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

[JEMC]

The Thursday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

The latest friendship-ruining co-op game on Steam is a punishing platformer where you're chained to your pals, and it's about to crack 100,000 concurrent players
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/the-latest-friendship-ruining-co-op-game-on-steam-is-a-punishing-platformer-where-youre-chained-to-your-pals-and-its-about-to-crack-100000-concurrent-players/
Like karaoke, escape rooms, and showering, some things are just more fun with friends. Same goes with games: solving puzzles and overcoming obstacles can turn beating a game into a true collaboration, and that's a feeling you just can't get when playing solo.
But every so often a co-op game comes along that feels like it's designed to end your friendships rather than strengthen them. (Overcooked: I'm looking at you.) The latest entry in that category is called Chained Together, a brutally punishing multiplayer platformer where you're literally connected at the waist to your co-op partners by a chain. 
(...)
Chained Together is only a few bucks on Steam, and it's quickly become a hit in the week since it launched: today it peaked at about 94,000 concurrent players. Just like its players, it'll be fun to see how high it climbs before it starts tumbling back down. 

The Epic Store gives away Sunless Skies: Sovereign Edition: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/sunless-skies-bb4947.
Next week, the free game will be The Falconeer: Standard Edition.

There’s a new Humble Bundle: the Strate-GOG, featuring GOG keys for up to 6 games during 20 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/strategog.

Fanatical will update its Star Deal in two hours. Until then, nothing new.  The Star Deal is Dragon's Dogma 2, 35% off during 45 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/dragons-dogma-2

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

NVIDIA GeForce Game Ready 556.12 driver
https://videocardz.com/driver/nvidia-geforce-game-ready-556-12
Highlights
Game Ready for The First Descendant
This new Game Ready Driver provides the best gaming experience for the latest new games supporting DLSS 3.5 technology including The First Descendant. Further support for new titles leveraging NVIDIA DLSS technology includes the latest update for PAYDAY 3 which supports DLSS 3.

Optimal Settings For New Games
One-click optimal settings in GeForce Experience and the NVIDIA app enable you to instantly configure game options for your system’s hardware, giving you smooth, optimized gameplay. Over 1200 titles are supported, and since our last driver release we’ve added support for 4 more:

• Bodycam
• EA SPORTSTM F1Ⓡ 24
• Pax Dei
• Soulmask

Fixed Issues
Fixed Gaming Bugs

• [The Last of Us Part 1] Out of memory error with 555.xx drivers [4663766]
• [Halo Infinite] Crashing during initial loading screen with 555.99 driver [4685335]
• [Valorant] In-game statistics incorrectly shows high latency with 555.xx drivers [4668309]

Fixed General Bugs

• Notebook mux switch is blocked when Overwolf application is running [3804893]

AMD is once again playing catch-up, announces Neural Texture Block Compression
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/amd-is-once-again-playing-catch-up-announces-neural-texture-block-compression/
AMD is, once again, caught playing catch-up. After revealing alternatives to NVIDIA’s DLSS Super Resolution and DLSS Frame Generation, the red team has announced an alternative to NVIDIA’s Neural Texture Compression.
For those unaware, at Siggraph 2023, NVIDIA presented their Neural Texture Compression (NTC) solution. This AI-powered compression reduces texture sizes while keeping their quality high. NVIDIA claimed back then that this new format is better than the old AVIF and JPEG XL formats.
And earlier today, AMD announced its plans to reveal its own Neural Texture Block Compression at EGSR2024. As with NVIDIA, AMD will be using neural networks to compress textures.
AMD promises that this technology will be easy to implement as it uses unchanged runtime execution. However, there is no word on when – and if – video-games will take advantage of it.
For what it’s worth, NVIDIA’s Neural Texture Compression hasn’t been used in any game. However, as we’ve noted in a previous article, NVIDIA may find a way to implement this tech in future versions of DLSS. Or at least that’s what NVIDIA’s CEO Jensen Huang hinted at.

Look out, Shadowplay: Steam now has a built-in 'Game Recording' feature that will automatically record gameplay videos you can clip, share, and export
https://www.pcgamer.com/software/look-out-shadowplay-steam-now-has-a-built-in-game-recording-feature-that-will-automatically-record-gameplay-videos-you-can-clip-share-and-export/
Recording gameplay clips on PC isn't difficult: Software like OBS Studio or Nvidia Shadowplay actually makes it quite simple. But remembering to use it, and remembering to stop using it when you're done, makes the whole process a pain in the ass. Whomst among us, I ask, hasn't dropped an f-bomb 20 minutes into a 30-minute presentation because you forgot to record it, or discovered that your mysteriously missing drive space is the result of a 200-hour recording of your desktop?
Steam's new Game Recording feature promises to reduce at least some of those headaches by building the whole thing into the client, and—this is big for people like me—automatically recording your gaming sessions in the background. Videos can be viewed directly through the Steam client or overlay, and clips can be easily taken and shared.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD already runs with 60fps on PC via Nintendo Switch emulator Ryujinx
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/luigis-mansion-2-hd-already-runs-with-60fps-on-pc-via-nintendo-switch-emulator-ryujinx/
Nintendo has just released Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD on Nintendo Switch. And, as you may have guessed, the latest version of the Nintendo Switch emulator, Ryujinx, can already run the game.
Now what’s interesting here is that there is already a 60fps mod for it. For those who did not know, the game is locked at 30fps on Nintendo Switch. As such, by using this 60fps mod, PC gamers can actually get a better gaming experience on their PC via emulation.
>> The article has an over 5 minutes video.

This mod adds to Skyrim high-polygon dragons with 16K textures
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/this-mod-adds-to-skyrim-high-polygon-dragons-with-16k-textures/
Modder ‘Lucaoys’ has released a pretty cool mod for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition. This mod adds to the game high-polygon dragons with 16K textures, allowing you to behold those creatures in their full glory.
Going into more details, the modder has increased the polycount of the dragons from 15.300 to almost 70.000. Moreover, he increased their textures by four times.
Do note though that the mod brings a cosmetic and stylistic change. Now, the dragons are less spiky and don’t look as cartoonish. Their heads will look more like real dinosaurs. The dragons have more teeth, bigger wings, and longer tails, making them look more elegant. They also have larger horns, thicker bodies, and more padding on their feet. Overall, the dragons look more like dinosaurs and appear more cinematic, rather than like lizards or iguanas.
>> The article has some screenshots.

GAMING NEWS

Capcom has officially announced Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/capcom-has-officially-announced-dead-rising-deluxe-remaster/
Capcom has just announced a remaster for the first Dead Rising game. Dead Rising first came out in 2006 on Xbox 360, and it was one of the best games for that console. And now, almost twenty years later, gamers will be able to experience that title once again.
>> That was unexpected.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 June 27th Update Released, Full Patch Notes
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/dragons-dogma-2-june-27th-update-released-full-patch-notes/
Capcom has just released the June 27th Title Update for Dragon’s Dogma 2, and shared its full patch notes. According to the devs, this patch includes additions and adjustments to the storage, as well as fixes to various issues. So, let’s take a closer look at it.

STAR WARS: Bounty Hunter is coming to PC on August 1st, gets official PC system requirements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/star-wars-bounty-hunter-is-coming-to-pc-on-august-1st-gets-official-pc-system-requirements/
Aspyr has announced that STAR WARS: Bounty Hunter will be coming to PC on August 1st. To celebrate this announcement, the team shared a gameplay trailer for it, as well as its official PC system requirements.

Last edited by JEMC - 3 days ago