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

[JEMC]

The Tuesday gaming news:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

Steam’s Top 10

(Click here for the Top 100)

Steam has several new deals for us:

• Wayfinder is free to try during two days and will be 70% off until Monday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1171690/Wayfinder/
• Foundation will have a 33% discount until the 9th of February: https://store.steampowered.com/app/690830/Foundation/
• Wobbly Life will be 35% off until the 9th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1211020/Wobbly_Life/
• Anonymous Hacker Simulator gets a 70% discount until February 9: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2487060/Anonymous_Hacker_Simulator/
• The NSFW SUCCUBUS (which I’m surprised it shows up without beign logged in), is going to be 85% off until the same February 9: https://store.steampowered.com/app/985830/SUCCUBUS/
• There are two new Sales:
  • Anshar Publishing puts its games on sale with up to 80% discounts until the 9th of February: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41215820/sale/publishersalejanuary2026
  • THQ Nordic improves that putting its games up to 90% off until the same 9th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/THQNordicPublisherSale2026
• And we can’t forget about the weeklong deals, can we?

There are three new deals at Humble:

• Humble Bundle presents the RollerCoaster Tycoon Collection 2026, with up to 5 games to get during 17 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/roller-coaster-tycoon-collection-2026
• Humble Store has two new sales:
  • Watch_Dogs Franchise Sale features up to 85% discounts during 6 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/watch-dogs-franchise-sale/
  • Bandai Namco puts its games up to 90% off during the next 13 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/bandai-namco-january-sale/

Fanatical has two new deals:

• The new Star Deal is Monster Hunter Wilds, 55% off during 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/monster-hunter-wilds
• The Casual Mystery Bundle has up to 4 unknown gmes to get in groups of 2, 3 or 4. There’s no word on how long it will last: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/casual-mystery-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

INTEL Arc Graphics 32.0.101.8425/8362 driver
https://videocardz.com/driver/intel-arc-graphics-32-0-101-8425-8362

HIGHLIGHTS
Launch driver for Intel Core Ultra Series 3 with built-in Intel Arc B390, B370 GPUs (Codename Panther Lake).

Intel XeSS 3 Support: Introducing Multi-Frame Generation

• XeSS Multi-Frame Generation builds upon XeSS Frame Generation by inserting up to 3 generated frames between two rendered frames, going from a 1:1 ratio to 3:1 for an ultra smooth gameplay experience.

FIXED ISSUES

Intel Arc B-Series Graphics Products

• PRAGMATA SKETCHBOOK Demo (DX12) may experience an application crash while launching the game.

Intel Core Ultra Series 2 with built-in Intel Arc GPUs

• PRAGMATA SKETCHBOOK Demo (DX12) may experience an application crash while launching the game.

Intel Graphics Software Fixed Issues

• Variable Refresh Rate range in Display page may show incorrect values.

GOG owns up to its poor handling of Devotion's delisting in 2020: 'We acknowledge that this decision understandably damaged the trust our users have in us'
https://www.pcgamer.com/software/platforms/gog-owns-up-to-its-poor-handling-of-devotions-delisting-in-2020-we-acknowledge-that-this-decision-understandably-damaged-the-trust-our-users-have-in-us/
When Valve bizarrely vetoed the launch of horror adventure game Horses on Steam last year, its plucky competitor GOG was quick to swoop in. "We’re proud to give HORSES a home on GOG," announced the storefront, "giving players another way to enjoy the game. We’ve always believed that players should be able to choose the experiences that speak to them." In an interview this month, managing director Maciej Gołębiewski referred to Horses when he declared that "We as a company are always ready to take a stand on the right values".
That rankled some onlookers who remembered that, well, that wasn't always GOG's stance. In 2020, it came under fire for unceremoniously dumping Devotion, which had become subject of repression in China for memes seemingly mocking president Xi Jinping. In a new interview with Eurogamer, Gołębiewski chatted a bit about how GOG looks back on that episode.
"That situation remains difficult to reflect on," said Gołębiewski. "At the time, we made that decision in the context of very real business constraints, a limited understanding of the complex geopolitical factors at play, and a lack of good options that would both protect GOG and partners and allow the game to be released responsibly.
"In hindsight, we acknowledge that this decision—and the way we communicated it—understandably damaged the trust our users have in us."

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

This Oblivion Remastered Mod Adds Almost 2000 New Trees Into Cyrodiil
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/this-oblivion-remastered-mod-adds-almost-2000-trees-into-cyrodiil/
Modder ‘Ianjoseph1986’ has released a cool new mod for Oblivion Remastered that adds almost 2000 trees into Cyrodiil. This mod aims to make the game’s forests feel denser than those of the vanilla version.
All of the new trees were carefully hand-placed. As the modder noted, the performance hit of this mod is quite small. You can expect a 2-3FPS performance hit with it. However, since it makes the forests denser, it’s a hit I’ll gladly take.
>> The article has some screenshots.

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Rebirth 7.1 Available for Download
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/the-elder-scrolls-iii-morrowind-rebirth-7-1-available-for-download/
Modder ‘trancemaster_1988’ has released Version 7.1 for the amazing The Elder Scrolls: III Morrowind Rebirth project. The modder has also listed all the tweaks, fixes, and changes featured in it. So, let’s see what this new version of Morrowind Rebirth brings to the table.
Morrowind Rebirth 7.1 fixes a problem where a scripted plank from the character creation area was being duplicated in Fort Frostmoth. This caused it to randomly disappear from either Seyda Neen or Fort Frostmoth. It also fixes a bug where the ship at Fort Frostmoth had an extra trapdoor that actually belonged on a ship in Raven Rock. On top of that, the update fixes an issue where Temple-only spells (like Rilm’s Cure and Vivec’s Feast) were being sold by NPCs who were not part of the Temple.
And that’s not all. Version 7.1 also fixes two buildings in Suran that were supposed to have locked doors because their interiors were unfinished. One of these buildings didn’t even have a door at all. It also fixes a problem in Vivec’s Guild of Mages where one set of stairs wasn’t lined up correctly, leaving a small gap you could see through.
The update also fixes a bug where leaving Zalkin Grotto would trap the player inside the game’s geometry. Another fix corrects smoke effects from certain incense holders that didn’t show up because the texture had the wrong file name.
On top of that, it fixes an issue where leaving the top floor of the Seyda Neen lighthouse caused weird camera angles. A large Hlaalu-style pillar now has proper collision, and some small geometry problems in Bthusal have also been cleaned up.
Morrowind Rebirth 7.1 also includes a modified Dwemer tileset made by Darknut. According to the modder, this new tileset is much more detailed and complex than the original, which means you might notice a few small clipping issues. The modder has tried to fix most of them and plans to fix the rest over time. Future updates will also improve the UVs, since some of them still look rough. All quest items (vanilla ones for now) now have new icons with a “Q” in the top-left corner so they’re easy to spot. The modder also added a bit more clutter to the Ministry of Truth interiors, especially rocks in the cave sections, which originally looked too empty.
>> The article has the full patch notes, that includes some screenshots.

GTA 4 RTX Remix Looks Spectacular With New PBR Materials
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/gta-4-rtx-remix-looks-spectacular-with-new-pbr-materials/
By now, most of you are aware of the amazing RTX Remix Mod for Grand Theft Auto 4. This mod adds real-time Path Tracing to this beloved GTA game. And yesterday, modder xoxor4d released a new add-on that automatically gives all textures PBR materials.
According to the modder, they used a special version of the Remix runtime that let them collect textures while the game was running. The compatibility mod also helped by giving extra information about each texture through the remixApi. Using this info, the modder created texture groups and generated a USD file with the needed changes. He also processed the dumped textures afterward. Old DX9 normal maps were converted into normal maps that work with Remix, and the specular maps were turned into roughness maps using Python scripts.
What this basically means is that GTA 4 RTX Remix can now look better than ever. At the end of the article, you can find some screenshots with these PBR materials, courtesy of Resetera’s gabdeg. As you can see, the game now looks absolutely glorious. This is why PBR materials are a must for all RTX Remix Mods.
It’s also worth noting that last week, xoxor4d released Title Update 1.1.8 for GTA 4 RTX Remix. This new version enables remix’ horizon based fog and adds logic to increase the horizon height based on camera fog. It also fixes the phone screen smearing issue and reduced fov impact on phone size. This is huge as the game could be a pain the ass to play with the previous version. But now, the phone works the way it was meant to.

GAMING NEWS

18 minutes of new gameplay footage from Resident Evil Requiem, featuring both Leon and Grace
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/18-minutes-of-new-gameplay-footage-from-resident-evil-requiem-featuring-both-leon-and-grace/
YouTube’s ‘Punish’ has shared a video, showcasing 18 minutes of new gameplay footage from Resident Evil Requiem. This gameplay video features both Leon S. Kennedy and Grace Ashcroft. As such, it can give you a glimpse at the two different gameplay styles that this new RE game will have.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake Pre-Alpha March 2024 Presentation Leaked Online
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/prince-of-persia-the-sands-of-time-remake-pre-alpha-march-2024-presentation-leaked-online/
It appears that the pre-alpha March 2024 presentation for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake has been leaked online. An hour ago, someone on YouTube leaked the entire presentation. At first, I was hesitant to share it as I wasn’t sure whether it was legit. But then, Ubisoft went ahead and took it down, which basically confirms that this is the real thing.