fuck miners? check
steam sale? check
promising looking windows update? check
no tmp issue? check

what a day

stop being a degenerate and keep the taskbar where it belongs

I keep my taskbar up, auto-hidden - so fuck'em.

Are you playing the Sierra version of Windows?

Old habits die hard - Amiga 500 Workbench :P

In truth, it is least annoying when I work, since I extremely rarely have a need to go that high with mouse, so I get some extra screen space (and there's never enough of that)

The Friday news (warning: it's a long post)!

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Sonic Mania & Horizon Chase Turbo are now free on Epic Games Store
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/sonic-mania-horizon-chase-turbo-are-now-free-on-epic-games-store/
Epic Games has announced that Sonic Mania and Horizon Chase Turbo are available for free on Epic Games Store. From today, and until July 1st, PC gamers can visit their EGS pages and acquire their free copies.
>> Interestingly enough, none of those two games are on sale at Steam during the ongoing Summer Sale. It's like they no longer care now that they go Epic's money. Anyway, next week the free game will be "The Spectrum Retreat".

GOG adds a bunch of Amiga classics to kick off a retro summer sale
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/gog-adds-a-bunch-of-amiga-classics-to-kick-off-a-retro-summer-sale/
As part of its annual summer sale, GOG is having a bit of a retro splash and living up to the store's name. The big news for anyone who remembers early '90s gaming mags is the return of North & South (20%), alongside its relatively recent sprucing up as The Bluecoats: North & South (50% off). This is a classic strategy title based around the American Civil War, where one of the selling points at the time was you could play as either side.

There are four sales at Humble:

• There's a new Humble Bundle: the Epic Games Store Bundle, with up to 6 games to grab. The keys are for the Epic Store, obviously: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/epic-games-store
• At the Humble Store, there are three new sales:
  • The new Spotlight Deal is The Wild At Heart, 15% off during the next 13 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/the-wild-at-heart-sale/
  • The Koei-Tecmo Publisher Sale brings up to 70% discounts during the next 13 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/koei-tecmo-publisher-sale/
  • And the Mount & Blade Summer Sale features up to 75% discounts during the next 13 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/mount-blade-summer-sale/

Fanatical's Summer Scorcher Sale has three new Flash Deals:

• Siege Survival: Gloria Victis is 30% off during the next 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/siege-survival-gloria-victis
• The Jackbox Party Pack 6 gets a 50% discount during the next 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/the-jackbox-party-pack-6
• And Detroit: Become Human is 58% off during the next 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/detroit-become-human

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Ubisoft and MGM take down the GoldenEye 64 fan remake maps from Far Cry 5
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/ubisoft-and-mgm-take-down-the-goldeneye-64-fan-remake-maps-from-far-cry-5/
Earlier this month, modder Krollywood remade and released all the maps from GoldenEye 64 in Far Cry 5 Arcade. Krollywood only used assets from Far Cry 5 in order to remake these maps so, theoretically, he did not violate any rules for modding Far Cry 5. However, Ubisoft and MGM have decided to take down these maps.
Ubisoft and MGM did not clarify the reasons why these maps were taken down. If I’d have to guess, I’d say that MGM tries to protect its James Bond IP as there is currently a new James Bond game under development.
>> Shame.

This mod removes mouse acceleration from Mass Effect 1 Remaster
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/this-mod-removes-mouse-acceleration-from-mass-effect-1-remaster/
HenBagle has released a mod that aims to completely remove mouse acceleration from the first Mass Effect Remaster. Thus, you can use this mod only for Mass Effect Legendary Edition, and not for the original/vanilla version.
As the HenBagle noted, this mod modifies the movement script to disable acceleration, as well as disabling the bEnableMouseSmoothing option. Moreover, this mod should be compatible with most other LE1 mods as it uses the new merge format to make edits.
You can download the mod from here. In order to install, you’ll have to also install ME3Tweaks Mod Manager version 7.0. Once installed, you can simply drag and drop the .7z file into the Mod Manager window, import, and then install it.

You can hack Nvidia's DLSS 2.2 into Cyberpunk 2077 today
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/you-can-hack-nvidias-dlss-22-into-cyberpunk-2077-today/
Rainbow Six Siege was recently updated to work with the newest version of Nvidia's Deep Learning Super Sampling tech, DLSS 2.2. Interestingly it seems that you don't necessarily need to wait for the developer to add the latest files into the game, because you can take the 'database' file from Rainbow Six Siege and use it on other DLSS-enabled games.
You should then get the apparently rather limited benefits of DLSS 2.2 without having to wait for a pesky update, which is exactly what has happened with Cyberpunk 2077 (via PCGamesN.)
Head over to Nexus Mods and you can download the necessary file (you'll need an account to do so) and gain the benefits that this new version of DLSS offers. That's the theory at least, in practice you're going to be hard pushed to spot any differences.

Skywind mod shows off a year of progress, but needs your help to finish
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/skywind-mod-shows-off-a-year-of-progress-but-needs-your-help-to-finish/
If you've been eagerly awaiting the release of Skywind, the extremely ambitious mod that plans to completely recreate The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind in the Skyrim: Special Edition Engine, I've got some great news and some perhaps not-so-great news.
Let's start with the good stuff. Another development video has appeared, showing off a dozen minutes of tasty looking footage of Skywind: landscapes, dungeons, concept art, characters, magic, combat, just about anything a hopeful Morrowind fan would want to see. It's deeply impressive stuff and represents the progress made on the mod over the past year, all by volunteers.
(...)
The possibly not-great news is that pretty much every element shown in the video, from sound design to 3D modeling to level design to voice acting, are still incomplete and the modding team behind Skywind is looking for more volunteers. Lots more volunteers. As much progress has been made, the project still sounds like it could be a long way from completion.

GAMING NEWS

Aliens: Fireteam Elite releases on August 24th, gets new official trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/aliens-fireteam-elite-releases-on-august-24th-gets-new-official-trailer/
Focus Home Interactive and Cold Iron Studios have announced that Aliens: Fireteam Elite will release on August 24th. In order to celebrate this announcement, the teams released a brand new trailer that you can find below.

Here are 13 minutes of PC gameplay footage from Monster Hunter Stories 2
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-13-minutes-of-pc-gameplay-footage-from-monster-hunter-stories-2/
YouTube’s ‘Arekkz Gaming’ has shared a video, showing 13 minutes of gameplay footage from the PC version of Monster Hunter Stories 2. This video will give you an idea of how the game looks on the PC.

Farming Simulator 22 releases on November 22nd, PC requirements revealed
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/farming-simulator-22-releases-on-november-22nd-pc-requirements-revealed/
Giants Software has announced that Farming Simulator 22 will release on November 22nd. In addition, the team revealed the game’s official PC system requirements.

Space Jam: A New Legacy The Game is a… new free-to-play beat ’em up
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/space-jam-a-new-legacy-the-game-is-a-new-free-to-play-beat-em-up/
Warner Bros and Microsoft have announced a new Space Jam. However, and despite what your first thought could be, this isn’t an arcade basketball game. Instead, Space Jam: A New Legacy The Game is a 2D retro beat ’em up.

Halo: Combat Evolved Mod Tools are now available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/halo-combat-evolved-mod-tools-are-now-available-for-download/
As promised, 343 Industries has released the official modding tools for Halo: Combat Evolved. What’s really cool here is that everyone can gain access to these mod tools. And yes, you can use them even if you don’t own Halo: The Master Chief Collection.

10 Chambers plans to fully release GTFO in 2021
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/10-chambers-plans-to-fully-release-gtfo-in-2021/
10 Chambers has announced that it feels confident letting GTFO leave Early Access this year, 2021. In addition, the team launched an extension to the current Rundown, Rebirth, called Rebirth://EXTENDED.

DOTA 2 Nemestice Update adds support for AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/dota-2-nemestice-update-adds-support-for-amd-fidelityfx-super-resolution/
Valve has released the Nemestice Update for DOTA 2 that adds official support for AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution tech. According to the team, FidelityFX Super Resolution will work on any GPU compatible with DirectX 11 or Vulkan.

First gameplay footage from Pro Evolution Soccer 2022, using Unreal Engine 4
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/first-gameplay-footage-from-pro-evolution-soccer-2022-using-unreal-engine-4/
Konami has launched an open beta for the new Pro Evolution Soccer game that will be using Unreal Engine 4, PES 2022. This Open Beta aims to test the game’s online functionalities, and does not represent the quality of the final product.

eFootball PES 2021 Season Update Data Pack 7.0 now available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/efootball-pes-2021-season-update-data-pack-7-0-now-available-for-download/
Konami has released Data Pack 7.0 for eFootball PES 2021 Season Update. According to the team, Data Pack 7.0 adds nearly 100 more new faces. Among these new faces you will find Ben White, Mats Hummels and Ethan Ampadu.

CD Projekt RED lists the top reported issues for Cyberpunk 2077
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/cd-projekt-red-lists-the-top-reported-issues-for-cyberpunk-2077/
CD Projekt RED has just listed the current top reported issues for Cyberpunk 2077. According to CDPR, these are the top issues that CP2077 players have reported, and the ones that the team is currently working on fixing.

Call of Duty Warzone June 24th Update is available and here are its patch notes
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/call-of-duty-warzone-june-24th-update-is-available-and-here-are-its-patch-notes/
Raven Software has released the June 24th update for Call of Duty Warzone. According to the team, this new update adds a new limited-time event, called Ground Fall. This event will only last a couple of hours as it will end later today at 10AM PST / 7PM CEST.

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora will support Ray Tracing Global Illumination & Reflections
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/avatar-frontiers-of-pandora-ray-tracing-global-illumination-reflections/
Ubisoft has released a new tech showcase video for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora that highlights some of the graphical features of the Snowdrop Engine. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is a first-person, action-adventure game that will target next-gen platforms only.

Borderlands 3 Crossplay Update released, full patch notes revealed
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/borderlands-3-crossplay-update-released-full-patch-notes-revealed/
Gearbox has released a brand new update for Borderlands 3 that enables crossplay between consoles and PC. Thanks to this update, players on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Mac, Stadia, and PC can play together.

New Star Citizen video showcases the major features of Alpha 3.14
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-star-citizen-video-showcases-the-major-features-of-alpha-3-14/
Cloud Imperium has released a new official video for Star Citizen in which it showcases all of the major features coming soon to Alpha 3.14.

MMORPG Swords of Legends Online releases on July 9th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/mmorpg-swords-of-legends-online-releases-on-july-9th/
Gameforge, Wangyuan Shengtang and Aurogon announced that their massively multiplayer online role-playing action game, Swords of Legends Online, will launch on July 9th. In order to celebrate this, the publisher released a new trailer that you can find below.

Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World is coming to PC on June 29th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/wonder-boy-asha-in-monster-world-is-coming-to-pc-on-june-29th/
ININ Games and STUDIOARTDINK announced that Wonder Boy: Ash in Monster World will come to PC on June 29th. Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World is a full remake of Monster World IV, with cell-shaded 3D graphics and 2D gameplay that stays close to the beloved original gameplay as well as enhanced visuals and refined play content.

Blue Box Game trolls gamers by delaying Abandoned’s gameplay trailer till August
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/blue-box-game-trolls-gamers-by-delaying-abandoneds-gameplay-trailer-till-august/
Blue Box Game Studios was planning to reveal the first gameplay trailer for its upcoming next-gen game, Abandoned, on June 22nd. However, the team decided to slightly delay its release until June 25th. And today, Blue Box announced that the trailer will now release in August 2021.
>> Careful when trolling your fanbase because you may end being the trolled one.

Friday news, part two:

Team Fortress 2's latest bot-fighting update might actually work
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/team-fortress-2s-latest-bot-fighting-update-might-actually-work/
After enduring its longest stretch without an update to date, Team Fortress 2 has finally been given a patch to help fight the game's enduring bot epidemic.
Team Fortress 2 doesn't get many major updates these days. But while you can usually rely on a small update every month or so, it's been over three months since the game's last update (and that was simply a small map change and a few tournament medals). This week, however, Team Fortress 2 was quietly updated with a number of tools to help prevent a botting problem that's made matchmaking pretty much unbearable—rounds flooded with fake players that cheat, steal names, and are notoriously tough to remove from servers.

Microsoft's special Cyberpunk 2077 refund policy will end in July
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/microsofts-special-cyberpunk-2077-refund-policy-will-end-in-july/
Microsoft didn't react to the Cyberpunk 2077 console mess quite as strongly as Sony did, but it did take the unusual step of offering full refunds to anyone who purchased the game through its online store, no questions asked, "until further notice." (...)
Six months after adopting that policy, Microsoft has issued the promised "further notice" that the policy will soon end. As of July 6, Cyberpunk 2077 will be reverted to "our standard digital game refund policy" for all existing and new purchases.

You can now build your very own Maypole in Valheim
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/you-can-now-build-your-very-own-maypole-in-valheim/
There's a new Valheim patch out today that makes two big changes to the game, in a sort of "good news, bad news" package. First, the good news: Maypoles, which previously could only be found within abandoned villages in the Meadows biome, are now craftable.

CCP wants to make EVE Online's galaxy a little less grey
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/ccp-wants-to-make-eve-onlines-galaxy-a-little-less-grey/
EVE Online's test server is currently trialling a "significant update" to the interstellar MMO's visuals—though that may somewhat stretch the definition of the word according to these comparison screenshots.

Kerbal Space Program is getting one last big update for its 10th anniversary
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/kerbal-space-program-is-getting-one-last-big-update-for-its-10th-anniversary/
(...)
After years of development from a team scattered across the world, Kerbal developer Squad is finally sunsetting its space program and moving on to help develop the sequel—but not before releasing one last big update.

Xbox wants to do more with Killer Instinct, but not right now
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/xbox-wants-to-do-more-with-killer-instinct-but-not-right-now/
Phil Spencer said he wants Xbox to return to Killer Instinct at some point, when the time is right.
Rare's excellent fighting game series was revived in 2013, after being shelved for almost two decades. The reboot eventually made its way over to the Windows Store in 2016 and Steam in 2017, but there's been relatively little support for it since then. Despite it being one of the best fighting games of the last decade, with a tight roster of characters and rollback netcode, there's been no new content since its third season wrapped up in 2017.

Inkle reveals more about its next project, says it's more 'gamey'
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/inkle-reveals-more-about-its-next-project-says-its-more-gamey/
The next big game from Inkle, creator of 80 Days and this year's magnificent Overboard, doesn't have a name yet. Referred to by the studio simply as 'Highland game', it's a beautiful, painterly platformer with narrative elements set in, you guessed it, the Scottish Highlands.

Hardspace: Shipbreaker's derelicts now come with a radiation warning
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/hardspace-shipbreakers-derelicts-now-come-with-a-radiation-warning/
Crushed. Frozen. Suffocated. Exploded. Taking apart the hulking derelicts of Hardspace: Shipbreaker is already a tough gig. But now, the developer has slapped a radiation warning on the zero-gravity scrapyard sim with this week's new update.

I'm terrified of Teardown's unrelenting robots
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/im-terrified-of-teardowns-unrelenting-robots/
Teardown is a smashing good time, a shockingly smart heist game framed by some proper impressive voxel destruction tech. But for all the hours I've put into planning capers and tearing down its brittle maps, I've never once thought the experience could be improved via relentless pursuit from a tireless, fearless, unstoppable Terminator.

Apex Legends returns to the original King's Canyon next week
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/apex-legends-returns-to-the-original-kings-canyon-next-week/
Apex Legends is heading all the way back to the forgotten realm of 2019 with the Genesis Collection Event, a two-week throwback to Respawn's very first battle royale arena.

Overwatch crossplay is a confusing mess so far
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/overwatch-crossplay-is-a-confusing-mess-so-far/
Hey, did you know crossplay came to Overwatch this week? For the first time since its 2016 release, it's now possible to group up with console/PC buds and hop into any mode (as long as it's not Competitive). If you're a PC player, you've probably been playing with console players for days without knowing.
I don't blame you for not noticing. It's surprisingly hard to tell which players in your lobby are playing on a different platform, and the rules for when platforms can play together are way more complicated than virtually every other crossplay game out there. It's already causing a fair bit of confusion in the community. The most common misunderstanding so far happens when console players match up with PC players and are pleasantly surprised that the game still feels balanced against mouse-and-keyboard users. In reality, most of these players aren't actually playing against PC players at all, they just think they are because Overwatch's UI is obtuse.

Halo Infinite team 'feels good' about holiday release, Phil Spencer assures
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/halo-infinite-team-feels-good-about-holiday-release-phil-spencer-assures/
(...)
"We know kind of our range in the 3-4 week range,” Spencer said during an interview with Dropped Frames (via IGN). “We don't have the exact day. There's some other things with some other game timing that we're trying to look at. We'll have better clarity over the summer, but this isn't a months thing this is just down to a few weeks."

Halo Infinite's multiplayer will feature its own ongoing story
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/halo-infinites-multiplayer-will-feature-its-own-ongoing-story/
Halo Infinite's story won't just be confined to adventures of John Masterchief and his holographic girlfriend. Infinite's multiplayer will also tell an ongoing sci-fi tale, creative head Joseph Staten suggested in a blog post this week.

And now, the weekend deals at GOG and Steam. This will be quick:

+GOG

• Obviously, the main attraction is the Summer Sale. Be fast, tho, because it ends this weekend!.
• As a big finale push, GOG is giving away for free the Shadowrun Trilogy. From now until the end of the Summer Sale: https://www.gog.com/game/shadowrun_trilogy
• And, because there's always someone brave, there's a new release on the store. The game Trials of Fire arrives on the store with a 20% discount until the 2nd of July: https://www.gog.com/game/trials_of_fire

+Steam

• This one is also easy, with the Summer Sale that has just launched.
• If that's not enough... well, maybe you want to give the weeklong deals a second look.

And that's it. Until next time, have a happy and gaming weekend... and be careful with your purchases. Think of your backlog!

PSA: Scalpers are hoarding TPM2.0 modules (of course they are), don't pay $100 for one

https://www.windowscentral.com/psa-scalpers-are-hoarding-tpm20-modules

The current PC market is so annoying where something as niche as a TPM module is now being scalped. No one should be buying this other than MSRP as a) Windows 11 isn't out for a few more months b) They will most likely remove TPM as a requirement c) Most motherboards have a firmware based TPM and Secure boot option that doesn't require the module.

Why I Downgraded from 360Hz to 240Hz

The interesting thing is how this video show cases that refresh rate in monitors isn't everything. Especially with how some of the new monitors are coming out with Backlight Strobing techniques.

NVIDIA to launch A100 PCIe accelerator with 80GB HBM2e memory

https://videocardz.com/newz/nvidia-to-launch-a100-pcie-accelerator-with-80gb-hbm2e-memory

Next Gen only game Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora will require Raytracing to run - uses Software-RT on older cards

https://www.reddit.com/r/hardware/comments/o7jsr0/next_gen_only_game_avatar_frontiers_of_pandora/

The article is in German but now there's another game that won't have Raster fallback. With all the new AAA/AA games coming out with RT as an option and a few games that are out/will be coming out having no Raster fallback means if you do want the best future proofing GPU, invest in one with good RT capabilities.

Trails from Zero, Trails to Azure, Nayuta Boundless Trails and Trails into Reverie are all coming to Steam, GOG and EGS

https://www.reddit.com/r/pcgaming/comments/o7i1as/trails_from_zero_trails_to_azure_nayuta_boundless/

The steam pages are up!

Scalpers, the most basic form of greed. I hope this fails again on them and lose a lot of money.

And wow, a "slower" but better monitor giving better results in image quality than a fast one? Who would have thought?

Thank fuck for that, because I never wanted any of those apps loaded on my OS for years.

I also don't mind the need for internet upon first setup, since that makes sense as you'd need to download the absolute latest updates.

All I want to be able to do is change the shell and taskbar, that's really all I want, because the current look is just too tablet friendly and too "big" for my eyes.