The Friday news!

SALES & DEALS

Risk of Rain 2 sells half a million copies in its first week of Early Access
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/risk-of-rain-2-sells-half-a-million-copies-in-its-first-week-of-early-access/
Hopoo Games has announced that Risk of Rain 2, the sequel to its beloved indie hit, is set to cross half a million copies sold by the end of the weekend, welcoming nearly 650,000 players to the community thanks to the game’s initial BOGO sale. A part of that sale, approximately 150,000 players had the opportunity to bring another friend to the growing Risk of Rain community.

The Witness is now free on Epic Games Store until April 18th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-witness-is-now-free-on-epic-games-store-until-april-18th/
As promised, Epic Games and Thekla are currently offering The Witness for free on the Epic Games Store. This free offer will last until April 18th and those that will acquire their free copy will be able to keep the game theirs forever.
The Witness is a single-player game in an open world with dozens of locations to explore and over 500 puzzles. According to its description, this game respects you as an intelligent player and it treats your time as precious, meaning that it does not feature an filler content; each of those puzzles brings its own new idea into the mix.
It’s worth noting that the next free game on the Epic Games Store will be Transistor.

On the Humble Store, Total War stars in the weekend sale, with up to 75% discounts: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/total-war-weekend/

At Fanatical there are 4 new deals:

• The Star Deal is MONSTER HUNTER: WORLD, 46% off for the next 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/monster-hunter-world
• The Deception Bundle is the Something for the Weekend deal, with 8 games at a 97% discount for the next 14 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/deception-bundle
• There's a Buy More Save More sale featuring Capcom, where the more you buy, the bigger the discount will be: https://www.fanatical.com/save-more/capcom
• And lastly, the game Supraland is 33% off for the next 7 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/supraland

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Windows 10 Game Bar will add Spotify, Gallery and Memes, Friends, Chat, and Customizable UI
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/windows-10-game-bar-will-add-spotify-gallery-memes-friends-chat-and-customizable-ui/
Microsoft has announced some new features that will be coming to the Windows 10 Game Bar. According to the team, Spotify, Gallery and Memes, Customizable UI, as well as Friends, Chat, and Mixer are coming to the Windows 10 Game Bar. These features are available to Windows Gaming Insiders who can access and test them.

Valve called out by the European Commission for geo-blocking games
https://www.pcgamer.com/valve-called-out-by-the-european-commission-for-geo-blocking-games/
Valve and five other publishers may be in breach of EU competition rules, according to a statement from the European Commission. The problem? Geo-blocking games. The Commission says Valve, Bandai Namco, Capcom, Focus Home, Koch Media and ZeniMax have entered into bilateral agreements that stop people from acquiring and playing PC games outside of their region, which is apparently against EU antitrust rules.
If you use Steam, you might already be aware of the regional pricing differences. Games in some countries cost less than they would in others, ostensibly reflecting the different economies of the countries they're sold in. Without geo-blocking, people from wealthier countries could net themselves some bargains by shopping elsewhere.
The practice of getting cheaper deals abroad is perfectly common, well beyond video games, but there are an increasing number of obstacles when it comes to purchasing items online from a foreign country. The Commission found that 63 percent of websites investigated in 2015 did not allow people to buy from another EU nation. In December last year, a new regulation was put in place to "end unjustified geoblocking online".

MODS/EMULATORS

Heretic receives an AI-enhanced high resolution texture pack, available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/heretic-receives-an-ai-enhanced-high-resolution-texture-pack-available-for-download/
Back in February, we informed you about an AI-enhanced high resolution texture pack for Hexen. Created by modder ‘gmh4589’, that texture pack significantly improved the textures of this classic shooter. And today, I’m happy to report that there is a new AI-enhanced texture pack for Heretic.
This AI-enhanced texture pack is also created by gmh4589 and aims to bring a new look for in-game content of Heretic. The main focus of this pack is to preserve all of the original details and lacks any third-party modifications.
>> Get this mod from Nexus Mods.

Fallout: New Vegas mod adds a post-game that reflects your choices
https://www.pcgamer.com/fallout-new-vegas-mod-adds-a-post-game-that-reflects-your-choices/
Fallout: New Vegas, normally reactive, stops short of letting you continue the game and enjoy the ultimate consequences of your actions once the credits roll. It just ends. With mods, you can find a way around that and hop back in, but you'll find a world in stuck in the moments prior to the ending. Not so in the new FPGE mod, however, which creates a functional post-game ending.
With FPGE, you'll find the world reacting to your big decisions when you return to Nevada. Factions can be wiped out, others might conquer regions, and the Hoover Dam can be taken over.
"After two weeks, Hoover Dam is taken over by the respective faction and the fighting stops," reads the description on Nexus Mods. "The Kings will get eradicated by the Legion, if alive, the Brotherhood of Steel will take over Helios One and patrol the roads, and the Great Khans will evacuate their camp, taking everything with them. This is only a small portion of what can take place however, and there are a massive amount of things that change based on how you play."

Sekiro mod makes the game easier and unlocks the frame rate
https://www.pcgamer.com/sekiro-mod-makes-the-game-easier-and-unlocks-the-frame-rate/
Sekiro isn't the worst of FromSoftware's PC ports, but its graphics and display options are few and its limits many. As always, modders pick up the slack. This mod from uberhalit unlocks the frame rate, adds custom resolutions with 21:9 widescreen support, lets you tweak the FoV and lots more. Oh yeah, and it also lets you change world and character speed, making the game considerably easier.
If a boss is giving you a hard time—inevitable, really—you can use the mod to slow down the global speed by your desired number but keep the player speed the same, making you lightning fast in comparison. It's a cheat rather than the addition of difficulty modes that some players have been asking for, but at least it might help you get past that brick wall you keep smashing your head against.
>> You can either download it from Nexus Mods (the link in the article) or from Github.

GAMING NEWS

The Division 2’s first free post-launch update, Tidal Basin, releases tomorrow
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-division-2s-first-free-post-launch-update-tidal-basin-releases-tomorrow/
Ubisoft has revealed that “Tidal Basin”, the first post-launch update for Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 will be made available tomorrow. “Tidal Basin” is part of “Invasion: Battle for D.C.”, the first free post-launch update that includes upcoming releases of “Operation Dark Hours”, the first 8-player raid in the history of The Division, and a brand new Specialisation.
>> That is today.

Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey is the next Epic Games Store exclusive game
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/ancestors-the-humankind-odyssey-is-the-next-epic-games-store-exclusive-game/
Panache Digital Games has released a brand new trailer for Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey in which it confirmed that the game will be coming to the Epic Games Store. The trailer does not feature any Steam logo so it’s safe to assume that this is another Epic Store exclusivity (though as most timed-exclusive games it will come to other digital stores at a later date).

Octopath Traveler has been rated for the PC by the Korean Game Rating and Administration Committee
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/octopath-traveler-has-been-rated-for-the-pc-by-the-korean-game-rating-and-administration-committee/
Good news for all JRPG fans as the Korean Game Rating and Administration Committee has rated Octopath Traveler for the PC. Octopath Traveler is a 2D JRPG that came out exclusively on Nintendo Switch, and from the looks of it Square Enix and Bandai Namco plan to bring it to the PC platform.

Warframe – Plains of Eidolon Remaster is now available for free on the PC, overhauling its visuals
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/warframe-plains-of-eidolon-remaster-is-now-available-for-free-on-the-pc-overhauling-its-visuals/
Digital Extremes has renewed its commitment to Warframe’s breakthrough open-world Landscape, Plains of Eidolon, with a full graphical overhaul available today on Steam PC. In order to celebrate this announcement, the team has also released a new trailer that you can find below.

RAGE 2 will feature free voice packs as Cheats, “Diamond Geezer” and “He’s On Fire”
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/rage-2-will-feature-free-voice-packs-diamond-geezer-cheat-code-and-hes-on-fire/
Bethesda Softworks has announced a special, free voice-pack for RAGE 2 featuring the cultured tones of TV royalty Danny Dyer. This is a follow-up to the “He’s On Fire” voice pack that Bethesda announced on April 1st.

New World War Z trailer gives us a gameplay overview, detailing its gameplay mechanics
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-world-war-z-trailer-gives-us-a-gameplay-overview-detailing-its-gameplay-mechanics/
Focus Home Interactive and Saber Interactive have released a brand new trailer for World War Z, detailing the gameplay for this new co-op shooter. Narrated by Saber’s Creative Director Oliver Hollis-Leick, the new video dives into the intense action that players can expect while scavenging, running and blasting hordes of hundreds of zombies.

Friday news, part two:

Nordic thriller Draugen is out in May
https://www.pcgamer.com/nordic-thriller-draugen-will-spill-all-its-secrets-in-may/
After watching Draugen's new story trailer—check it out above—I'm champing at the bit to explore a quiet Norwegian fjord that, obviously, hides a menacing secret. Oh no! Protagonist and unreliable narrator Edward has taken a trip to the fjord to hunt down his missing sister, bringing along his chatty ward, Lissie to lend a hand. It's a lovely location, but we're clearly in for a grim mystery.

Lair of the Clockwork God is a genre-switching adventure game
https://www.pcgamer.com/lair-of-the-clockwork-god-is-a-genre-switching-adventure-game/
Ben There, Dan That and its sequel Time Gentleman, Please! are excellent point-and-click romps with good gags, squabbling protagonists and, yes, quite a few puzzles. It's been a long time since Size Five Games' titular reluctant adventurers have left the comfort of their sofa, but they've finally found themselves embroiled in another fiasco in Lair of the Clockwork God, an adventure game that is also, equally but kind of separately, a platformer.

The Elder Scrolls: Legends - Alliance War exclusive card reveal
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-elder-scrolls-legends-alliance-war-exclusive-card-reveal/
Alliance War is the next expansion coming to Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls: Legends CCG, adding more than 100 new cards inspired by the war that never ends in The Elder Scrolls Online MMO. Players will fight alongside one of five factions—the Aldmeri Dominion, Ebonheart Pact, and Daggerfall Covenant from TESO, plus the new Guildsworn and Empire of Cyrodiil—each with its own three-color attribute combination and unique mechanic. One of them, the Guildsworn's "Expertise," is a potential game-changer, and we've got the exclusive reveal of one of the new cards that takes advantage of that powerful new ability.

Total War: Warhammer 2 DLC trailer recreates a classic scene from Predator
https://www.pcgamer.com/total-war-warhammer-2-dlc-trailer-recreates-a-classic-scene-from-predator/
Remember the scene in the classic '80s action flick Predator where Blain gets eviscerated and the rest of the team blows up seven percent of the Amazon rain forest for payback? If you do, then you will very likely get a kick out of the trailer for The Prophet and The Warlock, a new DLC release for Total War: Warhammer 2 that's set to come out on April 17.

BioWare boss Casey Hudson says the studio's problems 'are real'
https://www.pcgamer.com/bioware-boss-casey-hudson-says-the-studios-problems-are-real/
Earlier this week, Kotaku ran a report on the troubled development of Anthem, which alleged serious problems at developer BioWare including aimless management, internecine rivalries, and increasingly common incidents of "stress leave" among employees. BioWare issued a hasty public response to the report, but it was so evasive and dismissive that it only served to cast the studio in an even worse light.

Breach developer QC Games closes its doors
https://www.pcgamer.com/breach-developer-qc-games-closes-its-doors/
Breach is an ambitious co-op dungeon crawler with echoes of Shadowrun, The Secret World, and Devil May Cry, released in January by a team of former BioWare and EA developers calling itself QC Games. It sounded promising, but met with mixed results when it entered Early Access on Steam in January, and its peak player count of roughly 1200 quickly cratered after release.

Super Meat Boy Forever will miss its April launch window
https://www.pcgamer.com/super-meat-boy-forever-will-miss-its-april-launch-window/
Super Meat Boy Forever was meant to launch exclusively on the Epic Games Store this month. But in a statement issued on Twitter, Team Meat announced it'll be pushing the game until "after but not too far after April 2019". And it's for a pretty good reason: the studio wants to avoid punishing eleventh hour crunch.

Let's check now the weekend deals from GOG and Steam:

+GOG

• The weekly sale brings 80% discounts: https://www.gog.com/promo/20190401_weekly_sale
• The Midweek Sale, that has still 30 hours left, also has up to 80% discounts: https://www.gog.com/promo/20190403_midweek_sale
• There's also the Hitman franchise sale, with 75% discounts: https://www.gog.com/promo/20190404_hitman
• And there's the Weekend Sale, Amazing Stories, with up to 90% deals: https://www.gog.com/promo/20190405_weekend_sale

+Steam

• The first of the two daily deals is Furi, 65% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/423230/Furi/
• The other one is the Project Cars franchise, up to 75% off: https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/BANDAINAMCO/list/45999/
• Dead by Daylight is free to try and 50% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/381210/Dead_by_Daylight/
• Monster Hunter: World is 34% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/582010/MONSTER_HUNTER_WORLD/
• Enter the Gungeon is 50% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/311690/Enter_the_Gungeon/
• The Call of Duty franchise is on sale, up to 67% off: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/cod
• To celebrate the BAFTA, the nominated games are on sale: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/bafta/
• And of course, the weeklong deals.

Nothing else to say, except wishing you a happy and gaming weekend.

I don't know. Like I said, PS2/XB to PS3/X360 was massive for CPUs. The latter were 16 - 32 times faster than the former. Next to that the gap from Jaguar to Zen jump seems like a small thing.

Damn. Assassin's Creed: Origins in the May Humble Bundle... I bought it a few weeks ago and didn't play it yet.

Yeah, but CPUs before that weren't really fast nor powerful. The PS360 era brought a massive jump in almost every front. It's hard to make that kind of jump again.

i love this visualisation:

View on YouTube

Well, GTA IV launched in 2008, that's the game I remember being one of the first that was quite multicore demanding.

Just donated 100€ to the Epic Store and they gave me the Borderlands 3 Super Deluxe Edition for FREE! See, that's how you get customers.

Fun Fact: I had time to download the Epic Store because Steam is down again. On a Saturday evening.

There was a big gap between the 1060 and the 1070 in terms of price, which made the 1060 the better option for a lot of people that had previously owned x70 cards.

And there was also the mining craze, that made prices go insane for both makers, with AMD being the most affected as their advantage in computing made their cards a better choice than Nvidia's.

The lack of demanding games happened. Many multiplatform games for the PS3/Xbox360 also ran fine on integrated graphics, so they could be played on notebooks without a dedicated GPU.

That changed with the release of the PS4, but it takes a while until enough people buy better hardware to play the newest games.