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

[JEMC]

Thursday gaming news, the sequel:

I cut out my tongue to unlock a door in Eclipsium, then things started getting weird
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/i-cut-out-my-tongue-to-unlock-a-door-in-eclipsium-then-things-started-getting-weird/
Eclipsium is a game about removing your own heart—to no obvious personal detriment—in order to power a great and unfathomable machine. Eclipsium is a game about cutting an enormous hole in your hand that you can peer through to see secret pathways. Eclipsium is a game about transitioning from great heights to profound depths with little logic in between. I don't actually know what Eclipsium is about. I like it a lot.

Epic sues Fortnite botters who filled their own maps with clankers and made off with tens of thousands of dollars
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/battle-royale/epic-sues-fortnite-botters-who-filled-their-own-maps-with-clankers-and-made-off-with-tens-of-thousands-of-dollars/
The sheer scale of Fortnite and the money involved has meant Epic Games has to deal with a sizable contingent of ne'er-do-wells. Amusingly enough, in some cases it has pursued a strategy of crushing the cheaters in court and then making them apologise, like some sort of giant corporate stepmother. But when things start to get into the realm of cheating the system itself, and illicitly siphoning off money from the creator program, it turns out Epic's lawyers play a whole other ballgame.

After cheaters broke Steam's most popular roguelike's leaderboards, its dev issued a fix and a warning: 'Cheaters you better watch your ass or I'm clapping your cheeks back to the shadow realm where you belong'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/after-cheaters-broke-steams-most-popular-roguelikes-leaderboards-its-dev-issued-a-fix-and-a-warning-cheaters-you-better-watch-your-ass-or-im-clapping-your-cheeks-back-to-the-shadow-realm-where-you-belong/
Megabonk's explosive success has unfortunately attracted the kind of people who love to ruin the fun. Over the weekend, its leaderboards were taken over by players with high scores that could only be possible using cheats.
As a temporary solution, lead developer Vedinad nuked the leaderboards on Sunday in preparation for the fix that just arrived today. The new patch has refreshed the leaderboards and has some tweaks that should prevent them from being broken again. Vedinad says known cheaters have been banned: "Cheaters you better watch your ass or I'm clapping your cheeks back to the shadow realm where you belong."

As Rainbow Six Siege X numbers continue to slide, Ubisoft promises to crack down on cheaters and 'prioritize a fun experience' with future balance changes
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/as-rainbow-six-siege-x-numbers-continue-to-slide-ubisoft-promises-to-crack-down-on-cheaters-and-prioritize-a-fun-experience-with-future-balance-changes/
Four months after tacking an X onto the team-based shooter Rainbow Six Siege and converting it to a free-to-play model, Ubisoft has laid out its priorities for the future of the game, admitting that it hasn't "communicated clearly enough about what [it's] been working on" since the transition.
Rainbow Six Siege saw a big boost in player numbers earlier this year when the X update went live, from more than 66,000 concurrents on Steam on June 9, according to SteamDB, to more than 142,000 on June 10.
But it's been a downhill ride ever since, and concurrent player counts now are actually lower than they were immediately prior to the free-to-play shift. User reviews have also taken a turn downward: The overall rating on Steam remains "very positive" but recent reviews are "mixed," with an uptick in cheaters seemingly the most common complaint.

Ubisoft reportedly cancelled an Assassin's Creed game set around the American Civil War because of Yasuke backlash and political turmoil in the US
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/ubisoft-reportedly-cancelled-an-assassins-creed-game-set-around-the-american-civil-war-because-of-yasuke-backlash-and-political-turmoil-in-the-us/
A new Game File report claims that Ubisoft cancelled an Assassin's Creed game that would have been set in the US Civil War and the Reconstruction period that followed. According to Game File's sources, the decision to cancel the game was made in 2024 in part because of the backlash against the reveal of the Black samurai Yasuke in Assassin's Creed Shadows, but more pressingly over concerns about the current political climate in the US.
>> Imho, a wise decision.

Laid-off devs of cancelled ZeniMax MMO Project Blackbird form new studio 'with no outside investors and full creative control,' and they're calling it Sackbird
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/laid-off-devs-of-cancelled-zenimax-mmo-project-blackbird-form-new-studio-with-no-outside-investors-and-full-creative-control-and-theyre-calling-it-sackbird/
A few months ago we found out ZeniMax Online Studios had canceled an MMO shooter it was developing under the codename Project Blackbird, one that had been in development since 2018 and executives apparently enjoyed playing. Turns out, even having Phil Spencer like your game can't save you from Microsoft's recent slash-and-burn approach to its own projects and staff.
Some of the laid-off developers behind Project Blackbird have now announced the formation of a new studio, cheekily named Sackbird. Get it? "With no outside investors and full creative control, the team is focused on building great games—on their own terms", as the announcement puts it.
>> I wish them the best.

Still in early access, Hyper Light Breaker's ending development and laying off staff: 'This was not our ideal path, but rather the only one available given the circumstances'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/still-in-early-access-hyper-light-breakers-ending-development-and-laying-off-staff-this-was-not-our-ideal-path-but-rather-the-only-one-available-given-the-circumstances/
Just nine months after its open-world roguelike Hyper Light Breaker hit early access, Heart Machine has hit the rocks. Per Game Developer, the studio is laying off an indeterminate number of staff and ending development on its most recent game, which encountered a rough reception when it launched into early access in January, with players lamenting performance issues, control problems, bugs, and the fact that the game might just be a smidge too hard.

Bethesda enlisted its intrepid fan-wiki editors 'to design a character for The Elder Scrolls 6'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-elder-scrolls/bethesda-enlisted-its-intrepid-fan-wiki-editors-to-design-a-character-for-the-elder-scrolls-6/
Something you should know about me is: I would kill and die for the Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP), a volunteer-maintained library of all things Elder Scrolls that's the absolute gold standard for fan wikis, so far as I'm concerned. Not for nothing were people excited when the Indie Fallout Wiki teamed up with UESP. Hell, we've even written our own paeans to it.
Its work hasn't gone unnoticed. According to a recent post on social media, the UESP editors' good deeds have been acknowledged by Bethesda itself, who called a gaggle of its editors into the office. To do what, you ask? Why, to design a character for The Elder Scrolls 6, of course! That's per the UESP itself, posting yesterday on social media.