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

[JEMC]

Monday news, part two and also last, surprisingly:

Baldur's Gate 3 once featured an even deeper co-op conversation system, but Swen Vincke said their 'dialogue trees blew up so hard, we just couldn't manage it'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/baldurs-gate-3-once-featured-an-even-deeper-co-op-conversation-system-but-swen-vincke-said-their-dialogue-trees-blew-up-so-hard-we-just-couldnt-manage-it/
In a recent RPG roundtable I hosted for the PC Gamer Chat Log podcast, something Larian founder Swen Vincke said caused my ears to perk up: the already impressive multiplayer roleplaying in Baldur's Gate 3 was once even more involved than what made it into the final game.
(...)
"We've been trying to experiment with that—the problem is that it's so intensive to get it to work," he said. "In Original Sin 1 you could actually roleplay dialogue with your partner, in co-operative play. We actually had that deeply in Baldur's Gate 3 at some point also. But the problem was our dialogue trees blew up so hard, we just couldn't manage it anymore. So we had to cut it all."

'We have not confirmed any instance of Vanguard bricking anyone's hardware' following its League of Legends rollout, Riot says, but there are definitely problems for some players
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/moba/we-have-not-confirmed-any-instance-of-vanguard-bricking-anyones-hardware-following-its-league-of-legends-rollout-riot-says-but-there-are-definitely-problems-for-some-players/
In response to multiple complaints of hardware failure following the rollout of its Vanguard anti-cheat software to League of Legends, Riot Games says it has "not confirmed any instance of Vanguard bricking anyone's hardware" but acknowledged that some BIOS settings could be causing headaches for a small number of players.

Even a boomer shooter freak like me can't keep up with them all anymore, but this one where you run around on the ceiling and shoot ray guns at Cthulhu guys woke me from a retro FPS stupor
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/even-a-boomer-shooter-freak-like-me-cant-keep-up-with-them-all-anymore-but-this-one-where-you-run-around-on-the-ceiling-and-shoot-ray-guns-at-cthulhu-guys-woke-me-from-a-retro-fps-stupor/
After an incredible demo showing nearly two years ago, gravity defying raygun gothic shooter They Came From Dimension X is back with a road to release, and that road goes through Kickstarter. The devs behind the standout FPS are looking to raise $30k by the end of the month, and a $15 donation will net you a digital copy of the game for Steam or itch.io.

Don't say Manor Lords was made by a 'solo developer,' argues competing city builder maker: 'The team size on it is maybe even larger than ours'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/city-builder/manor-lords-solo-developer-perception/
Hit medieval town builder Manor Lords is frequently said to have been created by a single developer, Greg Styczeń, and its marketing has leaned into that notion: The official website says it was "hand crafted by a solo developer." Crate Entertainment CEO Arthur Bruno, whose town builder Farthest Frontier is also in early access, takes issue with that characterization.
On a call with PC Gamer this week, Bruno expressed annoyance over receiving feedback that assumes Farthest Frontier is being made by a huge development team—it's actually a team of seven—especially when it's compared to the "solo" Manor Lords developer.

The idea that the Manor Lords dev should 'just hire 50 people' to update it faster is 'fundamentally not the way things work,' says publisher
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/city-builder/manor-lords-abandoned-feedback/
It's an exaggeration to say that early access city builder Manor Lords was made by one person—developer Greg Styczeń has worked with a number of contractors—but it certainly isn't being developed by a big, 50-person team. Some players think it ought to be, though.
In a recent interview with PC Gamer, Tim Bender, CEO of Manor Lords publisher Hooded Horse, recalled seeing a post in the Steam forums asking if the game had been "abandoned" because it hadn't had an update yet—just four days after its early access launch. A solution put forward by another commenter was that Styczeń should "immediately hire 50 people and create a gigantic company, and that way they can get faster updates."

Gray Zone Warfare players can now change factions so they can team up with their friends
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/gray-zone-warfare-players-can-now-change-factions-so-they-can-team-up-with-their-friends/
There was major beef in the PC Gamer Slack recently when we, along with everyone else, discovered that faction choices in the recently launched shooter Gray Zone Warfare were permanent: If you and your gaming buddies signed up for opposing sides, well, that was just too damn bad: There was no going back until an eventual server reset, which is months down the road.
(...)
Fortunately for those who chose poorly, there is now an out: The most recent hotfix adds an option to wipe your current character and start over from scratch.

Here's the launch trailer for V Rising's 1.0 version, releasing very soon
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/heres-the-launch-trailer-for-v-risings-10-version-releasing-very-soon/
Vampire empire survival and crafting RPG V Rising has a proper launch trailer ahead of its 1.0 launch this week on May 8—almost exactly two years from its May 17, 2022 Early Access release.

Robot roguelike Cogmind outlines three free expansions for its ultra-customizable scrapbots
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/robot-roguelike-cogmind-outlines-three-free-expansions-for-its-ultra-customizable-scrapbots/
Modular robot roguelike Cogmind has outlined big plans for its next year or so of updates, with three big expansions coming alongside the final, proper 1.0 release after a decade in development. Turns out there's a lot coming still for the game about a little robot rising from the scrapheap to the top of a megastructural robot society.

New Apex Legends trailer gets us another look at Alter, Season 21, and the return of solos
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/battle-royale/new-apex-legends-trailer-gets-us-another-look-at-alter/
An Apex Legends trailer released this past week shows off what to expect in Season 21, Upheaval, when it drops this week on 7 May. The trailer shows off Alter, the first evil character to get added in quite a few years, and the new New Legend Alter is one of those cackling, clever, cutting evil people who delights in destruction for destruction's sake, given her behavior in the trailer. She seems like she'd say something mean to you on your birthday, of all days. Terrible.

Looks like Space Marine 2 will continue the first game's grand tradition of PvP multiplayer
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/looks-like-space-marine-2-will-continue-the-first-games-grand-tradition-of-pvp-multiplayer/
A video uploaded to YouTube by prdalien0 showing a flick-through of The Art and Making of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 seems to have confirmed Saber Interactive's sequel will have a PvP mode. A two-page spread shows the armor of Chaos Space Marines who will apparently be playable in the mode, from the chapters of the Death Guard, Black Legion, Iron Warriors, Night Lords, Alpha Legion, and World Eaters.

NetherRealm gives us a proper look at Homelander in Mortal Kombat 1's latest DLC trailer, and somehow the fatalities aren't the grossest thing in it
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fighting/netherrealm-gives-us-a-proper-look-at-homelander-in-mortal-kombat-1s-latest-dlc-trailer-and-somehow-the-fatalities-arent-the-grossest-thing-in-it/
I've long since become inured to Mortal Kombat's grossout action. There are only so many ways to slice up a virtual human before it becomes passé, after all. But NetherRealm's latest DLC trailer for Mortal Kombat 1, which gives us our first look at The Boys' deeply disturbed superhero Homelander fighting in the game, has found a whole new way to disgust me.

As Helldivers 2's Steam reviews begin to recover, Arrowhead's CEO shares an 'accidental' cape design based upon its Overwhelmingly Negative rating, and of course the community wants it added to the game
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/as-helldivers-2s-steam-reviews-begin-to-recover-arrowheads-ceo-shares-an-accidental-cape-design-based-upon-its-overwhelmingly-negative-rating-and-of-course-the-community-wants-it-added-to-the-game/
It's been a rough few days for Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead. (...)
Now though, the crisis is over. Sony has walked back its plans to force PSN accounts onto Steam players, and those negative steam reviews are slowly being flipped to positive (though the game's recent review rating remains at "Mostly Negative"). It seems Arrowhead hasn't lost its sense of humour over the debacle either. Following up a tweet about how "impressed" he was by the willpower of the Helldivers 2 community, Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt shared an "accidental" cape design based on the game's recent avalanche of negative reviews.