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

[JEMC]

It’s time for the Monday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

GOG has the new Dark Setting Sale, featuring games with a “dark edge” up to 95% off during 10 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/2024_dark_setting_sale.

Steam has two deals:

• Partisans 1941 will be 85% off until the 11th of June: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1227530/Partisans_1941/
• And New Star GP gets a 40% discount until June 16: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2217580/New_Star_GP/

Humble Bundle has the new Stories of Pride Bundle, with up to 8 games to get during 18 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/stories-pride.

Fanatical’s new Star Deal is Red Faction Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered, featuring an 88% discount during 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/red-faction-guerrilla-re-mars-tered

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Nope-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Mortal Kombat 1 now has an amazing X-Men ’97 Mod, so download it before Warner Bros takes it down
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/mortal-kombat-1-now-has-an-amazing-x-men-97-mod-so-download-it-before-warner-bros-takes-it-down/
Now here is something special for all our Mortal Kombat 1 fans. Modder ‘IOI-632671’ has released an incredible pack that brings to the game all your favourite characters from the X-Men ’97 cartoon.
This is a must-have mod that you must download right now. The reason I’m saying this is because Warner Bros may very well take it down. After all, that’s exactly what the publisher did to the Disney & Pixar Mods. So, waste no time and download it right now.
Going into more details, this pack replaces Omniman with Magneto. Wolverine is now in place of Baraka, and Gambit has replaced Reiko. Then we have MrSinister over Ermac, and Beast over Darrius. Professor X has replaced Shujinko, and Storm is now in the place of Frost. Finally, Rogue has replaced Sonya.
What’s cool here is that this pack comes with some cool details. For instance, the modder has replaced Reiko’s throwing stars with Gambit’s kinetically charged cards. Professor X also sits in his iconic wheelchair. And then we have a Hugh Jackman model for Wolverine. Oh, and both Spider-Man and Deadpool are available as Kameo characters.
>> The article has several screenshots.

Someone is remaking The Legend of Zelda NES in Unreal Engine 5
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/someone-is-remaking-the-legend-of-zelda-nes-in-unreal-engine-5/
YouTube’s ‘LloydEmpty’ has shared a video, showcasing a WIP version of a fan remake of The Legend of Zelda NES in Unreal Engine 5. This video packs 20 minutes of gameplay footage from it. So, make sure to check it out.
To create this fan remake, the artist used Unreal Engine 5, FMOD, Blender and Gimp. However, I don’t know whether LloydEmpty plans to release this project to the public.
As said, this fan remake is still a WIP. Thus, it’s a bit rough around the edges. Still, it’s a cool concept, and we are certain that some Zelda fans may find it interesting.
>> The article has a 20 minutes video.

Modders bring Crash Team Racing to PC with 60fps and Online/Multiplayer support
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/modders-bring-crash-team-racing-to-pc-with-60fps-and-online-multiplayer-support/
Now here is why we love modding. A group of modders have brought the classic PlayStation 1 kart game, Crash Team Racing, to the PC. This unofficial PC version uses DuckStation, requires the original PS1 disc, and, most importantly, supports 60fps and online play.
As the team noted, it has spent years disassembling the original Naughty Dog assembly/machine code back to C and managed to make it playable online without harming the original gameplay. Not only that but they have also added some new exciting features along the way. One of them is, obviously, the ability to play it at 60fps.
Online Crash Team Racing supports up to 8 players. The game also has dedicated servers, and all tracks and characters are unlocked by default. As such, you’ll be able to race where you want with who you want.
This is such a cool project that Sony or Activision won’t be able to shut down. As said, this free game requires the original ROM of Crash Team Racing. It does not have any assets from it, and it does not contain anything from its original code.
>> The article has two videos.

New The Witcher 3 Mods Improve Visual Effects & Add New Unmarked Locations to the White Orchard
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/new-mods-for-the-witcher-3-improve-visual-effects-and-add-new-unmarked-locations-to-the-white-orchard/
Two new mods, based on the REDkit Modding Tools, have surfaced this week for The Witcher 3. As such, instead of sharing them separately, I’ve decided to include them both in one big article. So, let’s take a closer look at them.
The first mod is called NextGen Better FX and attempts to improve numerous visual effects. The mod adds more sparks, more/better smoke, better clouds and brings a new Fog fx. Moreover, it allows enemies and Geralt to be covered in blood during their battles. Not only that but it will improve the game’s fur shaders. As such, NPC furs will move in the wind now. Oh, and it will also fix the freezing of the whale animation in Skellige.
(...)
The second mod is Landmarks of White Orchard. This mod adds around 20 new unmarked locations in the White Orchard area. Ruins, shrines, abandoned wagons and rest stops will be all waiting to be discovered. Since this mod adds new free content to the game, it’s a nice welcome addition. You can download it from this link.
>> There are no screenshots nor videos of these mods.

This Skyrim Mod expands the Destroy The Dark Brotherhood Quest with new dialogue, choices, and more fights
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/this-skyrim-mod-expands-the-destroy-the-dark-brotherhood-quest-with-new-dialogue-choices-and-more-fights/
Modders ‘TheOscar0’ and ‘JaySerpa’ have released a pretty cool new mod for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition. This mod will expand the Destroy The Dark Brotherhood quest with new dialogue, choices, and more fights.
As the modders noted, this mod introduces new lore-friendly ways to get kidnapped by Astrid. This will also allow you to Destroy the Dark Brotherhood even after sparing Grelod. Not only that but the mod expands the quest with new dialogue, choices, and more fights.
Additionally, the mod is fully voiced. It’s also a bit more complex than the vanilla quest. In this expanded version, you’ll have to discover the password on your own, meet a new character and track down a couple of assassins outside the sanctuary. Plus, the mod stays true to the game’s lore.
>> There is an almost 15 minutes video of this mod.

Everyone's excited for Skyblivion, but one dedicated dev has been working for years to go in the opposite direction: cramming Oblivion into a version of Morrowind's engine⁠—and they've got a good reason for it too
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/everyones-excited-for-skyblivion-but-one-dedicated-dev-has-been-working-for-years-to-go-in-the-opposite-direction-cramming-oblivion-into-a-version-of-morrowinds-engineand-theyve-got-a-good-reason-for-it-too/
The big hotness in Elder Scrolls modding lately has been Skyblivion, a project to remake The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion with shiny new assets in Skyrim's Creation Engine. That's usually the direction these things move in: older game to newer tech base, but one developer who goes by cc9cii has been putting in hard work to go in the opposite direction: porting Oblivion and Fallouts 3 and New Vegas into the OpenMW engine for 2002's The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind.
That OpenMW distinction is key here: this isn't some kind of meme demake, but rather an attempt to port these games to a flexible, open source engine, with all the benefits that entails.
>> There are a couple of videos of these projects.

A new mod aims to remaster 5500 voice lines from cult classic RPG, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, cleaning up the audio and fixing volume levels 'with extreme care for the source material'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/a-new-mod-aims-to-remaster-5500-voice-lines-from-cult-classic-rpg-vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines-cleaning-up-the-audio-and-fixing-volume-levels-with-extreme-care-for-the-source-material/
A modder rather descriptively named TheAudioService has just come out with a mod to improve the audio quality in one of my very favorite games, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines. The pack purports to improve volume levels and quality across 5,500 different voice lines in V:TM-B.
This is one of those thankless tasks, a painstaking exercise in minor improvements that might not be immediately apparent to all players. "Changes are subtle, sometimes even unnoticeable," TheAudioService cautions in the mod's description, though they add that "Sometimes you'll notice a huge difference." A helpful YouTube preview for the mod shows off an early dialogue with Vampire lackey Mercutio as an example of what to expect.
>> There’s an over 2 minutes video of this mod.

GAMING NEWS

Star Wars: Outlaws will support NVIDIA DLSS 3.5 Ray Reconstruction
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/star-wars-outlaws-will-support-nvidia-dlss-3-5-ray-reconstruction/
In March 2024, NVIDIA revealed that Ubisoft’s Star Wars: Outlaws will support DLSS 3 and Reflex, as well as Ray Tracing effects. And today, the green team announced that this new Star Wars game will also support DLSS 3.5 Ray Reconstruction at launch.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 will support 60fps only on PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/kingdom-come-deliverance-2-will-support-60fps-only-on-pc/
Warhorse Studios has confirmed at the Game Access event in Brno that Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 will be locked at 30fps on consoles. Both PS5 and Xbox Series X won’t have a performance mode. As such, the only platform that will be able to run this upcoming RPG with 60fps will be the PC.

Unreal Engine 5-powered multiplayer body-cam shooter, Bodycam, hits Early Access on June 7th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/unreal-engine-5-powered-multiplayer-body-cam-shooter-bodycam-hits-early-access-on-june-7th/
Reissad Studio has announced that its Unreal Engine 5-powered multiplayer body-cam shooter, Bodycam, will hit Early Access on June 7th. To celebrate this announcement, the team also shared a new trailer that you can find below.