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

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The rest of the Monday news:

Put synthetic brains on pizzas in The Norwood Suite developer's next game, out May 15
https://www.pcgamer.com/put-synthetic-brains-on-pizzas-in-the-norwood-suite-developers-next-game-out-march-15/
Tales from Off-Peak City Vol. 1 is coming to Steam on May 15, instantly making it my most anticipated release of next month. It's the next game from Cosmo D, creator of offbeat narrative adventures The Norwood Suite—already a proud inductee into PC Gamer's Top 100—and the free Off-Peak.

Blizzard details the next round of Hearthstone: Ashes of Outland nerfs
https://www.pcgamer.com/another-hearthstone-ashes-of-outland-update-is-coming-next-week/
The details on what's coming in the 17.0.2 patch have now been revealed on the Hearthstone forums. A date still hasn't been nailed down, but Blizzard re-stated that it's expected to arrive early next week.
According to our resident Hearthstone obsessive, the change to Kael'Thas doesn't go far enough, as delaying the degenerate OTK combos the card enables by a single turn isn't a big deal. Likewise, it seems very questionable that the damage from Altruis still hits the enemy hero in the face. Otherwise, it's a solid set of changes.

World of Warcraft is changing its character creation screen for the first time in a decade and I hate it
https://www.pcgamer.com/world-of-warcraft-is-changing-its-character-creation-screen-for-the-first-time-ever-and-i-hate-it/
It's been over 15 years since World of Warcraft first launched and it's starting to show its age. The character creation screen, for example, hasn't changed much through that entire time despite the addition of new playable races, classes, and a ton of expanded ways to customize your appearance. But yesterday, the closed alpha test client for this summer's Shadowlands expansion was updated to add some minor new features, including this unexpected change to how character creation works. You can see the new version in the image above. I really don't like it.

World of Warcraft's double XP event just got extended to the summer
https://www.pcgamer.com/world-of-warcrafts-double-xp-event-just-got-extended-to-the-summer/
Just days before it was supposed to end, Blizzard has extended World of Warcraft's double XP event in response to outcry from players. The event, called Winds of Wisdom, was initially supposed to end this Monday, but players were so disappointed to see it go that Blizzard is now saying it will take place right up until the pre-patch for the upcoming Shadowlands expansion.

Pope Simulator promises a 'realistic' depiction of life as the Supreme Pontiff
https://www.pcgamer.com/pope-simulator-promises-a-realistic-depiction-of-life-as-the-supreme-pontiff/
Did you ever say to yourself when you were young, "When I grow up I want to be the Pope?" No? Well here's your big chance anyway, sort of: Pope Simulator, a new addition to the menagerie of weird, ultra-niche sims on PC that promises to immerse players in a "realistic" depiction of life as the Pontiff.

The trailer for DCS World's free month on Steam shows that fighter jets can be sentimental too
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-trailer-for-dcs-worlds-free-month-on-steam-shows-that-fighter-jets-can-be-sentimental-too/
The Digital Combat Simulator (DCS) series is, as we said in 2018, one of the prettiest things you can play on PC. It's also extremely realistic, which means it's extremely complex, and in case there's any doubt, have a look at this 16-minute tutorial video on cold-starting the A-10C. Literally, just starting it, no flying involved—this is clearly not the sort of game you just jump into and run with.
To help potential pilots ease into the cockpit, DCS publisher The Fighter Collection is holding a free-for-all month in DCS World Steam Edition, beginning on April 19 and running until May 19. DCS World is normally free to play, but only includes access to the Su-25T Frogfoot and TF-51D Mustang. During the free month, all DCS products (and there are a lot of them) except campaigns will be available for anyone to play without limit.

Riot offers big 'bug bounties' for finding security flaws in Valorant's anti-cheat system
https://www.pcgamer.com/riot-offers-big-bug-bounties-for-finding-security-flaws-in-valorants-anti-cheat-system/
Earlier this week, Riot posted an explanation of what Vanguard is and why people don't need to worry about it, in Riot's view. Today, it followed that with a new message talking more about its approach to security in general and its "philosophy" toward Vanguard in particular, which it says will "help us achieve the vision of competitive integrity while enabling us to continuously adapt our arsenal in the war against cheaters."

Fortnite's new X-Force bundle drops in some classic Marvel heroes
https://www.pcgamer.com/Fortnite-item-shop-update-x-force-bundle-cable/
The X-Force Fortnite skin bundle has officially arrived in Fortnite, continuing the battle royale game's tradition of increasingly bananas brand tie-ins. We've been waiting for good ol' Deadpool and can finally get his classic red skin, as well as his silver X-Force outfit, but what about Cable, Psylocke, and Domino?

The new Doom Eternal skin makes the Archvile into a barista
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-new-doom-eternal-skin-makes-the-archvile-into-a-barista/
Doom Eternal's newest in-game event lets you earn what is in fact one of the most absurd video game skins I have ever seen. The skin is for "Hipster Archvile," which makes the archvile into a coffee-slinging barista straight out of 2014. It is very strange and I love it. Salvador Dali would look at this and say "Yep, that’s surreal as heck. That's one of ours, right there. We'll take it."

Two indie devs are pitching a Seinfeld adventure game
https://www.pcgamer.com/two-indie-devs-are-pitching-a-seinfeld-adventure-game/
Seinfeld's peak popularity coincided with that of the point-and-click adventure game. And yet there was no officially licensed LucasArts Seinfeld game, or even a Telltale version after the fact. This injustice will not stand, at least if Jacob Janerka and Ivan Dixon have anything to do with it.

Paul Haddad, voice of Leon Kennedy in the original Resident Evil 2, has died
https://www.pcgamer.com/paul-haddad-voice-of-leon-kennedy-in-the-original-resident-evil-2-has-died/
Voice actor Paul Haddad, best-known for originating the character of Leon Kennedy in 1998's Resident Evil 2, has died. Invader Studios, who he worked with on a tribute to classic survival horror called Daymare: 1998, confirmed his death on Twitter, saying, "Paul Haddad, our dear friend and an icon among the RE community, has passed away recently. We've been truly honored to have the chance to meet and work with such a great man and a brilliant professional that He was."

Phantasy Star Online 2 finally gets a PC release next month in North America
https://www.pcgamer.com/phantasy-star-online-2-finally-gets-a-pc-release-next-month-in-north-america/
A little over a year since we heard that it was finally coming to a Western release, Phantasy Star Online 2 is set to debut on the PC in North America late next month. The game is already launching on Xbox One, and will immediately feature cross-play when it launches on PC. A press release from Sega said that “PSO2 will make its North American debut on PC in late May, exclusively in the Microsoft store.” The game is free on both console and PC, though there are perks and goodies and the like if you’re an Xbox Game Pass subscriber.

Play 69 spooky free games from the Haunted PS1 Wretched Weekend game jam
https://www.pcgamer.com/play-69-spooky-free-games-from-the-haunted-ps1-wretched-weekend-game-jam/
Spooky, low-poly 3D games are the new frontier for indie aesthetics, and the latest evidence of that is the Haunted PS1 Wretched Weekend. (...)
The completed entrants are now available to play, and there are 69 of them. Included in that number is Rottenwood Lake, which is oddly not the first combination of fishing game and horror I've played. After you catch some ugly fish in the fog you're sent off to track down three skulls in the creepy lake, while being pursued by a beast of the deep. Fortunately the skulls can be tracked because they emit a noise like Tuvan throat singing. It's an unusual one.

A new project is tracking predatory microtransactions in games
https://www.pcgamer.com/a-new-project-is-tracking-predatory-microtransactions-in-games/
There’s a new category on PCGamingWiki now: Microtransactions. A post today by PCGamingWiki founder Andrew Tsai takes aim at microtransactions in games, adding that category of material to what the wiki covers. “Many PC gamers don’t have a clue what they are getting into before they install the latest ‘free-to-play’ game,” says Tsai’s post. He later continues, “These games could contain manipulative loot boxes, hopelessly unfair grinds, or game imbalancing pay-to-win unlocks.”

Call of Duty cheaters on PC are pushing console players away from crossplay
https://www.pcgamer.com/call-of-duty-cheaters-on-pc-are-pushing-console-players-away-from-crossplay/
Last week, Infinity Ward said they'd "issued over 70,000 bans worldwide" to cheaters in Call of Duty: Warzone. And yet, as Eurogamer reports, players are still encountering aimbots and wallhacks in both Warzone and Modern Warfare. Here's just one blatant example of cheating.
>> HollyGamer made a thread about it.

OtherSide is 'still here' and working remotely, but the fate of System Shock 3 is still unknown
https://www.pcgamer.com/system-shock-3-devs-otherside-say-theyre-working-remotely-and-still-here/
After recent layoffs at OtherSide Entertainment put the future of their System Shock sequel in doubt, vice president of marketing and business development Walter Somol posted on their forum to say the following:
Update: Somol is part of OtherSide Boston, not the Austin-based team working on System Shock 3, so the fate of both the team and the sequel are still unknown. OtherSide still hasn't addressed the rumours from February that claimed development had been shut down.

Star Citizen players aren't pleased with recent roadmap changes
https://www.pcgamer.com/star-citizen-players-arent-pleased-with-recent-roadmap-changes/
Game development roadmaps are rarely set in stone, but some recent changes to Star Citizen's has ruffled the feathers of its community of interstellar pilots.
A roadmap roundup, posted late last week, highlighted some of the notable changes to the upcoming Alpha 4.0 update, expected in June, including a few items that have been pushed back or removed until a later date.

Doom Eternal's official soundtrack wasn't mixed by its composer, and you can tell
https://www.pcgamer.com/doom-eternals-official-soundtrack-wasnt-mixed-by-its-composer-and-you-can-tell/
Doom Eternal is quite the looker, if you're a fan of heavy metal hellscapes, but its your ears that get the biggest treat. Composer Mick Gordon's monster of a soundtrack is the perfect accompaniment to all the demonic carnage, but there's something not quite right about the newly released OST.