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

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The Tuesday news, part two:

I can't wait for this ambitious, procgen Deus Ex-like to hit early access next month
https://www.pcgamer.com/i-cant-wait-for-this-ambitious-procgen-deus-ex-like-to-hit-early-access-next-month/
Shadows of Doubt, the noir immersive sim that we once called "Deus Ex for incorrigible snoops" has got an early access release date. You'll be able to stalk its voxelized streets and read everyone else's emails (but in, like, a good guy way) on April 24 this year.

Resident Evil 4 remake has a funny Easter egg that lets you skip the first major fight
https://www.pcgamer.com/resident-evil-4-remake-has-a-funny-easter-egg-that-lets-you-skip-the-first-major-fight/
(...)
It turns out that in R4 remake Capcom has added an easter egg allowing players to skip this encounter. That church bell, it turns out, is visible from various vantage points in the village and, if you hit it successfully with a bullet, it will ring. So you can start the fight, run straight into the house that triggers the appearance of the chainsaw, then immediately clamber out to the roof, dink the bell, and end matters after a few seconds. This chap shows how though, as that's not embeddable, you can see the same clip in the below tweet.

Surprise! The hit fighting game Multiversus was only in 'open beta' and now it's shutting down until sometime next year
https://www.pcgamer.com/surprise-the-hit-fighting-game-multiversus-was-only-in-open-beta-and-now-its-shutting-down-until-sometime-next-year/
Multiversus is going offline in June and won't be back until sometime in early 2024, and the reason is very strange: Warner Bros. Games says the game was never actually released but only in open beta.

Former Sims lead says men would lie about how they played during focus groups: 'Actually, what you did is you redecorated that bathroom'
https://www.pcgamer.com/former-sims-lead-says-men-would-lie-about-how-they-played-during-focus-groups-actually-what-you-did-is-you-redecorated-that-bathroom/
One reason people play life sims, says former Sims studio head Rod Humble, is that they offer a noncommittal way to explore self-identity. Players can try on lifestyles and experiences they're curious about, but if they feel uncomfortable, they can always hit the eject button by deciding that they're playing a game about their sims rather than as them. That tendency to experiment and then retreat was completely apparent during focus groups, according to Humble, because players would deny doing things he watched them do.

This Vampire Survivors-like has convinced me that imitation isn't such a bad thing
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-vampire-survivors-like-has-convinced-me-that-imitation-isnt-such-a-bad-thing/
I was initially circumspect of the wave of imitators that followed after last year's fantastic bullet hell horde mode shooter, Vampire Survivors. I like the original, dang it, I don't need all these copies! Great examples of the genre like Picayune Dreams and now Boneraiser Minions are really making me change my tune though, and the latter recently released out of early access on March 9 to "Overwhelmingly Positive" reviews on Steam. We appreciated this hordelike roguelike even when it was still under development, and creator caiys has only added to the experience since we last checked in.

Diablo 4 quest designer explains how they put the RP in RPG with one simple choice
https://www.pcgamer.com/diablo-4-quest-designer-explains-how-they-put-the-rp-in-rpg-with-one-simple-choice/
An early Diablo 4 quest lets you pick what troubles you the most for a cleansing ritual. Your choice doesn't change how the story plays out, but the quest accomplishes two important goals early in the game, according to one of its designers.

Former Dragon Age boss Mark Darrah returns to work on Dreadwolf
https://www.pcgamer.com/former-dragon-age-boss-mark-darrah-returns-to-work-on-dreadwolf/
A VentureBeat report says former Dragon Age executive producer Mark Darrah, who left BioWare along with general manager Casey Hudson in December 2020, has come back to work as a consultant on the upcoming Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. EA also told the site that as production on the next Dragon Age moves forward, the bulk of the Mass Effect development team will join in to help get it finished.

Don't bother playing loads of CS:GO now if you want in on the Counter-Strike 2 test, Valve doesn't care
https://www.pcgamer.com/dont-bother-playings-loads-of-csgo-now-if-you-want-in-on-the-counter-strike-2-test-valve-doesnt-care/
The thought crossed my mind, too: I didn't get into the Counter-Strike 2 limited test, but what if I jump into CS:GO for a few nights, boost my playtime, and see if Valve's light shines bright on me? As Valve detailed last week on Twitter, Counter-Strike 2 test participants have been selected based on a variety of factors, including "recent playtime on Valve official servers, trust factor, and Steam account standing."

Ubisoft joins Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft in skipping E3 2023
https://www.pcgamer.com/ubisoft-joins-sony-nintendo-and-microsoft-in-skipping-e3-2023/
E3 returns in June, and for the first time since 2019, it'll return to the Los Angeles Convention Center. The gaming industry's biggest convention was cancelled in 2020 and 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with a scaled back online version hosted in 2021. Much has changed during those three years however, and now Ubisoft has joined Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo in confirming it'll be a no show.

GameCube and Wii emulator Dolphin is coming to Steam this year
https://www.pcgamer.com/gamecube-and-wii-emulator-dolphin-is-coming-to-steam-this-year/
A year ago I wrote about the Steam Deck being the emulation system of my dreams, and it's only gotten better since then thanks to projects like Emudeck that simplify the process of getting emulators up and running on the handheld. But it can't get any easier than clicking "install" in Steam, and that's soon going to be the reality for Dolphin, the incredible GameCube and Wii emulator I've used to play games like Mario Galaxy and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker in 4K. It's officially coming to Steam.
>> Great news, but I can't help but wonder if that will bring troubles to Valve with Nintendo once people start talking about how and where to get GC/Wii games to use on that emulator.

Workers allege crunch and intimidation at Ubisoft's Just Dance studio
https://www.pcgamer.com/workers-allege-crunch-and-intimidation-at-ubisofts-just-dance-studio/
Things aren't going well for Ubisoft's developers. Barely a month after reports surfaced of staff pushed to breaking point at the company's Beyond Good and Evil 2 studio, devs at Ubisoft Paris are now speaking out about an epidemic of "morally and physically exhausting" work at the studio, where they're regularly pressured to crunch and projects are subject to sweeping overhauls months before launch.

Kerbal's creator is back with a new model vehicle sim, says 'early access is not what it used to be'
https://www.pcgamer.com/kerbals-creator-is-back-with-a-new-model-vehicle-sim-says-early-access-is-not-what-it-used-to-be/
In 2021, developer Felipe "HarvesteR" Falanghe, the creator of Kerbal Space Program, launched a new game on Steam called Balsa Model Flight Simulator. His follow-up to Kerbal reflected much of the same spirit as the space sim that eventually became a PC phenomenon: it was open-ended, focused around building and flying your own vehicles, and based on a childhood passion. (...)
The new version of the game revealed today, Kitbash Model Club, broadens the focus from model plans to include building and controlling model boats and cars, too, with a name inspired by Adam Savage and Lucasfilm's model makers. The material itself was always less important than the idea of mashing together cool parts to see what you could build.

Kerbal creator figured out an ingenious way to redesign his new flight sim's map: import it from Cities: Skylines
https://www.pcgamer.com/kerbal-creator-figured-out-an-ingenious-way-to-redesign-his-new-flight-sims-map-import-it-from-cities-skylines/
Tell me an RPG developer used a tabletop roleplaying system to sketch out the design for their new videogame? I sleep. Tell me the creator of Kerbal Space Program used another sim—the most popular city builder of the past decade—to create the map for his model plane flight simulation? Real shit. I can't think of a more PC gaming solution to indie game development.

Company of Heroes 3 update introduces more than '1,300 bug fixes, changes and improvements' along with free and premium cosmetics
https://www.pcgamer.com/company-of-heroes-3-update-introduces-more-than-1300-bug-fixes-changes-and-improvements-along-with-free-and-premium-cosmetics/
Operation Sapphire Jackal, Company of Heroes 3's first "major" update, is out today. Relic has outlined what you can expect from the patch, including the ability to earn Merits that will allow you to unlock a variety of cosmetics from the in-game store, gussying up your troops.