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

[JEMC]

Part two of the Friday news:

Don't worry, your Baldur's Gate 3 sex scenes are hidden from co-op players by default
https://www.pcgamer.com/dont-worry-your-baldurs-gate-3-sex-scenes-are-hidden-from-co-op-partners-by-default/
Sex and romance are a big part of Baldur's Gate 3, which has prompted some new menu options in the just-released full version of the RPG. You can toggle nudity during cinematics, toggle whether genitals are visible, and choose whether or not to share what your character does with those nude, visible genitals with your co-op party.

After inflicting them with hallucinations, vanishing guns, and 'quicksand', Call of Duty will now name and shame banished cheaters mid-game
https://www.pcgamer.com/after-inflicting-them-with-hallucinations-vanishing-guns-and-quicksand-call-of-duty-will-now-name-and-shame-banished-cheaters-mid-game/
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 season 5 is here, bringing with it new gear, new maps, and an unkillable German shepherd that lives on your belt. But it's also brought an update to the game's anti-cheat system. No longer content with plaguing cheaters with bizarre torments like hallucinations and disappearing weapons, COD is turning to the most potent motivator of all to deter evildoers in multiplayer matches: shame.

Bungie's vast new State of the Game blog touches on every aspect of Destiny 2—but they had me at saving my favourite shaders
https://www.pcgamer.com/bungies-vast-new-state-of-the-game-blog-touches-on-every-aspect-of-destiny-2but-they-had-me-at-saving-shaders/
It's a rough time for Destiny 2's community right now. I'd argue the game itself isn't in too bad of a place, but the combined effect of Lightfall's disappointing campaign and more general burnout with the seasonal model has meant the mood around online discussion has been grim for months now. Step forward today's 'State of the Game' post from Destiny 2 game director Joe Blackburn and the wider team, which attempts to tackle some of the recurring complaints and concerns being raised.

Baldur's Gate 3 launch slams into Steam like a rogue iceberg, but the servers refuse to sink
https://www.pcgamer.com/baldurs-gate-3-launch-slams-into-steam-like-a-rogue-iceberg-but-the-servers-refuse-to-sink/
Baldur's Gate 3 finally went into full release today, and with a whole new game to download and no preloading available, that meant every RPG fan in the world was crashing headlong into Steam to get their hands on it. And it's a big fella, too—122GB in all. But the good news for everyone is that Steam seems to be handling it well.
Let there be no doubt, the load was very heavy: The Steam Stats page indicates a peak total bandwidth usage of more than 146Tbps (terabits per second) worldwide. To put that into perspective, that's almost triple the load that Cyberpunk 2077 (also a pretty popular game at the time) put on Steam when it went live.
>> The article has a graph showing the spike the article talks about.

If you're not on the Baldur's Gate 3 hype train, this new extraction shooter is having an open beta you can play instead
https://www.pcgamer.com/if-youre-not-on-the-baldurs-gate-3-hype-train-this-new-extraction-shooter-is-having-an-open-beta-you-can-play-instead/
There's a big new RPG out now and everyone seems to agree that it's great, but if for some reason you're not interested and want something else to play, try this: Hawked, the PvPvE extraction shooter announced by My.Games in 2022, has kicked off an open beta that's set to run until August 17.

There's another Future Games Show this month, with '8 world premieres'
https://www.pcgamer.com/theres-another-future-games-show-this-month-with-8-world-premieres/
PC Gamer sister site GamesRadar+ is putting on another Future Games Show this month. You can watch the showcase of upcoming games during Gamescom—the big gaming convention in Germany, if you're not familiar—on Wednesday, August 23 at 11am PT/7pm BST. (Here's when that is in other time zones.)

Get free World of Tanks, World of Warships, and World of Warplanes DLC to celebrate Wargaming's 25th birthday
https://www.pcgamer.com/get-free-world-of-tanks-world-of-warships-and-world-of-warplanes-dlc-to-celebrate-wargamings-25th-birthday/
The history of wargaming goes back to Kriegsspiel, as devised by Prussian Lieutenant Georg Leopold von Reisswitz in 1812, but the history of Wargaming—the company behind free-to-play military MMOs like World of Tanks, World of Warships, and World of Warplanes—is a little shorter. It was founded in 1998, and is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a week-long event that includes free DLC and in-game events with decals, emblems, credits, and other rewards to earn.

Flush with the Baldur's Gate 3 vibes, Larian CEO tells acquisitive corporations to take a hike: 'I'm getting older, but I'm certainly not done yet'
https://www.pcgamer.com/flush-with-the-baldurs-gate-3-vibes-larian-ceo-tells-acquisitive-corporations-to-take-a-hike-im-getting-older-but-im-certainly-not-done-yet/
You know, if I'd just released something like Baldur's Gate 3, an incomprehensibly large RPG that was really quite excellent and doing very well indeed, I'd probably be looking to cash out. I guess that—along with some minor issues of ontology and taxonomy—is why I'm not literally Larian Studios, which apparently has no plans to sell up to interested suitors despite previously being a potential target for Microsoft.
>> Good.

All Genshin Impact codes from the version 4.0 livestream
https://www.pcgamer.com/genshin-impact-codes-4-0-livestream/
The Genshin Impact 4.0 livestream is here, showcasing Fontaine and what we can expect to find in the fancy realm of the Hydro archon. More importantly, the 4.0 livestream codes are also here, providing a few extra Primogems to use trying to recruit those incoming characters such as the showbiz siblings, Lyney, Lynette, and Freminet.
As always, I'll add the livestream codes to the list below as they go live, but it's worth remembering that they generally expire within a day, so be fast if you want to claim the rewards. There's also info lower down the page detailing the two different ways you can claim the codes once you've got 'em.

Before we finish, let's take a look at the deals at GOG and Steam:

+GOG

• There are four new Deals of the Day, all of them lasting 70 hours, with the first one being Distant Worlds 2, 30% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/distant_worlds_2
• The GOG RTS Bundle, with 2 games, is back with a 65% discount. Be warned that there are only 2000 units: https://www.gog.com/en/game/gog_rts_bundle
• The third one is Mirror's Edge, 75% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/mirrors_edge
• And the fourth, and last DotD is Nikopol: Secrets of the Immortals, with a 78% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/nikopol_secrets_of_the_immortals

+Steam

• The EVO Fighting Game Sale 2023 features up to 90% discounts until August, 7th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/EVOSale2023
• Cassette Beasts will be 25% off until August, 10th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1321440/Cassette_Beasts/
• SCUM, still in Early Access, gets a 60% discount until next Thursday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/513710/SCUM/
• American Truck Simulator, that has a demo, will be 75% off until Thursday, the 10th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/270880/American_Truck_Simulator/
• tinyBuild's "Everything Must Go" Sale comes with up to 75% discounts until the 10th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1143810/Black_Skylands/
• The Tiny Teams Festival 2023 features demos and games up 90% off until, once again, the 10th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/tinyteamsfestival2023
• And DREDGE will sport a 25% discount until the 17th of August: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1562430/DREDGE/

Nothing else to add. Until next time, I wish you a happy and gaming weekend. And please, don't spend all your time playing Baldur's Gate.