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

[JEMC]

Would you look at that! Here come the news! In this first post you’ll find all the DSOGaming articles from these past days.

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Steam’s Top 10

(Click here for the Top 100)

Jonathan Blow says the Braid remaster 'sold like dog****'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/jonathan-blow-says-the-braid-remaster-sold-like-dog/
Braid: Anniversary Edition "sold like dogshit," according to creator Jonathan Blow.
Compiled in a video by YouTube channel Blow Fan, which I can report with some unease is exactly as Blow-devoted as the name suggests, Blow has been commenting on the sales performance of the indie darling platformer's remaster in Twitch streams since its release back in May. The clips that Blow Fan selected chart Blow's decline from initial optimism to grim resignation as sales failed to materialize.
On May 20, almost a week after the remaster's release, Blow was hopeful. Games, he said, tend to follow a predictable sales pattern: a large spike at launch, followed by a sharp drop to a gradually-decreasing sales baseline. From there, "it decays very slowly," Blow said, "and while it decays very slowly, that's a pretty reliable income for your company." While Blow said "it's not like we sold a million copies day one," he acknowledged that his team wasn't expecting a remaster to sell like a fully new game, saying "we just have to see where it lands."
Nearly a month later, Blow's assessment was dour. Asked on June 17 if Braid sold well, he said no: "It has sold horribly." He claimed that it was selling better than "nostalgic things like the Jeff Minter game that's on Steam, or Atari 50," but said that, broadly, the remaster had "sold like dog shit" compared to the amount of revenue needed "for the company to survive."
By late July, Blow had seen little evidence to shift his opinion. Asked on July 21 if he was happy with Braid: Anniversary Edition sales, he said "no, they've been terrible," although when a viewer mentioned they'd bought a copy, he amended his response to say "now they are terrible minus one." On July 22, Blow once again called them "terrible," but went on to describe his thoughts about potential promotional avenues and whether they might've helped with Braid: Anniversary's sales.

The free game at the Epic Store is LumbearJack: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/lumbearjack-b5bedf.
Next week, the free games will be CYGNI - All Guns Blazing, DNF Duel and Apex Legends™: Conduit Free Unlock Bundle.

GOG has four limited time offers and 3 sales:

• These are the LTO (Limited Time Offers), that will last another 22 hours:
  • Foundation, still in Early Access, is 25% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/foundation
  • Ziggurat 2 gets a 45% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/ziggurat_2
  • Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee features a 75% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/oddworld_abes_oddysee
  • And Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus is also 75% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/oddworld_abes_exoddus
• The Weekly Sale has up to 90% discounts during 5 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20240730_weekly_deals_1_august
• Fans of adventure games will love the Think, Point, Click! Promo, with games up to 95% off during 5 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20240720_point_think_click
• And the Future is Now Promo has sci-fi games with up to 95% discounts during 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20240801_sci_fi

Steam has several new deals and sales, including new weeklong deals:

• Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun will be 35% off until August 5: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2005010/Warhammer_40000_Boltgun/
• The South Park: The Stick of Truth + The Fractured but Whole Bundle gets an 80% discount until the 5th: https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/6115/Bundle_South_Park__The_Stick_of_Truth__The_Fractured_but_Whole/
• The Surge 2 will be 80% off unti lthe same 5th of August: https://store.steampowered.com/app/644830/The_Surge_2/
• Publisher PlayWay puts its games on sale, with up to 90% discounts until the 5th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/playwaysale2024
• Publisher Jackbox Games puts its games up to 90% off until August, the 5th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/JackboxFranchiseSale
• Jackbox Games is also giving away for free Drawful 2 until the 28th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/442070/Drawful_2/
• MY HERO ONE'S JUSTICE 2, that has a demo, gets an 85% discount until the 7th of August: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1058450/MY_HERO_ONES_JUSTICE_2/
• Overcooked! All You Can Eat can be yours with a 60% discount until August 12: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1243830/Overcooked_All_You_Can_Eat/
• Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is going tp be 80% off until the 12th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1088850/Marvels_Guardians_of_the_Galaxy/
• The Pixelated Adventures Festival has up to 90% discounts. Some deals will end in less than 24 hours while others will last until the 12th, maybe longer: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/PixElatedFestival
• And the last deal is Soulstice, 75% off until the 14th of August: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1602080/Soulstice/

We have a new Humble Bundle: the LEGO Worlds Collide: The Ultimate Assembly Bundle with up to 19 items (18 games + 1 coupon) to get during 20 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/lego-worlds-collide-ultimate-assembly

And Fanatical has the following deals:

• The new Star Deal is ABRISS - build to destroy, 50% off during 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/abriss-build-to-destroy
• Publisher Shiravune Games puts its titles on sale with up to 50% discounts during another 11 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/shiravune
• The BYO Resident Evil Bundle has up to 8 games to get with a 3+, 5+ or 8+ bundle: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-resident-evil-bundle
• And the BYO Platinum Collection Bundle for August is here with 18 gams to choose for your 3+, 5+ or 7+ bundle: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/platinum-collection-build-your-own-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

INTEL Arc Graphics 32.0.101.5768 driver
https://videocardz.com/driver/intel-arc-graphics-32-0-101-5768

Highlights
Gaming Highlights:
Intel® Game On Driver support on Intel® Arc™ A-series Graphics GPUs and Intel® Core™ Ultra with built-in Intel® Arc™ GPUs for:

• Stormgate

Game performance improvements on Intel® Arc™ A-Series Graphics Products versus Intel® 31.0.101.5762 software driver for:

• Yakuza: Like a Dragon (DX11)
  • Up to 91% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Ultra settings
  • Up to 35% average FPS uplift at 1440p with Ultra settings
• Metro: Last Light Complete Edition (DX11)
  • Up to 20% average FPS uplift at 1080p with High settings
  • Up to 23% average FPS uplift at 1440p with Very High settings

Game performance improvements on Intel® Core™ Ultra with built-in Intel® Arc™ GPUs versus Intel® 31.0.101.5762 software driver for:

• Stormgate (DX11)
  • Up to 12% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Medium settings with Temporal Super Resolution enabled

Fixed Issues
Intel® Arc™ A-Series Graphics Products:

• Dirt Rally (DX11) may exhibit corruptions on water bodies while running the benchmark.
• Sid Meier’s Civilization V (DX11) may experience an application crash during gameplay.
• Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess (DX12) may experience application instability on the first launch of the game.
• Blender 4.2 may exhibit corruptions and incomplete scenes while rendering.

Intel® Core™ Ultra with built-in Intel® Arc™ GPUs:

• Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess (DX12) may experience application instability on the first launch of the game.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

PlayStation 4 emulator, shadPS4, is improving at an extraordinary pace, can now run Red Dead Redemption Remastered with 25fps on a high-end PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/playstation-4-emulator-shadps4-is-improving-at-an-extraordinary-pace-can-now-run-red-dead-redemption-remastered-with-25fps-on-a-high-end-pc/
The team behind the shadPS4 has made a lot of progress in just a matter of weeks. On July 14th, this emulator could only boot Red Dead Redemption Remastered. And now, shadPS4 can go in-game, and run the game with 25fps on a high-end PC system.
Now while a lot will chuckle at that framerate, it’s actually tremendous progress. From being unable to go in-game to then running it with 25fps is, perhaps, one of the biggest progress we’ve seen in the emulation scene.
As you will see in the following video, emulation is still not perfect. For instance, there are a lot of graphical bugs and glitches. Let’s also not forget that this is an old-gen remaster. Yes, technically it’s a 2024 release. However, it’s not as demanding as, let’s say, Gran Turismo 7, God of War: Ragnarok or Bloodborne.
It’s also worth noting that shadPS4 can now display proper 3D graphics in Tomb Raider I-III Remastered. Performance is still bad though. Still, progress is progress. And no, Bloodborne has not received any improvements as of yet.
>> The video is roughly 5 minutes long.

Kingdom Hearts 3 just got an incredible Dragon Ball Z Mod, allowing you to play as Goku with his own moves, featuring Kamehameha blasts and Super Saiyan transformations
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/kingdom-hearts-3-just-got-an-incredible-dragon-ball-z-mod-allowing-you-to-play-as-goku-with-his-own-moves-featuring-kamehameha-blasts-and-super-saiyan-transformations/
DBZ and Kingdom Hearts 3 fans, here is something special for you today. Modder ‘Dawn Of Fate’ has released an incredible mod for Kingdom Hearts 3 that brings Goku (or Kakarot otherwise Vegeta and Broly will beat me to death) from Dragon Ball Z to the game.
Now what’s cool here is that this isn’t a mere 3D model character swap mod. Oh no. Goku now has his own movements and combos. Not only that but he can use Kamehame blasts and he can transform to all different Super Saiyan forms. And yes, as the header image indicates, you’ll also be able to use Ultra Instinct.
Alongside the playable Goku, Project Dragon Soul (Definitive Edition) brings new Loading Screens and Tutorial Messages. You can also expect a new Soundtrack and a new HUD. From what I’ve seen, the mod only uses Goku’s English voice. So, I don’t know whether it also has his Japanese voice.
Do note that the mod replaces the Formchange and Shotlock systems from the base game. As such, you’ll have to turn on the No Formchanges and No Shotlocks restrictions. Otherwise, the mod will not work.
>> The article has an almost 10 minutes video.

Starfield gets a Fleet Expansion Mod which aims to significantly enhance its spaceship experience
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/starfield-gets-a-fleet-expansion-mod-which-aims-to-significantly-enhance-its-spaceship-experience/
The Starfield Fleet Expansion Team has released a pretty cool mod for Starfield that aims to significantly enhance its spaceship experience. So, let’s see what this mod adds to the game.
The first thing the Starfield Fleet Expansion does is add more types of ships to the game. The initial release includes 20 different ships from various starship builders in Starfield. These ships range from large cargo carriers to fast fighters, powerful corvettes, heavy gunships, assault dropships, and scouting craft.
All added custom ships also spawn in space, adding them to existing unpredictable encounters. As you explore the starfield, you might encounter them as friendly or hostile vessels.
Not only that but like any existing hull in the game, this mod allows players to explore and purchase the added ships from vendors across the universe or board them when encountered.
In future versions, the team plans to add even more ships. From what we know, they plan to introduce 100+ unique hulls through staggered releases. So, this is a mod that we highly recommend using.
>> The article has no screenshots nor videos.

GAMING NEWS

Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions is coming to PC on September 3rd, and here are its PC requirements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/harry-potter-quidditch-champions-is-coming-to-pc-on-september-3rd-and-here-are-its-pc-requirements/
Warner Bros has announced that Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions will be coming to PC on September 3rd. To celebrate this announcement, the publisher shared an official trailer for it, as well as its PC system requirements.

The latest update for Enshrouded brings Difficulty Modifiers and AMD FSR 3.0 support
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/the-latest-update-for-enshrouded-brings-difficulty-modifiers-and-amd-fsr-3-support/
Keen Games has released a new update for its co-op survival RPG, Enshrouded. According to the team, Patch v.0.7.3.0 adds difficulty presets and individual gameplay settings. Moreover, it brings support for AMD FSR 3.0.

Visions of Mana PC demo is now available for download on Steam
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/visions-of-mana-pc-demo-is-now-available-for-download-on-steam/
Square Enix has just released a PC demo for Visions of Mana that you can download from Steam. As SE noted, the content featured in the demo has been cut down to make a satisfying demo and progress cannot be carried over to the full game.

Elden Ring Patch 1.13 is available for download and here are all its fixes, tweaks, changes and improvements
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/elden-ring-patch-1-13-is-available-for-download-and-here-are-all-its-fixes-tweaks-changes-and-improvements/
FromSoftware has released Patch 1.13 for Elden Ring, and revealed all of its fixes, tweaks, changes and improvements. So, let’s take a closer look at it.
Update 1.13 increases the poise damage of various weapons. Moreover, it decreases the backstep invulnerability window when the Fine Crucible Feather Talisman or the Talisman of All Crucibles are equipped.
>> The patch also warns users that the framerate problems may be caused by… your mouse.

Guns of Fury blends Metal Slug with Castlevania, and is a must for all retro gamers
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/guns-of-fury-blends-metal-slug-with-castlevania-and-is-a-must-for-all-retro-gamers/
Metal Slug and Castlevania fans, here is something special for you today. Gelato Games has announced Guns of Fury; a retro-inspired action platformer that blends Metal Slug with Castlevania. Guns of Fury will be released later this year on PC, and below you can find its debut gameplay trailer.

EA SPORTS Madden NFL 25 gets official PC requirements, it will be using Denuvo and it will require an EA account and the EA App
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/ea-sports-madden-nfl-25-gets-official-pc-requirements-it-will-be-using-denuvo-and-it-will-require-an-ea-account-and-the-ea-app/
EA has shared the official PC system requirements for EA SPORTS Madden NFL 25. In addition, the publisher shared a new deep dive video that highlights all of the new features and updates coming to the Franchise Mode.

Here are the official PC requirements for Star Wars Outlaws
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/here-are-the-official-pc-requirements-for-star-wars-outlaws/
Ubisoft has revealed the official PC system requirements for its upcoming Star Wars game, Star Wars: Outlaws. Star Wars: Outlaws will be powered by the Snowdrop Engine, so let’s see what you’ll need in order to run it.
>> And here’s a 50 minutes video of the game.