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

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Thursday news, the second part:

The Sims 3 just got its first patch in over a decade and fans aren't quite sure what it means
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-sims/the-sims-3-just-got-its-first-patch-in-over-a-decade-and-fans-arent-quite-sure-what-it-means/
Just before all the hubbub about the Sims 4 anniversary updates yesterday, its predecessor got an unexpected update too. The Sims 3 just got its first patch in years this week and so far EA's just said nothing about it.

Riot admits it 'screwed up' League of Legends' new reward system, because somebody forgot to add a big chunk of numbers in the new XP calculations
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/moba/riot-admits-it-screwed-up-league-of-legends-new-reward-system-because-somebody-forgot-to-add-a-big-chunk-of-numbers-in-the-new-xp-calculations/
Riot Games says it "screwed up" recent changes to League of Legends that were intended to simplify the game's overly complex reward systems, but instead dramatically slowed level advancement and new hero unlocks. Head of studio Andrei "Meddler" van Roon said in an update posted today that "the numbers we shipped were pretty far off from what they should be for many of you," and promised that fixes are incoming.

Romanian folklore, David Lynch, and heavy metal come together in a dark fantasy hack-and-slash action game 'with an even darker sense of humor'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/romanian-folklore-david-lynch-and-heavy-metal-come-together-in-a-dark-fantasy-hack-and-slash-action-game-with-an-even-darker-sense-of-humor/
If you've ever thought to yourself that what you really want from life is a videogame inspired by Romanian folkore, David Lynch, and heavy metal, then wow, this is your lucky day. Because the "dark fantasy hack-and-slash adventure" called Moroi, set to launch in early 2025, claims to be exactly that.

The Blood of Dawnwalker's design director explains the ARPG's time-as-resource mechanic, and how 'both action and inaction have consequences’
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/the-blood-of-dawnwakers-design-director-explains-the-arpgs-time-as-resource-mechanic-and-how-both-action-and-inaction-have-consequences/
When PC Gamer visited The Blood of Dawnwalker's developer, Rebel Wolves, for our upcoming, world-exclusive issue of PC Gamer magazine, we spoke directly to the much-anticipated ARPG's design director, Daniel Sadowski, about its unique 'time as a resource' mechanic, and how it plays into the game's wider narrative sandbox approach where gamers create their own story through their choices.

'The team wants every kind of player to enjoy the game': Marvel Rivals director wants to foster a competitive scene, but not at the expense of fun
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/the-team-wants-every-kind-of-player-to-enjoy-the-game-marvel-rivals-director-wants-to-foster-a-competitive-scene-but-not-at-the-expense-of-fun/
Marvel Rivals hit the ground running at launch with 33 heroes, seven maps, and even a tournament section on the home page. Before long, NetEase had already set up and hosted an in-game tournament, and it looks like this is only the beginning of Marvel Rivals' journey to being a more seriously competitive shooter.

Marvel Rivals devs have accidentally buffed Storm into a tornado-yeeting monster that everyone is picking, and no-one knows how to counter: 'A clustered group is a snack for us'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/marvel-rivals-devs-have-accidentally-buffed-storm-into-a-tornado-yeeting-monster-that-everyone-is-picking-and-no-one-knows-how-to-counter-a-clustered-group-is-a-snack-for-us/
Storm is one of the many Duelists in Marvel Rivals, but despite her cool design and neat abilities, she wasn't really anyone's first choice in Season 0. It wasn't that she was particularly weak; there were just a ton of better choices, like Winter Soldier, Punisher, Star-Lord, and Iron Fist. So to remedy this and make the weather witch more enticing, NetEase gave her a huge buff, and in doing so, has created a monster.

Obsidian vet Josh Sawyer says that while 'it's not that important' if players never finish an RPG—after all, who finishes Skyrim—'we can kind of chill out' on size
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/obsidian-vet-josh-sawyer-says-that-while-its-not-that-important-if-players-never-finish-an-rpg-after-all-who-finishes-skyrim-we-can-kind-of-chill-out-on-size/
Obsidian head honcho and all around RPG veteran Josh Sawyer did another Tumblr Q&A earlier this week (seen above), wherein he dispensed some more of his design wisdom. For the uninitiated, Sawyer is a seasoned developer—having worked on games like Icewind Dale, Neverwinter Nights 2, Fallout: New Vegas, and the Pillars of Eternity series—as well as the upcoming RPG, Avowed.
When asked if the fact that most players who buy games don't finish them (guilty) impacted Sawyer's design philosophy, he seemed zen about the prospect: "We want the player to play the game, and whatever amount they play, we want them to come away and say 'I'm glad I bought the game, I enjoyed it, great, awesome' … Just having someone's money is not good enough—that's very short sighted."

WoW's Plunderstorm mode is back, and it just lets you buy what you want with your in-game dubloons instead of having to grind
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/world-of-warcraft/wows-plunderstorm-mode-is-back-and-it-just-lets-you-buy-what-you-want-with-your-in-game-dubloons-instead-of-having-to-grind/
World of Warcraft's Plunderstorm is back for another go from January 14 to February 18. If you've got no idea what I'm talking about, let me explain—Blizzard put a pirate Fortnite in their MMO. Why? Well, for the most part, the company's making an attempt at branching out and evolving its existing game systems—having a little experiment, as a treat. The second part is that it's a good bit of fun to grab some pirate swag.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 made millions for Games Workshop, and now it wants more hit videogames: "Clearly we are looking for the next one"
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/warhammer-40-000-space-marine-2-made-millions-for-games-workshop-and-now-it-wants-more-hit-videogames-clearly-we-are-looking-for-the-next-one/
Warhammer videogames have been pretty hit-and-miss over the years, to put it mildly—but Saber Interactive's Space Marine 2 was firmly on the 'hit' side of the fence last year, reaching a player count of 4.5 million a month after launch and drawing more interest to the world's most grimdark sci-fi setting than ever. Unsurprisingly, Games Workshop's quite happy with that result—and pretty keen to see it happen again.