im glad my tweets help trash ubisoft

I like the way you think.

The Monday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

GOG starts the week with two new sales:

• The Weekly Sale features Sci-Fi games up to 90% off: https://www.gog.com/promo/20211011_weekly_sale
• And there's a Special Sale featuring classic games from Activision and Blizzard up to 67% off during the next 7 days: https://www.gog.com/promo/activision_blizzard_sale

Steam has a new daily deal: Darkwood is 67% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/274520/Darkwood/

The guys at Humble have several new sales:

• The Humble Bundle has a new Play Pink, The best of Asmodee Digital with up to 23 games to get during the next 18 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/play-pink-best-asmodee-digital
• At the Humble Store there are two new sales::
  • Publisher Plug in Digital puts its games up to 90% off during the next 4days. There are keys for Steam and GOG: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/plug-in-digital-publisher-week/
  • And the Honor & Glory RPG Sale also brings up to 90% discounts during the next 4 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/honor-glory-rpg-sale/

Fanatical has four new deals:

• The Star Deal is Monster Hunter World: Iceborne Master Edition, that started yesterday and will be 50% off for another 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/monster-hunter-world-iceborne-master-edition
• Asmodee Digital puts its games up to 83% off during the next 6 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/asmodee-digital
• Publisher Nacon puts its games up to 91% off: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/nacon
• And there's a new bundle: the Dollar Neon Bundle: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/dollar-neon-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Dark Souls Archthrones is a Demon’s Souls-inspired mod for Dark Souls 3
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/dark-souls-archthrones-is-a-demons-souls-inspired-mod-for-dark-souls-3/
A team of modders is currently working on a Demon’s Souls-inspired mod for Dark Souls 3, and released two new gameplay videos for it. According to the team, Archthrones aims to bring some mechanics from Demon’s Souls, such as world layout, soul form, world tendency, etc.
Archthrones will provide players with a completely new way to experience Dark Souls 3. Every map will be redesigned in some way to fit the new narrative. Additionally, every boss fight will be completely new with 3D models, as well as animations from other FromSoftware titles.
>> No links yet, this is just an informative article.

Call of Duty 2 Remastered Mod adds 5K textures to this classic COD game
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/call-of-duty-2-remastered-mod-adds-5k-textures-to-the-game/
Modder ‘Kuzja80’ has released a must-have HD Texture Pack for Call of Duty 2. Titled Call of Duty 2 Remastered, this project adds 5K textures to all surfaces and objects. Moreover, it packs some engine fixes, restores EAX (for any hardware), and features some audio fixes.
This HD Texture Pack is 6GB in size and you can download it from here. Below you can also find some screenshots that showcase the new 5K textures.

New HD Texture Pack for Skyrim adds 8K/4K textures to all fortresses
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/new-hd-texture-pack-for-skyrim-adds-8k-4k-textures-to-all-fortresses/
Modder ‘GaiusFatCat’ has released a brand new HD Texture Pack for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. According to the modder, this pack retextures all of the game’s fortresses, using high-quality 8K and 4K textures.
Going into slightly more details, every single texture is handcrafted from super high-quality source images the modder took. In other words, this isn’t another ESRGAN/AI HD Texture Pack.
Most of the main files are at 8192×8192 resolution. Not only that, but even the 4K textures are downscaled from 8K.
>> The mod is 770MB in size, is only available for the Legacy Edition and can be found at Nexus Mods.

Doom Fighters lets you bareknuckle brawl your way out of hell
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/doom-fighters-lets-you-bareknuckle-brawl-your-way-out-of-hell/
Shotguns? Boring. Rocket launchers? Who needs 'em. The only thing the Doom guy has ever needed to defeat the legions of hell are two bare fists—and maybe a cheeky kick or two, if Doom II mod Doom Fighters is anything to go by.
Released on ModDB over the weekend, Doom Fighters reimagines the classic FPS as a retro 3D brawler. Plugging into any Doom II campaign you fancy, Fighters strips the slayer of his arsenal and pulls the camera back for some over-the-shoulder punch-ups, giving the Doomguy a chunky 3D makeover in the process.

Teardown mod turns the physics sandbox into a terrifying survival horror gauntlet
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/teardown-mod-turns-the-physics-sandbox-into-terrifying-survival-horror-gauntlet/
A sickly teal beam pierces the night sky, searching. You sprint down a narrow rain-soaked alleyway, but not quickly enough to avert its gaze. The beam turns red with a deafening electrical growl. And then, with a scream, it strikes.
Teardown's smashing great heists might not seem an obvious choice for seasonal October spooks. But thanks to one particularly horrifying mod, the voxel sandbox has created some of the most thrilling scares I've experienced in recent memory.
Meet Basilisco.

GAMING NEWS

New Starfield leak shows off two spacesuits
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/new-starfield-leak-shows-off-two-spacesuits/
It’s been a while we last heard about Starfield. And although Bethesda is working hard in order to hit its November 2022 release date, some of its early assets have been leaked online.

Wronged Us is a new survival game, inspired by Silent Hill & Dark Souls, using Unreal Engine
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/wronged-us-is-a-new-survival-game-inspired-by-silent-hill-dark-souls-using-unreal-engine/
An indie team is currently working on a new survival horror game that is inspired by Dark Souls, Silent Hill and Resident Evil. This game is called Wronged Us, and you can find below its debut in-engine trailer.

First PC gameplay footage for Crysis 2 Remastered & Crysis 3 Remastered
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/first-pc-gameplay-footage-for-crysis-2-remastered-crysis-3-remastered/
Last week, Crytek released two trailers for Crysis Trilogy, featuring PC gameplay footage from Crysis 2 Remastered and Crysis 3 Remastered. And, since those trailers passed under my radar, I’ve decided to share them with you today.

Monday news, part two:

Battlefield 2042 players have figured out how to bunnyhop across the beta
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/battlefield-2042-players-have-figured-out-how-to-bunnyhop-across-the-beta/
With dozens of players sprinting, driving and jetting across explosive warzones, Battlefield isn't exactly what you'd call sluggish. But just a day into the beta for Battlefield 2042, players have already figured out how to introduce some ludicrous momentum tricks to the traditionally grounded warzone.

New World players are already scamming each other out of huge sums of gold
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/new-world-players-are-already-scamming-each-other-out-of-huge-sums-of-gold/
New World has been out for just over two weeks and already players are beginning to screw each other out of vast quantities of gold, the in-game currency. While New World might not be a true sandbox MMO the likes of EVE Online, it soon might have a similar reputation for skullduggery.

Quake remaster gets big update expanding bot and mod support
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/quake-remaster-update/
A new update for Quake's enhanced version is out, adding in significantly more bot and modding support for the remastered shooter that released in August. Improvements to user control and accessibility measures are also included.

New World server transfers delayed due to 'edge cases,' no transfers between regions
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/new-world-server-transfers-delayed-due-to-edge-cases/
The New World team has provided a bit of an update on server transfers, a promised feature that they laid the groundwork for earlier this week but haven't yet released. A post on the New World game forums has updated a bit on that process, why it's held up, and what it'll be like when it launches.

GOG says they 'shouldn't have released' Hitman on their store, removes it
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/gog-says-they-shouldnt-have-released-hitman-on-their-store-removes-it/
GOG is the most reliably DRM-free store in PC Gaming, and has built its reputation on that concept for years now. Understandably, GOG diehards were pretty upset when Hitman released on the store a few weeks ago with its extensive always-online DRM features intact. ""This game is not DRM free in any meaningful sense," said one very on-the-nose review.
GOG community manager Gabriela Siemienkowicz has followed up on the problems, now, as promised a couple weeks ago. "We're still in dialogue with IO Interactive about this release. Today we have removed HITMAN GOTY from GOG’s catalog – we shouldn’t have released it in its current form, as you’ve pointed out," she posted under username chandra on the GOG forums. (...)

EEK3 2021 was another treasure trove of indie horror games
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/eek3-2021-was-another-treasure-trove-of-indie-horror-games/
The folks behind the Haunted PS1 Demo Disc waited until October to bring us their second annual EEK3 indie horror showcase, because Americans insist October is the spookiest month. I mean, the Dutch call November Slachtmaand, which literally means slaughter month, but whatever. October's fine, I guess.

Looks like New World players are getting each other banned to win wars
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/looks-like-new-world-players-are-getting-each-other-banned-to-win-wars/
It's common in some multiplayer games: Get enough behavior reports in a short time, get automatically banned.
It's a system ripe for abuse in competitive MMOs, and New World looks to have a particularly vicious outbreak where the combination of winner-take-all rewards and very narrow lists of participants make the best targets for your wave of aggressive false reports very obvious. Now, it looks like New World players have figured out they can target their enemies with reports to trigger that 24-hour ban... just before a time-limited war event.

Retrogame engine ScummVM turns 20 years old, gets an update
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/retrogame-engine-scummvm-turns-20-years-old-gets-an-update/
Preservation project ScummVM—named after the Script Creation Utility For Maniac Mansion, the engine used in LucasArts' classic adventure games—was launched on October 9, 2001. Initially, it was about reimplementing games made in SCUMM like Secret of Monkey Island so they could run on platforms they weren't designed for. Since then, the ScummVM team have broadened their remit and reverse-engineered all kinds of games, from Plumbers Don't Wear Ties to Blade Runner.
On the occasion of its 20th birthday, ScummVM updated to version 2.5.0 and now supports 2.5D games. Grim Fandango, The Longest Journey, and Myst 3: Exile are now supported on desktop platforms, and compatibility has been added for several more games including Little Big Adventure, The Journeyman Project 2: Buried in Time, Private Eye, and Crusader: No Remorse.

Make silly robots in programming puzzler Manufactoria 2022
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/make-silly-robots-in-programming-puzzler-manufactoria-2022/
Old flash puzzler Manufactoria may have vanished with the demise of Adobe Flash, but developer PleasingFungus Games has made a sequel or reboot or whatever you want to call it: Manufactoria 2022. Released just this week on Steam, it's a puzzler where you arrange conveyors and machines to program, deprogram, and reprogram robots. As the campaign bears on, you move into larger spaces and build more complex factories.
>> Here'¡s the Steam link. The game is still in Early Access, and has a demo.

Star Wars: The Old Republic is testing a 'combat style' revamp
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/star-wars-the-old-republic-is-testing-a-combat-style-revamp/
In the build-up to the 10th anniversary of Star Wars: The Old Republic and the release of the Legacy of the Sith expansion, one of the add-on's elements is being trialed on the public test server. As well as a new storyline, Legacy of the Sith is adding combat styles, which will let players choose the abilities of different classes.

Activision-Blizzard lawsuits in chaos as federal agency accuses California's DFEH of ethics violations
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/activision-blizzard-lawsuits-in-chaos-as-federal-agency-accuses-californias-dfeh-of-ethics-violations/
Activision Blizzard is currently facing a lawsuit in the state of California, brought by the Department for Employment and Housing (DFEH). The suit alleges that Activision Blizzard is a company rife with discrimination, sexual harassment, and a 'frat boy' culture—claims that Activision Blizzard deny. CEO Bobby Kotick says "people will be held responsible for their actions" and, around a fortnight ago, we discovered Activision Blizzard had also been in talks about a separate lawsuit being brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and had agreed to settle for $18 million.
The DFEH last week filed an objection to this settlement, arguing that it would lead to the "effective destruction" of evidence critical to its case and cause "irreparable harm" to its own lawsuit. One important fact: the DFEH is a state department of California, whereas the EEOC is a US federal agency.

Intel Core i5-12400 Alder Lake Budget Desktop CPU With 6 Cores Faster Than AMD Ryzen 5 5600X In Leaked Benchmarks

https://wccftech.com/intel-core-i5-12400-alder-lake-budget-desktop-cpu-with-6-cores-faster-than-amd-ryzen-5-5600x-in-leaked-benchmarks/

Hopefully the 12400 pricing is going to be as good as 11400 as the 11400 was incredible value.

Windows 11 up to 17% SLOWER?! (With VBS On)

So an in-place upgrade has VBS off by default where as a fresh install of Windows 11 has VBS on by default. No one knows what prebuilts will ship with but hopefully, VBS will be turned off as that is a huge performance differences at times. Least it's pretty easy to turn off yourself.

lol. Isn't it ironic how the game that sufers the most from VBS is the one made by the company that decided to include it and set it on by default?

Anyway, here are a couple of news that could interest some of you (one good, one bad):

Hack a better taskbar back into Windows 11
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/windows-11-taskbar-alignment-hack/

Windows 11 is now officially available.You can download and install it and bask in the all too familiar glow of a completely new OS. Not that we'd recommend doing that just yet. A new operating system always takes a little while to bed in before it becomes a truly great experience, and there are enough little foibles with Microsoft's latest to make us believe that Windows 11 will be no different.

Of course, plenty have already upgraded. (Some of us have had to.) But not everyone is happy with what they see. In particular, one Valentin-Gabriel Radu has taken to Github to release an Explorer Patcher for Windows 11 (via Igor's Lab). This project aims to take the Windows 11 taskbar and start menu and replace it with one that is more like the Windows 10 equivalent.

That also brings back the ability to move your taskbar to the top, left, or right of your screen. Hallelujah. 

Nvidia GPU mining limiter 100% dodged by mining two cryptocurrencies at once
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/t-rex-mining-gpu-cryptocurrency-hash-rate-unlock/
Cryptocurrency miners won't quit. Just when you thought Nvidia had deterred the cryptominers from buying up all the GPUs with the introduction of mining limiters on its 30-Series GPUs, yet another hash rate unlocking piece of software has surfaced. This time, bringing the miner's cards right back up to 100% efficiency, with some caveats.

In August, NBMiner almost nullified Nvidia's hash rate limiters. Now, new software known as T-Rex allows Ethereum miners to fully bypass the hash rate limiters, if only they mine some other cryptocurrency at the same time (via Toms Hardware).

"This option allows you to use the full potential of LHR cards," the Github page boasts, as long as your GPU has "enough VRAM to hold two DAGs/datasets by mining two cryptocurrencies simultaneously—ETH (~30%) and some other (~70%)."

Miners being able to use low to mid ends cards, be like:

For those eager to jump to Alder Lake and DDR5, here's something for you:

Geil Polaris DDR5 memory now on sale at 350 USD, OCPC DDR5 memory listed as well
https://videocardz.com/newz/geil-polaris-ddr5-memory-now-on-sale-at-350-usd-ocpc-ddr5-memory-listed-as-well
Geil’s DDR5 memory is now on sale on Newegg for 350 USD for a 32GB (2x 16GB) kit. The memory is available in three different colors, including black, red, and white. The memory is listed three weeks prior to Intel 12th Gen Core Alder Lake launch, the first desktop platform to support the new memory standard.

Geil Polaris RGB memory is not overclocked and follows JEDEC DDR5-4800 specs (PC5 38400). The kits are available in single-channel and dual-channel kits, with capacities up to 64 GB (presumably 2x 32GB).

Here's the Newegg link: https://www.newegg.com/geil-32gb-288-pin-ddr5-sdram/p/N82E16820158943

For comparison, GeIL's 32GB (2x16GB) kits of DDR4 memory at Newegg range from $109 to $241. So well, there's always a increase in price for preorders and such, but don't be surprised if the DDR5 kits cost $100 more than the DDR4 ones of the same capacity, at least during the first months.

Sorry for the delay (it's festive and I was doing other things).

The Tuesday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

GOG has a Special Fallout Sale, with up to 75% discounts on the five Fallout games available on the store until October 26: https://www.gog.com/promo/fallout_bombs_drop

Steam has several new sales, including a new range of weeklong deals:

• The new daily deal is INMOST, 30% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/938560/INMOST/
• King's Bounty II will be 25% off until October 14: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1135300/Kings_Bounty_II/
• Lawn Mowing Simulator will be 20% off until Friday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1480560/Lawn_Mowing_Simulator/
• Return of the Obra Dinn will be 35% off until October 15: https://store.steampowered.com/app/653530/Return_of_the_Obra_Dinn/
• The Suicide of Rachel Foster is going to be 80% off until Friday, October 15: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1057750/The_Suicide_of_Rachel_Foster/
• NIS America put its games on sale, up to 85% off until Friday 15: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/NISA2021
• Capcom puts the Ace Attoney franchise on sale, up to 34% off until October 18: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/AceAttorneyTrilogyAnniversary
• And these are some of the weeklong deals:
  • Jupiter Hell is 20% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/811320/Jupiter_Hell/
  • Ocean's Heart gets a 35% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1393750/Oceans_Heart/
  • Screeps: World is 50% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/464350/Screeps_World/
  • Rebel Cops features a 67% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/970960/Rebel_Cops/
  • This Is the Police 2 is 75% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/785740/This_Is_the_Police_2/
  • And the last one is Breach & Clear, with an 80% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/266130/Breach__Clear/

The Humble Store has three new sales:

• Paradox puts its games up to 75% off during the next 6 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/paradox-sale/
• The Paradox BYO DLC Bundle features dozens of DLCs to choose your up to 5 items bundle. And remember, the bigger your bundle, the higher the discount: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/paradox-dlc-build-your-own-bundle/
• And the Best of Bandai Namco Sale, with up to 90% discounts, will be available for the next 6 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/best-of-bandai-sale/

And Fanatical's new Star Deal is RimWorld, 20% off during the next 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/rim-world.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

NVIDIA GeForce 496.13 WHQL driver released, adds Shader Cache Size setting
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/nvidia-geforce-496-13-whql-driver-released-adds-shader-cache-size-setting/
NVIDIA has released a brand new driver for its graphics cards. According to the release notes, the NVIDIA GeForce 496.13 WHQL driver adds a Shader Cache Size setting. By using this setting, players can set the maximum amount of disk space to use for storing shader compiles. In theory, this could reduce stutters when a game compiles its shaders.
In addition, this new driver offers optimal performance in a number of games, including Back 4 Blood. Furthermore, this new Game Ready Driver offers support for the latest new titles and updates, including the launch of the Crysis Remastered Trilogy and Baldur’s Gate 3 which utilize NVIDIA DLSS, as well as DLSS updates to Rise of the Tomb Raider, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and Chivalry 2. Not only that, but this driver provides optimal support for The Riftbreaker and Sword and Fairy 7.
>> Available from here.

While there's no article about it, AMD has also released a new driver, 21.10.2, with support for "Back 4 Blood" and "The Riftbreaker", as well as fixes for other games. Available from here.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Mod Corner: Deus Ex Female Voice, Doom Eternal 2016, DoomFront, Aliens: Eradication & more
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/mod-corner-deus-ex-female-voice-doom-eternal-2016-mod-doomfront-aliens-eradication-more/
It’s been a while since our previous “Mod Corner” article, don’t you think? So, today we’ve got a lot of mods to share for classic games like Doom, Deus Ex, Star Wars, Wolfenstein 3D, and Aliens.
>> There are 11 mods in total in the article.

This Crusader Kings 3 mod adds a crucial feature: fishing minigames
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/this-crusader-kings-3-mod-adds-a-crucial-feature-fishing-minigames/
Even for a Crusader Kings 3 monarch, life can be tough. If you fabricate an excuse for invading the wrong petty kingdom, you might initiate a medieval world war. Fail to properly navigate your religious obligations, and you’ll never get the chance to declare yourself as Europe’s better, cooler pope. And your favorite son is probably plotting to kill you, maybe even for justifiable reasons. The crown gets heavier every day. But thanks to the Tavern Games vol.2 - Gone Fishing! mod, the ultimate in escapism is just one minigame away.
Accessible from the in-game decisions menu, the mod has your character fleeing from the obligations of nobility to a secluded beach, complete with soothing ambient coastal sound. The minigame itself is similar to the model used in Stardew Valley. Once you hook something, you mash a reel button to keep an indicator on a fishing gauge inside of a moving highlighted section. Do that long enough, and you’ll catch a fish. And it’s not just a gimmick, either. Each fish you catch decreases your character’s current stress level—for free.

GAMING NEWS

Here are two minutes of pre-alpha gameplay footage from Saints Row
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-two-minutes-of-pre-alpha-gameplay-footage-from-saints-row/
GameInformer has released a new video, showing two minutes of pre-alpha gameplay footage from the reboot of Saints Row. This is the first proper gameplay footage we’ve gotten for this new Saints Row game, so be sure to watch it.
>> It's a showcase of the map.

Call of Duty: Vanguard gets an official story trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/call-of-duty-vanguard-gets-an-official-story-trailer/
Activision has released the official story trailer for Call of Duty: Vanguard. Contrary to its rival, Battlefield 2042, this new Call of Duty game will feature a single-player campaign mode.

CRYENGINE-powered Lovecraftian horror adventure game, The Alien Cube, releases on October 14th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/cryengine-powered-lovecraftian-horror-adventure-game-the-alien-cube-releases-on-october-14th/
Alessandro Guzzo has announced that the CRYENGINE-powered Lovecraftian horror adventure game, The Alien Cube, will release on October 14th. In order to celebrate this announcement, the developer has also released a new trailer that you can find below.

NVIDIA DLSS coming to Baldur’s Gate 3, Rise of the Tomb Raider & Chivalry 2
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/nvidia-dlss-coming-to-baldurs-gate-3-rise-of-the-tomb-raider-chivalry-2/
NVIDIA has announced some new games that will support its Deep Learning Super-Sampling tech. According to the green team, DLSS will be coming to Baldur’s Gate 3, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Sword and Fairy 7 and Chivalry 2.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition will break compatibility with lots of existing mods
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-anniversary-edition-will-break-compatibility-with-lots-of-existing-mods/
In case you weren’t aware of, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition will release on November 11th. This new version of Skyrim will be available on PC as a free update to all owners of Skyrim Special Edition. And, according to the developer of SKSE, it will break compatibility with a lot of existing mods.