I wonder if that 900W GPU ain't actually 2 GA102 in some kind of SLI setup.

Either way, no need for a heater anymore if you got a Lovelace GPU. I wonder how NVidia wants to use those in the laptop market if they are so power-hungry...

Could be due to Maxwell supporting DX12_1 while GCN3 only supports DX12_0 and WDDM 2.0 (Maxwell: 2.1). GCN3 is just too outdated for modern Games.

Meh, I think 300 series had plenty of life left in it.

Just look how well the open source community driver performs in the tests and it can still play a ton of games. The fact that Kepler with it's terrible architecture received longer driver support than 300 series which had a much more modern feature set is nuts.

Maybe due to the Microsoft takeover, the legal basis changed and had to be removed temporarily. Already happened with Fallout before.

This only applies to GCN 3, GCN 1 and 2, which are the bulk of the GPUs (only Tonga and the Fury/Nano cards were GCN 3) had a similar tech level as Kepler did (Kepler: DX 11_0, GCN 1+2 DX 11_1).

I do agree that Tonga and Fury/Nano should have had their support extended, they are still good. AMD probably didn't want to divide the Generation and give some cards future support and other not, and thus decided to cut it for all.

Speaking of such old cards, I wish there are more tests on how those old cards perform against more modern entry-level/Mid-range cards. Really could shine some more light upon the longevity of such cards.

The Thursday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

The new free games at the Epic Store are two:

• Just Die Already: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/just-die-already
• Paradigm: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/paradigm-875c5c

Next week, there will one one free game: Terraforming Mars.

Steam has two new deals:

• The daily deal is MY HERO ONE'S JUSTICE 2, that has a demo, 75% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1058450/MY_HERO_ONES_JUSTICE_2/
• And Monster Prom, that also has a demo, celebrates its 4th anniversary with a 69% discount until May 9: https://store.steampowered.com/app/743450/Monster_Prom/

There are two new Humbledeals:

• There's a new Humble Bundle: the Jurassic Bundle, featuring up to 10 Jurassic Park Evolution items to get during the next 20 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/jurassic-bundle
• And the Humble Store has a new Koei Tecmo Sale, with up to 90% discounts during 11 days. The keys are for Steam: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/koei-tecmo-publisher-sale/

Fanatical also has a Koei Tecmo Sale, with up to 53% discounts during 11 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/koei-tecmo-games-co-ltd.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

You can now transfer your Bethesda Launcher games to Steam
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/you-can-now-transfer-your-bethesda-launcher-games-to-steam/
It lived for a while but never really grew up. The Bethesda Launcher arrived in 2016, but it unfortunately didn't evolve into much of anything besides a desktop client with two buttons: buy game and play game.
And now it's being switched off. On May 11 the Bethesda Launcher will become officially defunct, and as promised, starting today you can migrate your Bethesda Launcher games library over to Steam. Note: You'll still be able migrate your games after May 11 when the launcher is dead. You just won't be able to use the launcher itself anymore. So, you might as well do it now.
Bethesda has a full list of instructions on how to begin the great Steam migration, but basically you'll start by trying to log on to the Bethesda site, realizing you have no idea what your password is because you haven't logged in there in ages, resetting it, and then logging into the Bethesda site. On your account page, there are sidebar tabs to link your Steam and Bethesda accounts (if you haven't already) and to begin the transfer process.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

New version of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time Unreal Engine 4 Fan Remake available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/new-version-of-the-legend-of-zelda-ocarina-of-time-unreal-engine-4-fan-remake-available-for-download/
CryZENx has just released a brand new version of his amazing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time fan remake in Unreal Engine 4. From the looks of it, this new version is available only to CryZENx’s Patreon members. However, the older version of this project is still available to everyone.
The new version of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time Unreal Engine 4 Fan Remake features a brand new lighting system. This new lighting system greatly improves this fan remake. Moreover, CryZENx has added some cool volumetric sunlight effects.

There is a Spider-Man Unreal Engine 5 Tech Demo that you can download
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/there-is-a-spider-man-unreal-engine-5-tech-demo-that-you-can-download/
Remember the Superman Unreal Engine 5 Demo we shared a while back. Well, time for something similar, dedicated to all fans of our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Yeap, there is a Spiderman Unreal Engine 5 Tech Demo that you can download right now.
Similarly to the Superman Unreal Engine 5 Demo, this Spider-Man project uses the Megacity environment from The Matrix Awakens. As such, this project can give you a glimpse at what a next-gen Spiderman game could look like.
>> This one isn't so well done as the Superman one.

'Block Quake' delivers the Lego Quake experience we didn't know we needed
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/block-quake-delivers-the-lego-quake-experience-we-didnt-know-we-needed/
Modder Kebby_Quake has spat in the face of Shub-Niggurath, creating a mod for Quake that replaces weapons, enemies, and pickups with Lego facsimiles, bringing a childlike innocence and whimsy to the gruesome, Trent Reznor-scored FPS.
Kebby's work is impressive, and demonstrates the same impish sense of humor as the Lego Star Wars games. Humanoid enemies have been replaced with minifigs, while more complex foes like the Scrag have faithful block-based designs. I'm especially fond of what Kebby did with the game's weapons. They constructed the Super Shotgun with a double-stack of those one-peg, barrel-shaped Legos, while the Nailgun now fires out tiny Lego studs as its projectiles

GAMING NEWS

Galactic Civilizations IV and King Arthur: Knight’s Tale are now available on PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/galactic-civilizations-iv-and-king-arthur-knights-tale-are-now-available-on-pc/
Stardock and NeocoreGames have announced that Galactic Civilizations IV and King Arthur: Knight’s Tale are available on PC. Galactic Civilizations IV is a space 4X strategy sandbox game. On the other hand, King Arthur: Knight’s Tale is a hybrid between turn-based tactical and traditional character-centric RPG.

Thursday news, part two:

Star Wars: The Old Republic finally lets you change your weapon's appearance
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/star-wars-the-old-republic-finally-lets-you-change-your-weapons-appearance/
Dressing up my myriad alts is undoubtedly one of the main appeals of Star Wars: The Old Republic. Sure, I love the drama-rich class stories and, while Legacy of the Sith was a dud, there have been some great expansions, but I'm not sure I would have stuck around for a decade if it wasn't for my obsession with Star Wars fashion. I'm pretty happy with the latest update, then, because it finally gives me complete control over my characters' swag.

Final Fantasy 14's director is already working on the next expansion's story
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/final-fantasy-14s-director-is-already-working-on-the-next-expansions-story/
It's hard to believe that it's nearly been five months since Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker was released. The latest expansion wrapped up the game's decade-long story, bringing a close to the Hydaelyn/Zodiark arc. I've been itching to know where director Naoki Yoshida and the team will take my character next, with this month's Patch 6.1 beginning to lay the groundwork for what's to come.

Call of Duty: Warzone Pacific Season 3 is out now
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/call-of-duty-warzone-pacific-season-3-is-out-now/
I hope you wrapped up your last battle pass, because a new season of Call of Duty: Warzone Pacific starts today. Season 3, Classified Arms, is lighter on content at launch than past seasons, but players have something bigger to look forward to come May—Operation Monarch, a limited-time event pitting Godzilla and King Kong against each other on the beaches of Caldera. That should be interesting.

The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe launch trailer is not here
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/the-stanley-parable-ultra-deluxe-launch-trailer-is-not-here/
It's 4/27, which means Employee 427 is back on the clock. The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe has arrived, and Stanley stans are no doubt excited to explore the "expanded reimaging" of 2013's brilliant comedy adventure. I'd honestly just skip my glowing review and go buy the thing (which is 33% off for the next week for owners of the original) so you can dive back into the familiar adventures of Stanley which eventually become quite unfamiliar thanks to several hours of Ultra and Deluxe bits that have been added.

Did Bungie accidentally leak one of next season's Destiny 2 exotic weapons?
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/did-bungie-accidentally-leak-one-of-next-seasons-destiny-2-exotic-weapons/
Okay, who's ready to go down the rabbit hole, via a brief detour to Japan? Last week we talked about what I'm pretty sure were the longest balance change notes PC Gamer has ever encountered in the form of a 9,000 word edition of This Week at Bungie. In amongst all the buffs, nerfs and general nerding out (graphs!) over how in-air accuracy is calculated, there was a bullet pointed list of exotic weapons with their new 'Airborne Effectiveness' stats. The last entry read: [REDACTED] 29.

Maxis performed an exorcism on The Sims 4's cursed main menu
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/maxis-performed-an-exorcism-on-the-sims-4s-cursed-main-menu/
Among the many unearned stereotypes about millennials, the one unanimous truth is that we are horrified by unexpected phone calls. And getting repeated unexpected calls? Well I may just choose to chuck my phone out a window. Maxis has harnessed that primal fear and brought it to life in the guise of The Sims 4's notorious "Ring Ring Girl", now an official Sim you can download from the gallery and harbinger of a main menu game update.

QA workers on Dragon Age 4 have applied to form a union
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/qa-workers-on-dragon-age-4-have-applied-to-form-a-union/
Days after Raven QA got the green light to go forward with their union vote, another QA unit working with a big developer has moved to unionize. This time, external contractors doing QA for Bioware have applied to the Alberta Labor Relations board to form a union. A representative of the group told Game Developer that its members could no longer bear "struggling to make ends meet" working on Bioware's games, and this sentiment was echoed in a similar report by Kotaku.

Disney Dreamlight Valley looks like Kingdom Hearts minus the anime nonsense
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/disney-dreamlight-valley-looks-like-kingdom-hearts-minus-the-anime-nonsense/
Move over, Elden Ring, it's time for the adults to have some fun. Disney Dreamlight Valley is a life sim and adventure game that lets you live in a town populated with characters from Disney and Pixar films.

Call of Duty cheaters have recently found themselves blind to other players
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/call-of-duty-cheaters-have-recently-found-themselves-blind-to-other-players/
In the last few days, cheaters in Call of Duty: Vanguard may have noticed their games have been curiously empty—at least, until a silent, invisible bullet pierces their skull.
That's thanks to a new technique called Cloaking, a feature recently added to Vanguard's Ricochet anti-cheat system. While it's been active for some time, Team Ricochet highlighted the feature in a recent blog post (thanks, GameDeveloper) outlining some of Ricochet's latest mitigation features.

AMD begins RDNA3 (GFX11) graphics architecture enablement for LLVM project

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-begins-rdna3-gfx11-graphics-architecture-enablement-for-llvm-project

Sycom launches GeForce RTX 3090 Ti with Asetek/Noctua custom liquid-cooling solution, features five fans in total

https://videocardz.com/newz/sycom-launches-geforce-rtx-3090-ti-with-asetek-noctua-custom-liquid-cooling-solution-feature-five-fans-in-total

Steam Deck beta 3.2 now live (Screen refresh rate changer, OS level fan curve)

https://steamcommunity.com/app/1675200/discussions/0/3269060419612777126/

This should keep the fan silent when doing basic tasks

Yea maybe but it's not a good outlook for the company. I get the feeling RDNA 1 will end up being the same way compared to Turing.

I do wish more reviews would test these older cards to see how they do as well but alas.

Maglam Lord Releasing on PC Via Steam on May 30
https://twinfinite.net/2022/04/maglam-lord-pc-steam/
Today D3 Publisher announced that its JRPG and dating sim hybrid Maglam Lord is coming to PC. The game will release on Steam on May 30, 2022, and the listing is already available for your wishlisting purposes.
>>Steam link.

Team17 Announces Deck-Building Action-Platformer The Knight Witch for Consoles & PC
https://twinfinite.net/2022/04/team17-announces-deck-building-action-platformer-the-knight-witch-for-consoles-pc/
Today, acclaimed publisher Team17 and developer Super Mega Team announced a partnership to bring their deck-building Metroidvania, The Knight Witch, to PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and PC later this year.
>>Steam link.

Twitch reportedly considering more ads and worse subscription deals
https://www.pcgamesn.com/twitch/ads
Twitch is considering lowering subscription payouts to its top-tier streamers, according to a new report. Bloomberg says recent meetings at the Amazon-owned streaming giant have focused on monetisation changes that could start rolling out this summer, including a push for more ad-supported revenue programs.

Praxis Games Announces Interstellar Space: Genesis – Evolving Empires!
https://explorminate.co/praxis-games-announces-interstellar-space-genesis-evolving-empires/
We’re pleased to announce that Praxis Games, formerly the minds behind Spacesector.com, have announced the second expansion for their fantastic space 4X game, Interstellar Space: Genesis, titled “Evolving Empires“.

Yuji Naka took Square Enix to court over unfinished Balan Wonderworld
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2022-04-28-yuji-naka-took-square-enix-to-court-over-unfinished-balan-wonderworld
Long-serving development icon Yuji Naka has revealed details of a dispute between himself and Square Enix over the state of Balan Wonderworld.

THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD: Remake is now available on Steam.

The only thing that would make this better is if they launch it on Steam.

They will, once MSoft's deal is complete.