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

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Monday news, part two:

Look at these lovely Dwarf Fortress birds
https://www.pcgamer.com/look-at-these-lovely-dwarf-fortress-birds/
It's still wild to look at a screenshot of Dwarf Fortress and see graphics and lovely detailed art—it's very surreal, especially after becoming so used to staring at the old ASCII world. Bay 12 and publisher Kitfox Games are still getting it ready for the eventual Steam launch, but in the meantime why not take a look at some critters and treasure?

Some of World of Warcraft's lowest population servers will be merged starting this summer
https://www.pcgamer.com/some-of-world-of-warcrafts-lowest-population-servers-will-be-merged-starting-this-summer/
World of Warcraft's lowest population servers are going to be merged with busier ones in a process that will take all summer, Blizzard announced today. This isn't the first time WoW has squished servers together, but this will be a welcome change for players stuck on dead realms who don't want to pay for a costly server transfer.

Standout tactics RPG Battle Brothers gets a scorching new expansion in August
https://www.pcgamer.com/standout-tactics-rpg-battle-brothers-gets-a-scorching-new-expansion-in-august/
Prepare for sand to get rough and absolutely everywhere, because strategy and tactics RPG Battle Brothers has a gritty new expansion coming August 13 called Blazing Deserts. Where last year's expansion added a sprawling, frozen North, this year's adds a southland of city-states, advanced scientific learning, and a sun god who sounds kind of mean. Alongside these new locations to visit will be new non-combat followers to recruit, late game crises to weather, and era-appropriate medieval firearms.

Star Wars: Squadrons will have customizable HUD, controls, and cosmetic displays
https://www.pcgamer.com/star-wars-squadrons-will-have-customizable-hud-controls-and-cosmetic-displays/
One of the early images from Star Wars: Squadrons that immediately caught my eye was an interior shot of an X-Wing cockpit, and more specifically the Ewok wobbly riding along the left panel like some kind of dashboard hula girl from space. Not that I have anything against good luck charms, but... really?
It turns out that EA had an inkling that old-time purists may not be entirely taken by such things, as creative director Ian S. Frazier told IGN Japan that players who don't want to see such trivialities in their very serious Star Wars stuff will be able to switch it all off.

Napoleonic wars shooter Holdfast has lovely new marching animations and mods
https://www.pcgamer.com/napoleonic-wars-shooter-holdfast-has-lovely-new-marching-animations-and-mods/
Good news if you, like me, love muskets and cannons and a well-drilled firing line in impeccable uniforms. Holdfast: Nations at War has just added new marching animations in the biggest update since the game's release in March. Alongside the new animations there's an elaborate system for managing your in-game groups or clans, called regiments. There are also new respawn systems for officers to reinforce forward positions.

Risk of Rain 2 will increase in price on launch this August
https://www.pcgamer.com/risk-of-rain-2-will-increase-in-price-on-10-launch-this-august/
Risk of Rain 2 exploded into Early Access last year, selling more than one million copies in its first month. The game has been going strong ever since, despite a slight delay on the full release, with new areas to blast through and new characters to blast as. Recent updates also brought back artifacts, the game-rules-tweaking bits and bobs from the first game.
So much has been added, in fact, that true to their previous statements, the developers will be increasing Risk of Rain 2's price from $20 to $25 when the game launches its 1.0 update in August. Risk of Rain 2 is currently 20% off, or $16, in the Steam summer sale. The Risk of Rain 1.0 update will include a new character, the final stage and boss, and a presumable load of new items and equipment to tinker with. It will also feature a server browser and a rework of the mercenary character to be a little harder to maximize.
>> Looks like now is the best moment to get it.

Photograph gross aliens in Cellular Harvest, out now
https://www.pcgamer.com/photograph-gross-aliens-in-cellular-harvest-out-now/
A couple of weeks ago I watched EEK3, a digital showcase for indie games with that Haunted PS1 aesthetic, complete with its own virtual showfloor. Among the games that caught my eye was Cellular Harvest, which is about an auditor sent to an alien planet to document its lifeforms. It's out now, I've played it, and it's good.

Overcooked 2's new, free summer DLC is out today
https://www.pcgamer.com/overcooked-2s-new-free-summer-dlc-is-out-today/
Cooperative cook-em-up Overcooked 2 has a new free DLC today, entitled Sun's Out Buns Out, which includes a variety of suitable summer fare. The new content includes five new kitchens, two new canine chefs, and a couple summer recipes to top it off. Specifically, that's ice cream floats and summer salads. Delicious.

Manor Lords is an upcoming combo of city builder and mass-battle RTS
https://www.pcgamer.com/manor-lords-is-an-upcoming-combo-of-city-builder-and-mass-battle-rts/
Manor Lords is an upcoming game from solo developer Slavic Magic that combines a city-builder with an RTS using a bit of medieval flair. Players will take on the job of a medieval ruler on their newly-granted land, tasked with building up a village and house and, ultimately, defending it from their rivals in large-scale battles reminiscent of the total war series. Comparisons to Total War and Banished are inevitable, but others have brought up Stronghold as an influence on the game.

Danganronpa creator's FMV mystery Death Come True releases this month
https://www.pcgamer.com/danganronpa-creators-fmv-mystery-death-come-true-releases-this-month/
The creator of crazed visual novel series Danganronpa will release a new game on July 17th with their new company, Too Kyo Games. An FMV adventure-mystery with a science fiction twist, Death Come True is billed as a "new wave interactive movie game." Near as I can tell that just means it's interactive fiction with full live-action movie accompaniment for each scene.

King's Bounty 2 dev diary shows off 3D combat
https://www.pcgamer.com/kings-bounty-2-dev-diary-shows-off-3d-combat/
King's Bounty 2 is taking the venerable turn-based strategy series somewhere new, which is bound to be divisive. (...)
This most recent developer blog shows off its 3D arenas, which unlike the flat battlemaps of yore make use of varying height to create advantages for attackers on high ground as well as fully blocking line of sight. This video also explains changes like the ability to level up units so you don't have to replace starter troops if you grow fond of them, although elites will still exist—they'll just be more specialized.

Multiple MOBAs built from Paragon assets are coming soon
https://www.pcgamer.com/multiple-mobas-built-from-paragon-assets-are-coming-soon/
Dota 2, League of Legends and a few others might still be able to draw in the crowds, but the heyday of MOBAs is behind us. Now it's battle royales that we can't avoid. Among the MOBAs that have fallen by the wayside is Epic's Paragon, but from its corpse has sprung several projects, each using official assets.

Left 4 Dead successor Back 4 Blood resurfaces with some concept art
https://www.pcgamer.com/left-4-dead-successor-back-4-blood-resurfaces-with-some-concept-art/
It's been a long time since we've heard anything about Back 4 Blood, but thankfully it looks like the Left 4 Dead spiritual successor hasn't returned to the grave. Developer Turtle Rock Studios (who was acquired by, then separated from Valve during Left 4 Dead's development), still isn't giving much away about Back 4 Blood, but you can now stare at a single piece of concept art.