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

[JEMC]

Thursday gaming news, part two:

If you catch the ball in Rematch, there's a small chance you didn't—Sloclap's desync issues are upsetting players in a game I otherwise can't stop playing
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sports/if-you-catch-the-ball-in-rematch-theres-a-small-chance-you-didnt-sloclaps-desync-issues-are-upsetting-players-in-a-game-i-otherwise-cant-stop-playing/
Rematch is great—I've already sunk about 40 hours into the thing and have no intention of stopping anytime soon. Just one small problem, though: the desync issues are still rough. In any given match, there's a chance you'll make a dive towards a ball—only for the fabric of time to hiccup, subjecting you to an avalanche of vicious 'good jobs!' and a wash of unearned shame.
Sloclap's already made efforts to help in a recent patch, but they haven't quite taken root. I've had plenty of encounters with the wobbly netcode myself, and while I'd usually show you what I mean, I don't have to—just a quick jaunt over to r/Rematch sees clips up the wazoo of goalies making tekkers saves, only to have their victories cruelly ripped away from them.
(...)
In the latest patch notes, Sloclap has pled patience and promised there are improvements on the way: "Please remember that some major priorities like netcode or crossplay are the work of specialists in their domains (gameplay replication, server infrastructure, user interface...), and that we can't put all our resources on these topics to make them happen faster—that being said we are making very good progress on these topics, more news soon!"

Battlefield 6 probably isn't going to cost $80: 'We're not looking to make any changes on pricing at this stage,' EA CEO says
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/battlefield-6-probably-isnt-going-to-cost-usd80-were-not-looking-to-make-any-changes-on-pricing-at-this-stage-ceo-says/
How much should games cost? We asked that question back in 2017, when the standard big-budget release came in at $60, and even made the case for prices being lowered to $50, or even $40. Some studios got the memo: Helldivers 2 launched at $40, for instance, and Dune 2 and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 arrived at $50. But in spite of our very convincing math and graphs, prices on major big-budget games have instead gone up over the years.
(...)
You can now add Electronic Arts to the list of game companies that have seemingly recognized they've pushed as far as they dare—at least for now. "We're not looking to make any changes on pricing at this stage," EA CEO Andrew Wilson said during a recent investors calls when asked about a possible shift from the $70 to $80 price point, particularly for Battlefield 6.

Dune: Awakening is testing out a fix for ornithopter griefing and making an unforgivable change to flour sand farming
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/dune-awakening-is-testing-out-a-fix-for-ornithopter-griefing-and-making-an-unforgivable-change-to-flour-sand-farming/
A new patch is headed for Dune: Awakening in August, but Funcom is testing it out right on the public test client. There's a lotta stuff crammed into version 1.1.20, including an attempt to fix the ever-present problem of ornithopter griefing, a quality of life fix all you bloodsuckers will enjoy, and one particularly scandalous change that will absolutely piss everyone off. Let's dive in!

Space Marine 2 publisher says even he 'didn't believe that we could hit 7 million unique players,' but it's proof that players are hungry for sicko games: 'When the execution is right, it ends up resonating with many more people'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/space-marine-2-publisher-says-even-he-didnt-believe-that-we-could-hit-7-million-unique-players-but-its-proof-that-players-are-hungry-for-sicko-games-when-the-execution-is-right-it-ends-up-resonating-with-many-more-people/
Pullup Entertainment is having a good year. Its portfolio includes Farming Simulator and Space Marine 2 publisher Focus Interactive, indie and retro publisher Dotemu, and in-house studios like Deck 13, Dovetail Games—all of which are humming along well enough that Pullup's quarterly revenue has increased by more than 130% over the previous year.
In an interview with The Game Business, Pullup CEO Geoffroy Sardin said even the firm was surprised by Space Marine 2's sales.

Krafton says the Subnautica 2 delay proves its milestone process is being 'rigorously managed' because it didn't just shove the game out the door even though lots of people would've bought it
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/krafton-says-the-subnautica-2-delay-proves-its-milestone-process-is-being-rigorously-managed-because-it-didnt-just-shove-the-game-out-the-door-even-though-lots-of-people-wouldve-bought-it/
July was an ugly month for Subnautica 2 and developer Unknown Worlds. In the course of fewer than 30 days, the studio's leadership was gutted, the anticipated early access release was delayed, harsh words were exchanged, and a lawsuit was filed. The dispute turns largely on whether or not Subnautica 2 is ready for early access release: The ousted leaders of Unknown Worlds insist it is, but Krafton says it needs more content and polish before it's ready to see the light of day.
It's obviously not an ideal situation, but during the company's Q2 FY2025 earnings call, Krafton said its willingness to delay the game amidst all the furor is actually a good sign because it proves the company's commitment to getting it right.

Cat breeding roguelike Mewgenics includes human conditions like autism and dyslexia, but they aren't just debuffs: 'You've been given this hand, make it work'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/cat-breeding-roguelike-mewgenics-includes-human-conditions-like-autism-and-dyslexia-but-they-arent-just-debuffs-youve-been-given-this-hand-make-it-work/
It won't surprise anyone who's followed his career that the next game from Super Meat Boy and The Binding of Isaac creator Edmund McMillen contains some likely-to-be-controversial elements. Its title is Mewgenics, a play on "eugenics," so there's one right off the bat.
The idea for Mewgenics, which is about breeding successive generations of cats and sending them on adventures with turn-based battles, came first from the observation that it's kind of messed up that we selectively breed animals until we think they're cute or useful.
But Mewgenics also gets into the much thornier topic of human genetics and actual, non-mew eugenics by including human conditions like autism and dyslexia as things your cats can inherit. I recently spoke to McMillen and collaborator Tyler Glaiel about the game, and asked them what they intended by confronting players with the uncomfortable option to not allow a cat with autism or another hereditary condition to mate.

You've heard of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, so here's Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch 2, a Helldivers 2 city based on the village, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/youve-heard-of-llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch-so-heres-llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch-2-a-helldivers-2-city-based-on-the-village-llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch/
Helldivers 2 is full of good gags—some accidental, such as 82,000+ players democratically voting to name a city "Gun" and, well, all sorts of overtly political lore. Arrowhead's tongue is firmly lodged within its cheek, which doesn't seem particularly safe.
As part of its newly added city maps, Arrowhead's been committing all sorts of mischief with what these super-cities are actually called. There's Gun, of course, but there's also Shed, Free Trade, Filibuster, Democracy Always, Birth, Administrative Center O2 (Sector 4), New Newtonville and Ol' Oldham.
Players, however, have recently started noticing the shining beacon of democracy that is Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch… 2! The second Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, based on the real-world village, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. (Author's note: Goodness, this paragraph looks terrible on our site. What have I done.)
>> Yeah, I’m also sorry.

We've finally got a look at Blade's abilities after 162 days of waiting, and players have immediately connected the dots—'Oh, his ult is just Vergil'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/weve-finally-got-a-look-at-blades-abilities-after-162-days-of-waiting-and-players-have-immediately-connected-the-dots-oh-his-ult-is-just-vergil/
It's finally time. After 162 days, Marvel Rivals has revealed Blade's abilities and ultimate, and it's certainly worth the wait. The second hero to join in Season 3, Blade will add one more hero to the Duelist roster alongside Phoenix.
>> And they’ll start monitoring your in-game voice chat, for moderation purposes.

Big Boss and Lady Dimitrescu will host the Future Games Show at Gamescom 2025
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/big-boss-and-lady-dimitrescu-will-host-the-future-games-show-at-gamescom-2025/
The Future Games Show will be broadcast live from Gamescom 2025, and has now announced the hosts: no less than David Hayter, aka Solid Snake / Big Boss, and Maggie Robertson, the one-and-only Lady Dimitrescu from Resident Evil Village. The FGS is run by Future PLC, the parent company of PC Gamer.

Baldur's Gate 3 fixes Astarion looking like your granddad on Facetime and Dark Urge forgetting they have amnesia with a 'room temperature fix'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/baldurs-gate/baldurs-gate-3-fixes-astarion-looking-like-your-granddad-on-facetime-and-dark-urge-forgetting-they-have-amnesia-with-a-room-temperature-fix/
The time of Baldur's Gate 3 patches is ended; now is the time of Baldur's Gate 3 hotfixes. God bless 'em, I don't think Larian will ever manage to stop tinkering with its masterpiece—today it returned to Faerûn with BG3's hotfix 33, bringing a smattering of fixes for bugs as diverse as crashes, broken game invites, the Dark Urge accidentally spoiling their whole deal, and weird character portraits. Maybe. That last one is a solid maybe.