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

[JEMC]

Thursday news, part two:

Software dev joins ranks of history's greatest monsters by adding microtransactions to the original Doom
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/software-dev-joins-ranks-of-historys-greatest-monsters-by-adding-microtransactions-to-the-original-doom/
It should go without saying that we all live in hell. A tin of beans costs £2, the Gulf Stream is giving up, and (worst of all) Blizzard wants $65 for a Diablo horse. If only we could return to those halcyon days before memory: The '90s. Things were simple then, with shared wares aplenty and an internet that was still young and warm and wild and free. Just imagine how many more microtransactions we could spring on those naive suckers before they cottoned on.
Such is the bold vision of Guy Dupont, a developer whose recent entry into the Boston Stupid Shit Nobody Needs and Terrible Ideas Hackathon was the most sacrilegious gag I've ever seen: He added microtransactions into Doom earlier this month. That's the original, 1993 Doom. Can he ever be forgiven? No.

Helldivers 2 devs confirm rockets aren't ricocheting, though the Eruptor's shrapnel backfire has been headshotting patriots: 'we're looking to completely remove the shrapnel effect'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/helldivers-2-players-decry-broken-ricochet-changes-then-realise-its-probably-just-shrapnel-from-the-now-deadly-eruptor/
Helldivers 2's latest patch introduced a new wrinkle into your average diver's shoot loop—deadlier ricochets. As the patch notes read: "Shots that ricochet from heavy armored enemies will now properly hit the Helldiver who fired them. Trigger discipline is highly recommended."
Recent updates
April 30, 2024: Arrowhead Games has released an official statement about the nature of the Ricochet changes which, for the most part, has confirmed the suspicions and debunks of Super Earth's community R&D officers.
>> If that’s not enough, the balance patch also made Stalkers completely invisible.

Deliver Us Mars studio lays off all staff after funding efforts fall through
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/deliver-us-mars-studio-lays-off-all-staff-after-funding-efforts-fall-through/
Deliver Us Mars developer KeokeN Interactive has laid off its entire team after being unable to secure funding for future projects. The studio said in today's announcement that it has "exhausted all our possible options for publishing, work for hire, and co-development."

An Xbox Games Showcase is coming in June and it sure looks like the next Call of Duty is going to be there
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/events-conferences/an-xbox-games-showcase-is-coming-in-june-and-it-sure-looks-like-the-next-call-of-duty-is-going-to-be-there/
Microsoft is holding an Xbox Games Showcase in June, which will be its first big online event featuring games from its still-relatively-new crown jewel, Activision Blizzard. It's also teasing a follow-on presentation similar to the Starfield Direct stream in 2023 but focused on an all-new game, and while it's keeping the title of that game under wraps for now, we're pretty sure we know what it is.

Ex-Lego game devs formed a new studio to explore a completely different genre: Funko Pops
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/funko-fusion-release-date/
The Lego games developed by Traveller's Tales—Lego Star Wars, Lego Marvel, all of those—are held up as some of the best examples of family-friendly licensed games. Now the former heads of that studio are trying to repeat those years of Lego success, but with a toy that isn't quite as universally beloved: the big-headed, vacant-eyed vinyl figures sometimes seen lining shelves of YouTubers and Twitch streamers.

Buckle up—Hasbro spent over $1 billion on games and has plans for 'the next 100 years', since Baldur's Gate 3 proved fans 'like a great, well-executed D&D game'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/baldurs-gate/buckle-uphasbro-has-spent-over-dollar1-billion-on-games-and-has-plans-for-the-next-100-years-since-baldurs-gate-3-proved-fans-like-a-great-well-executed-dandd-game/
Unless you've been living under a rock, you'll know that Baldur's Gate 3 did well—winning just about every major Game of the Year award, starting industry-wide conversations about the quality of videogames, and getting one of our highest-ever review scores. 
It's also done remarkably well as a licensing deal for Hasbro, which owns Wizards of the Coast, which created Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition—the tabletop rules system Baldur's Gate 3 is built on top of.
Unfortunately for said company, Larian's moving onto different, if not greener pastures—but Dan Ayoub, head of digital product development at Wizards of the Coast, says there's no plans on stopping the company's forward march: "Hasbro is in fact making videogames … we have a considerable investment in our studio structure; we've got over $1 billion in games right now being developed."
>> Talking about BG 3, there’s a lore explanation as to why you find so much stuff around.

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty's third deadliest boss is an OSHA-violating garage, making it 86.6% as dangerous as a giant killer robo-tank
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/cyberpunk-2077-phantom-libertys-third-deadliest-boss-is-an-osha-violating-garage-making-it-866-as-deadly-as-a-giant-killer-robo-tank/
Cyberpunk 2077's triumphant DLC, Phantom Liberty, added some fun bosses to the game—including a giant enemy (mecha) crab robot… thing. I guess it's more of a beetle really, being a hexapod. 
The Chimera 0005-C M is a Militech monster that sweeps the area with a deadly laser, though you can snag its core and get a couple neat weapon mods for your trouble scrapping it. It's also only 13.4% deadlier than a set of rickety catwalks in an abandoned garage somewhere. No, really.
(...)
As revealed by CDPR on its official Twitter account (thanks, GamesRadar), the three deadliest bosses of Phantom Liberty are as follows: The aforementioned Chimera with over 3 million kills, the Militech Cerberus MK-II with over 2.9 million kills, and a set of rickety, OSHA-violating catwalks with over 2.6 million kills.

4X RTS Sins of a Solar Empire 2 is finally coming to Steam this summer with a new faction and modding tools
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rts/4x-rts-sins-of-a-solar-empire-2-is-finally-coming-to-steam-this-summer-with-a-new-faction-and-modding-tools/
I was beyond excited when I chatted to developer Ironclad about the imminent arrival of Sins of a Solar Empire 2 back in 2022. With its simulated celestial mechanics and modular ship design, it sounded like a significant step up from its brilliant predecessor. But like so many in-development games that launch exclusively on the Epic Games Store, it soon left my brain. Even with all its discoverability issues, Steam simply makes it easier to keep track of games. So it's good news, then, that Sins of a Solar Empire 2's exclusivity is coming to an end, heralding its arrival on Steam this summer. 
Update: Publisher Stardock has clarified that Sins of a Solar Empire 2 is an "ongoing service" rather than an early access game now. This does feel a bit like a matter of semantics, though, given that the Advent faction is still to come and the game is yet to be put in the hands of reviewers. Stardock CEO Brad Wardell notes, however, that the goal was to leave early access when it had as much or more content than the original game at launch—a milestone he says was achieved last year. 

Square Enix announces it's tanked $140 million in losses due to 'content abandonment', though there's no clue as to what's been dropped—and where
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/square-enix-announces-its-tanked-dollar140-million-in-losses-due-to-content-abandonment-though-theres-no-clue-as-to-whats-been-droppedand-where/
In a continuation of Square Enix's promise to review its development processes "from scratch", the gaming giant best known for Final Fantasy announced it was expecting massive losses in a warning to investors yesterday. 
"... in light of the myriad changes underway in the environment surrounding its Group," the statement reads, Square Enix plans to "revise the Group’s approach to the development of high-definition (HD) games with the intention of being more selective and focused in the allocation of development resources. As a result of a close examination of the Group’s development pipeline undertaken in keeping with this revised approach, the Company expects to recognize approximately ¥22.1 billion [approximately $140 million] in content abandonment losses on its books for the fiscal year ended March 2024."

Kerbal Space Program 2 developer Intercept Games and Rollerdrome studio Roll7 are reportedly closing as part of Take-Two's big layoff plan
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/kerbal-space-program-2-developer-intercept-games-may-be-closing-as-part-of-take-twos-big-layoff-plan/
A Bloomberg report says Take-Two Interactive is closing Kerbal Space Program 2 developer Intercept Games as part of a plan announced earlier this month aimed at reducing the publisher's total workforce by 5%. Roll7, the developer of the OlliOlli games and Rollerdrome, is also being closed according to the report.