Stock. And since the plan is to upgrade the CPU soon*, I'm not going to overclock it.

*When I can.

By the way, today the news may come a bit later than usual.

Are we gonna get olds instead?

Don't call them olds, call them retro or vintage.

The Monday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Brits spent more on games in 2020 than TV shows and movies combined
https://www.pcgamer.com/brits-spent-more-on-games-in-2020-than-tv-shows-and-movies-combined/
To say 2020 was a strange year would be understatement. For many of us, most days are now being spent in the comfort-stroke-boredom of our own home. Daily commutes have made way for Zoom calls in pyjamas, and cinema trips replaced with Netflix binging sessions.
All of which may have contributed to the fact that, in 2020, Brits spent more money on video games than TV shows and movies combined. Video games made up £4.2 billion ($5.6bn) of home entertainment sales. It's the first time the UK games industry has exceeded £4 billion, with a 14.5% increase since 2019. TV shows and movies together sold £3.2 billion ($4.3bn), with music bringing in £1.5 billion ($2bn). Thanks to Entertainment Retailers Association for the figures.
>> The top sellers were Fifa 21, CoD: BO Cold War and GTA V.

GOG has a new weekly sale and also sees the release of two new games:

• The new Weekly Sale is full of "must play" games up to 86% off: https://www.gog.com/promo/20210111_weekly_sale
• Wingspan launches on the store with a 20% discount until January 18: https://www.gog.com/game/wingspan
• And Interstellar Space: Genesis arrives with a 50% discount until the 18th of January: https://www.gog.com/game/interstellar_space_genesis

Steam has one new daily deal: Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy is 50% off https://store.steampowered.com/app/731490/Crash_Bandicoot_N_Sane_Trilogy/

Fanatical has two new deals:

• The Star Deal, that started yesterday, is Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire - Obsidian Edition, 67% off for another 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/pillars-of-eternity-ii-deadfire-obsidian-edition
• The new MoeNovel Bundle comes with 8 games plus 1 DLC split into two tiers of 7 and 9 products, with an up to 94% discount: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/moenovel-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Create sound effects for games (or just for fun) with this awesome tool
https://www.pcgamer.com/create-sound-effects-for-games-or-just-for-fun-with-this-awesome-tool/
I have no plans to create my own videogame (you're welcome), but that hasn't stopped me from playing with ChipTone, an extremely cool videogame sound effects tool, all day. It's like a little sound board with SFX for coins, jumps, zaps, explosions, 1-Ups, and other video game sounds. And there's all sorts of ways to tinker and mutate the sounds so you can create the SFX of your dream game.
Or, like me, you can just sit there poking it to make cool 1-Up sounds that tickle the pleasure center of your brain. Ahhh, that feels good. Just one more 1-Up. Mmmm! Perfect. Okay, maybe one more.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Ultimate GTA 5 Superman mod is now available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/ultimate-gta-5-superman-mod-is-now-available-for-download/
JulioNiB has released a Superman Mod for Grand Theft Auto 5, that is currently available for download to everyone. This mod is based on JulioNiB’s older Superman mod, and promises to be the ultimate/best Superman mod for GTA 5.
This mod introduces super strength, super velocity and supersonic flight. It also enables health regeneration and introduces a sun energy feature. As such, Superman can regenerate his energy with the power of the Sun.
Naturally, this mod also packs melee attacks, charged melee attacks, and combo melee attacks. It will also allow players to grab and throw targets, gently carry persons, and customize their suits via the suit.ini file.
(...)
You can download this mod from here, and you can find some installation instructions here.

The Elder Scrolls III Morrowind looks great in OpenMW with over 300 mods
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/the-elder-scrolls-iii-morrowind-openmw-300-mods/
YouTube’s ‘Mr. Moonshine’ has shared a video, showcasing The Elder Scrolls III Morrowind running in OpenMW with over 300 mods. And, this modded version of Morrowind looks great, and way better than its vanilla version.
Now in case you didn’t know, OpenMW is a free, open-source, and modern engine which re-implements and extends the 2002 Gamebryo engine for The Elder Scrolls III Morrowind. OpenMW comes with its own editor, called OpenMW-CS, which allows the user to edit or create their own mods or original games. Both OpenMW and OpenMW-CS are written from scratch.
What’s also cool is that Mr. Moonshine has shared the list of mods he used. Therefore, you can download the mods and make the game look exactly like that in the video.

Cyberpunk 2077 flying mod lets you soar over Night City
https://www.pcgamer.com/cyberpunk-2077-flying-mod-lets-you-soar-over-night-city/
No, I didn't find my character some black market cyberware for his calves that let him leap like the Hulk across Night City. Despite the pose you see in the screenshot above, this is more of a Superman kinda thing.
With the Freefly Mod for Cyberpunk 2077, you can leave the pavement behind and straight-up fly. A simple tap of the 5 key activates your new superpower, and then it's just a matter of steering yourself through the air with WASD, plus space and shift to change your elevation. Air travel has never been easier.

The Stardew Valley Expanded mod is ready for 1.5 with a big new farm
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-stardew-valley-expanded-mod-is-ready-for-15-with-a-big-new-farm/
Now that Stardew Valley's foundations-shaking 1.5 update has been out for a bit, let me point out to you that a bunch of the game's most popular mods are already updated and fit for purpose with it.
Specifically, the sprawling Stardew Valley Expanded mod is chugging along as usual, and got a nice new farm map to suit the big update to boot. Grandpa's Farm is a huge new farm map with all manner of niceties on it, like a mysterious-looking shed. Some nice shady-looking groves. A lovely river. It also includes new secrets and quests to go along with a new look. The old farm map for SVE, Immersive Farm 2, is still available, but Grandpa's Farm supercedes it as the primary map for SVE.

GAMING NEWS

Dragon Age executive producer Christian Dailey teases a new “Dragon Age 4” concept art
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/dragon-age-executive-producer-christian-dailey-teases-a-new-dragon-age-4-concept-art/
Dragon Age executive producer Christian Dailey has recently shared some new concept art for BioWare’s upcoming Dragon Age game on his Twitter account. Christian Dailey, who joined BioWare from Blizzard, will be leading the upcoming Dragon Age project currently in development.

Plausible Cyberpunk 2077 multiplayer details leaked by dataminers
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/first-cyberpunk-2077-multiplayer-details-leaked-dataminers/
It appears that the first details for Cyberpunk 2077’s upcoming multiplayer game have been leaked via dataminers. The following information is from the game’s executable file, so this is the real deal. Everyone can access it, and we can confirm that what you are about to read is legit. However, do note that things may change as Cyberpunk 2077’s MP won’t be coming out anytime soon.

Monday news, part two:

League of Legends' new champion can possess any player he helps kill, and gets a free Ult for doing so
https://www.pcgamer.com/league-of-legends-new-champion-can-possess-any-player-he-helps-kill-and-gets-a-free-ult-for-doing-so/
Riot Games has announced its 2021 plans for League of Legends, including major game changes and a complete rework of some systems. There's a new champion, Viego the Ruined King (introduced via the very cool CG trailer above), whose abilities include taking possession of other champions he's helped kill. Which is certainly one way to brag.

Teamfight Tactics will pick up the pace with a new 'simpler and much faster' mode this year
https://www.pcgamer.com/teamfight-tactics-picks-up-the-pace-with-a-new-mode-this-year/
Teamfight Tactics is adding a faster new mode later this year for the auto-battler with little time to spare.
Revealed during Riot's big 2021 stream earlier today, the as-yet-untitled new mode is designed to be played in under 20 minutes. We'll likely find out exactly how it manages this later in the year, but for now, Teamfight product lead TJ Bourus tells us that it'll be "a bit simpler and much faster" than regular play.

Hearthstone (finally) nerfs Edwin VanCleef and Boggspine Knuckles
https://www.pcgamer.com/hearthstone-finally-nerfs-edwin-vancleef-and-boggspine-knuckles/
Ending games of Hearthstone early by creating a big Edwin VanCleef has been a signature of the Rogue class since the game started. And yet somehow the legendary card has dodged nerfs like Neo ducking bullets in The Matrix. Well, he finally caught one, and it's happening today. Blizzard is rolling out a balance update for Hearthstone that will nerfs both VanCleef and Shaman's Boggspine Knuckles weapon. Meanwhile, over in Battlegrounds, another overperformer is getting toned down, and no surprise it's Elistra the Immortal.

Fallout 76 testing stash size increases and better Pip-Boy sorting
https://www.pcgamer.com/fallout-76-testing-stash-size-increases-and-better-pip-boy-sorting/
Originally, Fallout 76 players could only store 400 pounds of stuff in their stash boxes, though that was increased to 600 pounds in a 2018 patch, and then goosed up to 800 pounds in 2019. Now, it's growing again: a new stash limit of 1,200 pounds is being given a try on the Fallout 76 test servers, according to Bethesda, in what's being called the "Inventory Update."

Techland confirms Dying Light 2 lead writer has left but says 'exciting news' is coming
https://www.pcgamer.com/techland-confirms-dying-light-2-lead-writer-has-left-but-says-exciting-news-is-coming/
2020 was a rough year for the zombie parkour game Dying Light 2. It came out strong at E3 2018 with a flashy trailer and Chris Avellone's name attached, but an expected release in spring 2020 was delayed in January of that year, and Avellone was shown the door several months later following allegations of sexual misconduct. Then, earlier this week, it came to light that lead writer Pawel Selinger had parted ways with developer Techland, potentially bad news for a game that still doesn't have a new release date.

Microsoft Flight Simulator is too slow to keep up with this third-party F-15 add-on
https://www.pcgamer.com/microsoft-flight-simulator-is-too-slow-to-keep-up-with-this-third-party-f-15-add-on/
Microsoft Flight Simulator is an outstanding flight sim, but it's very light on high-performance machines: There are plenty of jetliners and prop-driven small craft, but not a single afterburner to be seen. That will change later this month, though, when simulation add-on developer DC Designs unleashes its take on the famous F-15 Eagle fighter.

Ancient Abyss is a speedy, Zelda-like Dungeon Crawler
https://www.pcgamer.com/ancient-abyss-is-a-speedy-zelda-like-dungeon-crawler/
Ancient Abyss comes to Steam this week, a 2D action game with the kind of permadeath that you expect from the roguelike genre, but with an added emphasis on exploration and discovery ala the classic 2D Zelda games. The game is about exploring ever-deeper into a mysterious, randomly-generated maze. As you get further into the maze you collect items and get powers that help you go ever-deeper. Ancient Abyss is coming to Steam Early Access this week, on January 14th.

No More Room in Hell 2 pops up a Steam page
https://www.pcgamer.com/no-more-room-in-hell-2-pops-up-a-steam-page/
After jerking back to life a few months ago, No More Room in Hell 2 has risen to terrorize the denizens of Steam with a new Steam Page that says the game is "coming soon." The developers over at Lever Games are aiming to deliver the Early Access phase of No More Room in Hell 2 some time this year, clearly. Their goal is for that to last about a year before the game's full release. The initial release will have 8-player zombie killin co-op across two large, non-linear maps: Brooklyn Heights, based on New York City, and Night of the Living Dead, based on rural Pennsylvania. The maps will have randomized elements each playthrough "including apartments, building interiors, locked doors, electrical power, barricades, and more." The default game mode is a co-op mode where players must work together to survive, complete objectives, and call for rescue.

AGDQ 2021 brings in $2.7M in charitable donations
https://www.pcgamer.com/agdq-2021-brings-in-dollar27m-in-charitable-donations/
After a week of frankly wonderful speedruns, Awesome Games Done Quick wrapped up today with a haul of $2.7 million for the Prevent Cancer foundation. To be precise, that's $2,762,537.03 across 42,076 donations. The highest single donation was $187,084.08, while the median donation was $25. It's a lot of money, and an increase from last year's even despite being held exclusively online. You can find this year's donation tracker on the Games Done Quick website.

Side-scrolling comic beat em up Scott Pilgrim vs The World coming this week
https://www.pcgamer.com/side-scrolling-comic-beat-em-up-scott-pilgrim-vs-the-world-coming-this-week/
Long thought lost, Scott Pilgrim vs The World returns to the gaming world this week on January 14th. Previously lost in the dark abyss of license limbo, and previously only on the PS3 and Xbox 360 consoles, Scott Pilgrim vs The World is a stylish cartoon beat 'em up where a band goes on a quest to defeat seven evil ex-boyfriends so that one member can go on a date. It's wholesome except the protagonist is kind of a jerk!

Nightdive shows VR controls for System Shock 2 Enhanced Edition
https://www.pcgamer.com/nightdive-shows-vr-controls-for-system-shock-2-enhanced-edition/
When Nightdive Studios ran a Kickstarter to fund a remake of the original System Shock in a new engine, it fell short of a three-million dollar stretch goal for VR support. While that remake is still in development (fingers crossed for a 2021 release), Nightdive are working on an enhanced edition of its sequel at the same time. We hadn't heard much about progress on that lately, until this tweet from Nightdive.

Gotham Knights' heroes level up while you're not playing them
https://www.pcgamer.com/gotham-knights-heroes-level-up-while-youre-not-playing-them/
In case you missed it when Gotham Knights was announced last year: No, it's not set in the same timeline as the Arkham games. Yes, the details of its setup resemble the ending of Arkham Knight, but Gotham Knights will take place in a separate continuity from previous Batman games, while Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will carry on in the Arkham games' version of the DC universe.
Now that's out of the way, let's catch up on some new information courtesy of an interview GamesRadar did with Gotham Knights' executive producer Fleur Marty and creative director Patrick Redding. It was previously announced that Gotham Knights would have four playable characters—Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood, and Robin—who earn new gear and costumes and unlock abilities as you play, fighting crime in an open-world Gotham City with no level-gating. Marty explained that whichever heroes you leave behind while you take on the Court of Owls or Mr. Freeze won't be left behind in terms of progression.

Five years after release, Planetary Annihilation: Titans is still being updated
https://www.pcgamer.com/five-years-after-release-planetary-annihilation-titans-is-still-being-updated/
As Rock Paper Shotgun recently pointed out, while Steam's publicly voted Labor of Love award for 2020 went to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, five years after its launch Planetary Annihilation: Titans is still quietly being updated for the sake of a small but dedicated community.

Dead By Daylight is getting a new HUD, animations, matchmaking, and more
https://www.pcgamer.com/dead-by-daylight-is-getting-a-new-hud-animations-matchmaking-and-more/
The January developer update for Dead By Daylight is a hefty one, though I doubt it'll be enough to satisfy the kind of Dead By Daylight players with 1,000 hours logged and a negative review on Steam. Among its most significant changes are a revamped HUD, which shows character portraits as well as a hook counter next to player names. The killer can also see hook progress as well, and the whole UI is scalable.

Warzone's infinite stim glitch is back
https://www.pcgamer.com/warzones-infinite-stim-glitch-is-back/
The glitch that Call of Duty: Warzone just can't keep down is back, baby. The game has had repeated problems with players being able to use stims as many times as they like, a particularly frustrating exploit in a game where it can be used to hide in poison gas until all the other players are dead. Infinity Ward claimed this exploit was fixed in October, then it promptly returned a month later, and over the last 24 hours has once more reared its ugly head.

Polish regulator investigates CD Projekt over Cyberpunk 2077's troubled launch
https://www.pcgamer.com/polish-regulator-investigates-cd-projekt-over-cyberpunk-2077s-troubled-launch/
Poland's Office Of Competition And Consumer Protection has opened an investigation into CD Projekt Red over the dismal state of Cyberpunk 2077's console release.
Speaking to national legal newspaper Dziennik Gazeta Prawna (via Benchmark and Google Translate), a UOKiK spokesperson announced that the agency will be keeping a close eye on CD Projekt Red's efforts to bring Cyberpunk up to scratch.

Hearthstone (finally) nerfs Edwin VanCleef and Boggspine Knuckles
https://www.pcgamer.com/hearthstone-finally-nerfs-edwin-vancleef-and-boggspine-knuckles/
Ending games of Hearthstone early by creating a big Edwin VanCleef has been a signature of the Rogue class since the game started. And yet somehow the legendary card has dodged nerfs like Neo ducking bullets in The Matrix. Well, he finally caught one, and it's happening today. Blizzard is rolling out a balance update for Hearthstone that will nerfs both VanCleef and Shaman's Boggspine Knuckles weapon. Meanwhile, over in Battlegrounds, another overperformer is getting toned down, and no surprise it's Elistra the Immortal.

Blizzard, what year is this. Edwin has been in the game since launch. Bahahahah.

Lots of hardware news today:

LG announces 31.5-inch OLED 4K display (32EP950)

https://videocardz.com/newz/lg-announces-31-5-inch-oled-4k-display-32ep950

Probably not gonna be a gaming version but now that they are able to make one at that perfect size for PCs, it will only be a matter of time.

Intel demoes 11th Gen Core Rocket Lake CPU against 12-core AMD Ryzen

https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-demoes-11th-gen-core-rocket-lake-cpu-against-12-core-amd-ryzen

Shows the 11th gen beating the 5900x in Metro Exodus. (156 vs 147). The interesting thing is that those numbers are about the same as the 10th gen vs Ryzen 5000:

ASUS launches availability of the 'world's first router' to support WiFi 6E | ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AXE11000 ($550 USD, Available January 2021)

https://www.windowscentral.com/asus-announces-rog-rapture-gt-axe11000

LG unveils 27-inch 27GP950 UltraGear 4K 160Hz gaming monitor with HDMI 2.1

https://videocardz.com/newz/lg-unveils-27-inch-27gp950-ultragear-4k-160hz-gaming-monitor-with-hdmi-2-1#disqus_thread

DF released their Ray Tracing Deep Dive for the 3080 vs 6800XT:

This is one of the more interesting videos because they don't show the frame rate but rather compare how much of a performance hit each GPU takes depending on the RT setting for the games they test.

RT Shadows has the smallest hits which is why you see AMD sponsored titles only doing RT shadows such as Dirt 5, WoW and Godfall.

RT Reflections and Global Illumination is a lot more expensive where you see the 3080 taking massive leads. The interesting thing is that after the initial massive hit in performance of turning on the Ray Tracing, as you add higher RT settings, the efficiency lead of the 3080 decreases vs the 6800XT.

As an example:

You can see that here, when you turn on Global Illumination to high, the 3080 is able to render the Rays at half the time as the 6800XT. But then when you change from High to Ultra, the amount of time it takes to Render the additional affects is similar for GPUs. I'd watch the video as Alex explains it in a lot more detail.

So it's: 5.8 + 2.3 = 8.1 ms performance hit for the 6800XT vs 2.8 + 2.1 = 4.9 ms for the 3080.

The last thing he noted is that the Ray Tracing Denoiser that is used on consoles for Watch Dogs legion seems to perform worse on AMD cards compared to using the Nvidia Denoiser on PC. So the 6800 XT + Nvidia Denoiser > 6800 XT + Console Denoiser solution for Watch Dogs.

LG Display reveals that 42-inch OLED TVs are coming soon

https://www.engadget.com/lg-display-42-inch-oled-tvs-coming-soon-121524301.html

LG single handedly saving the PC monitor space from the trash overpriced IPS nonsense monitors