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)

GOG has launched two new sales:

• The Memorable OST Sale features games with great soundtracks with up to 90% discounts during the next 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20231107_memorable_ost
• And the Polish Week puts games from that country up to 90% off until the 14th of November: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20231107_polish_games_week

Steam has four new deals/sales and also new weeklong deals:

• Publisher Aerosoft puts its games up to 80% off until November 13th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/AerosoftPublisherSale2023
• Koei Tecmo's Autumn Game Festival features up to 80% discounts until the 13th: https://store.steampowered.com/developer/KOEITECMO/sale/autumngamefestival
• The Early Access title Plan B: Terraform is going to be 20% off until the 15th of November: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1894430/Plan_B_Terraform/
• The Festival Bullet Heaven brings demos and up to 90% discounts until the 20th of November: https://store.steampowered.com/developer/ravenage/sale/bulletheavenfest
• And this week I'm able to post some of the weeklong deals. But only 6, I don't want to spoil you:
  • Marble It Up! Ultra has a 30% deal: https://store.steampowered.com/app/864060/Marble_It_Up_Ultra/
  • The modern The Oregon Trail is 40% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2013360/The_Oregon_Trail/
  • Cyclo Chambers, that has a demo, gets a 50% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2146180/Cyclo_Chambers/
  • SEUM: Speedrunners from Hell features a 67% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/457210/SEUM_Speedrunners_from_Hell/
  • Blazing Beaks has a 75% deal: https://store.steampowered.com/app/585710/Blazing_Beaks/
  • And the last one, Dungeon Escape, will be 83% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/454100/Dungeon_Escape/

Thinking about all the Steam Deck and other handheld PCs out there, the Humble Store has launched the Handheld Friendly Sale, with up to 91% discounts during 6 days. There are keys for Steam, GOG, EGS and direct downloads: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/handheld-friendly-sale/.

Fanatical has three new 24 hours Flash Deals:

• RimWorld is 30% off: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/rimworld
• House Party gets a 55% deal: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/house-party
• And House Builder features a 60% discount: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/house-builder

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Starfield gets a 12GB 4K Texture Pack that improves the quality of nearly all the surfaces of architectural structures
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/starfield-gets-a-12gb-4k-texture-pack-that-improves-the-quality-of-nearly-all-the-surfaces-of-architectural-structures/
Modder “XilaMonstrr” has just put out a cool 4K Texture Pack for Starfield. This pack makes all the buildings and structures in the game look way better. So, we believe you should totally get it and use it for an even better experience.
The modder upgraded all the old textures to super high-quality 4K. The original ones were way lower quality, just 1K or even 512 resolution. So, in order to improve them, the modder used special AI tools like chaiNNer and ESRGAN. The end result maintains the original art style of the game. Plus, the new textures look sharper.
>> The article has some comparison screenshots.

STAR WARS Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II gets a new HD Texture Pack
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/star-wars-jedi-knight-dark-forces-ii-new-hd-texture-pack/
In November 2019, we shared an ESRGAN AI-enhanced Texture Pack for STAR WARS Jedi Knight: Dark Forces 2. And today, we bring you yet another HD Texture Pack for this classic Star Wars game.
Modder ‘vurt’ created this new HD Texture Pack that makes the game’s textures look much better. The modder used AI tools to make the original textures higher quality, just like the previous mod. As such, the new textures retain the game’s art style.
This HD Texture Pack overhauls over 620 textures, and it is compatible with OpenJKDF. So, in theory, it should also be compatible with Star Wars Jedi Knight Remastered 3.0.
>> This article also has some original vs modded screenshots.

Halloween's over but you can still scare yourself witless with this VR recreation of Amnesia
https://www.pcgamer.com/halloweens-over-but-you-can-still-scare-yourself-witless-with-this-vr-recreation-of-amnesia/
There are some things in life that I admire but can't claim to properly understand. These include the literary works of James Joyce, the vegan lifestyle, and people who want to play incredibly scary games in VR. I like horror games, but there's a limit on my tolerance, and Amnesia: The Dark Descent landed right on that limit when it slithered out of Frictional Games' culvert a terrifying thirteen years ago. Hence, the mere idea of playing that game in VR makes me shudder.
But if you are the kind of person who likes to put on white VR goggles and later take off brown pants, let me introduce you to Sclerosis: an Amnesia VR remake. To be clear, this is not an official remake of Frictional's landmark horror. But it is also a bit more than just a mod. Sclerosis' ModDB page describes it as a "1:1 recreation of the entire game in Unity engine, making VR possible."
This overhaul included "completely redesigned controls" that facilitate VR controllers, enabling you to physically open doors and pull levers with your virtual hands. It's been years since I played the original Amnesia, but I know that it had highly tactile controls to begin with, so I can totally see this element working in VR.
Alongside the VR implementation, Sclerosis also adds a "safe mode" that removes the aggressive monsters from the game so you can enjoy the atmosphere without losing your wits to the horrors that prowl castle Brennenburg. This is something that Frictional introduced in later games like SOMA, but never added to the original Amnesia, so that's a welcome inclusion. It adds a PSX mode too, just in case you want to play the game like you've smeared Vaseline all over your screen.
>> For better or worse, the article only has a couple of screenshots.

GAMING NEWS

Alan Wake 2 Update 1.0.9 is released, fixing a couple of issues
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/alan-wake-2-update-1-0-9-released/
Remedy has just released Update 1.0.9 for its latest third-person horror game, Alan Wake 2. This is a small update that fixes a couple of bugs, so don’t expect any major tweaks, changes or improvements.

Tintin Reporter: Cigars of the Pharaoh may be a complete mess at launch
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/tintin-reporter-cigars-of-the-pharaoh-may-be-a-complete-mess-at-launch/
Microids will release Tintin Reporter: Cigars of the Pharaoh later today. However, it appears that this new adventure game could be a complete mess at launch. Or at least that’s what its own developers hint at.
Pendulo Studios has issued a statement just a few hours before the game releases, claiming that those who play the game at launch won’t be able to fully enjoy it. Now I don’t know what the game’s issues currently are, but it should run fine on PC. Or at least its graphics are not that great from what I can see in its launch trailer. So, perhaps the game has lots of bugs?
The developers claimed that they aim to fix this situation in a promptly manner. The first major patches for the game will come out in the coming weeks.
>> Once one does it and gets away with it, the rest will follow. Not cool Microids & Pendulo.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage Title Update 1.0.5 released, is 4GB in size on PC, adds Chromatic Aberration setting
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/assassins-creed-mirage-title-update-1-0-5-released-is-4gb-in-size-on-pc-adds-chromatic-aberration-setting/
Ubisoft just released Title Update 1.0.5 for Assassin’s Creed Mirage. Now, players can switch off Chromatic Aberration with a new setting. Also, the game’s visuals got some cool upgrades. Read on to learn about all the changes.

Last edited by JEMC - on 07 November 2023