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

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The expected third part of the gaming news:

Rust doubles down on its 'controversial' meta changes by wiping everyone's crafting blueprints to 'bring back that sense of discovery', and it might become a regular thing
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/rust-doubles-down-on-its-controversial-meta-changes-by-wiping-everyones-crafting-blueprints-to-bring-back-that-sense-of-discovery-and-it-might-become-a-regular-thing/
Last month, Facepunch Studios began overhauling player progression in its nihilistic survival sim Rust to coax players out of their bases and encourage more PvP combat, introducing a "controversial" blueprint fragment system that requires players to locate and piece together blueprints to upgrade their workbenches above level one. Despite the apparently mixed reception of blueprint fragments, Facepunch's latest update doubles down on the meta shift with even more dramatic changes.

No Man's Sky is rerunning all of its expeditions from 2025, while also giving players another chance to add Mass Effect's Normandy to their spaceship collection
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/no-mans-sky-is-rerunning-all-of-its-expeditions-from-2025-while-also-giving-players-another-chance-to-add-mass-effects-normandy-to-their-spaceship-collection/
It's been a big year for No Man's Sky, although you could argue that every year since 2016 has been a big year for Hello Games' spectacularly redeemed space exploration sim. 2025 brought another helping of reworks to its universe simulation in Worlds: Part 2, as well as space palaeontology in its Relics update, stellar towns you could preside over in Beacon, and multi-crew spacecraft and ship design in Voyagers—which apparently brought in the highest number of concurrent players since No Man's Sky released.
As 2025 approaches its end, Hello Games is in a reflective mood, and has decided to rerun all four of the expeditions that accompanied each update. On top of that, it's currently rerunning 2021's Beachhead Expedition, giving players another opportunity to claim Mass Effect's Normandy SR-1.

The best playable game documentary on Steam is getting a Namco-centric DLC this week, including the worst version of Pac-Man
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/the-best-playable-game-documentary-on-steam-is-getting-a-namco-centric-dlc-this-week-including-the-worst-version-of-pac-man/
Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration is one of the coolest games on Steam, and only in part because it’s a robust retro game compilation that introduced me to Yars’ Revenge, the only Atari game I’ve ever loved. It’s also a sort of digital coffee table book replete with interviews, historical blurbs, and quaint reimaginings of the games it archives.
It’s because that core game was so good I’m actually excited to play another compilation of Bandai Namco’s 80s classics—Pac-Man, Dig Dug, Galaga, anything you’d expect to see wallowing in the corner of a local greasy spoon. In a DLC announced earlier this year without a release window, those games and a few others will finally be woven into the collection this Thursday, Nov. 13.

Mick Gordon is asking 'how heavy can we get it?' in his first full game soundtrack since Doom Eternal: 'I'm really exploring the extremes of distortion with this project'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/mick-gordon-is-asking-how-heavy-can-we-get-it-in-his-first-full-game-soundtrack-since-doom-eternal-im-really-exploring-the-extremes-of-distortion-with-this-project/
Australian composer Mick Gordon is one of the most widely-recognized composers in the videogame industry, with his signature propulsive, distorted, future-metal sound helping define id Software's wildly successful Wolfenstein and Doom reboots.
In the five years since a public falling out with longtime collaborator Bethesda, Gordon has contributed to metal projects, a large portion of Atomic Heart's soundtrack, and as a guest composer on Absolum, but he recently revealed he's working on his next full videogame soundtrack for the ambitious upcoming cyberpunk FPS, Defect. I recently sat down with Gordon and Defect director Emanuel Palalic to talk about the game, Gordon's work on it, and game music writ large.

I've already been getting my hopes up for The Expanse game from RPG factory Owlcat, and its main theme just skewered my Mass Effect-loving lizard brain
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/ive-already-been-getting-my-hopes-up-for-the-expanse-game-from-rpg-factory-owlcat-and-its-main-theme-just-skewered-my-mass-effect-loving-lizard-brain/
(...)
On November 7, Owlcat shared the game's main theme from composer Paweł Perepelica, who previously scored Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous and Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader for the studio. It's hard get crazy excited about music from an upcoming game, but Osiris Reborn's main theme kinda goes.

Unsurprisingly, players have already found a way to use parts of Peak's newest biome to fire themselves into the stratosphere
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/unsurprisingly-players-have-already-found-a-way-to-use-parts-of-peaks-newest-biome-to-fire-themselves-into-the-stratosphere/
Peak dropped its Roots update last week, adding a new biome filled with towering redwood trees and filled with spore clouds and undead creatures. Between the trees though, you'll find giant red mushrooms which you can bounce off, and it hasn't taken players long at all to find an exploit which drastically increases the air time you get from doing so.

Larian publishing director says Steam is dominant because 'It isn't providing a s*** service defined by public shareholder KPIs,' but concedes 'A post-Gabe world is a terrifying one'
https://www.pcgamer.com/software/platforms/larian-publishing-director-says-steam-is-dominant-because-it-isnt-providing-a-s-service-defined-by-public-shareholder-kpis-but-concedes-a-post-gabe-world-is-a-terrifying-one/
Recent news that 72% of devs (most of whom occupied the rarefied airs of the C-suite) consider Steam a monopoly set tongues wagging all over the internet. Turns out, people have strong feelings about the videogame launcher in their taskbar, and they weren't shy about expressing them.
One of those people? Larian publishing director Michael Douse, who took to X to take a swipe at Steam's rivals. "It's almost as if it isn't providing a shit service defined by public shareholder KPIs [Key Performance Indicators]," wrote Douse.
>> Besides praising Steam, he also criticized S-E for using AI for Q&A for a simple reason: human testers can give you a “massively advantageous vibe check” (link).

Leaked PlayStation store files suggest that Sony could be exploring cross-buy between PC and PS5
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/leaked-playstation-store-files-suggest-that-sony-could-be-exploring-cross-buy-between-pc-and-ps5/
Sony appears to be exploring potential cross-buy games between PC and PS5, according to recent leaks from the PlayStation store.
The leak first appeared on X, where user Amethxst posted an image purportedly showing new, hidden symbols that have been added to the PlayStation store. One icon reads "Cross-Buy", while the second reads PS5/PC. "New Symbols will be added soon (website & tool), but here [are] some nice new features from PlayStation", Amethxst wrote. "A kind of 'echo mode' 'PS5/PC games' and 'Cross-Buy'."
>> Took them a while to make an article about this.

Planning for REPO's next update is underway, but the developer is taking a break for the time being: 'Frankly, my brain is a bit mushy'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/planning-for-repos-next-update-is-underway-but-the-developer-is-taking-a-break-for-the-time-being-frankly-my-brain-is-a-bit-mushy/
REPO launched its monster update on October 31, adding ten new horrifying beasts to the already tense game. However, even though players are still mastering the art of dodging the Birthday Boy's balloons and outrunning the Loom, semiwork has already uploaded a video to YouTube sharing that preparations for the game's next update are underway.

Only in Arc Raiders could you find players kind enough to reverse extraction camp: 'Any violence brought to my extraction point will be met with severe force'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/only-in-arc-raiders-could-you-find-players-kind-enough-to-reverse-extraction-camp-any-violence-brought-to-my-extraction-point-will-be-met-with-severe-force/
Nothing feels worse than dying right by the extraction in Arc Raiders. A hair's breadth away from getting home to Speranza with all your good loot, just to die in some ditch, taken out by a loser who sat next to the exit all game.
But sadly, extraction camping is part and parcel of extraction shooters. Instead of actually playing the game, some simply choose to lie in wait until victims carrying resources come to them. Usually, I'd say these people would have to pay for extraction camping in another life, but it seems like they're actually paying for it right here and now in Arc Raiders thanks to a few zealous players.