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

[JEMC]

The Monday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Steam's Top 10

Oh! And today it's SteamDB's 10th anniversary.

Today's free game at the Epic Store is Them's Fightin' Herds: https://store.epicgames.com/es-ES/p/thems-fightin-herds.

GOG has several new deals:

• There's a new GIVEAWAY: Broken Sword: Director's Cut will be available during the next 70 hours: https://www.gog.com/en/game/broken_sword_directors_cut
• The first of three Deals of the Day is Tyranny - Gold Edition, 75% off during 46 hours: https://www.gog.com/en/game/tyranny_gold_edition
• The second DotD is My Time At Portia, 77% off until Wednesday: https://www.gog.com/en/game/my_time_at_portia
• The third DotD is Red Faction, with an 80% discount until the 21st: https://www.gog.com/en/game/red_faction
• And there's a new CONTEST with HyperX, with the chance to win a keyboard and a bundle of 5 games. Learn more here: https://www.gog.com/en/news/gog_x_hyperx_contest_b_win_awesome_prizes_during_the_winter_sales_advent_calendar_stage_2_b

Steam has two new deals:

• Sker Ritual, still in Early Access, will be 20% off until the 22nd: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1492070/Sker_Ritual/
• And 112 Operator will be 75% off until Thursday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/793460/112_Operator/

Several new deals await for us at Humble:

• At Humble Bundle there's a new Holiday Encore: the Best of Boomer Shooters Bundle, with 7 games during 27 hours: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/holiday-encore-best-boomer-shooters-bundle
• And the Humble Store there are 4 new sales:
  • The latest Ubisoft 48 hours Flash deal is Assassin's Creed Odyssey, 80% off during another 17 hours. The key is for UPlay: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/assassins-creed-odyssey
  • The Top Picks 2022 Sale features up to 90% discounts during 4 days. There are keys for Steam, GOG and EGS, plus two games from another 2 stores: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/top-picks-2022-sale/
  • The 2K Holiday Sale features up to 90% discounts during 7 days. There are keys for Steam, EGS and 1 for GOG (Bioshock): https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/2k-holiday-sale/
  • The last one is the Bandai Namco Winter Sale, with up to 90% discounts during the next 12 days. The keys are for Steam: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/bandai-publisher-sale/

And Fanatical has a new Star Deal, two bundles and a contest:

• The Star Deal is Rogue Lords, 62% off during another 24 hours (it started yesterday): https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/rogue-lords
• The Batman Arkham Collection Bundle, with 3 games at a 87% discount during 16 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/batman-arkham-collection
• The Eternal VR Bundle features 7 games with a 94% discount: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/eternal-vr-bundle
• There's a CONTEST, it started 2 days ago, to win a Steam Deck (512GB) or a Meta Quest (256GB), the winner will be able to choose, plus 5 games. Learn more here: https://www.fanatical.com/en/blog/win-a-steam-deck-or-vr-headset-plus-games-big-festive-deals

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Valve is paying a whole lot of developers to keep the Steam Deck's open-source software going
https://www.pcgamer.com/valve-is-paying-a-whole-lot-of-developers-to-keep-the-steam-decks-open-source-software-going/
The Steam Deck is an incredible bit of hardware, but the software that underpins it is just as impressive. From long-running open-source stalwarts like the Mesa graphics driver and the Vulkan API to Valve's own Proton compatibility layer, the Deck only runs thanks to a lot of labour by open-source developers. Without them, the whole thing is just a big block of plastic.
Turns out that Valve understands that, because in a recent chat with the Verge, Steam Deck designer Pierre-Loup Griffais mentioned that the company is paying over a hundred open-source devs to work on the various bits of software that keep the Steam Deck ticking. Valve has them working on stuff like Steam for ChromeOS and Linux, too (Griffais didn't mention macOS though, which makes sense given the way Steam seems to freeze in panic whenever I launch it on a MacBook).

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

This Warcraft 3 Reforged Mod aims to bring back most of what Blizzard initially promised
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/this-warcraft-3-reforged-mod-aims-to-bring-most-of-what-blizzard-initially-promised/
InsaneMonster has informed us about a mod for Warcraft 3 Reforged that aims to add to the game most of what Blizzard initially promised. This mod has been in development for a while, and a new version of it came out a few days ago.
Warcraft 3 Re-Reforged promises to introduce actually remastered in-game cinematics, with angles, interface and style closely matching the ones shown at Blizzcon 2018. Furthermore, it will have reimagined maps and missions, with beautiful, easy to navigate terrain, modernized gameplay. Players can also expect redesigned quests and more meaningful events, often influencing following maps in interesting ways.
InsaneMonster also plans to detail and expand the game’s lore, and flesh out characters. Moreover, it will add many references from World of Warcraft.
The mod will also have rebalanced difficulty levels, to make the experience tailored and engaging to each player. Additionally, there will be new AI scripts designed to give opponents a distinguishable personality.
>> Besides the link, the article also has 3 videos.

PC gamers can now enjoy an amazing HD Remaster of Mario Kart 64
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/pc-gamers-can-now-enjoy-an-amazing-hd-remaster-of-mario-kart-64/
Modder ‘AndratVA’ has shared the final trailer for Mario Kart 64 HD, an incredible HD Texture Pack for the classic Nintendo 64 Mario Kart game. And, as the title suggests, PC gamers can use Nintendo 64 emulators in order to enjoy a truly HD Remaster of this game.
Going into more details, Mario Kart 64 HD features a lot of high-resolution textures for all objects. Additionally, it updates the sprites of all characters, making them look similar to the early CG renders.
The end result is a faithful HD remaster of this classic kart racing game. And, since this is a Texture Pack/Mod, Nintendo won’t be able to shut it down.
>> There are 2 videos. I recommend watching the first one to see the improvements, even if it feels a bit exagerated.

Duke Nukem Forever Restoration Project gets a first slice gameplay trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/duke-nukem-forever-restoration-project-gets-a-first-slice-gameplay-trailer/
The team behind the Duke Nukem Forever Restoration Project has released a first slice gameplay trailer for it. This trailer will give you an idea of what the team has managed to create so far.
For those unaware, Duke Nukem Forever Restoration Project is a restoration project for the leaked 2001 version of Duke Nukem Forever. The team will attempt to recreate what 3D Realms showcased in its “fake” E3 2001 trailer.
The team is currently focused on finishing the polish for the first chapter of the game, ‘High Stakes, Lady Killer’. Moreover, it is working on a plethora of render and engine fixes alike; with many major and small fixes already developed, such as a proper ‘hair fix’ and progress on an entirely new renderer for the game in DirectX 9.
Now what’s cool here is that the DNFRP team has already managed to restore much of the content seen in the E3 trailers and promotional material. Not only that, but it’s working on an all-new story to bridge the gaps between what we know about the game and what we don’t.
Lastly, the First Slice Version of Duke Nukem Forever Restoration Project will release on December 21st. This version will feature the first chapter (which will have 9 levels). Naturally, we’ll be sure to share the download link once it becomes available.

The Witcher 3 HD Reworked Project Next-Gen will release in Q2 2023
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-witcher-3-hd-reworked-project-next-gen-will-release-in-q2-2023/
Modder ‘Halk Hogan PL’ has announced that the first version of his HD Reworked Project for The Witcher 3 Next-Gen will release in Q2 2023.
Now while CD Projekt RED has included the latest version of this mod in the Next-Gen Update, the modder has not stopped working on it.
Halk Hogan PL claimed that the list of changes and new improvements is really long. Moreover, the quality of assets is on a much higher level than you could experience in the last available version of HDRP (12.0 Ultimate).
What’s also cool here is that this upcoming version of HDRP will also work with The Witcher 3 V1.31/1.32. Thus, those that have not upgraded yet (due to the game’s awful optimization issues) will also be able to enjoy the new overhauled textures.
>> There's a roughly 1 min video of it.

GAMING NEWS

First real-time gameplay video for the Unreal Engine 5-powered sci-fi horror game, Project A.I.D.A.
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/firsr-real-time-gameplay-video-for-the-unreal-engine-5-powered-sci-fi-horror-game-project-a-i-d-a/
Pulsatrix Studios, creators of Fobia St. Dinfna Hotel, is currently working on a new sci-fi horror game that will be using Unreal Engine 5, codenamed Project A.I.D.A. And earlier today, the team released its first real-time gameplay video.

First-person retro shooter, Selaco, gets an overhauled demo
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/first-person-retro-shooter-selaco-gets-an-overhauled-demo/
Altered Orbit Studios has released an overhauled demo for its upcoming FEAR/Doom-inspired first-person retro shooter, Selaco. Among other things, this new demo adds support for gamepads and Steam Deck, and significantly improves performance.
>> There's also a video of the game.

The Witcher 3 Next-Gen PC Hotfix released, is 880MB in size, promises to improve stability & performance
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/the-witcher-3-next-gen-pc-hotfix-released-is-880mb-in-size-promises-to-improve-stability-performance/
CD Projekt RED has just released a PC hotfix for The Witcher 3 Next-Gen. The December 19th Hotfix is 880MB in size and promises to improve the game’s overall stability and performance. Furthermore, it will fix the overlay issues with GOG and Steam.