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

[JEMC]

Monday news, the sequel:

Uh oh—Helldivers 2's state-owned missile platform players voted into existence is blowing them up, with Arrowhead giving players free shield generators while it figures out what happened
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/uh-oh-helldivers-2s-state-owned-missile-platform-players-voted-into-existence-is-blowing-them-up-too/
I said a lot of nice words about the Democracy Space Station added to Helldivers 2 yesterday, and I want to clarify two things. Firstly, I still think it's a really cool concept, but secondly, I also said that before players had bought any of the station's "actions", such as the planetary bombardment. Now the planetary bombardments are online, players are realising that they've just voted in a synthetic meteor shower that's killing them as often as it's killing bugs and bots.
Update: Arrowhead has applied an emergency patch, presumably while its devs figure out what the hell happened. While the barrages continue, the action in question also increases reinforcements by one per active squad member and gives everyone free shield generators.
>> Talking about Helldivers 2, bottom barrel guns seem to be the new top dogs.

A Forbes 30-under-30-er involved in at least 2 Disco Elysium successor studios has sued the lead dev at a third, blocking him from working on a new game
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/a-forbes-30-under-30-er-involved-in-at-least-2-disco-elysium-successor-studios-has-sued-the-lead-dev-at-a-third-blocking-him-from-working-on-a-new-game/
Argo Tuulik, Disco Elysium writer and co-founder of new RPG studio Summer Eternal, says he's being sued by Riaz Moola, the founder of competing RPG studio Longdue, with an injunction preventing Tuulik from working on or promoting his new studio's work.
>> Why is there so much drama surrounding Disco Elysium’s legacy? It’s like it’s cursed or something.

This cute but spooky farm sim starts unlike any other: in a town where you don't remember all the locals who somehow already know you
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/life-sim/this-cute-but-spooky-farm-sim-starts-unlike-any-other-in-a-town-where-you-dont-remember-all-the-locals-who-somehow-already-know-you/
As it is in Groundhog Day, so it is being a farmlife sim fan. In many lifetimes I have woken up as the inheritor of an overgrown property, been given a watering can, hoe, and five carrot seeds, and been the new-in-town novelty to a bunch of rural neighbours. Everholm isn't different there, but it does come with its own extra layer of surrealism. Because everyone in Everholm already knows your name.

Diablo 4's next patch hands out courtesy buffs to the poor fools who aren't playing its overpowered new class
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/diablo-4s-next-patch-hands-out-buffs-to-the-poor-fools-who-arent-playing-its-overpowered-new-class/
Earlier this week, Blizzard said 63% of all Diablo 4 players are spending their time with its newest class, the spiritborn. The other 37% of players who choose to play lesser classes are probably standing off to the side as their new sibling wipes out entire dungeons in seconds. It's rough out there for non-spiritborn players, but the next patch will at least make life at the bottom of the meta a little more fun.

Gabe Newell ponders the future in new Half-Life 2 documentary: 'I think that Half-Life represents a tool we have and promises made to customers'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/gabe-newell-ponders-the-future-in-new-half-life-2-documentary-i-think-that-half-life-represents-a-tool-we-have-and-promises-made-to-customers/
To celebrate Half-Life 2's 20th anniversary, Valve dropped a few surprises in our lap on Friday afternoon, like putting together the original dev team to record in-game commentary for the legendary FPS, which is free for the weekend on Steam. Awesome! Valve also posted a two-hour documentary on the making of Half-Life 2 on YouTube. Also awesome—unless you had something else to watch tonight like a ridiculous boxing match.
(...)
Is there confirmation of Half-Life 3 in the Half-Life 2 documentary? Or confirmation of Half-Life: Alyx 2? Or confirmation of anything specific at all? No. But in the closing minutes of the documentary, there are some hints that the Half-Life saga isn't over.
>> They also talk about why they didn’t go with Episode 3, and you may not like the reason.

Steamworld Dig developer lays off 80-100 employees and cancels some in-development games to ensure 'long-term sustainability and resilience'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/steamworld-dig-developer-lays-off-80-100-employees-and-cancels-some-in-development-games-to-ensure-long-term-sustainability-and-resilience/
Thunderful, the studio formed in 2018 through a merger between Steamworld developer Image & Form and Fe developer Zoink, has announced a "strategic restructuring program" that will see an increased focus on third-party publishing, a cutback on internal development, and the games industry's favorite tool for weathering "tough economic headwinds": mass layoffs.

BioWare's art director reveals eight pieces of decade-old concept art for the earliest version of Dragon Age: The Veilguard
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/dragon-age/biowares-art-director-reveals-eight-pieces-of-decade-old-concept-art-for-the-earliest-version-of-dragon-age-the-veilguard/
First reported by GamesRadar, BioWare art director Matt Rhodes has shared the earliest concept art for Dragon Age: The Veilguard to X: "The Everything App." The eight pieces date back to 2014, before Dragon Age: Inquisition was even on store shelves.
>> He has also shared concepts for Dragon Age: Inquisition0s multiplayer mode.

Rogue Prince of Persia overhauls art style and doubles game size in its biggest update yet
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/rogue-prince-of-persia-overhauls-art-style-and-doubles-game-size-in-its-biggest-update-yet/
The Rogue Prince of Persia has an updated early access build coming next week that'll overhaul its art style and shovel loads of new stuff into the roguelike platformer. Most notable for many people is that the team at Evil Empire has decided to change its art direction, swapping the color palette for one that means the prince is losing the distinctive purple tone that once characterized his skin.
>> That next week is this week.

Space Marine 2's latest patch adds a death ray laser pointer
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/space-marine-2s-latest-patch-adds-a-death-ray-laser-pointer/
Following patches that have spent more time walking back unpopular difficulty changes than adding new things, Space Marine 2's 4.5 patch finally gets to add something shiny: the Neo-Volkite pistol.

Three years on, monster-huge RPG Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous' final major update will overhaul its end-game dragon god abilities to finally live up to the hype
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/three-years-on-monster-huge-rpg-pathfinder-wrath-of-the-righteous-final-major-update-will-overhaul-its-end-game-dragon-god-abilities-to-finally-live-up-to-the-hype/
Owlcat Games has revealed the final major update coming to Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous: A big overhaul of the Gold Dragon endgame Mythic Path. Though WotR will continue to see minor updates and bug fixes in the near future, Owlcat has said this upcoming major patch will be the final content addition to the game.