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

[JEMC]

Friday news, part number two:

2K reveals free-to-play hero shooter Project Ethos, an extraction game with a minor 'roguelike' twist
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/2ks-first-free-to-play-hero-shooter-is-project-ethos-an-extraction-game-with-a-minor-roguelike-twist/
2K Games has finally joined its competitors: It has a hero shooter. (Aside from the defunct Battleborn, that is.) The company flew a few dozen streamers (and me and a couple other press) to LA this week to unveil Project Ethos, an upcoming free-to-play competitive game that it's calling a "roguelike hero shooter."

The 5 most popular Steam Next Fest demos are all multiplayer because the people thirst for PvP
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-5-most-popular-steam-next-fest-demos-are-all-multiplayer-because-the-people-thirst-for-pvp/
'Tis the season to gorge ourselves on a bunch of demos for upcoming games in the Steam Next Fest and then wait extremely patiently for them to actually launch after Next Fest ends. Steam's twice-yearly demo extravaganza event is well underway this week so I've sneaked a peek at what's popular. It's mostly multiplayer games, which should not surprise me.
>> I’ve tried three, with another one I’ll try later today, and none of them are on that list. What about you?

Former Sony exec says focusing on high-budget blockbusters is 'a death sentence' for the games industry
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/former-sony-exec-says-focusing-on-high-budget-blockbusters-is-a-death-sentence-for-the-games-industry/
Speaking at Gamescom Asia, former PlayStation executive Shawn Layden offered a grim diagnosis for the state of the games industry: AA studios have disappeared, and rising development costs have left the industry in a creative death spiral (via GamesIndustry.biz).

Nidhogg studio 're-reveals' its new project: A stylish action-exploration game where you race bicycles and save the world
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sports/nidhogg-studio-re-reveals-its-new-project-a-stylish-action-exploration-game-where-you-race-bicycles-and-save-the-world/
Back in 2023, Nidhogg developer Messhof unveiled its new game, a stylish racing game called Ghost Bike that sets players off on a quest to revive the the last of the Ghost Bikes, "magical couriers who rode between the world of the living and the world of the dead." Ghost Bike was re-revealed during today's Xbox showcase with a new title—Wheel World—and, sorry to say, a new, more distant release date: Instead of coming out this year as planned, it's now set for release in early 2025.

Fullbright drops a surprise horror game on Steam, and it's all about giant spiders hiding in disgusting toilets
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/fullbright-drops-a-surprise-horror-game-on-steam-and-its-all-about-giant-spiders-hiding-in-disgusting-toilets/
Fullbright, the studio behind Gone Home and Tacoma—in name, at least—has dropped a surprise new horror game on Steam called Toilet Spiders. In case the title leaves any doubt, this is one you'll definitely want to stay away from if you have a thing about spiders.

Activision says it fixed a 'workaround' in Call of Duty anti-cheat that banned 'a small number of innocent players,' but a cheat maker claims they could ban anyone by typing two words into chat
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/call-of-duty/activision-says-it-fixed-a-workaround-in-call-of-duty-anti-cheat-that-banned-a-small-number-of-innocent-players-but-a-cheat-maker-claims-they-could-ban-anyone-by-typing-two-words-into-chat/
The nice thing about automated anti-cheat tools is they can get a lot of good done in a short amount of time. Take Call of Duty's Ricochet anti-cheat, a kernel-level program that's banned hundreds of thousands of cheater accounts in the years since its introduction. The bad thing about automated anti-cheat is that, sometimes, its deep access can be used for evil. Activision revealed today that it recently "disabled a workaround" in its systems that banned innocent players.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 system requirements have been revealed and you won't need a rig upgrade if you can run (all of) last year's COD
https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/call-of-duty-black-ops-6-system-requirements-have-been-revealed-and-you-wont-need-a-rig-upgrade-if-you-can-run-all-of-last-years-cod/
If you've been playing all of last year's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, you should be able to run Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 without needing to buy new parts. Miraculously, it seems to take the exact same storage space too, so you can make just enough room for it by deleting the last entry. You'll be better off that way. 

Galaxy-brained NPCs thinking too much were the source of Dragon Dogma 2's performance woes in towns, say devs
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/galaxy-brained-npcs-thinking-too-much-were-the-source-of-dragon-dogma-2s-performance-woes-in-towns-say-devs/
I'm still pretty fond of my time with Dragon's Dogma 2—it's a banging RPG if you're able to look past those weird day-one microtransactions (that didn't even really give you anything good), one that breeds emergent moments of chaos, like your pawns accidentally blowing up your ride because you had the temerity to equip them with a certain spell before a goblin ambush.
There's one issue I can't really excuse it for, though, and that was the baffling performance issues in town. (...)
Well, turns out, Capcom's got the answer—the NPCs were thinking too hard. That's as per a Famitsu interview in the wake of a recent patch, which tidied up some performance woes (thanks, Automaton, for the translation):

'We apologize for not meeting the community's expectations:' Tekken 8 makes a rare acknowledgement of fan backlash after failing to include a $5 stage in its season pass
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fighting/we-apologize-for-not-meeting-the-communitys-expectations-tekken-8-makes-a-rare-acknowledgement-of-fan-backlash-after-failing-to-include-a-usd5-stage-in-its-season-pass/
Tekken 8's monetisation model has been landing Bandai Namco in hot water for a good chunk of this year. Sneaky cash shop introductions first drew fan ire back in February, with the more recent criticism coming as a result of the newest stage, Genmaji Temple, not being included with the game's season pass. 

Square Enix lawyers elbow in to shut down Yoko Taro fan archive, bafflingly, 6 months after he'd thanked its creators for all the love
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/square-enix-lawyers-elbow-in-to-shut-down-yoko-taro-fan-archive-bafflingly-6-months-after-hed-thanked-its-creators-for-all-the-love/
You know, as a Final Fantasy 14 player—a game which happened to have a Nier crossover raid back in Shadowbringers—I've been increasingly confused and alarmed by the wider blunders of Square Enix as a company, and now I've got one more to add to the list.
Accord's Library, a fan website that gathers and archives lore from the Nier and Drakengard games, has been told to shut things down. This was shared on the site's Discord server (thanks, Gamesradar), which reads:
"These past few years have been a pleasure, but we regret to inform you all that we've been contacted by the Square Enix Legal Team. And after some private communications, based on the outlined requirements we have come to the conclusion that Accord's Library must close its doors by the end of the month. While we are sad to have to go, we also must respect the wishes of the Legal Team.

'We are a small team with an indie spirit': Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 devs say the game won't suck up 100s of hours of your life as they spill the beans on price
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/we-are-a-small-team-with-an-indie-spirit-clair-obscur-expedition-33-devs-say-the-game-wont-suck-up-100s-of-hours-of-your-life-as-they-spill-the-beans-on-price/
Preorders for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 recently went live on Amazon for $49.99, while it's not clear if this was a mistake, the developers have just confirmed that this will be the price once the game releases.
"Pricing that you see from your local retailers is accurate, and we can’t wait for you to get your hands on the game," the game's X post says. "We are a small team with an Indie spirit, and we're creating something we believe is truly special. We aren't an AAA studio, this is our first game, and we want as many people discovering our world as possible."

Metaphor: ReFantazio's director does the smart thing, avoids reading comments as much as possible: 'Constantly looking at reactions isn’t good for your mental health'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/metaphor-refantazios-director-does-the-smart-thing-avoids-reading-comments-as-much-as-possible-constantly-looking-at-reactions-isnt-good-for-your-mental-health/
Metaphor: ReFantazio is, more than anything, a game about democracy and the role a leader has in hearing out the public's woes—good thing director Katsura Hashino isn't a prospective monarch, then, because he (quite sensibly) avoids the doom-scrolling feedback spiral of online comments and reviews.

And these are the GOG and Steam deals for the weekend:

+GOG

• There are only five Limited Time Offers that will last 70 hours:
  • The first one is STONKS-9800: Stock Market Simulator, still in Early Access, 30% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/stonks9800_stock_market_simulator
  • Blocks That Matter gets a 60% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/blocks_that_matter
  • Them and Us Bundle is going to be 70% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/them_and_us
  • Trash Sailors features an 80% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/trash_sailors
  • And Urban Trial Freestyle will be 90% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/urban_trial_freestyle

+Steam

• Europa Universalis IV will be free to try and 87% off until Wednesday, the 23rd: https://store.steampowered.com/app/236850/Europa_Universalis_IV/
• AutoForge, still in Early Access, gets a 20% discount until the 24th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1960480/AutoForge/
• Farthest Frontier is not only also in Early Access, but it’s also 20% off until October 24th as well: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1044720/Farthest_Frontier/
• ARMORED CORE™ VI FIRES OF RUBICON is on sale, with a 40% discount until October 24: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1888160/ARMORED_CORE_VI_FIRES_OF_RUBICON/
• Dwarf Fortress will have a 20% discount until the 28th of October: https://store.steampowered.com/app/975370/Dwarf_Fortress/
• Spirit of the North will be 90% off until October, the 31st: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1213700/Spirit_of_the_North/
• Publisher Abylight Studios celebrates a Strategy & Pixel Sale, with up to 90% discounts until the 31st: https://store.steampowered.com/developer/Abylight/sale/strategypixelsale
• And the Gamescom Asia 2024 Event is live and has a page with upcoming games, demos and up to 70% discounts. The event lasts until the 20th, but some of the deals will last until November 1st: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/gamescomasia24

Nothing else to add. Until the next time, I wish you a happy and gaming weekend.