SO I just booted up Steam, and this game was randomly suggested to me via the front store page:

Also decided to check out their dev page and well...

Looks like we're going back to the days of asset flip, store bought asset crap again.

I went through so many discovery queue's and sorted out my filters, to make sure I wouldn't come across crap like this, and I haven't bought anything like it either and yet it's suggested to me?.

Sort your shit out Valve. 

If there's one thing I hate, it's asset flip devs seeking to make a small fortune from idiot saps and "memers" who buy that poorly cobbled together shit. 

probably recommended by yuri

The Monday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Call of Duty: Warzone has made the series 10 times more popular on PC
https://www.pcgamer.com/call-of-duty-warzone-has-made-the-series-10-times-more-popular-on-pc/
On a recent earnings call Activision president and chief operating officer Daniel Alegre waxed poetic about the success of Call of Duty and, in particular, Warzone. Across all platforms the series boasted an incredible 111 million monthly active users, a figure that has tripled year-on-year. This is one hell of an increase, and neatly reflects that with Call of Duty: Mobile (October 2019) and Warzone (March 2020) there are now three huge and distinct COD offerings
Alegre went on to talk specifically about Warzone's appeal, and noted that "monthly players grew over tenfold year-over-year on PC." That is, there are more than ten times as many PC Call of Duty players as there were this time last year. By any metric that's an astonishing leap for a series as long-established as this.

Old School Runescape had 157,445 concurrent players at the weekend, breaking its record
https://www.pcgamer.com/old-school-runescape-player-numbers/
Is it even nostalgia when you’re more relevant than ever? Old School Runescape, the redux version of the browser MMO, has broken its own records for player numbers, hitting up 157,445 PCs at once.
Runescape developer Jagex has been running its latest league, which is a seasonal variant of the game where players start a new character on a time-limited server with specific rules and tasks. This time, they’re competing with Ironman accounts (no trading, no XP handouts) and locked to the region of Misthalin.
The new league started last Wednesday, October 28—and yesterday, lead content developer Kieren Charles reported Old School Runescape’s highest ever player numbers.

GOG's new weekly sale, "Games where you jump straight into action", brings up to 90% discounts: https://www.gog.com/promo/20201102_weekly_sale

Steam has a new daily deal: Owlboy. 60% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/115800/Owlboy/

At the Humble Store, the Jackbox Party franchise is up to 50% off for the next 3 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/jackbox-party-franchise-sale/

And Fanatical comes with several new deals:

• The new Star Deal is The Jackbox Party Pack 6, 45% off for the next 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/the-jackbox-party-pack-6
• Bandai Namco has put its games up to 85% off for the next 10 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/bandai-namco-entertainment
• Capcom has its games up to 81% off for the next 13 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/capcom
• Ubisoft has also put its games on sale, up to 85% off for the next 13 days. The keys ar for UPlay: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/ubisoft
• The parent company behind Fanatical celebrates its 25th Anniversary and the store celebrates it with a sale . Check out the games on sale here: https://www.fanatical.com/en/on-sale
• Also, check their Blog to win prizes in their contests.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Ubuntu version of Shadow of the Tomb Raider outperforms Windows 10 DX11 API
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/ubuntu-version-of-shadow-of-the-tomb-raider-game-outperforms-windows-10-dx11-api/
One game developer recently brought Shadow of the Tomb Raider game to work on Ubuntu by using the Vulkan API, and one YouTuber has benchmarked it against the Windows 10 DX11 version of this game.
YouTuber Penguin Recordings has compared some performance benchmark results for both the Ubuntu and Windows 10 OS platforms, and the results are impressive. Feral Interactive is a company that specializes in bringing Windows OS games to Mac and Linux. And they have made Shadow of the Tomb Raider game to work in Ubuntu via the Vulkan API.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

4.17GB AI-enhanced HD Texture Pack for the classic FEAR game available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/4-17gb-ai-enhanced-hd-texture-pack-classic-fear-download/
Earlier this month, we informed you about an HD Texture Pack that was under development for FEAR. Back then, we shared some comparison screenshots between the vanilla and the AI-enhanced version of F.E.A.R. And today, we are happy to report that this pack is available for download.
Going into more details, the modder used Topaz A.I. Gigapixel neural network in order to upscale by four times the original textures. Then, he additionally processed with different graphic editors some of the textures. Finally, he used a special program in order to correct the edges of HD textures for hiding the texture seams.
>> Available from ModDB.

Silent Hills P.T. Demake in GZDoom is available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/silent-hills-p-t-demake-in-gzdoom-is-available-for-download/
Now here is something really cool for all our Silent Hills fans. Batandy has recreated Silent Hills P.T. in the GZDoom Engine, and has released this fan game to the public. As the title suggests, this fan game will let you experience the cancelled Silent Hills P.T. in the GZDoom Engine.
This demake comes with all the “limitations” that GZDoom introduces. As such, and instead of a fully 3D world, players will encounter a combination of 3D objects and 2D pixelated sprites. This aesthetic aims to give the game a more “retro” feeling.
As Batandy noted, this demake features every sequence of the P.T. demo. Batandy has tried to come as close to the original version as possible.
The end result is retro-cool, and we highly recommend downloading it. You can download this Silent Hills P.T. demake from here. Do note that while GZ PT is a standalone game, it requires GZDoom.

SmoothCam mod for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/smoothcam-mod-for-the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-special-edition/
SmoothCam is a new camera mod for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition by mod creator, mwilsnd. This mod is a highly configurable third-person camera, which provides smooth frame-interpolation, along with a raycacting crosshair for easier aiming. SmoothCam features over a hundred different user configurable options and a preset system, which allows you to easily swap between different camera setups.
>> You can get it from Nexus Mods.

Here's a dope, eldritch trailer for Skyrim expansion mod Apotheosis
https://www.pcgamer.com/heres-a-dope-eldritch-trailer-for-skyrim-expansion-mod-apotheosis/
Ready to go on a really wild trip into the deep lore of Elder Scrolls? Of course you are, you'd not have clicked on this otherwise. For the record I meant trip euphemistically because this looks like something that involves mind-altering substances.
Apotheosis is an ambitious mod for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim that aims to be of the scale of an entire expansion or DLC for Bethesda's dragon-Viking masterpiece. It's a strange and eldritch journey into canonical and non-canonical worlds beyond Elder Scrolls' mundane Tamriel. "A story of epic scale set across many hand crafted worlds, sprawling dungeons and exotic locations," says the modders' description. "Scour the 16 Wastes of Oblivion and Dreamsleeve, home of the forgotten dead, a little bigger than 1/5 the size of the Skyrim overworld."

One of the best graphical mods for Crysis, BlackFire’s Mod, is now available for Crysis Remastered
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/best-graphical-mods-blackfires-mod-crysis-remastered/
BlackFire’s Mod is considered by many as one of the best mods for the first Crysis game. And today, we are happy to report that a new version of it is out that is available for Crysis Remastered.
BlackFire’s Mod basically changes the lighting and Time of Day of all levels to achieve stunning visuals. According to the modder, this mod aims for a bright and colorful sunny day.
Do note that this first version of BlackFire’s Mod for Crysis Remastered does not introduce any additional graphical effects. This is just a Time of Day modification and nothing more. Still, and since a lot of PC gamers hated the default TOD, you should at least give it a go.
>> Head to ModDB to grab it.

Updated Silent Hill 2 fan patch upscales images, improves audio, fixes bugs, and more
https://www.pcgamer.com/updated-silent-hill-2-fan-patch-upscales-images-improves-audio-fixes-bugs-and-more/
The fan-made patch and remastering of Silent Hill 2's PC port continues updating, with a recent version bringing a host of improvements. The clicking sound when audio samples were interrupted—most noticeable when you scrolled through the menu—has been removed, and 3D positional audio has been added. The map view has been adjusted for widescreen, and integrated shaders added to allow making your own adjustments to brightness, SMAA antialiasing, and color temperature. The resolution of the fog texture has been upped from 256x256 to 512x512, like the PS2 had. Bugs have been fixed, including some that were present in all prior versions of Silent Hill 2.
All in all it's a pretty definitive improvement. I might quibble with the upscaled 2D images, which look a bit too clean—especially the handwriting on notes—like something out of a hidden object game, but that's probably because I'm old. The amount of work that's gone into the enhanced edition is damn impressive.

GAMING NEWS

Amnesia Rebirth gets its first update, mod support coming in next patch
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/amnesia-rebirth-gets-its-first-update-mod-support-coming-in-next-patch/
Frictional Games has released the first update for Amnesia Rebirth. According to the team, this first patch focuses on fixing a number of bugs that its fans have reported. Moreover, it gives players the ability to skip memories.

Ruined King: A League of Legends Story gets an official announcement trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/ruined-king-a-league-of-legends-story-gets-an-official-announcement-trailer/
Ruined King: A League of Legends Story is an upcoming story driven, turn based role-playing game. Ruined King is being developed by Airship Syndicate, creators of Battle Chasers: Nightwar and Darksiders Genesis. The game will be published by Riot Forge somewhere in the next year.

Leaked Crytek documents hint at Crysis Next, Crysis VR, Ryse Next & Robinson 2
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/leaked-crytek-documents-hint-at-crysis-next-crysis-vr-ryse-next-robinson-2/
In October 2020, ransomware gang “Egregor” has leaked data it claims to have obtained from the internal networks of Crytek. And according to these leaked documents, Crytek may be working on several new projects, including Crysis Next, Crysis VR and a new Ryse game.
>> A new Ryse? I thought the original flopped.

New beautiful screenshots released for Bright Memory Infinite
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/new-beautiful-screenshots-released-for-bright-memory-infinite/
FYQD Personal Studio has released a new set of beautiful screenshots for Bright Memory Infinite. Bright Memory Infinite is an FPS that promises to combine a wide variety of skills and abilities to unleash dazzling combo attacks.

Monday news, part two:

Lab Zero founder Mike Zaimont removed from Guilty Gear GGPO patch project
https://www.pcgamer.com/lab-zero-founder-mike-zaimont-removed-from-guilty-gear-ggpo-patch-project/
Guilty Gear developer Arc System Works has confirmed that Lab Zero Games founder Mike Zaimont, who was working with community developer Team French CaliBurst on a GGPO rollback netcode patch for Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R, has been suspended from the project.

Subnautica: Below Zero update video showcases a 'complete and fully voiced story'
https://www.pcgamer.com/subnautica-below-zero-update-video-showcases-a-complete-and-fully-voiced-story/
Subnautica: Below Zero is still in Early Access, but it's taken a big step toward the finish line with the release of the Relics of the Past update. The update delivers Below Zero's story "in its most complete form," with full voice acting, more alien mysteries, new world details, an updated look for the lead character, and a new Leviathan called the Void Chelicerate.

Halo 4 beta test extended to November 6, now includes crossplay for Halo: Reach
https://www.pcgamer.com/halo-4-beta-test-extended-to-november-6-now-includes-cross-play-for-halo-reach/
The Halo 4 closed beta test—"flight," in Halo parlance—that got underway last week has been extended to November 6, and updated with a range of fixes and tweaks, as well as crossplay support for Firefight and multiplayer in Halo: Reach.

Genshin Impact is getting even more improvements to its contentious Resin system
https://www.pcgamer.com/genshin-impact-is-getting-even-more-improvements-to-its-contentious-resin-system/
Genshin Impact has been one of the best and biggest surprises of 2020. It's an exceptional free-to-play gacha game that walks and talks like a big-budget JRPG, but it still has some frustrations. Chief among them, for many players, is the Resin system, which effectively gates how often players can get rewards from certain activities like killing special bosses or completing dungeons. Each time you beat one of these fights, you have to spend some Resin to actually access the loot, and it regenerates painfully slowly. But, speaking during an interview with PC Gamer, Genshin Impact developer MiHoYo says more changes are coming.

FromSoftware acknowledges Elden Ring still exists
https://www.pcgamer.com/fromsoftware-acknowledges-elden-ring-still-exists/
In a reply to their own tweet, FromSoftware acknowledged that Elden Ring is indeed a videogame that it is still making, and that it is something to look "forward to", indicating that it will come out at some point in the future, presumably within the lifetime of any person currently reading the tweet.

House of Ashes is the next Dark Pictures Anthology game, here's the trailer
https://www.pcgamer.com/house-of-ashes-is-the-next-dark-pictures-anthology-game-heres-the-trailer/
Horror game anthology The Dark Pictures has revealed its next game, House of Ashes, by secreting a teaser trailer within just-released game Little Hope. Given the look, it's likely that House of Ashes is about American soldiers and specialists in Afghanistan who uncover some ancient evil, and looks like it will star Ashley Tisdale. House of Ashes is due to release in 2021.

Action-roguelike Curse of the Dead Gods has a whole armory of new weapons
https://www.pcgamer.com/action-roguelike-curse-of-the-dead-gods-has-a-whole-armory-of-new-weapons/
If you've knocked out a few hundred runs of Hades, maybe you'd like to try out Curse of the Dead Gods? It's an action-roguelike with a very Darkest Dungeon or Hellboy-esque art style relying on heavy use of shadows, and it's definitely the first of the inevitable crop of games inspired by the excellent Hades. It's about a brave (read: barking mad) tomb explorer who delves deep into terrible places in search of unlimited power/eternal life/riches/etc.

Shadowlands pre-sales highest of any World of Warcraft expansion
https://www.pcgamer.com/shadowlands-pre-sales-highest-of-any-world-of-warcraft-expansion/
World of Warcraft's upcoming Shadowlands expansion has more pre-sales than any other expansion in the game's history, says Activision Blizzard. On a recent earnings call, Activision Blizzard CEO Robert "Bobby" Kotick said that "We've seen unprecedented engagement trends since the [World of Warcraft] subscriber base doubled following the launch of Classic last year. Pre-sales of the upcoming Shadowlands expansion are the highest we've seen at this stage ahead of any release."

Fight an alien invasion in grand strategy Terra Invicta, coming in 2021
https://www.pcgamer.com/alien-invasion-defense-grand-strategy-terra-invicta-is-coming-in-2021/
There's a mod for both modern XCOM games that's actually just straight-up better than both modern XCOM games. It's called The Long War and was made by the people at Pavonis Interactive, and they've been making their own alien invasion game since forming a company in 2015. We first got a look at Terra Invicta last year in a brief trailer, and since then it has moved forward into development with gusto, culminating in a successful Kickstarter campaign this past month raised $216K.
In Terra Invicta, players will coordinate the Earth's strategic defense while playing as one of several different competing human factions promoting their own ideologies. That plays out like a grand strategy or 4X game as the player sends armies to confront horrible alien Kaiju and secure crashed spaceships.

Sector's Edge is a free FPS with destructible terrain, out now
https://www.pcgamer.com/sectors-edge-is-a-free-fps-with-destructible-terrain-out-now/
Indie studio Vercidium just launched Sector's Edge, an 8v8 FPS with destructible blocky environments, into Early Access. As well as being able to blow holes in the scenery, you can build your own to make a staircase on the fly. It's designed to run well on older PCs, and the install is only 638MB.

Zombie shooter No More Room in Hell 2 jerks back to life with a new trailer
https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-shooter-no-more-room-in-hell-2-jerks-back-to-life-with-a-new-trailer/
No More Room In Hell 2 has been in development for a few years now, but updates have been fairly few for those not following the developers' official Discord server. Not so much now! There's an official trailer out for this year's spooky season, with some gameplay and action from the current development build.

There's going to be a Vampire: The Masquerade Battle Royale
https://www.pcgamer.com/theres-going-to-be-a-vampire-the-masquerade-battle-royale/
Recently-formed Swedish developers Sharkmob are making a Battle Royale game based on the world of Vampire: The Masquerade, a mixture of setting and game genre that is baffling to fans and non-fans alike. The upcoming game was announced via a 32-second teaser trailer and is set to release in "the later half of 2021."

Guild Wars 2 Steam release put 'on hold'
https://www.pcgamer.com/guild-wars-2-steam-release-put-on-hold/
All the cool MMO kids are coming to Steam. Star Wars: The Old Republic joined Valve's storefront this year, and even RuneScape is on Steam now. ArenaNet were planning to follow by bringing Guild Wars 2 to Steam in November, but have announced that its release is being "put on hold for the time being" as they focus on the forthcoming End of Dragons expansion.

Shadow of Mordor is losing its online features
https://www.pcgamer.com/shadow-of-mordor-is-losing-its-online-features/
When Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor released in 2014 it included a handful of online features. Those are about to be deprecated, as a note on its Steam page explains. As of December 31, the nemesis forge, vendetta missions, leaderboards, and WBPlay connections will all be unavailable. Here's the full list of affected features.

Rainbow Six Quarantine’s prototype was a zero-g space station puzzler
https://www.pcgamer.com/rainbow-six-quarantines-prototype-was-a-zero-g-space-station-puzzler/
Before it was reconfigured as a tactical shooter spin-off, Rainbow Six Quarantine was a zero-gravity exploration game. Pioneer, as it was known then, was about overcoming realistic problems on simulated space stations.

Marvel's Avengers permanently reduces the price of takedowns and emotes
https://www.pcgamer.com/marvels-avengers-permanently-reduces-the-price-of-takedowns-and-emotes/
It doesn't look liike Marvel's Avengers has had the smoothest of starts, especially on PC. Player counts on Steam have been in the hundreds rather than the thousands since launch, while my experience of matchmaking is that it takes ages to work and often doesn't. Such problems aside, one thing most players agree on is that the in-game marketplace is something of a ripoff.

the only reason i trust the highest preorder number for SL is because it has had to longest period of availability

UL launches 3DMark DirectX Ray Tracing test

https://videocardz.com/newz/ul-launches-3dmark-directx-ray-tracing-feature-test

This test should be optimized for both Nvidia and AMD RT so it will be interesting to see how they do.

AMD Ryzen 5 5600X’s Cinebench scores have been leaked

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-ryzen-5-5600x-cinebench-scores-leak-ahead-of-launch

Spoiler: Kills everything

Nice, yeah Raytracing is the way forward. Its good to see a new benchmark from 3DMark for RT.

And 5000 series killing it so far, even on the lower end.

Looks like they've heard you, because the new rumor says that Nvidia has delayed those cards from Novmber 17 to December 2.

I doubt this is because of stock problems but rather to give the card a chance to get some spotlight given that AMD's cards will launch only a day after the originally rumored launch date.

Looks like the new 5000 chips will be a beast. Only 3 days for proper reviews to find out!

Here's the benchmark running on a RTX 3070  - 3D Mark DirectX ray-tracing feature test