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

[JEMC]

Here come the Wednesday news, all in one long post:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Cyberpunk 2077 and the Phantom Liberty expansion have sold over 38 million copies
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/cyberpunk-2077-and-the-phantom-liberty-expansion-have-sold-over-38-million-copies/
There's stiff competition for the greatest gaming comeback stories, but Cyberpunk 2077 will always be part of the conversation. CD Projekt Red was coming off the back of the outstanding Witcher 3, had all the time and money in the world, and the dream setting: Hell, it even had Keanu Reeves. Anticipation and expectation were sky-high.
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Sales were never exactly a problem for Cyberpunk 2077, with the game making back its development budget on the first day, but in this case virtue has been its own reward for CDPR. The studio has just announced that Cyberpunk 2077, as of today, has sold over 30 million copies, and Phantom Liberty has sold an additional eight million.

Fanatical has four new 24h Flash Deals:

• Frostpunk 2 is 33% off: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/frostpunk-2
• DAVE THE DIVER has a 48% discount: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/dave-the-diver
• Dragon's Dogma 2 beats that with a 54% discount: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/dragons-dogma-2
• And Control Ultimate Edition is 85% off: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/control-ultimate-edition

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

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MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Black Mesa: HECU Early Access Version Released
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/black-mesa-hecu-early-access-version-released/
Point Mass Studio has released an Early Access version of its Black Mesa: HECU project on Steam. This version will let you play Chapter 0 of this new fan-made Half Life game. So, let’s take a closer look at it.
Black Mesa: HECU aims to provide a completely new experience that fills in the narrative spaces left by the military during the Black Mesa incident. Basically, think of it as a HL game, similar to Opposing Force.
As said, this first EA release features Chapter 0. In February, the team aims to release Chapter 1 and 2. Then in March 2025, it plans to provide Chapter 3. After the release of Chapter 3, it will take a break to release a patch that will address bugs that players may have encountered. Finally, the last Chapter, Chapter 4, will come out at a later date.
All in all, this is something that a lot of Half-Life fans may appreciate. So, go ahead and download the mod from this link. As its title suggests, you’ll need Black Mesa in order to play it. In other words, this isn’t a standalone free game.
Speaking of fan-made Half-Life projects, the team behind FUBAR released a new video for it. FUBAR is a reimagined remake of Half-Life: Opposing Force in the Source Engine. As such, players will step back into the boots of Corporal Adrian Shephard as he crash-lands right in the heart of the chaos at Black Mesa.
>> The article has two videos, one for each mod.

You can now play Red Dead Redemption in first-person mode
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/you-can-now-play-red-dead-redemption-in-first-person-mode/
Red Dead Redemption fans, here is something cool for you today. Modder ‘HanaShirokuma’ released a new mod that allows you to play Rockstar’s classic game in first-person mode. This is a must-have for all RDR fans, so make sure to get it.
Do note that since the game was never meant to be played from an FP perspective, there might be some visual bugs and issues. For example, there might be some clipping issues when riding a horse. Nevertheless, this is something that will definitely please a lot of RDR fans.
>> The article has some screenshots.

STALKER Complete Mod 1.5 will make you fall in love with the first STALKER game
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/stalker-complete-mod-1-5-will-make-you-fall-in-love-with-the-first-stalker-game/
STALKER fans, here is something really special for you today. Last week, GSC GameWorld released STALKER 2 on PC and Xbox. And, as I’ve said numerous times, it feels more like an Early Access game as it has a lot of bugs and gameplay issues. Thankfully, until GSC GameWorld fixes STALKER 2, you can download this amazing mod and play the first STALKER.
STALKER Complete 1.5 Mod showcases the finest contributions from the STALKER community over the past years, alongside brand-new, original content. The mod incorporates extensions and the DirectX 11 support, to maximize its potential and fully leverage modern hardware capabilities.
Going into more details, STALKER Complete 1.5 has new assets for pretty much all materials. Players can expect better textures for grass, foliage, rocks, terrain and more. Plus, there is an extended view distance for both grass and vegetation, something that will minimize the game’s pop-in issues. Also, there are new high-quality 3D models for almost all NPCs.
Another cool feature is the Complete Weather. The modders have updated rain, sunlight, and various effects, including celestial objects, to deliver a more impactful and immersive experience. The rain soundscape has been mixed to include distant rainfall, along with the subtle sound of droplets tapping on the Marked One’s hood, creating a deeper sense of presence and environmental interaction.
Alongside the graphical improvements, the mod also packs some QoL improvements. For instance, it adjusts the carrying weight, sprint, enemy vision, difficulty, and more. It also adds software EAX functionality for interior reverb effects. Moreover, you can expect 15 new acoustic guitar tracks, as well as more blood decal variants. Finally, Complete 1.5 restores the game’s anomaly visibility, and features the Particle Physics Mod.
>> Unfortunately, there’s no media.

GAMING NEWS

Cities: Skylines 2 gets a new patch, but your city's hotel owners aren't going to be happy about it
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/cities-skylines-2-gets-a-new-patch-but-your-citys-hotel-owners-arent-going-to-be-happy-about-it/
Cities: Skylines 2 continues to lumber toward proper completion with another new patch fixing a handful of issues—including problems with custom climates, and an issue that was causing tool modes to disappear. Alas, your city's hoteliers will remain unhappy, because their problems remain unsolved.

We're getting a new and improved Geoff Keighley added to Fortnite using MetaHuman technology, ready for The Game Awards
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/battle-royale/were-getting-a-new-and-improved-geoff-keighley-added-to-fortnite-using-metahuman-technology-ready-for-the-game-awards/
Epic Games has scanned the show host and media personality Geoff Keighley into Fortnite for this year's The Game Awards Island of the Year vote, so you can encounter a lifelike version of Big G while you're trying out all the nominees and minigames for yourself.

Bad news for skull-havers: The Skulltaker is here to take your skull in Total War: Warhammer 3's just-announced DLC
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/bad-news-for-skull-havers-the-skulltaker-is-here-to-take-your-skull-in-total-warhammer-3s-just-announced-dlc/
The Skulltaker is here, and he's coming to Total War: Warhammer 3 in its new Omens of Destruction DLC this December 12. Now let's see if I can make it through a whole article without accidentally calling it Total Warhammer 3.

Valve was going to ship The Orange Box in a white box before staff 'destroyed' the idea, and yes they saw you all doubting Portal before release: 'You guys are gonna eat those words'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/valve-was-going-to-ship-the-orange-box-in-a-white-box-before-staff-destroyed-the-idea-and-yes-they-saw-you-all-doubting-portal-before-release-you-guys-are-gonna-eat-those-words/
On October 10 2007 Valve released what is perhaps the greatest deal in gaming history: The Orange Box, a compendium of Half-Life 2 with both episodes, the long-awaited Team Fortress 2, and the unknown quantity Portal. OK, Half-Life 2 was a few years old by this point (Episode 2 was new), but every single game in that package is an all-timer, and you got the lot for the price of one retail game.
(...)
Luckily for Valve the contents were so special that an ugly cover didn't matter much, but The Orange Box ended up here after an initial pitch that came from a totally different direction. It was so different, in fact, that it inspired a minor revolt.

The Witcher 4 is finally in full production: 'Ahead of us lies the main and most intense stage of development'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/the-witcher-4-is-finally-in-full-production-ahead-of-us-lies-the-main-and-most-intense-stage-of-development/
As part of today's CD Projekt Q3 financial update, the studio has announced that Polaris, the game we like to call The Witcher 4, is now in full production.
You can tell the shift to full production is a pretty big deal by the full-page slide used to announce the development shift in the group presentation.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle has a face-melting 4 hours of cutscenes: 'This is the biggest and longest game that Machine Games have ever done'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/indiana-jones-and-the-great-circle-has-a-face-melting-4-hours-of-cutscenes-this-is-the-biggest-and-longest-game-that-machine-games-have-ever-done/
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle launches in just under two weeks, bringing a heaping helping of puzzle pondering and Nazi hurting—a helping so heaping, in fact, that Machine Games says it's the longest game the studio's ever made.
Amidst a flurry of 141 questions in a quick format interview with MinnMax, Machine Games creative director Axel Torvenius and design director Jens Andersson were asked just how long of a game they've made out of Indy's next adventure. While he didn't provide a specific hour count, Torvenius said that "by far, this is the biggest and longest game that Machine Games have ever done."

Former Little Nightmares developers sign a deal with Epic for an upcoming sci-fi action game
https://www.pcgamer.com/software/platforms/former-little-nightmares-developers-sign-a-deal-with-epic-for-an-upcoming-sci-fi-action-game/
Section 9 Interactive, the studio founded in 2020 by veterans of Little Nightmares developer Tarsier Studios, has announced a publishing partnership with Epic Games that will see Epic fund the development and promotion of its in-development sci-fi action game.

Blizzard is finally coming after chronic Mythic+ ditchers in WoW, suspending players 'who repeatedly and recklessly disrupted' groups for funsies
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/world-of-warcraft/blizzard-is-finally-coming-after-chronic-mythic-ditchers-in-wow-suspending-players-who-repeatedly-and-recklessly-disrupted-groups-for-funsies/
World of Warcraft's Mythic+ system, wherein players can time-trial endgame dungeons for a chance at loot and bragging rights, has been a bit of a curse and a blessing for the game since it was introduced. It's been a blessing because, well, it's become a massive scene—letting small-scale groups get all sweaty without having to commit time to a raid. It's been a curse because, well, this is World of Warcraft, and it's difficult for anyone to get along.
(...)
Well, Blizzard's had enough. As stated in the general forums by community manager Kaivax, the company's taken action against "players who intentionally left Mythic+ groups a great many times in The War Within Season 1."

Shuhei Yoshida, the man behind the most savage gaming roast of all time, leaves PlayStation after 31 years: 'It's been a dream job'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/shuhei-yoshida-the-man-behind-the-most-savage-gaming-roast-of-all-time-leaves-playstation-after-31-years-its-been-a-dream-job/
Sony has announced that Shuhei Yoshida, one of the first members of the PlayStation team and a major figure in the platform's history, is to retire after 38 years with the company, 31 of which were spent on PlayStation. Yoshida joined Sony in 1986 and would find his first role with PlayStation in 1993, when he became responsible for third party licensing, before going on to act as a producer on major titles like Gran Turismo and a supervisor on countless others.

If you're secretly way too proud of your Excel skills, does this dev have the game for you: 'While other kids were dreaming of spaceships, I was dreaming of spreadsheets'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/puzzle/if-youre-secretly-way-too-proud-of-your-excel-skills-does-this-dev-have-the-game-for-you-while-other-kids-were-dreaming-of-spaceships-i-was-dreaming-of-spreadsheets/
Today I watched a trailer where in the first 10 seconds a ‘90s-style 3D model of a businessman kickflips a dolphin in slowmo over the flashing words "ASSET FLIP". Such was the pull of this spectacle that I immediately went to Steam and downloaded the free demo of Spreadcheat, a game whose opening gambit to potential players is "Do YOU have mad spreadsheet skills?"

Team Ricochet is combating cheaters in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 with 'hourly sweeps' and 'AI systems' but even with over 19,000 bans, players aren't seeing the results
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/call-of-duty/team-ricochet-is-combating-cheaters-in-call-of-duty-black-ops-6-with-hourly-sweeps-and-ai-systems-but-even-with-over-19-000-bans-players-arent-seeing-the-results/
Giving up freedoms and privacy for a mirage of promised safety is very 1990s-coded. So, with this in mind, it seems like an apt moment to talk about Ricochet's continued struggles with the 1991 period piece Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
(...)
Team Ricochet also recently gave players an update concerning the ongoing work to combat cheating in ranked play. "AI systems continue to ramp up with code optimisations to accelerate enforcements. Over 19,000 ranked play bans since the mode launched. Hourly sweeps to remove cheaters from the ranked play mode and leaderboard. Thanks for your patience as our team continues to fight against cheaters."