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JEMC on 20 October 2025
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The Monday gaming news:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

Arc Raiders playtest slams past 185,000 concurrent players on Steam alone
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/arc-raiders-playtest-slams-past-185-000-concurrent-players-on-steam-alone/
The Arc Raiders server slam playtest kicked off today, offering one last free weekend testing session before the game launches on October 30. And it's putting up serious numbers, with more than 185,000 people playing right now—on Steam alone.
That number, courtesy of SteamDB, is good enough to put Arc Raiders in the number four spot on Steam's most played list, ahead of PUBG, Rust, and Bongo Cat. It's even more impressive when you consider that the server slam is also available on the Epic Games Store as well as PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles, meaning the actual number of people playing is higher—likely much higher.

GOG starts the week with two promos:

Steam has two new deals and two new sales/events:

Humble Bundle has two new collections for us:

And Fanatical has these:

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Just in case you thought reviving dead games seemed easy enough, GOG had to hire a private investigator to find an IP holder living off the grid for its preservation program
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/just-in-case-you-thought-reviving-dead-games-seemed-easy-enough-gog-had-to-hire-a-private-investigator-to-find-an-ip-holder-living-off-the-grid-for-its-preservation-program/
It's certainly not an absence of demand that keeps "dead" games like Black & White or the original Civilization off the market. It's usually red tape and nebulous barriers involving copyright law and intellectual property ownership-flavored headaches that get in the way. And even though GOG has a team working on its preservation program full time, senior bizdev manager Marcin Paczynski said they found the process of digital necromancy "harder than we thought it would be," on a recent episode of The Game Business Show.
He added that the strange stories involved were enough to fill a book, and served up some examples that make me really want to read that book. One tidbit involved someone in the UK who had unwittingly inherited rights to several games, but was "nowhere to be found."

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Bloodborne PC Remaster Mod V0.93 Available for Download
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/bloodborne-pc-remaster-mod-v0-93-available-for-download
Modder ‘fromsoftserve’ has released a new version of his amazing remaster mod for Bloodborne that PC gamers can currently enjoy. This mod aims to overhaul the visuals of the game. As such, you can experience an unofficial remastered version of this PS4-only title.
For those wondering, you can run Bloodborne on PC via the shadPS4 emulator. With this emulator, you can also enable this mod to remaster it. Plus, you can use another mod that unlocks its framerate. These two mods are essential for those who want to play Bloodborne on PC.
The Bloodborne Remaster Mod adds dynamic shadows throughout the entire game. It also improves how far shadows can be seen and makes them look better. The mod adds more ambient lighting by changing the game’s settings. It also improves texture quality, so objects look clearer. On top of that, it adds realistic lighting for things like street lamps, wall lamps, candles, and torches.
And that’s not all. The modder has added Parallax Occlusion Mapping to surfaces throughout the game. This is a WIP feature, meaning that not all surfaces have POM yet.
In version 0.93, fromsoftserve has restored the baked lighting. He also enabled alternate colorgrades for most areas. As he pointed out, these were created by FromSoftware itself, but for some reason, they weren’t used.
It’s also worth noting that a future version will replace the low-quality distant meshes that Bloodborne often used. These lower-quality models made sense on the PS4. However, they are not that necessary on PC. With higher-quality distant models, PC players will get a much better-looking game. And that’s the whole purpose of this mod.
>> The article has an over 20 minutes video.

Take a look at Grand Theft Auto 4 with RTX Remix Path Tracing
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/take-a-look-at-grand-theft-auto-4-with-rtx-remix-path-tracing
Modder ‘xoxor4d ‘ is currently working on an RTX Remix Path Tracing Mod for Grand Theft Auto 4. While there is no ETA on when the mod will come out, we have some screenshots from it, shared by Resetera’s gabdeg. And, as you will see, it already looks incredible.
This RTX Remix Mod will add real-time Path Tracing to this classic GTA game. Path Tracing will handle pretty much everything, from reflections to shadows and lighting. In my opinion, this is how you remaster a game. Hear that, dear devs?
What’s also incredible here is that these screenshots are with the vanilla assets. There aren’t any new textures or PBR materials. So, in theory, the game can look even better than this.
As I said, there’s no ETA on when the mod will come out. From what I know, xoxor4d’s Patreon members currently have access to a test build. My guess is that we’ll see a public version once the modder has polished it further. So, maybe we’ll get it around Christmas?

New The Witcher 3 DLC-Sized Expansion Mod Adds New Map, Upgradeable Camp, and Unique Gameplay Mechanics
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/new-the-witcher-3-dlc-sized-expansion-mod-adds-new-map-upgradeable-camp-and-unique-gameplay-mechanics
Modder ‘Aeltoth’ has released a must-have mod for all The Witcher 3 fans. The Wild Monster Hunt DLC-sized expansion mod adds a new map to the game, a camp where you can upgrade your gear, and unique gameplay mechanics. So, let’s take a closer look at it.
Wild Monster Hunt is a new game mode where you can start a fresh playthrough made just for this experience. You’ll have your own camp, which you can upgrade. It’s similar to Corvo Bianco, but focused on helping you hunt monsters. You can explore a brand-new map about the same size as Toussaint from the Blood & Wine DLC. From your camp, you can pick and complete randomly generated monster contracts to earn gear and money. As you play, you can craft better equipment and take on stronger monsters. You can also unlock special items and use a unique forge found only on this new map to create powerful builds.
Wild Monster Hunt revolves around two deeply interconnected systems. The first element is your Witcher camp, it is your safe place to take care of your gear and to prepare for the coming hunts. In there, you will occasionally find skilled people who will help you turn this humid place into your modest home. The second element is everything around the camp. As soon as you leave its walls, you enter the “Hunting mode“. Containers are filled with new loot, herbs have grown back, and new creatures are roaming the wild lands. You are then free to explore as you please or as long as your gear allows, after which you can go back to the camp in order to prepare for the next hunt.
>> The article has three videos.

'GZDoom is basically dead' modders proclaim as contributors split from Doom's most popular sourceport, with tensions boiling over after its creator adds AI-generated code to the project
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/gzdoom-is-basically-dead-modders-proclaim-as-contributors-split-from-dooms-most-popular-sourceport-with-tensions-boiling-over-after-its-creator-adds-ai-generated-code-to-the-project/
Numerous contributors to GZDoom, Doom's most popular sourceport and the basis for countless mods and several entire games, have split from the project and revealed plans to build their own version, after long-running tensions with GZDoom's creator came to a head earlier this week.
As reported by Techspot, the schism within GZDoom's community arose through a thread on the project's Github page, beginning with GZDoom contributor the-phinet (real name Marcus Minhorst) listing several issues regarding recent updates posted to the project by its creator, Cristoph "Graf Zahl" Oleckers. Among multiple complaints, Minhorst claimed Oleckers had "pushed untested code" and made "use of an LLM to write your code for you" which Minhorst pointed out likely violated GitHub's licensing agreement.
These grievances arrived on top of other, longer standing complaints from GZDoom contributors regarding other updates to the sourceport, such as its controversial texture-filter that blurs Doom's pixels. The changes highlighted by Minhorst appear to have come as an unpleasant surprise to GZDoom's contributors, with Oleckers having seemingly taken a back seat on the project over the previous year.
"I understand that this is your project, and you can do whatever you like," Minhorst wrote. "Please instead of pushing directly, open PRs and wait for a maintainer to [acknowledge] them. This would set a good example, allowing time for maintainers and other developers to review your work."
Oleckers' issued a short response to Minhorst's post, stating simply that he should "Feel free to fork the project". 'Forking' refers to the creation of a separate code repository from the original, allowing users to make changes independent of the base version. GZDoom is itself a fork of another Doom sourceport, ZDoom.
This, it seems, was the last straw for much of the GZDoom community, prompting several more contributors to accuse Oleckers of poor management and not working in the interests of the sourceport.
"What the hell is your problem, Graf? You disappear for a year, come back to send a bunch of work to the curb, use generative AI bullshit to solve an easily searchable problem, and then tell people to kick rocks when they raise a valid concern for it?" wrote GZDoom contributor Kaelan Evans. Fellow community member Boondorl, meanwhile, pointed out that "so much was getting done on GZDoom that we decided to upgrade to a 5.0, a move you agreed to because so many amazing features had managed to get in. Days after you decided to come back out of no where, the project is now completely bricked and everyone is abandoning ship."
Indeed, it seems the community has taken Oleckers' advice to heart, creating a new fork of ZDoom called UZDoom that they can work on without Oleckers acting as de-facto head of the project. As a sourceport, UZDoom aims to be a straight continuation of the plans made for GZDoom 5.0, which included better netcode and support for ray tracing. "Other than rebranding, nothing has changed roadmap-wise," wrote UZDoom contributor Ricardo Luís Vaz Silva in response to questions regarding UZDoom's plans.
>> What a mess.

If emulating classic DOS games seems like a pain, there's a DOSBox fork 'aiming for simplicity and ease of use', now standalone for the first time
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/if-emulating-classic-dos-games-seems-like-a-pain-theres-a-dosbox-fork-aiming-for-simplicity-and-ease-of-use-now-standalone-for-the-first-time/
Our medium has a rich history that stretches far back into the days of DOS gaming, but the further back in time you go, the more it's a pain to get these games running on modern systems. Even if I have the right media, what the hell am I supposed to do with a floppy disk image in 2025? The long-running answer has been to try out DOSBox and its modern "forks," or modified versions, but it can be a bit of a pain to get started if you're new to emulation.
Enter DOSBox Pure, once an impressive core for the open-source emulation frontend RetroArch—if that sounds like gibberish, it just means you go outside enough—now a standalone app that can easily load ZIP files, mounted CD and floppy disk images, DOS exes, and so on. It's a pay-what-you-want download on developer Schelling's itch.io page, and after giving it a quick look myself, the app is slick and straightforward right out of the box.
There's step-by-step use instructions on that page as well if you have any trouble getting your games running⁠—you'll have to bring your own files, with storefronts like GOG being one potential source. From there it's got plenty of modern settings to tweak and soup up your DOS games of choice: rebindable keys, gamepad and joystick support, save states, a CRT video filter, and even a touchpad mode.
The itch.io page notes there's automatic controller button assignments if the program successfully detects your game and gamepad, but everything can be customized to your liking—something Steam Deck users might find tantalizing

This wild mod for Metal Gear Solid 5 massively expands its Subsistence system and makes enemies learn new tactics within missions rather than across them
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/this-wild-mod-for-metal-gear-solid-5-massively-expands-its-subsistence-system-and-makes-enemies-learn-new-tactics-within-missions-rather-than-across-them/
Metal Gear Solid 5 isn't exactly short of options for approaching its open-ended stealth scenarios. But encouraging players to use every tool at their disposal can be difficult once they've found a loadout that they like. Its Subsistence rule was one of Kojima's solutions to this, allowing players to re-enter previous missions without a specific loadout and forcing them to scavenge weapons and equipment on the fly.
But this solution didn't go far enough, at least according to MGS 5 modder mohtalgear. And to celebrate the sequel's tenth anniversary, they decided to do something about it, resulting in the Definitive Subsistence Update.
The Definitive Subsistence Update aims to be the equivalent of the Substance and Subsistence updates for MGS 2 and 3. "Definitive Subsistence adds new content and new meaningful gameplay mechanics that'll make you feel like you're playing MGSV for the first time," mohtalgear says in its Nexus Mods description. It does this by layering in substantially more detail to the Subsistence system, as well as several other mechanics central to how Metal Gear Solid 5 functions.
This starts with a complete overhaul to on-site procurement, with the mod folding in significantly more variety to the weapons you can collect in Subsistence mode. If you interrogate an enemy, for example, they'll now drop a random support weapon, plus a support item if you question them a second time. You can also collect an enemy's sidearm by holding them up, pick up tranquilizer guns in the field, while enemies can also wield "every base gun" including weapons that were previously unavailable to them like grenade launchers.
In addition to this, the mod adjusts The Phantom Pain's innovative dynamic revenge system so that instead of evolving across the whole game, those evolutions happen during each mission with the system resetting at the end. So if, say, you go in guns blazing at the first checkpoint you spot, the next convoy you encounter might be armed and armoured to the teeth. Alternatively, if you get spotted while sneaking and guards raise the alarm, subsequent outposts you explore will have a higher level of awareness.
The mod's end goal is to unlock The Phantom Pain's full emergent potential, to make every mission different and surprising and avoid players falling into the same patterns of play. There's a YouTube video by mohtalgear showing the mod in action, and as you can see, it's transformative.

Total conversion mod for The Simpsons: Hit & Run turns it into the Futurama game of our dreams
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/total-conversion-mod-for-the-simpsons-hit-and-run-turns-it-into-the-futurama-game-of-our-dreams/
Well-remembered GTA-like The Simpsons: Hit & Run may never get those four sequels the developers were hoping for, but it's being kept alive by modders nonetheless. There's a mod to stitch its three zones together into a seamless open world, for instance. And now there's Futurama: Hit & Run.
The delightfully named Slurm Team has turned Springfield into New New York in the year 3,000, complete with pneumatic transportation tubes and sewers full of mutation-inducing ooze. The 3D models are made "fully from scratch" and and the team's hope is that it'll feel like "an intended expansion pack for the game." The trailer's great, though honestly you could play the Futurama theme tune over anything and I'd be excited.
Joe McGinn, who was senior game designer, gave it his seal of approval in the comments beneath the trailer. "As the lead designer of the original game, I can only say ... this looks awesome! I want to play it", he wrote.
A demo of Futurama: Hit & Run will be available from October 19. You'll be able to download it from Mod Bakery, and you'll need a copy of Lucas' Simpsons: Hit & Run Mod Launcher to run it, as well as the original game. The Simpsons: Hit & Run subreddit has full instructions if you need them.

GAMING NEWS

None, DSOG didn't have any article that fit this category



Please excuse my bad English.

Former gaming PC: i5-4670k@stock (for now), 16Gb RAM 1600 MHz and a GTX 1070

Current gaming PC: R5-7600, 32GB RAM 6000MT/s (CL30) and a RX 9060XT 16GB

Steam / Live / NNID : jonxiquet    Add me if you want, but I'm a single player gamer.