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

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Here are the Monday news... without actual news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Steam's Top 10

There was only one person in the world playing Babylon's Fall on PC earlier this week
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/there-was-only-one-person-in-the-world-playing-babylons-fall-on-pc-earlier-this-week/
First noticed by VGC News, SteamCharts shows that the worldwide concurrent player count on PC for Babylon's Fall, the embattled live service game by Square Enix and Platinum Games, fell to just one player on Tuesday night, before stabilizing to its more typical but still anemic 20-50 concurrent players.
Player counts are not the end-all be-all of a game's health. They ebb and flow, with inevitable peaks at launch or the release of an expansion and contractions during dry spells of new content. That being said, it's alarming to see a live service game by a long-established publisher and well-liked developer reach such a critical level just two months after launch.

GOG has three new flash deals, a new Weekly Sale and wto returning sales:

• The first flash deal is the Shadowrun Trilogy, 80% off during 46 hours: https://www.gog.com/en/game/shadowrun_trilogy
• The second flash deal is EVERSPACE, 85% off until Wednesday: https://www.gog.com/en/game/everspace
• The third flash deal is Deus Ex GOTY Edition, 86% off until May 11: https://www.gog.com/en/game/deus_ex
• The Worms franchise sale, with up to 80% discounts, will last another 4 days: https://www.gog.com/promo/20220506_worms
• The Focus Home Interactive Sale will last another 6 days: https://www.gog.com/promo/202205_focus_entertainment
• And the new Weekly Sale features games about Zombies and other monsters up to 90% off: https://www.gog.com/promo/20220509_weekly_sale

Steam has two new deals:

• The new daily deal is Late Shift, 55% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/584980/Late_Shift/
• And Hydroneer will be 30% off until May 15: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1106840/Hydroneer/

We can find three deals at Humble:

• Humble Bundle has a new Best of Kalypso Bundle, featuring up to 12 games to get during 11 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/kalypso-hits
• And at the Humble Store we find two new deals:
  • The Spring Sale has begun! Check it out to find deals from lots of publishers up to 90% off during a couple of weeks: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/spring-sale-2022/
  • And there's a flash deal featuring Crusader Kings 3 with a 45% discount during 26 hours: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/crusader-kings-3-spring-sale-flash-storm/

And at Fanatical, we find two new deals:

• The new Star Deal is Assassin's Creed Valhalla - Complete Edition, 58% off during the next 24 hours. The keys are, of course, for Steam: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/assassin-s-creed-valhalla-complete-edition
• The May Madness Event is now live! Check the deals from here
• And, as with all their Sales/events, there's a new way to earn rewards or prizes, including a free Elden Ring copy. Learn more from here: https://www.fanatical.com/en/blog/learn-more-about-the-may-madness-bonus-scratchcard

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

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MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Someone is remaking Need for Speed Underground 2 in Unreal Engine 4
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/someone-is-remaking-need-for-speed-underground-2-in-unreal-engine-4/
Need for Speed fans, here is something special for you today. YouTube’s ‘Ivan Novozhilov’ is currently remaking Need for Speed Underground 2 in Unreal Engine 4, and below you can find a video featuring 10 minutes of gameplay footage from it.
Contrary to most of the other Unreal Engine remakes we’ve shared, this one actually feels like a proper remake. In other words, it features proper gameplay mechanics. Players can drive cars, power slide, and destroy various objects. Hell, there is also a weather system, as well as music from both the Underground games.
Unfortunately, there isn’t currently any way to download this NFSU2 Remake. And, given how good this already looks, we are afraid that EA will immediately shut it down.
>> Let's hope EA doesn't kill it, because it looks very good.

Super Mario 64 gets closer to the looks of its 90s CG artworks on PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/super-mario-64-gets-closer-to-the-looks-of-its-90s-cg-artworks-on-pc/
The Render96 team has shared a trailer, showcasing a new mod that attempts to make the unofficial PC port of Super Mario 64 look like its 90s CG artworks. This mod will transform the looks of the game, and consider a must-have for everyone that has already played the SM64.
Going into more details, Render96 is a free-to-play fan modification for Super Mario 64. The goal of this project is to match the game’s promotional artwork during the late 1990s. The team has recreated every model and asset was using images found online from the Nintendo 64 era.

Duke Nukem Forever 2001 build may be leaked in June
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/duke-nukem-forever-2001-build-may-be-leaked-in-june/
It appears that some people have gotten their hands on the 2001 build of Duke Nukem Forever and may release it in June. According to a 4chan leak, we can expect to be playing this canceled version of Duke Nukem Forever next month.
As you know, we rarely cover leaks originating from 4chan. This time, though, the leaker provided a lot of very convincing information, screenshots and a video. Thus, this appears to be a legit leak.

Modders are turning Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord into an RTS
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/modders-are-turning-mount-and-blade-2-bannerlord-into-an-rts/
A work in progress mod called Age of Bannerlords is ambitious, to say the least, turning Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord into a full-featured RTS complete with base building, unit production, and resource gathering. At the same time, it retains Bannerlord's bones, so you can jump into combat at the ground level and control your units in a third-person melee.
Modder Bloc has been working on the mod on and off in their free team, and the building models are by modder modeleers FoozleMcDoozle and Errayn. "All the buildings are created by these two talented lads," said Bloc.

Finally, keyhole-peeping comes to Skyrim
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/finally-keyhole-peeping-comes-to-skyrim/
There was a time, back in the early 2000s, where it felt like I spent a good chunk of my gaming time sticking my face onto oversized keyholes and snooping on whatever was on the other side. In stealth-focused games like Hitman and Splinter Cell, there was something wonderfully clandestine about monitoring enemy patrols or eavesdropping on conversations on the other side of a door. Outside of the occasional moment where an enemy would open the door right as I bent down to look through, keyhole-peeping was a slick if small booster of stealth immersion.
Now, finally, the venerable stealth mechanic has arrived in Skyrim, courtesy of the Take a Peek mod by JaySerpa. It works much like you'd expect it to, creating an animation for your character crouching in front of a door before the camera fades into a keyhole-framed view of what's on the other side. Your camera movement and field of view will of course be limited, though you can adjust these in the mod configuration menu.