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

[JEMC]

Another day, another round of news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

GOG has a new sale: the Slitherine Publisher Sale, with games up to 90% off during 5 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20241210_slitherine_publisher_sale.

Steam has new deals:

• The Thief Simulator collection is 66% off. The individual games are on sale until the 19th, so it’s fair to assume this is also the case for the bundle: https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/35313/Thief_Simulator_collection/
• Publisher tinyBuild has launched its Everything Must Go Sale, with up to 80% discounts. It should last until December 17, but you should check it out, just in case: https://store.steampowered.com/developer/tinybuild/sale/everything
• The Kalypso Publisher Sale features up to 90% discounts and, in theory, will last until the 19th of December: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/KalypsoMediaPublisherSale2024

And Fanatical has been the fastest of the lot and has launched its Winter Sale, with up to 96% discounts. And that’s not all, because there’s also a new Star Deal: DRAGON BALL Z: KAKAROT Legendary Edition is going to be 79% off during 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/dragon-ball-z-kakarot-legendary-edition.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

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MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

PSA: The creator of PoE's foremost loot filter released an experimental 'light filter' for Path of Exile 2, just in time to help sort all the freshly buffed loot drops
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/psa-the-creator-of-poes-foremost-loot-filter-released-an-experimental-light-filter-for-path-of-exile-2-just-in-time-to-help-sort-all-the-freshly-buffed-loot-drops/
Path of Exile is, in part, a game about comparing items. As we progress our character builds into the endgame and continue specializing our skill setups, stat and gear needs become more specific. Most melee characters won't need to bother with spell damage; DoT builds might skip over critical hit chance. Gradually, more and more items become irrelevant, unless they're providing—or can be made to provide—the narrowing set of modifiers a build relies on. With how much loot PoE throws at you, however, weighing the stats of every individual drop would leave you spending more time assessing items than actually playing the game.
Enter the loot filter. Back in 2015, Grinding Gear Games added built-in functionality to filter what items are displayed and highlighted as they tumble out of the countless thousands of slain goatfolk, helping players quickly identify useful items before they've even picked them up. Making your own loot filter can be an involved process, so a cottage industry of loot filter designers emerged, offering bespoke filters for players to install that highlight and emphasize the gear and currency drops that matter most.
Among the most popular PoE loot filter creators is NeverSink, whose filters for PoE 1 uses "over 500 different rules that highlight and hide items based on usefulness and value," which can be fine-tuned further to meet a player's specific criteria with the FilterBlade platform. While that existing filter isn't compatible with Path of Exile 2, NeverSink's already released an experimental PoE 2 "light filter", providing an initial, basic set of loot-highlighting features that'll gradually expand in functionality. It comes at a good time, because PoE 2 just boosted loot drops across the board.
>> There is no media of this “mod” that, by the way, is available from GitHub.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Demo in Unreal Engine 5.3 Released
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-elder-scrolls-iv-oblivion-demo-in-unreal-engine-5-3-released/
Now here is something really cool. Greg Coulthard has ported the entire map of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion in Unreal Engine 5.3. This project lets you explore Oblivion with remastered graphics thanks to UE5. And yes, this project is currently available for download.
Going into more details, this project took the artist two months to complete. The landscape is rendered using Procedural Meshes with layer-painted textures as specified by the ESM and all assets are using Nanite.
Apart from the foliage, all the assets and textures are from the original game. For the lighting, the artist also used Ultra Dynamic Sky. This sky system is designed to be more dynamic and natural than most sky solutions.
Now what’s really cool here is that the C++ plugin he developed can also work with Skyrim, Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas, Fallout 4, and even Starfield. So, in theory, it should be possible to get similar “remasters” for these titles in UE5.
According to Coulthard, an Intel I5 12400 with 64Gb RAM and an NVIDIA RTX 3060 can run this demo with 60FPS at 1080p. So, this should give you an idea of the performance hit you can expect from it.
You can go ahead and download the demo for The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion in Unreal Engine 5 from this link. Below you can also find two videos for it.
>> Keep in mind that what’s available is the map, the world of Oblivion. There’s nothing to do besides walking from one place to another.

Red Dead Redemption gets an RDR 2 makeover with Reality Redemption 3.0
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/red-dead-redemption-gets-an-rdr-2-makeover-with-reality-redemption-3-0/
If you're still scratching your stubbly chin about how a 14-year old game can come to Steam with a $50 price tag, then keep scratching, because we can't justify that for you. On the other hand, there's no question that since Red Dead Redemption landed on Steam a couple of months ago, PC has become the definitive way to play Rockstar's western classic (though apparently it's not half-bad on the Asus ROG Ally X either). And a big part of that is the fact that it can now be modded until the cows come home.
Modders have wasted no time in getting stuck in either, with 335 Red Dead Redemption mods available on Nexus Mods right now. By far the most popular and sweeping of these is the Reality Redemption Overhaul Project, which goes a long way to giving the game that 'RDR 2' feel. The mod has just entered its 3.0 iteration, which packs in nearly 4 GB worth of high-res textures and character models, as well as improved reflections, physics, draw distances, particle effects, and many many other improvements. It looks like it's received a Reshade too, with vibrant colours punctuating that iconic contrast of the high desert's coppery landscape with the blue skies above it. 
Looking at the pictures, it looks like a whole other proposition to the gristly game I played on the PlayStation 3 back in 2010.
The mod goes beyond just the graphics too, and makes various tweaks specifically aimed at bringing the original more in line with Red Dead 2. The camera behaviour has been adjusted to resemble the sequel's tighter, more cinematic perspective, and the weather system is in the process of being overhauled to be more dynamic, with improved time cycles, lighting, and cloud variations and shadows.
The minds behind Reality Redemption are seemingly far from done. The mod has a long to-do list, including a work-in-progress entry aimed at "Updating the game's lore with new textures, dialogue, and subtitles." Sounds great! Now, if Rockstar would just deign to cut Red Dead Redemption's PC price in half, then I might just be compelled to saddle up and revisit John Marston's stomping ground (and by that I don't mean his OnlyFans page) once more.
>> The article has one screenshot to showcase the improvements.

Can't wait for Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2? Sink your teeth into the prequel mod instead
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/cant-wait-for-vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines-2-sink-your-teeth-into-the-prequel-mod-instead/
I don't know what to make of Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 any more. After all the delays and development resets the game's been through, the long-anticipated sequel has landed on an identity between Dishonored and an action-RPG. That sounds great and everything, though at this point I wouldn't be surprised if the game launches in as rough a state as Stalker 2, or indeed the original Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines.
Thankfully, whatever becomes of the troubled sequel, the original game is—after nearly two decades' worth of unofficial patches courtesy of modder Wesp5—still brilliant. It's got a great mod community too, and one of its most interesting projects of recent years has been VTMB Prelude, an episodic story that charts the events leading up to the first game. Our Andy Chalk spoke to the devs back in 2019 when the first episode of Prelude launched, but now you can dive into the Early Access build of episode two. 
The story sees you starting out as a human vampire hunter working for the Society of Leopold, a violently religious Inquisition-like faction dedicated to ridding the world of vampires, ghouls, and other supernatural entities. The first episode featured new levels, tons of dialogue, boss fights, and—from what I gather reading the community's feedback—a bit of a twist ending. The trailer for Prelude II shows off some lovely environmental work and level designs, and really reminds me just how ahead of its time Valve's Source Engine was. Those clean sharp geometries, the lovely lighting; it fills me with early 2000s nostalgia while still holding up beautifully.
Prelude is being developed by modders EntenSchreck and Hareishan, as well as Werner Spahl (aka Wesp5), whose Unofficial Patch for Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines has turned the once-broken broken game into a complete and polished experience. The unofficial patch is pretty much a necessity to play the base game, and is also required to play Prelude.
>> The article has two screenshots and a short video.

GAMING NEWS

Cyberpunk 2077 Update 2.2 Released, Full Patch Notes
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/cyberpunk-2077-update-2-2-released-full-patch-notes/
CD Projekt RED has just released Title Update 2.2 for Cyberpunk 2077, and it has shared its full patch notes. According to the changelog, this new patch includes over 100 new customization options for V.

New Assassin’s Creed Shadows gameplay clips show off its combat mechanics
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-assassins-creed-shadows-gameplay-clips-show-off-its-combat-mechanics/
Ubisoft has shared a number of gameplay clips that showcase the combat mechanics of Assassin’s Creed Shadows. These clips will give you a glimpse at the different combat strategies and weapons that Yasuke and Naoe will have at their disposal.

Microsoft Flight Simulator Patch 1.2.7.0 Brings Over 800 Fixes
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/microsoft-flight-simulator-patch-1-2-7-0-brings-over-800-fixes/
Asobo has just released a new major update for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 which packs over 800 fixes, tweaks and changes. So, let’s take a closer look at it.

Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 Patch 5.0 adds support for NVIDIA DLSS 3 & AMD FSR 3.0
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/warhammer-40k-space-marine-2-patch-5-0-adds-support-for-nvidia-dlss-3-amd-fsr-3-0/
Saber Interactive has released Title Update 5.0 for Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 which adds support for NVIDIA DLSS 3 and AMD FSR 3.0 Frame Generation. As such, owners of NVIDIA, AMD and Intel GPUs can use Frame Generation to further boost their in-game performance.
>> But that’s far from the most important things the update brings.

STALKER-inspired FPS MMORPG, PIONER, gets new trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/stalker-inspired-fps-mmorpg-pioner-gets-new-trailer/
GFA Games has released a brand new gameplay trailer for its upcoming STALKER-inspired first-person action MMORPG, PIONER. Moreover, the team launched the game’s Steam store page, revealing that it now targets a 2025 release date. So, let’s take a look at it, shall we?