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

[JEMC]

The Tuesday news, all in one post:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Steam has five new deals and a new range of weeklong deals:

• The first daily deal is Ghostwire: Tokyo, 34% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1475810/Ghostwire_Tokyo/
• The second daily deal is Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions, with a 75% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1163550/Captain_Tsubasa_Rise_of_New_Champions/
• The first Midweek Madness deal is publisheer's Prime Matter Sale on both Outward & Pathfinder, with discounts that go from 50 to 75% until the 12th of May: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/pathfinderxoutward-last-chance-offer-outward-definitive-entitlement
• Transport Fever 2 will be 50% off until the 13th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1066780/Transport_Fever_2/
• SOULCALIBUR VI gets an 85% discount until May 13: https://store.steampowered.com/app/544750/SOULCALIBUR_VI/
• And here are some of the weeklong deals:
  • The Test gets a 20% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1241510/The_Test/
  • The Medium is 35% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1293160/The_Medium/
  • Beholgar gets a 50% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1399750/Beholgar/
  • TheoTown is 66% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1084020/TheoTown/
  • Silver Chains gets an 80% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/975470/Silver_Chains/
  • And My Brother Rabbit is 90% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/855640/My_Brother_Rabbit/

Fanatical has two new deals:

• The Star Deal is THE ODDBOXX, featuring the 4 original games, 85% off during the next 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/the-oddboxx
• And the May Platinum Collection BYOB has launched featuring 18 games to choose your 3, 5 or 7 games bundle: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/platinum-collection-build-your-own-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

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MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Duke Nukem Forever 2001 build may be leaked in June [UPDATE: Now Out]
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.
UPDATE:
PC gamers won’t have to wait until June as the leaked 2001 build is now available for download from here.

The Legend of Zelda, Star Wars & Harry Potter mods released for Elden Ring
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/the-legend-of-zelda-star-wars-harry-potter-mods-released-for-elden-ring/
A number of mods have surfaced for Elden Ring that allow you to play as characters from Star Wars, Harry Potter and The Legend of Zelda. As such, and thanks to these mods, you can play and experience the world of Elden Ring in a new way.

GAMING NEWS

Hunt: Showdown was targeted by malicious attacks, devs reveal
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/hunt-showdown-was-targeted-by-malicious-attacks-devs-reveal/
Hunt: Showdown is regarded in these parts as one of the best, most suspenseful online shooters around. Morgan fell in love with it last year, while I've been bigging up its lesser-known Quickplay mode as a great battle royale alternative. But amidst the cracking shootouts and dashes for extraction, the game has stubbed its toe here and there, including a series of server issues and disconnects during the Traitor's Moon event last month.
Now, Crytek has released a YouTube video addressing the problems, and what it's doing to solve them. It turns out that, alongside ISP issues and backend faults at Crytek's end, the game was also targeted by malicious attackers during the event.

Weird West patch means guards will think KO-ed NPCs on beds are just sleeping
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/weird-west-patch-means-guards-will-think-ko-ed-npcs-on-beds-are-just-sleeping/
Weird West is a nice, deep immersive sim that gives you plenty of ways to go about things—whether that's bullet-time blasting enemies like Max Payne, sneaking through bushes, or setting the world ablaze using oil lamps and whiskey bottles. Now, with the 1.02 Snake-In-My-Boot update, your means of approach have expanded a fair bit, alongside some other notable improvements.

Hitman 3 delays roguelike mode so it's 'as close to our ambitions as possible'
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/hitman-3-delays-roguelike-mode-so-its-as-close-to-our-ambitions-as-possible/
IO Interactive does love a roadmap, and it's shared the latest for the wonderful Hitman 3. The biggest news is that the anticipated Freelancer, a new mode littered with roguelike elements, is being delayed, and the developer expects to have it ready in the second half of the year.

Indie dev is releasing an official pirate version of his upcoming game, 'no strings attached'
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/indie-dev-is-releasing-an-official-pirate-version-of-his-upcoming-game-no-strings-attached/
Please Fix the Road is a lovely, laid back-looking puzzle game about—in case the title wasn't enough of a giveaway—fixing roads. The goal is to move and manipulate tiles of various sorts to ensure that cars, boats, trains, and even animals can get from where they are to where they need to be. It's set to come out in June, and will be available on Steam, GOG, Itch.io, and various pirate torrents.
Games are inevitably pirated, it's true, but this is actually an "official" pirate release, complete with special pirate version features. Not a murderous scorpion, dunce cap, or anything else that would mark or punish pirates for their transgression, though: Developer Ariel Jurkowski said on Twitter that there will be "no strings attached" to the version of Please Fix the Road released to torrent sites.

Summer Games Done Quick features back-to-back Elden Ring runs
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/summer-games-done-quick-features-back-to-back-elden-ring-runs/
The schedule for the Summer Games Done Quick event running from June 26 to July 3 has been unveiled. It's looking like a pretty stacked lineup this year, but I've listed some of the spiciest-looking entries below.

MGS5 players tried to disarm the nukes and give peace a chance, but Konami said 'no'
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/mgs5-players-tried-to-disarm-the-nukes-and-give-peace-a-chance-but-konami-said-no/
A new video by Did You Know Gaming has shed some more light on the mysterious nuclear disarmament cutscene first discovered in Metal Gear Solid 5 in 2015.

Now Bandai Namco says it's 'actively working' on fixing the PC Souls games
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/now-bandai-namco-says-its-actively-working-on-fixing-the-pc-souls-games/
Last week we reported on the slightly unusual situation that's developed with the Dark Souls games on PC. Essentially, the games have been offline since January, when a major exploit was made public, and this was swiftly followed by the release of developer FromSoft's Elden Ring—by any metric, the biggest title of the year so far.
(...)
The concern about when and indeed if the servers were ever coming back has been growing. Now, someone at Bandai Namco support has delivered the message Souls fans want to hear. Redditor Relevant_Heart_1751 contacted the publisher to ask when they'd be able to play their games again, and received the following response:

Ghostwire: Tokyo's director is interested in making DLC and sequels
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/ghostwire-tokyos-director-is-interested-in-making-dlc-and-sequels/
Ghostwire: Tokyo, might get DLC and a sequel or two after its director has expressed interest in expanding the story. Kenji Kimura, in a new interview, has expressed his hopes of continuing the story of the ghoulish game once "things calm down a bit".

Final Fantasy 14 director tackles the hopeless task of trying to get MMO players to uninstall UI mods
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/final-fantasy-14s-director-says-no-way-jose-to-thirdparty-software/
(...)
As with pretty much every big MMOG ever, there are a bunch of third-party tools and mods that experienced players make use of. When I got back into WoW for a brief period around Shadowlands, and I am not any kind of veteran, I probably spent about two hours fiddling with UI, inventory and map mods before taking a single step. They're so ubiquitous in these games that they just feel like part of the scenery.
Hold that thought, because here comes Final Fantasy XIV director Naoki Yoshida to say, no, these things are Bad Actually.

Final Fantasy 14's director says there's a distinct difference between MMOs and the metaverse
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/final-fantasy-14s-director-says-theres-a-distinct-difference-between-mmos-and-the-metaverse/
Naoki Yoshida has said he doesn't believe that the metaverse is "entertainment," adding how he doesn't see the concept as being similar to MMOs like his own Final Fantasy 14.
Comparisons have been drawn between the two since the whole bullshit metaverse craze exploded last year. Our own Nat highlighted virtual worlds like Second Life and Habbo Hotel as superior versions of the idea, while Gabe Newell said he doesn't understand the fuss when MMOs have been serving a similar purpose for decades. But for Yoshida, it seems as though he's trying to put some distance between his MMO and the metaverse.