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

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Friday news, the second part:

'The matches will be sillier': Overwatch 2's competitive changes for season 10 will finally let you play with that one friend who's been stuck in bronze since 2016
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/the-matches-will-be-sillier-overwatch-2s-competitive-changes-for-season-10-will-finally-let-you-play-with-that-one-friend-whos-been-stuck-in-bronze-since-2016/
The latest developer update for Overwatch 2 saw Gavin Winter, senior systems designer, explain some of the biggest changes coming in season 10, and one of them will hopefully help you help that one friend who can't seem to get out of bronze. 

'Devs are getting ground up as collateral damage': Fallout: New Vegas lead says burnout has replaced crunch as 'the primary hazard of the game industry'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/devs-are-getting-ground-up-as-collateral-damage-fallout-new-vegas-lead-says-burnout-has-replaced-crunch-as-the-primary-hazard-of-the-game-industry/
Crunch (imposing long periods of major overtime to meet a deadline) has been a major spectre in the games' industry since its inception, though particularly in the past few years, with developers at several studios including Rockstar, CD Projekt, Telltale and more reporting absurd expectations from their higher-ups.
That's not to say short periods of crunch are inherently a sign that something's gone wrong—racing to beat a deadline is common in a lot of creative industries, and sometimes it's self-imposed out of passion for the project. It is, however, a thing to be avoided—and several of those aforementioned studios have sworn off relying on crunch to solve their problems.
But it's far from the only issue developers are facing, especially in an industry that's been incredibly brutal as of late. Industry vet Josh Sawyer, studio design director at Obsidian (Fallout: New Vegas, Pillars of Eternity) commented on the issue via a tweet responding to a GameDeveloper article on the subject yesterday (thanks, GamesRadar)

I had a peek at Remnant 2's newly-announced second DLC: The Forgotten Kingdom, which fleshes out the forests of Yaesha with gorgeous vistas and machine gun pottery
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/i-had-a-peek-at-remnant-2s-newly-announced-second-dlc-the-forgotten-kingdom-which-fleshes-out-the-forests-of-yaesha-with-gorgeous-vistas-and-machine-gun-pottery/
Remnant 2 still has a special place in my heart (...)
It's also been getting DLC that's fleshed out the world considerably. The Awakened King, the game's first expansion, was a great time—but it also made the base game better, too. (...)
The Forgotten Kingdom carries on this sound strategy by fleshing out the world of Yaesha, a verdant jungle infested by the big bad Root and filled with Satyrs. I was kindly given a hands-off sneak peek with developers Ben Cureton (principal designer) and Cindy To (principal level designer). 

Disney Speedstorm community up in arms as premium pass can no longer be earned through gameplay: Starting with the next season, if you want it you'll have to pay for it
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/racing/disney-speestorm-community-up-in-arms-as-premium-pass-can-no-longer-be-earned-through-gameplay-starting-with-the-next-season-if-you-want-it-youll-have-to-pay-for-it/
The Disney Speedstorm community is in a bit of an uproar following a change to the pricing of the game's battle pass. The Golden Pass, as it's formally called, could previously be acquired using Tokens that can be earned via gameplay, but beginning with the upcoming season 7, that option is out, and it will only be available for a real-money purchase of $10.

The Fallout 4 next-gen update announced in 2022 will finally be out later this month
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/the-fallout-4-next-gen-update-announced-in-2022-will-finally-be-out-later-this-month/
Hot on the heels of the very good Fallout television series on Amazon, Fallout 4 is getting a bunch of new features, fixes, and content courtesy of a big "next gen" update that's set to go live on April 25.

Slay the Spire 2 ditched Unity for open-source engine Godot after over 2 years of development
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/card-games/slay-the-spire-2-ditched-unity-for-open-source-engine-godot-after-2-years-of-development/
I didn't learn about open-source game engine Godot until last year, when its profile was raised by an extraordinary fumble from commercial game engine Unity. Now Godot is being used to make Slay the Spire 2, which instantly became one of my most highly anticipated games when it was announced this week.

After winning every major Game of the Year award in 2023, Baldur's Gate 3 is now cleaning up in 2024 too
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/after-winning-every-major-game-of-the-year-award-in-2023-baldurs-gate-3-is-now-cleaning-up-in-2024-too/
We said in January that Baldur's Gate 3 had completed its Game of the Year sweep by claiming the top honor in the 2023 Steam Awards. What we did not anticipate is that it would continue kicking ass through 2024. Maybe we should have been a little more forward-thinking on that one, because Larian's D&D RPG just claimed the Best Game title, and four others, at the 2024 BAFTA Awards.

Blizzard is afraid of spoiling Diablo 4 seasons with regular PTRs, but says the success of season 4's 'does point in the direction of something we'd want to continue to do'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/diablo-4-future-ptr-season-rod-fergusson/
By all accounts, including my own, Diablo 4's season 4 PTR, or public test realm, was a big success: an exciting, week-long peek into all the massive changes coming to the game next month. Blizzard seems to think so too: Diablo 4 boss Rod Fergusson told IGN that the PTR had a high enough turnout that the team will consider hosting early playtests for future seasons, too.

Helldivers 2's new Eruptor gun is a beast: basically a support stratagem, but as a primary weapon
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/helldivers-2-eruptor-news/
The R-36 Eruptor is a hell of a democracy spreader. 
Available in Helldivers 2's new Democratic Detonation Warbond, the Erputor is a primary weapon that fires "jet-assisted shells" which explode on impact, and can destroy fabricators, bug nests, gunships, tanks, and other vehicles and structures. Basically, it packs the power of a support weapon stratagem like the Anti-Materiel Rifle, but in a primary gun.

The PC system requirements for long-awaited Manor Lords city-building smorgasbord are mercifully modest
https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/the-pc-system-requirements-for-long-awaited-manor-lords-city-building-smorgasbord-are-mercifully-modest/
It's been in the works for years. It's been wishlisted by millions of Steam gamers. It's finally out on April 26th. And now the full system requirements for Manor Lords, everyone's most wanted city-building smorgasbord, have been released. And, huzzah, they're mostly very modest indeed.
>> They’re really low, maybe even too low.