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

[JEMC]

Thursday news, part two:

Habbo Hotel: Origins is a delightfully strange and chaotic time capsule from the internet of the early 2000s—and a fresh start for a game marred by controversy
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/habbo-hotel-origins-is-a-delightfully-strange-and-chaotic-time-capsule-from-the-internet-of-the-early-2000s-and-a-fresh-start-for-a-game-marred-by-controversy/
Habbo Hotel occupies a strange place in the mind—the same dusty corner of my brain where Runescape and Miniclip reside. I played it at a time where I was still quite small and, like many memories from my childhood, it's fuzzy beyond belief.
For those unfamiliar Habbo Hotel is, by technical definition, an MMO without the RPG—a MMOG, if you will. It was first released in Finland at the dawn of the millennium, before making its way to English-speaking territories circa 2004-2005.
(...)
And now it's back, baby. As outlined in a press announcement, "after discovering an old decrepit server with some long-lost files … long-time Habbo developer and player Macklebee has lovingly restored an old version of Habbo Hotel first released in 2005". It's still a project with official backing, just to make things clear—it runs out of the official Habbo launcher, where you can access the games' modern counterpart.

'It's done on our end': Helldivers 2's infamous review bomb cape is ready, but Arrowhead is looking for 'the right time to release it'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/its-done-on-our-end-helldivers-2s-infamous-review-bomb-cape-is-ready-but-arrowhead-is-looking-for-the-right-time-to-release-it/
(...)
Pilestedt has since taken to Twitter again to confirm that the cape is "done on our end, but we want to find the right time to release it." I'm not sure what Arrowhead is waiting for, maybe it'll release the cape as a reward for a future major order, or maybe it's waiting for any further problems that land the company in hot water. One player suggested in the replies that "releasing it at the same time as relisting the game in other regions would be a good move." While Sony hasn't budged an inch on its stance on PSN accounts for other games like God of War Ragnarök's PC release, we did finally see the company blink and retract its stance for Helldivers 2 players, making this idea possible.  

Former dev from sunken Sims competitor Life by You alleges the team had 'the rug pulled' from under them—despite outperforming the company's internal metrics
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/life-sim/former-dev-from-sunken-sims-competitor-life-by-you-alleges-the-team-had-the-rug-pulled-from-under-them-despite-outperforming-the-company-s-internal-metrics/
Life by You seemed poised to corner an untapped market—that corner being a version of the Sims not bogged down by over $1,200's worth of DLC. As PCG's Joshua Wolens noted during a preview, it was angled to be "Sims with the brakes cut".
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However, a former developer from Paradox Tectonic alleges a very different story. In a lengthy LinkedIn post, Willem Delventhal, a former designer at the studio, says that the game was doing "extremely well" before Paradox delayed it. His team had an "internal metric" that they were outperforming—and were given a "thumbs up a few weeks before launch", which made the alleged rugpull all the more confusing: "Two weeks before launch, we were told we wouldn't be launching."

Huh: SimCity 2000's library has an essay about cities written by Neil Gaiman
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/huh-simcity-2000s-library-has-an-essay-about-cities-written-by-neil-gaiman/
While the original will forever hold a place in my heart, SimCity 2000 is one of those sequels that was simply meant to be. It was one of those sequels that doubled-down on everything brilliant about the first game, with a stunning visual makeover that saw the top-down 2D look become a gorgeous isometric urban panorama. It's more complex, much more can go wrong, and I'm not sure Maxis or EA ever made a subsequent SimCity that improved on it.
I played this game a lot when I was a kid and thought I had a fairly good memory of it, but a piece of trivia has caught me completely off-guard. The SimCity games have always been packed with Easter eggs, but It turns out that one of SimCity 2000's little surprises is an essay on the nature of cities by one Neil Gaiman.

Square Enix has a plan for dealing with Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail's inevitable server crush, which includes saying 'we apologize for the inconvenience' 5 separate times
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/square-enix-has-a-plan-for-dealing-with-final-fantasy-14-dawntrails-inevitable-server-crush-which-includes-saying-we-apologize-for-the-inconvenience-5-separate-times/
We've all been there before: A big new online game launches, the servers get crushed, we can't get in, we get mad, we go out and burn down our local Pizza Hut. Or something like that, anyway—the point is that it happens every time, and it's a headache. Fortunately, Square Enix has a plan in place to help alleviate that pain for the upcoming Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail.

Here's everything from the June 2024 Nintendo Direct that's coming to PC
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/heres-everything-from-the-june-2024-nintendo-direct-thats-coming-to-pc/
Nintendo Direct showcases offer more for PC gamers than merely the grim spectacle of having to watch as the lingering hopes of Hollow Knight fans are dashed for another year. While first party Nintendo stuff stays locked in Mario's walled garden, we reliably get reveals for third-party games that also hit PC—particularly, we see a lot of long-awaited remasters and remakes of JRPGs, and this year's summer showcase from Nintendo continued that trend. Here's what we can look forward to from this June's Nintendo Direct.
>> I mean, you may be able to play every announced game on PC if you want...

A new hero has emerged as Elden Ring players help each other prepare for the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC—the fearsome Let Me Comet Him
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/a-new-hero-has-emerged-as-elden-ring-players-help-each-other-prepare-for-the-shadow-of-the-erdtree-dlcthe-fearsome-let-me-comet-him/
We've only got to wait a few hours until the floodgates finally open and players are let into Elden Ring's new DLC Shadow of the Erdtree. But it's not as simple as stepping into the new map; players first need to defeat the terrifying Mohg, Lord of Blood, which is easier said than done, considering you need to be at least level 100-110. As time begins to run out for those wishing to start the DLC as soon as it releases, the community is banding together and helping each other defeat The Omen. 
So far, most of the summons that have been helping players out have been sorcerers, mostly those who can cast Comet Azur. This is a spell that anyone who's fought Rennala Queen of the Full Moon will remember, as it's basically just Goku's Kamehameha with a tinge of witchcraft that can one-shot bosses. One such sorcerer is going by the name Let Me Comet Her, a photo of whom was posted to Twitter along with "So my watch begins." You can also see that the player is wearing Azur's Glintstone Crown, which boosts Comet Azur's damage by 15%.  

Beyond Good and Evil quietly delisted as Ubisoft gears up to release the not-so-secret 20th Anniversary Edition in time for its 21st anniversary
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/beyond-good-and-evil-quietly-delisted-as-ubisoft-gears-up-to-release-the-not-so-secret-20th-anniversary-edition-in-time-for-its-21st-anniversary/
My god, I think it might be happening. Against all odds, against all precedent, against all sense, I think Ubisoft might be gearing up to release a Beyond Good and Evil game.
Not Beyond Good and Evil 2, mind you. Heavens no. We'll only see that some time after the end of the Stelliferous Era. But it does look like Yves and co are preparing the way for a release of Beyond Good and Evil: 20th Anniversary Edition, a souped-up remaster of the original 2003 classic that looks set to coincide with its, uh, 21st anniversary.

Miyazaki says don't worry, the shiny new weapons in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree shouldn't outpace your old favourites
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/miyazaki-says-don-t-worry-the-shiny-new-weapons-in-elden-ring-shadow-of-the-erdtree-shouldn-t-outpace-your-old-favourites/
Shadow of the Erdtree has, as any good FromSoftware expansion should, a bunch of new weapons to do some murdering with—claws, censers, greatswords and, a personal favourite here at PC Gamer, fisticuffs that let you do cool kicks and flips. It's also recommended for higher level-characters, though, and we are but creatures of habit.
Which raises the question—will all your old weapons be outdated models compared to the new, shinier kids on the block? No, says FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki in a recent interview with CNET.