waifu2x? I'd ask, but I prefer not to know what it's mostly used for... XD

It has a really nifty JPEG artifact remover, and it's great for upscaling anime/cartoon/logos/simple images.
In my experience it isn't too great at doing low res pixel art.

Thursday news:

SALES & DEALS

PUBG and Fortnite end 2018 on a high note, CS:GO free to play a success, Battlefield 5 falls short
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/pubg-and-fortnite-end-2018-on-a-high-note-csgo-free-to-play-a-success-battlefield-5-falls-short/
SuperData Arcade has shared its monthly report, claiming that PLAYERUNKNOWN’s Battlegrounds and Fortnite ended the year on a high note. Going into more details, Fortnite had its highest grossing month to date, while PUBG sold 2.75 million units across console and PC.
Counter Strike: Global Offensive has recently went free to play and it appears that this transition was a success. CS:GO hit a new MAU high point for the franchise in its second month as a F2P title. Superdata estimates the free version generated roughly $49 million between November and December.
Furthermore, The Sims 4 benefited from end-of-year promotions. A significant price cut led to a surge in new unit sales on both console and PC however, the DLC revenue on PC declined year-over-year by 10%.

Sea of Thieves is 50% off until the end of the month
https://www.pcgamer.com/sea-of-thieves-is-50-off-until-the-end-of-the-month/
Buoyed by recent support from streamers like Summit1g, Rare's open world pirate game has regularly been at the top of the Twitch charts lately. According to the latest dev diary, the game has seen an uptick of new users as a result, and perhaps hoping to continue the trend of new players, Sea of Thieves is on sale until January 31 for 50% off. That's $30 or £24.99.

Steam's daily deal is Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization Deluxe Edition, 50% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/607890/Sword_Art_Online_Hollow_Realization_Deluxe_Edition/

At Fanatical, there are 4 new deals:

• The Reaper Bundle, available fro the next 13 days, brings 10 games with a 97% discount: https://www.fanatical.com/es/bundle/reaper-bundle
• The Early Access title When Ski Lifts Go Wrong is going to be 20% off for the next 6 days: https://www.fanatical.com/es/game/when-ski-lifts-go-wrong
• GTA V is also on sale, 52% off for the next 6 days: https://www.fanatical.com/es/game/grand-theft-auto-v
• And the publisher Dovetail Games Trains has put its Train Simulator games and some of its add-ons on sale, up to 75% off for the next 7 days: https://www.fanatical.com/es/publishers/dovetail-games--trains

SOFTWARE/DRIVERS

Deep Silver comments on Metro Exodus using the Denuvo anti-tamper tech
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/deep-silver-comments-on-metro-exodus-using-the-denuvo-anti-tamper-tech/
A lot of PC gamers were disappointed when they discovered earlier this week that Metro Exodus will be using the Denuvo anti-tamper tech. Naturally, the game’s Steam forum was filled with threads asking Deep Silver and 4A Games to reconsider it and remove it. And, surprisingly enough, the publisher has responded and stated its policy regarding Metro Exodus and all of its future games.
Deep Silver stated that its policy is to protect its PC games with Denuvo, meaning that this stance will not change (at least in the foreseeable future).
>> shame.gif

MODS/EMULATORS

-empty-

GAMING NEWS

Far Cry New Dawn has gone Gold, gets a story trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/far-cry-new-dawn-has-gone-gold-gets-a-story-trailer/
Ubisoft has announced that Far Cry New Dawn has gone Gold and released its story trailer in order to celebrate it. In Far Cry New Dawn, players will have to face off against the ruthless highwaymen and their leaders the Twins as they fight to survive in a dangerous post-apocalyptic frontier.

Adventure/stealth game, A Plague Tale: Innocence, releases on May 14th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/adventure-stealth-game-a-plague-tale-innocence-releases-on-may-14th/
Focus Home Interactive has released a new behind-the-scenes video for A Plague Tale: Innocence. According to the press release, the first episode focuses on Amicia and Hugo, the two main characters of A Plague Tale: Innocence, and their relationship.

Real-time ray tracing in games may take off as next-gen Xbox is rumoured to be supporting it
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/real-time-ray-tracing-in-games-may-take-off-as-next-gen-xbox-is-rumoured-to-be-supporting-it/
A recent Reddit post claimed to be presenting some new information about the next-gen Xbox console. Now while this post has been deleted, it appears that some information that contained could be true.
Now I’m pretty sure that you are puzzled here as to why we’re covering this story. And to be honest, the answer is simple; if this information is correct, real-time ray tracing may actually be used in a lot of next-gen games. Real-time ray tracing will be currently supported by a few PC games, however we may see a lot of such titles (obviously on the PC) provided next-gen consoles support it.
>> And given that Phil Spencer went on stage at AMD's CES conference to reafirm their relationship, it also means that AMD has something (Navi?) in the works capable of doing RT with "next-gen" graphics.

Avalanche’s Generation Zero releases on March 26th, official PC system requirements revealed
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/avalanches-generation-zero-releases-on-march-26th-official-pc-system-requirements-revealed/
Avalanche Studios has announced that its open-world survival game, Generation Zero, will release on March 26th. Furthermore, the team has revealed (via its Steam store page) the game’s official PC system requirements.

Thursday news, part two:

My Time At Portia developer addresses voice actor payment allegations
https://www.pcgamer.com/my-time-at-portia-developer-addresses-voice-actor-payment-allegations/
My Time At Portia left Early Access this week, working its way up the Steam charts and netting some pretty positive reviews—keep an eye out for our take on the game soon—but shortly after launch, voice actors not associated with the game and Twitter users started criticising developer Pathea Games, alleging poor treatment of voice actors and issues with payments.

Framerate affects rate of fire and recoil in PUBG, according to player research
https://www.pcgamer.com/framerate-affects-rate-of-fire-and-recoil-in-pubg-according-to-player-research/
Your framerate seems to be affecting the rate of fire and recoil of weapons in PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. Youtuber WackyJacky101 has been blasting an innocent wall, for science, to see how guns behave differently at 180 fps, 60 fps, and 30 fps. The results convincingly show that for high rate-of-fire guns, such as the Groza, a lower framerate results in lower rate of fire and more manageable recoil.
>> But it's not the only one suffering from that...

Fortnite's guns fire less at lower framerates, but Epic is fixing it
https://www.pcgamer.com/fortnites-guns-fire-less-at-lower-framerates-but-epic-is-fixing-it/
PUBG, it turns out, isn’t the only battle royale where the fire rate of weapons is seemingly affected by framerates. Because it shares an engine with Fortnite, streamer DrLupo decided to run some tests, confirming that the framerate can reduce or increase the rate of fire in Fortnite, too. Epic is aware of the issue and is investigating a fix.

Archaeological adventure Heaven's Vault gets an enigmatic story trailer
https://www.pcgamer.com/archaeological-adventure-heavens-vault-gets-an-enigmatic-story-trailer/
Heaven’s Vault, due out this spring, is a thoughtful narrative adventure following the exploits of archaeologist Aliya Elasra and her robot pal, Six, as they search for a missing roboticist. The new trailer, above, introduces Aliya and shows off the sort of striking places she’ll be exploring as she uncovers lost histories and deciphers forgotten languages.

League of Legends patch 9.2 brings Sylas the Unshackled to the arena Thursday
https://www.pcgamer.com/sylas-release-date-lol-patch-92/
A new League of Legends hero named Sylas the Unshackled is coming to the game in the 9.2 patch that's set to go live tomorrow. Sylas brings "merciless magical attacks" to the fight, including an ultimate ability that enables him to steal an opponent's ultimate and use it himself.

Battlefield 5 may not get rental servers
https://www.pcgamer.com/battlefield-5-may-not-get-rental-servers/
Tyler seemed quite impressed by the Battlefield 5 map Panzerstorm in his December preview, but he did have one complaint: "The lack of community server rentals right now really sucks." But he, and everyone who plays BF5, may have to get used to the situation, because two months after BF5's release, EA still hasn't decided whether it's going to offer them.

Anthem's 'Launch Pad' is a multiplayer social hub for up to 16 players
https://www.pcgamer.com/anthems-launch-pad-is-a-multiplayer-social-hub-for-up-to-16-players/
BioWare's upcoming third-person shooter Anthem will mix shared-world shooting for up to four players, across missions and open-world exploration, with a single-player story that unfolds in Fort Tarsis, the home base of the Freelancers. But producer Mike Gamble revealed today that it will also offer a multiplayer hub called the Launch Bay, where as many as 16 players can get together to prep for new missions or just hang out and be social.

The studio behind this FPS / RTS hybrid successfully DMCA'ed its own game
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-studio-behind-this-fps-rts-hybrid-has-successfully-dmcaed-its-own-game/
Eximius: Seize the Frontline is an first-person shooter / RTS hybrid which released into Early Access back in September. Since then its received frequent updates and amassed 87 reviews on Steam. But earlier this month its Steam store page was disabled. The reason? The studio behind Eximius, Ammobox Studios, filed a DMCA takedown notice for it.
That's an odd move by any measure, but it makes sense. Ammobox has alleged that Eximius publisher The Game Wall Studios has failed to pay the studio for sales of the title.

Cyberpunk 2077 head writer has left CD Projekt Red to join Blizzard
https://www.pcgamer.com/cyberpunk-2077-head-writer-has-left-cd-projekt-red-to-join-blizzard/
A creative director for The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 has left CD Projekt Red for a role at Blizzard. Sebastian Stepien, who was a creative director on The Witcher 3, as well as a narrative and setting director on Cyberpunk 2077, has revealed via LinkedIn that he now has a new creative director role at Blizzard's California office.

Star Wars Battlefront 2 update lets you hunt Jedi as Count Dooku
https://www.pcgamer.com/star-wars-battlefront-2-update-lets-you-hunt-jedi-as-count-dooku/
The Sith Lord Count Dooku has joined the roster of villains in Star Wars Battlefront 2 in a free update. The dusty battlefields of Geonosis have also been added to other game modes, so you can check out the new world without playing Galactic Assault. It’s out now.

Slay the Spire is out now, with more PC-specific features coming
https://www.pcgamer.com/slay-the-spire-is-out-now-with-more-pc-specific-features-coming/
Roguelike card game Slay the Spire has escaped Early Access—our review is coming soon—after a fairly brisk 14-month stint. An update accompanies the launch, as well as a trailer that you can watch above.

EverQuest is getting a new land and raids to celebrate its 20th anniversary
https://www.pcgamer.com/everquest-is-getting-new-lands-and-raids-to-celebrate-its-20th-anniversary/
EverQuest hits its 20th anniversary in March. The MMO launched in 1999 and, impressively, persists, with its most recent expansion, The Burning Lands, launching only last month. It’s the game’s 25th. There will be in-game events to mark the occasion, as well as the addition of a new land.

Last Oasis is an MMO where everyone rides around in walking ships
https://www.pcgamer.com/last-oasis-is-an-mmo-where-everyone-rides-around-in-walking-ships/
Last Oasis is an upcoming Early Access survival MMO where players will have to compete over fleeting resources in Earth’s last hospitable strip of land. And they'll do that by constructing Walkers, wooden landships propelled by sails and mechanical legs. Take a look at them in action above. They look incredible and I’ve never been so up for hours of chopping down trees and refining resources.

Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2 is out now, with another campaign on the way
https://www.pcgamer.com/battlefleet-gothic-armada-2-is-out-now-with-another-campaign-on-the-way/
Grimdark space tactics romp Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2 tears out of the warp today, launching along with a trailer that you can watch above. It looks quite a bit beefier than it’s predecessor, with a trio of sandboxy grand campaigns and all 12 of the tabletop factions.

*** ALERT: FREE GAME ***

The folks att he Humble Store are celebrating the end of their Winter Sale with a giveaway, Deponia, The Complete Journey: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/deponia-the-complete-journey

The deal will last another day and 19 hours or until they run out of keys.

Now I kind of regret buying the individual games a while ago.

I bought them several times and I regret nothing.... non, je ne regret rien!

All three PC retail games day one + the Steam versions individual later + the "Complete Journey" upgrade + the first two games on GOG.com (don't know why) + Deponia 1 on PS4 and iPad.

Totally worth it, best point&click adventure series post-LucasArts, Rufus is the man!

Man! You sound like okr .

They're great games and I'm happy I bought, some even physical as well, but if I knew I could have them for free...

By the way, are the upgrades from this complete bundle worth it?

Yeah. I love dev commentaries.

There is also a lot of nice stuff in the bonus folder (f.e. concept art, game music...)

Thanks.

Can't say that's an incentive for me :-/.

Friday news ^.^

SALES & DEALS

The Steam Lunar New Year Sale is returning in early February
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-steam-lunar-new-year-sale-is-returning-in-early-february/
The Steam Lunar New Year sale is returning soon, starting in early February. Valve sent out a reminder to developers this week, though we're still waiting on an official announcement and specific dates.
Last year, the Lunar New Year sale ran from February 15 to February 19, but since the Chinese New Year falls on February 5 this year, the sale may start earlier.

At Fanatical, we find these deals:

• The Star Deal is Mortal Kombat XL, available for the next 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/mortal-kombat-xl
• The Raining Bullets bundle brings 5 games at a 94% discount for the next 10 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/raining-bullets-bundle
• METAL GEAR SOLID V: The Definitive Experience is 75% off for the next 7 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/metal-gear-solid-v-definitive-experience

SOFTWARE/DRIVERS

AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition 19.1.2 is optimized for Resident Evil 2 Remake and Tropico 6
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/amd-radeon-software-adrenalin-2019-edition-19-1-2-is-optimized-for-resident-evil-2-remake-and-tropico-6/
AMD has released a new driver for its graphics cards. According to the release notes, the AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition 19.1.2 is optimized for Resident Evil 2 Remake and Tropico 6. Furthermore, this driver improves performance by up to 7% in Anthem Early Access on the Radeon RX 580 graphics card.
This driver also fixes a black screen issue that could occur on some monitor on reboot until the display was power cycled, the flickering or erratic refresh rates when Radeon FreeSync is enabled in Rocket League, as well as a bug that could prevent users from upgrading to an optional driver if the latest recommended driver was installed by AMD Link.
>> Available from here.

MODS/EMULATORS

Closed beta for Skyrim multiplayer mod, Skyrim Together, has been launched
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/closed-beta-for-skyrim-multiplayer-mod-skyrim-together-is-now-available/
The team behind the highly anticipated co-op mod for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Skyrim Together, has announced that its closed beta phase is a go. This Closed Beta is currently only available to all of the mod’s Patreon backers, however an open beta testing (allowing everyone to play the mod prior to its release) is also planned.
The team estimates that the Closed Beta phase for Skyrim Together will last around two weeks. Once the team feels comfortable, it will open it to everyone.

GAMING NEWS

New GOD EATER 3 trailer focuses on the game’s features, official PC system requirements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/new-god-eater-3-trailer-focuses-on-the-games-features-official-pc-system-requirements/
Bandai Namco has released a brand new trailer for GOD EATER 3 that focuses on the game’s features. In GOD EATER 3, players will customize their hero, transform their weapon and assemble their team in order to take down the powerful Ash Aragami and save humanity.

WRC 8 has been officially announced, gets debut trailer, releases in September 2019
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/wrc-8-has-been-officially-announced-gets-debut-trailer-releases-in-september-2019/
Bigben Interactive has officially announced the latest part in the WRC series, WRC 8. WRC 8 will be developed, once again, by Kylotonn, will be released in September 2019, and below you can find its debut trailer.

Anno 1800 has been delayed until April 16th, closed beta begins on January 31st
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/anno-1800-has-been-delayed-until-april-16th-closed-beta-begins-on-january-31st/
Ubisoft has just announced that Anno 1800 has been delayed until April 16th. The publisher claimed that while it is very happy with where the game and its wide mix of new and classic features are today, it has decided to delay it in order to further polish it.
>> I'm going to take this as a sign that they want this game to be best in the series, toping 1404.

Here are ten minutes of new gameplay footage from Atomic Heart
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-ten-minutes-of-new-gameplay-footage-from-atomic-heart/
IGN has shared a new video, showing ten minutes of new gameplay footage from Atomic Heart. Atomic Heart is a first-person adventure shooter in which players assume the role of special agent P-3, who after an unsuccessful landing on enterprise “3826” is trying to figure out what went wrong and to clear up a factory from went mad robots.
>> God damn! I hope they scale back that motion blur, it's sickening.

Pillars of Eternity 2 patch 4.1.0 available, adds turn-based mode, optimizes performance and more
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/pillars-of-eternity-2-patch-4-1-0-available-adds-turn-based-mode-optimizes-performance-and-more/
Obsidian Entertainment has released a brand new patch for Pillars of Eternity 2. According to the release notes, patch 4.1.0 adds Turn-Based mode; an alternate way to play and experience combat in the game that is currently in open beta phase.
>> Well, Bisa, the new mode is now live!

Bethesda details the new PVP experience coming to Fallout 76, called Survival Mode
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/bethesda-details-the-new-pvp-experience-coming-to-fallout-76-called-survival-mode/
Bethesda has detailed the new PVP mode that will be coming soon to Fallout 76, called Survival. The regular experience will be called Adventure Mode while the PVP experience will be called Survival Mode and both of them will be accessible from the main menu.

We Happy Few patch 1.6 reworks save system, brings performance improvements and more
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/we-happy-few-patch-1-6-reworks-save-system-brings-performance-improvements-and-more/
Compulsion Games has released a brand new update for We Happy Few that includes fixes for performance optimization, crash fixes, fixes for progression blockers, fixes for gameplay bugs, localization fixes, and a new save game system.

World of Tanks patch 1.4 adds full multi-core CPU support, improves performance by up to 45%
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/world-of-tanks-patch-1-4-adds-full-multi-core-cpu-support-improves-performance-by-up-to-45/
Wargaming has released a new major patch for World of Tanks. This patch brings wheeled French vehicles, improves characteristics for the Chimera and Object 279, reintroduces Ghost Town map, and increases performance on some PC configurations due to full support for multi-threading.
>> About time?

GDC 2019: PC remains the best platform as the majority of developers are interested/making games for it
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/pc-remains-the-best-platform-as-more-developers-are-interested-making-games-for-it/
The Game Developers Conference has shared its latest 2019 survey, revealing some new interesting details about the state of our industry. According to the survey, the PC remains the leading platform as the majority of developers are making/releasing their games for it.