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

[JEMC]

The Tuesday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Multiversus smashes 10 million player milestone in just 3 weeks
https://www.pcgamer.com/multiversus-smashes-10-million-player-milestone-in-just-3-weeks/
Multiversus has been a rather pleasant surprise. A few months ago I wouldn't have expected "Smash Bros. with Arya Stark and Ultra Instinct Shaggy" to be that fun, but my god, it really is. I'm not the only one who thinks that either, as the Warner Bros. Smashlike has surpassed 10 million players, according to statistics website tracker.gg.
As I write this, the site says Multiversus has just over 10,255,000 unique accounts. As tracker.gg accesses the game's API to pull its various statistics, that number should be pretty damn accurate. Multiversus launched in closed beta on July 19 before opening up to the masses a week later, meaning the game has gained roughly three to four million players week on week. Morgan also ballparked it at being around the five million mark a mere seven days ago, which is some pretty incredible growth. It's worth noting that the statistics cover all platforms though, not just PC. Regardless, that's a mighty playerbase to accumulate in less than a month.

GOG has launched a new RPG Sale, with up to 90% discounts during 4 days: https://www.gog.com/partner/rpg_celebration.

Steam has several new deals, including the weeklong deals:

• Back 4 Blood is going to be 50% off until August 11: https://store.steampowered.com/app/924970/Back_4_Blood/
• The Henry Stickmin Collection is also going to be 50% off until August 11: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1089980/The_Henry_Stickmin_Collection/
• CD Projekt Red's 20th Anniversary Sale, with up to 85% discounts, will last until August 12: https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/CDPR/sale/cdpr20thanniversary
• MELTY BLOOD: TYPE LUMINA has a 35% discount until the 18th of August: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1372280/MELTY_BLOOD_TYPE_LUMINA/
• Mortal Shell gets a 60% discount until August 20: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1110910/Mortal_Shell/
• And here are some of the weeklong deals:
  • Learning Factory, still in Early Access, is 30% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1150090/Learning_Factory/
  • Majotori gets a 40% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/588730/Majotori/
  • Signal Simulator is 50% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/839310/Signal_Simulator/
  • Ori and the Will of the Wisps gets a 67% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1057090/Ori_and_the_Will_of_the_Wisps/
  • Out of Space is 75% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/400080/Out_of_Space/
  • And the last one this sample is Voyage: Journey to the Moon, with an 89% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/302180/Voyage_Journey_to_the_Moon/

The Humble Store has two new sales:

• The CD Projekt Red's 20th Anniversary Sale gets up to 85% discounts during the next 5 days. All the keys are for GOG: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/cd-projekt-red-20th-anniversary-sale/
• The Female Heroes Sale brings up to 90% discounts during 6 days. There are keys for Steam, GOG and EGS: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/female-heroes-sale/

And Fanatical's Summer Sale has new flash deals:

• SUPERHOT VR is 67% off during 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/superhot-vr
• And Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege Deluxe Edition Year 7 gets a 71% discount for 24 hours. The keys is for UPlay: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/tom-clancy-s-rainbow-six-siege-deluxe-edition-year-7

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

NVIDIA GeForce Game Ready 516.94 WHQL
https://videocardz.com/driver/nvidia-geforce-game-ready-516-94-whql
or https://www.nvidia.co.uk/Download/driverResults.aspx/192978/en-uk
Highlights

• Game Ready for Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered
• Support For Newly Validated G-SYNC Compatible Displays
• New Games Supported By GeForce Experience’s Optimal Settings (13 games, check Videocardz to see them)

Fixed Issues

• [Apex Legends] Improves gameplay stability.
• [Red Dead Redemption 2] Performance improvement when using DLSS is lower compared to previous drivers.
• [Overwatch] Game may freeze on launching a match.
• [MSI GE66 Raider 10UG/MSI GE76 Raider 10UH] Windows brightness setting does not work when notebook is in dedicated GPU mode.
• [Chivalry 2] Toggling DLSS preset may cause gameplay to shimmer or show black rectangle.
• [Dungeons 3] Game will crash on startup.
• [Destiny 2] Game may randomly freeze after launching game or during gameplay.
• [Prepar3D] Light sources display flashing black boxes.
• [Xbox Application] Windowed G-SYNC engages and cause stutter/ sluggish performance in Xbox app.
• [NVIDIA Ampere GPU]: With the GPU connected to an HDMI 2.1 audio/video receiver, audio may drop out when playing back Dolby Atmos.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

This 2.9GB Mod for Red Dead Redemption 2 overhauls all horse textures
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/this-2-9gb-mod-for-red-dead-redemption-2-overhauls-all-horse-textures/
Modder ‘WickedHorseMan’ has released a new HD Texture Pack for Red Dead Redemption 2, aiming to overhaul all of the game’s horse textures. In order to achieve this, WickedHorseMan used AI techniques to improve the quality of the original/vanilla textures.
The end result is quite good and since you’re constantly riding a horse in this game, we suggest downloading it. However, and similarly to most AI-enhanced HD Texture Packs, don’t expect any mind-blowing improvements. Regardless of that though, this is something to add to your RDR2 modding list. At the end of the article, you can also find a couple of screenshots that showcase the improved textures.

Race To The Bottom is a fully voiced DLC-sized Mod for Fallout New Vegas
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/race-to-the-bottom-is-a-fully-voiced-dlc-sized-mod-for-fallout-new-vegas/
Modder ‘cgy95’ has released a fully voiced DLC-sized mod for Fallout New Vegas, called Race To The Bottom. According to the modder, Race To The Bottom is around the same size as the Automatron DLC from Fallout 4, packing almost 2 hours of gameplay.
In Race To The Bottom, players will track down the assailants and explore a large new dungeon with difficult decisions to be made along the way.
The mod promises multiple ways of solving each objective, allowing a decent amount of replayability. Moreover, it features a new faction to interact with and a roleplay/dialogue focused gameplay. Additionally, it’s possible to complete this new mod/quest without killing any enemy.

This Skyrim mod recreates the best part of Shadow of Mordor: the nemesis system
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-skyrim-mod-recreates-the-best-part-of-shadow-of-mordor-the-nemesis-system/
As a heroic adventurer, it's easy to cleave your way through mobs of enemies, leaving a wake of anonymous corpses behind you. Who were they? What were their names? There's little reason to know or care. And even if one of them is tough enough to defeat you, you can just reload your last save and try again until you kill them, the ultimate cheat code.
But 2014's Shadow of Mordor added a compelling wrinkle with its nemesis system. When an uruk or orc defeated you, it would receive a promotion and rise within Sauron's ranks. It'd grow in power and get a catchy nickname, becoming far less anonymous. Your nemesis suddenly felt like an actual character, turning combat with them into bitter grudge matches. Random orcs even became famous in some circles.
Now you can experience those grudge matches in Skyrim too. The Shadow of Skyrim - Nemesis and Alternate Death System mod makes any enemy who defeats you into your nemesis, from dragons to trolls to bandits to, yes, even mudcrabs.

This Skyrim bard magic mod lets you use your Spice Girls collection to smite enemies
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-skyrim-bard-magic-mod-lets-you-use-your-spice-girls-collection-to-smite-enemies/
If you ask me, videogames peaked as a medium when Hideo Kojima let us arrive on the battlefield to the tune of the Spice Girls. Ever since then, I've been on the hunt for the raw, animal high that occurs when a game lets me dispense swift justice and sick beats simultaneously. Bard Magic Overhaul for Skyrim Special Edition from Monitor144 might be exactly what I'm looking for.
It works like this: in place of Skyrim's traditional spellcasting system, which saw you cast spells by waving your hands around like some kind of uncouth hedge witch, this mod makes it so that all your spells are cast by playing one of Skyrim's many lutes. Chucking a fireball, summoning a daedra, it's all accompanied by either a quick strum or a full song on the lute. The best part, though, is that you can upload your own custom music. Spice World, here I come.

GAMING NEWS

Elden Ring Update 1.06 released, full patch notes revealed
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/elden-ring-update-1-06-released-full-patch-notes-revealed/
FromSoftware has released a brand new update for Elden Ring. According to the release notes, Update 1.06 brings numerous balance tweaks and bug fixes. Moreover, it adds two new functions, as well as a new way to advance White Mask Varre’s questline.