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

[JEMC]

The Tuesday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Here's your chance to win our favourite gaming headset and microphone of 2021
https://www.pcgamer.com/epos-argos-giveaway/
Are your ears begging for some new audio goodness, or have your Discord pals had enough of your old muffled microphone? Then it's your lucky day as PC Gamer is teaming up with Argos and EPOS to give you the chance to win two of our top picks in the PC Gamer Hardware Awards 2021: the award-winning EPOS H6PRO headset and the B20 microphone. Not only that, but UK dwellers will receive a £250 voucher to spend at Argos, while those outside the UK will receive an equivalent voucher to spend on the EPOS website.
(...)
To win these goodies, all you have to do is head over to this thread on the PC Gamer forums, tell us which EPOS product from Argos.co.uk is your favourite, and then fill out the widget to enter. Make sure you enter by 11:59 PM GMT on August 17 and complete all instructions for the chance to win. Good luck!
>> Good luck!

The hot new co-op farming game is called Dinkum
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-hot-new-co-op-farming-game-is-called-dinkum/
New farming and life sim Dinkum takes the cozy island living formula and soups it up with what the genre desperately needed: crocodiles. This Australian-inspired island won't dispel any of the memes about the outback being dominated by wildlife waiting to murder you. Given that, I'll be planting crops and petting the excessively large wombats back in town instead, thank you.
Dinkum launched last week in early access, wrangling a peak of almost 9,000 players on Sunday and earning an "overwhelmingly positive" batch of 95% user recommendations so far. Neither is a small feat for a self-published indie game in early access. Solo developer and Australian local James Bendon says he wants to "recreate a little bit of his childhood magic and nostalgia," with Dinkum's Aussie-based biomes and animals.

Steam has several new deals, including a new range of weeklong deals:

• The first Midweek Madness deal is Terraformers, still in Early Access, 20% off until Thursday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1244800/Terraformers/
• Life is Strange: True Colors will be 50% off until July 21: https://store.steampowered.com/app/936790/Life_is_Strange_True_Colors/
• PC Building Simulator will be 70% off until Thursday 21: https://store.steampowered.com/app/621060/PC_Building_Simulator/
• Halo Wars: Definitive Edition gets a 75% discount until the 21st of July: https://store.steampowered.com/app/459220/Halo_Wars_Definitive_Edition/
• Necromunda: Hired Gun will be 50% off until the next Monday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1222370/Necromunda_Hired_Gun/
• The Steam VR Fest features up to 80% discounts from now until the 24th: https://store.steampowered.com/vr/
• And here are some of the weeklong deals:
  • Tavern Master is 15% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1525700/Tavern_Master/
  • Unforeseen Incidents gets a 40% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/501790/Unforeseen_Incidents/
  • Paper Dolls: Original / 纸人 is half its price: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1051310/Paper_Dolls_Original/
  • Röki is 65% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1067540/Rki/
  • Chef: A Restaurant Tycoon Game gets a 75% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/886900/Chef_A_Restaurant_Tycoon_Game/
  • And Agent A: A puzzle in disguise, that has a demo, is a massive 90% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/801480/Agent_A_A_puzzle_in_disguise/

The Humble Store has two new sales:

• The tinyBuild Publisher Sale features up to 90% discounts during the next 6 days. There are keys for Steam, GOG (2) and EGS (1): https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/tinybuild-publisher-sale/
• The Koch Media Publisher Sale also comes with up to 90% discounts during 6 days. There are keys for Steam, GOG and EGS: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/koch-media-pub-sale/

And Fanatical has two new deals:

• The new Star Deal is the LucasArts Adventure Pack, 80% off during 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/lucasarts-adventure-pack
• And the new Essential VR Bundle brings 6 games with a 89% discount: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/essential-vr-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Unity CEO apologizes for calling developers 'f**king idiots,' promises to do better
https://www.pcgamer.com/unity-ceo-apologizes-for-calling-developers-fking-idiots-promises-to-do-better/
Unity CEO John Riccitiello did not make many new friends when he said last week that developers who don't consider monetization early in the process of making games are "fucking idiots." His point was relatively innocuous—if you want to make money, you better think about how you're going to do it so you don't accidentally annoy your players—but the wording was decidedly not great.
Reacting to the immediate (and entirely predictable) backlash, Riccitiello dismissed reports of his statement as "clickbait" and "out of full context," although he added that he was "deeply sorry if what I said offended any game dev." This didn't help very much: Several responses to his tweet noted that saying sorry if people were offended isn't really the same as being sorry for what was said. Perhaps with that in mind, Riccitiello posted a more robust apology over the weekend, saying that he is listening to criticism and "will do better."
>> Imho, he could do better by quitting.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Swelter, story-driven mod for Half-Life 2, gets a teaser trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/swelter-story-driven-mod-for-half-life-2-gets-a-teaser-trailer/
The team behind an upcoming story-driven mod for Half Life 2, called Swelter, has released a debut teaser trailer for it. This trailer features in-engine footage, so it can give you an idea of what you can expect from it (visual-wise).
Swelter takes place several years before the events of Half-Life 2, and tells about the internal contradictions within the Resistance forces that arose during the rebellion against the Combine in the post-Soviet city of Central Asia.
The mod will feature classic HL2 shooter gameplay, puzzles, and will allow you to drive a controlled vehicle. Additionally, players can expect to freely explore the game’s areas.

Reshade 5.3.0 available for download, brings performance improvements in OpenGL & DX12
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/reshade-5-3-0-available-for-download-brings-performance-improvements-in-opengl-dx12/
The developer of one of the most used post-processing injector tool, Reshade, has released a brand new version of it. According to crosire, Reshade 5.3.0 packs performance improvements to both OpenGL and DirectX 12. Moreover, it fixes a number of bugs that plagued this tool.
Going into more details, Reshade 5.3.0 fixes mouse input and input blocking in Gothic (and other games using DirectInput 7). It also resolves an issue that prevented using Reshade in UWP applications. Additionally, it addresses an issue that could cause screen darkening when using MSAA swap chain in D3D10/11 games.
>> There's a link to this new version in the article.

Gran Turismo 4 gets remastered on PC thanks to these mods
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/gran-turismo-4-gets-remastered-on-pc-thanks-to-these-mods/
Although Polyphony has not released any of the Gran Turismo games on PC, PC gamers can enjoy a remastered version of GT4 via PS2 emulation. By using the following mods, PC gamers can significantly improve the visuals of this classic console racing game.
Naturally, in order to play Gran Turismo 4 on PC, you will need a PS2 emulator. Right now, PCSX2 is the best Playstation 2 emulator so we highly recommend using that one.
>> Ah, GT 4! The last GT game I played because I found it boring as f*ck. Anyway, there's a long video showing the improvements.

GAMING NEWS

John Romero is working on a new FPS that will be using Unreal Engine 5
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/john-romero-is-working-on-a-new-fps-that-will-be-using-unreal-engine-5/
John Romero has announced that he is working on a brand new FPS that will be using Epic’s Unreal Engine 5. Although Romero did not reveal much, we do know that this will be an original new IP. So yeah, no Daikatana 2 for you.