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

[JEMC]

Let's go with the Monday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

GOG has a new Giveaway, four new Deals of the Day, that will last until Wednesday, and a mostly useless bundles from the Autumn Sale:

• The new GIVEAWAY is Ghost Master, and will be free during 70 hours: https://www.gog.com/en/game/ghost_master
• These are the four DotD:
  • Jagged Alliance 2: Unfinished Business gets a 30% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/jagged_alliance_2_unfinished_business
  • Master of Orion 1+2 is 59% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/master_of_orion_1_2
  • Scorn is 60% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/scorn
  • And the last one if Sins of a Solar Empire® - Ultimate Edition, with a 72% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/sins_of_a_solar_empire_ultimate_edition
• There are three Build Your Own Bundles, for RPGs, Indies and MediBang (NSFW), but they won't give you any additional discount unless you're buying at least 10 of them. If you're still interested, you can check them out from this page: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/2023_autumn_byob

At Steam we find Raw Fury's Strategy Sale 2023, that started in August 28th and will end in September 5th with up to 85% discounts: https://store.steampowered.com/developer/rawfury/sale/rawfurystrategy2023.

Humble Bundle has launched the Tales from Wales Interactive Bundle, featuring up to 8 items during the next 18 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/tales-from-wales-interactive.

And Fanatical has a new Star Deal and two bundles:

• It started yesterday, but the new Star Deal is King Arthur: Knight's Tale, 52% off during another 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/king-arthur-knights-tale
• The Rimworld with all expansions bundles is back, with 1 game and 3 DLCs available with a 20% discount during 7 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/rimworld-with-all-expansions
• The Vertigo Games Bundle has 5 games split into three tiers of 2, 3, and 5 games with an up to 89% discount: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/vertigo-games-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

INTEL Arc & Iris Graphics 31.0.101.4672
https://videocardz.com/driver/intel-arc-iris-graphics-31-0-101-4672
Highlights

• Starfield
  • Graphics Driver package has temporarily increased to significantly reduce the Starfield game load duration.
  • Several Starfield game instability and visual artifacts have been fixed in this driver. High Preset and below is recommended to improve stability.
  • Efforts in progress to further improve overall gaming experience of Starfield for Intel® Arc™ users in future driver updates.
• Intel® Game On Driver support on Intel® Arc™ A-series Graphics for:
  • SYNCED

Fixed Issues
Intel® Arc™ Graphics Products:

• Starfield (DX12) Game load duration is significantly reduced.
• Starfield (DX12) may experience instability and application crash while launching and during gameplay.
• Starfield (DX12) may exhibit texture corruptions and scene flickers during gameplay.

>> It's an improvement, but not a complete fix.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Cyberpunk 2077 HD Reworked Project 2.0 is currently in development
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/cyberpunk-2077-hd-reworked-project-2-0-is-currently-in-development/
Modder ‘Halk Hogan PL’ has just announced Version 2.0 for his spectacular Cyberpunk 2077 HD Reworked Project. And although we don’t have an ETA on when it will come out, you can find below a preview video for it.
Cyberpunk 2077 HD Reworked Project aims to improve the game’s graphics by reworking game assets to better quality preserving original art style. This is a must-have mod as it comes from the man behind the amazing The Witcher 3 HD Reworked Project.
This preview video features comparisons between the vanilla and the new textures that will be featured in it. As such, it can give you an idea of the graphical improvements you can expect from it.
>> The video is less than 3 minutes long.

This cool Red Dead Redemption 2 Mod enables bullet penetration
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/this-cool-red-dead-redemption-2-mod-enables-bullet-penetration/
Modder ‘WickedHorseMan’ has released an amazing mod for Red Dead Redemption 2 that allows bullet penetration. This gameplay mod for RDR2 may completely change the way you play the game, so we highly recommend using it in your second (or third) playthrough.
As the modder noted, bullets now pass through objects and penetration rates will vary depending on the type of material but mostly wood types.
You can download the mod from here. All you have to do in order to install it is place the “WickedHorseMan” folder inside the game’s “lml” folder.
>> The article has 3 screenshots.

Brutal Doom V22 will bring major performance improvements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/brutal-doom-v22-will-bring-major-performance-improvements/
Modder ‘Sergeant_Mark_IV’ has revealed the Brutal Doom V22 will bring major performance and optimization improvements. In order to showcase these performance improvements, the modder shared a comparison video (between V21 and V22) that you can find below.
For those unaware, Brutal Doom is one of the best mods for id Software’s classic. Brutal Doom adds realistic gore, dismemberments, headshots, executions, lightning effects, and particles. Furthermore, it makes enemies smarter and harder, makes guns louder and beefier, and adds epic new boss battles. This mod may have also inspired Bethesda to include the finisher moves in its Doom 2016 game.
As Sergeant_Mark_IV noted, Brutal Doom V22 can run more than twice its previous version. This will be crucial for both owners of older and newer CPUs, especially for maps that display A LOT of enemies on screen.
>> The comparison video is almost 6 minutes long.

Space Shooter RPG in OpenMW, Robowind Construct, gets demo
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/space-robot-shooter-rpg-mod-for-the-elder-scrolls-iii-morrowind-gets-a-demo/
In April 2023, we informed you about a total conversion mod for The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind that attempts to turn Bethesda’s game into a space robot shooter RPG. And today, we are happy to report that a demo for this project is available for download.
Robowind Construct is using brand new custom assets and attempts to transform Morrowind into a space robot shooter RPG. The mod is based on OpenMW, so you won’t be able to run it on the original version of Morrowind. However, the good news here is that this is now a standalone game.
For those unaware, OpenMW is a free, open-source, and modern engine that re-implements and extends the 2002 Gamebryo engine for The Elder Scrolls III Morrowind. OpenMW comes with its own editor, called OpenMW-CS, which allows the user to edit or create their own mods or original games. Both OpenMW and OpenMW-CS are written from scratch.
>> The article also has a video showing the "final trailer" for this project (1:36).

Fallout 4 just got a brand new 8K Texture Pack
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/fallout-4-just-got-a-brand-new-8k-texture-pack/
Modder ‘Gorgulla’ has released a brand new 8K Texture Pack for Fallout 4 that overhauls the bricks of all buildings and interiors. This 8K pack is for those who have enough VRAM and want to enjoy more detailed textures. But what about those with less than 8GB of VRAM? Well, good news as there are also 4K and 2K versions of it.
Going into more details, this 8K Texture Pack for Fallout 4 has physically correct albedo that works with the normal to give the correct light bounce. Furthermore, the pack has baked Ambient Occlusion on the Albedo to make realistic shadows where they are supposed to be. Not only that but it has the same color profile to make sure it fits with the LOD on distance. And finally, these new textures support Complex Parallax.
>> The article only has three screenshots.

One mad modder has already gotten Baldur's Gate 3's semi-secret 'evil' companion working in good guy playthroughs
https://www.pcgamer.com/one-mad-modder-has-already-gotten-baldurs-gate-3s-semi-secret-evil-companion-working-in-good-guy-playthroughs/
Modder Rukongai over on the Baldur's Gate 3 Nexus seems to have cracked the code on Drow Paladin Minthara, with a pair of mods making the Grumpy Gus companion recruitable without committing a war crime in the game's first act⁠. One version makes her normal Act 2 storyline play out in a more heroic playthrough, while another makes her summonable as early as Act 1.
Minthara placed dead last in our ranking of BG3 companions, but I'm pretty sure it's because none of us actually recruited her. Befriending Minthara instead of just killing her for her Spidersilk armor and nifty pajamas requires aligning yourself with some pretty heinous little goblin sickos, and this choice also locks you out of other companions like Karlach and Wyll.
That's tough to swallow, but also part of what makes Baldur's Gate 3 so special: that two playthroughs can look so completely different from one another. Still, Rukongai's mods can be a valuable introduction to Minthara for queasy-stomached gamers who only experienced her as an early game boss.
>> Given the nature of the mod, it shouldn't be a surprise that there are no screenshots nor videos in the article.

Half-Life: Alyx NoVR Mod will get a major update this October
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/half-life-alyx-novr-mod-will-get-a-major-update-this-october/
The modding team behind the NoVR Mod for Half-Life: Alyx has shared some new details about a major update that will come out this October.
For those unaware, the No VR Mod for Half-Life Alyx allows you to play the game on non-VR devices. And, according to the team, the October Update will introduce major animation improvements to this amazing mod.
Going into more details, GB_2 Development Team has fully modeled and animated Alyx’s arms and hands. The modding team has also added weapon firing animations, weapon idle animations, upgrades, as well as reload and draw animations for all 3 weapons. Furthermore, the team has made updated the game’s HUD, and fixed a number of bugs that plagued its previous version.
In short, this No-VR Mod for Half-Life: Alyx will get such a major gameplay overhaul that will make it a bit more enjoyable on traditional/non-VR PC systems. So, if you haven’t played it yet, you may be able to do so this October.
>> The article has a 1:28 video showing some of the changes.

GAMING NEWS

The recent Bloodborne Remaster rumors are, once again, fake
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-recent-bloodborne-remaster-rumors-are-once-again-fake/
A couple of days ago, a new rumor regarding Bloodborne Remaster surfaced online. However, this recent Bloodborne rumor is fake as it came from someone who was impersonating an industry insider.

Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 will officially release in Fall 2024
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines-2-will-officially-release-in-fall-2024/
Paradox Interactive and World of Darkness have released a new trailer for Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 in which they revealed the game’s release date window.

Mortal Kombat 1 will use the Denuvo anti-tamper tech on PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/mortal-kombat-1-will-use-the-denuvo-anti-tamper-tech-on-pc/
Mortal Kombat 1 will release later this month and Warner Bros updated the game’s Steam store page, revealing that it’ll be using the Denuvo anti-tamper tech on PC.