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

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The Tuesday news, part two:

Legends of Runeterra is getting even more generous by making it easier to get new cards
https://www.pcgamer.com/legends-of-runeterra-is-getting-even-more-generous-by-making-it-easier-to-get-new-cards/
Legends of Runeterra is an excellent alternative to Hearthstone partly because it ditches costly booster packs for a much more generous progression system, and now that system is becoming even more giving. Regardless of whether you buy cards or only earn them through regular play, a March 31 update will overhaul the progression system by removing limits on spending and guaranteeing better rewards from the weekly chest.

Control is finally getting a respec function and a better map
https://www.pcgamer.com/control-is-finally-getting-a-respec-function-and-a-better-map/
The first expansion for Control, Remedy's tale of interdimensional weirdness in the world's most interesting office building, is set to come out on March 26. (...)
Also coming on March 26 is a new Control update that won't add expansion-like content, but will bring some welcome new features. The Shield Rush ability shown in the teaser below looks fun: Control is great for slamming people around, and there are few things that deliver a feeling of raw power quite so viscerally as pancaking someone with a wall.

Half-Life: Alyx's level designer would rather play Black Mesa than the original Half-Life
https://www.pcgamer.com/half-life-alyxs-level-designer-would-rather-play-black-mesa-than-the-original-half-life/
Last week I got to talk via Skype to two members of the Valve team about the VR-only Half-Life 2 prequel Half-Life: Alyx: Dario Casali, level designer at Valve who previously worked on the original Half-Life, Half-Life 2, and the Portal series, and Erik Wolpaw, co-writer of Alyx and the two Half-Life 2 episodes, as well as Portal 2.
I asked if Casali had gone back to play the original Half-Life games as inspiration while working on Half-Life: Alyx. (Earlier in the interview, he'd held up a shrink-wrapped copy of the original Half-Life to show me on camera). And he did play Half-Life again, he told me. But not to the end.

Valve explains why we still don't have Half-Life 3
https://www.pcgamer.com/valve-explains-why-we-still-dont-have-half-life-3/
Half-Life: Alyx is out today, it's a great VR game and a great Half-Life game, and perhaps best of all we don't have to stop joking about "Half-Life 3 confirmed!" because neither that nor the semi-sequel-ish Half-Life 2: Episode Three are still nowhere in sight. In an interview with IGN, level designer Dario Casali explained why, after 13 years, a proper Half-Life sequel still hasn't happened.

The response to Alyx will determine the role of VR in Half-Life's future, Valve says
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-response-to-alyx-will-determine-the-role-of-vr-in-half-lifes-future-valve-says/
After 13 years, there's a new Half-Life game. Half-Life: Alyx is great, but it's also a prequel, set five years before the cliffhanger events of 2007's Half-Life 2: Episode 2. We don't know how Gordon Freeman's story ends yet, but last week I did have a chance to ask Valve what it's doing next with Half-Life, after such a long break.
They did not, unfortunately, decide to casually confirm Half-Life 3. But I did learn that the form of the next Half-Life game is very much up in the air based on how Half-Life: Alyx is received.

Valve made Half-Life: Alyx less scary because fast zombies in VR aren't fun
https://www.pcgamer.com/valve-made-half-life-alyx-less-scary-because-fast-zombies-in-vr-arent-fun/
"It started scarier, for sure," level designer Dario Casali told GameSpot. "I was very respectful in not trying to push it too far, because I didn't want to lose a certain segment of people who might not have been able to continue."
That's also why you don't see the lunging-at-your-face fast headcrabs and fast zombies in Half-Life: Alyx: "The shock of having that guy come around the corner and latch onto you before you'd even know what was going on was just too much," Casali said.

The other VR games Valve was planning to make aren't in active development
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-other-vr-games-valve-was-planning-to-make-arent-in-active-development/
Those with excellent memories may remember Gabe Newell alluding to three Valve VR games back in 2017. That was long before Half-Life: Alyx was announced, and a lot can change in three years. As of now—and immediately following the release of Half-Life: Alyx—the company doesn't have two other VR games in active development.

As PUBG turns 3, plans are afoot for new maps, weapons and mechanics
https://www.pcgamer.com/as-pubg-turns-3-plans-are-afoot-for-new-maps-weapons-and-mechanics/
PUBG celebrates its third birthday today, and in a new blogpost, PUBG Corp has vaguely outlined its plans for the year ahead. While the game's next big 6.2 update is still on test servers, and includes a reworked Vikendi map and Team Deathmatch, more "map reworks, new maps, new weapons and mechanics" are also afoot.

Epic Games Store reveals another bunch of exclusives coming this year
https://www.pcgamer.com/epic-games-store-reveals-another-bunch-of-exclusives-coming-this-year/
With spring now (technically) upon us, Epic Games has revealed a list of new exclusives coming this year to its store. Some of them, like Sludge Life and Among Trees, we're at least passingly familiar with, while others are appearing on our radar for the first time.

Call of Duty: Warzone is getting a new Operator and 4 more weapons today
https://www.pcgamer.com/call-of-duty-warzone-is-getting-a-new-operator-and-4-more-weapons-today/
It's going to be a busy day for Call of Duty, as both Modern Warfare and Warzone are about to receive updates, which include a new dog-wielding Operator available in both games.

Risk of Rain 2 brings back artifacts in next week's update
https://www.pcgamer.com/risk-of-rain-2-brings-back-artifacts-in-next-weeks-update/
Risk of Rain 2 is a game all about collecting ridiculously powerful combinations of items while blasting through neverending waves of enemies. Its next update, coming March 31, brings back the Artifact system from the first game, which can be used to make each run even wilder.

Plague Inc. creators donate $250,000 to fight coronavirus
https://www.pcgamer.com/plague-inc-creators-donate-dollar250000-to-fight-coronavirus/
The makers of Plague, Inc. have made a $250,000 donation to aid in the fight against coronavirus, Ndemic Creations announced yesterday. The donation is being split between two organizations: CEPI, the Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and the World Health Organisation’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.

Minecraft is getting free educational worlds to help kids stuck inside
https://www.pcgamer.com/minecraft-is-getting-free-educational-worlds-to-help-kids-stuck-inside/
With schools shutting down all over the world due to the coronavirus outbreak, Microsoft is adding a new category to the Minecraft Marketplace that contains free educational worlds. This curated list comes from Minecraft: Education Edition, the version of the game designed for use in classrooms.