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

[JEMC]

The Thursday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

The Epic Store gives away the game Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy during the next 7 days: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/marvels-guardians-of-the-galaxy.
Next week, they'll give away the game Sail Forth.

Humble Bundle has launched the Outright Games' Heroes of Film and Television Bundle, in support of UNICEF, with up to 17 games to get during the next 13 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/outright-heroes-film-television.

And Fanatical has two new deals for us:

• The new Star Deal is System Shock, 43% off during 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/system-shock
• And the Platinum Collection BYOB for January has launched with 19 titles to choose from for your 3, 5 or 7 games bundle: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/platinum-collection-build-your-own-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Pour one out for the late great Windows 7: Steam has finally stopped supporting Windows 7, 8, and 8.1
https://www.pcgamer.com/pour-one-out-for-the-late-great-windows-7-steam-has-finally-stopped-supporting-windows-7-8-and-81/
On January 1, Valve ended support for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1, which means that users on those older versions of Microsoft's OS will eventually not be able to use the gaming platform. "We expect the Steam client and games on these older operating systems to continue running for some time without updates after January 1st, 2024, but we are unable to guarantee continued functionality after that date," Valve wrote in a post on the Steam support site.
It's a bit wild that Steam still supported Windows 7 until the start of 2024. It was a remarkably popular version of the OS even after the launch of Windows 8, but it also debuted in 2009, which is very, very long in software years. To put that in perspective, when Steam debuted in 2003, the same backwards compatibility would've required it to support, uh, Windows 2.1. Windows is obviously a bit more mature these days, but still—one heck of a run, Windows 7.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

This Starfield Mod adds a new faction with its own crime system
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/starfield-mod-new-faction-crime-system/
Modders ‘ItsmePaulieB’ and ‘Boris4774’ have released a pretty new cool mod for Starfield. This mod adds a brand new Faction with a working crime system to the game that also comes with its own clothing line.
As its description reads.
“GRiNDTerra Industries is a new corporate faction financed in shadows by the UC to rival Ryujin Industries. Being a private sector company, it can expand in Freestar space and uses its funds to hire “ex” UC government and military officials to help quite literally destroy its competitors. For the public it is a company with the goal to terraform the universe to their own design. In private, it is slowly expanding a private military force on as many planets as possible with the desire to be THE corporation.”
The GrindTerra Faction will show up in lots of different places in Starfield. You can talk to them just like any other group, but right now, you can’t join them. Still, you can buy their uniforms at an industrial workbench if you’ve got enough credits.
At first, GrindTerra Industries will be neutral toward you. If you trespass into their territory, they’ll give you a warning. Joining Ryujin Industries, though, makes them your enemies automatically. GrindTerra will track your crimes, and you might end up with a special bounty or even be arrested.
>> The article doesn't have screenshots nor videos about this mod.

A Starfield modder is doing something Bethesda should have done: making pilotable mechs
https://www.pcgamer.com/a-starfield-modder-is-doing-something-bethesda-should-have-done-making-pilotable-mechs/
One of the things I really don't get about Starfield is the whole mech situation. Mechs are everywhere. There's a bunch of lore about mechs being used in the Colony Wars that took place decades earlier. There are mechs you can look at in factories and junkyards and museums. There was even a shot of a player walking past a mech shown in one of Starfield's early gameplay trailers, and an animated trailer heavily featured them.
But you can't actually climb into a mech and pilot it in Starfield (explained in the lore as a ban on mechs since the end of the war). When it comes to mechs, Bethesda decided you can look but you can't touch. And you definitely can't ride. I guess my question is: why, tho?
The good news is a modder named Jared Kohr is doing something Bethesda probably should have done in the first place. Check out the video below of Kohr's mod in progress that will actually let you climb inside a towering mech and go for a stomp on the surface of a planet

Heroes of the Storm comes full circle as a mod of the game of the mod
https://www.pcgamer.com/heroes-of-the-storm-comes-full-circle-as-a-mod-of-the-game-of-the-mod/
I've never really got on with mobas, the exception to the rule being Blizzard's excellent Heroes of the Storm. Inspired by Defense of the Ancients, the Warcraft 3 mod that birthed the entire genre, HotS was released in 2015 to a largely positive reception from critics and players. But despite the game's quality, and years of support from Blizzard, it never managed to reach that critical mass of players.
Support had been winding down for years before, in mid-2022, Blizzard put the final bullet in HotS and announced the end of active development. The game continues to have hero rotations and the odd minor balance patch, but the news was nevertheless greeted with dismay by its hardcore fans. And some weren't content to leave it there.
In something of a full circle moment, a mod team has now announced that the mod-that-became-a-game is now the subject of a new and impressively full-featured mod project. Resurgence of the Storm is a recreation of Heroes of the Storm within the Starcraft 2 engine, and can be found in that game's Arcade section. It's been in development for over four years and features 15 heroes, nearly all of which have balance changes or new talents compared to their HotS counterparts.
"Like many, we miss Heroes of the Storm," says the mod team. "We miss reading patch notes, getting excited for new Heroes, reworks, balance changes, so we took it into our own hands." The likes of Arthas receive a full rework, while the mod even has room for two new heroes: Selendis (who was once planned as an official addition to HotS) and Talandar. More new heroes are planned down the line.
The nature of the project means it won't be quite as convenient or accessible as HotS. There's no matchmaking system, so players have to use the game's Discord to matchmake, and those behind RotS emphasise this is not "a full replacement" for HotS. "As a StarCraft 2 mod, some things are not possible; some models and abilities cannot be replicated or ported over. Most importantly, there are no Quick Cast settings, everyone plays with On Release."
>> The article has an over 6 minutes long video of this mod.

GAMING NEWS

EVERSPACE 2 will be upgraded to Unreal Engine 5 in the Spring Update
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/everspace-2-will-be-updated-to-unreal-engine-5-in-the-spring-update/
Rockfish Games has announced that the Spring Update for EVERSPACE 2 will upgrade the game to Unreal Engine 5. According to the team, this upgrade will help it future-proof the game so it has less difficulty bringing updates and expansion content to it.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Official PC Requirements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/prince-of-persia-the-lost-crown-official-pc-requirements/
Ubisoft has just revealed the official PC system requirements for Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. This new Prince of Persia game will release on January 15th, and you can also find below a new trailer for it.
>> The specs are quite low, for modern standards.

Here are 18 minutes of new gameplay from Dragon’s Dogma 2
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/18-minutes-new-gameplay-dragons-dogma-2/
IGN has shared a video, showcasing 18 minutes of brand new gameplay footage from Dragon’s Dogma 2. This video showcases the Fighter, Thief, Warrior, and Sorcerer classes, so be sure to watch it.