The Thursday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

The Epic Store is giving away all this:

• Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/shadow-of-the-tomb-raider
• Submerged: Hidden Depths: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/submerged-hidden-depths
• And the Armadillo DLC Pack for Knockout City: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/knockout-city

And next week, they'll be giving away Hundred Days - Winemaking Simulator and a bundle for the game Realm Royale Reforged.

Steam has two new deals:

• Tavern Master will be 30% off until next Wednesday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1525700/Tavern_Master/
• And The Sinking City will be 80% off until September 7: https://store.steampowered.com/app/750130/The_Sinking_City/

There are two new deals at Humble:

• At Humble Bundle we find the Dungeons: The Complete Trilogy Bundle, with up to 17 games and DLCs to get during the next 13 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/dungeons-complete-trilogy
• And at the Humble Store there's a new flash deal: Back 4 Blood will be 60% off during 26 hours: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/back-4-blood-summer-sale-48hr-deals/

Fanatical has three new deals/sales/bundles:

• The new Star Deal is The Outer Worlds, 74% off during 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/the-outer-worlds
• Ubisoft puts its games up to 86% off during the next 7 days (tho some deals will end sooner than that, be careful). Needless to say, the keys are for UPlay: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/ubisoft
• And the Platinum Collection BYOB for September is here with 16 titles to choose from for your 3, 5 or 7 games bundle: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/platinum-collection-build-your-own-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Valve bans Steam curators suspected of scamming developers for free games
https://www.pcgamer.com/valve-bans-steam-curators-suspected-of-scamming-developers-for-free-games/
Earlier this week, indie developer Cowcat accused several Steam curators of trying to scam it out of free codes for its game, Brok the InvestiGator, and then publishing negative reviews after realizing the codes were actually for a free demo.
This 'review revenge' tactic appears to have backfired. Three days after a Twitter thread and Reddit post calling attention to the seemingly bogus reviews gained traction, all of the curators in question have been banned by Valve.
Reddit user darklinkpower, the author of the illuminating post which tied the reviews of nine suspicious curator pages to one admin account, published a follow-up noting that all of the curator pages they investigated are now offline. Clicking a direct link to any of the curator pages now redirects to the same message: "This group has been removed for violating the Steam Community Rules and Guidelines."
>> Serves them right.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

First teaser trailers for Duke Nukem Forever 2001 Restoration Project
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/first-teaser-trailers-for-duke-nukem-forever-2001-restoration-project/
A team of modders is currently working on a restoration project for the leaked 2001 version of Duke Nukem Forever. Duke Nukem Forever 2001 Restoration Project aims to complete Duke Nukem Forever as it was originally intended, and below you can find its first teaser trailers. Let’s start with the First S

Three new trailers for the Resident Evil Fan Remake in Unity Engine
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/three-new-trailers-for-the-resident-evil-fan-remake-in-unity-engine/
Back in January 2022, we informed you about a third-person fan remake of the first Resident Evil game in Unity Engine. And today, we are happy to present you three new trailers from it.
In Resident Evil 1 Remake, players will manage their inventory, find defense knives to quickly run away from a zombie about to bite them. Additionally, they’ll be able to use their flashlight whenever they want. The game will also have a dodge mechanic, and a good amount of weapons to choose from.

The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion Vanilla vs Ultra Modded Remastered Graphics Comparison
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/the-elder-scrolls-iv-oblivion-vanilla-vs-ultra-modded-remastered-graphics-comparison/
Digital Dreams has shared a comparison video between the vanilla and an ultra modded version of The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion. This comparison video can give you an idea of how numerous graphical mods can improve the visuals of this classic TES game.
As always, DigitalDreams has shared the modlist that they have used. The modlist is called “heartland” and you can find it here.

GAMING NEWS

Open-world adventure game, Tchia, gets an official commented gameplay trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/open-world-adventure-game-tchia-gets-an-official-commented-gameplay-trailer/
Awaceb has released a new in-depth video showcasing all-new gameplay, environments and story elements from its upcoming open-world adventure game, Tchia. In this video, Game Director Phil Crifo guides viewers through a typical day in Tchia.

Thursday news, part two:

The Shovel Knight roguelike is out in a few weeks
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-shovel-knight-roguelike-is-out-in-a-few-weeks/
Yacht Club Games, developers of the excellent Shovel Knight and the upcoming Mina the Hollower, has announced the imminent arrival of Shovel Knight Dig. The 2D semi-roguelike arrives on September 23 and comes with a charming trailer featuring some of the developers playing dress-up, as well as plenty of footage from a title that has apparently been in the works for around four years.

Paradox is changing how it releases Crusader Kings 3 DLC, and the monarchs have some concerns
https://www.pcgamer.com/paradox-is-changing-how-it-releases-crusader-kings-3-dlc-and-the-monarchs-have-some-concerns/
A bitesize DLC for Crusader Kings 3 is on its way, but it's neither an expansion nor a flavour pack. This time, we're getting the Friends And Foes event pack, which will release on Steam on September 8. Rather unusually, for something that's out in a week, Paradox has not said what it will be charging for the DLC.
This is causing some consternation among strategy lovers, because the reveal of Friends And Foes comes hot on the heels of Paradox's recent announcement that CK3's flavour pack DLCs would soon be doubling in price. (...)

Ubisoft pauses 'decommissioning' of old games, reverses course on DLC deactivation
https://www.pcgamer.com/ubisoft-pauses-decommissioning-of-old-games-reverses-course-on-dlc-deactivation/
Ubisoft's shambolic "decommissioning" of more than a dozen older games took an unexpected turn today with a surprise announcement that the process—well, most of it—has been delayed to give people one final chance to snag the content that's going away.

Bethesda forced Arkane to call its game Prey, which studio founder says was 'very, very hurtful'
https://www.pcgamer.com/bethesda-forced-arkane-to-call-its-game-prey-which-studio-founder-says-was-very-very-hurtful/
I like Arkane's 2017 immersive sim Prey a lot—even more than I liked Human Head's 2006 FPS of the same name. (Which, for the record, I liked quite a lot too.) But I was always baffled by the decision to reuse the title. Developer Arkane was explicit that its game was not a sequel or a remake, and had "no tie with the original," and it's not as though the 2006 game was such a smash hit that it carried immutable PR value.
It was a fairly widespread point of confusion, in fact, and not just among gamers but also at Arkane. In fact, studio founder Raphael Colantonio, who left Arkane in 2017, said in a recent Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences interview that Bethesda's insistence on using the name "was very, very hurtful," and ultimately helped convince him that it was time to go.

Wrath of the Lich King Classic's new group finder tool is a mess
https://www.pcgamer.com/wrath-of-the-lich-king-classics-new-group-finder-tool-is-a-mess/
Wrath of the Lich King Classic's most controversial feature is one that didn't exist in the original, 14-year-old expansion.
World of Warcraft Classic received its preparatory Wrath pre-patch this week, which includes early access to the Death Knight class, the new Inscription profession, and the game's unique group finder tool.

Sons of the Forest delayed again, but new gameplay footage sure looks nice
https://www.pcgamer.com/sons-of-the-forest-delayed-again-but-new-gameplay-footage-sure-looks-nice/
Sons of the Forest, the sequel to the deliciously hectic survival gem The Forest, won't release in October as planned. Instead, Endnight Games has announced that it will now release on February 23, 2023. This is the game's second delay—it was originally meant to release in May.

Jet Set Radio spiritual successor Bomb Rush Cyberfunk hit with another delay
https://www.pcgamer.com/jet-set-radio-spiritual-successor-bomb-rush-cyberfunk-hit-with-another-delay/
Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, the Jet-Set-Radio-alike skating game from the devs behind Lethal League, has been delayed until summer next year.

This brutal open world survival game just got its biggest free update in 4 years
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-brutal-open-world-survival-game-just-got-its-biggest-free-update-in-4-years/
Survival game Conan Exiles arrived in early access in 2017 with a mix of crafting, base building, brutal multiplayer PvP, and perhaps most notably an endowment slider and full genital physics. Since then the survival sandbox has continued to draw thousands of players with floppy dongs and bouncy ballbags to clash with each other in the harsh world of Conan's Hyborian Age.
That world is about to change. Age of Sorcery is the biggest free update to hit Conan Exiles since it left early access in 2018, and it's just gone live. The patch will allow players to finally become the natural rival of the barbarian: the magic-user. New powers will let players summon demons and undead minions, perform ritual blood sacrifices on captives, conjure lightning strikes, turn day into night, and even become invisible.

UK watchdog announces in-depth investigation of Microsoft's Activision Blizzard deal
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk-watchdog-announces-in-depth-investigation-of-microsofts-activision-blizzard-deal/
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced that, following an initial investigation, it is prepared to open an in-depth 'Phase 2' enquiry into Microsoft's $68.7 billion deal to acquire Activision Blizzard. The CMA is the UK's anti-trust regulator, responsible for maintaining the competitive integrity of the markets, and could be a significant hurdle for the acquisition if its concerns are not addressed.

AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs Reportedly Run Hot, Ryzen 9 7950X Hits Up To 95C Thermal Threshold at 230W, Ryzen 5 7600X Up To 90C at 120W

https://wccftech.com/amd-ryzen-7000-zen-4-cpus-run-hot-ryzen-9-7950x-up-to-95c-230w-ryzen-5-7600x-up-to-90c-at-120w-rumor/

As usual, take it with a grain of salt until reviews come out. Supposedly, it is due to the density of the chips is the reason why it's so hard to cool.

US Gov’t Halts Exports of NVIDIA & AMD Server GPUs Including H100, A100, MI250 To China & Russia

https://wccftech.com/us-govt-halts-exports-of-nvidia-amd-server-gpus-including-h100-a100-mi250-to-china-russia/

Certainly not a good year for Nvidia. Arm deal that didn't go through, Crypto Crash, GPU Oversupply and now this. Could be good for the rest of us though as they probably want to get high end 4000 series out sooner than later as those will have bigger markups than discounting 3000 series more and more.

AMD Confirms DDR5-6000 As Sweet Spot For Ryzen 7000 CPUs, Default FCLK at 1733 MHz & Best Results By Leaving It on Auto

https://wccftech.com/amd-confirms-ryzen-7000-ddr5-6000-memory-sweet-spot-auto-fclk-recommended-for-overclocking/

Intel Claims Arc GPUs To Offer “Competitive or Better” Ray Tracing Than NVIDIA’s RTX, Prices To Be Very Competitive, Work Began on Battlemage & Celestial

https://wccftech.com/intel-arc-gpus-better-ray-tracing-than-nvidia-rtx-competitive-prices-battlemage-celestial-in-the-works/

Of course, the key here is better than Ray Tracing in it's class. So A750 looks to be slightly ahead of the 3060 in RT games. Not that it matters though cause the drivers are still shat.

Phil Spencer confirms Overwatch, Diablo and Call Of Duty are headed to Game Pass

https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2022/09/01/gaming-everyone-everywhere/

Well_there_it_is.gif

I can understand it for some genres like strategy games (I still remember the pic Pemalite posted of Civ V in his triple monitor setup) or racing games, for example, but I honestly don't see the appeal in a game like Spiderman.

But well, we all have different tastes and opinions, and I'm not one to judge what you think is the best way to experience that game. If it works for you, then great! I hope your kids enjoy it.

Samsung announces Odyssey OLED G8 34-inch QHD gaming monitor

https://videocardz.com/press-release/samsung-announces-odyssey-oled-g8-34-inch-qhd-gaming-monitor

Almost forgot about this one. Basically the samething as Alienware's QD-OLED just without G-Sync Ultimate which means you get Micro HDMI (2.1), Mini DP (1.4) and USB-C. Tbh idk why a 34 inch monitor has mini versions of those ports. That just means if the cable gets fucked, you can't easily replace them with a standard one. No word on pricing or warranty though.

Honestly, no idea how good it will look with Spiderman, but I know I always wanted that ultrawide experience in pretty much anything that has enemies that can jump me from the side and quickly kill me (or one-shot me like War Thunder).

When you over-engineer something so simple but cheap out on the most important part:

Going for smaller and more advanced nodes has its perks, but also its cons.

One of AMD's slides talked about density and compared Zen4 to Alder Lake (click to open a bigger version):

With both Alder Lake and Zen4 using roughly the same power, but one being 50% smaller, heat density will be much higher and, therefore, run hotter.

Your next Steam Deck could be a streaming device
https://www.pcgamer.com/your-next-steam-deck-could-be-a-streaming-device/
Valve has been pretty candid about their plans for the Steam Deck, especially around the device's recent release in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The company even produced a neat little booklet to formally introduce itself in new territories where Valve isn't a (specific kind of) household name, filled with tidbits and goodies about the Deck's development and future.

Well, that trend is set to continue, because in a recent interview with Famitsu Weekly, Valve designer Greg Coomer let slip a bit of the company's thinking when it comes to new Steam Decks. Most surprisingly, he indicated that one possibility for a "next generation" Steam Deck was that it "might even become a streaming machine," presumably taking advantage of the Steam Link technology that Valve has already poured a lot of time into.

So, what do you think? Yay or nah?

I could order my second Steam Deck this weekend:

A lot sooner than expected. I'm not sure if I'll get it... 512 GB and 1 TB M.2 2230 SSDs are still hard to get and very expensive here in Germany. I had hoped that availability of these 2230-SSDs would get better in the second half of 2022 and that the first 2TB-models would show up.