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

[JEMC]

Time for the Friday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Poker roguelike sensation Balatro sells more than 500,000 copies in just 10 days
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/card-games/poker-roguelike-sensation-balatro-sells-more-than-500000-copies-in-just-10-days/
It's not easy being a non-Balatro player amidst a horde of committed fans. People say things like, "A joker duplicating the joker that gives you x4 for playing the same hand, and one that did x4 for four of a kind," or, "If you wanna scale that kind of build you basically then need red seals on all your face cards so it all repeats again," and all you can do is sit there quietly wondering what the hell is going on. It's a lonely feeling sometimes.
For the record, yes, I am talking about myself versus the rest of the PC Gamer team, which is deeply enamored with Balatro, the poker-themed roguelike deckbuilder that encourages cheating at a level that would get your fingers broken at any respectable casino. And they are not alone: Publisher PlayStack announced yesterday that more than 500,000 copies of the game have been sold across all platforms in just 10 days.

The Humble Store has two new sales:

• One week later, but the Leap Year Celebration Sale brings up to 90% discounts during 13 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/leap-year-celebration-sale/
• And the shockingly empty (at least once you’ve removed all the Cities: Skylines DLCs) Female Forces in Gaming Spotlight has games up to 85% off during 6 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/female-forces-in-gaming-spotlight/

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Once again, empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Fallout: New Vegas Visuals Improved Content Expanded Mod fills the surroundings of Vegas to make it feel more like a real city
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/fallout-new-vegas-visuals-improved-content-expanded-mod/
Modder ‘Mugsie’ has released a new mod for Fallout: New Vegas that aims to make Vegas feel and look more like a real city. Basically, this mod fills out some harshly neglected areas in and around New Vegas to have a more “close to concept” appearance.
Going into more details, VICE adds pre-war police, firefighter, and military presence to the city, as well as downed planes, traffic and wreckage. It also adds diners, cafes, and drive-ins, as well as public utilities and spaces. Players will also find police, fire, train and gas stations, as well as school and churches. There is also a new saloon, brothel, casino, and mining guild.
Not only that but the mod restores details seen in the intro cinematic for consistency. It also features more NPCs than the vanilla game. Some of them will patrol the area, and some of them may even be hostile to the player. You will also find notes and terminals for more worldbuilding. There are also some classic architecture veterans of the series will recognize. And finally, some boarded buildings will be now explorable. Pretty cool right?
>> There’s a roughly 4 minutes video.

The Witcher 3 Next-Gen Mod Fixes the Ray Tracing Bleach Issues
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/the-witcher-3-next-gen-mod-fixes-the-ray-tracing-bleach-issues/
Modder ‘MetVarner99’ has released a must-have mod for those that playing The Witcher 3: Next-Gen with Ray Tracing. This mod solves the poor ray tracing bouncing optimization when moving inside closed places.
For those unaware, in the vanilla version, when you enter a dark environment (especially caves), you have some weird “web look-alike” artifacts around Geralt and the ambient surfaces. Additionally, there were some weird blue artifacts in the reflections on metals and armor. These were the results of the limited ray tracing bounces that the game has. And with this mod, you’ll be able to minimize these artifacts.
Now, as you may have guessed, this mod comes with a significant framerate hit. According to the modder, you should expect a 7-10% (without frame gen) when using this mod. So, make sure to use it only if you own a high-end GPU.
>> The article has a before and after screenshot… that doesn’t say much since the camera is in a different place.

GAMING NEWS

New Star Citizen video focuses on its FPS combat mechanics
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-star-citizen-video-focuses-on-its-fps-combat-mechanics/
Cloud Imperium has shared a new gameplay video for Star Citizen that focuses on its first-person combat mechanics. In this video, the developers highlight many of the FPS combat-related changes that will be coming in Alpha 3.23.

Microids has announced a remake for the 1999 adventure game, Amerzone: The Explorer’s Legacy
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/microids-has-announced-a-remake-for-the-1999-adventure-game-amerzone-the-explorers-legacy/
Microids has just unveiled the highly anticipated remake of the beloved adventure game, Amerzone – The Explorer’s Legacy. To celebrate this announcement, the team shared the game’s debut gameplay trailer which you can find below.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 Character Creator & Storage Demo Released
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/dragons-dogma-2-character-creator-demo-released/
Capcom has just released the Character Creator Demo for Dragon’s Dogma 2. Players can download this tool in order to create their unique Arisen and main Pawn. And yes, you’ll be able to transfer your data to the main game.

The Night Wanderer is a new sci-fi/fantasy Souls-like with RPG elements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-night-wanderer-is-a-new-sci-fi-fantasy-souls-like-with-rpg-elements/
Mighty Koi Studio has just announced The Night Wanderer, a game based on the iconic book series “Lord of the Ice Garden” by Jarosław Grzędowicz. To celebrate this announcement, the team shared a cinematic trailer that you can find below.