20+ years and LCD's can't even come remotely close to CRT motion kinda sucks. Spending $3000 on a monitor that makes a bunch of noise on top and not even supporting the latest spec (HDMI 2,1) would be a big oof.

Yeah, it's a shame, and also an embarrasesment, that we still haven't been able to at least match what we already had all those years ago.

Quite a few years ago (back when OLED was still the future-future, not like today that it's the present-future), I remember reading about a kind of display that tried to mix the best of LCDs and CRTs, something like miniaturizing the cathode rays tubes and use several of them to build an LCS screen. Given that we haven't heard anything from that tech, that I forgot its name, it's probably safe to assume that it didn't go anywhere.

That's why the new Micro-LED panels got my interest, because it's like a new take on that tech: each pixel being capable of producing all the different colours and also the light. No need for diming zones nor anything, just like OLED but withiout the problems of OLED.

I guess we're not there yet.

Grabbed Pirate Warriors 4 a while ago, almost done dl it. Can't wait to see Whitebeard clap some bitches.

Also, that monitor motion blur...

god why...Why do they think this is acceptable?.

Like it's bad enough my monitor looks like gash with OD turned to normal or even extreme (Acer predator XB271HU), but that looks even worse than mine tbh. Is it really that hard to get it right?.

Yeah I away thought LCD was a big step backwards. Higher input lag, crappier motion handing, resolution scaling and way lower contrast. The things that LCD had was no maintenance, pixel perfect lines, form factor, size and power consumption everything else was a downgrade (and that it was considerable cheaper for manufactuers to produce over CRT). It might have been Canon who was the one working on the miniaturized cathodes tech called SED. Unfortunately it never came to market due to patent disputes and it was dropped. Plasma was there at the time but was its deathbed and only LCD remained.

The only real upgrades now are OLED or Micro-LED. With OLEDs now only being teased to release in the not so distant future. Micro-LEDs monitors would be perfect but atm would be very expensive.

Bro, we have no HL3 because 4 out of the 5 writers left, and Valve operates as a private company that chooses to work on games it likes and when they feel they want to toss them out onto the market.

Yes the cut needs to be reduced, so does it for literally everyone else in the entire video games industry. What I don't get from you is you sounding like Timmy in regards to only pointing the finger at Valve, when everyone else is doing the same thing, hell, MS has lowered the cut, but only on PC, not for their console division, and you and I both know they can absolutely afford to lower their cut for their console side (they just won't, because why bother when everyone else is still charging 30%?).

I honestly don't know why you're acting this way, because for years you've been relatively "normal" in terms of the way you talk and act on here, but once Timmy showed up, you changed in a way that comes off as someone who's just listening to the man with the loudspeaker, and not someone stepping back and looking at the whole picture.

Like I know the cut needs to be lowered, but I also know well enough that everyone else needs to do it now, not 10yrs later, and I know everyone on the playing field can afford to do so.

I don't really see why you support Epic, because they abandoned us, left us to rot, blamed us for piracy and told us "we wouldn't be getting games like Gears of War on PC, but we might get some games from Facebook gaming". They wish to enforce console style rules on us, as well as segregating content (remember, no sexy games allowed) and picking and choosing which devs will strike them gold, or want to buddy up with them (like whatever happened to supporting all indie devs big and small, as well as opening the store's floodgates?).

Also, remember when EA did their "on the house" programme?, well that didn't last long, and they've rolled with sub payment plans to rent their games, instead of just handing out freebies. Epic is doing freebies for now, but those won't last long. If there's one thing I hate, it's limited "good will" buildup strats, purely designed to just earn brownie points. If you're going to do a freebie programme, you do it till the day your company dies, simple as.

As a consumer, I'd rather have steam take 30% and continue to have a store that actually functions instead of the half arse attempt that Epic and Microsoft has made on their stores. There's a large and ever growing list that shows the difference in features that steam has. Not to mention, we have seen developers not give any discounts when the store front takes less of a cut. So as a consumer, I couldn't care less.

Now if Microsoft or Epic or anyone else has a store that isn't terrible that has competitive features as steam does while only taking 12%, then I'd be more considerate.

They most certainly don't even want to, but they probably cannot either: Doesn't Steam require the prices to not be lower elsewhere?

Only if they are launching on both stores at the same time and that only counts for MSRP. EGS exclusive games don't get discounted either.

We've reached the Friday news!

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Halo: The Master Chief Collection has been played by more than 10 million players
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/halo-the-master-chief-collection-has-been-played-by-more-than-10-million-players/
Microsoft has announced that over 10 million players have played Halo: The Master Chief Collection since its release on Steam and Windows Store. Not only that, but the vast majority of them are brand new to the franchise.

The Epic Store is giving away the game Idle Champions de Forgotten Realms until next Thursday. After that, the new free game will be "Pine"

GOG is giving away the game Tonight We Riot during the next 46 hours: https://www.gog.com/game/tonight_we_riot

The Humble Store has the mandatory Star Wars Sale, with up to 75% discounts during the next 6 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/star-wars-may-the-4th-sale/

Fanatical has two new deals:

• The new Star Deal is Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion, 78% off during the next 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/sins-of-a-solar-empire-rebellion
• And the Tropico 5 Complete Bundle, with the game and 12 DLCs, is 89% off: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/tropico-5-complete-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

New gameplay video for the Tomb Raider 2 Fan Remake shows Lara driving a quad bike
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/new-gameplay-video-for-the-tomb-raider-2-fan-remake-shows-lara-driving-a-quad-bike/
In February, we informed you about the latest version of the Tomb Raider 2 Fan Remake, Tomb Raider The Dagger Of Xian. And last week, Nicobass shared a new gameplay video that shows Lara driving a quad bike.
We don’t really have any ETA on when Nicobass plans to add the quad bike race in his remake. Still, the following short gameplay video will give you an idea of what you can expect from it.

This mod aims to bring detailed PBR textures to Quake 2 RTX
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/this-mod-aims-to-bring-detailed-pbr-textures-to-quake-2-rtx/
Modder ‘diolator’ is currently working on a new HD Texture Pack for Quake 2 RTX. This mod aims to bring detailed PBR textures to Quake 2 RTX that retain the aesthetics of the original version.
To be honest, I don’t believe that Quake 2 RTX requires an HD Texture Pack. After all, NVIDIA has done a terrific job with the new textures that are available for it. Still, it doesn’t hurt having an alternative to them.

GAMING NEWS

Crysis Remastered PC Update 2.1.2 released, adds Experimental RayTracing Boost Mode
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/crysis-remastered-pc-update-2-1-2-released-adds-experimental-raytracing-boost-mode/
Crytek has released a brand new update for the PC version of Crysis Remastered. According to the team, Update 2.1.2 adds an Experimental RayTracing Boost Mode.
This RT Boost Mode is more of a fun/experimental feature to give more effects with minimal impact on performance. Going into more details, it enables RT reflections on nearly all surfaces in game. It also enables Ray randomization for proper support of rough surfaces. Furthermore, it adds about 5% of specular reflectance by default to all surfaces.

The Persistence Enhanced releases on June 4th, will support Ray Tracing
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-persistence-enhanced-releases-on-june-4th-will-support-ray-tracing/
Firesprite Games has announced that an Enhanced Edition of The Persistence will release on June 4th. In order to celebrate this announcement, the team released a new trailer that you can find below.

Real-time strategy game, Iron Harvest, is free to play this weekend
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/real-time-strategy-game-iron-harvest-is-free-to-play-this-weekend/
King Art Games and Deep Silver have announced that Iron Harvest is free to play this weekend on Steam. From today and until May 3rd, PC gamers can visit Valve’s store, download, and play the game.
>> And it's also 50% off.

New Halo Infinite PC 32:9 super ultrawide screenshots
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/new-halo-infinite-pc-329-super-ultrawide-screenshots/
343 Industries has released three new screenshots from the PC version of Halo Infinite, showcasing its 32:9 super ultrawide support. In addition, the team shared two images that show some of the game’s PC graphics settings.

New Hot Wheels Unleashed gameplay trailer showcases the Skyscraper environment
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-hot-wheels-unleashed-gameplay-trailer-showcases-the-skyscraper-environment/
Mattel and Milestone today released a new Hot Wheels Unleashed gameplay trailer. According to the press release, this new trailer unveils the second environment of the game, the Skyscraper.

Friday news, part two:

This new Steam game is just Among Us except you're a duck
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-new-steam-game-is-just-among-us-except-youre-a-duck/
It takes approximately 0.4 seconds to realize that Goose Goose Duck is just a total Among Us clone. No, I'm not talking about Duck, Duck, Goose—the beloved children's game which involves running in circles and the occasional high-speed collision. That game is fun and very original. Goose Goose Duck, on the other hand, is just another clone in a long line of clones looking to capitalize on the enormous success of Among Us.

It's you versus a whole-ass mountain in this grid-based climbing game
https://www.pcgamer.com/its-you-versus-a-whole-ass-mountain-in-this-grid-based-climbing-game/
Insurmountable is the kind of game I didn't know I wanted since I read Into Thin Air and watched Touching the Void as a teen, both harrowing tales about braving low oxygen, freezing temperatures, and seemingly impassable terrain just to stand at the top of a mountain. Insurmountable filters such a trying journey through a simple grid-based board game framework. It's you against a mountain, rolling the dice, and it's super cool.

Overgrowth developer Wolfire Games files antitrust lawsuit against Valve
https://www.pcgamer.com/overgrowth-developer-wolfire-games-files-antitrust-lawsuit-against-valve/
Wolfire Games, the developer of Overgrowth and Receiver, has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Valve, alleging that it uses its dominance over the PC gaming market through Steam to suppress competition while it extracts "an extraordinarily high cut from nearly every sale that passes through its store."
>> Guess which games will soon disappear from Steam?

Microsoft's new PC revenue share makes things weird for cross-buy games
https://www.pcgamer.com/microsofts-new-pc-revenue-share-makes-things-weird-for-cross-buy-games/
Microsoft announced on Thursday that it's giving developers a bigger cut of the revenue on PC, increasing their share of game sales from 70% to 88%. That means Microsoft's cut of sales on the Windows Xbox app and Microsoft store is now 12%, matching the Epic Games Store. It's a great change for PC developers, who can now keep more money from their sales on the Xbox app or Epic Games Store than they do on Steam. But Microsoft's change creates a weird disparity between its PC and console ecosystems, with "Play Anywhere" games now playing by two sets of rules.

Apex Legends' Legacy patch notes are absolutely massive
https://www.pcgamer.com/apex-legends-legacy-patch-notes-are-absolutely-massive/
To me, Apex Legends is that battle royale game that I periodically get back into long enough to check out new heroes and remind myself how good it is. But taking a closer look at the upcoming Legacy update, complete with new legend Valkyrie and the 3v3 Arenas mode, this may just be the season that makes me stick around.

Do stonks and get rich in this satirical stock market sim
https://www.pcgamer.com/do-stonks-and-get-rich-in-this-satirical-stock-market-sim/
We were all pretty engrossed by the recent GameStop stock market drama, and that brief bloodbath has surely led to an heightened awareness of Wall Street, short-selling, and stock trading among the gaming community.
Excellent timing, then, for The Invisible Hand, a stock market simulator from Power Struggle Games and publisher Fellow Traveller. In this satirical, story-driven sim you play a stock trader starting a new career at a firm called FERIOS, where profit comes before all other concerns (like, say, morality and the law). There's a semi-live action trailer above for you to watch before you buy low and sell high.

Destiny 2 gets the Vault of Glass in May
https://www.pcgamer.com/destiny-2-gets-the-vault-of-glass-in-may/
In September of 2014, the original Destiny received its first raid: the Vault of Glass. A co-operative FPS puzzle box that required a full team of six players, it featured multi-tiered boss fights as well as environmental challenges, and was billed as Destiny's hardest mission. Nothing else in Destiny or its sequel has captured the imagination of players to quite the same degree.
Which is presumably why Bungie is bringing it back. Last year it was announced that Destiny 2 would be losing some old planets and raids, but that the first game's Cosmodrome and Vault of Glass would be added during Year 4. In the latest of Bungie's weekly updates we get a date for Vault of Glass's return, May 22, and discover that it won't be exactly the same.

Spyro and Crash studio Toys For Bob is now supporting Call of Duty: Warzone
https://www.pcgamer.com/spyro-and-crash-studio-toys-for-bob-is-now-supporting-call-of-duty-warzone/
Toys For Bob, the developer behind Activision's recent remakes of Spyro and Crash Bandicoot and brand new platformer Crash 4, has been enlisted to keep the Call of Duty: Warzone war machine running.
>> Another studio's potential wasted.

Here come ten short stories from the makers of The Red Strings Club
https://www.pcgamer.com/here-come-ten-short-stories-from-the-makers-of-the-red-strings-club/
The Red Strings Club creator Deconstructeam has compiled ten "short games about life" as part of next month's Essays on Empathy.
Coming to Steam on May 18th, Essays brings together nine of the Spanish studio's more experimental shorts from the developer's backlogs—games about transhumanism, stolen skeletons, abusive relationships, dark rituals, and bookstores. Most of these have been available on places like Itch for a while, but come to Steam as part of a complete collection.

IO Interactive is reportedly developing a new fantasy project for Xbox
https://www.pcgamer.com/io-interactive-is-reportedly-developing-a-new-fantasy-project-for-xbox/
Hitman developer IO Interactive is reportedly working on a new fantasy IP for Xbox, according to reports from Windows Central.
The outlet was told of a new IP named "Project Dragon" had come up in talks between IO and Microsoft. Those reports were corroborated by Eurogamer, whose sources explained the project is "AAA in scope though still very early in development".

Cyberpunk 2077's rough launch didn't stop CD Projekt execs taking massive bonuses
https://www.pcgamer.com/cyberpunk-2077s-rough-launch-didnt-stop-cd-projekt-execs-taking-massive-bonuses/
CD Projekt Red executives will still be walking away with millions of dollars in bonuses, despite a rough Cyberpunk 2077 launch that saw the game riddled with bugs and removed from console storefronts.

And here are the deals we'll find this weekend at GOG and Steam:

+GOG

• The first one is the Weekly Sale based on Kalypso titles with up to 80% discounts: https://www.gog.com/promo/kalypso_week/a>
• The Midweek Sale and its up to 90% discounts will last another 22 hours: https://www.gog.com/promo/20210428_midweek_sale
• The Desperados 20th Anniversary Sale and its up to 75% discounts will last another 46 hours: https://www.gog.com/promo/desperados_franchise
• The 505 Games Sale, with up to 85% discounts, will last another 3 days: https://www.gog.com/promo/505_games
• The Star Wars May 4th Sale and its up to 75% discounts will be available until the 6th: https://www.gog.com/partner/star_wars
• The Weekend Sale comes with up to 80% discounts on Open World games: https://www.gog.com/promo/20210430_weekend_sale
• And there are also 3 new releases:
  • Speed Limit launches with a 30% discount until the 2nd of May: https://www.gog.com/game/speed_limit
  • Inferno - Beyond the 7th Circle arrives with a 15% discount until May 7th: https://www.gog.com/game/inferno_beyond_the_7th_circle
  • And Battle Axe releases on the store with a 15% discount until May 14th: https://www.gog.com/game/battle_axe

+Steam

• The new daily deal is Reventure, 80% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/900270/Reventure/
• The Early Access title GTFO is 20% off until Monday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/493520/GTFO/
• The PC Building Simulator Franchise is between 10 and 60% off until the 3rd: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/pcbuildingsimulator
• Daedalic is the star of the Publisher Weekend Sale, with up to 96% discounts until Monday, the 3rd: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/daedalic
• The Star Wars May the 4th Sale comes with up to 75% discounts until next Thursday: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/starwarsday2021
• The Golden Week Sale comes with up to 85% discounts until Thursday 6th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/goldenweek
• And there's also the weeklong deals.

Nothing else to add. Until next time, have a happy and gaming weekend.