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

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The Monday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth & Tekken 8 have been huge successes on Steam
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/like-a-dragon-infinite-wealth-tekken-8-successes-steam/
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth and Tekken 8 came out on PC this week and from the looks of it, both of them have sold well on Steam. Okay okay, they are nowhere close to what Palworld has achieved this month on PC. However, both of these games have outsold their predecessors.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is currently the biggest Yakuza/Like a Dragon launch on Steam. The game had a peak of 34.3K concurrent players. Moreover, it has Very Positive Reviews on Steam.
Similarly, Tekken 8 had a peak of 49.9K concurrent players on Steam. For comparison purposes, Tekken 7 has a peak of 18.9K concurrent players. So, Tekken 8 saw an increase of 164%. That’s huge for a fighting game. Right now, T8 falls behind SF6 but it has surpassed MK1. Mortal Kombat 1 had a peak of 38K concurrent players. On the other hand, Street Fighter 6 had a peak of 70.5K concurrent players.

Leaving aside the New Year Sale, GOG has three new Deals of the Day that will last until Wednesday:

• Backpack Hero is 20% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/backpack_hero
• Expeditions: Rome gets a 60% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/expeditions_rome
• And Outward Definitive Edition is 85% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/outward_definitive_edition

Steam only has one new deal: 鬼谷八荒 Tale of Immortal will feature a 30% discount until the 2nd of February: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1468810/_Tale_of_Immortal/.

Fanatical's new Star Deal is Baldur's Gate I & II Pack, 90% off during 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/baldurs-gate-i-and-ii-pack.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

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MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Sony shuts down the free fan-made Bloodborne Kart
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/sony-shuts-down-the-fan-made-bloodborne-kart/
Remember Bloodborne Kart? You know, the 32-bit kart free game that was based on Bloodborne? Well, it appears that Sony is shutting down. However, its creator, Lilith Walther, revealed that they will be changing all assets in order to eventually release this kart game.
Bloodborne Kart was meant to feature 12 racers and 16 maps. All maps and racers would be based on environments and characters from Bloodborne. This kart racer would also have a full single-player campaign mode, as well as local split-screen multiplayer and a VS Battle Mode. Oh, and there would have been some boss fights in it.
From what I’ve gathered, all of the game’s key features will remain intact. The only things that will change are assets and names. So, you can basically expect everything I described above in its upcoming version.
>> Without the Bloodborne assets, now they have plans to launch it as a proper game, and not just a mod or fan project.

Take a look at Manhunt with RTX Remix Path Tracing
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/manhunt-rtx-remix-path-tracing-video/
Modder ‘EiermannTelevision’ is currently working on an RTX Remix Path Tracing Mod for the classic Manhunt game. And although there is no ETA on when this mod will come out, the modder shared a video to showcase its current state.
In order to add new lights to the game, the modder used the Open Beta build of RTX Remix. And while it still needs a lot of work, it already looks pretty good. Do note that this RTX Remix still uses the vanilla assets. So, in theory, the game will look way better once the modder enhances the game’s textures.
According to EiermannTelevision, the biggest issue right now is the geometry which is being culled heavily. This can lead to unstable lighting, something that you can easily notice in the video.
>> There's an almost 8 minutes video of the project.

Call of Duty: World at War RTX Remix Path Tracing Demo Mod Released
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/call-of-duty-world-at-war-rtx-remix-path-tracing-demo/
Call of Duty fans, here is something for you today. Modder ‘xoxor4d’ has released a demo of his RTX Remix Path Tracing Mod for Call of Duty: World at War. So, be sure to download it and give it a go.
This RTX Remix Mod is only compatible with the game’s Zombies Mode. To be more precise, it only works with the Night of the Undead Map, which is the first Zombies map you unlock. It will not work with its single-player campaign. Moreover, this is just a proof-of-concept demo. In short, it does not represent the quality of a full RTX Remix. Still, this is a cool way to re-experience Night of the Undead.
>> There's a less than 4 minutes video of it.

First gameplay video for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Nextgen Edition
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/first-gameplay-video-for-grand-theft-auto-vice-city-nextgen-edition/
Earlier this month, we informed you about a new mod project that will attempt to bring Grand Theft Auto: Vice City to GTA IV’s RAGE Engine. And last week, the modding team behind it shared an extended gameplay video for it.
GTA Vice City Nextgen Edition will be a complete transfer of all missions from the original game to the RAGE Engine. The mod currently targets a 2025 release date. So yeah, it will be a while until we can actually play it.
The mod will have an improved version of the city – and weapons – from the Definitive Edition. All the cars from the Xbox version of the original game will be present here. Additionally, all the models of all characters and peds will be from the Xbox version. From what we know, there are no plans to increase their polygon count. However, all 3D characters will have better textures.
All the original radio stations will also be present in this unofficial remaster. And although the project will have the cut-scenes and the style of the original game, it will also pack better particle effects and some lighting improvements.

The insanely ambitious Dark Souls 3 total conversion Archthrones just showed off a mysterious new area running on Steam Deck
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-insanely-ambitious-dark-souls-3-total-conversion-archthrones-just-showed-off-a-mysterious-new-area-running-on-steam-deck/
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is undoubtedly the most exciting thing coming (presumably) this year for FromSoftware fans, but the Dark Souls 3 mod Archthrones also has a ton of juice. The ambitious total conversion just showed off a new area, The High Lord's Temple, and it looks like it runs great on Steam Deck to boot.
Archthrones will remix areas from Dark Souls 2 and 3 to tell its own story in the setting, and the High Lord's Temple riffs on one of Dark Souls 3's most incongruous areas. Though its catacombs are located under a swamp (and, bafflingly, over another different swamp), Carthus was supposedly a desert kingdom.
The High Lord's Temple, named for big boy skeleton boss High Lord Wolnir, gives a look at scorching, sandy Carthus in its prime, before some timey-wimey, dimensional shenanigans sent it underground. The warmly-lit citadel under a bright blue sky makes for a nice contrast with the shadowy, claustrophobic catacombs of the base game, and the footage shows a player doing battle with robed apparitions instead of the nasty skeleton guys we're used to.
>> The article has a 6 minutes video.

GAMING NEWS

The Talos Principle 2 Patch 1.1.0 released & adds support for AMD FSR 3 Frame Generation
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/the-talos-principle-2-patch-1-1-0-released-adds-support-for-amd-fsr-3-frame-generation/
Croteam has released Patch 1.1.0 for The Talos Principle 2 which adds support for AMD FSR 3 Frame Generation. The Talos Principle 2 initially supported DLSS 3, but it had major visual issues with it. As such, I’m downloading the game to compare FSR 3.0 against DLSS 3.
>> Here are the results, if you're interested in them.

Forza Motorsport Patch 5.0 promises to bring major PC performance improvements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/forza-motorsport-patch-5-0-pc-performance-improvements/
Turn10 has spilled the details on Patch 5.0, set to drop in February. The team promises some big PC performance improvements with this update. So, let’s check out all the cool enhancements they have in store for us.

Gameplay footage surfaces for Neversoft’s canceled Call of Duty
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/gameplay-footage-neversoft-canceled-call-of-duty/
It appears that some new gameplay footage has surfaced for Neversoft’s canceled Call of Duty game. Before Call of Duty: Ghosts, Neversoft was working on a futuristic Call of Duty game, and this mission served as a means to learn the engine.
>> If that clip wasn't enough ,now there's a 10 minutes video of it.

Warner Bros adds Denuvo to Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League 10 days before release
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/suicide-squad-kill-the-justice-league-denuvo/
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will be released in a few days and Warner Bros has updated its Steam page, revealing that the game will be using the Denuvo anti-tamper tech.
>> Just what this game needs...

DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO just got a new cool gameplay trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/dragon-ball-sparking-zero-just-got-a-new-cool-gameplay-trailer/
Bandai Namco has just released a new cool gameplay trailer for its upcoming Unreal Engine 5-powered fighting game, DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO. For those unaware, DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO will be a new Budokai Tenkaichi game. So, be sure to watch it if you are fans of DBZ.