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

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Thursday news, part two:

Digital indie game convention LudoNarraCon returns to Steam next week
https://www.pcgamer.com/digital-indie-game-convention-ludonarracon-returns-to-steam-next-week/
Returning to Steam for its second year, LudaNarraCon is a global digital games convention that will take place on April 24-27. The festival is designed to focus on narrative-driven games and will feature 40 exhibitions, 10+ panels from members of the industry, a Steam sale, and host 20+ playable demos all for free.

Fortnite v12.40 update: New modes, X-Force Deadpool skin, and more
https://www.pcgamer.com/patch-notes-fortnite-update-12-40-x-force-deadpool/
The Fortnite v12.40 update is here, and it's bringing a handsome new face. Well, as handsome as X-Force Deadpool can get, and that's still a mug only a mother could begrudgingly love. There's plenty of other additions to Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 2, so read on for a complete patch notes summary.

Sea of Thieves' upcoming revive system will let you escape the cold clutches of death
https://www.pcgamer.com/sea-of-thieves-upcoming-revive-system-will-let-you-escape-the-cold-clutches-of-death/
Death in Sea of Thieves is a temporary state: When you get stabbed, shot, eaten by a shark, or blown up by a teammate who decides to play a game of Swingsy Swordsie while other people are moving gunpowder barrels around, you take a quick trip to the Ferryman, ride on his ghostly ship for a bit, and then get sent back to your own boat, none the worse for wear. The upcoming Ships of Fortune update will enable a new approach to those unfortunate endings with the addition of an option that will give players the ability to revive their crewmates.

Rockstar's culture of crunch is changing as GTA 6 picks up speed, employees say
https://www.pcgamer.com/rockstars-culture-of-crunch-is-changing-as-gta-6-picks-up-speed-employees-say/
An October 2018 Kotaku investigation into working conditions at Rockstar Games painted an ugly picture, as multiple developers reported extended periods of punishing crunch—"death march" was a term used by one to illustrate the grind. Rockstar itself acknowledged that the situation was imperfect, telling the outlet that it had come to realize that a culture of crunch is "not sustainable."
In a follow-up report released today, Kotaku said that changes at Rockstar appear to be having a positive impact on the company. There have been high-profile changes at the top, including the departure earlier this year of co-founder Dan Houser, but the heads of Rockstar studios in California and Lincoln, England have also been replaced, as have other executives who were allegedly contributing to the negative culture. One employee interviewed for the report said management is now "running the company like a company," while another said it seems "like a healthier culture overall."

Fallout 76's new settlers don't even mind if you nuke them
https://www.pcgamer.com/fallout-76s-new-settlers-dont-even-mind-if-you-nuke-them/
The Fallout 76 Wastelanders expansion welcomes new human factions to Appalachia: the settlers and the raiders. But what happens if you nuke the settlements of these two factions? Turns out: not much, really!

John Conway, creator of important mathematical simulation Game of Life, has died
https://www.pcgamer.com/john-conway-creator-of-important-mathematical-simulation-game-of-life-has-died/
John Horton Conway, mathematician and creator of Game of Life, has died aged 82 of complications related to COVID-19. Princeton University announced the news today, where Conway was John von Neumann Professor in Applied and Computational Mathematics between 1987 and 2013, after which he attained emeritus status.

Kards is a new, free CCG based on the Second World War
https://www.pcgamer.com/kards-is-a-new-free-ccg-based-on-the-second-world-war/
Most CCGs—Hearthstone, Gwent, Magic: The Gathering Arena, Legends of Runeterra, Artifact—are fantasy-based affairs, filled with medieval weapons, magical spells, and weird monsters as far as the eye can see. Kards, which went into full release on Steam today after a year in Early Access today, departs from that tradition by basing its factions, units, and abilities on the Second World War.

Age of Wonders: Planetfall's new faction is a bunch of angry, sneaky lizards
https://www.pcgamer.com/age-of-wonders-planetfalls-new-faction-is-a-bunch-of-angry-sneaky-lizards/
Lizards get a pretty bum rap in sci-fi and fantasy. They're almost always angry, bloodthirsty, conniving arseholes, suggesting that a lot of writers have had some really bad experiences with scaly critters. Age of Wonders: Planetfall isn't bucking this trend, introducing a new faction of unpleasant lizardmen, the shakarn, in the just-announced Invasion expansion.

Little Hope's time-hopping horror mystery doesn't pull any punches
https://www.pcgamer.com/little-hopes-time-hopping-horror-mystery-doesnt-pull-any-punches/
Supermassive Games' Dark Pictures Anthology returns this summer with its second episode, Little Hope, swapping Man of Medan's largely modern ghost ship yarn for a time-hopping misadventure inspired by New England's 17th century witch trials. And Blair Witch. And The Omen. And The Crucible. There's some Hellraiser in there too. And let's not forget about Silent Hill.