A new week, a new round of news:

SALES & DEALS

Minecraft sales now exceed 200 million
https://www.pcgamer.com/minecraft-sales-now-exceed-200-million/
Mojang marked Minecraft's 11th anniversary—counting from the launch of the public alpha in 2009—by rebranding itself and teasing that it's playing around with some ideas for brand new games. But Minecraft is still at the centre of Mojang's universe, according to the announcement, and given that more than 200 million copies have been sold, that's not a surprise.
Studio head Helen Chiang shared the figures in a blog post that also detailed the ways that Minecraft and its players have adapted to the last few months. In March, Mojang released free educational worlds on the Minecraft Marketplace to help out when schools starting closing, and last weekend one of several graduations took place in the blocky sandbox.
During Minecraft's 10th anniversary, Mojang announced that it has hit 176 million, so that's 24 million more copies in just the last year. As for monthly players, it's at 126 million. That's likely to include the Chinese free-to-play version, which boasted over 300 million players in 2019.

GOG starts the week with two weekly sales:

• The first one is the typical weekly sale, this time with games featuring strange creatures, up to 80% off: https://www.gog.com/promo/20200518_weekly_sale
• And there's also a The Witcher sale with up to 85% discounts during the next week: https://www.gog.com/promo/witcher_birthday

Steam has two daily deals:

• The Sudden Strike franchise is between 30 and 81% off: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/suddenstrike/
• And Talisman: Digital Edition is 80% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/247000/Talisman_Digital_Edition/

Let me remind you that the Humble Store is having its Spring Sale, that will end this Thursday 21, and that they have added new deals since the sale begun. Maybe you should give it a second look.

Fanatical, who's May Madness sale has ended, has two new sales:

• The new Star Deal is PAYDAY 2, 90% off for the next 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/payday-2
• And there's a new Tomb Raider GOTY Bundle, featuring the game plus 21 DLCs with a 86% discount: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/tomb-raider-goty-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

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MODS/EMULATORS

Version 1.19.0 for Nintendo Wii U Emulator CEMU released, packs Vulkan & compatibility improvements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/version-1-19-0-for-nintendo-wii-u-emulator-cemu-released-packs-vulkan-compatibility-improvements/
The team behind the best Nintendo WiiU emulator, CEMU, released a brand new version of it. Version 1.19.0 adds option to allow async shader & pipeline compilation under Vulkan. Moreover, it brings a number of fixes for the Vulkan API.
Alongside these Vulkan improvements, version 1.19.0 brings minor compatibility and misc improvements. Moreover, the new version fixes some lighting issues in some games.
Async shader & pipeline compilation aims to improve performance. These asynchronous shaders can minimize stutters. However, this method may also introduce some rendering issues. As such, the team suggests avoiding it (unless of course you care more about a stutter-free experience).

GTA5 NaturalVision Evolved is now in Early Access, adds screen-space ray traced global illumination
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/gta5-naturalvision-evolved-is-now-in-early-access-adds-screen-space-ray-traced-global-illumination/
Modder Razed has released an Early Access version of NaturalVision Evolved for Grand Theft Auto 5. In order to showcase this Early Access version, the modder has also released a in-game video that you can find below.
NaturalVision Evolved is a work-in-progress visual overhaul mod that features numerous changes. This mod aims to improve the environmental weathers, lighting system, ambient colors, and tonemapping. It will also enhance world textures, building models and more.
>> Right now, the mod is beahind a paywall in their Patreon page (link not provided). Also, you can go to the thread AbbathTheGrim made about it.

Minecraft Greenfield V0.5.3 looks spectacular, releases in a few weeks
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/minecraft-greenfield-v0-5-3-looks-spectacular-releases-in-a-few-weeks/
Look at that header. Looks cool, right? Well, if you didn’t pay a lot of attention to it, you might have thought that this was a real image. However, it’s not. That’s an in-game screenshot from Minecraft. And in a few weeks, you’ll be able to experience this map for yourselves. A couple of days ago, the team behind the largest City mod/map for Minecraft shared two new screenshots from its latest version. Minecraft Greenfield V0.5.3 looks absolutely stunning, and is easily one of the most impressive mods/maps for Minecraft.
According to the team, the city is built using a 1:1 Scale (1 block = 1 cubic meter). Thus, it actually feels like you are walking around a real city whilst you are exploring it. It also looks gorgeous, though we don’t know yet whether it will be compatible with Minecraft RTX.
>> It's available from planetminecraft.

SilentPatch for The Wonderful 101: Remastered released, fixes broken frame pacing issues
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/silentpatch-for-the-wonderful-101-remastered-released-fixes-broken-frame-pacing-issues/
While The Wonderful 101: Remastered is not yet available for the majority of players, Silent has released a must-have patch for it. According to the modder, the SilentPatch for The Wonderful 101: Remastered fixes its broken frame pacing issues.
Now in case you’re wondering, Silent was able to test the game via a friend who has crowdfunded the game via Kickstarter. So yeah, this is a real patch that can significantly improve your overall experience.
As Silent noted, the framerate is all over the place and never reaches stable 60 at all in The Wonderful 101: Remastered. Thus, PC gamers will experience major frame pacing issues in the vanilla/unpatched version. Silent goes into a lot of details on how he was able to fix this, and you can read more here.
>> You can get this mod from GitHub.

New version of Sekiro Online fixes bugs, improves stability, downscales enemies in co-op and more
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/new-version-of-sekiro-online-fixes-bugs-improves-stability-downscales-enemies-in-co-op-and-more/
Earlier this month, we informed you about a mod for Sekiro that allows you to play online with other players. Since the, LukeYui has released some new versions of this mod that improved overall stability and fixed some gameplay issues.
In case you aren’t aware of, Sekiro Online adds both PvP and co-operative play to the game. This mod features both a PvP and a co-op mode. Moreover, players can enter an unsuspecting person’s world as a spirit of vengeance, and fight to the death.
(...)
The latest version of Sekiro Online is V1.08 and downscales enemies slightly in co-op. It also fixes an issue that caused sessions to be instantly terminated when you joined. Moreover, it fixes a bug that gave phantoms invader rewards when the host died.
>> You can find it at Nexus Mods.

The Witcher 3 HD Reworked creator releases a new graphics mod for Skyrim Special Edition
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/the-witcher-3-hd-reworked-creator-releases-a-new-graphics-mod-for-skyrim-special-edition/
Halk Hogan PL, creator of the amazing The Witcher 3 HD Reworked, has released a new graphics mod for Skyrim Special Edition. This mod brings all dragons (base game + DLC) and dragon things to stunning the highest 4K quality. Not only that, but this mod has a 100% lore friendly look.
HD Reworked Dragons Collection 4K features high quality accurate BC7 4K normal maps without significant compression artifacts. Furthermore, this mod also improves and fixed alpha textures.
>> You'll have to go to Nexus Mods to get it.

New gameplay teaser trailer released for the upcoming Dino Crisis Unreal Engine 4 fan remake
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-gameplay-teaser-trailer-released-for-the-upcoming-dino-crisis-unreal-engine-4-fan-remake/
Team Arklay has just released a new gameplay teaser trailer for its upcoming Unreal Engine 4 Fan Remake of Capcom’s dino game, Dino Crisis. From the looks of it, Team Arklay is making this Dino Crisis Remake from scratch. And, for a fan-made game, this unofficial remake looks cool.
This gameplay teaser trailer shows Regina exploring an environment and killing a raptor. Now I strongly suggest tempering your expectations. As you will find out, this is a really rough gameplay trailer. And again, keep in mind that this comes from a small indie team.
>> It doesn't look that bad.

The Witcher 3 Redux V2.7 released, brings numerous gameplay fixes, tweaks, reworks and additions
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-witcher-3-redux-v2-7-released-brings-numerous-gameplay-fixes-tweaks-reworks-and-additions/
Modder ‘Aleks Vuckovic’ has released a brand new version of The Witcher 3 Redux Mod. According to the modder, version 2.7 comes with numerous gameplay fixes, additions, tweaks and improvements.
(...)
Going into more details, The Witcher 3 Redux Version 2.7 reworks Active Shield (Alternate Quen). It also adds some more visual flair to the Supercharged Quen Discharge effect. Moreover, it fixes an issue where immunity to hypnosis would still inflict Geralt with Drain through the hypnosis effect.
Additionally, there is no longer a delay between throwing bombs in this latest version. Furthermore, V2.7 lowers Vitality bonus of mini-boss/boss human enemies, and Rosa var Attre’s health.
>> Once again, you can find this mod at Nexus Mods.

Here is your first look at the upcoming Metal Gear Solid vs Doom mashup, Metal Gear Doom
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/here-is-your-first-look-at-the-upcoming-metal-gear-solid-vs-doom-mashup-metal-gear-doom/
AutumnAPM has released the first gameplay video for his upcoming Metal Gear Solid vs Doom mashup, Metal Gear Doom. Metal Gear Doom basically transports the Doomsguy and all of the Doom enemies to levels inspired by Metal Gear Solid.
According to the modder, the focus of Metal Gear Doom will be on finding resources (weapons) and avoiding difficult fights. The mod will have approximately 5 main levels, and plans to add 3 secret levels. Furthermore, the modder will be adding 3 “VR missions”. The missions will be designed to be a lot more challenging than the regular game.
>> You can download and try a demo from ModDB.

New gameplay teaser video released for Fallout New Vegas Remake in Fallout 4, Fallout 4: New Vegas
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-gameplay-teaser-video-released-for-fallout-new-vegas-remake-in-fallout-4-fallout-4-new-vegas/
The team behind the Fallout New Vegas Remake in Fallout 4, Fallout 4: New Vegas has released a brand new gameplay video. This video shows the main protagonist roaming the roads and talking to Oliver Swanick. It also shows the dialogue menu and reload animation.

There is now a first-person Jazz Jackrabbit total conversion mod for Doom 2 that you can download
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/there-is-now-a-first-person-jazz-jackrabbit-total-conversion-mod-for-doom-2-that-you-can-download/
BassSlapper89 has released a pretty cool total conversion mod for the classic Doom 2 game. Jazz Jackrabbit Doom TC is basically a fan game based on the Jazz Jackrabbit game in the Doom Engine, and you can download it right now.
Jazz Jackrabbit Doom TC features a first-person perspective. Moreover, it features sprites for enemies and weapons from the Jazz Jackrabbit game. (...)
The latest version of Jazz Jackrabbit Dooma adds new enemies and changes a few existing enemy sprites.
You can download this total conversion mod from here. Naturally, you will need the Doom 2 WAD in order to play it. The modder also suggests using GZDoom v3.7.2-v4.3.3, LZDoom v3.85.

This rad Sekiro mod adds Katana Zero's bullet time and fast sword attacks
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-rad-sekiro-mod-adds-katana-zeros-bullet-time-and-fast-sword-attacks/
Two of my favorite angry-person-with-a-sword games have come together in Sekiro Zero, a mod that adds Katana Zero's slowdown ability and instant sword attacks to Sekiro's excellent sword combat system. It even comes with some flashy neon effects as a nod to Katana Zero's pop-cyberpunk aesthetic. This is one of the better Sekiro mods I've seen in a minute.
If you're unfamiliar with how Katana Zero's slowdown works, don't sweat it (but do go play it, at least for the tunes). It articulates a lot like Max Payne's bullet time ability. You get a limited time to slow the action down to a crawl in order to plan the next second or so of action in which you need to jump, slide, slice, and dodge with absolute precision, or die. The slowdown ability is a stylish way to fine tune that path.
Sekiro Zero does a pretty damn good job approximating the same loop in Sekiro. You get the slowdown ability, lighting quick attacks (that work with special attacks too), and a special new 'fast' dash so you can cover the distance between enemies in the blink of an eye. Sekiro was already a fast-paced game and an experienced player could clean out a crowded room in a minute. Sekiro Zero would easily halve that.
>> Available from Nexus Mods.

There are already lots of good SnowRunner mods
https://www.pcgamer.com/there-are-already-lots-of-good-snowrunner-mods/
SnowRunner launched with mod support, and we already got a handful of absurd mods like the one where you drive around a giant octopus or whatever this undulating billion-legged horror is. Now the game has been out for a few weeks we're really starting to see the more serious, really good stuff show up for this off-road driving simulator. You know, filthy old off-roading trucks for all your filthy old off-roading needs. For example, there's a crucially important mod that adds personal favorite pickup the 1983 Ford Ranger for you to tool around in. You can check out SnowRunner's official mod support over at snowrunner.mod.io.

This Half-Life: Alyx mod lets you play with lightsabers
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-half-life-alyx-mod-lets-you-play-with-lightsabers/
Modders started tinkering away with Half-Life: Alyx as soon as it appeared, but it was only last week that official tools were released, along with the opening of its Steam Workshop. There are already more than 100 mods to root through, and naturally one of them lets you muck around with lightsabers.
Every first-person VR game could be improved by tossing in lightsabers, but Half-Life: Alyx in particular seems like somewhere they really belong. Alyx already has some Jedi-like tricks up her sleeve, or in her gloves, after all. Take a look at the Force in action below.

GAMING NEWS

Here are 16 minutes of gameplay from the Dark Souls-inspired game, Hellpoint
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-16-minutes-of-gameplay-from-the-dark-souls-inspired-game-hellpoint/
Hellpoint is an action RPG with extreme similarities to the Dark Souls series. This is basically a Dark Souls clone. The only major difference is that the game takes place in space. Actually, if I am not mistaken, the whole game takes place on a space station called Irid Novo.

Ubisoft plans to release another big title and it’s most likely another Far Cry
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/ubisoft-plans-to-release-another-big-title-and-its-most-likely-another-far-cry/
Ubisoft has already delayed all of their upcoming games, except Assassin’s Creed Valhalla which is coming this year. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Quarantine, Gods & Monsters, Watch Dogs: Legion, Beyond Good and Evil 2 and Skull & Bones do not have an official release date yet.
Ubisoft is planning to release another triple-A title, which is probably Far Cry 6. It can also be something else related to this already exhausted series, like another spin-off.

Half-Life Alyx Source 2 Engine Mod Tools Are Now Available For Download
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/half-life-alyx-source-2-engine-mod-tools-are-now-available-for-download/
Valve has finally released the Source 2 Engine Mod Tools for Half-Life: Alyx. As such, PC gamers will be now able to mod this latest Half Life VR game. Moreover, the team has launched the official Workshop group for Half-Life: Alyx.

New Ori and the Will of the Wisps Patch adds HDR on PC, Dynamic Resolution Scaling & FPS Limit
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/new-ori-and-the-will-of-the-wisps-patch-adds-hdr-on-pc-dynamic-resolution-scaling-fps-limit/
Moon Studios has released a new major update for Ori and the Will of the Wisps. The May 14th update adds HDR support on the PC. Moreover, it brings a new Dynamic Resolution Scaling setting. This setting enables the game to automatically lower its rendering resolution to achieve higher framerate when necessary.

New Microsoft Flight Simulator screenshots show beautiful sea waves, volumetric clouds and more
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/new-microsoft-flight-simulator-screenshots-show-beautiful-sea-waves-volumetric-clouds-and-more/
Microsoft has released a new set of gorgeous screenshots for Microsoft Flight Simulator. These screenshots are from the game’s alpha build and showcase some truly amazing sea waves and volumetric clouds.

Someday You’ll Return – PC Performance Analysis + 4K/Ultra Screenshots
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/someday-youll-return-pc-performance-analysis-4k-ultra-screenshots/
CBE Software, creators of J.U.L.I.A.: Among the Stars, has released its latest story-driven psychological horror game on Steam. Someday You’ll Return uses Unreal Engine 4 and it’s time to benchmark it and see how it performs on the PC platform.

Player choice matters in Wasteland 3
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/player-choice-matters-in-wasteland-3/
After many delays, Wasteland 3, is coming at the end of this summer. IGN has recently released a developer diary where the lead designer of inXile Entertainment, David Rogers, talks about character creation, customization, and of course combat.

Prince of Persia 6 domain was fake, is now available for sale
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/prince-of-persia-6-domain-was-fake-is-now-available-for-sale/
Earlier this month, we informed you about the appearance of a domain for Prince of Persia 6. This domain showed at first Gandi.net as the registrant and featured Ubisoft’s DNS servers. Thus, it looked legit. However, it appears that it wasn’t as the domain is currently available for sale.

The second part of the Monday news:

Terraria: Journey's End has a ridiculously long changelog
https://www.pcgamer.com/terraria-journeys-end-has-a-ridiculously-long-changelog/
Terraria has enjoyed nearly a decade of post-launch development, and that's finally about to come to an end with the release of the Journey's End update, a behemoth that Re-Logic says will make the game "complete." It's out tomorrow, but ahead of that you can rummage around in the absolutely huge changelog.
>> That "tomorrow" was two days ago, and it showed because the game has hit an all time high.

The Waylanders trailer showcases narrative interludes and your magic sailing ship
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-waylanders-trailer-showcases-narrative-interludes-and-your-magic-sailing-ship/
The Waylanders is a party-based RPG in the vein of Dragon Age and Pillars of Eternity that tells the tale of the first meeting between between the ancient Celts and their gods, the Tuatha de Danaan. Developer Gato Studio showed off the combat system last year (real-time with pause, as it should be) but the story is possibly an even bigger attraction: It's being written by former Telltale designer Emily Grace Buck, Chris Avellone is also on the job (because of course he is), and former Dragon Age creative director Mike Laidlaw is a script consultant.

Hearthstone devs are hitting Demon Hunter with another round of nerfs
https://www.pcgamer.com/hearthstone-devs-are-hitting-demon-hunter-with-another-round-of-nerfs/
Blizzard has announced a new balance patch for Hearthstone that will make changes to a dozen cards in Standard, and will also fix a pretty serious bug with Ethereal Conjurer that causes the game state to lock when it's played. As patch numbering standards go, 17.2.1 doesn't sound like much, but in fact, it's a big one.

Cyberpunk 2077 car pays tribute to Mad Max: Fury Road
https://www.pcgamer.com/cyberpunk-2077-car-pays-tribute-to-mad-max-fury-road/
I did not realize that today, May 15, is the fifth anniversary of the release of Mad Max: Fury Road in North America. (Australia got a day earlier, naturally.) CD Projekt realized it, however, and to commemorate the anniversary it whipped up a thematically appropriate "Reaver" car for Cyberpunk 2077.

NASA challenges Kerbal players to mirror an upcoming launch to the International Space Station
https://www.pcgamer.com/nasa-challenges-kerbal-players-to-mirror-an-upcoming-launch-to-the-international-space-station/
For years, astronauts and cosmonauts have traveled to the International Space Station aboard Soyuz rockets launched from Kazakhstan. Later this month, however, NASA will try putting its people up there on a SpaceX rocket launched from the US, which is a pretty big deal.
To commemorate the big moment, Kerbal Space Program 2 publisher Private Division is challenging KSP players to recreate it in the game. Simulate the mission as accurately as possible based on the mission information listed on the page for DM-2, the final test flight before SpaceX's Crew Dragon is certified for operational missions. Make sure you record the flight, then condense your video footage and upload it to Twitter, either as a reply to the original tweet (below) or as a separate tweet tagging in @KerbalSpaceP, @NASA, and @SpaceX, with the #LaunchAmerica hashtag.

Anthem developers have begun trying to figure out what went wrong
https://www.pcgamer.com/anthem-developers-have-begun-trying-to-figure-out-what-went-wrong/
BioWare's latest Anthem update brings with it both good news and bad news. The good news, as the mere existence of the update implies, is that Anthem is still alive and, if not kicking, at least twitching feebly. The bad news is that feeble twitches are about all that we can reasonably expect from it for a long time yet.

Space dwarf mining shooter Deep Rock Galactic outlines ambitious post-release plans
https://www.pcgamer.com/space-dwarf-mining-shooter-deep-rock-galactic-outlines-ambitious-post-release-plans/
Fresh out of its launch this week, Deep Rock Galactic is already lining up a slew of new material. An announcement on Steam lays out the roadmap for the coming year in pretty good detail, starting with post-launch additions and focusing on an increased variety of environments and objectives. Over the remainder of the year the developers intend to add more geographic features, two new biomes, two new mission types, and three new secondary objectives.

Jet Lancer looks like Luftrausers but anime and it's out now
https://www.pcgamer.com/jet-lancer-looks-like-luftrausers-but-anime-and-its-out-now/
Remember Luftrausers? Vlambeer's 2D dogfighter was an indie darling back in 2014, pitting you against bullet hell and their trademark screenshake. Jet Lancer takes a similar approach, but adds a vibrant color palette, spider-mech boss fight, and anime hair. Also, a banging soundtrack courtesy of Fat Bard. Make sure to have the sound on when you watch the trailer.

In Timelie, you control time like a video player
https://www.pcgamer.com/in-timelie-you-control-time-like-a-video-player/
Timelie is a pretty standard setup for an indie game, with a cute girl and cuter cat exploring a mysterious world while being menaced at by robots. However, in Timelie, you control time, scrubbing backwards and forwards to tweak the outcome of events to your liking. As you move the Timeline you can uncover the future, should you continue on your course, or move back to undo mistakes. You control both girl and cat, using them in concert with time-controlling powers to solve stealth puzzles and grab goodies.

Ubisoft is suing Apple and Google over an alleged Rainbow Six Siege clone
https://www.pcgamer.com/ubisoft-is-suing-apple-and-google-over-an-alleged-rainbow-six-siege-clone/
Ubisoft Entertainment SA filed suit on Friday against Apple Inc and Google LLC, alleging that the two companies have failed to act on copyright infringement by a game called Area F2. Ubisoft says that Area F2 is a "near carbon copy" of Rainbow Six Siege where "virtually every aspect" is cloned from R6S. As reported by Bloomberg, Ubisoft has previously notified Apple and Google of the game, but both Apple and Google have refused to remove the game from the App Store and Google Play. The suit was filed in United States federal court in Los Angeles.

Another Star Citizen free fly event is coming this week
https://www.pcgamer.com/another-star-citizen-free-fly-event-is-coming-this-week/
Massively ambitious space simulator Star Citizen will be free-to-try later this week during another of its free fly events. From May 22 to June 1 anyone with a game account can test fly new ships, whether they've bought it or not. Last year's free flight event allowed you to try every ship in the game, though this one focuses on the UEE Navy. As with before, the ships available will rotate every few days, so you can check back to try out new ones.

Minecraft studio Mojang has rebranded, and is 'playing with ideas' for new games
https://www.pcgamer.com/minecraft-studio-mojang-has-rebranded-and-is-playing-with-ideas-for-new-games/
Minecraft studio Mojang has rebranded: the company is now called Mojang Studios. It's a simple change designed to reflect the scale of the studio in 2020, which now has multiple branches in Sweden, the USA, Japan, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Watch a Legends of Runeterra character get designed live
https://www.pcgamer.com/watch-a-legends-of-runeterra-character-get-designed-live/
Riot Games is sharing a glimpse of how the sausage gets made this week, livestreaming the creation of a new character concept for Legends of Runeterra, courtesy of principle concept artist Chris Campbell.

Tencent appears to be the new owner of System Shock 3 and 4 websites
https://www.pcgamer.com/tencent-appears-to-be-the-new-owner-of-system-shock-3-and-4-websites/
There's been no word of System Shock 3 all year, but the apparent transfer of two System Shock domains to Tencent suggests that struggling developer OtherSide Entertainment has found a publisher.

While I see the appeal of playing PC games on the go, that thing never really catch my interest, specially relying on an Iris iGPU to run the games.

At that point, it's better to get a Switch, and you also save money.

Captain_Yuri said: Seems that a lot of the texture problems for FFVIIR might be due to Ps4 showing it's age and some shitty SE optimization. The port for PC and next gen consoles gonna look god tier. Here's another more clear evidence the Textures in #FF7R are actually pretty good but Unreal engine just refuses to load them properly for some reason Cloud's apartment door in game, vs the Door's actual texture. https://t.co/qnz0IlF5eu pic.twitter.com/nYCFLkDegv — Necroalx (deleter of cubes) (@necroalx) May 13, 2020 Also I always kinda want to get one of these handheld PCs: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gpd-win-max-handheld-game-console-for-aaa-games#/ But I just might end up getting a Surface instead since that has more functionality. Still for how small they are, they do pack a punch. All these things now need is some Ryzen sauce!

I watched a lot of the prototype videos, tested by The Phawx:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obBLpfRPPrA&list=PLdC3pP79J-A_i2lWYAfFZoJhiZkfDPiQv

Interesting device, but with 800 grams much too heavy for my taste. With this weight, it is a cute mini-PC, but no handheld IMHO.

Well it can play a good amount of AAA games at medium settings 30-60fps if the resolution gets set to 720p which for 8 inch handheld, isn't too bad. The benefits on top is that you can play games from your steam library and have access to tons of emulation. It also has thunderbolt which would make it even more powerful

But yea, it does cost 3-4 times more than the switch so the appeal is limited loll. Can't wait to see their Ryzen variant in the future though.

I didn't even notice the weight, good catch! That is like twice as heavy as the switch. If I am correct, that weighs as much as the Surface Pro which is surprising.

If you guys have 40 minutes to kill and want something that's kind of interesting and tech heavy to watch, GN did a pretty big deep dive on the BIOS issues surrounding compatibility between old motherboards and Zen 3.

Part of the problem seems to be that Zen and Zen+ cpus can't address more than 16mb of ROM in the BIOS. So if a BIOS has 32MB ROM and they decide to use that entirely to support the upcoming Zen 3, it would break a lot of Zen and Zen+ cpu compatibility. He does mention that you can technically partition the BIOS into two 16MB ROM sizes but that has it's own set of problems. Also a lot of the flashy UI and "features" of today's fancy BIOS also takes up a good amount of space.

It feels like BIOS flashback feature on motherboards should be mandatory going forward since that would have solved a lot of issues imo. There is one shining light at the end of the tunnel however cause Lisa Sue herself said in a vague email that they are working on a possible solution.

I sure hope with AM5, they don't completely drop long term socket support due to this.

Will they go with AMD, tho? I haven't followed the development of this machine, and I don't know if they'll have other options besides Intel CPUs.

The new 4700G is interesting, but still comes with Vega. I think they won't move to RDNA until the 5000 series.

The Smach Z has a Ryzen Embedded APU and seems to be in the same performance ballpark.

I think they and a lot of other companies will. AMD was not proven to be fap worthy in the mobile space until 4000 series and after companies saw the amazing performance through the entire lineup, a lot of them are getting their lube ready for their next iteration of products.