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)

Lords of the Fallen has already sold 1 million copies
https://www.pcgamer.com/lords-of-the-fallen-has-already-sold-1-million-copies/
We just can't get enough punishing fantasy horror action RPGs. After Elden Ring last year and Lies of P in September, and despite some early performance complaints and proximity to RPG juggernauts Baldur's Gate 3 and Starfied, Lords of the Fallen has already sold more than a million copies, according to its publisher.

Steam has new sales and weeklong deals:

• Euro Truck Simulator 2 is going to be 75% off until October, 31st, with its DLCs up to 70% off (same goes for ATS): https://store.steampowered.com/app/227300/Euro_Truck_Simulator_2/
• The Fallout Day Sale brings up to 80% discounts until the 31st: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/falloutdaysale
• Slender: The Arrival will be 30% off until the 1st of November: https://store.steampowered.com/app/252330/Slender_The_Arrival/
• The Last of Us™ Part I gets a 20% discount unti lthe 2nd of November: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1888930/The_Last_of_Us_Part_I/
• Inscryption will be 50% off until the 2nd: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1092790/Inscryption/
• Warhammer: Vermintide 2 features an 80% discount until November, the 2nd: https://store.steampowered.com/app/552500/Warhammer_Vermintide_2/
• And Iratus: Lord of the Dead is going to be 87% off until the 6th of November: https://store.steampowered.com/app/807120/Iratus_Lord_of_the_Dead/
• In this spot I'd usually say something like "here's a sample of the weeklong deals" or something like that, but I'm having troubles with Steam, blocking over 1700 titles over "my preferences" (I'm not logged while doing this), and not letting me scroll down to check the remaining 640 titles. Therefore, there'll be no samples today.

The Humble Store has four new sales:

• The Plug In Digital Fall Sale brings up to 90% discounts during 3 days. There are keys for Steam, EGS and direct downloads: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/plug-in-digital-fall-sale/
• Paradox Interactive puts its games up to 80% off during the next 6 days. The keys are for Steam and there are also some direct downloads: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/paradox-week/
• The Role Playing Radness Sale features up to 90% discounts during the next 6 days. There are keys for Steam, EGS, UbiConnect and direct downloads: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/roleplaying-radness-sale/
• And the Fallout Day Sale also arrives here, wit the games being up to 80% off during the next 7 days. All the keys are for Steam: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/fallout-day-sale-2023/

Fanatical has two new deals:

• The Star Deal is the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Complete Bundle, 82% off during 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/stalker-complete-bundle
• The Infernal Bundle, with 6 games has an 89% discount: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/infernal-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

INTEL Arc & Iris Graphics 31.0.101.4900
https://videocardz.com/driver/intel-arc-iris-graphics-31-0-101-4900
Highlights
Ghostrunner 2 – For the best gaming experience, it is recommended to launch the game using DirectX 12 option. Intel® Game On Driver support on Intel® Arc™ A-series Graphics for:

• Alan Wake 2
• Cities: Skylines 2
• WRC
• Ghostrunner 2

Game performance improvements versus Intel® 31.0.101.4887 software driver for:

• Alan Wake 2 (DX12)
  • Up to 20% average FPS uplift at 1080p with High settings
  • Up to 22% average FPS uplift at 1440p with Medium settings
• Cities: Skylines 2 (DX11)
  • Up to 34% average FPS uplift at 1080p with High settings
  • Up to 26% average FPS uplift at 1440p with Medium settings

>> There are no new fixes with this release.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Baldur's Gate 3 mod lets un-partied characters participate in conversations
https://www.pcgamer.com/baldurs-gate-3-mod-lets-un-partied-characters-participate-in-conversations/
One of the most frustrating things about Baldur's Gate 3 is getting to the end of a conversation, only to realise later that having a specific companion in your party would have completely changed the course of the game. Worse yet, the idea that you might be missing important plot points for your companions due to their absence.
Thankfully, modder Silent Note is on the case, with a Baldur's Gate 3 mod called Everyone in Dialogue (via PCGamesN).
Uploaded to Nexus Mods by Shagone, the mod "Allows all allies, whether they are party members or not, to participate and react to the player's dialogues, regardless of distance or the party size."
Not only is it toggleable per character—in case you decide there are certain characters you don't want to witness certain events—it works even when you're playing as another character.
>> There are no screenshots nor videos of the mod.

Age of Empires 2 modder remakes Skyrim as an RTS, and you can play it soon
https://www.pcgamer.com/age-of-empires-2-modder-remakes-skyrim-as-an-rts-and-you-can-play-it-soon/
I've been playing Skyrim for a whopping 12 years thanks to its hard-working mod community, constantly downloading new quests, texture packs and ambitious features. But long before that I was spending my days playing through custom scenarios and fiddling around with the map editor in Age of Empires 2—the genesis of my love for modding. And thanks to Age of Empires 2 modder Grouchy_Bluejay4511, both of these brilliant games have now been combined.
Over on Reddit, Grouchy shared screenshots of their current project, where they've remade Skyrim in the venerable RTS. The first is unmistakably Whiterun, with the Jarl's fancy home, Dragonsreach, looming over the city. Smaller settlements have also been recreated in less detail, and you can see Helgen (on fire, naturally), Riverwood and Ivarstead surrounding High Hrothgar, sitting on the Throat of the World, in the second screenshot.
(...)
As for how it plays, it seems to be—rather appropriately—an RPG/RTS hybrid, where you'll be able to take charge of one of Skyrim's holds as you try to claim dominance of the region. Expect more than 50 quests and 100 unique characters, to boot.
>> The article has several screenshots.

Sonic Megamix Mania is a must-have for all old-school Sonic fans
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/sonic-megamix-mania-is-a-must-have-for-all-old-school-sonic-fans/
Team Megamix Mania just dropped an awesome mod for Sonic Mania Plus that’s a total must-have for classic Sonic fans. This mod lets you play as six different characters from the Sonic world, and it adds cool new artwork, music, and levels.
In Sonic Megamix Mania, you’ll get to play in two cool game modes: Classic Mode and Megamix Mode. Classic Mode takes the levels from the ‘Sonic Megamix’ Rom-Hack and makes them even better with top-notch artwork and improved level design. On the other hand, Megamix Mode takes the original Rom-Hack’s cool ideas and puts a fresh twist on them. This mode has brand-new art, music, levels, and exciting surprises.
Sonic Megamix Mania will feature 12 Classic Mode Acts and The Final Fight, as well as 8 Megamix Mode Acts.
In this mod, you can play as some cool characters from the Sonic world. There’s Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Shadow, and Mighty the Armadillo. And guess what? Each of these characters has awesome new moves and super cool abilities.
>> There's a 1:42 video of the mod.

GAMING NEWS

Cities Skylines 2 developers target 30fps and not 60fps, even on the latest and greatest high-end PCs
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/cities-skylines-2-developers-target-30fps-and-not-60fps-even-on-pc/
A few days ago, we shared some early benchmarks for Cities Skylines 2. In those benchmarks, an Intel Core i9 13900KS with an AMD Radeon RX 7900XTX struggled to run the game at 4K/High Settings. And in a recent Reddit AMA, the developers claimed that their target is 30fps and not 60fps, even on PC.
Colossal Order’s “damsku” made some pretty wild claims. They said that running a city-building game at 60fps doesn’t really make a difference. But it seems like they haven’t tried panning the camera around at 30fps, where you can notice the jerky movement.
>> It's worth reading the article for the full quote of the developer/PR guy as well as some other bits of info.

NVIDIA shares new tech details and performance/framerates for Alan Wake 2’s Path Tracing effects
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/nvidia-shares-new-tech-details-and-performance-framerates-for-alan-wake-2s-path-tracing-effects/
NVIDIA has just shared some new technical details about the Path Tracing effects of Alan Wake 2. Moreover, the green team shared some performance figures for its RTX 40 series GPUs.