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

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Thursday news, the even longer part two:

Cities: Skylines 2 studio promises performance issues can and will be fixed: 'We want to assure you that the issues are not deeply rooted in the game’s foundation'
https://www.pcgamer.com/cities-skylines-2-studio-promises-performance-issues-can-and-will-be-fixed-we-want-to-assure-you-that-the-issues-are-not-deeply-rooted-in-the-games-foundation/
A few days before the launch of Cities: Skylines 2, Paradox Interactive issued a warning about the game's performance—specifically, that it might be a little less than ideal, especially on lower-end hardware. Sure enough, this was our experience: "random fps dips, slowdowns and hitches, and sometimes complete freezes that lasted a few seconds," along with graphical glitches and outright crashes. The bigger the city, the worse the problems.
If you're struggling, we have a guide to five graphics options changes that will provide a big boost to Cities: Skyline 2 performance, but hopefully the need for those tweaks will lessen in the relatively near future. In a "post-release plans and goals" update posted today, developer Colossal Order said Cities: Skylines 2 "is built for the future with modern hardware in mind," essentially repeating the statement it made in the pre-release performance warning, but committed to improving the situation in future updates—and, importantly, assured players that the issues can be fixed.
>> Am I the only one that rolls his eyes when finding the "built for the future" excuse for a game's bad performance.

Skyrim's former design lead tips his hat to Baldur's Gate 3: 'Very few of the decisions in a Bethesda game feel highly meaningful, you get maybe three or four'
https://www.pcgamer.com/skyrims-lead-designer-tips-his-hat-to-baldurs-gate-3-very-few-of-the-decisions-in-a-bethesda-game-feel-highly-meaningful-you-get-maybe-three-or-four/
(...) In an interview with MinnMax, Nesmith is asked about his thoughts on Larian's RPG: "I love Baldur's Gate, I'm a huge Dungeons & Dragons fan," he says, before rotating his camera around to his shelves and shelves of RPG books and modules.
(...)
He then reflects on Bethesda games, and how every hero becomes a multitasking polymath—good at everything, questioned by no one. He talks about Larian's attitude, one that's happy to shut off entire storylines, as something "we could never get ourselves to do—[Larian] poked into all the darkest corners. They've come out and said, quite bluntly, 'we don't care if only 1% of the players will ever see this.'"

Steam's most wishlisted city builder, Manor Lords, announces 2024 early access launch date
https://www.pcgamer.com/strategy-city-builder-manor-lords-announces-2024-early-access-launch-date/
Manor Lords is a strategy city builder so highly anticipated that it appeared on more Steam wishlists than even the daddy of all city builders, Cities: Skylines 2. And for as long as I can remember, Manor Lords' release date on Steam has been listed as "2023," a year that is rapidly approaching its end.
Alas, for anyone (like me) who hoped to hunker down over the holidays and grow a tiny medieval town into a bustling village, that launch date has been revised. Manor Lords is now planned to release on April 26, 2024.

2023's most slept-on horror game is getting an absolutely sadistic new mode where nearly everything's randomized and you have to spend precious fuel just to save
https://www.pcgamer.com/2023s-most-slept-on-horror-game-is-getting-an-absolutely-sadistic-new-mode-where-nearly-everythings-randomized-and-you-have-to-spend-precious-fuel-just-to-save/
I absolutely love Amnesia: The Bunker⁠—it's gotten lost in the tangle of one of the best years for gaming in a long time, but The Bunker is quietly one of the best horror games I've ever played. Now Frictional Games is augmenting that already mondo-stressful experience with a surprise Halloween update and harder-than-hard "Shell Shock" mode.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth goes full Animal Crossing, will let you manage an island paradise 'with a cozy DIY lifestyle'
https://www.pcgamer.com/like-a-dragon-infinite-wealth-goes-full-animal-crossing-will-let-you-manage-an-island-paradise-with-a-cozy-diy-lifestyle/
The Yakuza series, now renamed Like a Dragon, is known for minigames that are fun enough to yank attention away from the gangster melodrama for hours and hours. Nintendo's Animal Crossing: New Horizons has sold more than 40 million copies since 2020 and was fun enough to yank attention away from everything else during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. You can probably see where this is going.
Sega revealed today that the upcoming Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth has a new minigame that looks the opposite of mini: it's called Dondoko Island, and it's very much Yakuza Does Animal Crossing.

Still Wakes the Deep's debut gameplay trailer asks, 'What if Dear Esther was set on an oil rig, and also something was trying to eat you?'
https://www.pcgamer.com/still-wakes-the-deeps-debut-gameplay-trailer-asks-what-if-dear-esther-was-set-on-an-oil-rig-and-also-something-was-trying-to-eat-you/
The Chinese Room stepped into the spotlight earlier this year as the new developer of Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, but that's not the only project it has on the go. It's also working on a new horror game called Still Wakes the Deep, and today we finally got our first look at gameplay—and I'm happy to say that it looks like everything I hoped, and feared, it would be.

Diablo 4 Rogue uses a pair of pants to one-shot its hardest bosses: 'Uber Lilith was absolutely child's play'
https://www.pcgamer.com/diablo-4-rogue-uses-a-pair-of-pants-to-one-shot-its-hardest-bosses-uber-lilith-was-absolutely-childs-play/
Diablo 4's world bosses are meant to be fought by several players, but a single pair of pants gives Rogues the power to instantly take them down alone.
Rogues work differently than other classes in DIablo 4. Classes like Sorcerers spend mana to cast spells, but Rogues use Energy and, optionally, Combo Points—which generate on basic attacks.
(...)
But Tibault's Will, one of season 2's new unique items breaks that rule, and the way it works is far too powerful for it to be intended. Instead of giving Rogues more Energy to use certain skills, the pants give them more total combo points, up to 23. The problem wouldn't be so bad if there were no way to quickly build up a ton of combo points at once, but Condemnation, a unique dagger, has a bonus that will do just that.

Elden Ring fans discover 'cut' sword behind frenzied speculation has, in fact, been hiding in plain sight the whole time
https://www.pcgamer.com/elden-ring-fans-discover-cut-sword-behind-frenzied-speculation-has-in-fact-been-hiding-in-plain-sight-the-whole-time/
Even a year-and-a-half after release Elden Ring retains mystique, secrets, areas of the game that even the most dedicated cannot fully unravel. This is of course by design and has been the way ever since Demon's Souls, with FromSoftware always aiming to leave plenty of room for player interpretation: it's arguably one of the reasons that the lore of these games really sticks with people.
But one player tool does divide people: data-mining. (...)
A minor example of this is a greatsword that is seemingly not in the game, but does have icons showing it in three different variations. This sword is seen first in an ancient and weathered sheath; then it is seen sheath-less as a beautifully preserved blade, an archetypal greatsword; finally it is seen charred and twisted, as if forged anew in some demonic fire.

Victoria 3 conjures up yet another DLC type as it braces for its 'grandest update to military, economy, and diplomacy' yet
https://www.pcgamer.com/victoria-3-conjures-up-yet-another-dlc-type-as-it-braces-for-its-grandest-update-to-military-economy-and-diplomacy-yet/
Like the industrial revolution itself, Victoria 3 forges ahead with patches and expansions, tearing asunder the idiocy of rural life, melting all that was once solid into the air, and faring relatively poorly in the Steam reviews for its DLC (the Steam reviews for capitalism would have been terrible in 1848, which is probably why they didn't have them).
But the game's next DLC is adding some ordem to all that progresso, taking us away from the empires of Europe in order to focus on South America, particularly Brazil.

Starbreeze explains ongoing Payday 3 patch delay: 'There was a significant risk to player progression being wiped' by update errors
https://www.pcgamer.com/starbreeze-explains-ongoing-payday-3-patch-delay-there-was-a-significant-risk-to-player-progression-being-wiped-by-update-errors/
A new update from Starbreeze on the status of the much-needed first patch for Payday 3 does not offer much in the way of good news: The patch is still not ready to go, and there's no indication as to when it will be. Instead, the studio has come to us with a brief explanation of how it all went so disastrously wrong, and what it's doing to try to fix it.

Timb-err: Old School Runescape's new forestry update gets panned for being 'too convoluted for its own good'
https://www.pcgamer.com/timb-err-old-school-runescapes-new-forestry-update-gets-panned-for-being-too-convoluted-for-its-own-good/
Forestry 2, the sequel to Forestry, is another expansion to Old School Runescape's woodcutting skill. If you assume that something like chopping down trees is a casual, uncomplicated, nice way to kill a few hours—you would be gravely mistaken. I'm about to try and break this down for you, but even just skimming the surface is giving me conniptions.

After Payday 3's disastrous launch, Starbreeze partners up with an Australian studio to lend its 'expertise in release management' to a Fortnite Island
https://www.pcgamer.com/after-payday-3s-disastrous-launch-starbreeze-partners-up-with-an-australian-studio-to-lend-its-expertise-in-release-management-to-a-fortnite-island/
Payday 3 is in a rocky state. Its launch was dreadful, its fans are angry, and its promised patch keeps getting punted further and further into the future (though for what sounds like a good reason). There's only one thing to do if you're a developer in this dicey situation: launch a Fortnite Island. It's the oldest trick in the book.
(...)
To be clear, Turtle vs Turtle is only being "launched" by Starbreeze. The development comes from Australia's Torus Games, notable for having a frankly enormous roster of licensed games under its belt. Although it'd be kind of funny to imagine Starbreeze devs suddenly getting way into making a Fortnite Island while Payday 3 smoulders away in the background, it's just the publishing arm of the studio lending its "expertise" in "marketing, community management, live service operations, development funding… data management and analytics," as well as, uh, "release management." Hm.

Final Fantasy 14's bizarre Fall Guys event drops later this month, and I'm scared my trips into the bean dimension will be a good way to make gil
https://www.pcgamer.com/final-fantasy-14s-bizarre-fall-guys-event-drops-later-this-month-and-im-scared-my-trips-into-the-bean-dimension-will-be-a-good-way-to-make-gil/
The Final Fantasy 14 x Fall Guys event has been in the pipeline for a while now, and we've just been treated to a full list of details, as outlined on the game's official website.