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

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Monday news, the second part:

Lara Croft modding maestro reveals he's been missing because Saber nabbed him for the Tomb Raider 'dream team', assembling a crack squad 'of crazy people' to put together the remasters
https://www.pcgamer.com/lara-croft-modding-maestro-reveals-hes-been-missing-because-saber-nabbed-him-for-the-tomb-raider-dream-team-assembling-a-crack-squad-of-crazy-people-to-put-together-the-remasters/
If you've been wondering where OpenLara—an open-source engine reimplementation for the first five Tomb Raider games—has wandered off to, we now have an answer. Its creator Timur Gagiev got lassoed by Saber and Aspyr to lead their remasters of Tomb Raiders 1-3, lending them his expertise in gussying up Lara's oldest adventures for the past year in what he calls a "dream project that has become the culmination of the last eight years of my life."

If you're wondering why Diablo 4 has a horse for sale with $65 of premium currency stuck to it, let me introduce you to 'price anchoring'
https://www.pcgamer.com/if-youre-wondering-why-diablo-4-has-a-horse-for-sale-with-dollar65-of-premium-currency-stuck-to-it-let-me-introduce-you-to-price-anchoring/
If you've looked at the Diablo 4 store and wondered why you can't buy something without it being part of a bundle, I regret to inform you that it's super on purpose. I talked about this earlier in the week, regarding a set of class-locked portal recolours going for $20 (with a mandatory $10 purchase of 1,000 platinum). Turns out, this happens a lot.

Palworld says public server problems are 'due to cheating and the influence of fraudulent activities', outlines plans to add anti-cheat software to nip it in the bud
https://www.pcgamer.com/palworld-says-public-server-problems-are-due-to-cheating-and-the-influence-of-fraudulent-activities-outlines-plans-to-add-anti-cheat-software-to-nip-it-in-the-bud/
Palworld's had a bit of a cheater problem recently, and if you're wondering why that matters in a PvE title, it's because of the public servers. Item duping, one-shotting, and (according to a recent announcement) problems accessing the servers themselves have all become headaches for the game's players and developers alike.
"Currently, some users are unable to connect to official servers due to cheating and the influence of fraudulent activities," reads a statement on the game's official Discord and Twitter. "We have confirmed that some players are unable to play the game properly. As a company, we do not tolerate any fraudulent activity or cheating, and we are working on measures to deal with it strictly and as a priority," developer Pocketpair said.

If you don't want to pay $60 for Skull and Bones, you can play it 8 hours for free instead
https://www.pcgamer.com/if-you-dont-want-to-pay-dollar60-for-skull-and-bones-you-can-play-it-8-hours-for-free-instead/
Ubisoft's long-awaited pirate adventure Skull and Bones is out today, and if you're curious but put off by the unexpectedly steep price tag, I have good news: An eight-hour trial version is available, so you can see what it's all about without paying a penny.

Rocksteady says addressing Suicide Squad server issues is its 'top priority,' but it's 'not an easy nut to crack'
https://www.pcgamer.com/rocksteady-says-addressing-suicide-squad-server-issues-is-its-top-priority-but-its-not-an-easy-nut-to-crack/
In a new Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League developer update, Rocksteady says it's "top priority" is fixing persistent login and server problems that continue to plague the game. But it's not an easy fix, because it's not just one problem.
>> On the bright side, it doesn't seem to be a problem that affects a lot of players...

An old BioWare RPG just got a big new community patch
https://www.pcgamer.com/an-old-bioware-rpg-just-got-a-big-new-community-patch/
Six years after its debut, Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition, the Beamdog-buffed update of BioWare's famed 2002 D&D RPG, has got a big new patch featuring improvements to the UI, better HDR-bloom post-processing effects, more than 100 bugfixes, and "significant performance improvements across the board."
The patch was first announced in early December 2023 but only went live yesterday, after a couple months of testing. Interestingly, it wasn't developed by Beamdog: The patch notes (via GamingOnLinux) say the update "was developed for personal enjoyment and out of goodwill for our fellow players and creators by unpaid software engineers from the NWN community: clippy, Daz, Jasperre, Liareth, niv, shadguy, Soren, Squatting Monk, tinygiant, virusman."

The robots are winning: Helldivers 2 players are convinced those new planet defense missions are so difficult they must be bugged
https://www.pcgamer.com/helldivers-2-how-to-extract-civilians-bots-draupnir-mantes/
Following yesterday's surprise assault on the Xzar system by the Automaton menace, the helldivers are in shambles. Squads are failing Planet Defense campaigns in droves as players complain that the new civilian rescue missions are way too difficult. Helldivers 2's galactic war is changing at a pace we don't usually see in a multiplayer game: As players complete one conquest, developer Arrowhead then triggers new planetary conflicts as lightly narrativized events.
(...)
Is a (non-Terminid) bug to blame? Possibly. Just hours after yesterday's robot invasion began, players reported that Extraction missions to safely escort civilians across a battlefield were unusually difficult. They argue that these specific missions, which are required to progress the Major Order objective, are more intense and dense with enemies than the same mission type on other planets.

Disco Elysium studio laying off nearly 25% of its staff⁠—including the final remaining writer from the original game's credits
https://www.pcgamer.com/disco-elysium-studio-laying-off-nearly-25-of-its-staffincluding-the-final-remaining-writer-from-the-original-games-credits/
According to a pair of reports from GLHF, Disco Elysium developer ZA/UM has canceled a standalone expansion to Disco Elysium codenamed X7 and is laying off 24 workers, including Argo Tuulik, the last remaining employee at ZA/UM credited as a writer on the original Disco Elysium. ZA/UM subsequently confirmed the layoffs and project cancellation in a statement to PC Gamer.

Bandai Namco has canceled 'at least five' games following a drop in sales, would like to remind everyone it still has 'large-scale downloadable content for Elden Ring' on the way
https://www.pcgamer.com/bandai-namco-has-canceled-at-least-five-games-following-a-drop-in-sales-would-like-to-remind-everyone-it-still-has-large-scale-downloadable-content-for-elden-ring-on-the-way/
Figures from Bandai Namco's recently concluded third fiscal quarter (via VGC), show its digital division performing poorly compared to the same period last year, with income falling by a huge 96.5%. A statement accompanying the figures explained the dramatic drop-off was due to an understandable inability to replicate the massive success of Elden Ring, despite Armored Core 6 and its Dragon Ball and One Piece games doing fine.
(...)
In a subsequent Q&A, a spokesperson for Bandai Namco added, "We have also decided to discontinue the development of at least five other titles under development and have recorded a loss on disposal."

Creative Assembly shows off hag lore, three-headed heroes, and other additions coming to Total War: Warhammer 3's DLC
https://www.pcgamer.com/creative-assembly-shows-off-hag-lore-three-headed-heroes-and-other-additions-coming-to-total-war-warhammer-3s-dlc/
We've already seen the new additions to Cathay's roster in the Shadows of Change DLC coming with patch 4.2, and now Creative Assembly has posted two more blogs lining up all the new stuff coming to the armies of Tzeentch and Kislev. It's a lot.