I reported that thread from being necrobumpbed, and nothing has happened since. Not only is it a year old, but it's only been necrobumped just to bring back shitty pointless console warring (which is still happening in that very thread). 

If a thread is a year old, you shouldn't be allowed to bump it, let alone use it to start console warring shit. 

Moring, lads.

*** NEW COMPETITION ***

Guru3D 2021 December 6th: Win an K70M RGB Illuminated Mechanical Keyboard
https://www.guru3d.com/news-story/guru3d-2021-december-6th-win-an-k70m-rgb-illuminated-mechanical-keyboard.html

By the way, if RGB is your thing and fans, motherboards, RAM sticks and AIOs don't provide enough RGB for you (side note: are you ok? You seem to need help), Cooler Master may have just what you need: The Cooler Master LED Tube Sleeve A1!

https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/coolers/rgb-accessories/led-tube-sleeve-a1/

Made with soft rubber and 30 LEDs, you can wrap your AIO or watercooler tubes (33cm long) with them for even more bling!

(another side note: seriously, if you feel interested in something like this, find help!)

PC MASTER RACE!!!

Lol

The 12th Semi-Annual PC Secret Santa Event is now live.

All the bottles of hopium i've been sniffing. So far so good. 2 days to go. 

The multiplayer has been great so far. Not perfect but great. Can't rejoin matches if a team mate disconnects. What. 

The Monday news!

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

11 years after release, FF14 hits its highest-ever Steam player count
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/11-years-after-release-ff14-hits-its-highest-ever-steam-player-count/
Final Fantasy 14 smashed its concurrent player record on Steam this weekend following the release of Endwalker, according to SteamDB. The game was originally released in late 2010 in a much-maligned state, what many now call the 'failed' version, before in 2013 a complete overhaul saw it become Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn: Since when, the only direction of travel has been upwards.
December 5 saw the game reach a peak of 95,150 players on the platform, up from the previous record of 67,148 players in July 2021. It's worth noting that Steam won't fully account for even the game's PC player base—many own the game through the Square Enix store, and then you have players spread across the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 versions.

World Land Trust charity bundle gets you over $450 of games for a minimum donation of $5
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/world-land-trust-charity-bundle-gets-you-over-dollar450-worth-of-games-for-a-minimum-donation-of-dollar5/
Indie publisher Future Friends Games and Plant Based Gaming have put together a charity bundle that includes over 60 games to raise money for the World Land Trust. Among the games included are best hidden object game Hidden Folks, transforming flying-animal sim Fugl, cappucinopunk visual novel Coffee Talk, mutant soap opera Mutazione, tree-prodding adventure Botanicula, chill and chilly puzzler A Good Snowman is Hard to Build, Voight-Kampff simulator Silicon Dreams, bee management game Hive Time, and narrative deck-builder Signs of the Sojourner.
The bundle is available from itch.io for a minimum of $4.99, and 100% of the money goes to the action fund of the World Land Trust, "an international conservation charity that protects the world's most biologically significant and threatened habitats." You can find out more about the WLT's mission and projects on its website.

GOG has two deals:

• The new Flash Deal is Armored Brigade, 45% off during the next 70 hours: https://www.gog.com/game/armored_brigade
• And the new Weekly Sale features games from Daedalic Entertainment up to 90% off: https://www.gog.com/promo/daedalic_sale

Steam has two daily deals:

• The first one is Eastshade, 50% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/715560/Eastshade/
• The second one is Supraland, that has a demo, with a 61% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/813630/Supraland/

At Humble we find three new sales:

• The Humble Bundle features the new Digitized: Tabletop Inspired Games Bundle, with up to 8 games to get during the next 11 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/digitized-tabletop-bundle
• The Humble Store has two new sales:
  • The Tabletop Sale comes with up to 80% discounts during the next 4 days. There are keys for Steam, GOG and EGS: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/tabletop-sale/
  • The 1C Entertainment publisher sale brings up to 90% discounts for another 4 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/1c-entertainment-publisher-sale/

Fanatical has several new deals:

• The new Star Deal, that started yesterday, is the Tomb Raider Pack, featuring the last 3 Tomb Raider games: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/tomb-raider-pack
• The former is part of a Square Enix Sale, with up to 90% discounts during the next 6 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/square-enix
• Aspyr Games also puts its games on sale, up to 80% off during the next 6 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/aspyr
• And the new Dollar Chronicle Bundle features 12 games with a 98% discount: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/dollar-chronicle-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Radeon Software Adrenalin 21.12.1 Release Notes
https://www.amd.com/en/support/kb/release-notes/rn-rad-win-21-12-1
Support For

• Halo Infinite
  • Up to 17% increase in performance in Halo Infinite @ 4K Ultra Settings, using Radeon Software Adrenalin 21.12.1 on the 16 GB Radeon RX 6900 XT graphics card, versus the previous software driver version 21.11.3.RS-434
  • Up to 19% increase in performance in Halo Infinite @ 4K Ultra Settings, using Radeon Software Adrenalin 21.12.1 on the 16 GB Radeon RX 6800 XT graphics card, versus the previous software driver version 21.11.3.RS-435
  • Up to 16% increase in performance in Halo Infinite @ 4K Ultra Settings, using Radeon Software Adrenalin 21.12.1 on the 12 GB Radeon RX 6700 XT graphics card, versus the previous software driver version 21.11.3.RS-436
• Fortnite
• Icarus
• Blender 3.0 on Radeon RX 6000 series Graphics

Fixed Issues

• While running SteamVR Home on some AMD Graphics products such as Radeon VII Graphics, some users may experience a crash.
• During Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy gameplay, some users may experience driver timeouts on some AMD Graphics products such as Radeon RX 5500 XT Graphics.
• While playing PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds with multiple displays connected in extended mode, Radeon Software may become unresponsive when the user is in the lobby and attempts to open Radeon Software on the secondary display via the context menu.
• Visual corruption may be observed on a vehicle's logo or license plate number while playing Forza Horizon 5 on some AMD Graphics products such as Radeon RX 500 series Graphics.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Dark Souls 3 gets a 19GB Mod that overhauls all armors and weapons
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/dark-souls-3-gets-a-19gb-mod-that-overhauls-all-armors-and-weapons/
Modder ‘Pink Bish’ has released a new HD Texture Pack for Dark Souls 3 that overhauls all of the game’s armors and weapons. This mod, which is 19GB in size, uses AI techniques in order to improve the textures of all weapons and armors.
Since this pack uses AI techniques, the new textures retain the art style of the original ones. As such, we highly recommend downloading it. Yes, it’s quite big but this is a must-have for those Dark Souls 3 purists that want better textures.
>> You'll find it at Nexus Mods.

Grand Theft Auto 5 gets an amazing Batman Mod with custom animations
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/grand-theft-auto-5-gets-an-amazing-batman-mod-with-custom-animations/
Talented modder ‘JulioNIB’ has released the final pre-release version of his Batman mod for Grand Theft Auto 5. This mod lets you become the Dark Knight, and comes with numerous abilities as well as some custom moves.
For this mod, JulioNIB created some custom animations. Theoretically, this will open the door for some even more impressive mods.
Thanks to this mod, Batman can use his grapple gun hook and glide with his cape. He can also use batarangs and call special weapons and vehicles. Not only that, but he has access to batclaw kick and dive bomb attacks, as well as the disarm target, smoke, freeze, incendiary and electric shock gadget attacks.
>> It's available from his Patreon Page, but not for free (that will happen with the final release)

After 19 years in development, absurdly ambitious Morrowind mod reveals new roadmap
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/after-19-years-in-development-absurdly-ambitious-morrowind-mod-reveals-new-roadmap/
There's still quite a long wait ahead of us for The Elder Scrolls 6, so instead of looking impatiently into the future why not turn the clock way back to 2002? Tamriel Rebuilt is an incredibly ambitious mod for The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind that adds a huge landmass to the map, several hundred new quests, scores of original NPCs, creatures based on The Elder Scrolls lore, and hours of exploration and gameplay.
If this isn't the first you've heard about Tamriel Rebuilt, I'm not surprised. The mod project has been in development for almost 20 years now. (We spoke to the modders several years ago, in fact.) According to the modders, they want to realize the original intent of Morrowind: that the game would encompass the entire nation and not just the island of Vvardenfell. That's what the modders have been doing for almost two decades, adding in the entire mainland, piece by piece, and they reckon they're now at about the 50% mark. And they've just shared a look at what their plans are for 2022 and beyond.

GAMING NEWS

GRID Legends releases on February 25th, first gameplay footage revealed
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/grid-legends-releases-on-february-25th-first-gameplay-footage-revealed/
Electronic Arts and Codemasters have announced that GRID Legends will release on February 25th. In addition, the teams have revealed the first gameplay footage for this new racing game that you can find below.

Forza Horizon 5 December 3rd Update #2 released, full patch notes
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/forza-horizon-5-december-3rd-update-2-released-full-patch-notes/
Playground Games has just released the second major update for Forza Horizon 5. According to the release notes, the December 3rd patch improves stability, and comes with numerous tweaks and fixes for multiplayer. It also packs some PC-only fixes, as well as general gameplay fixes.

PSN hints at Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales coming to PC, but this seems to be a mistake
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/psn-hints-at-marvels-spider-man-miles-morales-coming-to-pc-but-this-seems-to-be-a-mistake/
PC gamers got excited earlier today when PSN indicated that Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales would be coming to PC. However, Insomniac Games’ Community Director James Stevenson went ahead and stated that there is an issue with the PSN template, and that Insomniac does not have any plans to bring this game to PC.

The next Battlefield game, Battlefield 2023, is planned as a hero shooter
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-next-battlefield-game-battlefield-2022-is-planned-as-a-hero-shooter/
The removal of classes and the inclusion of Specialists was one of the most controversial decisions in Battlefield 2042. And, from the looks of it, EA and DICE will expand on this. According to industry insider Tom Henderson, the next Battlefield game is planned as a hero shooter.
>> The use of 2023 only refers to the year it will release.

Ten minutes of PC gameplay footage from Dragon Ball: The Breakers
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/ten-minutes-of-pc-gameplay-footage-from-dragon-ball-the-breakers/
HHM Gaming has shared a video, showing ten minutes of PC gameplay footage from Dragon Ball: The Breakers’ Playtest Beta. This video will give you an idea of how the game plays, so be sure to watch it.

Monday news, part two:

Propnight is like Dead by Daylight but you can disguise yourself as a pumpkin
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/propnight-is-like-dead-by-daylight-but-you-can-disguise-yourself-as-a-pumpkin/
(...)
Propnight, from developer Fntastic, is the latest game to have a stab at that Dead by Daylight formula. Four players control a group of teenagers trying to repair several 'Propmachines' on levels set around sleepy provincial Americana (you know, where the bad shit always happens). Meanwhile, one player picks from one of several killers with their own unique abilities, and tries to do what killers do.

Fill the Batcave with toy cars and plastic race tracks in Hot Wheels Unleashed's first expansion
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/fill-the-batcave-with-toy-cars-and-plastic-race-tracks-in-hot-wheels-unleasheds-first-expansion/
Hot Wheels Unleashed has proven to be a surprisingly fun little racer, channeling the spirit of Mario Kart's Rainbow Road shenanigans across an entire $50 game.
Unleashed got its first substantial DLC yesterday with the release of its Batman expansion. $15 nets you 5 cars, some customization options, and, most crucially, a Batcave level to build your tracks in.

Halo Infinite has a bunch of hidden game modes when you play offline
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/halo-infinite-has-a-bunch-of-hidden-game-modes-when-you-play-offline/
When you start a custom game in Halo Infinite, there are 17 default multiplayer modes to choose from. Most of these show up in the online matchmaking: staples like team Oddball, 2-flag CTF and a Big Team Battle variant of Slayer. But if you boot up Halo Infinite with Steam set to offline, it turns out Infinite is hiding 14 more modes created by 343 Industries that aren't normally visible.

Activision studio lets go of at least 12 Call of Duty QA testers
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/activision-studio-lets-go-of-at-least-12-call-of-duty-qa-testers/
At least 12 quality assurance contractors at Raven Software, one of the primary Call of Duty development studios, were laid off today. More QA contractors could lose their jobs next week.
According to The Washington Post, the testers were previously told by Activision to expect a transfer to a new staffing partner, Volt, which was going to come with added benefits, bonuses, and a $1.50 per hour raise, increasing their wages to $18.50 per hour. Instead, they were let go today. One QA tester told the paper that their project lead hadn't known about the impending layoffs.
>> What a classy move, Acti.

Classic action RPG Titan Quest has a new expansion that goes back to China
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/classic-action-rpg-titan-quest-has-a-new-expansion-that-goes-back-to-china/
With the dangerous creatures of the far east starting acting a fool, there's only one person Emperor Yao will call: The protagonist of Titan Quest, who is very good at killing any and all troublesome mythological beasts you can find. The fourth expansion for Titan Quest: Anniversary Edition is called Eternal Embers, and it's out now.

More confirmation Dragon Age 4 will be 'single-player focused'
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/more-confirmation-dragon-age-4-will-be-single-player-focused/
December 4 is Dragon Age Day (D4, get it?) just as November 7 is Mass Effect Day, a time when the BioWare RPG's fan community comes together to celebrate, raise money for charity, and pray for more scraps of info about the next game in the series. This year, BioWare's annual Dragon Age post included two short stories (one about Grey Wardens, the other necromancers), and a quick note about Dragon Age 4.

Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker players are waiting in long lines to go to the moon
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/final-fantasy-14-endwalker-players-are-waiting-in-long-lines-to-go-to-the-moon/
Final Fantasy 14's long-awaited expansion Endwalker is here for those who pre-ordered it (the full release is December 7), and the servers are doing fine, mostly. As is common with MMO launches where thousands of players rush to log in and see everything new, Final Fantasy 14 Endwalker's launch has players stuck in long queue times, huge crowds, and occasionally unstable servers.

FF14 players will get free game time due to server congestion
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/ff14-players-will-get-free-game-time-due-to-server-congestion/
Anyone with an active subscription who owns the full version of Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker when launch rolls around on December 7th will get a free 7 days of game time, says Square Enix. Game Producer & Director Naoki Yoshida posted an update today informing players of the compensation.

Collect and combine some 1200 monsters in creature RPG Siralim Ultimate
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/collect-and-combine-some-1200-monsters-in-creature-rpg-siralim-ultimate/
If you're a fan of creature collecting and in-depth RPG mechanics, I've got a game for you: Siralim Ultimate, the latest release in the indie RPG series of monster collecting and combining games. It's all about building up a party of powerful monsters, combining the best into other, more powerful monsters, throwing them into 6v6 monster battles, and using them to clear not just a main story but bojillions of procedurally generated dungeons.

Death Trash patch fixes 'a crash caused by Fleshworms eating puke'
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/death-trash-patch-fixes-a-crash-caused-by-fleshworms-eating-puke/
There's nothing about gorepunk RPG Death Trash that isn't delightfully grotesque, and that extends to its patch notes. A tweet following the latest one simply notes: "Uploaded a hotfix for a crash caused by Fleshworms eating puke."

Dogsled survival adventure Arctico leaves Early Access in February
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/dogsled-survival-adventure-arctico-leaves-early-access-in-february/
Arctico was previously an Early Access survival game called Eternal Winter, but it ditched all the bleak inevitability of starving to death in the snow in favor of becoming a relaxing exploration game. Whereas in Eternal Winter you might have had to butcher your huskies for food, in Arctico you can pet them, and if they don't get fed they simply grow tired and slow down. Rather than being another brutal game of staring at a hunger meter, it became a cosy game of building an Arctic research base between meditative journeys by sled, kayak, or glider.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson makes his Fortnite debut as Chapter 2 ends
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/dwayne-the-rock-johnson-makes-his-fortnite-debut-as-chapter-2-ends/
Who among us does not love Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson? Somebody, I'm sure, but that doesn't help me make my point. One of Hollywood's highest-paid film stars has made his way to Fortnite, finally and inevitably, and he's playing exactly the character that fans thought he was: The Foundation. Fortnite fans are predictably stoked.

Say what you will about Fortnite, but Chapter Three is another extraordinary refresh
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/say-what-you-will-about-fortnite-but-chapter-three-is-another-extraordinary-refresh/
It's easy to forget that Fortnite, in the months following its release, really wasn't that big of a deal. What catapulted it into the phenomenon it is now was the addition of a battle royale mode post-launch, a move that showed both how brazen Epic was prepared to be but also how ambitious the developer was about updating the game. With its subsequent success Fortnite is now one of the biggest entertainment properties on the planet, and Epic has shown itself capable of leaning into that in an almost unprecedented manner.

Here's when the Halo Infinite campaign unlocks
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/halo-infinite-release-time-unlock/
As the open-world shooter's campaign release date gets closer, you might want to know when Halo Infinite unlocks in your time zone so you can plan accordingly. It's been a long time coming—the launch was initially planned for the end of 2020, but was delayed to allow the developers more time "to deliver a Halo game experience that meets [343's] vision".

Halo infinite metacritic

https://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-series-x/halo-infinite

87 so far

343 right now

Of course, Halo 4/5 also scored around that so I am gonna still need to try it out for myself.

Intel 13th Gen Raptor Lake Desktop Core i9-13900K CPU With 24 Cores & 32 Threads Spotted, Early Sample Almost On Par With Ryzen 9 5950X

https://wccftech.com/intel-13th-gen-raptor-lake-desktop-core-i9-13900k-cpu-with-24-cores-32-threads-spotted-early-sample-almost-on-par-with-ryzen-9-5950x/

Of course these are early samples. They will probably beat the 5950x by the time it comes out as it needs to compete with Zen 4.

AMD & Intel To Host Their CES 2022 Press Conferences on January 4th 2022, Expect Announcements Galore!

https://wccftech.com/amd-intel-to-host-their-ces-2022-press-conferences-on-january-4th-2022-expect-announcements-galore/

Nvidia should be announcing their Super series around that time as well. Maybe we will finally get some hopium as soon, we will have 3 GPU manufacturers.

Halo Infinite Campaign - The Digital Foundry Tech Review

It focuses on the Series X version but some of the issues are also present on PC.

Awesome!

And thanks you.