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JEMC on 07 April 2025
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A new week, a new round of gaming news:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

Krafton's first stab at a life sim game is going swimmingly as Inzoi managed to shift over 1 million copies in its first week
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/life-sim/kraftons-first-stab-at-a-life-sim-game-is-going-swimmingly-as-inzoi-managed-to-shift-over-1-million-copies-in-its-first-week/
Inzoi may not have captured the critics, but it's certainly managed to capture the life sim community at large, as Krafton has revealed the game's gone and sold over one million copies in its launch week.
That's pretty impressive for any game, but even more so for one that's relatively niche. Life simulation games aren't exactly up there with your Monster Hunters and Marvel Rivals of the world, so it's cool to Inzoi pulling some pretty big numbers even if I don't have super positive thoughts about the game right now.
>> If you’re playing the game, be careful with the river sharks.

Steam has 6 new deals:

Humble Bundle presents the Armor Games Bundle, with up to 10 games to get during 11 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/armor-games-bundle.

And Fanatical has two new deals:

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Cyberpunk/Blade Runner-inspired Unreal Engine 5.5.4 Tech Demo Gets Support for Lumen, Ray Tracing Ambient Occlusion, Ray Tracing Reflections and Ray Tracing Shadows
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/cyberpunk-blade-runner-inspired-unreal-engine-5-5-4-tech-demo-gets-support-for-lumen-ray-tracing-ambient-occlusion-ray-tracing-reflections-and-ray-tracing-shadows/
In March 2025, we informed you about an amazing UE5 Tech Demo that was heavily inspired by Cyberpunk 2077, Blade Runner and the Samaritan UE3 Tech Demo. And today, I’m happy to report that the demo was updated with support for Lumen and Ray Tracing.
Pasquale Sciontiv has used Ray Tracing to enhance the demo’s shadows, reflections and ambient occlusion. As such, this version of the demo is more demanding than its non-RT version.
I’ve tried the tech demo on my main PC gaming system. This system is equipped with an AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D, 32GB of DDR5 at 6000Mhz, and NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 5090. I also used Windows 10 64-bit and the GeForce 572.83 driver.
At Native 4K on Epic Settings, the demo ran with a minimum of 35FPS. Without Ray Tracing, the tech demo could drop to 70FPS on the very same PC system. So, we’re basically looking at a 50% performance hit due to the new RT effects.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

New Starfield Mod adds 300 new repeatable sandbox missions
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/new-starfield-mod-adds-300-new-repeatable-sandbox-missions/
Starfield fans, here is something for you today. Modder ‘kaosnyrb’ released a new cool mod that adds over 300 new repeatable sandbox missions across over 65 types.
Going into more details, Dark Universe: Overtime adds a lot of new content to Starfield. It brings new mission types and fun activities. The mod improves the mission board system and makes roleplaying more exciting. Players can now take on over 300 new repeatable missions across more than 65 different types.
Missions can take place across caves, colonies, dungeons, infrastructure, science outposts and beyond. Moreover, you can find various Mission Dataslates during the quests. These items will trigger new missions, making each playthrough unique. Not only that, but start remote missions from your ship or local and cargo missions from your outpost.
In short, this is a must-have mod for all Starfield fans. After all, we’re talking about new free content. Plus, it can allow you to play different missions in each of your playthroughs.
What’s also cool here is that Dark Universe: Overtime will work with existing POI mods. It will also support future expansions. As such, it won’t conflict with any of your existing mods. Pretty cool, right?
>> There’s no media about this mod.

New Skyrim DLC-sized Mod offers 10-20 hours of new content
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/new-skyrim-dlc-sized-mod-offers-10-20-hours-of-new-content/
Modders ‘WinterishClover’ and ‘aysigago’ have released a new DLC-sized fan expansion mod for Skyrim, called Become High King of Skyrim TNG. This mod brings 10-20 hours of new free content to the game. So, let’s take a closer look at it.
Become High King of Skyrim TNG introduces a dynamic path to rulership, requiring wealth, alliances, and decisive action to unite the land. Players will be able to recruit trusted advisors, rebuild the Rangers, and defend Skyrim from the looming Thalmor threat. They will rule from Highreach, and keep and shape the future of the North.
The mod adds a vast castle with barracks, forges, marketplaces, a throne room, an arena, a prison, a treasury, and even a captured dragon. As High King, you will order arrests, execute criminals, imprison enemies, seize possessions, and even force loyalty through the Thu’um.
Players will join a royal outcast in a fully voiced personal quest for justice. In this quest, they will uncover secret lineages, betrayal, and hidden documents that tie back to the Empire itself. Plus, a new post-quest storyline will send you to the Sea of Ghosts to find a lost artifact tied to the fate of Skyrim’s past rulers.
>> There’s a less than 4 minutes video in the article.

New GTA 5 Definitive Edition Mod will improve the Ray Tracing Reflections
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/new-gta-5-definitive-edition-mod-will-improve-ray-tracing-reflections/
Modder ‘BadassBaboon’, creator of the RealityV Mod for GTA 5, is working on a new mod for it. This mod aims to significantly improve the game’s Ray Tracing reflections, and below you can find some screenshots from it.
As the modder noted, the game’s assets were not updated to take full advantage of the brand-new ray tracing. As such, the ray-traced reflections are not looking that impressive in the vanilla version. With this V:DE add-on, though, puddles, reflective surfaces, glasses and windows will look better. BadassBaboon claims that with his mod, the game will take full advantage of RT. At least for its reflections.
There is currently no ETA for when this mod will come out. However, you can find below some screenshots from it. These screenshots will give you an idea of what you can expect from it. Keep in mind, though, that the mod is still in WIP. So, these shots do not reflect the quality of the final version.

After a whopping 13 years in development, the Battle for Middle-earth's Extended Edition mod finally gives the beloved RTS the full Peter Jackson treatment
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/after-a-whopping-13-years-in-development-the-battle-for-middle-earths-extended-edition-mod-finally-gives-the-beloved-rts-the-full-peter-jackson-treatment/
Ambitious modding projects are a bit like baby fish, in that millions of them spawn, but relatively few survive to adulthood. Hence, it's always worth celebrating when one makes it through to full release. Such is the case with the Middle-earth Extended Edition, which launches into 1.0 today after 13 years of development.
Middle-earth: Extended Edition first arose in the east way back in 2012, aiming to give Danger Close's beloved RTS The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth the same embiggening treatment Peter Jackson applied to his film trilogy. Over the course of the last decade plus change, it has added new maps to the game like Moria and Lothlorien, added new playable factions such as the Elves and the Haradrim, expanded existing factions like Rohan and Isengard with new units, and much more.
This most recent update, the first in four years, is somewhat less dramatic, with no major new additions to the game. But it is nonetheless extensive, tweaking and adjusting game parameters for just about every facet of the RTS so it better reflects the source material. Numerous maps have been adjusted so they have enemy lairs more authentic to their locations. AI has been tweaked to construct buildings and deploy tactics truer to their factions' nature. Campaign missions have been altered to more accurately reflect blow-by-blow events in the books and films. And just about every faction has been given a statistical once-over too.
Ultimately though, the main event here is that the mod is now, for all intents and purposes, complete. The mod's creator, Rohirim91, has been consistently involved with the project throughout its long gestation. Indeed, it's fascinating to read back through the game's updates. In 2017, for example, Rohirim was working on the mod while studying for university entrance exams. "During the spring of this year I have made a significant progress on the mod and was close to releasing it," he wrote at the time. "However, due to a mistake on my part and the upgrading of the PC I use, the mod files were lost." Haven't we all been there?
>> The article has a slightly over 2 minutes video.

Doom modder puts the Slayer in true hell: A minimum-wage fast food job that's 'psychological warfare only rivalled by the likes of Desert Bus or that one mission from Dying Light 2'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/doom-modder-puts-the-slayer-in-true-hell-a-minimum-wage-fast-food-job-thats-psychological-warfare-only-rivalled-by-the-likes-of-desert-bus-or-that-one-mission-from-dying-light-2/
31 years ago, Edge magazine's review of the original Doom plaintively asked why you couldn't talk to the monsters, in a moment that has become enshrined alongside 'guy is bad at Cuphead' and 'man cheats at Sekiro' in games journalism history. Thing is, though, Edge had a point. Actually, it didn't go far enough. Not only should we be able to talk to the monsters, we should be able to break bread with them, to welcome them into our homes under the sacred law of hospitality.
Well, three decades on, this bold vision is finally reality. Meet Put The Fries In The Bag, a mod for Doom 2 from creator SlendyMawn that turns the Slayer from killer to griller, serving up fast food to imps, pinkies, and cacodemons while potentially violating several tremendously powerful copyrights, but let's not focus on that.
The mod—or WAD, really, but let's stick to language we're all familiar with—sticks you behind the counter at a familiar fast food venue. Your task: to give the customers the precise numbers of fries and "borgor" they ask for. Simple enough, but it all gets exponentially more complicated the longer you go on.
By the time you've fulfilled a few dozen orders, your customers are asking for 300+ fries and 200+ borgor, and you'll have to painstakingly click the correct number of times to keep them happy. Also, some of them just want to use the bathroom. The author calls it "psychological warfare only rivalled by the likes of Desert Bus or that one mission from Dying Light 2."
In the announcement post, SlendyMawn says the project took them "about half a week" to gin up, which I find a bit astounding. Not only does the mod accurately capture the general malaise of working the night shift at a minimum-wage fast-food job, complete with an exhaustively detailed restaurant in which to ply your greasy wares and a "Put The Fries In The Bag remix" of Doom's music, but there are multiple layers to its madness. Successfully serve 100 customers and you'll get promoted to regional manager, ascending to the heady heights of fast-casual aristocracy and never having to do real work again.
Except serving 100 customers would take, per SlendyMawn, "hours," and you have to do it all in one go. Loading a save just gets you incinerated, which I can neither confirm nor deny is a policy in actual fast-food employee contracts.
>> The article has one screenshot and an over 5 minutes video.

GAMING NEWS

Bungie’s Marathon gets first in-engine footage
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/bungies-marathon-gets-first-in-engine-footage/
Bungie has just released the first in-engine teaser trailer for its upcoming game, MARATHON. Moreover, the team revealed that it will share the first gameplay trailer for it on April 12th.

La Quimera, futuristic sci-fi shooter from former Metro: Exodus devs, will release on April 25th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/la-quimera-futuristic-sci-fi-shooter-from-former-metro-exodus-devs-will-release-on-april-25th/
Reburn announced that La Quimera, its narrative-driven first-person-shooter game set in a futuristic Latin American megalopolis, will release on April 25th. To celebrate this announcement, the team has shared a new trailer that you can find below.



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.