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

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Tuesday news, the second part:

Stellaris gets a DLC about AI that features AI-created voices, director insists it's 'ethical' and 'we're pretty good at exploring dystopian sci-fi and don't want to end up there ourselves'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/stellaris-gets-an-dlc-about-ai-that-features-ai-created-voices-director-insists-its-ethical-and-were-pretty-good-at-exploring-dystopian-sci-fi-and-dont-want-to-end-up-there-ourselves/
Stellaris launched in 2016, since when it has followed the usual Paradox post-launch cycle of regular tweaking accompanied by substantial paid-for DLC expansions. The latest is The Machine Age and focuses on "synthetic ascension" and the promise of eternal life among the stars, adding various new elements to the machine side of the game alongside a synth space queen that says she's going to get us all there.

Square Enix is laying off employees in the US and Europe
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/square-enix-is-laying-off-employees-in-the-us-and-europe/
Square Enix is set to become the latest game company to put employees out of work, as the company has confirmed it will soon be imposing layoffs at its US and EU offices.
>> Maybe that’s why it also want to 'aggressively pursue' a new multiplatform business strategy 'designed to win over PC users'.

After spending time trying to fix a bug that wasn't actually there, Manor Lords dev has a simple request for players: 'Have fun with mods but please don't report bugs if you use them'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/after-spending-time-trying-to-fix-a-bug-that-wasnt-actually-there-manor-lords-dev-has-a-simple-request-for-players-have-fun-with-mods-but-please-dont-report-bugs-if-you-use-them/
Manor Lords does not yet have official mod support, but that hasn't stopped industrious modders from doing their thing with it. A VR mod popped up at the beginning of May, and last week someone put Shrek into the game. Which is all well and good, and developer Slavic Magic seems very supportive of the efforts overall. But he does have one request: If you're using a Manor Lords mod, please don't submit Manor Lords bug reports.
Mods can open the door to all sorts of new and unexpected content and experiences in whatever game you happen to be playing at the moment, but they can also be a gateway to headaches. For one thing, updates to games can cause mods to stop working, as we saw most recently with the (not so) big Fallout 4 "next gen" update, which thoroughly borked mod support and modded saves out of the gate. In the case of Manor Lords, it seems the reverse was true: A mod led to a report that led to time spent searching for a bug that wasn't actually there.

The original Fallout had so much attention to detail, you could get special dialogue for speedrunning it in a weird order and returning to a completed zone to talk to a zombie who hates you
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/the-original-fallout-had-so-much-attention-to-detail-you-could-get-special-dialogue-for-speedrunning-it-in-a-weird-order-and-returning-to-a-completed-zone-to-talk-to-a-zombie-who-hates-you/
Like PC Gamer print editor Robert Jones, my big reaction to the Fallout show has been getting classic with it, replaying the 1997 original for the first time in over a decade. It more than holds up in so many ways, including accounting for player choices so deranged, you wonder how anyone came across them organically.
The one that blows me away was showcased recently by Dante Hope on YouTube, the "rarest" dialogue in Fallout 1. Getting it requires bucking the game's usual sequence of events by beating the final boss before the second-to-last boss in under 110 in-game days⁠—a tight time limit with how long overworld travel takes in Fallout⁠—then revisiting Necropolis, a one and done combat-heavy zone, to talk to a zombie who hates your guts.

Frustrated developer changes his game's name to 'Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles, a creative building sandbox' because Steam users keep tagging it as a strategy game
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/city-builder/frustrated-developer-changes-his-games-name-to-bulwark-falconeer-chronicles-a-creative-building-sandbox-because-steam-users-keep-tagging-it-as-a-strategy-game/
Seeking to quell confusion about what his new game really is, indie developer Tomas Sala has renamed his latest release to "Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles, a creative building sandbox," because players on Steam kept tagging it as a strategy game.

One of my most anticipated upcoming RPGs doesn't just have a fishing minigame⁠—it has a full 3D aquarium where you can view your biggest catches and learn fantasy fish 'lore'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/one-of-my-most-anticipated-upcoming-rpgs-doesnt-just-have-a-fishing-minigameit-has-a-full-3d-aquarium-where-you-can-view-your-biggest-catches-and-learn-fantasy-fish-lore/
Upcoming action RPG Mortal Crux is a game that always seems to have transformed in strange and unexpected ways every time I check in on it. Case and point: its full 3D in-game aquarium for communing with the fruits of a disquietingly extensive fishing minigame.

ZeniMax files a trademark for a Doom cheat code that unlocks everything, raising hopes of a new entry in the series
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/zenimax-files-a-trademark-for-a-doom-cheat-code-that-unlocks-everything-raising-hopes-of-a-new-entry-in-the-series/
Bethesda and id Software parent Zenimax Media has trademarked the classic Doom cheat 'IDKFA', adding fuel to rumors that a new game in the landmark FPS series will be revealed imminently.

Arrowhead is actually making a 'review bomb' cape to commemorate the Helldivers 2 PSN fiasco, complete with two huge negative review bars
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/arrowhead-is-actually-making-a-review-bomb-cape-to-commemorate-the-helldivers-2-psn-fiasco-complete-with-two-huge-negative-review-bars/
Helldivers 2 continues to make lemonade out of its biggest blunder. On the back of the "PSN-gate" fiasco that saw the best-selling shooter pounded with negative Steam reviews, delisted from a bunch of countries (an ongoing problem), and its publisher Sony pressured into reversing a disruptive PSN sign-in requirement, Arrowhead is now making a cheeky cape to commemorate the player protest.
>> The folks at Arrowhead are feeling the pressure.

'If Silksong shadow drops … I'm burning the whole thing down': Dead Cells devs announce second release date and gameplay trailer for upcoming roguelike, after Hades 2 shattered original plans
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/if-silksong-shadow-drops-im-burning-the-whole-thing-down-dead-cells-devs-announce-second-release-date-and-gameplay-trailer-for-upcoming-roguelike-after-hades-2-shattered-original-plans/
The Rogue Prince of Persia looks pretty good—and I'd probably be playing it later this week, if only Hades 2 had not devoured my entire attention span this month. Its developers Evil Empire (an arm of Dead Cells creators Motion Twin, who've developed a ton of content for it over the past few years) seemingly agreed, since they delayed the whole thing last week.
(...)
That promise has been thoroughly kept as per a recent Steam announcement, though with one major asterisk: "If Silksong shadow drops in the next two weeks I'm burning the whole thing down!" Otherwise, The Rogue Prince of Persia will be heading into early access May 27. 

Prison Architect 2 developer Double Eleven has been replaced by publisher Paradox Interactive after working on the series for nearly a decade
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/prison-architect-2-developer-double-eleven-has-been-replaced-by-publisher-paradox-interactive-after-working-on-the-series-for-nearly-a-decade/
After being delayed twice in the last year, the upcoming management game Prison Architect 2 has hit another bump. The original developer, Double Eleven, is leaving the project after failing to reach a commercial agreement with publisher Paradox Interactive. 
"After nine years together, Double Eleven is leaving Prison Architect. Double Eleven has been with us since the console port, led the development of the game on all platforms, and has been working on Prison Architect 2 over the last few years. With the sequel passing certification on all platforms, the contract was fulfilled. However, we could not find a commercial agreement that worked for both parties moving forward and mutually agreed to part ways," the current Prison Architect 2 team at Paradox Interactive said in a statement on the Steam page.
The new developer working on Prison Architect 2 is Kokku, a Brazilian co-development company that has previously done 3D artwork on Horizon Forbidden West's weapons and robots as well as porting Golf Club Wasteland to PS4, PC, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch. 
>> Well, that’s not good news.

Helldivers 2's Polar Patriots Warbond gets an icy reception, as over 70% of 21,000 Discord voters declare they'd prefer more patches or simply don't like it
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/helldivers-2s-polar-patriots-warbond-gets-an-icy-reception-as-over-70-of-21000-discord-voters-declare-theyd-prefer-more-patches-or-simply-dont-like-it/
The Helldivers 2 community has poured cold water all over the game's latest warbond, with more than two thirds of the community saying they'd prefer more patches to Polar Patriots, or that they simply don't like it at all.
As reported by GamesRadar, the stats derive from a poll ran on the Helldivers 2 discord, which asked "What do you think of Polar Patriots so far?" The poll offered five potential responses, ranging from "It's great!", through "It's ok, but I'd like fewer warbonds and more patches" all the way down to "I don't like it."

This chocolate factory-building game asks the question 'What if Willy Wonka had a gun?'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/this-chocolate-factory-building-game-asks-the-question-what-if-willy-wonka-had-a-gun/
'What if you could build Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory?' is a question I'm surprised video games haven't answered yet. It's a natural next step for the factory-building genre, taking the fundamentals of a game like Satisfactory and theming it around the one fictional factory everyone knows about.
Chocolate Factory, developed by Tbjbu2 (who I presume was named by the developer's cat walking across the keyboard), does exactly this. But it also asks a far less obvious, some might say unnecessary question, namely 'What if Willy Wonka had a massive gun?'.
Watching the announcement trailer (which isn't on YouTube for some reason, but it's viewable on the game's Steam page) Chocolate Factory is clearly heavily derived from Satisfactory. It has a similar visual style, building system, and blend of construction and survival to Coffee Stain's massively successful game. The main difference is that it's set in a fantastical candyland, with numerous biomes themed around different treats. There are chocolate mountains, candy-canes and swirly lollipops that grow like trees, and of course, hostile gingerbread men that you must shoot to death.

Hades 2 will be getting the first of many patches later this month, as Supergiant starts brewing quality-of-life changes to resource gathering and movement in its cauldron
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/hades-2-will-be-getting-the-first-of-many-patches-later-this-month-as-supergiant-starts-brewing-quality-of-life-changes-to-resource-gathering-and-movement-in-its-cauldron/
Hades 2 released into early access earlier this month—and it's been doing gangbusters, unsurprisingly. Supergiant has a sterling reputation behind it, with so much industry heft to every step it takes that other indie devs have already leapt out of the way of the game's early access, considered a quasi-'shadow drop'. 
(...)
"Our first patch should be coming later this month," reads an announcement on the game's Steam page, "though note we don't have a more-specific timeline. With it, we're looking for improvements we can make in the near term, in a way that makes Hades II better for everyone and come closer to realising our goals."