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

[JEMC]

The first non-hardware related news of the year:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Steam's Top 10

Factorio has sold 3.5 million copies
https://www.pcgamer.com/factorio-has-sold-35-million-copies/
Factory-building game Factorio has sold 3.5 million copies, reports developer Wube Software in its year-end update. It's an incredible validation of success for a game that would politely be described as of niche interest to mainstream gaming.
"This year we have reached another sales milestone, with 3.5 million sales being passed this Christmas. We are still having steady and consistent sales of about 500,000 each year, which in retrospect validates the original no-sale policy we have stuck with since we launched on Steam in 2016," said Wube in a blog post.
The same post includes an expansion teaser image, a few small development updates, and a statistics recap on Wube's mod portal feature. Wube Software also announced that it's still hard at work porting the game's new console controls to the PC version for both people on full-size rigs and on mobile PCs like the Steam Deck.

GOG's Winter Sale will end in roughly 7 hours (*sad violin noises*), but we have three new Deals of the Day, that will last until Wednesday:

• The first DotD is Seed of the Dead: Sweet Home, 40% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/seed_of_the_dead_sweet_home
• Little Nightmares II gets a 67% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/little_nightmares_ii
• And the last one is Broken Sword: Director's Cut, with a 85% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/broken_sword_directors_cut

We're entering the last week of the Steam Winter Sale. I hope you've already gotten all you wanted.

There's a new Humble Bundle: the Level Up and Learn: Communication & Meditation, with 8 games to get during the next 18 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/new-years-resolution-learn-new-skill.

And we also have Fanatical, with a new Star Deal, that started yesterday: Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream Ultimate Edition is 43% off during another 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/atelier-sophie-2-the-alchemist-of-the-mysterious-dream-ultimate-edition.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

INTEL Arc Graphics Driver 31.0.101.4032
https://videocardz.com/driver/intel-arc-graphics-driver-31-0-101-4032
Fixed Issues

• Intel® Arc™ Graphics Products:
  • Payday 2 (DX9) may exhibit flickering corruption on specific water surfaces.
  • God of War (DX11) may experience lower than expected performance on first launch within the main game menu.
• Intel® Core™ Processor Products:
  • Battlefield 2042 (DX12) may exhibit color corruptions during gameplay.
  • Watch Dogs: Legion (DX12) may experience application crash during gameplay.
  • Hitman 3 (DX12) may experience application crash while running benchmark.
  • Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (DX12) may exhibit visual corruptions while changing graphics settings.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Grand Theft Auto 5 gets a Real Life Beverly Hills Mod
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/grand-theft-auto-5-gets-a-real-life-beverly-hills-mod/
Adnr Studio have released a new cool mod for Grand Theft Auto 5 that aims to bring to Rockstar’s title the city of Beverly Hills. This mod features textures from the real locations of Beverly Hills, adding to the game new architecture and new interiors.
>> There's an 11 minutes long video in the article.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim gets a new fully voiced massive quest mod
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-gets-a-new-fully-voiced-massive-quest-mod/
Modder ‘Elizabeth Jackson Hall’ has shared a new fully voiced huge quest mod for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. This mod is compatible with both the Legacy and Special Editions, and you can also find a gameplay video for it below.
Brynjolf and the Riften Guild – Birthright extends the story of The Thieves Guild quest in a completely immersive way. According to the modder, players can expect an adventure that will lead them through Forsworn crypts and Dwemer ruins, to the very roots of Yddrasil to aid their brothers in crime.
What’s also cool here is that this mod is fully voiced, by both original characters and beloved NPCs, adding thousands of lines of dialogue. For instance, Brynjolf himself had 2000+ original lines. Furthermore, there are four dungeons and an actual romantic character arc for a certain infuriating Red-head.
>> There's an over 20 minutes video.

This Cyberpunk 2077 Texture Pack upscales all posters and signs to 4K
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/this-cyberpunk-2077-texture-pack-upscales-all-posters-and-signs-to-4k/
Modder ‘XilaMonstrr’ has released a new Texture Pack for Cyberpunk 2077, featuring 4K textures for all posters and signs. XilaMonstrr has used Cupscale/ESRGAN AI Software in order to upscale the original textures to 4K. As such, these newly overhauled textures retain the art style of the original/vanilla ones.
The good news here is that you can use this texture pack (which you can download from here) alongside the other packs we’ve shared. So far, we’ve shared 4K Texture Packs that improve the textures of body skins, walls, roads, and vegetation, as well as all weapons and player faces. By combining all of these, you can get better and crisper graphics.
Unfortunately, the modder has not shared a comparison video. However, we do have some comparison screenshots between the vanilla and the overhauled textures.

New 4K Texture Pack overhauls Valheim’s Mistland Update
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/new-4k-texture-pack-overhauls-valheims-mistland-update/
Back in November 2022, we shared a 4K Texture Pack for Valheim that overhauled all of its textures. And today, we are presenting you a new version of it that aims to improve the textures of the Mistland Update.
Willybach’s HD Valheim will overhaul the look of the game, making it more photo-realistic whilst staying as close as it can to the original look and feel of the game. This Texture Pack covers all current biomes, all building and crafting textures, all weapons and tools and all creatures.
>> There's an almost 4 minutes long video of it.

GAMING NEWS

The canceled Unreal Engine-powered remake of Duke Nukem 3D, Duke Nukem 3D: Reloaded, has been leaked online
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-canceled-unreal-engine-powered-remake-of-duke-nukem-3d-duke-nukem-3d-reloaded-has-been-leaked-online/
And here comes another 3D Realms leak. In May 2022, the 2001 build of Duke Nukem Forever got leaked online. Then, earlier this month, we got a leaked version of PREY 1995. And now, it’s time to get our hands on the canceled Unreal Engine 3-powered remake of Duke Nukem 3D, Duke Nukem 3D: Reloaded.
Duke Nukem 3D: Reloaded started as a fan project from Frederik Schreiber. The game was initially called Duke Nukem Next-Gen, and Gearbox gave the green light to this project in October 2010. Then, in November 2010, its title was changed to Duke Nukem 3D: Reloaded. However, and after the legal issues between Interceptor Entertainment and Gearbox Software, the game was put on ice.

PAYDAY 3 will release in 2023, gets new pre-alpha in-engine trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/payday-3-will-release-in-2023-gets-new-pre-alpha-in-engine-trailer/
Prime Matter has just revealed that it will release PAYDAY 3 in 2023. In order to celebrate this announcement, the publisher released a short pre-alpha in-engine trailer for it that you can find below.