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JEMC on 25 July 2024
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***Checks ... Checks again*** - Hmm... - ***Checks a third time***
Ok, now that I’m sure, let’s go with the Thursday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

After Life by You's disastrous end, Paradox chalks up a 90% drop in operating profit for Q2: 'We end the second quarter of the year with mixed feelings'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/after-life-by-yous-disastrous-end-paradox-chalks-up-a-90-drop-in-operating-profit-for-q2-we-end-the-second-quarter-of-the-year-with-mixed-feelings/
It's been a rough time for Paradox. Bloodlines 2 has been a (wrong kind of) nightmare, it cut ties with Harebrained Schemes after Lamplighters League underperformed, Cities: Skylines 2 came out with a raft of tech bugs, Millennia disappointed, and, of course, the company totally canned its Sims competitor Life by You and shuttered the studio making it.
So it's not surprising that the company's Interim Report, released today, contains the kind of news that will make you suck air through your teeth. The good news? The company was still operating at a profit in its second quarter, which lasted from April 1 to June 30 this year. The bad news? It was only by the skin of its teeth, and only really thanks to its homegrown stalwarts—CK3, Victoria 3, Hearts of Iron 4—rather than any of the risks it's taken in the last few years. Though Age of Wonders 4, from Triumph Studios, has also done well for Paradox.
The headline number is a decrease in operating profit of 90%, from 293 million Swedish krona ($27 million) in the second quarter of 2023 to a mere 37 million krona ($3.4 million) in 2024's. That's mostly down to—you guessed it—the cancellation of Life by You and the write-down of its development costs, which hit Paradox for some 208 million krona ($19.2 million). Paradox's profit for the quarter after tax and other "financial items" was 27 million Krona ($2.5 million), down 88.5% on last year's second quarter.

The Epic Store gives away two items:

And next week, they’ll give away LumbearJack.

GOG has a new promo: the Immersive Sims Promo, with up to 90% discounts during 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/2024_immersive_sims.

Steam has four deals and a sale:

Fanatical has a new sale and bundle:

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

PlayStation VR2 App officially coming to Steam on August 7th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/playstation-vr2-app-officially-coming-to-steam-on-august-7th/
Sony has launched the Steam store page for the PlayStation VR2 App, revealing that it will become available on August 7th. This basically means that on August 7th, PC gamers will be able to use the PlayStation VR2 headset to play their VR games.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Fallout London Downgrader & Addon files have just been released
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/fallout-london-downgrader-addon-files-have-just-been-released/
TeamFOLON has just released the Fallout London Downgrader & Addon files that you will need in order to play the Fallout 4 total conversion mod, Fallout London. Fallout: London will be officially released in a few hours. So, get ready for a new free Fallout game.
Fallout: London is a big expansion mod for Bethesda’s RPG. It will take players right into the nuclear aftermath and all the way to the Parliament building. This mod changes everything, like the world you explore, the groups you meet, and the stories you follow. Players can also expect to encounter new people, and find new cool weapons. And yes, you can also expect to be fighting new enemies. In other words, this is a total conversion that will change everything in the game.
In case you didn’t know, Fallout London will only be compatible with the pre-patched version (1.10.163.0) of Fallout 4: Game of the Year Edition. The team plans to also add support for the Next-Gen Update. However, there is no ETA on when this will happen.
So, the Fallout London Downgrader will allow you to downgrade Fallout 4 with a few button clicks. The mod also has the Fallout 4 Stripped ESM and the Fallout 4 Hexed ESM. These are required to launch Fallout London in the base Creation Kit and create mods for it.
>> The mod is now live and the article has a 3 minutes trailer.

This Skyrim Mod attempts to “beautify” 294 female NPCs
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/this-skyrim-mod-attempts-to-beautify-294-female-npcs/
Modder ‘BloomAndGloom’ has released a new mod for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition that attempts to overhaul over 290 female NPCs. This mod “beautifies” all the named women, as well as some generic ones.
Now the good news here is that the mod does not make any changes to their race or skin color. In other words, the modder has been somewhat faithful to most NPCs’ original look. This is crucial to note as some may take the word “beautify” and use it to push for their own agendas.
>> The article has some screenshots and also a link to a similar mod for male NPCs that launched in 2020.

Modder creates Hitman 3's ultimate weapon: A portable, inflatable toilet you can deploy anywhere to drown your targets in
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/modder-creates-hitman-3s-ultimate-weapon-a-portable-inflatable-toilet-you-can-deploy-anywhere-to-drown-your-targets-in/
The most powerful weapon in Agent 47's armoury isn't in his armoury at all. It's adjacent to it: just down the hall and off to the side, where you will find the tool that's dispatched more scoundrels than any other: The toilet.
If you play like me, anyway. I don't know about you, but my number one Hitman strat is loading myself with enough emetic to kill a horse and absolutely nothing else. Find a drink or snack tray your target likes to stop at, dribble some poison on it, follow them to the bathroom, drown 'em, done.
Problem is, of course, that those bathrooms can be so far away, or else your target decides to hurl into a nearby bin like a barbarian. Either way, it interferes with your ability to get onto more important Hitman business. That's why an innovative modder named Notex has created the ultimate all-in-one solution for Hitman 3: The Portable Toilet.
"Enhanced with cutting-edge military technology from Kronstadt Industries," reads the description, questionably, and "designed to expand upon contact with the ground," the Portable Toilet is essentially a kind of inflatable porta-john a hitman-on-the-go can deploy wherever and whenever they like. Just stick it down somewhere and it will rapidly inflate to full size.
>> The article only has one screenshot.

The latest round of absurd Baldur's Gate 3 mods include a better Bing Bong and mankinis for the boys
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/the-latest-round-of-absurd-baldurs-gate-3-mods-include-a-better-bing-bong-and-mankinis-for-the-boys/
Whatever the Baldur's Gate 3 modders have been drinking, I'd like a double. They've given us mods that make your entire party scrabble around on all fours, add an entire roguelike mode, and commit a war crime against Astarion's hair follicles. And they haven't slowed down yet.
The latest round of uploads to Nexus Mods include a couple of highlights. The first is for the Shadowheart Nation, giving the cleric of variable goddesses an improved imp-summoning ability. Referencing a running gag from the actual-play video where some of the Baldur's Gate 3 voice actors played their characters in a game of D&D (since canonized in the game's epilogue), Shadowheart was first given the ability to summon an adorable imp named Bing Bong in a mod released last year. It's now been tweaked by another modder and released as Better Bing Bong, which makes several changes to the original.
(...)
Next up is Mankini, a mod that adds a new variety of underwear gentlemen elves, half-elves, and humans can wear. It's the mankini from Borat, in four different sizes, and it's fully dyeable if you'd rather have it in boreal blue or lush burgundy. To install it you'll also need the Tutorial Chest Summoning mod, which a bunch of mods rely on as a way of distributing new items.
>> The article has one screenshot.

GAMING NEWS

Delta Force: Hawk Ops Open Alpha begins on August 6th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/delta-force-hawk-ops-open-alpha-begins-on-august-6th/
TiMi Studio Group and Team Jade have announced that the Open Alpha phase for Delta Force: Hawk Ops will begin on August 6th. According to the devs, the PC Alpha Test will include both of the game’s primary multi-player game modes. These are Hazard Operations and Havoc Warfare.

Empire of the Ants gets preliminary PC system requirements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/empire-of-the-ants-gets-preliminary-pc-system-requirements/
Microids has revealed the preliminary PC system requirements for its Unreal Engine 5-powered strategy game, Empire of the Ants. Empire of the Ants will take advantage of both Nanite and Lumen, and it will have ants that will consist of over 50,000 triangles.
>> Nothing too crazy.

Unending Dawn just got a ChinaJoy 2024 gameplay trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/unending-dawn-just-got-a-chinajoy-2024-gameplay-trailer/
Parcaes Fate Studio has released the ChinaJoy 2024 gameplay trailer for Unending Dawn. The team has also confirmed that the game will be playable at ChinaJoy 2024 which will run from July 26th to 29th.

STALKER 2 has been, once again, delayed until November 20th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/stalker-2-has-been-delayed-once-again-until-november-20th/
GSC GameWorld has announced that STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl has been, once again, delayed. Instead of releasing on September 5th, the game now targets a November 20th release date. This is basically a two-month delay.



Please excuse my bad English.

Currently gaming on a PC with an i5-4670k@stock (for now), 16Gb RAM 1600 MHz and a GTX 1070

Steam / Live / NNID : jonxiquet    Add me if you want, but I'm a single player gamer.