameplay.”
It’s been updated a lot this year. The mod’s creator, Jeroenimo, has big plans. They want to turn the galaxy into a “varied and alive ecosystem”. The three main factions—Rebellion, Empire and Underworld—have been reworked, while new factions like the Mandalorians and Clone War Separatists have been thrown into the mix. The Vong are in the works, too.
A ‘Lite’ version of the mod is available at the moment. From now on, though, instead of incremental updates, Jeroenimo plans on waiting until the mod is fully functional and feature complete.

GAMING NEWS

Battlefield 5 does not support ray tracing RTX effects at launch
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/battlefield-5-does-not-support-ray-tracing-rtx-effects-at-launch/
Battlefield 5 is one of the first games that will feature support for real-time ray tracing effects via NVIDIA’s RTX technology. However, it appears that PC gamers will have to wait a little longer as DICE’s title will not support these effects at launch.

Brand new screenshots released for Just Cause 4
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/brand-new-screenshots-released-for-just-cause-4/
Square Enix has released a new set of screenshots for Just Cause 4, showcasing Rico, some of the game’s environments and vehicles, as well as a… lama. Just Cause 4 will be powered by the APEX Engine which promises to deliver the most interactive, extreme weather simulations ever seen in a videogame, complimented by incredible visuals, unparalleled physics and endless creative possibilities.

Hitman 2 – Official gameplay launch trailer and launch screenshots
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/hitman-2-official-gameplay-launch-trailer-and-launch-screenshots/
Warner Bros and IO Interactive have released the official HITMAN 2 gameplay launch trailer, celebrating the upcoming November 13th release of this stealth-action game. HITMAN 2 will feature a brand-new playground for Agent 47, the world’s deadliest assassin, with six dynamic locations to explore, franchise-first multiplayer modes in Sniper Assassin and Ghost Mode, and a myriad of new enhancements and upgrades that truly perfect the assassination sandbox experience.

First two patches released for Overkill’s The Walking Dead
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/first-two-patches-released-for-overkills-the-walking-dead/
Overkill’s The Walking Dead is now available on the PC and its development team has already released its first two patches. The first patch was released on November 7th, while the second one came one day later on November 8th.

Warframe – New free open-world expansion Fortuna is available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/warframe-new-free-open-world-expansion-fortuna-is-available-for-download/
Digital Extremes has announced that its next big free Warframe expansion, Fortuna, is available now on Steam PC. According to the press release, the new open-world landscape provides players of all experience levels the chance to access new gameplay content on Venus – from cruising on the Bondi K-Drive hoverboard to new cave exploration, animal conservation, mining, robot fishing, and intense battles against robot spiders, the nefarious Nef Anyo, and the greedy Corpus faction.