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

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Monday news, the last part:

Frostpunk 2 will have official modding support
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/frostpunk-2-will-have-official-modding-support/
The designers of Frostpunk 2 have announced that it will have full support for mods via a modding tool called FrostKit. While mods were an oft-requested feature for the first Frostpunk, 11 bit studios had used a proprietary, in-house engine to develop it. Switching to Unreal Engine has allowed them to release a native mod development tool alongside Frostpunk.

'AI is coming for all of us:' Mass Effect, Metal Gear Solid, and Baldur's Gate voice actor Jennifer Hale weighs in on SAG-AFTRA's games industry strike
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/ai-is-coming-for-all-of-us-mass-effect-metal-gear-solid-and-baldur-s-gate-voice-actor-jennifer-hale-weighs-in-on-sag-aftra-s-games-industry-strike/
In an interview with Variety, prolific videogame voice actor, Jennifer Hale, whose credits include Mass Effect, Planescape: Torment, and the original Baldur's Gate, defended SAG-AFTRA drilling down on AI protections for performers in its continued negotiations with major game publishers. Videogame voice actors have been on strike against publishers including EA, Activision, and Disney since July 26.

A hardcore, turn-based zombie survival roguelike is getting good buzz on Steam
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/a-hardcore-turn-based-zombie-survival-roguelike-is-getting-good-buzz-on-steam/
A new zombie survival game on Steam is picking up some positive buzz. Terminus: Zombie survivors is "a 2D turn-based survival roguelike set during a zombie apocalypse" that sets itself apart from other games in the genre by focusing on a turn-based experience that doesn't require active reflexes, rather planning and a focus on using your limited action points effectively.

Risk of Rain 2 creators comment on Gearbox's first DLC without them: 'It's great to see new content for the game, but it's hard to see growing pains of the new team in real time'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/risk-of-rain-2-creators-weigh-in-on-gearbox-s-first-dlc-without-them-it-s-great-to-see-new-content-for-the-game-but-it-s-hard-to-see-growing-pains-of-the-new-team-in-real-time/
It hasn't been a good week to be a Risk of Rain fan. Gearbox released Seekers of the Storm, Risk of Rain 2's first DLC since the publisher bought the series from original developers Hopoo Games, and it's currently sitting at just 21% positive reviews on Steam.
(...)
On August 30, Risk of Rain co-creator Duncan Drummond wrote about Seekers of the Storm on X, "The Everything App," expressing understanding for the backlash but also sympathy for the development team at Gearbox.

Crusader Kings 3 players have pet their digital cats and dogs over 11 million times
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/crusader-kings-3-players-have-pet-their-digital-cats-and-dogs-over-11-million-times/
Paradox Interactive has shared some statistics to celebrate the fourth anniversarry of Crusader Kings 3, the historical grand strategy game that puts people in the shoes of ruling families across eurasia during the medieval era. It lets you do immersive historical stuff like die of the black plague, fight a stupid war because of your stupid cousin, and get a nice dog or cat to pet.
People have really pet them puppies and kitties, apparently, because between cats and dogs Crusader Kings 3 players have laid on 11,578,957 pets. That's 6,175,718 for the cates, and 5,403,239 for the dogs.

Baldur's Gate 3's beefy patch 7 will finally drop next week
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/baldurs-gate/baldur-s-gate-3-s-beefy-patch-7-will-finally-drop-next-week/
At the end of a PAX West panel looking back on the development and reception of Baldur's Gate 3, Larian boss Swen Vincke revealed that the game's highly anticipated Patch 7 will finally arrive next week after months of teasers and playtesting.
>> And by next week, they mean this week.

Larian looked to popular homebrew D&D rules for Baldur's Gate 3: 'We were like—okay, we're not crazy, some people do it, so maybe we can try it as well'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/baldurs-gate/larian-looked-to-popular-homebrew-d-d-rules-for-baldur-s-gate-3-we-were-like-okay-we-re-not-crazy-some-people-do-it-so-maybe-we-can-try-it-as-well/
Baldur's Gate 3 is a fascinating game if you're into Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition, the tabletop ruleset it's built upon—because while it's a decently faithful recreation of those rules, it also has enough homebrew nonsense (in the form of magic items and overall tweaks to the TTRPG's core systems) to stand out as its own thing.
Choosing what to scrap, change, and keep hasn't been a straightforward process, however, according to Larian Studio's co-founder Swen Vincke and design director Nick Pechenin during a retrospective panel at PAX West 2024 this weekend.
>> They also revealed that they considered a first person camera for dialogues, among other things.

Mouse: P.I. for Hire devs share ambitions to make a game that's more than 'just a cool art project': A satirical metroidvania shooter with 'adult, deep, gripping storylines'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/mouse-p-i-for-hire-devs-share-ambitions-to-make-a-game-that-s-more-than-just-a-cool-art-project-a-satirical-metroidvania-shooter-with-adult-deep-gripping-storylines/
I had the chance to sit down with the developers of Mouse: P.I. for Hire, a first-person shooter currently in development by Fumi Games. In a hands-off presentation shown to me by lead producer Maciej Krzemień and CEO/Game Director Mateusz Michalak at Gamescom, I was able to see quite a hefty chunk of gameplay, as well as get a little insight into the development process.

Deadlock dev discusses Valve's progress on perfecting MMR, 'It'll be more effective once we finish a full rewrite of the matchmaking system'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/moba/deadlock-dev-discusses-valves-progress-on-perfecting-mmr-itll-be-more-effective-once-we-finish-a-full-rewrite-of-the-matchmaking-system/
Deadlock's MMR is a bit all over the place right now. But this isn't entirely unexpected from a game that's only been out in closed beta for just over a week. Luckily, it seems like the devs have some upcoming plans for improving match-making. 
Some of the developers on the official Discord server (which you can access via an in-game link) are pretty good at answering players' questions. Over the weekend, one such query happened to be whether there is any MMR matchmaking in Deadlock currently, whether that be for overall teams or down to specific lanes.