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

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The Tuesday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Steam’s Top 10
 
(Click here for the Top 100)

Final Fantasy 14 is still the load-bearing, reliable breadwinner for Square Enix, even with Dawntrail's bumpy post-launch reception
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/final-fantasy-14-is-still-the-load-bearing-reliable-breadwinner-for-square-enix-even-with-dawntrails-bumpy-post-launch-reception/
Final Fantasy 14 has a bit of a problem—it's made by Square Enix. Alright, maybe that's a little harsh, but it's sort of bearing out in the financials year after year. Back in August, it was observed that, even before the launch of the MMO's recent expansion, Dawntrail, the game was carrying the weight of the company on its shoulders, keeping the company as profitable as it can be.
A recent set of financial results for the past fiscal year has continued to show that, yes—even with Dawntrail's mixed, bumpy reception, Final Fantasy 14 (and Dragon Quest 10, to a lesser extent) is still the breadwinner, putting on its little tie and suit before going off to break its back and fund the company's other ill-advised projects and underperforming AAA games (thanks, Automaton).
You can read the report yourself, which goes over the first half of the fiscal year 2025 (which'll confusingly end in March 2025 for Square, but I don't make the rules) but here's the summary: While net sales are down, operating income's up, due in part to "the expansion pack release in the MMO sub-segment".
The "HD Games" sub-segment, which includes those big mainline releases like Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth, was down ¥16.2 billion year-on-year in terms of net sales, while there was a ¥3.6 billion loss in terms of operating income. Meanwhile, the "Games for Smart Devices/PC Browser" sub-segment was down ¥16.2 billion in net sales, with a ¥4.9 billion loss in terms of operating income.
In saunters the MMO sub-segment, presumably wearing a glittering pair of shades and dumping a fat sack of money on the table, which had a ¥8.5 billion increase in net scales, and an operating year-on-year bump of ¥3.8 billion. The total numbers are also bonkers, too—while that HD games segment actually lost Square Enix ¥1.2 billion, the MMO one raked in ¥13.1 billion in operating income. When it comes to cost-efficiency, Square's MMOs are doing laps around the most recent entries in Final Fantasy.

Astarion has breached the Vatican—Baldur's Gate 3 has sold 2 copies in Vatican City, says Larian's director of publishing
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/baldurs-gate/astarion-has-breached-the-vatican-baldurs-gate-3-has-sold-2-copies-in-vatican-city-says-larians-director-of-publishing/
The Vatican now has exactly two Baldur's Gate 3 copies being played inside its hallowed walls, according to Larian's director of publishing, who took to X today to share his findings. This marks a second notable instance of gaming behaviour by the Catholic Church this year, as in July, it ordained its first gamer saint.
"Sold 2 copies of Baldur's Gate 3 in The Vatican, with 1 wishlist," writes Michael Douse. "I'd like to think the latter is just the Pope waiting until he has a free minute. Wish I could see their mod list. Bet it's absolutely gnarly."
While two copies doesn't sound like a whole lot, it's important to remember what Vatican City actually is— a 121-acre patch of land in Rome that's its own sovereign entity, and the seat of the Catholic Church. It has a population of about 764, half of which don't even live in the place. Just over 100 of that number includes the Papal Swiss Guard.

GOG has two new sales/promos:

• The Weekly Sale has games up to 93% off during 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20241112_weekly_deals_2_november
• The RPG Promo has up to 95% discounts during 10 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20241112_rpg_promo

Steam has new deals and, of course, new weeklong deals:

• The Indiecade Festival 2024 started the last 8th of November and will run until the 16th, although some deals will last until the 18th, and has up to 80% discounts: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/indiecadefestival2024
• The Early Access title Six Days in Fallujah is going to be 25% off until the 18th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1548850/Six_Days_in_Fallujah/
• Anger Foot gets a 30% discount until Monday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1978590/Anger_Foot/
• Solasta: Crown of the Magister will be 70% off until November, 18th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1096530/Solasta_Crown_of_the_Magister/
• The Czech & Slovak Games Week 2024 features games up to 90% off. All the deals I’ve checked will end on the 18th, but there may be an outlier: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/CzechSlovakGamesWeek2024
• The Total War Historical Sale has the games of this sub-franchise on sale with up to 75% discounts until Monday, the 18th: https://store.steampowered.com/developer/Sega/sale/totalwarhistoricalsale
• The Rising Storm/Red Orchestra franchise is also on sale, with up to 95% discounts until the 18th of November: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/risingstormfranchisesale
• Unbeknown to me, the Armistice Charity Sale took place this weekend. Sadly, most deals will end with today’s refresh, but there are a few of them that will last until the 21st of November: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/armistice2024
• DeathSprint 66 will be 33% off until November, the 25th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1273560/DeathSprint_66/
• Here are some of the weeklong deals:
  • Strategic Command WWII: War in the Pacific is 25% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2740080/Strategic_Command_WWII_War_in_the_Pacific/
  • Cosmos: Stella Returns has a 30% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2570280/Cosmos_Stella_Returns/
  • Lost Lands: The Four Horsemen Collector's Edition is half its usual price: https://store.steampowered.com/app/372940/Lost_Lands_The_Four_Horsemen_Collectors_Edition/
  • Wargroove features a 70% discount (the second one also has a discount, 30%): https://store.steampowered.com/app/607050/Wargroove/
  • And Yooka-Laylee is 80% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/360830/YookaLaylee/

Today Fanatical only has two 24h Flash Deals:

• The Invincible is 55% off: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/the-invincible
• Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery has a 92% discount: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/behind-the-frame-the-finest-scenery

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

NVIDIA GeForce Game Ready 566.14 driver
https://videocardz.com/driver/nvidia-geforce-game-ready-566-14
Highlights
Game Ready for S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2: Heart of Chornobyl and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024
This new Game Ready Driver provides the best gaming experience for the latest newgames supporting DLSS 3 technology including S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2: Heart of Chornobyl and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024.

Fixed Issues
Fixed Gaming Bugs

• DSR/DLDSR custom resolutions may not appear in certain games [4839770]
• Call of Duty MWIII] filename change preventing users from using GFE Freestyle Filters [4927183]

Fixed General Bugs

• [Bluestacks/Corsair iCUE] May display higher than normal CPU usage [4895184][4893446]
• When “Shader Cache size” is set to “disabled” cache files may still be created [4895217]

Steam's latest update promises better betas, barely a bundle of broken save games
https://www.pcgamer.com/software/platforms/steams-latest-update-promises-better-betas-barely-a-bundle-of-broken-save-games/
Pop quiz, hotshot: How do you install a beta version of a game on Steam? That's right, you right-click the game you want to em-beta-fy, hit properties, go down to betas, potentially enter some kind of complex password that unlocks the branch you want, then select the correct build from a drop-down box.
A nightmarish process of almost dizzying complexity. Kind of. Okay, not really. It's actually totally fine, but Valve is making it even easier nonetheless. A post on the Steamworks blog last Friday alerted devs to the fact that they could now get their players into and out of beta versions of their games with ease. Smoother, faster, downright expeditiously.
(...)
Plus, if you've ever gotten deep into an early access game, you'll know the sheer pain that can come from a sudden update making mincemeat of your saves, forcing you to restart from scratch or—if you're me—wander off forever, never to return to the game again. As Valve puts it, "trouble can arise when players with dozens or hundreds of hours of playtime find that their save file no longer works with the latest version of the game."
To put a stop to that, a new API will let devs "add some logic to your game to check if there is an existing save file, and for which version of the game that save file is for. If the game the user is running is newer than that version, you could prompt the user." Essentially, if the game realises you're running a save that's going to get broken by a patch, the devs can use the new tools to flash up a warning and let you opt to stay on the older, compatible version of the game, which I expect to pop up as an addition to Crusader Kings 3 any day now.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

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GAMING NEWS

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle gets an official gameplay deep dive trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/indiana-jones-and-the-great-circle-gets-an-official-gameplay-deep-dive-trailer/
Microsoft and Bethesda have released an official gameplay deep dive trailer for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. This trailer details the key gameplay features of this new Indiana Jones game. So, if you are looking forward to it, I suggest watching it.

Rogue Point is a new game from the devs of Half-Life: Black Mesa
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/rogue-point-is-a-new-game-from-the-devs-of-half-life-black-mesa/
Crowbar Collective, the devs behind the amazing remake of Half-Life, Black Mesa, has announced its new game. This new game is called Rogue Point, and it will be a co-op tactical roguelite first-person shooter.