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JEMC 5 hours ago
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Once more, the Monday news!

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Stalker 2 sells over a million copies: 'This is just the start'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/stalker-2-sells-over-a-million-copies-this-is-just-the-start/
Stalker 2 has released, the long-awaited sequel to a PC classic that our own Joshua Wolens found "is still Stalker, down to its bones." The most pleasing element for fellow Zone-fanciers is that, after all this time, the game largely sticks to the design sensibilities of the originals, and as our review says "hasn't sacrificed the things that made it so special all those years ago."
Well it looks like there might just be a market for it. "No wonder it feels a bit crowded in the Zone," reads a new post from GSC Game World. "A million copies were sold, and much more stalkers joined the artifact hunt with Game Pass.
"This is just the start of our unforgettable adventure. The Heart of Chornobyl emanates stronger with each of us. Thank You, stalkers!"
>> Well deserved.

After losing money in 2022, Larian raked in a whopping $260 million profit of Baldur's bucks in 2023
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/baldurs-gate/after-losing-money-in-2022-larian-raked-in-a-whopping-usd260-million-profit-of-baldurs-bucks-in-2023/
The Irish Independent (users may encounter a paywall) has reported that Larian has posted a €249 million pre-tax profit for 2023⁠—that's almost $260 million freedom dollary-doos for those of us without adequate digital privacy protections. The runaway success of Baldur's Gate 3 saw Larian increase its overall revenue almost twentyfold from 2022.
The figures were posted by Larian's Dublin-based holding company. Though still primarily headquartered in Ghent, Belgium, the Independent reports that Larian runs its revenue through its Dublin office, which also houses much of the studio's writing team. Favorable Irish tax laws have seen a number of corporations base their European or worldwide headquarters in Ireland.
Larian brought in €427 million ($446 million) in overall revenue last year, with the Independent citing 15 million copies sold of Baldur's Gate 3⁠—though Larian itself hasn't released precise sales numbers. In December of last year, SteamSpy estimated there were 20 million owners of the game on Steam alone, while Larian publishing director Michael Douse referred to Baldur's Gate 3 having "way over" 10 million players in February of this year. For its part, Dungeons & Dragons owner Hasbro took home a tidy $90 million in revenue for Baldur's Gate 3.
This is all in contrast with a pretty quiet year for Larian in 2022: The company reported €22.7 million ($24 million) in total revenue, with Larian actually operating at a €214,000 ($223,000) loss. It's a pretty stark reminder of how volatile the business of making games can be, with developers having to spend a great deal of money over a long period of time before (hopefully) making it all up and then some with a successful launch.

Steam has two new deals:

Humble Bundle presents the Sci-Fi Shooters Bundle, with up to 8 items to get (7 games + 1 coupon) during 18 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/scifi-shooters.

Fanatical has four new 24h Flash Deals:

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

The Witcher 3 HD Reworked Project NextGen Edition Released
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/the-witcher-3-hd-reworked-project-nextgen-edition-released/
And the time has finally come. After four years of hard work, modder ‘Halk Hogan’ released The Witcher 3 HD Reworked Project NextGen Edition.
The Witcher 3 HD Reworked Project improves the game with top-notch textures that look great and run smoothly, without needing more VRAM. If you’re already playing on Max settings, you’ll be able to use this mod. The pack will include high-quality, accurate normal maps, many of which are made from detailed 3D models. The project also brings better LODs for objects, as well as a better view distance.
The modder claims that HD Reworked NextGen Edition will have high-quality textures using the new mapping technique implemented in the Next-Gen version of the game. Thanks to this, many textures in HDRP NextGen Edition will be much more realistic.
In short, this is a must-have mod for The Witcher 3 Next-Gen. So, waste no time and download it from this link. The mod is 11GB in size. At the end of the article, you can also find a 15-minute video for it. This video shows off some of its key features, so be sure to check it out.

Here are 2 hours of gameplay from an upcoming native PC version of Star Fox 64
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-2-hours-of-gameplay-from-an-upcoming-native-pc-version-of-star-fox-64/
Nintendo fans, here is something special for you today. YouTube’s ‘Rakanai’ has shared a video, showcasing two hours of gameplay footage from an upcoming unofficial PC port of Star Fox 64.
This unofficial PC port of Star Fox 64 is called Starship. The project is being developed by the same team that gave us one of the native PC versions of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Like the PC versions of Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time, Starship is based on a decompiled version of Star Fox 64. And, since this is a native PC port, it supports wide-screen monitors, 4K resolutions, and 60FPS. It should also work well with keyboard and mouse.
Sadly, there isn’t currently any ETA on when Starship will come out. From what we can see, though, it’s in a pretty solid state. So, perhaps we might get a beta or a demo in Q1 2025.
>> There’s an over 2 hours video of this project.

Max Payne 3 now has a new 16GB Mod that overhauls all textures
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/max-payne-3-now-has-a-new-16gb-mod-that-overhauls-all-textures/
In July 2024, we informed you about an HD Texture Pack for Max Payne 3. Created by modder MDSXXX1, that pack attempted to overhaul all of the game’s textures. And now, after over a year, we have a new version of it.
Going into more details, this HD Texture Pack overhauls a lot of the original textures. In most cases, the modder using them as a base for the enhanced textures. As such, these enhanced textures retain the art style of the game. However, there were some instances in which the modder also used custom textures.
In short, this isn’t just an AI-upscaled HD Texture Pack. Instead, it has both AI-enhanced and custom textures.
This new pack also brings some fixes to some issues that plagued the previous version. For instance, it fixes some issues that could prevent the maps from loading. It also fixes the issue with the airport not triggering the plot at the end, as well as some texture errors.
>> The article has some comparison screenshots.

Batman: Arkham Origins just got a Vengeance Difficulty Mod
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/batman-arkham-origins-just-got-an-vengeance-difficulty-mod/
Earlier this month, we informed you about a graphics mod for Batman: Arkham Origins. Created by modder GPUnity, that mod aimed to slightly improve the game’s graphics. And today, we have another mod that will greatly increase the game’s difficulty.
This Vengeance Difficulty Mod is for those who have already beaten the game, and want an extra challenge. This isn’t meant to be used in your first playthrough. So, make sure to use it only if you are fully accustomed to the game’s combat mechanics.
Going into more details, the mod brings a number of gameplay tweaks and changes. Moreover, it makes enemies more dangerous and intelligent. Plus, it reworks the campaign bosses.
>> You’ll find a well over 10 minutes video of the mod.

Here's a mod to replace Elden Ring's ugly, utilitarian Roundtable Hold with the beautiful, perfect Majula of Dark Souls 2
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/heres-a-mod-to-replace-elden-rings-ugly-utilitarian-roundtable-hold-with-the-beautiful-perfect-majula-of-dark-souls-2/
There's not a lot to love about the aesthetics of Elden Ring's hub area, the Roundtable Hold: Dull grey stone hallways lit by torches. The best bits of it are all furniture, like the roundtable itself, that you can barely appreciate due to tight camera angles from the claustrophobic walls. Lovers of the least-loved of some much-loved games—Dark Souls 2—will be surprised because they know that developers FromSoftware can make a perfect hub area already: Majula, the beautiful seaside town with its perpetual sunset and calming music.
Now one modder by the moniker of Drop0ff has simply gone and done it, replacing the entirety of the Roundtable Hold with Majula and moving over everything you need for Elden Ring to play out as it would before. Just with a better hub. "Every roundtable npc and event has been ported over" says the description.
Majula actually looks better than ever in many ways thanks to Elden Ring's much-improved lighting system, which has nearly a decade's worth of technological advancement over Dark Souls 2's. It's funny to consider how much the landscape around Majula looks just like much of Elden Ring—and frankly, its been a meme in certain corners that Elden Ring is just Dark Souls 2: 2.
What the mod cannot replicate, unfortunately, is the immaculate cast of weirdos that populate Majula. There is of course fan favorite Emerald Herald, but what of strange talking cat Sweet Shalquoir? What of all-time great and truly clutch bro Laddersmith Gilligan? They are not present and, for this, Elden Majula is doomed to be a hollow shell of itself—no pun intended. We'll have to make due with lackluster ear-botherer Gideon Ofnir the All-Knowing instead.
>> The article has a roughly 3 minutes video.

STALKER 2 Mod restores most of the online A-Life functionality
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/stalker-2-mod-restores-most-of-the-online-a-life-functionality/
Last week, GSC GameWorld released STALKER 2 for PC and Xbox. Sadly, though, the game feels more like Early Access than a finished product. It has many bugs, problems with its AI, issues with both side quests and main quests, and graphical glitches. And although GSC GameWorld promised A-Life 2.0, this system doesn’t work properly in the game. Luckily, a modder has created a mod to somehow improve it.
So, Roadside Panic is a mod that aims to fix A-Life and overhaul the game’s spawn system. As the modder noted, it will restore most of the online A-Life functionality. So, basically, this is a stopgap measure until GSC fixes A-Life 2.0.
But what can you expect from this mod? Well, by using it, you’ll heavily mitigate cases of enemies appearing out of thin air right behind you. This was an issue that annoyed a lot of players. Moreover, you will significantly extend the A-Life range. Thus, NPC and NPC interactions can be seen and heard from afar. And yes. Like in the previous STALKER games, different factions will now fight for territory at POIs.
Now before getting too excited, we should note that this mod comes with a big performance hit. As the modder noted, Roadside Panic is extremely performance-heavy with its current spawn settings. The good news is that ConnerRia is also working on an optimized version of it.
>> You’ll find an almost 3 minutes video in the article.

GAMING NEWS

Official PC system requirements for Path of Exile 2
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/official-pc-system-requirements-for-path-of-exile-2/
Grinding Gear Games has revealed the official PC system requirements for its upcoming game, Path of Exile 2. So, let’s see what PC system you’ll need in order to run this highly anticipated title.
>> If you want to know what content you’ll find and how long the campaign is right now, PCGamer has this news article.

Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered Patch 1.3 Released & Detailed
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/horizon-zero-dawn-remastered-patch-1-3-released-detailed/
Nixxes has released Title Update 1.3 for the PC version of Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, and shared its full patch notes. So, let’s see what this new update brings to the table.



Please excuse my bad English.

Currently gaming on a PC with an i5-4670k@stock (for now), 16Gb RAM 1600 MHz and a GTX 1070

Steam / Live / NNID : jonxiquet    Add me if you want, but I'm a single player gamer.