So that's AMD's anti-crypto strategy! They've created the perfect crypto card so that miners buy that and leave the rest of the line-up for the rest of us.

They could have warned us, tho.

Taiwan is that country that gives me NEW reasons to hate them every year... like South Korea and Canada (and as of 2014 and 2019, France and China). 

Alright, why didn't Intel actually build a capable fab? The only fabs outside Asia that do half decent work are all Intel branded. 

Intel is technically opening up their fabs to third party and their rebranded 10nm to 7nm is very competitive against TSMC's 7nm in terms of density. Of course, we have no idea how much Intel is charging for it and not to mention, all of the designs from Nvidia and AMD are done with the notion of going TSMC or Samsung as Intel hasn't opened up their fabs to third parties afaik before the new CEO.

There's also a certain amount of conflict of interest as Intel makes both CPUs and GPUs where as TSMC doesn't and Samsung technically doesn't in the space Nvidia and AMD are targeting. Also the fact that Intel has faced endless delays in their node shrinks lowers confidence. But who knows, in 2024 or later, maybe we will see more companies using Intel fabs.

Bell is on a roll with the Acti Blizz news the past few weeks.

Of course there would be no changes made to the board of directors and other higher ups. This is why nothing changes, because if those at the top are not removed, the rot is allowed to continue it's spread. 

Bobby honestly needs to go, for real, the guy as much as he pockets money, doesn't care about his staff or the games, he just wants more money and he's been abusing another company for well over a decade to make it happen. 

There needs to be new laws or something that has board of directors and CEO's forcibly removed from their position, because it's clear to me that current methods aren't anywhere good enough to get them to budge (even then when they do finally budge, they get a fucking massive pay packet and bonuses, which none of them should ever get). 

We have 6600xt in stock here... But for $700 - $900 AUD, they can forget it.

Should be a $200 GPU.

It's interesting how in Canada, there's also 6600 XT still in stock at certain retailers like newegg.



https://www.newegg.ca/msi-radeon-rx-6600-xt-rx-6600-xt-gaming-x-8g/p/N82E16814137681?Description=6600%20xt&cm_re=6600_xt-_-14-137-681-_-Product

Now while obviously overpriced, the other GPUs that are also overpriced have all sold out. So either AMD is making a ton of them or people ain't buying them.

Thought I stumbled onto Crowbcat's channel. This hurts.

Hmm. Some competition at 4k 144. Good to see something good in pc tech. 

It's Thursday and these are the news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Steam has two new deals:

• The new daily deal is Fishing: North Atlantic, 30% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1264250/Fishing_North_Atlantic/
• And The Wild Eight will be 65% off during the next 50 hours: https://store.steampowered.com/app/526160/The_Wild_Eight/

There's a new Humble Bundle: the Big Brain Bundle, with up to 7 games to grab during the next 13 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/big-brain

And Fanatical has a new Star Deal: Founders' Fortune is 33% off during the next 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/founders-fortune.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Fallout 4 looks absolutely amazing with more than 205 mods
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/fallout-4-looks-absolutely-amazing-with-more-than-205-mods/
YouTube’s ‘Ded String’ has shared a video, showcasing Fallout 4 with more than 205 mods. This video will give you a glimpse at what a Fallout 4 Remaster could look like (and what PC gamers can already enjoy on their machines).
Now what’s really cool here is that Ded String has also shared the list of mods they used. As such, you can go ahead and download all of these mods in order to make your Fallout 4 game look just as good as the modded version shown here.

GAMING NEWS

STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl confirmed to be using Unreal Engine 5
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/stalker-2-heart-of-chernobyl-confirmed-to-be-using-unreal-engine-5/
GSC GameWorld has announced that STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl will be using Unreal Engine 5 and not Unreal Engine 4. The game will release in April 2021 and from the looks of it, it will be one of the first that will be using UE5.
>> I guess that's a typo and it's April 2022.

First gameplay trailer released for Metal Slug Tactics
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/first-gameplay-trailer-released-for-metal-slug-tactics/
Focus Home Interactive and DotEmu have released the first gameplay trailer for Metal Slug Tactics. Metal Slug Tactics is a grid-based tactical adaptation of the iconic run-and-gun METAL SLUG series and this trailer will give you a glimpse at its gameplay mechanics.
>> So far, so good. I like it.

Action game, Soulstice, gets an extended E3 2021 gameplay trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/action-game-soulstice-gets-an-extended-e3-2021-gameplay-trailer/
Modus Games has released an extended version of Soulstice’s E3 2021 gameplay trailer. This trailer shows some alpha gameplay footage, therefore it does not represent the quality of the final product. Still, it can give you a glimpse at the game’s mechanics.

NASCAR 21: Ignition will be using Unreal Engine & rFactor 2’s physics
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/nascar-21-ignition-will-be-using-unreal-engine-rfactor-2s-physics/
Motorsport Games has announced the latest part in its NASCAR series, NASCAR 21: Ignition. According to the team, the game will be using Unreal Engine and rFactor 2’s acclaimed physics engine.

First concept art and release date leaked for the next COD game, Call of Duty: Vanguard
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/first-concept-art-and-release-date-leaked-for-the-next-cod-game-call-of-duty-vanguard/
It appears that the first concept art and the release date for the next Call of Duty game, Call of Duty Vanguard, have been leaked online. The concept art comes straight from the latest Black Ops Cold War game update. On the other hand, Tom Henderson leaked/hinted at the game’s release date.

Battlefield 2042 gameplay footage leaked from Closed Alpha Testing
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/battlefield-2042-gameplay-footage-leaked-from-closed-alpha-testing/
A Closed Alpha Testing for Battlefield 2042 is currently underway and some users have leaked the first gameplay videos from it. These short videos will give you an idea of how this alpha build looks and plays like.

Thursday news, part two:

How many game developers does it take to make a banana explode good? About six
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/destructible-gaming-fruit-analysis/
When you shoot a watermelon in a videogame, with how much detail should that watermelon explode?
(...)
Some recent Twitter disagreement did orbit around this peculiar question. Tweets over the last week comparing games' environmental interactivity—ranging from casual observations to trolling indictments of production practices—levied criticism at recent pre-release versions of Back 4 Blood and Halo Infinite while praising The Last of Us 2's apples. "We're at the point in the console war when fanboys are comparing fruit physics as some sort of measurement of a game's craftsmanship," summarized IGN's Destin Legarie.

Axiom Verge 2 is out today
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/axiom-verge-2-is-out-today/
Axiom Verge 2, the sequel to one of the first big indies of the metroidvania renaissance, releases today. After a delay earlier this year that followed a delay in 2020, developer Tom Happ announced the surprise release this morning.

Chucklefish's charming adventure RPG Eastward comes in September
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/chucklefishs-charming-adventure-rpg-eastward-comes-in-september/
After about two years in development, publisher Chucklefish and developer Pixpil will release Eastward on September 16, 2021. It's a game that wants to take a trip back to the golden age of the Japanese RPG, but it's also pulling in culture and architecture from other parts of Asia, including Hong Kong and Shanghai, South Korea and India. There's obviously some Zelda, Earthbound and Studio Ghibli inspiration at play, too.

Here's a co-op farming game with mechs
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/heres-a-co-op-farming-game-with-mechs/
There are a lot of farming games. However, to this point, to my knowledge, none of those farming games had mechs. Soon Lightyear Frontier will remedy this grave oversight by delivering an open world farming, building, and exploration game set on a far-away science fictional world. It's currently in development, with not much more than a Steam page and reveal trailer to its name, and will release into Early Access at a date that's still to be announced.

Diablo 4 director, lead level designer, and WoW designer depart Blizzard
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/diablo-4-director-lead-level-designer-and-wow-designer-all-fired-from-blizzard/
Diablo 4 game director Louis Barriga, lead level designer Jesse McCree, and World of Warcraft designer Jonathan LeCraft are all out at Blizzard Entertainment. The news was first reported by Kotaku and then confirmed by Activision Blizzard.
>> What is going on at Blizzard?!

Life is Strange remaster delayed to 2022
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/life-is-strange-remaster-delayed-to-2022/
The original Life is Strange and its prequel, Before the Storm, are getting a subtle but still kind of nice makeover in the form of the Life is Strange Remastered Collection, which was scheduled to come out on September 30. That's now been pushed back to early next year, an update from the team has explained.

Apex Legends lead game designer fired for remarks made in 2007
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/apex-legends-lead-game-designer-fired-for-remarks-made-in-2007/
Lead game designer on Apex Legends, Daniel Z Klein, has left Respawn Entertainment following the discovery of offensive blog posts published in 2007. Images from the DeviantArt blog were circulated on Twitter late last month, and feature comments derogatory to women and African people.

Dead By Daylight's latest patch improves Pyramid Head's 'flat rear'
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/dead-by-daylights-latest-patch-buffs-pyramid-heads-flat-rear/
Behaviour Interactive released patch 5.1.1 for Dead By Daylight earlier this week, complete with all your bog-standard bug fixes and gameplay tweaks. But to the excitement of fans, the Pyramid Head booty saga continues with a cheeky butt buff nestled in the patch notes.

Here's a fresh look at American Truck Simulator's next state, Wyoming
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/heres-a-fresh-look-at-american-truck-simulators-next-state-wyoming/
Wyoming is the next state being added to American Truck Simulator—joining Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, and Utah. It's impressive how much the game's atmospheric take on the United States has grown since it was released back in 2016.

Nine Inch Nails guitarist and Spec Ops: The Line director team up to make a 'cosmic horror game'
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/eyes-out-announcement/
"Auuhghheeahhhaeahhhaeahh," is the only audible speech in the video above, but what I think artist Morgan Sorne is trying to say with that impression of an approaching TIE-Fighter is that Nine Inch Nails guitarist Robin Finck has opened a new game studio with Spec Ops: The Line director Cory Davis, and together they're working on a singleplayer "cosmic horror game." The game hasn't been titled, but the studio is called Eyes Out.