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

[JEMC]

The Tuesday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Steam's Top 10

(Click here for the Top 100)

Steam has new offers, and also new weeklong deals:

• King Of The Castle will be 20% off until next Monday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1839880/King_Of_The_Castle/
• Kingdoms Reborn, still in Early Access, will also be 20% off until the 11th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1307890/Kingdoms_Reborn/
• The South Park Bundle, featuring The Stick of Truth™ and The Fractured but Whole gets an 81% discount until September 11th. The individual games are also on sale with a 75 and an 80% discounts, respectively: https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/6115/Bundle_South_Park__The_Stick_of_Truth__The_Fractured_but_Whole/
• Publisher Rebellion puts its games on sale with up to 90% discounts until Monday, the 11th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/rebellionpublishersale2023
• Titanfall® 2 will be 90% off until September, 18th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1237970/Titanfall_2/
• And this here are some of the weeklong deals:
  • The Early Access Inout is 25% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2072640/Inout/
  • Doors: Paradox gets a 33% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1622770/Doors_Paradox/
  • Startup Company is 40% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/606800/Startup_Company/
  • Praey for the Gods is half its usual price: https://store.steampowered.com/app/494430/Praey_for_the_Gods/
  • Arietta of Spirits features a 60% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1140170/Arietta_of_Spirits/
  • Aragami is 75% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/280160/Aragami/
  • The last one, Quest Hunter, gets an 80% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/487000/Quest_Hunter/

Fanatical has several new deals:

• The new Star Deal is UNCHARTED™: Legacy of Thieves Collection, 49% off during 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/uncharted-legacy-of-thieves-collection
• Publisher Freedom Games puts its games on sale with up to 90% discounts during 13 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/freedom-games
• The HandyGames Anniversary BYOB features 39 titles to choose from for your 3, 7 or 15 games bundle: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-handygames-anniversary-bundle
• The Retro Rampage Bundle features 11 games with a 97% discount: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/retro-rampage-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

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MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

You can now download a free DLSS 3 Frame Generation Mod for Starfield
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/you-can-now-download-a-free-dlss-3-frame-generation-mod-for-starfield/
And the time has finally come. Modder ‘LukeFZ’ has just released a completely free DLSS 3 Frame Generation Mod for Starfield. Yes, you read that right. Contrary to PureDark’s DLSS 3 Frame Generation Mod (which also has a DRM system), this one is completely free to everyone.
For those wondering, LukeFZ is the man behind Starfield FSR2 Bridge. Starfield FSR2 Bridge was another mod for Starfield that added support for DLSS 2 and XeSS. Compared to PureDark’s mods, LukeFZ’s mods do not rely on Reshade. And, to be honest, I preferred LukeFZ’s DLSS 2 Mod over PureDark’s mod.
Now the bad news regarding this free DLSS 3 Frame Generation Mod is that it does not feature any in-game menu. Instead, RTX 40 series owners will have to edit the config.json file in the game directory. In a way, this will give you better control. However, you can’t make any DLSS 3 adjustments on the fly. Thus, it will be a pain in the a*s to benchmark native resolution, DLSS 2 and DLSS 3.
>> There are no screenshots nor videos in the article.

Metro Exodus gets a new fully open-world custom level to explore
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/metro-exodus-gets-a-new-fully-open-world-custom-level-to-explore/
Modder ‘ADRUNKEWOK’ has released a new modded/custom level for Metro Exodus that is fully open world to explore. According to the modder, this took months of work and learning the SDK from the ground up, to achieve what would feel like a new metro exodus level.
This first version of this custom level simply lets you explore it. In future versions, ADRUNKEWOK plans to add various points of interest and activities. And perhaps we might see some quests to keep things interesting.
>> There's a two and a half minutes video of the mod.

Starfield gets the mod of mods, the granddaddy of them all: script extender
https://www.pcgamer.com/starfield-gets-the-mod-of-mods-the-granddaddy-of-them-all-script-extender/
Starfield has only been out in the wild a few days, but now it has the one mod to rule them all: the Starfield Script Extender (SFSE). The mod is the creation of Ian Patterson and Stephen Abel, who clearly spent this past weekend tinkering away while everyone else was exploring space, and this will be the foundation for most if not all of the more ambitious mods Starfield will receive.
The SFSE is a tool that adds additional scripting capabilities and functionality to the game, which basically means it gives modders a whole lot more to play with. If you've any intention of playing Starfield modded then this is almost the starting gun for the real work to begin (though the modders are already working fast, and here are the best Starfield mods so far). Scripts offer functionality that isn't normally available through the in-game tools, and goes beyond Bethesda's own scripting to allow for more complexity.
>> As expected, there are no screenshots or videos in the article.

Drunk with power, modders have started putting Armored Cores in Elden Ring
https://www.pcgamer.com/drunk-with-power-modders-have-started-putting-armored-cores-in-elden-ring/
As much as I've enjoyed Elden Ring, I've always thought the Lands Between don't have enough giant robots stomping around—unless you count the Wandering Mausoleums, but that's a philosophical debate for another time. Luckily, that's a problem we might someday see solved thanks to modders like Zullie the Witch, a prolific Souls dataminer whose most recent work involves dropping a dang Armored Core into Elden Ring. Before you get too excited: No, it's not pilotable. Actually, it can't even move, but let's give modders time to cook. Mechs need to take baby steps, too.
>> There's a screenshot and a roughly 2 minutes video.

Massive Baldur's Gate 3 mod adds playable kobolds, minotaurs, FF14 races, and D&D's rage-inducing kenders
https://www.pcgamer.com/massive-baldurs-gate-3-mod-adds-playable-kobolds-minotaurs-ff14-races-and-dandds-rage-inducing-kenders/
The initial choice of races in Baldur's Gate 3 is solid—though it's definitely not the full spread available for most Dungeons & Dragons players. You can't rock up as a warforged, goblin, kobold, or aarakocra (don't mention their in-built flight speed to tabletop players, it's a whole thing)—aside from Dragonborn, it's all very humanoid. (...) If you want more aesthetic variety, though, the absolutely massive 54 races included in DungeonsAndSouls' Fantastical Multiverse mod have you covered. The pack adds a whole swathe of options from official D&D material, Grim Hollow (a grimdark 5e-compatible setting made by Ghostfire Gaming), the creator's own homebrew "Malipāla", and Final Fantasy 14. I was briefly pumped about being able to play a catboy in Baldur's Gate 3—unfortunately, the mod's current races are all understandably humanoid (Hyur, Elezen, Roegadyn, and Garlean), so you won't be able to wield any nyacromancy just yet.
>> There's only one screenshot.

True to FromSoftware's creative vision, Armored Core 6 now has a mech that's CJ riding Thomas the Tank Engine
https://www.pcgamer.com/true-to-fromsoftwares-creative-vision-armored-core-6-now-has-a-mech-thats-cj-riding-thomas-the-tank-engine/
It took modders less than a day to add CJ from San Andreas to Armored Core 6, and the meme train just keeps rolling down the tracks: I present to you CJ and Thomas the Tank Engine. Together at last. Wait… Yes it is a rather unfortunate confluence of body positions and overall deeply, deeply cursed, but I think we'll leave it there.
The obvious next step is for Thomas' chassis to have a Shrek plushie hanging somewhere. The Thomas the Tank Engine mod replaces the EL-TL-11 FORTALEZA legs with the beloved childrens' train, and is the creation of ScrubMilk, whose previous greatest hits include making Elden Ring's Torrent into a Minecraft horse. Which is a neat segue into the fact that, drunk with power, modders have also started putting Armored Cores into Elden Ring. Dizzy yet? This is getting like Fortnite.
The Thomas the Tank Engine in Armored Core 6 can be slightly customised via the part colours, which is set to white but you can fiddle with the weathering and glossiness, "though I myself have it set to no battle-wear or gloss" declares ScrubMilk. Quite right too, no-one likes a dirty engine.
Combine it with the existing CJ mod, as redditor Sine_Fine_Belli did, and greatness awaits.
>> There's only one screenshot.

GAMING NEWS

Despite the obvious downgrade, GSC GameWorld still aims to make STALKER 2 look as good as its E3 2021 trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/despite-the-obvious-downgrade-gsc-gameworld-still-aims-to-make-stalker-2-look-as-good-as-its-e3-2021-trailer/
A lot of STALKER 2 fans were disappointed by its latest Gamescom 2023 gameplay trailer. You see, the game did not look as polished or as good as its initial E3 2021 trailer. Yes, the downgrade was obvious. However, GSC GameWorld insists that it still plans to make STALKER 2 look as good as its E3 2021 trailer.

Immortals of Aveum Update #2 released, brings performance optimizations, full patch notes
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/immortals-of-aveum-update-2-released-brings-performance-optimizations-full-patch-notes/
Ascendant Studios has released Update #2 for Immortals of Aveum, and shared its complete changelog/patch notes. According to the team, this second update brings a number of performance optimizations.

Rockstar just proved how important piracy is for game preservation
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/rockstar-just-proved-how-important-piracy-is-for-game-preservation/
We’ve all seen developers and publishers criticizing PC gamers for pirating their games. We’ve also seen a lot of publishers doing their best to fight piracy by implementing draconian DRM protection systems in their games. But can you imagine a company downloading and then selling a pirated/cracked game? Because that’s exactly what Rockstar did.
Discovered by modder ‘Silent’, the Steam version of Midnight Club 2 is actually the version that the scene group “Razor 1911” cracked back in 2003. Let me repeat that. Rockstar was selling on Steam a cracked copy of its game.
>> As the article notes, this is the third time Rockstar has done this.

Star Wars Jedi Survivor Patch 7 adds support for DLSS 2
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/star-wars-jedi-survivor-patch-7-adds-support-for-dlss-2/
Respawn has just released Patch 7 for Star Wars Jedi Survivor, and shared its complete changelog. According to the release notes, the Star Wars Jedi Survivor Update 7 brings additional performance and optimization improvements to PC, and adds official support for DLSS.