Wow i remember seeing that name on the SWIV box i think hehe
Anyway anyone in the steambeta? Does it allow multiple downloads at the same time? Kinda fed up with a queue

Guess what, it's time for the news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

There's a new Shorter Games With Worse Graphics Bundle on Itch.io, and it's exactly what it says it is
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/theres-a-new-shorter-games-with-worse-graphics-bundle-on-itchio-and-its-exactly-what-it-says-on-the-tin/
In 2020, Fanbyte podcast producer Jordan Mallory posted a tweet that not only went viral, but also crystalized a feeling of dissatisfaction that many have about the state of the gaming industry.

i want shorter games with worse graphics made by people who are paid more to work less and i'm not kidding

— jordan 🇵🇸 (@Jordan_Mallory) June 29, 2020

GOG's new Midweek Sale brings up to 90% discounts on roguelike and rohuelite games until Saturday: https://www.gog.com/promo/20210804_midweek_sale

Steam has six new deals, including four Midweek Madness deals:

• The new daily deal is SYNTHETIK: Legion Rising, 80% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/528230/SYNTHETIK_Legion_Rising/
• E.Y.E: Divine Cybermancy will be 50% off until next Tuesday, the 10th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/91700/EYE_Divine_Cybermancy/
• The first Midweek Madness deal is Papers, Please, 50% off until Friday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/239030/Papers_Please/
• Next is a Call of Duty Franchise Sale, with up to 50% discounts until next Monday: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/cod/
• The Worms Franchise will also be on sale until Monday, 9th, with up to 80% discounts: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/wormsfranchise
• And publisher Frogwares celebrates its 21th anniversary with a sale, up to 80% discounts until August 16: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/frogwares

Fanatical's new Star Deal is Death End Re;Quest 1+2 Bundle, 75% off during the next 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/death-end-request-1-and-2-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Duke Nukem 3D Mod V1.07 for Doom adds new enemies, packs optimization improvements
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/duke-nukem-3d-mod-v1-07-for-doom-adds-new-enemies-packs-optimization-improvements/
kipo50 has released a new version of his Duke Nukem 3D mod for Doom/Doom2/GZDoom. Version 1.07 adds more enemies from the DN3D franchise, and packs some optimization improvements.
As kipo50 has noted, this DN3D mod aims to bring the Duke Nukem 3D universe to the doom engine, with enhancements taking inspiration/resources from mods like Dukeplus and others.
>> Available from ModDB.

GAMING NEWS

Far Cry 5 will be free to play from August 5th and until August 8th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/far-cry-5-will-be-free-to-play-from-august-5th-and-until-august-8th/
Ubisoft has announced that Far Cry 5 will be free to play this weekend. From August 5th and until August 8th, PC gamers will be able to play this latest part in the Far Cry series for free. Moreover, PC gamers can pre-load the free trial starting today.

Here are the PC system requirements for Battlefield 2042’s upcoming beta
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/here-are-the-pc-system-requirements-for-battlefield-2042s-upcoming-beta/
Electronic Arts and DICE have revealed the official PC system requirements for Battlefield 2042’s upcoming beta. This beta phase, called technical playtest, will begin on August 12th and will last until August 15th.

Wednesday news, part two:

Final Fantasy 10's Tidus almost became gaming's second plumber
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/final-fantasy-10s-tidus-almost-became-gamings-second-plumber/
Japanese gaming website Famitsu is celebrating Final Fantasy 10's 20th anniversary with a special creator interview and it's led to some never-before-revealed info. This is the same interview that revealed chances for Final Fantasy X-3 aren't zero.

The Wayward Realms, the RPG from former Elder Scrolls devs, is 'several more years' away
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/the-wayward-realms-the-rpg-from-former-elder-scrolls-devs-is-several-more-years-away/
OnceLost Games, the studio formed by former lead developers of the original Elder Scrolls games, has announced its new RPG: The Wayward Realms. The singleplayer RPG is set in an open world consisting of over 100 islands called The Archipelago "where scores of factions vie for influence and power." Players won't be bound to specific character classes but can make their own with "customized skills and abilities" and the world will react differently to "a socializing aristocrat, a thief entrenched in underworld conspiracies, a scholar collecting ancient artifacts, or whatever role you craft for yourself."
That all sounds great to us. Unfortunately, for those eager to get their hands on the open world RPG, The Wayward Realms is most likely still several years away.

Age of Empires 4 beta begins later this week
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/age-of-empires-4-closed-beta-date/
Age of Empires 4 is coming on October 28, but before that happens a closed beta test set to kick off on August 5 will give Age Insiders a chance to get their hands on the game and see what it's really like.

Activision Blizzard workers reject CEO Bobby Kotick's response to their demands
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/activision-blizzard-workers-reject-ceo-bobby-koticks-response-to-their-demands/
A group of Activision Blizzard employees calling itself the ABK Workers Alliance has rejected the company's decision to employ the law firm WilmerHale to conduct a review of the company's policies and procedures. In a letter shared with IGN, the group told CEO Bobby Kotick that his delayed response to employees following a lawsuit alleging widespread sexual harassment and discrimination at the company "did not meaningfully address" employee demands, and that WinterHale's pre-existing relationship with Activision creates a conflict of interest that means it cannot conduct an impartial review.

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick: 'People will be held responsible for their actions'
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/activision-blizzard-ceo-bobby-kotick-people-will-be-held-responsible-for-their-actions/
In the wake of a lawsuit alleging widespread discrimination and sexual harassment at the company, Activision Blizzard expressed a "commitment to a safe working environment" in today's second-quarter 2021 financial results, and promised to take "swift action to ensure a safe and welcoming work environment for all employees." In his opening statement during today's investors call, CEO Bobby Kotick spoke bluntly on the matter, promising that "people will be held accountable for their actions."
>> Maybe that's why the head of HR at Blizzard has been kicked out as well.

A class-action law firm is looking to make money off its own Activision Blizzard lawsuit
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/a-class-action-law-firm-is-looking-to-make-money-off-its-own-activision-blizzard-lawsuit/
Activision Blizzard is facing another legal action arising out of the lawsuit filed against it in July by California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing, which alleges widespread discrimination, sexual harassment, and a "frat boy" culture throughout the company. Somewhat confusingly, this new action, available via Ars Technica, is not being filed on behalf of employees, but shareholders who have allegedly suffered losses because Activision Blizzard failed to disclose that it was under investigation.

Rust wants you to die underwater more so it's adding sharks
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/rust-wants-you-to-die-underwater-more-so-its-adding-sharks/
Rust is a dangerous game, filled with players who want to kill you, animals that want to kill you, radiation that wants to kill you, and sometimes AI-controlled Bradley APCs that want to kill you.
As the survival game continues to develop, Facepunch Studios continues to add fun new ways to kill you, and on August 5 the next batch will arrive. And kill you. The update will include single- and double-seater submarines, torpedoes, spearguns, and of course: sharks.

Second Life is banning gacha style transactions next month
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/second-life-is-banning-gacha-style-transactions-next-month/
It may be approaching its 20th birthday, but Second Life is still enormously popular: It still attracts daily player counts of over 50,000, and its self-contained economy was worth $500 million back in 2018. A big part of that economy is the trade in cosmetics, which vendors create themselves using software like 3D Studio Max. Inevitably, gacha mechanics are rife, with players able to pay, for example, $9 for a chance to purchase cosmetics worth considerably more than that.

Left 4 Dead 2 survivors come to Zombie Army 4
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/left-4-dead-2-survivors-come-to-zombie-army-4/
The heroes of Left 4 Dead 2—Coach, Ellis, Rochelle, and Nick—have traveled back to World War 2 to join the cast of a different four-player zombie shooter, Zombie Army 4. They're available in a free DLC called the Left 4 Dead Character Pack 2, which follows similar free DLC from a couple of months ago that added the original game's heroes, Left 4 Dead Character Pack 1.

Grime, a Metroidvania that lets you absorb enemies, is out now
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/grime-a-metroidvania-that-lets-you-absorb-enemies-is-out-now/
Since we saw Grime at the Guerrilla Collective showcase during E3, it quietly launched and is now becoming a hit with players. Grime is a side-scrolling Metroidvania that also eagerly drank from Dark Souls' well.

Street Fighter 5's final character is a link to Street Fighter 6
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/street-fighter-5s-final-character-is-a-link-to-street-fighter-6/
Capcom has announced the final character to be added to Street Fighter V's roster is Luke, a new challenger and according to the official Capcom account "a key player in the future of the series." Which probably indicates that Luke is a key figure for the eventual Street Fighter 6 (Capcom has this habit of showcasing one character in particular as the 'core' of certain entries: Alex in Street Fighter III, Ryu for Street Fighter IV's reinvention, and Necalli for Street Fighter V, RIP Necalli).

Capcom Says The Gap Between PC and Console Sales Is Shrinking

https://twistedvoxel.com/capcom-says-the-gap-between-pc-and-console-sales-is-shrinking/

"In their latest investors’ Q/A session, Capcom was asked if the demand for their games on PC was exceeding consoles. “While demand for PC versions of games did not exceed that for console versions in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021, we feel that the gap between the two is shrinking, ” replied Capcom."

Now we just need prices to go back to normal so people can actually enjoy PC gaming with the latest tech



[Steam Survey] NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ampere Alone Has Higher GPU Share Than AMD’s Entire Radeon RX 6000 RDNA 2 GPU Lineup

https://wccftech.com/nvidia-geforce-rtx-3090-ampere-higher-gpu-share-than-amd-radeon-rx-6000-rdna-2-steam-hardware-survey/

It's based on Steam Survey so don't take it too seriously

[Rumour] AMD Navi 31, Navi 32 and Navi 33 GPU block diagrams by Olrak visualize RDNA3 rumors

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-navi-31-navi-32-and-navi-33-gpu-block-diagrams-by-olrak-visualize-rdna3-rumors

AMD announces Radeon Pro W6800X Duo with two Navi 21 GPUs for Apple Mac Pro

https://videocardz.com/press-release/amd-announces-radeon-pro-w6800x-duo-with-two-navi-21-gpus-for-apple-mac-pro

Looks quite beastly! Of course since it's apple, the prices will make scalpers wet

AMD Ryzen Desktop CPUs Continue To Outsell Intel Core CPUs, Zen 3 Now Best Seller Several Retailers As Prices & Availability Improves

https://wccftech.com/amd-ryzen-desktop-cpus-continue-to-outsell-intel-core-cpus-zen-3-best-seller-at-several-retailers/

[Rumour] Intel Arrow, Lunar and Nova Lake codenames appear in a leak as Meteor Lake successors

https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-arrow-lunar-and-nova-lake-codenames-appear-in-a-leak-as-meteor-lake-successors

Lol Jansen products? Like Nvidia's Ceo Jensen? This has to be a troll account.

He's just bored at Nvidia and looking for a hobby, and since Nvidia alreay bought most assets from 3dfx, he thought that this could do it.

The Verge did a few tests comparing PS5's SSD to slower SSDs in the expansion slot.

https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/4/22608153/ps5-ssd-speed-test-storage-expansion-m2-playstation-5

S50 Lite: 3,900MB/s reads and 3,200MB/s writes
Sabrent Rocket: 5,000MB/s

Of course while it's doable for now, it's better to buy a SSD that exceeds expectations even if it costs more than buying a SSD that's below expectations just in case there are games that may require the full bandwidth.

Yeah, since Sony recommends 5500MB/s and over, I'd definitely go on the higher end of that scale. Like people buying now would be best to invest in something that meets targets than save a little than potentially having a sub optimal experience in future games, and needing to buy twice. Really there isn't much in the lowest Gen 4 drives and the decent ones in terms of cost. The Western Digital SN850 is one of the cheapest drives that's compatible and will work as intended, with a lot of leeway.

Interesting results though.

ASUS working with Noctua to release a 3070 card. Brown colour and all. Darn, hopefully they'll use this design on other cards.

I actually really want one xD

https://videocardz.com/newz/asus-developing-geforce-rtx-3070-with-noctua-cooling-solution