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

[JEMC]

Monday news, part two:

Damn Yoshi-P wasn't lying, Final Fantasy 14's servers really are beefed up and Dawntrail-ready
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/final-fantasy/damn-yoshi-p-wasnt-lying-final-fantasy-14s-servers-really-are-beefed-up-and-dawntrail-ready/
Despite Naoki Yoshida's assurance to me—and no doubt countless other journalist and content creators during the Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail media tour—that servers were jacked and ready to tackle the horde of players coming in at launch, I was admittedly still apprehensive. 
(...)
So forgive me for being a little cynical, but thank goodness I was proven wrong as I dove into Dawntrail the exact minute it launched. I held my breath for how many players were ahead of me, and at the time my heart sank a little seeing the number: 1,059 in queue. Not a giant number by any means, but one that could still take a hot sec if the servers were on fire as I patiently waited my turn to sail to Tural.
Yet 10 minutes later with zero fuss and there I was, stood outside my house and ready for adventure. Only 10 minutes! This would have been a far-fetched dream two-and-a-half years ago. (...)

One of Final Fantasy 14's easiest raids accidentally goes turbo hard mode thanks to a bug wiping the entire group
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/final-fantasy/one-of-final-fantasy-14s-easiest-raids-accidentally-goes-turbo-hard-mode-thanks-to-a-bug-wiping-the-entire-group/
Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail has just been released, bringing the start of a new narrative arc, increased level caps, and an accidental savage raid of one of the game's easiest duties. 
Er, yeah, so it turns out a bug has transformed Syrcus Tower—a level 50 raid with 24 players, meant to handle players with kiddie gloves—from a simple 15-minute bulldoze into a near-impossible feat that's caused players to strategise unique bypasses to try and work it.
>> Yoshi-P has already apologized for the technical problems.

Palworld's newest major update Sakurajima adds tons of new Pals and buildings, but you won't be able to kidnap tower bosses anymore
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/palworlds-newest-major-update-sakurajima-adds-tons-of-new-pals-and-buildings-but-you-wont-be-able-to-kidnap-tower-bosses-anymore/
We've been expecting Palworld's first major update, Sakurajima, for some time now. At the beginning of the month, Pocketpair released a short trailer for it, which was part of the early access roadmap that it uncovered at the start of this year.
One of the biggest additions is, obviously,  the new island named Sakurajima. This location introduces a new faction called "The Moonflowers," which you have to fight to free the island from their control. It's also inspired by historical Japanese architecture and there's cherry blossoms aplenty, so it's sure to be very pretty. 

Less than a month after joining work on the Sands of Time remake, Ubisoft Toronto lays off 33 employees 'to ensure it can deliver on its ambitious roadmap'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/less-than-a-month-after-joining-work-on-the-sands-of-time-remake-ubisoft-toronto-lays-off-33-employees-to-ensure-it-can-deliver-on-its-ambitious-roadmap/
The plague of layoffs that's gripped the videogame industry since the start of 2023 continued today as Ubisoft confirmed that 33 employees at its Toronto studio have been let go.
"Ubisoft Toronto has decided to conduct a targeted realignment to ensure it can deliver on its ambitious roadmap," a company representative said in a statement provided to PC Gamer. "Unfortunately, this will impact the roles of 33 team members who will be leaving Ubisoft. We are committed to providing comprehensive support to them, including severance and career assistance, to help through this transition."

A new action-RPG inspired by Dark Messiah of Might and Magic looks almost too good to be true, and some people are worried it's The Day Before all over again
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/a-new-action-rpg-inspired-by-dark-messiah-of-might-and-magic-looks-almost-too-good-to-be-true-and-some-people-are-worried-its-the-day-before-all-over-again/
There are two kinds of gamers in the world: Those who think Dark Messiah of Might and Magic is a brilliant immersive sim that laid the foundation for the genius of Arkane's later work on Dishonored and Prey, and those who haven't played it yet. So when a game claims to draw inspiration from Dark Messiah, I—as someone who played and loved it—immediately want to know more. Alkahest is one such game, and it's attracting some real curiosity, but also a little bit of doubt.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree claws its way back to a 'Mostly Positive' rating on Steam: 'Don't listen to the negativity. Big sword still go brrr'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/elden-ring-shadow-of-the-erdtree-claws-its-way-back-to-a-mostly-positive-rating-on-steam-dont-listen-to-the-negativity-big-sword-still-go-brrr/
While Shadow of the Erdtree might've sold five million copies in less than a week, that didn't translate into 5 million happy Tarnished for Elden Ring's DLC. A day after its release, Shadow of the Erdtree sat at a "Mixed" rating on Steam thanks to an early influx of negative reviews, many of which complained that its new bosses felt excessively, arbitrarily difficult. But a week later, Shadow of the Erdtree's managed to scrape back some of Steam's public sentiment, and has climbed to a "Mostly Positive" rating.

Player laments the fall of Soulcalibur, Tekken director Harada responds with a literal essay about it: 'I don't think the fire of Project Soul has been extinguished'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fighting/player-laments-the-fall-of-soulcalibur-tekken-director-harada-responds-with-a-literal-essay-about-it-i-dont-think-the-fire-of-project-soul-has-been-extinguished/
Soulcalibur 6 released in 2018 to a decent reception, though it's fair to say it didn't set the world alight. The best thing about it was a ludicrously impressive character creator, though on PC even further treats would await thanks to modders: how about a fight to the finish between Bernie Sanders and Geralt?
Things have gone quiet on the Soulcalibur front since then, while stablemate Tekken's star has continued to rise. Bandai Namco has developed these two very different flavours of fighting game simultaneously since the late 1990s, but with no new entry seemingly even planned some fans are beginning to worry that the success of Tekken will see Soulcalibur fade away.

They're gonna let us kill Conor McGregor in Hitman
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/theyre-gonna-let-us-kill-conor-mcgregor-in-hitman/
The latest addition to Hitman's roster of Elusive Targets is a notorious figure indeed: He's called The Disruptor, but you might know him better as multi-time MMA champion Conor McGregor.

Space Marine 2 public beta test is cancelled so developers can focus on 'optimization, polish and fixing remaining issues'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/space-marine-2-public-beta-test-is-cancelled-so-developers-can-focus-on-optimization-polish-and-fixing-remaining-issues/
Saber Interactive has cancelled a planned public beta test for the upcoming shooter Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, saying it wants to stay focused on "preparing for the full launch."
>> Not a great sign, but we’ve also seen in the past how some people don’t know the difference between a beta and early access, so it also makes sense that they want to keep it safe.

It would take a lot to get OG Fallout lead Tim Cain to return to the series: 'The very first question out of my mouth is 'What's new about it?''
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fallout/it-would-take-a-lot-to-get-og-fallout-lead-tim-cain-to-return-to-the-series-the-very-first-question-out-of-my-mouth-is-whats-new-about-it/
With Fallout back on everyone's minds after the success of the new show, the original game's lead developer Tim Cain has been weighing in on different aspects of the series over on his YouTube channel. While Fallout clearly still means a lot to him, Cain didn't seem keen to return to the series when responding to his viewers' frequent queries.
"There's a lot of different questions being asked there," Cain said. "Would I want to remake Fallout as a 3D game? Are you asking if I would like to make a Fallout offshoot like Fallout: New Vegas is… Do I want to make Fallout 5?" Whatever he thinks of those respective possibilities, Cain was clear that he's not worried about authority, creative freedom, or even pay⁠—within reason, of course. Cain explained that his primary motivator, especially now that he's semi-retired, is his own interest in a project.