Yeah the paint and sculpt is bang on. Its pretty confusing stuff and strange they don't advertise the other things. If you have a look at the Reddit link it might explain it better.

Its picked up on some gaming sites which is quite funny. People are thirsty for Tifa I guess lol.

I almost wouldn't mind buying the Advanced version if the pose wasn't so lewd. Like it would be impossible to keep this out in the open because anyone that sees this will think I am a sex offender. If they had a more standard pose with the optional nude version that gives the same detail as the Ultimate, I'd be more tempted but even then, that's like $1000 CAD. I like Tifa but I don't like her that much lol.

So... Doing the rounds at the moment is the rumor that Ryzen 7000 APU's will beat a Geforce 3060.
https://www.pcgamesn.com/amd/ryzen-7000-apu-nvidia-rtx-3060

It's entirely based on flops.

In the real world, the 3060 will be faster because it has orders-of-magnitude more memory bandwidth. 360GB/s vs 100GB/s for Dual Channel DDR5 6000.

Memory bandwidth influences fillrate which is going to be the bottleneck at even 1080P.

This is why we should ignore biased sources like Red Gaming Tech.

Meanwhile, me with my second pair of Joycons that are drifting to absolute fuck, because Nintendo cba fixing them and requires me to purchase another pair for £70..

So done with the Switch. I've only ever bought indies with it, save for the odd Ninty first party or two, but outside of that, high store prices and drifting joycons that cost £70 really put me off Ninty hardware.

Definitely going in for a Deck once they start selling them normally, because at least Valve is rapidly improving their sw side of things, and having optional choices for perf gains and inputs is the biggest blessing that device could ever have.

At least if I buy sa Deck, I don't have to buy shit all over again, which is what Ninty expected me to do with the Switch, and to top it off, actual good sales via Steam, instead of a few 25% sales on £60-70 games on Switch.

I'm probably coming off a bit strong, but I'm honestly disappointed with Ninty's output, at least in terms of game selection and hw issues from my end. The whole gen it's just been Breath of the Wild and AC for me, virtually nothing else grabbed me, or was something lacklustre (like half the recent Pokemon games).

Lol, Yea don't get me started with the amount of dumb things I have to deal with on the Switch.

Like for example, the eshop. Anytime I want to browse for a game, it's so damn slow. Like I swear, it scrolls at like 2fps. And to make matters worse, there is no shopping cart. So that means if I go to the Deals section to browse games and I want to buy multiple, I have to deal with the slow ass scrolling, buy one, do the whole check out nonsense, then go back to deals and either find the other game that caught my eye or search for it.

Why can't I just have a shopping cart? Like seriously? It's such a basic feature! But no...

It's pretty dumb how much functionality the wiiU had back in 2013 compared to the Switch in 2022. Like yes, the Switch has sold 100+ million but in terms of features and functionality, it's laughable.

It's not a lack of DRAM that is responsible for the dog-slow UI, it's a lack of CPU resources... A single 1Ghz A57 core leaves much to be desired.
The UI itself could also do with better hardware acceleration...

Nintendo's online network leaves much to be desired as well, which doesn't help expedite the downloading of games/images/information when browsing the eShop.

I never tried to browse the eShop with the Switch device.

I browse through Deku Deals on my PC... usually "all time low": https://www.dekudeals.com/hottest?filter[discount]=lowest&sort=discount

From there I follow the eShop-URLs of the interesting titles and buy them. The installation on the Switch device starts automatically.

But since the announcement of the Steam Deck I only buy very few third party games for the Switch. 

Probably just past mid September. Since the previous launches where around that time; the 2080/3080. It will be RTX 4080/4090 launch in Sept.. followed by the 7X series. Then the 6X series after that (2023) and then Super/Ti releases and a 5X if we're lucky.

I wouldn't count on mid range cards to release this year though since Nvidia always release the 8 and 7 series first. And so prices for the 3060Ti may or may not drop substantially when they release.. it may be worth picking up if you need a GPU now (if you can get a good deal) and resell later.

I legit hate that you have to go through multiple pages of the Eshop to get to the thing you want, like DLC for example is a pain. Also doesn't help that the eshop doesn't have perma filters like Steam does, so I'm always stuck every single time, having to sift through all the mobile and freemium crap that has littered the eshop (while on Steam the vast majority of it is blocked/ignored on my end forever). 

Also joycon drift in eshop is a nightmare and a curse, because the last thing you wanna do is scroll, have the stick drift at the last second and you accidentally hitting the A button to buy shit...

Also yeah, why the fuck is not having a shopping cart treated like it's the norm, when it clearly isn't lmao. EGS got away with it for years and it seems Nintendo has as well, like what backwards ass thinking. 

Looking back, the Wii U's UI actually looked a lot more lean and cleaner, as well as being able to fully organise shit the way you wanted, same goes for 3DS as well (god I miss proper folders, not the weird ones the Switch hides from you). 

I also hate the lack of customisation on Switch for say, themes and background. 3DS had those late in it's life cycle, but I still loved having a Sonic theme and sound fx, and of course, the same goes for my PSP, which I modded to fuck with icons, sounds and wallpapers. 

The other consoles are like "nah, you have to buy what shit we give you", instead of letting you customise it all for free like I was able to with the PSP, and of course, Steam. 

I mean it's cool that they finally got to support VRR, but shit man, there's still tons of functionality not being included with these new consoles and Switch, and I really want that, and it's why I'm likely to just stick with PC and hardly bother with consoles ever again. Switch def feels like my last ever commitment to a console, and it's def left a sour taste, and it isn't helped by the Deck getting this level of support over a few months, which takes console creators a whole gen or two to adapt upon. 

The Tuesday news, all in one post:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Steam has five new deals and a new range of weeklong deals:

• The first daily deal is Ghostwire: Tokyo, 34% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1475810/Ghostwire_Tokyo/
• The second daily deal is Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions, with a 75% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1163550/Captain_Tsubasa_Rise_of_New_Champions/
• The first Midweek Madness deal is publisheer's Prime Matter Sale on both Outward & Pathfinder, with discounts that go from 50 to 75% until the 12th of May: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/pathfinderxoutward-last-chance-offer-outward-definitive-entitlement
• Transport Fever 2 will be 50% off until the 13th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1066780/Transport_Fever_2/
• SOULCALIBUR VI gets an 85% discount until May 13: https://store.steampowered.com/app/544750/SOULCALIBUR_VI/
• And here are some of the weeklong deals:
  • The Test gets a 20% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1241510/The_Test/
  • The Medium is 35% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1293160/The_Medium/
  • Beholgar gets a 50% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1399750/Beholgar/
  • TheoTown is 66% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1084020/TheoTown/
  • Silver Chains gets an 80% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/975470/Silver_Chains/
  • And My Brother Rabbit is 90% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/855640/My_Brother_Rabbit/

Fanatical has two new deals:

• The Star Deal is THE ODDBOXX, featuring the 4 original games, 85% off during the next 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/the-oddboxx
• And the May Platinum Collection BYOB has launched featuring 18 games to choose your 3, 5 or 7 games bundle: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/platinum-collection-build-your-own-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Duke Nukem Forever 2001 build may be leaked in June [UPDATE: Now Out]
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/duke-nukem-forever-2001-build-may-be-leaked-in-june/
It appears that some people have gotten their hands on the 2001 build of Duke Nukem Forever and may release it in June. According to a 4chan leak, we can expect to be playing this canceled version of Duke Nukem Forever next month.
UPDATE:
PC gamers won’t have to wait until June as the leaked 2001 build is now available for download from here.

The Legend of Zelda, Star Wars & Harry Potter mods released for Elden Ring
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/the-legend-of-zelda-star-wars-harry-potter-mods-released-for-elden-ring/
A number of mods have surfaced for Elden Ring that allow you to play as characters from Star Wars, Harry Potter and The Legend of Zelda. As such, and thanks to these mods, you can play and experience the world of Elden Ring in a new way.

GAMING NEWS

Hunt: Showdown was targeted by malicious attacks, devs reveal
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/hunt-showdown-was-targeted-by-malicious-attacks-devs-reveal/
Hunt: Showdown is regarded in these parts as one of the best, most suspenseful online shooters around. Morgan fell in love with it last year, while I've been bigging up its lesser-known Quickplay mode as a great battle royale alternative. But amidst the cracking shootouts and dashes for extraction, the game has stubbed its toe here and there, including a series of server issues and disconnects during the Traitor's Moon event last month.
Now, Crytek has released a YouTube video addressing the problems, and what it's doing to solve them. It turns out that, alongside ISP issues and backend faults at Crytek's end, the game was also targeted by malicious attackers during the event.

Weird West patch means guards will think KO-ed NPCs on beds are just sleeping
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/weird-west-patch-means-guards-will-think-ko-ed-npcs-on-beds-are-just-sleeping/
Weird West is a nice, deep immersive sim that gives you plenty of ways to go about things—whether that's bullet-time blasting enemies like Max Payne, sneaking through bushes, or setting the world ablaze using oil lamps and whiskey bottles. Now, with the 1.02 Snake-In-My-Boot update, your means of approach have expanded a fair bit, alongside some other notable improvements.

Hitman 3 delays roguelike mode so it's 'as close to our ambitions as possible'
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/hitman-3-delays-roguelike-mode-so-its-as-close-to-our-ambitions-as-possible/
IO Interactive does love a roadmap, and it's shared the latest for the wonderful Hitman 3. The biggest news is that the anticipated Freelancer, a new mode littered with roguelike elements, is being delayed, and the developer expects to have it ready in the second half of the year.

Indie dev is releasing an official pirate version of his upcoming game, 'no strings attached'
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/indie-dev-is-releasing-an-official-pirate-version-of-his-upcoming-game-no-strings-attached/
Please Fix the Road is a lovely, laid back-looking puzzle game about—in case the title wasn't enough of a giveaway—fixing roads. The goal is to move and manipulate tiles of various sorts to ensure that cars, boats, trains, and even animals can get from where they are to where they need to be. It's set to come out in June, and will be available on Steam, GOG, Itch.io, and various pirate torrents.
Games are inevitably pirated, it's true, but this is actually an "official" pirate release, complete with special pirate version features. Not a murderous scorpion, dunce cap, or anything else that would mark or punish pirates for their transgression, though: Developer Ariel Jurkowski said on Twitter that there will be "no strings attached" to the version of Please Fix the Road released to torrent sites.

Summer Games Done Quick features back-to-back Elden Ring runs
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/summer-games-done-quick-features-back-to-back-elden-ring-runs/
The schedule for the Summer Games Done Quick event running from June 26 to July 3 has been unveiled. It's looking like a pretty stacked lineup this year, but I've listed some of the spiciest-looking entries below.

MGS5 players tried to disarm the nukes and give peace a chance, but Konami said 'no'
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/mgs5-players-tried-to-disarm-the-nukes-and-give-peace-a-chance-but-konami-said-no/
A new video by Did You Know Gaming has shed some more light on the mysterious nuclear disarmament cutscene first discovered in Metal Gear Solid 5 in 2015.

Now Bandai Namco says it's 'actively working' on fixing the PC Souls games
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/now-bandai-namco-says-its-actively-working-on-fixing-the-pc-souls-games/
Last week we reported on the slightly unusual situation that's developed with the Dark Souls games on PC. Essentially, the games have been offline since January, when a major exploit was made public, and this was swiftly followed by the release of developer FromSoft's Elden Ring—by any metric, the biggest title of the year so far.
(...)
The concern about when and indeed if the servers were ever coming back has been growing. Now, someone at Bandai Namco support has delivered the message Souls fans want to hear. Redditor Relevant_Heart_1751 contacted the publisher to ask when they'd be able to play their games again, and received the following response:

Ghostwire: Tokyo's director is interested in making DLC and sequels
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/ghostwire-tokyos-director-is-interested-in-making-dlc-and-sequels/
Ghostwire: Tokyo, might get DLC and a sequel or two after its director has expressed interest in expanding the story. Kenji Kimura, in a new interview, has expressed his hopes of continuing the story of the ghoulish game once "things calm down a bit".

Final Fantasy 14 director tackles the hopeless task of trying to get MMO players to uninstall UI mods
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/final-fantasy-14s-director-says-no-way-jose-to-thirdparty-software/
(...)
As with pretty much every big MMOG ever, there are a bunch of third-party tools and mods that experienced players make use of. When I got back into WoW for a brief period around Shadowlands, and I am not any kind of veteran, I probably spent about two hours fiddling with UI, inventory and map mods before taking a single step. They're so ubiquitous in these games that they just feel like part of the scenery.
Hold that thought, because here comes Final Fantasy XIV director Naoki Yoshida to say, no, these things are Bad Actually.

Final Fantasy 14's director says there's a distinct difference between MMOs and the metaverse
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/final-fantasy-14s-director-says-theres-a-distinct-difference-between-mmos-and-the-metaverse/
Naoki Yoshida has said he doesn't believe that the metaverse is "entertainment," adding how he doesn't see the concept as being similar to MMOs like his own Final Fantasy 14.
Comparisons have been drawn between the two since the whole bullshit metaverse craze exploded last year. Our own Nat highlighted virtual worlds like Second Life and Habbo Hotel as superior versions of the idea, while Gabe Newell said he doesn't understand the fuss when MMOs have been serving a similar purpose for decades. But for Yoshida, it seems as though he's trying to put some distance between his MMO and the metaverse.