It's Monday and you know what that means: The news!

Btw, I'm not happy with the layout of these posts, there's too much blank space, so I'm trying something. Any feedback will be welcomed.

SALES & "SALES"/DEALS

Steam's Top 10

1. Assassin's Creed Odyssey
2. MONSTER HUNTER: WORLD
3. PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS
4. Assassin's Creed Odyssey
5. Grand Theft Auto V
6. 中国式家长 / Chinese Parents
7. 太吾绘卷 The Scroll Of Taiwu
8. Assassin's Creed Odyssey
9. Frostpunk
10. XCOM 2: War of the Chosen & Tactical Legacy Pack

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's PC launch day sales are more than double from last year
https://www.pcgamer.com/call-of-duty-black-ops-4s-pc-launch-day-sales-are-more-than-double-last-year/
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's launch day digital sales on PC have more than doubled over last year's Call of Duty: World War 2. Publisher Activision describes the sales as a "new franchise high".
This is the first Call of Duty game to be released on Battle.net rather than Steam, which had previously been the series' home for a long time. You'll probably recall that this is the first Call of Duty not to launch with a five-to-seven-hour campaign mostly composed of shooting lads in corridors, too, instead packing a battle royale-esque Blackout mode that was the subject of a high-profile beta on PC.
Maybe that element is more of a draw to PC players this time around.
>>We'll have to see the long term sales, but it doesn't bode well for those hoping to see the series go back to Steam and with a proper campaign.

GOG's new weekly sale is live. Named "Defies classification" it offers up to 85% discounts: https://www.gog.com/promo/20181015_weekly_sale

Meanwhile, the Steam's daily deal is Age of Wonders III, 75% off (and the DLCs, 50%): https://store.steampowered.com/app/226840/Age_of_Wonders_III/

And at Fanatical, there are two deals to mention:

• The Star Deal is The Jackbox Party Pack 3, 80% off for the next 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/the-jackbox-party-pack-3
• There's a new bundle, the Part Hard Bundle, with two games for $1 for the next 10 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/party-hard-bundle

SOFTWARE

The origin of Ctrl-Alt-Del, according to its creator
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-origin-of-ctrl-alt-del-according-to-its-creator/
Have you ever wondered why we've always pressed Ctrl-Alt-Del to restart Windows PCs? (Or how about now that I've mentioned it?) For those with inquisitive minds, a new video from Great Big Story dives into the deep, dark secrets of Ctrl-Alt-Del's origins.

Steam Link now allows streaming to multiple devices for local multiplayer
https://www.pcgamer.com/steam-link-now-allows-streaming-to-multiple-devices-for-local-multiplayer/
This week a new Steam client update rolled out, and then was updated and rolled out again with a workaround for a crash related to AMD drivers in Windows. Among the many notes are a couple of interesting things involving the Steam Link:

1. You can play local co-op by streaming to multiple devices simultaneously (high quality 5 GHz WiFi network required)
2. You can use your Android phone as a touch controller for games by tapping to disable audio and video in the Steam Link app

>>Here are the full update notes, because I'm sure you didn't read them.

MODS/EMULATORS

Heavy Rain, MotorStorm: Pacific Rift and Spiderman 3 running on the PC via the PS3 emulator, RPCS3
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/heavy-rain-motorstorm-pacific-rift-and-spiderman-3-running-on-the-pc-via-the-ps3-emulator-rpcs3/
YouTube’s ‘reznoire’ and ‘Emulators for PC’ have shared some new videos from the latest version of the Playstation 3 emulator, RPCS3, showing Heavy Rain, MotorStorm: Pacific Rift and Spiderman 3 running in it.
From these three games, the only one that can be somehow described as playable is Spiderman 3. MotorStorm: Pacific Rift has many graphical glitches and its performance is not that great, and the very same can be said about Heavy Rain.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey/Origins high CPU load isn’t caused by Denuvo but by insane driver overhead
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/assassins-creed-odyssey-origins-high-cpu-usage-isnt-caused-by-denuvo-but-by-insane-driver-overhead/
Modder ‘Kaldaien’, best known for his incredible mods for NieR: Automata, Monster Hunter World, Final Fantasy XV and more, is currently working on a SpecialK mod for Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. The first version of this mod is currently available for download and according to the modder, the high CPU load that PC gamers witness in both Origins and Odyssey is not caused by the Denuvo anti-tamper tech.
As Kaldaien explained, the high CPU load is due to insane driver overhead caused by naive resource management. It appears that the game has a much too conservative resource ceiling for textures, meaning that the engine loads, then unloads and later reloads the same assets hundreds of thousands of times over the course of an hour.
As said, Kaldaien has released the first version of his SpecialK mod for Assassin’s Creed Odyssey that features Alternate Task Scheduling (causes task threads to sleep more often), Re-Balance Interval (works around a Windows scheduler bug for Ryzen CPUs that tries to run 75% of the game’s thread on a single CPU core) and Multimedia Class Scheduling (intelligently raises and lowers the priority of resource management threads as they begin to impact the availability of the CPU for non-resource loading tasks).
>>Get the mod from Steam.

This mod turns Skyrim into a tropical rainforest
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-mod-turns-skyrim-into-a-tropical-rainforest/
There are countless mods that make Skyrim even colder and harsher than it already is, but Project Rainforest, a Skyrim Legendary Edition mod, does the opposite. Snowy tundras turn to tropical grasslands, frozen lakes to warm swamps, and icicles to lily pads.
It changes the whole of Skyrim, Fort Dawnguard, Falmer Valley, and parts of Solstheim from the Dragonborn DLC. You'll need all of the game's DLCs installed to run it. Cave interiors are now green and temperate, and creator sa547 has gone to a lot of effort to tweak weather effects, swapping snow for rain storms, and adding tropical climates in certain areas.
Creator sa647 says that a version of the mod that works with Skyrim Special Edition will be coming "soon".
>>Get the mod from Nexus Mods.

Skyrim super-realistic rainfall mod brings beautifully awful weather to Tamriel
https://www.pcgamer.com/skyrim-super-realistic-rainfall-mod-brings-beautifully-awful-weather-to-tamriel/
As reported by Sam Horti over the weekend, this mod turns Skyrim into a tropical rainforest. PlayerTw0's wonderful Real Rain SE, on the other hand, turns the climate controls in the opposite direction—giving us realistic rainfall like never before.
With the simple goal of making rain "as real as possible", Real Rain overhauls the game's rain textures to become more random and natural looking, "while making the rain denser without any FPS lag or bloated save files."

Bowsette sets Breath of the Wild alight in this work-in-progress emulated mod
https://www.pcgamer.com/bowsette-sets-breath-of-the-wild-alight-in-this-work-in-progress-emulated-mod/
Breath of the Wild's PC mod scene is bizarre and amazing, wrote Lauren Morton last year, and it's still throwing curveballs today. Bowsette—the Bowser-Princess Peach crossover that first stormed the interwebs last month—is the latest star to enter Hyrule via emulation.
As reported by GoNintendo (via Kotaku) Bowsette comes with a combustible dress, horns and a flaming sword, and is seen kicking ass up and down Hyrule in the following in-development footage.
>>The mod isn't available yet.

GAMING NEWS

Here are 37 minutes of brand new gameplay footage from Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-37-minutes-of-brand-new-gameplay-footage-from-thronebreaker-the-witcher-tales/
CD Projekt RED has released a new video, featuring 37 minutes of brand new gameplay footage from Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales. According to the press release, this walkthrough focuses on the game’s first act and is rich in both story and exploration gameplay, as well as turn-based card battle combat.

Hitman 2 will feature a multiplayer mode called Ghost Mode
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/hitman-2-will-feature-a-multiplayer-mode-called-ghost-mode/
Warner Bros and IO Interactive today announced the addition of competitive multiplayer for HITMAN 2. As the press release reads, Ghost Mode is a unique and brand-new take on 1-versus-1 online competition, putting players’ assassination skills to the ultimate test.

New Dragon Quest XI patch adds 90fps/120fps/144fps framerate options, brings keyboard improvements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/new-dragon-quest-xi-patch-adds-90fps-120fps-144fps-framerate-options-brings-keyboard-improvements/
Square Enix has released a brand new patch for DRAGON QUEST XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age. This patch adds more framerate options (90fps, 120fps and 144fps) as well as the option to leave the frame rate unlocked. Moreover, it adds three (Low, Medium, High) pre-set graphic settings to choose from.

CRYENGINE-powered War of Rights showcases cool dynamic weather effects
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/cryengine-powered-war-of-rights-showcases-cool-dynamic-weather-effects/
Campfire Games has released a new trailer for War of Rights, showcasing its newly implemented dynamic weather effects. War of Rights is a multiplayer game set around the tumultuous period of the American Civil War, during the Maryland Campaign of September 1862, that is powered by CRYENGINE.

Project Warlock is an old-school first-person shooter that is coming out on October 18th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/project-warlock-is-an-old-school-first-person-shooter-that-is-coming-out-on-october-18th/
Buckshot Software has announced that its old-school first-person shooter, Project Warlock, will be coming out on GOG on October 18th. Project Warlock is tribute/homage to Doom, Hexen, Duke Nukem 3D and Wolfenstein in which players battle through 60 levels of non stop action packed with bloodthirsty enemies and challenging bosses.
>>So far, this game is GOG exclusive, just so you know.

Resonance of Fate 4K / HD Edition will get an official optional 4K HD Texture Pack on the PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/resonance-of-fate-4k-hd-edition-will-get-an-official-optional-4k-hd-texture-pack-on-the-pc/
tri-Ace has announced that an official 4K HD Texture Pack will be available for the upcoming PC version of Resonance of Fate 4K / HD Edition. This optional HD Texture Pack, will significantly increase the game’s overall size from 16GB to 83GB.
>>Wow. The original textures must be rubish.

New screenshots released for Escape from Tarkov, showcasing the TerraGroup Labs
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/new-screenshots-released-for-escape-from-tarkov-showcasing-the-terragroup-labs/
Battlestate Games has released a new set of screenshots, showcasing the TerraGroup Labs that will be coming soon to Escape from Tarkov. Escape from Tarkov is a hardcore realistic story-driven online multiplayer game that combines features of FPS/TPS, combat simulation and RPG with MMO elements.

Paradox Interactive’s new game engine will be friendlier to mods, will take advantage of DirectX 11 features
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/paradox-interactives-new-game-engine-will-be-friendlier-to-mods-will-take-advantage-of-directx-11-features/
In an interview with Venturebeat, Paradox Interactive’s John Wordsworth revealed that Imperator: Rome and all future Paradox games will be powered by a new game engine. This engine, called Clausewitz-Jomini engine, is basically two engines built together.

Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame 2 releases on February 8th, first screenshots and details
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/monster-energy-supercross-the-official-videogame-2-releases-on-february-8th-first-screenshots-and-details/
Milestone and Feld Entertainment have announced Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame 2. In this new release, globally available on February 8th, players will step into the boots of an official Supercross Champion and experience the exciting life of a professional athlete in the most competitive and highest profile off-road motorcycle racing championship in the world.

Monday news, part two:

SOS, the battle royale you can win with your voice, is closing in November
https://www.pcgamer.com/sos-the-battle-royale-you-can-win-with-your-voice-is-closing-in-november/
SOS looked like an interesting twist on the battle royale genre when it appeared last year. Instead of just shooting at each other, players were also encouraged to interact with the audience, which could throw support to its favorites if sufficiently entertained. Evan found it quite promising in his December preview, calling his relic-hunting partnership with a "convincing, quirky" Christopher Walken roleplayer "one of my gaming highlights of the year."
But that positive early impression wasn't enough to attract a mass audience, and developer Outpost Games announced today that the game will go offline on November 12.

PUBG hotfix helps correct matchmaking issues, full update coming next week
https://www.pcgamer.com/pubg-hotfix-helps-correct-matchmaking-issues-full-update-coming-next-week/
Playerunknown's Battlegrounds update 22 brought with it some big changes, including (finally) a ranking system, a re-enabled map selection option, and faster queue times. It also introduced a problem with matchmaking that resulted in players being slotted into matches in inappropriate regions.
>>That means this week, of course.

John Carmack and ZeniMax settle their $22.5 million beef
https://www.pcgamer.com/john-carmack-and-zenimax-settle-their-dollar225-million-beef/
The legal dispute between John Carmack and ZeniMax that began when Carmack sued the company in March 2017 has come to an end. Carmack said on Twitter yesterday that Zenimax "has fully satisfied their obligations" related to its acquisition of id Software in 2009, and each party has withdrawn its claims against the other.

Bethesda reveals full Fallout 76 map
https://www.pcgamer.com/bethesda-reveals-full-fallout-76-map/
Ahead of the Fallout 76 beta, which is due to start later this month, Bethesda has revealed the game's full, massive map, which it claims will be four times the size of Fallout 4's.

Fortnite guided missiles temporarily removed after players report permanent invisibility glitch
https://www.pcgamer.com/fortnite-guided-missiles-temporarily-removed-after-players-report-permanent-invisibility-glitch/
Fortnite's guided missiles have proved somewhat problematic since they were added back in March. Initially, they were too powerful, and Epic Games removed them for a full three months before reinstating them—only for players to discover that a missile's turning speed was linked directly to the game's framerate. Yesterday, Epic again had to remove them for repairs, seemingly because players found a bug that let you turn permanently invisible if you combined guided missiles with Shadow Stones.
>>And a dataminer has unveiled new game modes for tournaments.

Black Ops 4 emotes let you see around corners, Treyarch plans to tackle the problem
https://www.pcgamer.com/black-ops-4-emotes-let-you-see-around-cornerstreyarch-lays-out-plans-to-tackle-the-problem/
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 came out yesterday (you can check out Steven's review in progress here), and players are already finding ways to manipulate the game's systems to gain an advantage over other players. Specifically, if you use a third-person emote, the camera will pull back and rotate at will, allowing you to peek around corners. It could prove especially useful in the battle royale Blackout mode, letting you see far-off players while hiding behind a tree.

Quake Champions adds Slipgate mode and a new champion, Athena
https://www.pcgamer.com/quake-champions-adds-slipgate-mode-and-a-new-champion-athena/
Quake Champions has added a new game mode called Slipgate, an ultra-mobile Quake 2-inspired champion called Athena, and an Arcade, which will host matches with wacky rule sets that rotate every week.

Crusader Kings 2's Holy Fury DLC release date announced
https://www.pcgamer.com/crusader-kings-2s-holy-fury-dlc-release-date-announced/
Crusader Kings 2's Pagan-themed Holy Fury DLC will be out on November 13, Paradox has announced.
The expansion, first revealed back in May, is beefier than past DLCs, and covers a range of systems. The biggest changes are reserved for Paganism: Pagan leaders that don't convert can instead reform their religion, leading it down a path of either destruction and war or peace and tranquility.

Play RTS Halo Wars for free next weekend
https://www.pcgamer.com/play-rts-halo-wars-for-free-next-weekend/
Halo RTS spin-off Halo Wars is having a free weekend on Steam that will start next Thursday and run until Sunday. It'll be worth jumping on: it's a solid RTS with a decent campaign that you'll enjoy even if you're not a fan of the Halo series. A weekend should give you more than enough time to get a feel for it and decide whether to buy it—or, you could just blast through the story in a couple of days and then leave it alone if you're not fussed about the multiplayer.
It's the Definitive Edition, which arrived on Steam last year, that will be free from October 18-21, according to Gamespot.
>>I'll have to remember that.

Watch it all burn in For Honor's Marching Fire expansion
https://www.pcgamer.com/watch-it-all-burn-in-for-honors-marching-fire-expansion/
Ubisoft's history-mocking multiplayer fighting game For Honor is about to receive an expansion called Marching Fire and you can watch a slick new trailer for it above.

Watch a documentary about the new Leisure Suit Larry and see if it gets your hopes up
https://www.pcgamer.com/watch-a-documentary-about-the-new-leisure-suit-larry-and-see-if-it-gets-your-hopes-up/
German studio CrazyBunch have taken on the task of modernizing Leisure Suit Larry by literally bringing him into the present day in their game Wet Dreams Don't Dry, which yanks Larry from the 1980s and deposits him in 2018. A three-part documentary about the making of the new point-and-click adventure has just been finished, so you can watch the development team discuss the challenges they faced, their decision to give Larry a smaller head so he doesn't look quite so much like a gnome, and designing a puzzle around second-hand dildos.

EA confirm remasters of classic Command & Conquer games won't have microtransactions
https://www.pcgamer.com/ea-confirm-remasters-of-classic-command-and-conquer-games-wont-have-microtransactions/
Electronic Arts producer Jim Vessella has been answering questions on Reddit regarding the Command & Conquer remasters they recently teased. There's not a lot of information in the thread, but then this is a project that's probably a couple of years away and still in the planning stages. However, in response to one question Vessella confirmed that "We will not be adding any microtransactions to a C&C Remaster."
>>That's a relief.

Star Citizen raises more than $1 million in four days following alpha 3.3 test release
https://www.pcgamer.com/star-citizen-raises-more-than-dollar1-million-in-four-days-following-alpha-33-release/
Star Citizen may not have a release date, but fans are still throwing money at it. In the four days after developer Cloud Imperium Games pushed alpha 3.3 to public test servers, marking the start of fan convention CitizenCon, it raised more than $1 million, which is nearly as much as it pulls in during some entire months.
>>That's worth a psychological study.

Minecraft 'Cat Contest' wants to put your own pet feline in the game
https://www.pcgamer.com/minecraft-cat-contest-wants-to-put-your-own-pet-feline-in-the-game/
As we know, Minecraft is getting pandas, crossbows, and more. And by more, we might actually mean your own pet cat. Yes, really. Submissions for Minecraft's 'Cat Contest' are live now through November 12, 2018.
Entering your cat for consideration is pretty straightforward, says Mojang, whereby pixel artist Jasper Boestra will ultimately bring your furry friend to life in-game.

They need to look at how Microsoft and Blizzard handled the remasters to Age of Empires and StarCraft. They were remasters done right.

Tuesday news:

SALES & DEALS

At Steam, we have the daily deal and the weeklong sale:

• The daily deal is Hand of Fate 2, 25%: https://store.steampowered.com/app/456670/Hand_of_Fate_2/
• Ultimate Racing 2D is 20% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/808080/Ultimate_Racing_2D/
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider is already 34% off. Sales must be lower than expected if they've already put it on sale: https://store.steampowered.com/app/750920/Shadow_of_the_Tomb_Raider/
• Art of Murder - Hunt for the Puppeteer is 50% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/832540/Art_of_Murder__Hunt_for_the_Puppeteer/
• Valiant Hearts: The Great War is 66% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/260230/Valiant_Hearts_The_Great_War__Soldats_Inconnus__Mmoires_de_la_Grande_Guerre/
• Grow Home is 75% off (just like its sequel, Grow Up): https://store.steampowered.com/app/323320/Grow_Home/
• Insurgency is 80% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/222880/Insurgency/
• And Hard Reset Redux is 90% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/407810/Hard_Reset_Redux/

On the Humble Store there are two new sales:

• Publisher Perfect World has put its games on sale, up to 75% off for the next 6 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/perfect-world-sale/
• And there's a Tabletop games sale, with up to 90% discounts for the next 6 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/tabletop-sale/

And at Fanatical, there are three deals:

• The Star Deal is The Jackbox Party Pack 4, 80% off for the next 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/the-jackbox-party-pack-4
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance is 40% off for the next 2 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/kingdom-come-deliverance
• Publisher Team17 puts its games on sale, up to 78% off for the next 7 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/overcooked

SOFTWARE

-empty-

MODS/EMULATORS

Resident Evil 4 HD Project showcases improved character models for Leon, Ada and Ganados
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/resident-evil-4-hd-project-showcases-improved-character-models-for-leon-ada-and-ganados/
Modders Albert and Cris have released some new screenshots from a new, unreleased, version of Resident Evil 4 HD Project, showing new improved character models for Leon, Ada and the male Ganados.
Albert has re-created textures various textures, rounded the fingertips during cutscenes, added real eye shine, rounded shoulders, sleeve, and flashlight for Leon (the non-coat version), improved Leon’s shoulder holster (left band) so that it doesn’t clip anymore through his shirt, added hi-poly in-game heads for Leon and Ada (based on their cut-scenes versions), hi-poly arms, hands, neck and other details for Ada, and restored Ada’s dress physics.

This Dark Souls 3 mod completely removes the color tint from the game
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/this-dark-souls-3-mod-completely-removes-the-color-tint-from-the-game/
Modder ‘TKGP’ has released a new mod for Dark Souls 3 that completely removes the color tint that the developers have used. In case you weren’t aware of, many areas in Dark Souls 3 have a specific color tint. In other areas it’s a blue tint and in other areas it’s a green tint.
Now normally PC gamers would be able to use Reshade in order to remove it. However, that is not possible here as the color tint constantly changes and Reshade allows you to remove one specific color tint only (as such you’ll have to re-configure Reshade each and every time a new color tint is used).
TKGP has edited the graphics parameter files themselves. More specifically, and as the modder states, the RGB values of all global lighting were averaged to remove the coloring without affecting overall brightness.
>>Download this mod from Nexus Mods.

Sakhalin is an ambitious Fallout 4 story mod inspired by New Vegas and Stalker
https://www.pcgamer.com/sakhalin-is-an-ambitious-fallout-4-story-mod-inspired-by-new-vegas-and-stalker/
Fallout: Sakhalin is an ambitious Fallout 4 mod that adds a new island, with new interiors, quests, factions and monsters.
Inspired by New Vegas's DLC and GSC Game World's Stalker, Sakhalin Island is set within an alternate Fallout universe future, whereby remnants of Communist China, The USSR, Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany seek treasures on the eponymous archipelago.
>>Learn more about this mod from the rest of the article or from its Nexus Mods page.

GAMING NEWS

First Call of Duty Black Ops 4 patch released, uncaps framerate in battle royale mode Blackout
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/first-call-of-duty-black-ops-4-patch-released-uncaps-framerate-in-battle-royale-mode-blackout/
Treyarch and Beenox have released the first patch for Call of Duty Black Ops 4. This first update was released this weekend and – as you may have noticed while reading our PC Performance Analysis – it completely unlocks the framerate in the battle royale mode, Blackout.

Disgaea 5 Complete releases on the PC on October 22nd
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/disgaea-5-complete-releases-on-the-pc-on-october-22nd/
After numerous delays, NIS America has finally revealed that Disgaea 5 Complete will come out on October 22nd on the PC. Moreover, a demo can be downloaded however it’s not available to everyone so that’s a big bummer.

Warriors Orochi 4 Official PC System Requirements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/warriors-orochi-4-official-pc-system-requirements/
Koei Tecmo has just released Warriors Orochi 4 on the PC and revealed its official PC system requirements. According to the specs, PC gamers will at least need an Intel Core i5 2400 CPU with 6GB of RAM and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660.

The uncensored version of Agony, Agony Unrated, may release on October 31st
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-uncensored-version-of-agony-agony-unrated-may-release-on-october-31st/
It appears that the uncensored version of Agony, Agony UNRATED, may release on October 31st. Now I’m saying “may” because this version appeared briefly on Steam but has been taken down and cannot be accessed right now.

Battlefield 5 gets an official single-player trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/battlefield-5-gets-an-official-single-player-trailer/
Electronic Arts has released the official single-player trailer for Battlefield 5. In Nordlys, players will resist German occupation in Norway, sabotage behind enemy lines as an unlikely English soldier in Under No Flag, fight for a home they’ve never seen in Tirailleur, and in The Last Tiger (available in December) join the crew of a Tiger I as they question why they fight.

theHunter: Call of the Wild 2019 Edition is now available
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/thehunter-call-of-the-wild-2019-edition-is-now-available/
THQ Nordic and Expansive Worlds have announced that theHunter: Call of the Wild 2019 Edition is available on Steam. According to its description, players will experience the thrill of the hunt in a visually breathtaking, technically groundbreaking, vast open world in theHunter.

New Shadow of the Tomb Raider patch fixes visual artifacts, brings smaller stability & functionality fixes
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/new-shadow-of-the-tomb-raider-patch-fixes-visual-artifacts-brings-smaller-stability-functionality-fixes/
Nixxes has released the fourth PC patch for Shadow of the Tomb Raider. According to its release notes, this patch fixes some visual artifacts that rarely occurred when using SSCS and brings many smaller stability and functionality fixes.

Tuesday news, part two:

Elite Dangerous Beyond—Chapter Four kicks off this month
https://www.pcgamer.com/elite-dangerous-beyondchapter-four-kicks-off-this-month/
When Elite Dangerous isn't making Phil really, really fucking think about life, it's letting us blow up asteroids. At least, that's what players can do in the Beyond season's fourth and final chapter.
Entering a staged beta on October 30, two weeks tomorrow, the online space trader's biggest endeavour of this year promises "significant additions" to its exploration, mining and multiplayer.

Hearthstone's Giggling Inventor, Mana Wyrm, and Aviana cards have been nerfed
https://www.pcgamer.com/hearthstones-giggling-inventor-mana-wyrm-and-aviana-cards-have-been-nerfed/
Despite saying in September that it had no immediate plans to change Hearthstone's Giggling Inventor, Blizzard announced today that it is being nerfed, and the card will now cost a whopping 7 Mana to play, rather than 5. Two other cards, Mana Wyrm and Aviana, are also having their cost increased.

Battlefield 5 recruits Hollywood actor Mark Strong as singleplayer narrator
https://www.pcgamer.com/battlefield-5-recruits-hollywood-actor-mark-strong-as-singleplayer-narrator/
Hollywood actor Mark Strong will lend his voice to Battlefield 5.
Strong is among Star Citizen's star-studded Squadron 42 cast, and now the Hollywood Reporter reveals the Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy actor will voice the incoming WW2 shooter's prologue and epilogue sequences. These feature as part of its singleplayer campaign.
>>As long as he doesn't sing "Take Me Home, Country Road", all will be fine.

In-game tournaments are coming to Fortnite in the 6.1 update
https://www.pcgamer.com/in-game-tournaments-are-coming-to-fortnite-in-the-61-update/
Epic Games has confirmed that in-game tournaments are coming to Fortnite with the release of the 6.1 update. The tournaments will be open to everyone, and will pit competitors on all platforms—and all types of control setups—against each other "as equals."

Destiny 2: Forsaken will include previous expansions, starting tomorrow
https://www.pcgamer.com/destiny-2-forsaken-will-include-previous-expansions-starting-tomorrow/
Destiny 2 players who haven't yet waded into the waters of the expansions will have a little more incentive to do so beginning tomorrow, October 16, when Bungie will begin bundling the Curse of Osiris and Warmind DLCs with Destiny 2: Forsaken.

A new Control dev diary reveals a surprise addition to the cast
https://www.pcgamer.com/a-new-control-dev-diary-reveals-a-surprise-addition-to-the-cast/
Remedy's upcoming Control is a third-person shooter about the Federal Bureau of Control, a secretive government agency dedicated to investigating, containing, and controlling supernatural phenomena—a bit like FEAR, I suppose, but more of a spy org than a military unit. Today the studio released a new dev diary video examining two of the game's central characters: Jesse Faden, the new director of the FBC, and her predecessor, Zachariah Trench.

Valve says $500 Artifact decks is 'just not going to happen'
https://www.pcgamer.com/valve-says-dollar500-artifact-decks-is-just-not-going-to-happen/
Valve's CCG Artifact is a little different from most in that it won't be free to play. Instead, players will shell out $20 up front, which Valve boss Gabe Newell said in August will help prevent a "flood of free stuff that destroys the economy and the value of people's time." Even more interestingly, players will be able to buy and sell cards as part of an "open" economy on the Steam Marketplace.

There may be a Fallout 76 stress test for PC ahead of the beta
https://www.pcgamer.com/fallout-76-pc-stress-test/
With the Fallout 76 beta launching on PC on October 30, we really don't have all that long to wait until we can get our hands Bethesda's online Fallout game. It still feels like a long time, though, especially when the beta will be coming to Xbox One a week earlier. However, there's the possibility of a stress test for PC ahead of the beta's release date of October 30.
>>Oh, in case you didn't know, the game has a Platinum Edition, that costs $115... and doesn't come with the game.

Hollow Knight devs say axing Boneforest zone was 'totally the right thing to do'
https://www.pcgamer.com/hollow-knight-devs-say-axing-boneforest-zone-was-totally-the-right-thing-to-do/
When Wes caught up with Hollow Knight creators Team Cherry last year, they mentioned Boneforest—a lava-filled zone that was cut near the end of the game's development. The dev's Ari Gibson has spoken more about the ill-fated area in an interview with Game Informer.

Atomic Heart teases bloody massacre at soviet facility in latest footage
https://www.pcgamer.com/atomic-heart-teases-bloody-massacre-at-soviet-facility-in-latest-footage/
Hot on the heels of last week's horrifying Clown Trap video, Atomic Heart has shared another short but intriguing snippet of footage. Titled 'Soviet Television at Facility 3826', it looks like this.

In case you weren't aware, today was the official publishing date of the RTX 2070 reviews (unless you're HardOCP, haven't signed the Nvidia NDA and have managed to get a retail sample, in which case you published your review a few days ago). In any case, here's the usual Videocardz review roundup:

https://videocardz.com/78594/nvidia-geforce-rtx-2070-review-roundup

In summary: Great for 1080&1440p gaming, but not for 4K. It's about 10% faster than a 1080, but that difference will depend on the clockspeeds of both cards. That means that it's a sidegrade rather than an upgrade for 1080, Vega64 and even 1070Ti owners, so not worth it. For the ones upgrading from lower cards, it will depend on price, as it may be quite cheaper to get a 1080. The make or break point will be the RayTracing and DLSS performance of the card, something that can't be tested right now because no game supports them yet.

There aren't many news today, so here's all of them in one single post:

SALES & "SALES"/DEALS

The Humble Store is having a Fallout sale
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-humble-store-is-having-a-fallout-sale/
Fallout 76 is now just a month away, and if you're not sure what all the hubbub is about (or maybe you just missed some bits along the way), the Humble Store's "Bethesda Bombs Drop Sale" is here to hook you up.
The sale includes all things Fallout, from the original post-nuclear role playing game ($5) to Fallout 4 ($15), its DLCs, and various Workshop expansions. New Vegas is in there ($5, or $13 for the Ultimate Edition) and so is the unfairly maligned Fallout Tactics ($5), the tactical combat game that's actually quite good.

Steam has a new daily deal and two Midweek Madness deals:

• The daily deal is MOTHERGUNSHIP, 35% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/574090/MOTHERGUNSHIP/
• The first Midweek Madness deal is (Portal) Bridge Constructor, 50% off: https://store.steampowered.com/franchise/Bridge-Constructor/
• The other deal is a publisher sale featuring Codemasters, with up to 90% discounts: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/codemasters

And at Fanatical, there are four new deals:

• The Star Deal is Book of Demons, 45% off for the next 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/book-of-demons
• The game My Time At Portia is 33% off for the next 6 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/my-time-at-portia
• The LEGO DC Super-Villains game is 25% off for the next 5 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/franchises/lego-dc-supervillains
• There's an Origins Bundle for the next 16 days with two tiers, one with 3 games and the other one with 12: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/origins-bundle

SOFTWARE

The Discord game store is now open
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-discord-game-store-is-now-open/
The Discord game store that was opened to a bunch of Canadians back in August is now available to everyone, as the global beta of the store and Nitro subscription service got underway today. The initial lineup of games available for purchase is a small, curated selection of titles including Frostpunk, Red Faction Guerrilla Re-Mars-Stered, Subnautica, and Pillars of Eternity 2, plus a handful of "First on Discord" games that aren't available on other platforms.

Remedy reveals early performance overhead for real-time ray tracing effects in Northlight Engine
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/remedy-reveals-early-performance-overhead-for-real-time-ray-tracing-effects-in-northlight-engine/
Remedy, one of the companies that will implement real-time ray tracing effects in its upcoming title, Control, has revealed the performance overhead for the RTX effects in its Northlight Engine. According to the team, RTX effects require an additional of 9.2ms per frame.
Unfortunately Remedy did not reveal any framerate numbers, though it did reveal the additional computational power that is needed for specific effects like Global Illumination, reflections and de-noising.
As Golem reported, contact and sun shadows – calculated with two beams per pixel and with also including noise rejection – require 2.3ms per frame and the reflections require 4.4 ms per frame. As for the Global denoising lighting, it requires an additional 2.5ms. As such, we are basically looking at a 9.2ms performance overhead for the real-time ray tracing effects that Remedy will implement in – most likely – Control.
>>I'm sure you already know this, but to get 30fps you need to achieve 33ms, and for 60fps it's 17ms.

MODS/EMULATORS

Fallout 4 Spooky Scary Radio mod adds over 150 Halloween-themed tracks
https://www.pcgamer.com/fallout-4-spooky-scary-radio-mod-adds-over-150-halloween-themed-tracks/
Fallout 4's irradiated Boston Commonwealth is terrifying all year round. Take the edge off this Halloween with a selection of seasonal tunes, courtesy of Natezomby's Spooky Scary Radio mod.
With a host of Halloween-themed songs (Monster Mash, Zombie Jamboree, Haunted Heart), movie trailers (The Mummy, The Exorcist, Frankenstein), poem readings (Poe's Raven, read by Vincent Price), and short story recitals, Spooky Scary Radio spans over 150 tracks, and has more on the way. Read the (tentative) list in full here.

GAMING NEWS

3D Realms’ Scott Miller on Duke Nukem Forever: “We were too small, we were always playing catch up”
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/3d-realms-scott-miller-on-duke-nukem-forever-we-were-too-small-we-were-always-playing-catch-up/
Speaking with IGN, 3D Realms’ Scott Miller revealed some really interesting details about the game’s development. According to Miller, 3D Realms was a really small company that was always playing catch up. While the team had some cool ideas, it was so understaffed that it was never able to really finish this huge game before its competitors releasing their own games.

Sean Bean will die once again, this time in Hitman 2
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/sean-bean-will-die-once-again-this-time-in-hitman-2/
Warner Bros and IO Interactive today announced that international actor Sean Bean will star in the first Elusive Target mission for Hitman 2. Sean Bean will take on the role of Mark Faba, a former MI5 agent turned freelance assassin.

GTA Online extends $500,000 free GTA money bonus, double RP on gunrunning
https://www.pcgamer.com/gta-online-extends-dollar500000-free-gta-money-bonus-double-rp-on-gunrunning/
This week, GTA Online extends its Red Dead Redemption 2-related bonuses to October 29. Which means those who've already obtained the Stone Hatchet and Double-Action Revolver can claim a minimum of $500,000 of free backdated in-game cash; while those yet to complete these missions can net up to $1 million.

Blizzard says it put in-game Hearthstone tournaments on hold because players had a different vision
https://www.pcgamer.com/blizzard-says-it-put-in-game-hearthstone-tournaments-on-hold-because-players-had-a-different-vision-for-them/
Blizzard said in September that plans for in-game tournament support in Hearthstone, announced earlier this year, had been put on hold "for the foreseeable future." Exactly why it would put the kibosh on an in-the-works feature that fans were clamoring for wasn't really clear. "We no longer felt that the end result would deliver on everyone’s expectations" is as close as it came to an explanation. Fair and reasonable, but not exactly specific.

PUBG teases Silent Hill-style nurses and Pennywise-like clowns for Halloween
https://www.pcgamer.com/pubg-teases-silent-hill-style-nurses-and-pennywise-like-clowns-for-halloween/
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is gearing up for a Halloween-themed event, it seems.
Alongside the not-so-subtle line "Beware… Halloween approaches", the game's official Twitter feed teased the following nine-second clip.

Football Manager is an RPG 'with more NPCs than any other RPG on the planet'
https://www.pcgamer.com/football-manager-is-an-rpg-with-more-npcs-than-any-other-rpg-on-the-planet/
I like Football Manager, and I'm forever telling friends/colleagues/anyone who'll listen that, at its heart, it's a complex strategy game. If you hate football, you won't like it. But if you've even a passing interest in The Beautiful Game, I'm convinced you'll fall for its flood of stats, numbers, players and management sim mechanics. Granted, Miles Jacobson is inclined to agree, but the Sports Interactive head honcho also believes Football Manager shares core values with the RPG genre.

New World, Amazon's MMO, shows off a big chunk of its map in gameplay footage
https://www.pcgamer.com/new-world-amazons-mmo-shows-off-a-big-chunk-of-its-map-in-gameplay-footage/
A few weeks ago, we covered how footage of Amazon's MMO New World had leaked via Pornhub, since this is 2018 and that's just what happens now. That video has been taken down due to a copyright claim, but in recent days, Amazon has been sharing a more official look at one area of its massive map. Check out the video above.

THat's pretty much how it's been looking for 1080/1080ti owners so far (myself included) towards the 2070/2080 and 2080ti. This new line honestly looks like a sidegrade.

Pretty much the same for AMD for the last few years. Just side grades.

You'd hope by 2021 that they actually bother to deliver something more than another 2080 sidegrade. 

Buut, considering AMD atm is about the "long game", it's likely become another sidegrade.