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

[JEMC]

Thursday news, part two:

The PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted returns to reveal the 25 most-anticipated PC games this December
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/events-conferences/the-pc-gaming-show-most-wanted-returns-to-reveal-the-25-most-anticipated-pc-games-this-december/
In the 1990s, the UK's greatest philosophers came together to issue one request: "Tell me what you want, what you really, really want." This was followed by something about wanting "zig a zig ah", which no one has yet been able to translate. Either way, PC Gamer is bringing that spirit of inquiry back when the PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted returns with full fanfare this December 5 at 12 pm PST, 3 pm EST and 8 pm GMT.
>> I’m old enough to get the reference, and I hate it.

Ubisoft's got yet another NFT project, and man do I feel bad for the artists whose great work is being wasted on this garbage
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/ubisofts-got-yet-another-nft-project-and-man-do-i-feel-bad-for-the-artists-whose-great-work-is-being-wasted-on-this-garbage/
Despite the fact that we've sort of universally agreed that NFT games aren't going to happen, the nature of game development makes it so we're bound to be seeing doomed projects fly their unwanted freak flags high on the proud ship "Sunk Cost". See, videogames take a few years to make, so whatever trend was popular a few years ago will only be surfacing now, unless you're willing to go all Early Access about it (which plenty of NFT projects have).
Ubisoft has gotten a big run up and leapt onto the bandwagon already halfway to Oregon with Champions Tactics, a Web3 (that's "NFT" in tech bro speak) PVP game which, looking at this trailer, has an art department that's utterly wasted on it.

Microsoft closing Arkane Austin was a 'dumb move', says founder and former president
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/microsoft-closing-arkane-austin-was-a-dumb-move-says-founder-and-former-president/
WolfEye Studios boss and Arkane founder Raphael Colantonio understandably remains frustrated by Microsoft's decision to kill off Arkane Austin earlier this year. Colantonio started Arkane back in 1999, which grew into two studios, Arkane Lyon and Arkane Austin, in 2006. His last game, before departing the company in 2017, was the whip-smart, extremely paranoid sci-fi romp Prey.
(...)
"I think if you look a little bit, it's obvious that Arkane Austin was a very special group of people that have made some cool things and that could pull it off again," he says. "I think it was a decision that just came down to, 'We need to cut something.' Was it to please the investors, the stock market? They're playing a different game."
>> He also said why he left Arkane.

Monster Hunter Wilds' arachnophobia filter turns mosquitos into, okay, brace yourself—raunchy humping slimes that over 100,000 people think are jumping their bones
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/monster-hunter-wilds-arachnophobia-filter-turns-mosquitos-into-okay-brace-yourself-raunchy-humping-slimes-that-over-100-000-people-think-are-jumping-their-bones/
Arachnophobia filters are downright fashionable, nowadays—though there hasn't been a one-size-fits-all solution to them. From turning spider-zombies into terrifying floating leeches to going full-tilt crab mode, the solutions are about as scattershot as they are considerate. My least favourite, however, has now surfaced—Capcom has turned Monster Hunter Wilds' mosquitos into slimes that are… uh. Just take a look.

Apex Legends' CEO announces that a 'large systematic change is required' after EA didn't hit monetisation goals
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/battle-royale/apex-legends-ceo-announces-that-a-large-systematic-change-is-required-after-ea-didnt-hit-monetisation-goals/
If you tuned into EA's recent earnings call yesterday (who am I to tell you what to do with your time), you probably noticed a lot of commotion about Apex Legends and how its new battle pass didn't really hit it out of the park.
"Apex Legends launched with significantly more new features for casual and seasoned players alike, including more modes, a new map, and new anti-cheat software," EA CEO Andrew Wilson says. "Following changes to the battle pass construct, we did not see the lift in monetization we had expected."
>> It’s worth noting, as the article also does, that this is a case of not making as much money as they want, not about not making money.

One Deadlock player found a glitch that can 'increase a character's scale' so much that 'they grow larger than the map and die instantly'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/moba/one-deadlock-player-found-a-glitch-that-can-increase-a-characters-scale-so-much-that-they-grow-larger-than-the-map-and-die-instantly/
One of the best parts of Deadlock being in closed beta is that players are finding weird bugs and glitches they can exploit for some good laughs, and the latest is a doozy. Somehow, one player managed to use one of the new heroes' abilities to infinitely grow other characters.

A super-smart chimp and a rat with a Tamagotchi on his ass leading a lab animal jailbreak: It's not a Disney movie, it's an upcoming first-person horror game
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/a-super-smart-chimp-and-a-rat-with-a-tamagotchi-on-his-ass-leading-a-lab-animal-jailbreak-its-not-a-disney-movie-its-an-upcoming-first-person-horror-game/
My immediate reaction to Animal Use Protocol, elicited through an image of a grim-looking monkey holding a mouse, was what you might expect: Why is that monkey holding a mouse? I was curious, as the saying goes—but after learning the game is being developed by The Brotherhood, very suddenly I was interested.
>> If that headline doesn’t make you curious, I don’t know what will.

Despite making significant changes to survival game Nightingale, developer Inflexion Games says it hasn't been 'commercially successful enough' to avoid 'dozens' of layoffs
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/despite-making-significant-changes-to-survival-game-nightingale-developer-inflexion-games-says-it-hasnt-been-commercially-successful-enough-to-avoid-dozens-of-layoffs/
After a troubled launch and months of low and declining player counts, Nightingale developer Inflexion Games has announced that it is laying off employees and closing its UK studio.

Before you play Dragon Age: The Veilguard, you really should change the annoying wayfinding settings
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/dragon-age/before-you-play-dragon-age-the-veilguard-you-really-should-change-the-annoying-wayfinding-settings/
Dragon Age: The Veilguard features a bevy of handy accessibility and interface options to make the chunky quest to murder a couple of pesky elven gods smoother—everything from text size settings, to how the game lets you know if an object is interactive. But there are a couple of little helpers that you'll want to tweak immediately, unless you want to go on a guided tour of Thedas.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Zombies players have found an easter egg that'll give you 2,000 free points, but you have to be good at trick shots
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/call-of-duty/call-of-duty-black-ops-6-zombies-players-have-found-an-easter-egg-thatll-give-you-2-000-free-points-but-you-have-to-be-good-at-trick-shots/
We're still in the early phases of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, so that means there's still some uncharted territory for players to explore and uncover, and the latest discovery is an easter egg points hack in Zombies.
"Basketball easter egg found," one player who goes by SmartGuy316 says. "Make the ball in the hoop for a free 2,000 points (The Ball is sitting in the corner above the gas canister on the WW quest door on the roof). Definitely need to find a good setup of this for speedruns." I'm not sure how many attempts SmartGuy316 had before finally scoring the points, but regardless of the number of attempts, it's still an impressive shot.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 accounted for 19% of all Comcast's traffic last week, and it's the first in the series in years actually worth its huge download size
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/call-of-duty/call-of-duty-black-ops-6-accounted-for-19-percent-of-all-comcasts-traffic-last-week-and-its-the-first-in-the-series-in-years-actually-worth-its-huge-download-size/
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, being both a major game release and a huge game in download size, has been eating up my internet for the last week. It seems that's true of most of the US too, according to Comcast.
Internet provider Comcast recently put out a statement (via The Verge) reporting the "biggest week in internet history". In this, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 accounts for 19% of all network traffic coming up to its launch.

Since there’ll be no news tomorrow, I wish all those of you that celebrate Halloween a great night, to those that have other celebrations (like the region where I live) a very good time as well, and to the rest, just enjoy yourself. Until the next time, have a happy and gaming long weekend.