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

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Monday gaming news, part two:

Rust devs surveil cheaters like they're 'playing an RTS game': 'Every gun shot, every message, every dropped item, every kind of interaction is logged'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/rust-devs-surveil-cheaters-like-theyre-playing-an-rts-game-every-gun-shot-every-message-every-dropped-item-every-kind-of-interaction-is-logged/
The worst part about getting matched up against a cheater in any game is knowing there's not much you can do. You can send in a report, you can wait for some automatic trigger to ban them, you can curse the gods in a faith tradition of your choice, but no one with any authority to call out foul play is sitting there and watching you. Except in Rust, where they might be.
At least, that's how it is according to facepunch COO Alistair McFarlane, as he discussed in a post on X. He stated that cheaters aren't safe from scrutiny when the admins log off, as they're "watching when we're not connected to the server like we're playing an RTS game. Every gun shot, every message, every dropped item, every kind of interaction is logged, recorded and can be played back or watched live."

Train Sim World devs announce Thomas the Tank Engine game 'powered by Train Sim World' and the true train sickos are down: 'It will make 9 trainzillion dollars'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/train-sim-world-devs-announce-thomas-the-tank-engine-game-powered-by-train-sim-world-and-the-true-train-sickos-are-down-it-will-make-9-trainzillion-dollars/
If you were a child at one point, you may remember Thomas the Tank Engine. What started as a series of extremely British children's books has turned into a venerable, extremely British fixture of pop culture thanks to the beloved TV show—and now, Thomas and co. are getting their very own train sim game from Dovetail Games, the studio behind Train Sim World.

Timberborn gets a 1.0 release date and new 'lore trailer' showing some very thirsty beavers
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/city-builder/timberborn-gets-a-1-0-release-date-and-new-lore-trailer-showing-some-very-thirsty-beavers/
We've known that Timberborn has been approaching the end of its early access journey for some time, but developer Mechanistry had yet to pin down a specific 1.0 launch date for its popular beaver-themed city builder. Now though, as the developer gnaws through the last few items on its to-do list, it has formally revealed when the game will depart early access, and it's happening in March.

You've had Skate Story, now get ready for Skate Style, a 'next-gen skateboarding game' that lets you customise your character's animations
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sports/youve-had-skate-story-now-get-ready-for-skate-style-a-next-gen-skateboarding-game-that-lets-you-customise-your-characters-animations/
The skating game revival of the last few years has been an unexpected, but welcome surprise. Vicarious Visions' remaster of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 heralded a new wave of aspiring skate sims, ranging from the ultra-authentic Session: Skate Sim to the abstract brilliance of Skate Story, with EA's online playground Skate landing somewhere between the two.
Now, another challenger has, er, entered the half-pipe (I apologise to all skaters). Skate Style is a new game about risking shredded knees for the thrill of mild propulsion that leans closer to the Session end of the authenticity scale. Developer Zellah Games bills it as a "next-gen skateboarding game" focussed on realism and physics-powered tricks.

Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition gets a massive update introducing Steam Workshop support, 10 new maps, and a 10-mission cooperative campaign
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rts/stronghold-crusader-definitive-edition-gets-a-massive-update-introducing-steam-workshop-support-10-new-maps-and-a-10-mission-cooperative-campaign/
Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition's consistent popularity has proved there's a big audience for classic RTS action, even as the broader genre struggles to break new ground. Hence, it's a little surprising to see other grizzled strategy veterans polishing their blades for one last stab at glory. One such example is last year's Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition, which further fortified ye-olde castle-building sim with a shiny visual overhaul and new campaigns.
It proved a successful makeover, with the Definitive Edition garnering itself a 'Very Positive' rating on Steam. Now, Firefly's stalwart RTS is getting additional reinforcements in its Winter Update, bringing a bunch of vital supplies to the game.

Just in time for Hollow Knight's 9th birthday, Team Cherry rolled out its first update in years, including better support for ultrawide monitors and the Steam Deck screen
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/just-in-time-for-hollow-knights-9th-birthday-team-cherry-rolled-out-its-first-update-in-years-including-better-support-for-ultrawide-monitors-and-the-steam-deck-screen/
As reported by GamingOnLinux, Team Cherry delivered its promised ultrawide update to the original Hollow Knight on February 5. The patch is Hollow Knight's first since 2022, and also comes just a few weeks before the ninth anniversary of its launch on February 24.

FTL-like Void War was DMCAed by Games Workshop due to 'oversized convex shoulder pads with a metallic rim'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/ftl-like-void-war-was-dmcaed-by-games-workshop-due-to-oversized-convex-shoulder-pads-with-a-metallic-rim/
Void War is an FTL-like, a space strategy sim of the roguelike variety, but it's hard to get a whole sentence into any description of it without pointing out that, boy howdy, it sure does look like Warhammer 40,000. Which Games Workshop apparently noticed, because developer Tundra Interactive received a DMCA notice once Void War was published on Steam.
As they told IGN, matters were confused by the fact the email from Games Workshop's public infringements department was signed "Mal Reynolds", which is the name of a character from Firefly. At first, the developers thought it was the work of a copyright troll. But no, sometimes there are real people in the real world who have the same names as people in fiction—spare a thought for Australian news reporter Harry Potter—and the email was legit.

The Cyborgs are coming back to Helldivers 2—and they're bringing 3 new units armed to the teeth with advanced technology, and also robo-roundhouse kicks
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/the-cyborgs-are-coming-back-to-helldivers-2-meanwhile-poor-arrowhead-cant-make-it-through-a-single-deep-dive-video-without-getting-hacked/
Helldivers 2 is taking players back to Cyberstan and, as part of this little road trip (note: horrific, bloody war with death tolls in the millions) has been drumming up hype for it on social media by pretending to get hacked by the Automaton fleet.
Update: Arrowhead Games has also released a "Return of the Cyborgs Deep Dive" featuring previews of the new Cyborg enemies: The Agitators, The Radicals, and the Vox Engine.

Disney Dreamlight Valley is dropping the Puppy Love update in a couple of days, and I haven't been this excited for new characters in a hot minute
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/life-sim/disney-dreamlight-valley-is-dropping-the-puppy-love-update-in-a-couple-of-days-and-i-havent-been-this-excited-for-new-characters-in-a-hot-minute/
Disney Dreamlight Valley is gearing up to release its next update and I genuinely haven't felt this excited to add two new villagers to my roster of friends for a while. It came awfully close when Peter Pan was added during the Skull Rock update last year, but it's hard to find anything cuter than the pair of puppies coming in the next update. That's right, both Lady and Tramp are finally being added to the game, bringing a brand new realm and accompanying unlock quests to complete.
The Puppy Love update is scheduled to drop on Wednesday, February 11, and in a video shared to the Disney Dreamlight Valley social media pages, details regarding the contents of friendship quests alongside a look at the realm were revealed. Although the exact quest names weren't shared, we do know that our main aim will be to "plate up the perfect dinner date" for both characters, before being interrupted by dog catchers and having to go on a rescue mission instead.