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

[JEMC]

Monday news, part two:

Counter-Strike gives the people what they want: 'Fine'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/counter-strike-gives-the-people-what-they-want-fine/
Counter-Strike 2's latest patch makes a bunch of changes to the competitive shooter, and one in particular has been on player wishlists for a long time. As Valve puts it: "Lefties rejoice!" Players can now set a default preference for which side their character holds their weapon, and switch between sides on-the-fly during rounds (by pressing H), all the better to peep corners with.

Fortnite fans are losing love for the airbending mythic as it continues to dominate the endgame
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/battle-royale/fortnite-fans-are-losing-love-for-the-airbending-mythic-as-it-continues-to-dominate-the-endgame/
Some Fortnite players are starting to lose their patience with the airbending mythic, as it's become a recipe for disaster in the late stages of the battle royale game (via CharlieIntel). The new mythic that was introduced for the Avatar event basically just lets people race around in a wheel of air. 

Bulletstorm studio's mysterious Project Dagger is officially dead
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/bulletstorm-studios-mysterious-project-dagger-is-officially-dead/
Project Dagger, a "new action-adventure IP" that had been in development at People Can Fly since 2020, has been officially cancelled. The studio said in a report released earlier this month that the decision to halt development was made following an "unsatisfactory" evaluation of the current state of the game.

Game devs praise Steam as a 'democratic platform' that 'continues to be transformative' for PC gaming today
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/game-devs-praise-steam-as-a-democratic-platform-that-continues-to-be-transformative-for-pc-gaming-today/
We couldn't hold a roundtable interview on the State of PC Gaming without asking developers about the most ubiquitous name in PC gaming: Steam. After 20 years the store is still a fixture, and despite increased competition from Epic, Ubisoft and other storefronts, it continues to thrive. The perspective of the developers we invited to talk about current trends in PC gaming—from the studios behind Warframe, Baldur's Gate 3, Slay the Spire, and EVE Online—was unanimously positive.

A new Stardew Valley patch is here, and we can all rest easy: it fixes Mr. Raccoon
https://www.pcgamer.com/life-sim/stardew-valley-166-update-patch-notes/
Yet another Stardew Valley patch has arrived, this one "mostly bug fixes and translation changes" according to creator Eric Barone. But that doesn't mean it's not important: This one keeps Mr. Raccoon from disappearing during the raccoon cutscene in multiplayer. I think we can all agree that's vital stuff.

Escape From Tarkov dev finally caves, says people who paid $150 for the game will get access to its new mode 'in waves'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/escape-from-tarkov-dev-finally-caves-says-people-who-paid-dollar150-will-get-access-to-its-new-mode-in-waves/
After two attempts to mollify fan outrage over a new $250 version of Escape From Tarkov with an exclusive PvE mode, developer Battlestate has finally relented, promising PvE access to players who previously bought the $150 Edge of Darkness edition of the game that promised access to "all future DLC."
In a statement on the Tarkov subreddit early this morning, Battlestate COO Nikita Buyanov said he was "very sorry that fans and the game community in general are experiencing these feelings," and that this negative response would factor into his future decision making. In terms of the company's response, Buyanov offered the following concessions and assurances

Get your friends for some horrific tomb raiding in Forewarned, which just hit 1.0
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/get-your-friends-for-some-horrific-tomb-raiding-in-forewarned-which-just-hit-10/
The burgeoning cooperative survival horror genre has a lot of entries, not all of them great—but the great ones, like Phasmophobia and Lethal Company, have really taken off. What's unexpected, then, is seeing one that did just okay in an Early Access launch become not just promising, but quite good, and then get a surprise full launch just last week.
Forewarned is that exactly. The indie 1-4 player survival horror game has players dive into ancient Egyptian ruins crawling with monsters, traps, and cursed treasure. "Investigate phenomena, collect treasure, discover lore, survive danger, and banish the evil that lurks within," says developer Dreambyte.

Check out Oddsparks, which is something like Pikmin by way of Factorio
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/check-out-oddsparks-which-is-something-like-pikmin-by-way-of-factorio/
So what if you took the single-leader, many soldiers third person real-time strategyy concept of a game like Pikmin, added a dash of the crafting genre, and then spiced it up with a bunch of path-based automation and cooperative play?
That'd give you the recently-released Oddsparks: An Automation Adventure, a delightful and whimsical little game from Massive Miniteam and HandyGames. In it, you gather up a whole posse of whimsical little wooden golems and put them to work both fighting bad guys and building up automated infrastructure to produce not just things you and your village of friends need, but a ton of copies of themselves to boot. Self-replicating machines being of course something which has never, ever gone wrong in the history of fiction.

Manor Lords' dev asks players: Should its supply mechanic be changed?
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/city-builder/manor-lords-dev-asks-players-should-its-supply-mechanic-be-changed/
Greg Styczeń, the solo developer of smash hit survival citybuilder Manor Lords, needs your help. Specifically, he needs your help deciding whether to adjust the game's supply-and-demand system.
>> By the way, the name of the studio comes from a The Witcher 3 meme.

Major Helldivers 2 balance patch tweaks over 24 different weapons and stratagems, adjusts enemies, slightly nerfs my beloved Quasar and Sickle, and more
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/major-helldivers-2-balance-patch-tweaks-over-24-different-weapons-and-stratagems-adjusts-enemies-slightly-nerfs-my-beloved-quasar-and-sickle-and-more/
Did you know that Helldivers 2 has a mission where you get to raise the Super Earth flag? I did, but I sure as liberty haven't ever done it. Not because of an absence of patriotism, you understand, but because it only ever popped up at lower difficulties.
That's changed now, among a host of other weapon tweaks, enemy changes, and balance fixes dropped in the humongous Patch 01.000.300 today, which brings "a number of adjustments, fixes and improvements to aid your democratic endeavours".
>> Arrowhead is also giving players the chance to choose the new stratagem.

Hades 2's technical test is shutting down today, but don't worry, you won't be deprived of your hot gods for long—early access will follow 'relatively soon after'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/hades-2s-technical-test-is-shutting-down-today-but-dont-worry-you-wont-be-deprived-of-your-hot-gods-for-longearly-access-will-follow-relatively-soon-after/
Hades 2 is looking sick as hell already, which shouldn't surprise anybody familiar with Supergiant's absurdly high pedigree—or the pecs, uh, I mean, perks of the first game's long stint in early access. It had its technical test recently, and from what I've seen it's certainly hitting the same thighs—I mean, highs—as its predecessor.
Said technical test will be shutting down today, however, Supergiant has promised that Hades 2 will be back in Early Access soon enough. Your hot gods will return soon.

Incredible but true. Only two posts on a Monday. I fear how it may be tomorrow.