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

[JEMC]

Friday news, part two:

Hacking game's ultimate Easter Egg decoded after eight years
https://www.pcgamer.com/double-fine-hacking-games-hacking-puzzle-solved-after-eight-years/
An optional puzzle included in Double Fine's 2014 hacking game Hack 'n' Slash has, eight years on, finally been solved. The problem has been known as the SecretRoom.lua puzzle, named after an encrypted file among the game's files that no-one could work out how to decrypt.

Darktide's new patch brings big bludgeons, necessary nerfs, and beefs up the crafting system
https://www.pcgamer.com/darktides-new-patch-brings-big-bludgeons-necessary-nerfs-and-beefs-up-the-crafting-system/
The grim dark of the future hits version 1.0.20 today. Warhammer 40K: Darktide has a new patch, and it's brought with it new weapons, updates to the crafting system, and a much-needed nerf that will no doubt still make someone very angry indeed.

PSA: Don't play Destiny 2's new Dawning event without equipping this item first [updated]
https://www.pcgamer.com/psa-dont-play-destiny-2s-new-dawning-event-without-equipping-this-item-first/
Update: Good news! It transpires that if you haven't previously unlocked the Starfarer 7M ship, the benefits of which are detailed in the original story, you can buy it from Evan Levante the event vendor in the tower. It can be found on the third page of her inventory. Note that you will also need to buy the accompanying mod in order to generate bonus Dawning Cheer whilst you're out and about shooting aliens.

Former Warcraft creative director Chris Metzen is returning to Blizzard
https://www.pcgamer.com/former-warcraft-creative-director-chris-metzen-is-returning-to-blizzard/
Original World of Warcraft creative director Chris Metzen, who left Blizzard in 2016 after a 23-year career, is coming back. Warcraft franchise general manager John Hight revealed the big news on Twitter, saying that Metzen has joined the "Warcraft Leadership Team" as creative advisor.

The new Tomb Raider game will be published by Amazon
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-new-tomb-raider-game-will-be-published-by-amazon/
Back in April, Crystal Dynamics announced that it was working on a new Tomb Raider game using Unreal Engine 5, which is said would enable it to "push the envelope of fidelity, and to deliver the high quality cinematic action-adventure experience that fans deserve." A new addition to a hugely successful game franchise wasn't exactly the most unexpected bit of news ever, but today's announcement caught me a little by surprise: It's going to be published by Amazon Games.

It looks like Call of Duty's anti-cheat is permabanning innocent players
https://www.pcgamer.com/it-looks-like-call-of-dutys-anti-cheat-is-permabanning-innocent-players/
Call of Duty players are saying they're getting banned from the game over false positives from Activision's proprietary Ricochet anti-cheat. Now, I know what you're thinking: oldest story in the book, that's just what John Q. Aimbot would say with his hand caught in the proverbial cookie jar.
However, the sheer number of these claims, as well as the common details shared between them, leads me to believe there's something amiss, and these paying customers have been left frustrated by Activision Blizzard's stony response so far. The company did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication, but we will update this story if we hear back.
>> Well, those players are experiencing another side from a war game: they're collateral damage.

Lap it up: Henry Cavill's dog is in The Witcher 3 now
https://www.pcgamer.com/lap-it-up-henry-cavills-dog-is-in-the-witcher-3-now/
(...)
Henry Cavill has a dog: and it's called Kal, as in Kal-El, as in Superman. No, I don't know why he plumped for that over Krypto. Kal is an American Akita breed and apparently something of a fixture around the actor, meaning there are lots of photographs of Kal, and now that the dog has found its way into The Witcher 3 there will probably be even more screenshots.

New World is running a free weekend to highlight its new edition and discount
https://www.pcgamer.com/new-world-is-running-a-free-weekend-to-highlight-its-new-edition-and-discount/
Nothing says Christmas quite like games with a disconcerting colonialist aesthetic. Amazon's New World MMO is getting a free weekend, with prospective players invited to get a "taste of the Eternal Isle" between now and the free period's conclusion next week.

Chinese players are being prepared for the end of World of Warcraft
https://www.pcgamer.com/chinese-players-are-being-prepared-for-the-end-of-world-of-warcraft/
Blizzard is preparing its Chinese players for the possibility that Alliance and Horde alike fear: no more World of Warcraft. While Blizzard mostly publishes its own games, its titles have been distributed in China by NetEase for 14 years, an arrangement that both companies announced would end this October. Blizzard's games are enormously popular in China, and the news immediately saw NetEase's share price take a dive, though the two will still work together on Diablo Immortal.

The 'world's smallest city builder' just had a teeny tiny launch on Steam
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-worlds-smallest-city-builder-just-launched-on-steam/
When it comes to city builders, bigger is usually better. Just look at Cities: Skylines, which lets you construct massive, sprawling, skyscraper-filled cities—which somehow still weren't big enough for players, who were thrilled to find a mod that allowed them unlock every last square of land on the map.
But sometimes you might be looking for something a bit smaller. In the case of The Block, a city builder that launched on Steam today, much smaller. In fact, developer Paul Schnepf calls it "the world's smaller city builder" and after checking out the trailer above, I have no reason to doubt that claim.

Let's move now to the GOG and Steam deals for the weekend (and no, I won't mention the GOG Winter Sale):

+GOG

• The first one is easy: there's a new GIVEAWAY: King of Seas is free to get during the next 70 hours: https://www.gog.com/game/king_of_seas
• The first of the three Deals of the Day is Star Trek: Armada, 28% off during 70 hours: https://www.gog.com/en/game/star_trek_armada
• The second is Dorfromantik, 30% off until Monday: https://www.gog.com/en/game/dorfromantik
• And the third DotD is Pillars of Eternity: Definitive Edition, with a 55% discount until the 19th: https://www.gog.com/en/game/pillars_of_eternity_definitive_edition
• Also, and only during the Winter Sale (damn it!), there's a special Roguelike 2-pack with Curse of the Dead Gods and Loop Hero with a 65% discount: https://www.gog.com/game/gog_collection_roguelike_2pack

+Steam

• The Sniper Ghost Warrior Franchise Sale brings up to 85% discounts until Monday: https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/SGW/sale/2022
• STAR WARS Jedi: Fallen Order will be 88% off until the 19th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1172380/STAR_WARS_Jedi_Fallen_Order/
• The Steam Football Celebration (I'll be damned if I call it soccer) brings up to 90% discounts until Monday, 19th (also Fifa 23 is free to try during the weekend): https://store.steampowered.com/tags/en/Soccer/
• The HeroCraft Publisher Sale features up to 85% discounts until December 21st: https://store.steampowered.com/developer/HeroCraft_PC/sale/herocraftpublishersale
• Bang-On Balls: Chronicles, still in Early Access, gets a 40% discount until the 22nd: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1227650/BangOn_Balls_Chronicles/
• God of War is also 40% off until the 22nd: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1593500/God_of_War/
• The Surge 2 will be 75% off until Thursday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/644830/The_Surge_2/
• The Assassin's Creed Franchise is up to 80% off until Thursday (and Valhalla is free to try during another 2 days): https://store.steampowered.com/sale/Assassins_Creed_Franchise
• And the House Flipper Franchise Sale is up to 85% off until Thursday, 22nd: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/houseflipper

And that's it. Until next time, I wish you a happy and gaming weekend (the last one before X-mas!).