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JEMC on 23 January 2024
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The Tuesday news, all in one post:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Steam's Top 10

(Click here for the Top 100)

Steam has launched some sales and new weeklong deals:

Fanatical has a new Star Deal and a bundle:

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

The open beta of Nvidia's RTX Remix is ready to grab: Remaster your favourite old games to give them a massive graphics upgrade
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-open-beta-of-nvidias-rtx-remix-is-ready-to-grab-remaster-your-favourite-old-games-to-give-them-a-massive-graphics-upgrade/
Do you have an old game that you wish was remastered to make full use of today's graphics technologies? For me, it's the original Deus Ex , and I'd love to see that with modern lighting and fully ray-traced. We've had some so far, of course, such as Quake 2 and Portal, but these weren't mods, as you had to download the entire updated game. Now, with the release of Nvidia's RTX Remix open beta, you'll be able to do it yourself to any DirectX 8 or 9 game
Modding games to change how they look or run has been around for as long as there have been games, but the scene now is a huge industry by itself, with vast databases of textures, levels, and entire remakes of games all available.
But overhauling the graphics of an older game is no small task, especially when it comes to writing code for better shaders and the like, and that's where RTX Remix comes in.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Here Are the Best Palworld Mods You Can Download
https://www.dsogaming.com/articles/best-palworld-mods-download/
Palworld has just been released in Early Access, so here are the best mods you can currently download for it. We expect to see a lot of cool mods for this game in the coming months. So, let’s go ahead and take a look at some of them.
We’ll be constantly updating this list with every new mod we share. In other words, this list will be up to date, and it will have everything we’ve shared. Not only that but this article will be separated by categories. Thus, it will be easier to navigate it.
In this first version of this article, we’ll be focusing on two or three mods. Then, as time passes by, we’ll be adding more and more mods to it.

Palworld Just Got an AMD FSR 3.0 Frame Generation Mod
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/palworld-amd-fsr-3-0-frame-generation-mod/
Modder ‘PureDark’ has just released a new mod for Palworld that allows you to enable AMD FSR 3.0 Frame Generation. This mod basically replaces the in-game DLSS 2 setting with FSR 3.0. Sadly, though, it’s being held behind a Patreon wall.
Now the good news here is that this mod works on all GPUs. This means that you can use it with an Intel, an NVIDIA or an AMD GPU. There is also an option to enable Intel XeSS with FSR 3.0 Frame Generation. So, if you believe that Intel XeSS provides better results than FSR 3.0 Super Resolution, you can use that instead. Not only that but PureDark has fixed the HUD ghosting issues that plagued previous FSR 3.0 Mods.
In short, this FSR 3.0 Frame Generation Mod seems to be working wonderfully. It’s kind of a bummer that these FSR 3.0 Mods are not available for free. However, PureDark has been the only modder that has been constantly offering them for most of the latest games.
To showcase this FSR 3.0 Mod, PureDark shared the following video. In this video, we also get to see Palworld running on the ASUS ROG Ally. With FSR 3.0 you can get 60fps at 1080p. And then, by enabling Frame Generation, you can get 90-110fps. So, if you have a ROG Ally, you might want to use this mod.

New The Witcher 3 Mod Improves Fires via Ray Tracing Global Illumination
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/the-witcher-3-fires-ray-tracing-global-illumination/
Modder ‘ScoutBr0’ has released a cool new mod for The Witcher 3 Next-Gen. This mod makes the fires bounce around the environment more and fill the dark gaps. To achieve that, the modder took advantage of Ray Tracing Global Illumination, and the results are superb.
By using this mod, you can eliminate or reduce the “point light” effect where you can clearly see the placed lights in the environment. Now the dark areas should feel filled with light and a lot more traversable and cozy. In theory, the game will now look more realistic.
>> The article has some comparison screenshots.

First Tomb Raider RTX Remix Path Tracing Mod Released
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/first-tomb-raider-rtx-remix-path-tracing-mod/
Tomb Raider fans, here is something for you today. Modder ‘Dominus Aureate’ has just released a vertical slice demo of his RTX Remix Path Tracing Mod for the first Tomb Raider game.
Open Lara: Reimagined Realms aims to bring you back to the classic world of the original Tomb Raider. This mod takes full advantage of Nvidia’s advanced RTX Remix tech. As such, it promises to overhaul the game’s graphics with full Ray Tracing/Path Tracing effects.
For those wondering, this is a completely different project from the one we shared earlier this month. In other words, there are two RTX Remix Mods in the works for Tomb Raider.
The Vertical Slice Demo of Open Lara: Reimagined Realms will give you a glimpse at what the modder aims to achieve. Dominus Aureate has been working on this for over 6 months. So no, this mod is not based on the Open Beta build of NVIDIA’s RTX Remix. Also, since this is a demo, it may have various bugs and glitches. From what I’ve seen, the first two levels appear to be fine. Or at least that’s the levels that the modder has showcased.
Anyway, you can go ahead and download this RTX Remix Path Tracing Mod from this link. To run it, you’ll need a copy of the original game. Both the Steam and GOG versions are compatible with it.
>> The article has two videos.

Palworld has a Pokémon mod that lets you send beloved mascot Pikachu to the mines, and it's already in trouble
https://www.pcgamer.com/palworld-already-has-a-pokemon-mod-that-lets-you-send-beloved-mascot-pikachu-to-the-mines/
Update, January 23: This story was posted January 22. In it, I theorise about whether Nintendo will take legal action against this Palworld mod—as it has with similar projects in the past. It's been less than 24 hours, and surely enough there's been a copyright claim, according to Toasted Shoes' Twitter:
The extent of the legal action involved is unclear—but at the time of writing, the promised video has not yet been uploaded to YouTube. Original story follows.
>> Nintendo has been faster than I thought it would be but, given the success of the game, it shouldn't be a surprise.

GAMING NEWS

CD Projekt Red is ramping up production on The Witcher 4, and of course it's looking into using AI
https://www.pcgamer.com/cd-projekt-red-is-ramping-up-production-on-the-witcher-4-and-of-course-its-looking-into-using-ai/
Back in March 2023, CDPR's then-CEO Adam Kiciński said the quiet part out loud on an earnings call, and referred to the studio's Polaris project (a new Witcher trilogy) as The Witcher 4. Naturally the studio went into immediate damage control mode and denied the first Polaris game is The Witcher 4, but here's what Kiciński said at the time: "We want to release three big Witcher games within six years, starting from the release of Polaris, which is Witcher 4."
CDPR first announced Polaris in October 2022, and has referenced it a few times since (though the only information about the game comes from fan theorising about the teaser image). It's started 2024 in the same way, telling Reuters that production on Polaris is going into full swing this year.

Tilted Towers resists the yoke of imperial aggression as the British Army gives up on its Fortnite livestream plan
https://www.pcgamer.com/tilted-towers-resists-the-yoke-of-imperial-aggression-as-the-british-army-gives-up-on-its-fortnite-livestream-plan/
There are famously only 22 countries in the entire world that Britain has not invaded at some point during its history. But now you can add Fortnite to that list, as the British Army has given up its plan to hold a livestreamed competition later this week between influencer-led teams on its very own custom Fortnite map.

Diablo 4 season 3's most powerful new items all drop off of its least popular boss
https://www.pcgamer.com/diablo-4-season-3s-most-powerful-new-items-all-drop-off-of-its-least-popular-boss/
Out of all the bosses added in Diablo 4 season 2, The Beast in the Ice was the most annoying one to kill. Not only did he have a lot of attacks you had to dodge out of before you could get a hit on him, he was also a pain to reach in the first place. If you wanted a chance at some of the most powerful items in the game, you had to collect nine frustratingly rare items every time you wanted to summon him.
In season 3, which starts tomorrow, The Beast in the Ice will get five new Unique items added to his loot table. Each of them are powerful enough to build your character around, like a new pair of gloves that increases the damage of your most basic skills by 200%. Instead of having to cross your fingers and wait for them to randomly drop, you can seek out The Beast in The Ice and hope you get them after a handful of runs.
>> And you won't be able to dress up your spider companions, but you'll be able to pet them.

Palworld accused of copying Pokémon models, developer pushes back, says artists are being slandered
https://www.pcgamer.com/palworld-accused-of-copying-pokemon-models-developer-pushes-back-says-artists-are-being-slandered/
Ludicrously successful Pokémon parody survival game Palworld, which has sold four million copies in just days, has come under the microscopes of internet detectives who think its 100 Pokémon-like monsters go beyond parody into straight-up rip-off territory.
The head of Palworld developer Pocketpair, Takuro Mizobe, said on X today that "slanderous" comments are being made about Palworld's artists. Mizobe also recently told Automaton that Pocketpair has "no intention of infringing upon the intellectual property of other companies."

Riot lays off 530 employees, will close Riot Forge: 'We're not doing this to appease shareholders or to hit some quarterly earnings number,' says CEO
https://www.pcgamer.com/riot-games-layoffs-2024/
Riot Games has announced that it's "refocusing on fewer, high-impact projects" to move "toward a more sustainable future," and that means layoffs: Roughly 530 employees, representing 11% of Riot's total workforce, have been let go.

Dragon's Dogma 2's director didn't want his game to rely on fast travel: 'Travel is boring? That's not true. It's only an issue because your game is boring'
https://www.pcgamer.com/dragons-dogma-2s-director-didnt-want-his-game-to-rely-on-fast-travel-travel-is-boring-thats-not-true-its-only-an-issue-because-your-game-is-boring/
In a recent interview with IGN, Dragon's Dogma 2 director Hideaki Itsuno didn't mince words when it comes to his preference for actually exploring open worlds instead of zipping around via the map menu express: "Travel is boring? That's not true. It's only an issue because your game is boring. All you have to do is make travel fun."

Palworld players discover you can kidnap and sell humans just like pals, although you will be warned it's not very polite
https://www.pcgamer.com/palworld-players-discover-you-can-kidnap-and-sell-humans-just-like-pals-although-you-will-be-warned-its-not-very-polite/
It's a Palworld, we're just living in it. Pocketpair's AK-equipped Poké-like has dominated both the charts and the discourse since it came out last Friday, and the debates and discoveries about it are coming out faster than I can keep track of.
But the latest development is both debate and discovery, and I can't decide if that makes it easier to cover or harder. Here's what's happening: Enterprising and morally pliable Palworld players have stumbled upon the fact (via IGN) that you can use the game's Palspheres (they're Pokéballs, let's not beat around the bush) not only to capture the game's animal inhabitants, but to kidnap human NPCs too.

AI Palworld accusations are currently based on vibes, a social deduction game, and the CEO's past tweets about machine-generated fakémon
https://www.pcgamer.com/ai-palworld-accusations-are-currently-based-on-vibes-a-social-deduction-game-and-the-ceos-past-tweets-about-machine-generated-fakemon/
Palworld has come under fire for its bootleg Pokémon aesthetic, with some commenters even cross-referencing models like amateur detectives wading into a crime scene. While the claims of straight-up model ripping are unlikely (even if the designs are very clearly derivative) another strain of discussion has emerged: Is the funny Pokémon-meets-survival genre game AI?
>> To summarize, there's no proof of anything and it's just based on guesses.

Obsidian's Avowed is going 'classless', ditching Pillars of Eternity's crunchy stat-heavy builds in favour of Skyrim-like ability trees
https://www.pcgamer.com/obsidians-avowed-is-going-classless-ditching-off-pillars-of-eternitys-crunchy-stat-heavy-builds-in-favour-of-skyrim-like-ability-trees/
I was downright gleeful when I learnt that Avowed—Obsidian's upcoming first-person fantasy RPG—was set in the Pillars of Eternity world of Eora. If there's one thing I'm perpetually a bit mad about, it's that the Pillars games didn't do much, much better than they did (If there's a second, it's that Tyranny somehow managed to do even worse). To my eyes, Avowed is the series' second shot at mainstream success.
But just because Avowed is returning to the Pillarsverse™ doesn't mean we're merely getting those isometric CRPGs in a swanky first-person wrapper. In a recent chat with PC Gamer's Ted Litchfield, Avowed's game director Carrie Patel and gameplay director Gabe Paramo mentioned that the new game is going a bit Skyrim with it, leaving behind the Pillars games' class system in favour of a set of ability trees you can sample from as you level up.



Please excuse my bad English.

Currently gaming on a PC with an i5-4670k@stock (for now), 16Gb RAM 1600 MHz and a GTX 1070

Steam / Live / NNID : jonxiquet    Add me if you want, but I'm a single player gamer.