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

[JEMC]

Brace yourselves. Just because I didn’t post the news yesterday, that doesn’t mean that they stopped writing articles.

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Over half of Helldivers 2 sales have been on PC in the US: 'Already the 7th highest grossing Sony published game in history'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/over-half-of-helldivers-2-sales-have-been-on-pc-in-the-us-already-the-7th-highest-grossing-sony-published-game-in-history/
When Helldivers 2 came out in February, Sony decided to try something different. It let developer Arrowhead Game Studios launch the PlayStation-published co-op shooter on both PS5 and PC on day one, instead of the publisher's usual tactic of making PC ports three to four years after the PlayStation version.
Helldivers 2 enjoying three straight months (and counting) as a Steam top seller suggests Sony's first simultaneous launch was a huge success, but until now, we didn't know how Helldivers 2's PC version compared to the PS5.
Turns out, in terms of money coming in, Helldivers 2 is bigger on PC in the US. That's according to industry analyst Mat Piscatella at Circana (formerly NPD group), who shared some insights on Twitter from official sales information provided by Sony.
"PC has been a huge part of the success of Helldivers 2 in the US," Piscatella wrote. "With PC, Helldivers II is already the 7th highest grossing Sony published game in history. Without PC it wouldn't currently rank among the top 20."

The Epic Store gives away:

• Cat Quest II: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/cat-quest-ii-9dbefc
• Orcs Must Die! 3: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/combo-a7e03a

Next week, they’ll give away Circus Electrique.

GOG has a bunch of new stuff for us:

• These are the Deals of the Day, that will last another 22 hours:
  • The NSFW LustyVerse: Passion on Display is 10% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/lustyverse_passion_on_display
  • War Hospital has a 20% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/war_hospital
  • The Last Starship, still in Early Access, is 40% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/the_last_starship
  • The Cave features a 70% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/the_cave
• We knew it was coming, the May the 4th Sale is here with up to 75% discounts during the next 4 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/may_the_4th_2024
• There is also a Sci-Fi Sale with the games being u pto 95% off during 6 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20240501_sci_fi_sale
• A JRPG Sale gives us the chance to get games up to 95% off during 6 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20240501_jrpg_sale
• And the Chest of Treasures Sale features up to 90% discounts during 14 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/2024_chest_of_treasures

At Steam we find Amazing Cultivation Simulator, with a 32% deal until May, the 15th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/955900/Amazing_Cultivation_Simulator/.

There are two new deals at Humble:

• Humble Bundle has the Team17: From Golf Greens to Battle Scenes bundle, with up to 9 items to get during 20 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/team17-from-golf-greens-to-battle-scenes
• The Humble Store has the THQ Nordic Publisher Sale, with up to 80% deals for 5 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/thq-publisher-sale/

Fanatical started its May Madness Sale yesterday, and here are some of the deals:

• These are today’s Flash Deals, available during 24 hours
  • Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, 39% off: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/like-a-dragon-infinite-wealth
  • Shantae and the Seven Sirens, with a 66% discount: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/shantae-and-the-seven-sirens
  • Saints Row Gold Edition, 71% off: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/saints-row-gold-edition-epic
• The BYO Platinum Collection – May 2024 is here: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/platinum-collection-build-your-own-bundle
• There’s a Spin to Win feature with the sale. Learn more here: https://www.fanatical.com/en/blog/free-rewards-in-fanatical-may-madness-wheel
• And there’s a Chance to Win Naruto-branded Accessories. Again, learn more here: https://www.fanatical.com/en/blog/lexip-and-fanatical-naruto-accessories

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

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MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

You can now enable Path Tracing in all the latest Resident Evil games
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/you-can-now-enable-path-tracing-in-all-the-latest-resident-evil-games/
Remember the Path Tracing Mod for Dragon’s Dogma 2? Well, good news for all our Resident Evil fans as you can also use it to enable Path Tracing in all the latest RE games.
To make Path Tracing work, you’ll need to get EXXXcellent’s mod, which adds extra graphics choices. Then, you use Praydog’s REFramework to add the mod to the RE games.
(...)
To show what Path Tracing can offer in the RE games, Reddit user JoHien posted some screenshots for comparison. On the left, you’ve got the regular version, and on the right, you’ve got the one with Path Tracing.
>> The article also has the instructions to make the mod work.

Skywind, Morrowind Remake Mod for Skyrim, Gets a 2024 Video Update
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/skywind-morrowind-remake-mod-for-skyrim-gets-a-2024-video-update/
The team behind Skywind, the Morrowind Remake Mod in Skyrim, has released its first behind-the-scenes progress update video in three years.
In “The Road So Far”, the team first takes a look at its project’s history, including its beginnings as a spin-off of Morroblivion and its “Wild West” forum days.
Then, it talks about its overall progress, going into minute detail. The team has taken a microscope to each of its departments, breaking down the most important metrics for how much they have done and what they still have ahead of them.
For those unaware, Skywind is a free fan-made mod for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. It’s a project that aims to recreate the world of Morrowind with Skyrim’s graphics and features. Not only that but Skywind’s user interface, combat, graphics, and system requirements will be similar to those of Skyrim. So, if you can run Skyrim, you’ll be good to go for Skywind.

Deus Ex RTX Remix Mod V0.2.3 Released, Improving the Quality of the Path Tracing Lighting
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/deus-ex-rtx-remix-mod-v0-2-3-released-improving-the-quality-of-the-path-tracing-lighting/
Modder ‘Onno Jongbloed’ has released a new version of his RTX Remix Mod for ION Storm’s classic 2000 FPS, Deus Ex. Version 0.2.3 will improve the quality of the Path Tracing lighting, so it’s a must for everyone who wants to replay this classic FPS with this mod.
According to the modder, Deus Ex Echelon Renderer V0.2.3 fixes some lighting issues that affected its previous version. As such, the lighting should now be much closer to the original.
>> The article has some screenshots and a short video.

The Witcher 3 just got a new mod that allows you to ride a Griffin
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/the-witcher-3-new-mod-ride-griffin/
Modder ‘apokryphos’ has released a pretty cool mod for The Witcher 3 that allows you to summon and ride a Griffin. This mod will allow you to travel quickly and explore the world of TW3, without actually using a fast travel.
The Griffin is the first boss players encounter in The Witcher 3. So, a mod that actually makes it possible to ride one somehow makes sense. Not only that but it’s cool flying around so that you can get to your destination. At least in my opinion.
>> There’s a roughly 1 minute video of the mod.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim now has a cool dynamic sanity system
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-now-has-a-cool-dynamic-sanity-system/
Modder ‘JaySerpa’ has released an amazing new mod for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition that adds a dynamic sanity system to it. This is a must for everyone who wants to replay this classic TES game. So, let’s take a closer look at it.
The “Stress and Fear – A Dynamic Sanity System” Mod for Skyrim lets your character feel stressed and scared based on what you do in fights. The modder says this will make cool stories and different adventures in your game. So, you should definitely give it a try.
Going into more details, when you get hit in a fight, you’ll feel more stressed out. And, if enough stress accumulates, it will reduce your stamina and magicka. But you reduce your stress by doing things like drinking, eating, sleeping in a safe spot, petting dogs, playing music, or fishing.
Now if you get hurt badly by a certain type of enemy, you might develop a phobia. But here’s the cool part: you can overcome that fear by fighting and winning against that enemy type. It might take a few tries, though, as the system is random based. Not only that but once you conquer your fear, you’ll be better at fighting that enemy, and you won’t be scared of them anymore.
>> There’s a three minutes video in the article.

New Dragon’s Dogma 2 Mod forces the highest quality normal maps, and fixes a compression issue that could affect every single texture
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/new-dragons-dogma-2-mod-forces-the-highest-quality-normal-maps-and-fixes-a-compression-issue-that-could-affect-every-single-texture/
Modder ‘beethy’ has released a new mod for Dragon’s Dogma 2 that forces the highest quality normal maps. Moreover, this mod fixes a compression issue that could affect every single texture.
While this is a simple mod, it will improve the image quality of the game. Not only that but it does not come with any performance hit. So, this is a must for pretty much everyone.
As the modder noted, even though the total package size of the mod is large, it’s extremely light on VRAM. That’s because beethy duplicated each file to force the game to load the highest quality normals, as it often decides to load in Very Low quality ones, even at max settings.
I hope that Capcom will officially implement these tweaks via a future patch. After all, these seem to be bugs that can, for no apparent reason, degrade the game’s image.
>> The article only has a couple of screenshots.

GAMING NEWS

Here are the PC system requirements for Gray Zone Warfare
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/here-are-the-pc-system-requirements-for-gray-zone-warfare/
Well, better late than never I guess. MADFINGER Games has just released Gray Zone Warfare on Steam Early Access, and it shared its official PC system requirements. So, let’s take a look at them.
>> Be careful when picking your faction, it may prevent you from playing with your friends.

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 Gets Official Minimum PC Requirements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/senuas-saga-hellblade-2-gets-official-minimum-pc-requirements/
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 is one of the most anticipated games of 2024. And earlier today, Ninja Theory shared its official minimum PC system requirements. So, let’s take a look at them.

EARTH DEFENSE FORCE 6 officially hits PC on July 25th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/earth-defense-force-6-officially-hits-pc-on-july-25th/
D3Publisher has announced that EARTH DEFENSE FORCE 6 will bee officially released on PC on July 25th. To celebrate this announcement, the publisher shared a new gameplay trailer that you can find below.

DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO looks amazing in its latest gameplay trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/dragon-ball-sparking-zero-just-got-a-new-cool-gameplay-trailer-2/
Bandai Namco has released a new gameplay trailer for DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO, showcasing a lot of the characters that will be available in it.

Warner Bros announced a new official Batman Arkham VR game
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/warner-bros-announced-a-new-official-batman-arkham-vr-game/
Batman fans, we have some good and some bad news for you today. The good news is that a new Batman: Arkham game is in development. The bad news is that it will be a VR game that will be released exclusively on the Meta Quest 3.

Square Enix has removed Denuvo from Star Ocean The Second Story R
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/square-enix-has-removed-denuvo-from-star-ocean-the-second-story-r/
Square Enix has just removed Denuvo from the remake of Star Ocean The Second Story, Star Ocean The Second Story R. Star Ocean The Second Story R came out on PC in November 2023, meaning that it took around five/six months in order to remove it.