Steam Hardware Survey Shows AMD CPUs Leading In Linux OS, Gaining In Windows, NVIDIA GPUs Dominating

https://wccftech.com/steam-hardware-survey-shows-amd-cpus-leading-in-linux-os-gaining-in-windows-nvidia-gpus-dominating/

Hopefully AMD will do better next round cause it's clear the market wants Nvidia's features more so than the 50 watt less you get with AMD GPUs. Not that I'd take Steam Surveys too seriously as they can generally be skewed. But we also know Nvidia has been holding around 80% market share and AMD continues to struggle to gain 20%.

Samsung’s Next-Gen 990 Pro 1 TB & 2 TB PCIe Gen 5 SSDs Spotted

https://wccftech.com/samsung-next-gen-990-pro-1-tb-2-tb-pcie-gen-5-ssds-spotted/

Upgrade season is coming

AMD Ryzen 7000 “Raphael” Desktop CPU Spotted Running DDR5-6400 Memory

https://wccftech.com/amd-ryzen-7000-raphael-desktop-cpu-spotted-running-ddr5-6400-memory/

Greenmangaming is giving 12% off of spiderman remastered

https://www.greenmangaming.com/games/marvels-spider-man-remastered-pc/

Personally needs to be $40 or less before I bat an eye. If it included Miles, then maybe but Spiderman alone is a no thanks.

Driver Mod Allows AMD Noise Suppression Technology To Run On Older Radeon GPUs

https://wccftech.com/driver-mod-allows-amd-noise-suppression-technology-to-run-on-older-radeon-gpus/

I'll be curious to see how this does against RTX Voice

Yea pretty much. It's too coincidental that AMD had the same issues as Intel is facing when Raja was there vs when he left. Yet somehow he got promoted to become the VP of Intel. Feels like there is an ice burg coming and the captain needs to steer away before hitting it.

Ngl, I know this will sound tin-foil hatted, but over the past few decades I've been noticing CEO's acting nonchalant about making super bad decisions in companies and then getting these life-time amazing golden parachutes, and it's only becoming more and more apparent that those at the top of each company are just looking out for other fellow CEO's in making sure they either stay in office or get a fuck ton of money at the cost of company credit/rep.

It's not just AMD to Intel tho, it's Disney, Nestle, MS, Sony, Nintendo, all of them pretty much (seriously, if you look up Disney's history of leadership under Michael Eisner, Bob Iger and Bob Chapek, you'll notice a decline in company productivity, even Iger was best friends with Chapek and basically appointed him as the current president).

The games for Humble Choice August have been revealed.

• The Ascent
• Hot Wheels Unleashed
• A Plague Tale: Innocence
• Gas Station Simulator
• In Sound Mind
• Mind Scanners
• Emily Is Away <3
• Omno

Good thing I waited before buying In Sound Mind or A Plague Tale.

I think it's mainly cause people hire CEOs to make money but not lead the company in the right direction. Intel was a prime example of this for nearly a decade. They could have easily given us more than 4 cores in the consumer space a long time before Ryzen but instead, they focused on maximizing profits. Sadly, same goes for many other companies as well. And the main problem is they are publicly traded vs private.

If you look at a company who's CEO has been there from the start and isn't focused only on maximizing profits... Someone like Valve, you can see a stark difference in leadership vs many other companies. Valve has made mistakes over the years but they do generally listen to people and change their decisions based on feedback. Meanwhile Blizzard these days are like, fuck you and you and everyone else. Here's Diablo Immortal that only whales want! Not to mention Valve has many features that aren't necessarily profitable like remote play together or family sharing where as many other companies wouldn't touch that concept with a 10ft pole.

So overall, I think most companies goes to shit when they go publicly traded and the investors replace their CEOs with one that only focuses on profits.

The news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

GOG has three new deals:

• The first Deal of the Day is Caves of Qud, still in development, 10% off during 46 hours: https://www.gog.com/en/game/caves_of_qud
• The second DotD is XIII, with a 75% discount until Friday: https://www.gog.com/en/game/xiii
• The Midweek Sale features games with cartoony worlds with up to 90% discounts during 4 days: https://www.gog.com/promo/20220803_midweek_sale

Steam ha a new deal: The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante, 50% off until August 9: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1272160/The_Life_and_Suffering_of_Sir_Brante/.

And Fanatical's new Star Deal is THE GAME OF LIFE 2, 50% off during 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/the-game-of-life-2

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Alternative game engine The Machinery has been cancelled, with devs told to delete all trace of it
https://www.pcgamer.com/alternative-game-engine-the-machinery-has-been-cancelled-with-devs-told-to-delete-all-trace-of-it/
Without explanation and without warning, the developers at Our Machinery have announced that they are terminating work on their alternative to Unreal Engine and Unity: an engine they called The Machinery.
The announcement came in the form of an email sent to users a few days ago. "Unfortunately, we've reached a point where it’s no longer possible for us to continue in the current direction," said the team at Our Machinery, before going on to say, well, nothing by way of explanation.
Instead, the email simply stated that, per the engine's EULA, development would cease, access would be withdrawn, and licences would expire two weeks after the email was sent. Users were informed they would receive refunds and were requested to delete any source code or binaries they had in their possession.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Elden Ring modder chops down giant Erdtree for a performance boost
https://www.pcgamer.com/elden-ring-modder-chops-down-giant-erdtree-for-a-performance-boost/
Elden Ring is, essentially, a game about people with different beliefs about a big golden tree. Some say it's god's grace made manifest, while others think it has an unnatural grip around their mortality and should be usurped of its power. K4richard, a disciple of the church of NexusMods, believes the tree is soaking up a little too much of their frame rate, so they got rid of it.
In Remove Erd Tree (FPS BOOST), a slightly misspelled mod (it's "Erdtree") for Elden Ring, K4richard deletes the centerpiece of FromSoftware's sprawling action RPG. That's like plucking the Death Star out of Star Wars or the ring out of Lord of the Rings; although their goal is to free up some frames, K4richard might have just written fanfiction that turns Elden Ring from a hundred hour adventure to a 20 minute short story.

Fallout 4 modder performs miracle, creates working ladders
https://www.pcgamer.com/fallout-4-modder-performs-miracle-creates-working-ladders/
When Starfield got its cinematic teaser at E3 in 2021, eager fans had lots of questions. But one in particular rung out loudly because the character in the teaser was shown doing something unheard of in a Bethesda RPG: climbing a ladder.
Todd Howard was even grilled about the trailer's ladder-climbing by the Telegraph, admitting that it was just cinematic flair. "Well... climbing is not... don't read too much into the ladder," he said. "It’s a ladder to get you in and out of the spaceship. That’s about it." In other words, ladders in Starfield will act the way they do in Skyrim: like doors. Click a ladder and a new area loads.
You no longer have to settle for that in Fallout 4, however, because a modder has gotten ladders to actually work. And those working ladders are in the place it most matters: your settlements. Kiss those ramps and stairs goodbye with the Climbable Ladders for Settlements mod by neeher. You can craft 'em. You can place 'em. And you can, finally, climb 'em.

Sonic Triple Trouble 16-bit fan remake available for download on PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/sonic-triple-trouble-16-bit-fan-remake-available-for-download-on-pc/
Sonic Triple Trouble was one of the best Sonic games for the Game Gear and Master System. Ironically, this was also exclusive to SEGA’s 8-bit consoles, and never saw a 16-bit release. And now, after almost 30 years, we finally get a 16-bit fan remake.
Created by fans, Sonic Triple Trouble 16-bit re-imagines the game in the style of the classic SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis Sonic titles. This fan remake features remakes of all the levels from the 8-bit version, plus new stage layouts, enemies, and gimmicks.
Furthermore, it comes with Sega Genesis accurate Colors & Sound, and Gamepad support. Sonic Triple Trouble 16-bit also features 360 Sonic physics, and allows players to switch between Sonic and Tails in real-time.

GAMING NEWS

Far Cry 6 will be free to play between August 4th and August 7th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/far-cry-6-will-be-free-to-play-between-august-4th-and-august-7th/
Ubisoft has announced that Far Cry 6 will be free to play this weekend. From August 4th until August 7th, PC gamers will be able to download and play this latest Far Cry game.

SAMURAI MAIDEN is a new sword-fighting action game, coming to PC this Winter
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/samurai-maiden-is-a-new-sword-fighting-action-game-coming-to-pc-this-winter/
D3Publisher has announced a new female-led sword-fighting action game, called SAMURAI MAIDEN. SAMURAI MAIDEN will be coming to PC this Winter, and below you can find its debut gameplay trailer.

Part two of the news:

CS:GO players celebrate as matchmaking tweak leads to bonus rankings
https://www.pcgamer.com/csgo-players-celebrate-as-matchmaking-tweak-leads-to-bonus-rankings/
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has released a shake-up to its competitive ranking system, and lots of fans are very happy about it. The changes have seen some players lose ranks and others stay where they are, but it seems like an awful lot of us (myself included) have suddenly jumped about three or four ranks higher.

Embalm corpses, fill out forms, and battle for your soul in DreadXP's new horror game
https://www.pcgamer.com/embalm-corpses-fill-out-forms-and-battle-for-your-soul-in-dreadxps-new-horror-game/
Horror publisher DreadXP, which has previously brought us spooky weirdness including the Dread X Collections and a Cthulhu mythos dating sim, has joined with Darkstone Digital on a new game that's out today called The Mortuary Assistant. It's yet another game about having a job, but—of course—there's a lot more to this gig than draining stiffs and filling out paperwork.

After admitting their MMO 'sucks,' developer reworks the entire game
https://www.pcgamer.com/after-admitting-their-mmo-sucks-developer-reworks-the-entire-game/
If you visit the Steam page for early access survival MMO Last Oasis, you'll find an article bluntly titled "Last Oasis Sucks." It's not a post on the discussion page written by a disgruntled player and it's not an opinion piece from a gaming media outlet pulled in by Steam's news aggregator.
It was written by Last Oasis' developer.

Marvel's new card game is scrapping its unpopular monetization scheme
https://www.pcgamer.com/marvels-new-card-game-is-scrapping-its-unpopular-monetization-scheme/
Marvel Snap studio Second Dinner says it will refund all gold spent by players during the game's contentious Nexus Events, and will also give the Jane Foster base card to all players, regardless of whether or not they participated in Nexus Events. The announcement comes a week after the removal of Nexus Events, which were heavily criticized by players for over-aggressive monetization and misrepresenting the likelihood of higher tier rewards dropping. The game is currently in closed beta on Android devices, but will be coming to PC down the line.

Suing abusers and cheaters is 'good business,' Bungie says
https://www.pcgamer.com/suing-abusers-and-cheaters-is-good-business-bungie-says/
Destiny 2 developer Bungie filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit in July against a player it alleges has a long history of cheating, creating alt accounts to evade bans, and threatening studio employees. We noted at the time that Bungie has taken "an increasingly aggressive approach" to troublemakers in recent years, and general counsel Don McGowan recently told Axios why. According to McGowan, it's good for players, and it's a good business decision, too.

After popularizing self-revive in battle royale, Apex Legends is getting rid of it
https://www.pcgamer.com/after-popularizing-self-revive-in-battle-royale-apex-legends-is-getting-rid-of-it/
When Apex Legends launched in 2019, it came with a bunch of cool quality-of-life features that every battle royale under the sun started borrowing. You'd be hard pressed to find a battle royale in 2022 without a respawn system or contextual pinging, but Apex will soon drop one influential piece of kit from its loot pool: self-revive.

Malcolm McDowell announces Gloomwood delay: 'For God's sake, you can wait'
https://www.pcgamer.com/malcolm-mcdowell-announces-gloomwood-delay-for-gods-sake-you-can-wait/
Gloomwood, New Blood Interactive's "Thief with guns" stealth-action game, has been delayed. Not for very long, fortunately—it's now slated to launch into early access on September 6, a postponement of just three weeks. The whole thing would be entirely unremarkable, in fact, if not for the way that New Blood announced it—or, more to the point, who announced it.

Multiversus will have a 50-tier battle pass when season 1 launches
https://www.pcgamer.com/multiversus-will-have-a-50-tier-battle-pass-when-season-1-launches/
(...)
Season one of Multiversus is set to launch on August 9 alongside the game's first fully-fledged battle pass, and game director Tony Huynh has offered some insight into what we can expect. It should cost around 950 gleamium—the game's premium currency—and will have 50 tiers in total (thanks, TheGamer ).

Games Workshop made £25 million from videogames last year, and a dozen more titles are on the way
https://www.pcgamer.com/games-workshop-made-pound25-million-from-videogames-last-year-and-a-dozen-more-titles-are-on-the-way/
Games Workshop, the UK-based company behind the Warhammer products, has released its yearly financials and discussed its ever-increasing presence in videogames. The Warhammer brand is not so much the company's bread-and-butter as the entire contents of the pantry, and while its core business remains miniatures and its own products, it is now involved in a huge number of licensing deals to make videogames.

AMD to announce Ryzen 7000 on August 29th, launching September 15th

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-to-announce-ryzen-7000-on-august-29th-launching-september-15th

Going to be a fun next few months

AMD Confirms Ryzen 7000 “Raphael” CPU Launch This Quarter, High-End RDNA 3 GPUs & EPYC Genoa On Track For Late 2022

https://wccftech.com/amd-confirms-ryzen-7000-raphael-cpu-launch-q3-2022-high-end-rdna-3-gpus-epyc-genoa-on-track-for-late-2022/

The title sounds a bit miss leading to me but to clarify what it says in the article, high end RDNA 3 will be launching this year according to AMD

Backblaze HDD Stats for Q2 2022 Published

https://wccftech.com/backblaze-hdd-stats-for-q2-2022-published/

Intel® Arc™ A750 Graphics Performance Preview

https://game.intel.com/story/intel-arc-a750-graphics-performance-preview/

First party benchmarks so take it with a grain of salt. Although after the driver abomination that GN showed, idk how much it matters until they release a fully functioning driver set.

So we should get Zen4 by mid-September (and with reviews coming before the launch!) followed by Raptor Lake in early October. The back to school season will sure be interesting, and we can't forget about the GPUs coming probably shortly after that.

And well, yeah, it doesn't matter how good can your GPU perform if you'll have troubles making it work as it should. It's clear that those results should come with an asterisk noting that this is what you can get when the drivers decide to work.

Chinese and Taiwanese are getting intel Arc GPUs much earlier than the world wide without stable driver and optimized software control panel.