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

[JEMC]

It's time for the Friday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Helldivers 2 is the third biggest Playstation launch on Steam but suffers from major issues on PC [UPDATE: Now THE biggest PS launch on PC]
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/helldivers-2-is-the-third-biggest-playstation-launch-on-steam-but-suffers-from-issues-on-pc/
Sony has just released Helldivers 2 on PC and PS5 and from the looks of it, this is the third biggest Playstation launch on Steam. In just a day, this online squad-based third-person shooter managed to hit a peak of 64K concurrent players on PC.
The biggest Playstation launch on PC is still God of War with a peak of 73K concurrent players. The second biggest Sony launch is Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered which had a peak of 64K concurrent players. Helldivers 2 now sits in third place, followed by Horizon Zero Dawn and The Last of Us Part 1.
Now while the game has initially sold well on PC, it currently has Mixed Reviews on Steam. From what we’ve seen, there are major instability issues with it. A lot of PC players report constant crashes. Others claim that there are awful mouse smoothing issues, and that there is no support for DLSS or FSR.
UPDATE: The game has now surpassed God of War’s peak concurrent number. As such, Helldivers 2 is now the biggest Playstation launch on Steam.

The Humble Store has two new sales:

• The Start Your Story Sale launches with up to 90% discounts during 6 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/start-your-story-sale/
• The From Software Spotlight Sale gives us the chance to get their games up to 50% off during 12 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/fromsoftware-spotlight-sale/

These is what you'll find at Fanatical:

• The new Star Deal is Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, 43% off during 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/ratchet-and-clank-rift-apart
• And they're some gifts to earn from spending money in the Lunar Sale. Learn more https://www.fanatical.com/en/blog/how-to-get-lunar-new-year-free-gift-what-you-can-find"> https://www.fanatical.com/en/blog/how-to-get-lunar-new-year-free-gift-what-you-can-find

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

INTEL Arc Graphics 31.0.101.5194/5252 driver
https://videocardz.com/driver/intel-arc-graphics-31-0-101-5194-5252

Highlights

Intel® Game On Driver support on Intel® Arc™ A-series Graphics for:

• Helldivers 2
• Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden
• Skull & Bones

Intel® Game On Driver support on Intel® Core™ Ultra with Intel® Arc™ Graphics for:

• Helldivers 2
• Skull & Bones

Game performance improvements on Intel® Arc™ A-Series Graphics Products versus Intel® 31.0.101.5186 software driver for:

• Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden (DX12
  • Up to 4% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Very High settings
• Palworld (DX11)
  • Up to 5% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Epic settings
• Snowrunner (DX11)
  • Up to 71% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Ultra settings

Fixed Issues

Intel® Arc™ A-Series Graphics Products:

• Arcade Paradise (DX11) may exhibit color corruption during gameplay.
• Ghostrunner 2 (DX12) may experience lower than expected performance.
• Starfield (DX12) may experience lower than expected performance.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Mortal Kombat 1 just got amazing Disney & Pixar Mods
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/mortal-kombat-1-disney-pixar-mods/
Now here is something truly spectacular. ToastedShoes has released some new mods for Mortal Kombat 1 that bring to it characters from Pixar, Disney and Dreamworks.
This is a dream come true for a lot of Disney fans. Thanks to these mods, you’ll be able to play as Mickey Mouse, Donald, Goofy, Elsa, and Rapunzel. And those are not the only characters you can play as. As said, there are also mods for Pixar and Dreamworks characters. So, get ready to play as Shrek, Woody, Bob Parr, Alex the Lion and more. Oh, and yes. You can also perform fatalities on them. How cool is that?
Now the bad news here is that these all are paid mods. At least for now. ToastedShoes has stated that all of their paid mods will, eventually, come out on NexusMods as free mods. The Nexus versions of the mod packs will be the “raw” mods that you will have to install yourself. So, at least that’s something. However, if you want to play right now with the aforementioned characters, you’ll have to subscribe to the modder’s Patreon.
To give you an idea of what you can expect from them, I’ve included below four videos. These videos showcase the Disney, Pixar and Dreamworks characters I mentioned above. So, make sure to watch them.
>> Who's the best Disney princess? Only one (bloody) way to find out.

Here’s Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 with RTX Remix Path Tracing
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/tony-hawk-pro-skater-4-rtx-remix-path-tracing/
NVIDIA’s Jacob Freeman has shared some screenshots, showcasing Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 with RTX Remix Path Tracing. From what I see, this RTX Remix Mod appears to be in a very early development stage. That or these screenshots are the default results of the RTX Remix Runtime.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 came out on PC in August 2002, meaning that it’s over 20 years old. As such, you should temper your expectations. Right now, the RTX Remix Mod can only improve the game’s lighting. The 3D models and textures are untouched. Thus, the game feels a bit weird. On the one hand, we have an advanced lighting system. On the other hand, we have some really low-res textures and low-polygon 3D models.
For those wondering, it appears that this mod isn’t available for download. I’ve searched ModDB and there is no such RTX Remix Mod for Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4. All we have right now are these WIP screenshots and nothing more.

GAMING NEWS

Blizzard reveals a new era of Overwatch 2: Bigger health bars, self-healing, and a reworked Competitive mode
https://www.pcgamer.com/blizzard-reveals-a-new-era-of-overwatch-2-bigger-health-bars-self-healing-and-a-reworked-competitive-mode/
The list of changes coming to Overwatch 2 next week are bigger than anything Blizzard has done since the introduction of 5v5. In some ways, it's a new era for the hero shooter that has struggled to find its footing in the year since its release.
>> This is the good(?) news coming from Blizzard...

Former Overwatch 2 artist alleges shocking mistreatment by Blizzard management: 'I spent most of a year stressed out of my mind'
https://www.pcgamer.com/former-overwatch-2-artist-alleges-shocking-mistreatment-by-blizzard-management-i-spent-most-of-a-year-stressed-out-of-my-mind/
Blizzard's reputation has taken a pummelling over the last few years. In 2021, horrifying descriptions of the company's toxic workplace culture spilled onto the Internet, after a lawsuit was filed by California's Department of Fair Employment regarding "unlawful harassment, discrimination, and retaliation". (...)
Three years on from the initial fallout, you might be wondering how all that is going. Well, if recent statements made by former Overwatch 2 artist Chris Sayers are anything to go by, the answer is 'extremely badly.'
>> ... and this is the bad one. It's quite infuriating.