Yep, it's Monday and these are the news:
SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS
GOG starts the week with two new Deals of the Day and two Sales:
- The first DotD is Xuan-Yuan Sword VII, 55% off during 46 hours: https://www.gog.com/en/game/xuanyuan_sword_vii
- The second DotD is Project Warlock, 77% off until Wednesday: https://www.gog.com/en/game/project_warlock
- The Summer Classics Sale, also known as Make Classics Last Forever, features up to 89% discounts during 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/2023_summer_classics_sale
- And the new Weekly Sale brings up to 90% discounts until July, 24th: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20230717_weekly_sale
Steam has two new deals:
- Skater XL - The Ultimate Skateboarding Game will be 20% off until Sunday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/962730/Skater_XL__The_Ultimate_Skateboarding_Game/
- Prison Simulator, that has a demo, will sport a 31% discount until July, 23th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/842180/Prison_Simulator/
The guys at Humble have a couple of new deals for us:
- At Humble Bundle there's the At-Home Arcade Bundle, with up to 7 games and 2 coupons to get during 18 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/athome-arcade
- The Humble Store has the Gearbox Franchise Sale... that translates to a Borderlands Sale, with up to 85% discounts during 4 days. There are keys for Steam and EGS: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/gearbox-franchise-sale/
And there's also Fanatical, with several new deals for us:
- The new Star Deal is DOOM Eternal - Deluxe Edition, 79% off during 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/doom-eternal-deluxe-edition
- The former deal is part of a Bethesda Sale, with up to 77% discounts during 6 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/bethesda-softworks
- Dovetail Games also puts its titles on sale with up to 74% deals during 6 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/dovetail-games
- Annapurna Interactive puts its games up to 75% off during the next 13 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/annapurna-interactive
- And there's a Summer Mystery Bundle, with up to 20 unknown games to get: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/summer-mystery-bundle
SOFTWARE & DRIVERS
INTEL Arc & Iris Graphics 31.0.101.4575
https://videocardz.com/driver/intel-arc-iris-graphics-31-0-101-4575
Highlights
Intel® Game On Driver support on Intel® Arc™ A-series Graphics for:
- Exoprimal
- Jagged Alliance 3
Game performance improvements versus Intel® 31.0.101.4514 software driver for:
- League of Legends (DX11)
- Up to 6% uplift at 1080p with Very High preset
- Up to 10% uplift at 1440p with Very High preset
Fixed Issues
Intel® Arc™ Graphics Products:
- Halo Infinite (DX12) may experience application freeze or crash after loading to game menu.
- Streaming Dota 2 (DX11) using XSplit Broadcaster may exhibit corruption in Game Capture mode.
MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS
Here’s Red Dead Redemption running on PC with up to 300fps
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-red-dead-redemption-running-on-pc-with-up-to-300fps/
Digital Foundry has shared a video, showcasing Red Dead Redemption running on PC via the Xbox 360 emulator, Xenia, with up to 300fps.
From the looks of it, Xenia runs the game way better than the Playstation 3 emulator, RPCS3. In some of the least taxing scenes, Xenia is almost three times faster than RPCS3. For instance, in the scene where Xenia manages to get 300fps, the RPCS3 pushes around 94fps.
In order to achieve such high framerates, DF used an Intel Core i9 12900K with 64GB of RAM and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090.
Now obviously, Xenia cannot run the most taxing scenes with such high framerates. Still, and for a large section of the game, the aforementioned PC system can achieve 120fps at 1080p with 2XMSAA. However, in the towns, the framerate can drop at 90fps.
For those wondering, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 can provide playable framerates at native 4K with 2XMSAA and 16XAF. In some scenes, especially in big towns, the framerate can drop to the mid-50s. However, if you use a G-Sync monitor, you can finally get a smooth experience in this game.
What’s also cool is that you can use a program in order to add Keyboard and Mouse support to Xenia. DF could not enable it during its playthrough, but others have said that it’s working.
>> The article has the DF video in it, which is almost 18 minutes long.
Fallout: Free Cheyenne Demo, fan expansion for Fallout: New Vegas, available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/fallout-free-cheyenne-demo-fan-expansion-for-fallout-new-vegas-available-for-download/
Fallout: New Vegas fans, here is something for you today. Modder ‘userKN’ has released a demo for an upcoming fan expansion for Fallout: New Vegas, called Fallout: Free Cheyenne.
Fallout: Free Cheyenne Demo is described as an exciting new adventure to the center of post-apocalyptic America, featuring three new quests, brand new factions, and a whole new world to explore. The modder also claimed that they have used AI tools in order to generate the voices featured in this mod.
>> The article has the trailer of this mod (1:37).
Bloodborne Kart gets new gameplay video, featuring Micolash
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/bloodborne-kart-gets-new-gameplay-video-featuring-micolash/
Lilith Walther has shared a new gameplay video for Bloodborne Kart, showcasing Micolash who will be fully playable in it. For those unaware, Bloodborne Kart is a free fan Kart game based on Bloodborne, featuring PSX-style graphics.
Players will not only be able to play as Micolash but also fight him in the game’s campaign mode. In this mode, players will chase him into dead-ends (just like in the original game).
As Walther has mentioned, the game’s campaign mode will feature a linear progression of levels with little story cards in between to string them all together. This free game will feature three types of levels: Races, battles, and special. The first two are self-explanatory, but special stages offer unique scenarios like this boss fight here!
Winning levels will reward the player with racer and kart unlocks, echoes to level up and insight, the number of which varies depending on player performance. Players will be also able to collect all insight to unlock something special at the end.
Furthermore, Walther made the teleport mirrors navigable by the player, opening up a lot more opportunities for gameplay.
>> There's a 1:10 video of the mod.
Skyrim Special Edition gets new HD Texture Pack, overhauling all creatures
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/skyrim-special-edition-gets-new-hd-texture-pack-overhauling-all-creatures/
Modder ‘TREBoy’ has released a new AI-upscaled HD Texture Pack for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition that overhauls all creatures.
This pack comes in two versions. The first one upscales the vanilla textures by two times, whereas the second one upscales the textures by four times.
Since this HD Texture Pack uses AI techniques, it retains the art style of the original textures. Thus, consider these overhauled ones as lore-friendly textures. For those wondering, the modder used the ESRGAN training model and utilized the CC0 Creative Commons license.
The modder also noted that the pack may have a big performance impact, especially on GPUs that have 4GB of VRAM. For optimal performance, TREBoy recommends using GPUs with over 8GB of VRAM.
>> The article has some screenshots.
New gameplay video for CryZENx’s Zelda Ocarina of Time Remake in Unreal Engine 5.2
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/cryzenx-zelda-ocarina-of-time-in-unreal-engine-5-2-looks-better-than-ever-in-this-latest-gameplay-video/
CryZENx has released a new video, showcasing the latest version of his remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in Unreal Engine 5.2.
This new video shows off the “Inside Deku Tree” area. This fan remake of Ocarina of Time takes advantage of UE5’s Lumen which makes the game look better than ever. Moreover, CryZENx plans to release another gameplay video once he completes the “The Dungeon” area.
For those unaware, CryZENx has recreated numerous areas from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in both Unreal Engine 4 and Unreal Engine 5. This is the only playable fan remake of Ocarina of Time in Unreal Engine, so we suggest giving it a go.
>> The video is over 15 minutes long.
Fallout 4 gets an amazing gameplay mod that overhauls its AI
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/fallout-4-gets-an-amazing-gameplay-mod-that-overhauls-its-ai/
Modder ‘Thumblesteen’ has released an amazing gameplay mod for Fallout 4 that attempts to overhaul the AI of all NPCs and enemies. This is a must-have mod as it can improve Fallout 4’s gameplay mechanics, and we highly recommend downloading it.
Going into more details, real.AI removes the “blinders” from the NPCs (more about this below). Additionally, it replaces hard limitations with soft limitations and adds elements of unpredictability.
As the modder noted, Bethesda gave NPCs a series of invisible barriers that blocked their senses, meaning that they were essentially existing in a kind of bubble. This mod removes that bubble, allowing NPCs to interact with the world around them and to actually engage with their environment. As a result, snipers will actually snipe. Flanking NPCs will actually flank you. Not only that, but the inhabitants of the game will behave much more like living beings.
This AI mod for Fallout 4 also gives NPCs more free reign on choices they can make. NPCs and enemies can circle around large objects, hide, ambush and attempt to trick the player. They can also blindfire and engage targets based on the information they have at any given time.
Lastly, stealth and detection will be considerably more organic. Players can now hide in the middle of combat, and enemies will search for them.
>> The article has an over 4 minutes video of the mod in action.
Please excuse my bad English.
Currently gaming on a PC with an i5-4670k@stock (for now), 16Gb RAM 1600 MHz and a GTX 1070
Steam / Live / NNID : jonxiquet Add me if you want, but I'm a single player gamer.
