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

GOG has four new Deals of the Day and the Weekly Sale:

• These are the DotD, available until Wednesday:
  • The Riftbreaker gets a 37% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/the_riftbreaker
  • The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky is 50% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/the_legend_of_heroes_trails_in_the_sky
  • Jazz Jackrabbit Collection gets a 82% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/jazz_jackrabbit_collection
  • Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 Gold Edition is 85% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/sniper_ghost_warrior_3_gold_edition
• And the Weekly Sale features "gaming gems" with up to 90% discounts until next Monday: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20230116_weekly_sale

Steam has two new deals:

• Ruined King: A League of Legends Story is going to be 50% off until January 22nd: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1276790/Ruined_King_A_League_of_Legends_Story/
• And Project Hospital will be 60% off until Sunday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/868360/Project_Hospital/

The Humble Store has four new sales, and the four of them will last 4 more days:

• The Goblinz Studio Publisher Sale comes with up to 80% discounts. The keys are for Steam: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/goblinz-studio-publisher-sale/
• Publisher Neowiz puts its games up to 80% off. All the keys are for Steam: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/neowiz-publisher-sale/
• The HeroCraft Publisher Sale comes with up to 85% discounts. There are keys for Steam and GOG(4): https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/herocraft-publisher-sale/
• And Square Enix puts its games up to 90% off. The keys are all for Steam: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/square-enix-new-year-sale/

Fanatical brings its Lunar New Year Sale, and several other bits:

• The new Star Deal is Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters, 53% off during 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/warhammer-40-000-chaos-gate-daemonhunters
• There are three "new" bundles: The Jackbox Quintpack, Rimworld with all expansions and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Complete Bundle.
• And there's a new contest to win 5 games and a $500 shopping spree for the winner and $10 in-shop money for 10 runner ups. Learn more here: https://www.fanatical.com/en/blog/lunar-sale-contest-win-five-hundred-dollar-fanatical-spend-aaa-games-and-more

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

INTEL Arc & Iris Graphics Driver 31.0.101.4034
https://videocardz.com/driver/intel-arc-iris-graphics-driver-31-0-101-4034
Fixed Issues

• Intel® Arc™ Graphics Products
  • Fortnite (DX12) may experience an application crash with High and Epic graphics settings.
• Intel® Core™ Processor Products
  • Sonic Frontiers (DX11) may exhibit texture and rendering corruption during gameplay.

Google serves up fake AMD driver downloads in search results
https://www.pcgamer.com/google-serves-up-fake-amd-driver-downloads-in-search-results/
Google is once more serving up malicious websites in more prominent positions than legitimate pages in its search results. This time around it's within search results for some users looking for AMD driver downloads according to a Reddit user on the popular PC Master Race subreddit (via PC World).
The link in question wasn't part of the search results proper but Google's context-aware curated ad links which can appear above search results. We have been unable to replicate the results, but can confirm the malicious website shown in the Reddit poster's search results is real enough.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Final Fantasy VII Voice Over Mod, Echo-S, is now available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/final-fantasy-vii-voice-over-mod-echo-s-is-now-available-for-download/
As promised, Tsunamods has released the voice over mod for the original 1997 version of Final Fantasy 7, Echo-S. This mod adds voices to every character in the game, and makes some changes to their dialogues.
Now what’s great here is that the mod is compatible with the amazing 7th Heaven Mod for FFVII. It should also be compatible with Final Fantasy 7 Remako HD Graphics Mod and the mod that updates all of its 3D models.
As said, this mod makes some changes to the dialogues. Thus, if you are an FF7 purist, you may not like these changes. I personally do not mind these changes, and – to be honest – I find some lines to be really funny. The voice quality is also top notch (especially for a mod).
>> There's a trailer of the mod.

New Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered Mods bring Tobey Maguire & Willem Dafoe
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/new-marvels-spider-man-remastered-mods-bring-tobey-maguire-william-dafoe/
Sam Raimi fans, here is something special for you today. Rezauddin Nur has released a cool mod for Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered that adds 5 Tobey Maguire outfits from Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man movies.
In addition, modder ‘Princec23’ released a Willem Dafoe Mod for this game back in November 2022. And a bit earlier, NosbornGG released a mod based on the Human Spider outfit.
Do note that the Willem Dafoe Mod does not feature any facial animations. My guess is that the Tobey Maguire Mod also lacks facial animations. On the other hand, the Human Spider outfit does have them.
>> There's a couple of videos and some screenshots.

New The Witcher 3 Next-Gen Mod improves Ray Tracing, fixes shadows
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/new-the-witcher-3-next-gen-mod-improves-ray-tracing-fixes-shadows/
Modder ‘Debugger’ has released a new mod for The Witcher 3 Next-Gen that completely overhauls the game’s Ray Tracing graphics. According to the modder, this mod will bring the best RT visuals and fixes possible, and fixes the annoying RT shadows pop-in issue.
Going into more details, this mod fixes the self-shadows for all characters, and improves their quality. Moreover, it fixes the torch and lantern light shadows, as well as the local shadows.
Furthermore, this mod enable better ray tracing ambient occlusion, improves the draw distance for the RT reflections, and improves the RT lighting (both indoors and outdoors).
In short, this is a must-have mod for everyone that plays The Witcher 3 Next-Gen with Ray Tracing.
>> There's no video of the mod, only a couple screenshots showing a before and after.

New Red Dead Redemption 2 Mods overhaul the textures of small mammals, windows, curtains and shutters
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/new-red-dead-redemption-2-mods-overhaul-the-textures-of-small-mammals-windows-curtains-and-shutters/
Modder ‘WickedHorseMan’ released two new mods for Red Dead Redemption 2 that overhaul a number of textures. WickedHorseMan has used AI techniques in order to upscale the following textures, meaning that the new ones retain the art style and aesthetics of the vanilla/original ones.
The first HD Texture Pack upscales some of the generic windows, curtains and shutters. The second HD Texture Pack overhauls all of the game’s small mammals. These are the Armadillo, Badger, Bat Beaver, Cat Chipmunk, Muskrat, Possum, Rabbit, Racoon, Rat, Skunk and Squirrel.
>> No videos, only some screenshots.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remake in Skyrim, Skyblivion, will release in 2025
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-elder-scrolls-iv-oblivion-remake-in-skyrim-skyblivion-will-release-in-2025/
The team behind The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remake in Skyrim, Skyblivion, announced that it plans to release this mod in 2025. Moreover, the team released a brand new trailer that you can find below.
Skyblivion aims to bring The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion to a new generation of gamers and re-introduce it to long-time fans of the series. This mod will also support both Skyrim Legacy Edition and Skyrim Special Edition.
Upon release, the mod will be completely modular. As such, players will be able to choose what components they want to install. This includes all enhancements developed by the team such as its Landscaping Overhaul, Interior Overhaul, City Overhaul, Weapon/Armor Overhaul and much more.
>> There's a video of this announcement.

GAMING NEWS

Dead Space Remake will officially have Ray Tracing effects
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/dead-space-remake-will-officially-have-ray-tracing-effects/
Dead Space releases in a few days, and EA Motive has confirmed that the game will feature Ray Tracing effects. Unfortunately, though, the team did not detail these RT effects.

The Callisto Protocol cost $162 million, expected to hit 2 million sales in 2023
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-callisto-protocol-cost-162-million-expected-to-hit-2-million-sales-in-2023/
It appears that KRAFTON has spent $162 million in order to create the first horror game from Striking Distance Studios, The Callisto Protocol. Furthermore, and according to reports, the game has underperformed and will not reach its initial 5 million sales target.

Take a look at ARK: Survival Evolved’s The Island in Unreal Engine 5.1
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/take-a-look-at-ark-survival-evolved-the-island-in-unreal-engine-5-1/
A few days ago, Studio Wildcard tweeted an image that hinted at the first ARK coming to Unreal Engine 5. And, as you may have guessed, some artists decided to showcase what such a remaster/remake could look like.

Unreal Engine 5-powered Black Myth: Wukong will release in Summer 2024
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/unreal-engine-5-powered-black-myth-wukong-will-release-in-summer-2024/
Game Science has announced that its Unreal Engine 5-powered action-adventure game, Black Myth: Wukong, will release in Summer 2024. In order to celebrate this announcement, the team has also released a new trailer that you can find below.

Last edited by JEMC - on 16 January 2023