Thanks for sharing!

It's also free during the next couple of days at GOG: https://www.gog.com/news/summer_sale_giveaway_arma_cold_war_assault

The Wednesday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

GOG has a new contest in partnership with Nvidia to win subscriptions to Geforce Now and some The Witcher games. Learn more here: https://www.gog.com/news/bwin_a_3month_priority_membership_subscription_to_nvidia_geforce_now_and_a_bundle_of_selected_witcher_gamesb

Steam has a new daily deal and 5 Midweek Madness deals... that all end before tomorrow's reset. So yeah, in practice it's like Steam has 5 daily deals:

• The new daily deal is Barn Finders, that has a demo, 40% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/991170/Barn_Finders/
• The first Midweek Madness is SnowRunner, 20% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1465360/SnowRunner/
• Green Hell gets a 30% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/815370/Green_Hell/
• State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition is 35% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/495420/State_of_Decay_2_Juggernaut_Edition/
• The "Off With Your Head" Bundle, that contains the games Skul: The Hero Slayer and Dead Cells, has a 41% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/21554/Off_With_Your_Head_Bundle/
• And Deep Rock Galactic is 50% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/548430/Deep_Rock_Galactic/

Fanatical has two new deals:

• The new Flash Sale is MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries, 23% off during the next 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/mech-warrior-5-mercenaries
• And the new Mega Bundle 5 comes with 20 games with a 98% discount: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/mega-bundle-5

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

NVIDIA GeForce 471.11 WHQL driver released, optimized for Doom Eternal’s Ray Tracing & DLSS
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/nvidia-geforce-471-11-whql-driver-optimized-doom-eternal-ray-tracing-dlss/
NVIDIA has released a brand new driver for its graphics cards. According to the release notes, the NVIDIA GeForce 471.11 WHQL driver offers optimal performance in Doom Eternal with its upcoming Ray Tracing and DLSS patch.
Additionally, this release also provides optimal support for LEGO Builder’s Journey which includes several ray-traced effects and performance-accelerating DLSS, the latest update for Rust which adds NVIDIA DLSS technology, F1 2021, and the new NVIDIA Reflex integration in Escape from Tarkov.
It’s also worth noting that release 470 will be the last driver branch to support desktop Kepler GPUs.
Furthermore, the NVIDIA GeForce 471.11 WHQL driver comes with a number of bug fixes. For instance, it fixes some random flickering issues in World of Warcraft: Shadowlands. It also fixes the incorrect color issues in games when using sharpen Freestyle filter with HDR on NVIDIA Ampere GPUs.
>> Available from here.

Epic has made Easy Anti-Cheat free for game developers
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/epic-has-made-easy-anti-cheat-free-for-game-developers/
Back in 2019, Epic Games announced its Online Services project, a plan to make the cross-platform multiplayer systems it developed for Fortnite free for all developers, even if they released their games on Steam. Today, it launched two major additions to that suite: voice chat and anti-cheat.
The anti-cheat system comes by way of Easy Anti-Cheat, which Epic acquired in 2018. Easy Anti-Cheat is already used by a number of major games, including Apex Legends, Dead by Daylight, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Rust, the just-released Chivalry 2, and, of course, Fortnite. Now it's free.
The voice chat system, which Epic is just calling Voice, works cross-platform and is the same system used in Fortnite. "The connections made with EOS Voice establish only between authenticated users and go through Voice servers without exposing personal information about the users," writes Epic. "EOS handles all the scaling, quality of service, maintenance, multi-region, and other machinery of the voice servers."

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim gets a next-gen pseudo 3D world map mod
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-next-gen-pseudo-3d-world-map-mod/
Modder ‘kjhgf’ has released a next-gen pseudo 3D world map for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition. According to the modder, and in order to provide a better world map, this map features 2.566.914.048 pixels, 26 meshes and map sound.
Additionally, this next-gen world map features high-resolution map textures, normal maps, cloudmap and cloud system, as well as map overlays.
Now while this mod is for Skyrim Special Edition, it should also be compatible with the Legacy Edition. All you have to do is delete (or replace) the meshes and it will work with the original version of Skyrim.
You can download the mod from here. Additionally, the modder recommends using HD LODS Textures SE to improve the general immersion.

GAMING NEWS

EA Motive may be working on Dead Space Remake
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/ea-motive-may-be-working-on-dead-space-remake/
Some new rumors surfaced earlier this week, suggesting that EA Motive is working on a new Dead Space game. And, according to Gematsu, this Dead Space game will be a reimagining of the series.

Here are 8 minutes of gameplay footage from Legend of Mana Remaster
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-8-minutes-of-gameplay-footage-from-legend-of-mana-remaster/
Famitsu has shared a video, showing 8 minutes of gameplay footage from the upcoming remaster of Legend of Mana. This gameplay video will give you an idea of what you can expect from this JRPG.

Marvel’s Avengers Patch 1.8.0 released, full patch notes revealed
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/marvels-avengers-patch-1-8-0-released-full-patch-notes-revealed/
Square Enix, Crystal Dynamics and EIDOS Montreal have released a new update for Marvel’s Avengers. According to the release notes, Patch 1.8.0 includes a major new threat players must confront: Scientist Supreme Monica Rappaccini’s Cosmic Cube.

Tencent has taken a majority stake in Spec Ops: The Line developer YAGER
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/tencent-has-taken-a-majority-stake-in-spec-ops-the-line-developer-yager/
YAGER and Tencent have announced that they’re deepening their strategic cooperation through a new agreement involving additional investment.

Overwatch June 22nd Patch released, enables cross-play between consoles and PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/overwatch-june-22nd-patch-released-enables-cross-play-between-consoles-and-pc/
Blizzard has released a brand new update for Overwatch that finally enables cross-play between consoles and PC. Do note that in order for this to work, all console players will have to make a Battle.net account and link it to their console account.

New PC gameplay footage for Square Enix’s Forspoken surfaces
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-pc-gameplay-footage-for-square-enixs-forspoken-surfaces/
AMD has shared a new video in which Luminous Productions’ Takeshi Aramaki talks a bit about Forspoken, formerly known as Project Athia. In this video, AMD has included some PC gameplay footage from this highly anticipated game.

Alex Kidd in Miracle World Remake has been released
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/alex-kidd-in-miracle-world-remake-has-been-released/
Merge Games, in conjunction with developer Jankenteam, announced the release of the Alex Kidd in Miracle World official remake, Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX. In order to celebrate this announcement, the teams have also released a new trailer that you can find below.

New BeamNG.drive patch will add Physically-based Rendering, Ambient Diffuse Lighting & Direct Specular Lighting
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/new-beamng-drive-patch-will-add-physically-based-rendering-ambient-diffuse-lighting-direct-specular-lighting/
BeamNG announced a new major patch that will be coming soon to BeamNG.drive. This patch aims to overhaul the game’s graphics by adding numerous modern-day effects and techniques. In order to showcase these new graphical features, the team released a new trailer that you can find below.

Wednesday news, part two:

Activision CEO Kotick pockets a whopping $155 million following contentious vote
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/call-of-bobby-activision-ceo-kotick-pockets-a-cool-dollar155-million/
Activision-Blizzard shareholders have approved the company's Say-On-Pay proposal by a narrow margin, with 54% voting in favour of the executive pay package. This is more-or-less what happened in 2020, when 57% voted in favour, but a significant drop in support from earlier years: in 2019 the vote was 82% in favour, and in 2018 the figure was 92%.

Marvel's Avengers is exposing streamer IP addresses after new update
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/marvels-avengers-is-exposing-streamer-ip-addresses-after-new-update/
Crystal Dynamics has issued a warning against streaming Marvel's Avengers gameplay, as it appears that the 1.8.0 patch released today is causing the PlayStation 5 version of the game to reveal player IP addresses to viewers.

Ghost of Tsushima dropping the 'Only on PlayStation' badge probably means nothing
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/ghost-of-tsushima-dropping-the-only-on-playstation-badge-probably-means-nothing/
For a brief moment this morning, I thought Ghost of Tsushima could be coming to PC soon. You might have thought the same if you read one of several reports pointing out that an updated version of the game's box art has dropped the 'Only on PlayStation' branding that Sony has used for years to signify exclusives. Unfortunately, the minor branding change is probably as mundane as it appears, and we shouldn't take this as a sign that Ghost of Tsushima PC is in the works.

PAX West is coming back in September as an in-person event
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/pax-west-is-coming-back-in-september-as-an-in-person-event/
In December 2020, Penny Arcade announced "optimistic" dates for 2021 PAX events—tentative because the future state of the Covid-19 pandemic was completely unclear at the time. It's become somewhat clearer in recent months, however, to the point that PAX West has now been confirmed as an in-person event that will take place in September.

Bungie tells Destiny dataminers to 'respect the fun' and stop spoiling things
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/bungie-tells-destiny-dataminers-to-respect-the-fun-and-stop-spoiling-things/
In an unusual twist on the basic principles of capitalism, Bungie is asking Destiny 2 players not to buy the new Spicy Ramen Coupon emblem, because it's going to give it away for free.
The trouble began over the weekend, with the discovery of the "Classy Order" emblem, and more importantly, how to unlock and add it to accounts. How exactly it was being done isn't clear—some suspect an inside source at Bungie, according to this Reddit thread, while others say an old duplication glitch is part of the process—but whatever the specifics, people were spending money on acquiring the entirely cosmetic item.

The Left 4 Dead survivors are coming to Zombie Army 4
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/the-left-4-dead-survivors-are-coming-to-zombie-army-4/
Bill, Francis, Louis, and Zoey are coming back—not in a new Left 4 Dead game, but in Zombie Army 4: Dead War, the third-person co-op zombie shooter released by Rebellion in 2020.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection may someday support up to 60 players
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/halo-the-master-chief-collection-may-someday-support-up-to-60-players/
Halo's bombastic big team battles may someday get a whole lot bigger, according to one developer who wants to see Halo: The Master Chief Collection's player cap of 16 pushed as high as 40 or 60.

This year's best Sonic game is Minecraft, apparently
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/this-years-best-sonic-game-is-minecraft-apparently/
Sonic's next big game might not be due until 2022. But to tide you over until then, the blue blur is tearing a patch across Minecraft in a 30th Anniversary DLC for Mojang's blocky sandbox.

Review bombing sees Facebook's VR ad test in need of a new game
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/review-bombing-sees-facebook-vr-ad-test-abandoned-for-now/
Less than a week after announcing it intended to start testing ads in VR, Facebook has hit a snag—the game developer it initially announced it was working with has withdrawn (via UploadVR). This comes after a sizable backlash from the community that saw the announced game, Blaston, inundated with negative reviews.

Gigabyte expects Radeon RX 6600 XT to feature 8GB of memory

https://videocardz.com/newz/gigabyte-expects-radeon-rx-6600-xt-to-feature-8gb-of-memory


Lenovo launches ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen4 with up to Tiger Lake-H Core i9 CPU and GeForce RTX 3080 16GB GPU

https://videocardz.com/press-release/lenovo-launches-thinkpad-x1-extreme-gen4-with-up-to-tiger-lake-h-core-i9-cpu-and-geforce-rtx-3080-16gb-gpu

I do like seeing non gamery laptops having fap worthy specs instead of the usual i9 + 3050Ti/3060.


HWiNFO lists Intel XMP 3.0 for DDR5 memory in upcoming software changes

https://videocardz.com/newz/hwinfo-lists-intel-xmp-3-0-for-ddr5-memory-in-upcoming-software-changes


NVIDIA announces DOOM Eternal GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Limited Edition Demon Slayer Bundle

https://videocardz.com/newz/nvidia-announces-doom-eternal-geforce-rtx-3080-ti-limited-edition-demon-slayer-bundle

Although every GPU may as well be limited edition these days


Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin update lets you carry a cat and a dog at the same time

https://www.rpgsite.net/news/11387-sakuna-of-rice-and-ruin-update-lets-you-carry-a-cat-and-a-dog-at-the-same-time



Should be a must have feature in every game


Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War file size (Now 220GB w/ season 4 update on PS5, MP alone is 155GB)

https://gamerant.com/call-of-duty-black-ops-cold-war-200-gb-file/

I swear, Activision has some sort of a deal going on with hard drive/ssd companies

Oh, guys. I forgot to mention in the news that tomorrow is festive and there won't be news. Next edition will be Friday.

Oh, what are you celebating?

We just had our national holiday today, so I wonder what could be celebrated the next day, back to back...

It's a festivity limited to some regions of Spain (only 3): "San Juan Bautista" - Saint John the Baptist. It's one of those tricks the Catholic church did to get more pagans on board, luring them to celebrate the Summer solstice this night instead of the proper 21st.

It's a very popular festivity in some regions and towns, mostly the mediterranean ones, and it's typical to make bonfires and throw firecrackers and rockets. It's a very noisy night, let me tell you. In some places there's even a typical sweet: the "Coca de San Juan", that can be of different types.

Given that it's a celebration that takes place during the night, in the regions where it's more popular they decided to make the 24th festive because no one would be in good shape to go to work .