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

[JEMC]

Another week, another round of news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Black Myth: Wukong is already one of the fastest-selling games of all time, moving almost as many units in one week as Elden Ring and Cyberpunk did in their first months
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/black-myth-wukong-is-already-one-of-the-fastest-selling-games-of-all-time-moving-almost-as-many-units-in-one-week-as-elden-ring-and-cyberpunk-did-in-their-first-months/
Black Myth: Wukong's first week of sales numbers are in, and they firmly inhabit "Don't take a big sip of coffee before you look at them" territory. 10 million units sold, which, as industry analyst Daniel Ahmad pointed out on X, "The Everything App," is a record-breaking performance that leaves some of the biggest releases of the past few years in the dust.

Players seem to like Concord, but its $40 price tag has led to a tepid first weekend on PC
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/players-seem-to-like-concord-but-its-40-price-tag-has-led-to-a-tepid-first-weekend-on-pc/
The PlayStation Network doesn't have public player numbers, so it's hard to say what the complete picture is, but things don't look great for Concord on PC. The $40 hero shooter is sitting at mostly positive reviews on Steam, but according to SteamDB, has so far hit a high water mark of just 697 PC players on its opening weekend.

This $10 bundle is incredible value on 7 modern detective games
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/this-dollar10-bundle-is-incredible-value-on-7-modern-detective-games/
A new bundle over on Humble Bundle has me gobmsacked for the sheer value on display for a minimum of $10: The Humble Detectives Bundle is a cornucopia of delightful games about detectives and mysteries and killers from the last few years.
The bundle's made up of film-world-focused mystery Immortality, serial killer thriller Killer Frequency, a fantastical world of dark secrets in Paradise Killer, cosmic horror in Call of Cthulhu, a double-dose of pixel jokes in The Darkside Detective and its sequel A Fumble in the Dark, and a whodunnit where you did it in Overboard.
$10 is pretty convincing as a price for many of those, frankly.
>> It will last 18 days.

GOG starts the week with two sales and an extra:

• The Isometric Sale features up to 90% discounts during 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20240826_isometric_games_sale
• It’s hated by kids and loved by parents, but everybody can enjoy the Back to School Sale, with over 5800 games up to 95% off until September 10th: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/2024_back_to_school_sale
• And a new sale brings a new GIVEAWAY: Tropico 4 will be free during 70 hours: https://www.gog.com/en/game/tropico_4

Steam has three new deals:

• Death's Door will be 75% off until the 1st of September: https://store.steampowered.com/app/894020/Deaths_Door/
• Swarm Grinder will be half its price until September 8: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1375900/Swarm_Grinder/
• And PHOGS!, that has a demo, features a 65% discount until September, the 8th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/850320/PHOGS/

And Fanatical’s new Star Deal is Resident Evil 4, 34% off during 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/resident-evil-4

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

INTEL Arc Graphics 32.0.101.5972 driver
https://videocardz.com/driver/intel-arc-graphics-32-0-101-5972
Highlights
Intel® Game On Driver support on Intel® Arc™ A-series Graphics GPUs and Intel® Core™ Ultra with built-in Intel® Arc™ GPUs for:

• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Beta
• SMITE 2
• Star Wars Outlaws
• Visions of Mana

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Fallout 4 gets a large-scale “zombie apocalypse” fan expansion, set in the State of Vermont
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/fallout-4-gets-large-scale-zombie-apocalypse-mod-set-in-the-state-of-vermont/
Fallout 4 fans, here is something for you today. Modder ‘Yogibird111’ has just released a pretty cool fan expansion that adds a brand new world map to Fallout 4. And, since this new free content to the game, we highly recommend downloading it.
Going into more details, Fallout Vermont is a large-scale “zombie apocalypse” mod that is set in the State of Vermont. In this expansion, players will help the locals combat the ferals and slowly unveil a devious conspiracy lurking in the shadows.
Players will be able to explore the world and talk to people to figure out what to do. You’ll meet many interesting characters and factions. Moreover, all characters are fully voiced and lip-synced.
To get to Vermont, you’ll have to use a secret tunnel just north of Sanctuary hills. Thankfully, there’s a marker on the map. Thus, you’ll be able to easily find it.
You can go ahead and download Fallout Vermont from this link. Do note that the mod works with the downgraded GOG version of F4. It will also require the Far Harbor DLC. In theory, it should also work with the Next-Gen Version.
>> The article has an over 30 minutes video.

Super Mario and the Rainbow Stars is a free Mario game for PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/super-mario-and-the-rainbow-stars-is-a-free-mario-game-for-pc/
PC Mario fans, here is something cool for you today. We all know that, at least for now, Nintendo does not plan to bring its Mario games to the PC. As such, fans are doing what Nintendon’t (only retro gamers will get this). So, yesterday, a demo for Super Mario and the Rainbow Stars just became available for download.
Super Mario and the Rainbow Stars is a project that aims to bring the unique traits of the Paper Mario and Mario and Luigi series into a fun 2D platformer. In the full game, players will explore 7 different chapters, discover new partners and unique worlds, and stop Starnox’s evil plans.
Super Mario and the Rainbow Stars features new moves, cutscenes, 3D world map, and tons of powerups. Moreover, it comes with a 3 hp life system, partner system, original songs and more.
To celebrate the demo release, Starshi also shared the following gameplay trailer. And as you will see, this free Mario game actually feels like a… Mario game. The game already looks polished and plays great. So, if you are a Mario fan, you should definitely get it.
Now I don’t know whether or not Nintendo will shut it down. I mean, we’re talking about Nintendo. The company that has shut down dozens of free projects. Therefore, I suggest downloading it while you still can.
>> Use the mirror link. Google Drive says that too many people have downloaded it, which is both good (people are interested in it) and bad (Nintendo may get involved faster). Good luck with your attempts.

Black Myth: Wukong just got an in-game map thanks to this mod
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/black-myth-wukong-just-got-an-in-game-thanks-to-this-mod/
Black Myth: Wukong fans, rejoice. One of the biggest issues a lot of players had with this title was the lack of an in-game map. Thankfully, though, a modder was able to address this and released a mod that does exactly that.
Created by modder ‘wmm555’, this mod adds an in-game map. As such, it will be easier now to explore the game’s environments. This is a must-have mod for pretty much everyone. So, make sure to get it.
You can download the mod from this link. Once downloaded, you’ll have to extract it to the “b1” folder to the game root directory. Then, you’ll have to add the “-fileopenlog” command to the Steam startup options. This is a crucial step. If you don’t do it, the mod won’t work.
Once installed, you can press “m” to enter the large map mode, and “n” to switch the camera view. You can use the directions keys to move the map, and your mouse wheel to zoom in or out. You can also use J to mark a location. Finally, with “O” you can Cancel/Resume Pause. Do not open the backpack while paused, though, as it will cause the game to crash.
>> The article has three screenshots.

Doom E1M1 remade in Doom Eternal is honestly kind of quaint
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/doom-e1m1-remade-in-doom-eternal-is-honestly-kind-of-quaint/
The first level of Doom 1993—E1M1—is of course legendary for a lot of reasons. One of those reasons is because a whole, whole lot of people have played it over the years. Even more now that that new little collection of Doom and Doom 2 have released.
Now, a modder going by Bloodshot1 has released a cute little remake of E1M1 using Doom Eternal and its Pistol Restoration mod. Here's a full playthrough by a YouTube channel.
Frankly... E1M1 holds up when you're playing Doom—but ported into Doom Eternal's modern graphics and engine and models it just looks kind of barebones and quaint. A very promising game design student's first project with a boatload of assets from a free store—or something like it. Don't get me wrong, it's still a solid level design... but these days so much more bombast goes into the opening of a big, expensive, generation-defining game, whereas just 30 years ago the design preference was to ease you in with something simple.
>> The video is less than 6 minutes long.

A super fan of Dungeons & Dragons' Githyanki made a Baldur's Gate 3-infused Doom map where you can just hang out and talk to them
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/a-super-fan-of-dungeons-and-dragons-githyanki-made-a-baldurs-gate-3-infused-doom-map-where-you-can-just-hang-out-and-talk-to-them/
If you're anything like me, Baldur's Gate 3 knocked your life off-kilter and sent you on a long and winding personal journey through computer and tabletop RPG history looking for the same magic. Brazil-based indie developer vikintor took the lingering BG3 mania to the next level, though, creating a custom Doom map for his and others' Githyanki tabletop characters to hang out in, built with assets from Baldur's Gate 3 and serving as a bit of an extended, tertiary epilogue to one of its endings.
Baldur's Gate and D&D connection aside, the Githmap's an interesting experience on its own. Totally combat-free and defaulting to a third person perspective, it feels like a hub area from an RPG, maybe the prologue to a Githyanki-themed full game that doesn't exist. Doom's look makes for a nice pairing with the Planescape-y-ness of the whole endeavor, which weaves open cathedral interiors, wood-paneled living quarters, and surreal industrial structures together under an alien sky.
>> There’s a short video in the article.

GAMING NEWS

Avowed and Monster Hunter Wilds may support 60fps only on PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/avowed-and-monster-hunter-wilds-may-support-60fps-only-on-pc/
It appears that two highly anticipated triple-A games may support 60fps (and higher framerates) only on the PC. These two games are Avowed and Monster Hunter Wilds. So, from the looks of it, PC gamers will get the best experience in them.

New Dragon Age: The Veilguard video gives a glimpse at high-level combat
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-dragon-age-the-veilguard-video-gives-a-glimpse-at-high-level-combat/
EA and BioWare have released a new video that gives us a glimpse at the game’s high-level combat system. Or at least that’s the devs claimed. And, thankfully, it does not contain any spoilers.

Here’s Star Wars: Outlaws at 4K/Ultra with all Ray Tracing effects
https://www.dsogaming.com/articles/heres-star-wars-outlaws-at-4k-ultra-with-all-ray-tracing-effects/
Ubisoft has lifted the review embargo for Star Wars: Outlaws. As such, we’ve decided to share some 4K screenshots from the PC version, running on an NVIDIA RTX 4090 at Ultra with all its Ray Tracing effects. So, go ahead and take a look at them.
>> That doesn’t make it a good game.