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

[JEMC]

Let’s go with the Friday news:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

Steam’s Top 10

(Click here for the Top 100)

Assassin's Creed Shadows is a hit and Steam played a 'significant role' in that: 27% of activations were on PC and it's the 2nd-biggest AC launch of all time
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/assassins-creed/assassins-creed-shadows-is-a-hit-and-steam-played-a-significant-role-in-that-27-percent-of-activations-were-on-pc-and-its-the-2nd-biggest-ac-launch-of-all-time/
Gamers only want one thing: to put an end to the Warring States period and unify Japan beneath the wise consulship of Lord Nobunaga Oda, the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven. Or they might want to kill Oda, actually. I'm not sure. Depends on the game.
Either way, Assassin's Creed Shadows is, per data seen by VGC, the second-biggest Assassin's Creed launch of all time behind AC Valhalla, and it's in no small part down to PC gamers. A full 27% of the game's "Activations" happened on our platform of choice, though it's worth bearing in mind that doesn't translate to 27% of sales. Ubi uses the word activations because it presumably encompasses people playing the game via their Ubisoft+ subs.
More intriguingly, the data says that Ubisoft's return to Steam has paid dividends. AC Shadows is the first major Ubi game to launch concurrently on Steam in six years. Turns out, people like that: Steam played "a significant role" in Shadows' stonking PC performance.
>> And I was so happy yesterday, thinking that I wouldn’t need to post another sales article about Shadows...

Steam has these deals and sales:

• Stellaris will be 75% off until the 31st of March: https://store.steampowered.com/app/281990/Stellaris/
• Laysara: Summit Kingdom, still in Early Access, will have a 30% discount until the 7th of April: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1823950/Laysara_Summit_Kingdom/
• Warhammer 40,000: Darktide has a new free update and it’s going to be 50% off until the 8th of April: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/599215/sale/Visions
• And here are sales:
  • Publisher FUNCOM puts its games on sale with up to 90% discounts until the 31st of March: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/FuncomPublisherSale2025
  • The LEGO franchises are on sale, with games up to 90% off until the 31st: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/Lego-Franchise-Sale-2025
  • Publisher Gamera Interactive also puts its games on sale with up to 90% discounts until the same March 31: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33330069/sale/2025
  • Harry Potter celebrates the Butterbeer Season Sale, with games up to 75% off until the 2nd of April: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/34133273/sale/butterbeerseasonsale
  • Crytek celebrates its 25th anniversary with up to 75% discounts until April, the 3rd: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/CrytekPublisherSale2025
  • Publisher Hooded Horse celebrates its March Sale and puts its games up to 50% off until the 7th of April, tho some deals may end sooner than that: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/38719421/sale/marchsale2025
  • The Mortal Kombat franchise is on sale with up to 90% discounts unti lthe 7th: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/34133273/sale/mortalkombat
• Please note that this week THERE ARE NO weeklong deals

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

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MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

The Witcher 3 Next-Gen Mod adds self-shadows to all characters
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/the-witcher-3-next-gen-mod-adds-self-shadows-to-all-characters/
Modders ‘rmemr’ and ‘Ard Carraigh’ released a new cool mod for The Witcher 3 Next-Gen that adds self-shadows to all NPCs. Thanks to this mod, you will get better-looking characters. So, let’s take a closer look at it.
For those unaware, CDPR did not enable self-shadows for the in-game characters. As such, the in-game characters are not as detailed as those we see in cut-scenes. So, this mod aims to address this by adding self-shadows to all NPCs.
Since this is a third-person game, most of you may not be able to notice the self-shadows. So, in a way, I kind of understand why CDPR disabled them. Still, those of you who want them can now enable them via this mod.
You can go ahead and download the mod from this link. At the end of the article, you can also find some comparison screenshots. The vanilla version is on the left, whereas the modded version is on the right. These screenshots will give you an idea of what you can expect from it.
Do note that this mod is for the Next-Gen version of TW3. If you are still playing the original version, you can use this mod. Plus, this mod is not compatible with the one that enabled RTAO for all NPCs. So, if you are using it, you can safely skip this one.
>> Not related to this mod, but there’s an article at PCGamer saying how the devs had to remake big parts of the engine to create the REDkit for modders

Skyrim realism mod fixes your vampire girlfriend, giving her a voice and look more suited to someone who just got out of a coffin after 2,000 years
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-elder-scrolls/skyrim-realism-mod-fixes-your-vampire-girlfriend-giving-her-a-voice-and-look-more-suited-to-someone-who-just-got-out-of-a-coffin-after-2-000-years/
Skyrim is not an enormously realistic game. Yes, I'm brave enough to say it. Magic? Not real. Dragons? Largely undocumented. Guys who get hit repeatedly by arrows before returning to their usual patrol routes? This only rarely happens.
These departures from humdrum reality exist to make the game more fun, so fair enough, but some things really stretch credulity. For example: Serana, your vampiric companion in the game's Dawnguard DLC who emerges from her sarcophagus after thousands of years of torpor looking like she just stepped out of a L'Oreal commercial.
As ever, enter stout-hearted modders to rectify the situation. Serana—The Harsh Reality is a creation from author Hellgeist, and aims to make the poor woman look and sound a bit more like she's just spent the lifespan of the Roman Republic and Empire in a hole in the dirt. "I feel that any creature that crawls out of a coffin after 2000 years is not going to look like someone in their late teens, no matter who it is, or how magical their backstory might be," writes Hellgeist, disciple of science.
>> The article has a short video and a screenshot that’s not from the mod.

GAMING NEWS

Crimson Desert’s BlackSpace Engine showcased in latest video
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/crimson-deserts-blackspace-engine-showcased-in-latest-video/
At GDC 2025, Pearl Abyss showcased the capabilities of the BlackSpace Engine that will be powering Crimson Desert. So, below you can find a video that will give you a glimpse at some of the tech features of this new open-world single-player game.

Here’s how you can remove the 30FPS cap from the cut-scenes of Assassin’s Creed Shadows
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/heres-how-you-can-remove-the-30fps-cap-from-the-cut-scenes-of-assassins-creed-shadows/
One of the biggest technical issues of Assassin’s Creed Shadows is the fact that its cut-scenes are locked at 30FPS. As such, it can become really disorienting when the game switches between in-game and cut-scenes. Thankfully, though, there is a way to remove the 30FPS cap from the cut-scenes.

The First Berserker Khazan and KARMA: The Dark World will support DLSS 4 Multi-Frame Gen
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-first-berserker-khazan-and-karma-the-dark-world-will-support-dlss-4-multi-frame-gen/
NVIDIA has just announced that The First Berserker Khazan and KARMA: The Dark World will support DLSS 4 Multi-Frame Gen. Moreover, Fatshark released an update for Warhammer 40K: Darktide that adds support for DLSS 4.

Rise of the Ronin March 25th Patch Released & Detailed
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/rise-of-the-ronin-march-25th-patch-released-detailed/
Team Ninja has just released the March 25th Patch, also known as Patch 1.09.0.2, for Rise of the Ronin and shares its full changelog. So, let’s see what this new update brings to the table.