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

[JEMC]

Another day, another round of news. There's not many news today so, instead of making the usual two posts, they're all in a big one:

SALES & DEALS

GOG has three new deals for us:

• Let's start with... A FREE GAME! GOG is giving away Freespace 2 during the next 46 https://www.gog.com/game/freespace_2"> https://www.gog.com/game/freespace_2
• That's part of an Interstellar sale, with games that feature space or future themes up to 85% off until September 30: https://www.gog.com/promo/20190925_interstellar_sale
• And there's also the Midweek Sale, with up to 90% discounts for the next roughly 3 days: https://www.gog.com/promo/20190925_midweek_sale

Steam has two new daily deals, this time one is legit, as well as three Midweek Madness deals:

• The legit daily deal is I am not a Monster: Complete Edition, 60% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/826600/I_am_not_a_Monster_Complete_Edition/
• Moon Hunters is 75% off for the next 5 days: https://store.steampowered.com/app/320040/Moon_Hunters/
• And these are the Midweek Madness deals:
  • Publisher CCP has its games up to 50% off: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/ccp_publisher_week/
  • The Managing the Apocalypse Bundle, that includes 5 games, is 60% off: https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/12098/Managing_the_Apocalypse_Bundle/
  • And Publisher Versus Evil celebrates its 6th anniversary with up to 90% discounts: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/versusevil/

On the Humble Store there are three new deals:

• Koei Tecmo has put its games on sale with up to 60% discounts for the next 5 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/koei-tecmo-publisher-sale/
• Square Enix has also puts its games on sale for the next 5 days, but up to 90% off: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/square-enix-publisher-week/
• And lastly, there's the Spotlight Deal with the game I am not a Monster, the same as the Steam deal, also 60% off but this time it will last for the next 6 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/im-not-a-monster

And at Fanatical there are three new deals:

• Dead or School is 65% off for the next 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/dead-or-school
• A new Idea Factory Pick & Mix bundle is available, with 17 games to choose your 1, 3 or 5 games bundle during the next 6 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/idea-factory-pick-and-mix
• And the MoeNovel Bundle, with 8 games and 1 DLC split in two tiers of 7 and 9 products will be available for the next 13 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/moenovel-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Three new games have been announced for Xbox Game Pass for PC
https://www.pcgamer.com/three-new-games-have-been-announced-for-xbox-game-pass-for-pc/
Microsoft announced today during its monthly Inside Xbox live stream that three additional games will be added to Xbox Game Pass for PC during September, bringing the month total to ten. Joining the likes of Gears 5 and Shadow Warrior 2 are the newly announced Dirt Rally 2.0, Cities Skylines and Saints Row IV: Re-Elected.

MODS/EMULATORS

This Halo mod replaces all vehicles and weapons, for both SP and MP, with those from Halo: Reach
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/this-halo-mod-replaces-all-vehicles-and-weapons-for-both-sp-and-mp-with-those-from-halo-reach/
Earlier this month, we informed you about a mod for Halo: Reach that aimed to make the game play similar to the older Halo titles. And today, we are bringing you the complete opposite mod. As such, this mod plans to make the first Halo feel more like Halo: Reach.
Going into more details, Halo CE Reach aims to replace all vehicles and weapons, for both the single-player and multiplayer modes, with those from Halo Reach. Alongside the new vehicles and weapons, this mod also brings a number of balance adjustments.
>> Head to Nexus Mods to get this mod.

Here is Borderlands 3 with Ray Tracing Global Illumination Reshade in 4K
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-is-borderlands-3-with-ray-tracing-global-illumination-reshade-in-4k/
Borderlands 3 has just been released on the PC and although it is using Unreal Engine 4, it does not take advantage of Ray Tracing. However, YouTube’s ‘Digital Dreams’ has shared a video, showing the game running with Pascal Gilcher’s Ray Tracing Reshade in 4K.
This Reshade is using ray/path tracing techniques in order to enhance a game’s Global Illumination effects. In short, this is a post-process effect that comes with some limitations. Still, it will give you an idea of the improvements that RT would had brought to the table.
(...)
As a bonus, I’ve also included below two more Ray Tracing Reshade videos. The first one shows Black Ops 3, whereas the second showcases Advanced Warfare.

New HD LOD textures released for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, improving distant objects & environments
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/new-hd-lod-textures-released-for-the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-improving-distant-objects-environments/
Modder ‘Abendaron‘ has released a brand new version of his HD LODs Textures mod for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. As the title suggests, this texture pack brings high quality LOD textures that greatly improve distant objects and environments.
This pack comes in two modes: 1K (which increases the VRAM requirements) and 512. In case you didn’t know, the game uses by default 256 or 128 textures for the Lods. By using this mod, you can improve all the SSE worlds (Tamriel, Solstheim and all the small worlds like Blackreach).
In version 9.0 the modder has added a full model for some child cities (Solitude & Whiterun only) buildings.
>> This mod is available from Nexus Mods.

GAMING NEWS

Story trailer released for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/story-trailer-released-for-call-of-duty-modern-warfare/
Activision has released the story trailer for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. This trailer will give you a glimpse at the game’s single-player campaign mode, so make sure to watch it if you are interested in it.

Cute colony management game Autonauts is launching in October
https://www.pcgamer.com/cute-colony-management-game-autonauts-is-launching-in-october/
Autonauts, the colony management game with programmable robots, is all set to exploit new worlds next month. It's a crafting affair where even making a pie, judging by the release trailer above, takes a lot of steps, but that's why you've got robotic helpers.

Destiny 2: Shadowkeep gets a launch trailer ahead of its October 1 release
https://www.pcgamer.com/destiny-2-shadowkeep-gets-a-launch-trailer-ahead-of-its-october-1-release/
The slight delay to Destiny 2: Shadowkeep has largely been a blessing for looter shooter fans. In addition to the assurance that we'll get a fully polished expansion from Bungie, it's also meant they've been able to play a meaningful chunk of Borderlands 3. Or, in my case, spend an extra two weeks lovelessly farming enhancement cores. In any case, the wait is almost over, and in advance of Shadowkeep's October release date we now have the obligatory launch trailer.

Stalker Online, the Exclusion Zone MMO, is finally coming to Steam
https://www.pcgamer.com/stalker-online-the-exclusion-zone-mmo-is-finally-coming-to-steam/
I recently received an email "announcing" a post-apocalyptic MMO called Stalker Online, which I thought was interesting because I distinctly recalled Stalker Online being announced, and then largely forgotten, many years ago. In fact, we have a reference to some video from the game from way back in 2012. So what, I wondered, is the deal?

Fantasy battle royale Ashes of Creation: Apocalypse comes to Steam Early Access today
https://www.pcgamer.com/fantasy-battle-royale-ashes-of-creation-apocalypse-comes-to-steam-early-access-today/
The Kickstarter for the fantasy MMO Ashes of Creation was a huge success, drawing in $3.3 million in 2017, and also raising concerns that there was "something strange" about it all. Then in late 2018 developer Intrepid Studios launched a beta, but not for the MMO: Instead, it was for a battle royale mode called Apocalypse, described as a "precursor" to the MMO that was intended to "test key systems and infrastructure" for the main game. A few months later, a planed alpha test for the MMO was delayed.

Disco Elysium is a 'colossal' game that can take 90 hours to finish
https://www.pcgamer.com/disco-elysium-is-a-colossal-game-that-can-take-90-hours-to-finish/
Disco Elysium is a hardboiled detective RPG that's made some very positive impressions around here over the past couple of years. At the start of 2018 we included it (as No Truce With the Furies, its original title) in our list of the indie games we were most excited about, and for 2019 we put it in our list of RPGs we were most looking forward to. It's "unconventional," as Fraser described it when the release date was announced last week, and leans heavily into its tabletop roots.

Modern Warfare's Special Operations 'Survival mode' is PS4-exclusive for a year (Updated)
https://www.pcgamer.com/modern-warfares-special-operations-mode-is-ps4-exclusive-for-a-year/
Activision confirmed in June that Special Ops, a series of short, fast-paced co-op missions spread across multiple categories of gradually increasing difficulty in Modern Warfare 2 and 3, would return in the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. But as noticed by Eurogamer, today's story trailer carried with it a spot of bad news: Those of us on PC won't be able to actually play the Special Operations "Survival mode" for a year.
Update: A rep clarified with Gamespot that "just the Survival mode within the Spec Ops mode" is PS4 exclusive. "Everyone gets campaign, multiplayer and Spec Ops," the rep said. More information about the Special Ops mode is scheduled to be unveiled on October 7.

DayZ is getting a new map
https://www.pcgamer.com/dayz-is-getting-a-new-map/
After five years spent in Chernarus, DayZ is getting a brand new map in the form of Livonia, which is based on Arma 3's Contact Expansion map. Of course, the Livonia of DayZ will have zombies in it, as well as a new enemy type for DayZ: bears. According to an update on the DayZ website, "bears will give you a hard time if you don't know how to deal with them," which as far as I can tell, is true in real life too.

Minecraft biome vote: Swamp will get new boats and a frog if it wins
https://www.pcgamer.com/minecraft-biome-vote-swamp-will-get-new-boats-and-a-frog-if-it-wins/
As you may have caught wind of by now, Mojang is taking a vote on which of Minecraft's biomes should be updated next. The vote will take place at MineCon Live on September 28, and the biomes involved include Badlands, Mountain and Swamp. We've already seen what the Badlands update entails. Now, here's a short video on what may come to Swamp

Play the free demo for Sky Racket, a sidescrolling shmup with added Breakout
https://www.pcgamer.com/play-the-free-demo-for-sky-racket-a-sidescrolling-shmup-with-added-breakout/
The extremely strange Sky Racket takes the sidescrolling shoot-'em-up and takes away all of its favourite toys. You don't have a spread of guns—in fact, you don't have a gun at all. Instead you have a racket, like in Tennis. Much like Andy Murray, you use this racket to repel projectiles back towards your enemies, although here those enemies are flying ducks, bananas and other cartoony things, rather than the elite of the Tennis championships.

The designers of the original Elder Scrolls are making a new RPG
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-designers-of-the-original-elder-scrolls-are-making-a-new-rpg/
Elder Scrolls veterans who have worked on the venerable series since Arena have founded a new studio, OnceLost Games, and they're teasing their first game—not surprisingly, it's a big open-world RPG.

Shenmue 3's backer trial kicks off this weekend
https://www.pcgamer.com/shenmue-3s-backer-trial-kicks-off-this-weekend/
Shenmue 3 launches in two months, but some backers will be able to hang out in one of the game's early areas very soon. This weekend, in fact. The trial version will let you experience a day in Bailu Village, which you'll be able to replay as much as you want.

Help Will Come Tomorrow is a story-driven survival game set in pre-revolution Russia
https://www.pcgamer.com/help-will-come-tomorrow-is-a-story-driven-survival-game-set-in-pre-revolution-russia/
Help Will Come Tomorrow is a story-driven survival game about a small group of passengers who survive a catastrophic crash on a Trans-Siberian railway train during the onset of the October Revolution in Russia. Stranded in the remote, hostile wilderness, they must work together to stay alive until a rescue party can arrive.

The Executioner, an RPG that places you in the shoes of a torturer, is out today
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-executioner-an-rpg-that-places-you-in-the-shoes-of-a-torturer-is-out-today/
In a gaming week dominated by whimsical geese, The Executioner is definitely a very grisly change of pace. What would it be like if your day job was 'medieval torturer'? That's the question this game asks, and based on all available evidence, it's not taking the easy road towards any answers. After a couple of years in development, the game is out on Steam today.

Wattam will let you make weird new friends in December
https://www.pcgamer.com/wattam-will-let-you-make-weird-new-friends-in-december/
Wattam is a peculiar adventure about the power of pals from Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi and Funomena. Epic managed to snatch it up as another PC launch exclusive, and publisher Annapurna Interactive has announced that it's not far off—it's coming in December.

Fortnite v10.40 is out now, with a double XP weekend incoming
https://www.pcgamer.com/fortnite-v1040-is-out-now-with-a-double-xp-weekend-incoming/
Fortnite's 10.40 patch is live now, introducing a new playlist, The Combine, where you can test your shooting skills—and the new aim assist and sensitivity settings if you use a controller—in a murder race, along with another Rift Zone. From Friday, your antics will also net you double XP.