Hardware Unboxed compared XeSS to FSR 2.1 and DLSS 2.4:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pFCd76eV0U

tl;dw: Much slower than either DLSS or FSR (and with Ultra Quality even native most of the time) yet delivers the worst visual quality of the three.

The Monday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Steam's Top 10

GOG has three new Deals of the Day and a new Weekly Sale:

• The first DotD is Fantasy General II - Invasion, 42% off during 46 hours: https://www.gog.com/en/game/fantasy_general_ii_invasion
• The second DotD is Noita, 50% off until Wednesday; https://www.gog.com/en/game/noita
• The last DotD is Stronghold Crusader HD, 80% off until the 26th: https://www.gog.com/en/game/stronghold_crusader
• And the new Weekly Sale include games with monsters with up to 80% discounts during the next 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20221024_weekly_sale

Steam has two new deals:

• Flashing Lights - Police, Firefighting, Emergency Services Simulator, still in Early Access, gets a 50% discount until October 30: https://store.steampowered.com/app/605740/Flashing_Lights__Police_Firefighting_Emergency_Services_Simulator/
• And GRID Legends will be 70% off until November 1st: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1307710/GRID_Legends/

We can find four deals at Humble:

• The new Humble Bundle is the World of Darkness Bundle, with up to 11 items to get during the next 11 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/world-darkness-collection
• And at the Humble Store we find the other three sales:
  • The Dishonored 10th Anniversary Sale features up to 80% discounts during 4 days. All the keys are for Steam: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/dishonored-10th-anniversary-sale/
  • The Strategy Sale comes with up to 80% discounts during 4 days. There are keys for Steam and UPlay: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/strategy-sale/
  • And the Focus Entertainment BYOB features 34 games to choose your up to 5 games bundle. The max individual discount is 60%, but it goes up to 80% with a 5 games bundle: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/focus-entertainment-byob/

Fanatical has several new deals:

• The new Star Deal is Monster Train, 80% off during 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/monster-train
• Ubisoft puts its games on sale with up to 79% discounts durng 6 days. The keys are for UPlay: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/ubisoft
• Warner Bros puts its games up to 85% off during 7 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/warner-bros-games-inc
• The S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Complete Bundle features the three games with a 71% discount duirng 7 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/stalker-complete-bundle
• The Scream Sale is now live, Check it out
• Also, with the code SCREAM666, you'll get a 6.66% discount on your purchases. Check this to know the exceptions: https://www.fanatical.com/en/blog/save-on-aaa-and-indie-pc-games-in-the-scream-sale

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

AMD (Radeon) Software Adrenalin 22.10.2 Optional
https://www.amd.com/en/support/kb/release-notes/rn-rad-win-22-10-2
Fixed Issues

• Radeon Super Resolution may fail to trigger after changing resolution or HDR settings on games such as Nioh 2.
• Vertical Refresh Sync set globally to Always Off may cause system stuttering or driver timeout during video playback using Radeon RX 6000 series GPUs.
• Driver timeout may occur using HEVC hardware encoding on Radeon RX 6000 series GPUs.
• Dropped frames may occur during video playback using hardware acceleration on Chromium-based browsers with Radeon RX 6000 series GPUs.
• Chromium-based browsers may experience video stuttering on extended monitors with mixed refresh rates using Radeon RX 6000 series GPUs.
• Oculus dashboard menu and rendered controllers may appear bouncing/wobbly on Oculus Quest 2 with some AMD Graphics Products such as the Radeon RX 6800 XT Graphics.
• While previewing the timeline in VEGAS Pro, some colors may appear inverted.

>> There are some known issues listed as well. Given its optional nature, unless you experience one of the problems that have been fixed, it's probably better to wait until the new release to upgrade.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

New footage for Fallout 4’s DLC-sized fan expansion, Fallout: London
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-footage-for-fallout-4s-dlc-sized-fan-expansion-fallout-london/
The modding team behind Fallout London, a DLC-sized fan expansion for Fallout 4, has released its third quarter 2022 progress video. This video shows off new enemies, vehicles, music, environments and more.

Grand Theft Auto Vice City – The Final Remastered Mod Released
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/grand-theft-auto-vice-city-the-final-remastered-mod-released/
Modder ‘jquaidark’ has released a brand new version of The Final Remastered Edition Mod for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. This mod aims to overhaul the graphics of this classic GTA game, and we highly recommend downloading it.
According to the modder, GTA Vice City The Final Remastered compiles many mods from talented moders in order to create a whole new experience.
>> There's an almost 4 minutes video in the article and, given what Take-Two and Rockstar have done these last months with mods, if you like it, grab it now.

Here is an amazing Super Mario 64 Mod for the classic GoldenEye 007
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/here-is-an-amazing-super-mario-64-mod-for-the-classic-goldeneye-007/
Now here is something that passed under my radar. Last month, StupidMarioBros1Fan released an amazing Super Mario 64 mod for the classic Nintendo 64 game, GoldenEye 007.
As the title suggests, this mod replaces all of the characters with ones from the Mario universe along with “edited dialogue to make more sense with the characters “. The modder has also made some changes to the level to work better with the Mario characters. Do note, though, that the mod does not make any changes to the game’s story.
This is truly an incredible mod, and we highly recommend downloading it. Naturally, PC gamers can use emulators in order to play GoldenEye 007 with this mod.
>> There are three videos.

Demo released for the Resident Evil fan remake in Unity Engine
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/demo-released-for-the-resident-evil-fan-remake-in-unity-engine/
Remember the Resident Evil fan remake in Unity Engine? Well, great news everyone as Briins Croft and his team have released a free demo for it that you can download right now.
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.
>> There's an almost 2 minutes long video.

Half-Life: Enriched Alpha Version 0.65 available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/half-life-enriched-alpha-version-0-65-available-for-download/
Earlier this month, we informed you about a graphical overhaul for the original Half-Life game, called Half-Life: Enriched. And today, we are happy to report that a new alpha version of it is available for download.
Half-Life: Enriched aims to rework all of the original Half-Life maps in the single-player campaign. The final version will be also using AI-upscaling techniques in order to enhance the original textures. Furthermore, it will pack over 250 new texture variants. Players can also expect completely reworked lighting effects.
This latest alpha version features thirteen levels. Moreover, it adds support for detail textures for C4A & C4B. Not only that, but version 0.65 adds five new models. Thus, PC gamers will find a new scientist model, a new barney model, a new headcrab model, a new scientist zombie model and a new alien slave model.
>> There's a 10 minutes long video.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim gets a Dragon Ball Z: Xenoverse 3 Mod
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-gets-a-dragon-ball-z-xenoverse-3-mod/
Modder ‘Juvantae’ has released an amazing Dragon Ball Z: Xenoverse 3 Mod for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition. This mod will allow you to defend the Earth, participate in a martial arts tournament, fight aliens, fly through outer space, and gather the dragon balls.
According to its description, a new NPC (Yamcha) will be on the road leading to Riverwood. By talking to him, you’ll start a questline that will bring you to a new world.
The questline for this mod currently ends around the world martial arts tournament but everything is in place currently up to the Android saga. For your convenience, you can also type “help dbzsuper” to see the quests currently implemented.
Like Xenoverse, the mod has normal Super Saiyan forms and a Super Vegeta variant. The normal SSJ forms will give you str speed and stamina buffs. On the other hand, Super Vegeta is more for casters, boosting your magic. Moreover, and in order to maintain your transformation, you’ll have to charge your ki.
>> Sadly, there are no screenshots nor video.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion gets a horror/mystery themed quest mod
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/the-elder-scrolls-iv-oblivion-gets-a-horror-mystery-themed-quest-mod/
Modder ‘Arx Vallium’ has released a new horror/mystery themed quest mod for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. This mod, titled “Shroud Over Stalrous Manor”, spans 9 chapters of dark mystique, mystery and psychogenic horror.
This mod focuses heavily on searching for secret levers or finding important items that might help you along the way. Moreover, all new areas that you explore will be blanketed in darkness so using a light source will be a must. Not only that, but the mod also features a new light source, the candle. Players can find candles throughout their time exploring the estate.
>> There's a trailer of this mod.

GAMING NEWS

Resident Evil 4 Remake will have Denuvo, gets a graphics comparison video between the original and the remake
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/resident-evil-4-remake-will-have-denuvo-graphics-comparison-between-original/
Capcom has announced that Resident Evil 4 Remake will be using the Denuvo anti-tamper tech. Moreover, IGN has shared a comparison video between the original version and the upcoming remake.

Monday news, the long part two:

Kerbal Space Program 2 is finally coming
https://www.pcgamer.com/kerbal-space-program-2-is-finally-coming/
It's been a mighty long wait, but the green bean-flinging Kerbal Space Program 2 finally has a release date… for early access, anyway. After three years and four delays, the rocket-building sim is arriving on Steam and Epic on February 24, 2023.

The Sims creator Will Wright is making a blockchain game because of course he is
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-sims-creator-will-wright-is-making-a-blockchain-game-because-of-course-he-is/
It's been awhile since we last heard from Will Wright, the famed designer behind SimCity, The Sims, and (for the oldsters out there) Raid on Bungeling Bay. And it brings me no pleasure to say that he recently revealed what he's up to these days, and it's a blockchain game called Voxverse.

The best Overwatch 2 players in the world are all playing the same tank
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-best-overwatch-2-players-in-the-world-are-all-playing-the-same-tank/
One of the original tank heroes in Overwatch is now an unstoppable force in Overwatch 2.
Zarya, the cannon-wielding Russian weightlifter, is the most played tank by the game's highest ranked competitive players. Reddit user TheForrestFire found that 83.3% of the top tank players in North America almost exclusively play Zarya, and that all of the top 30 have her in their top three most played heroes. And if you look at the hour counts on many of those players, their time on Zarya far outweighs the other tanks.

Riot Games pays tribute to young Valorant fan who died of cancer by giving away a unique gun buddy
https://www.pcgamer.com/riot-games-pays-tribute-to-young-valorant-fan-who-died-of-cancer-by-giving-away-a-unique-gun-buddy/
Riot Games has paid its respects to a young Valorant fan who died of cancer earlier this year with a new gun charm called Corbin's Light that's available for free in the current battle pass.

The Exorcist by way of the Commodore 64 just dropped on Steam
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-exorcist-by-way-of-the-commodore-64-just-dropped-on-steam/
"What I am about to do has not been approved by the Vatican." So utters Faith: The Unholy Trinity's protagonist on his descent into the supernatural. Developed by Airdorf Games and published by boomer shooter boy band New Blood, Faith: The Unholy Trinity is an 8-bit horror game where you play a priest investigating a Satanic possession.
Faith has an immediately arresting art style, with graphics reminiscent of PC games from the 1980s⁠—I immediately think of Castle Wolfenstein by Muse Software, released in 1981 (can you believe that id's seminal FPS was actually a reboot?). Everything's presented on a black background, with characters and details represented in simple, primary color sprites.
>> I'll be the first to admit that I didn't know id's Castle Wolfenstein was a reboot.

Warm up for the World Series with this free baseball game full of animals
https://www.pcgamer.com/warm-up-for-the-world-series-with-this-free-baseball-game-full-of-animals/
We're only a week away from the 2022 World Series, and as the final four teams duke it out for a coveted spot you can enjoy a brand-new baseball game on Steam—provided you're willing to put up with some small rule changes. Like, instead of human players the teams are completely made up of wild animals. You're cool with that, right?

New tech lets blind, visually impaired people play Trackmania
https://www.pcgamer.com/new-tech-lets-blind-visually-impaired-people-play-trackmania/
A French organization is developing technology to give visually impaired people more ability to perceive their environment—and they're using videogames to test and expand it. In the process they've managed to make Trackmania accessible to even those who are totally blind.

The adorably puzzly landscapes of Dorfromantik get some cherry blossoms
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-adorably-puzzly-landscapes-of-dorfromantik-get-some-cherry-blossoms/
Delightfully relaxed tile-placing game Dorfromantik has a new update out on Steam that adds a new biome, one of pink cherry blossom trees and boxy little houses, for your pleasure.

Use disposable android bodies to take down megacorps in this cyberpunk FPS
https://www.pcgamer.com/use-disposable-android-bodies-to-take-down-megacorps-in-this-cyberpunk-fps/
A roguelike cyber-shooter is sitting on Steam's hot releases this weekend: Deadlink, a game where you're part of an elite anti-evil-corporation task force uses remote-piloted androids called "autonomous combat shells" to bring a brand of vicious justice "for a fraction of the cost of a hopeless court case."

Resident Evil Re:Verse is about to have an early access beta ahead of its Oct 28 launch
https://www.pcgamer.com/resident-evil-reverse-is-about-to-have-an-early-access-beta-ahead-of-its-oct-28-launch/
The Resident Evil showcase answered some of our questions about Resident Evil Village's DLC and the Resident Evil 4 Remake, but also squeezed in a gung-ho launch trailer for the long-delayed online multiplayer add-on for Resident Evil Village called Re:Verse, which will be out on October 28.

Silent Hill 2's original translator wasn't told about the remake
https://www.pcgamer.com/silent-hill-2s-original-translator-wasnt-told-about-the-remake/
Bloober Team's upcoming remake of Silent Hill 2 seems to be following the 2001 original's plot, based on what little we've seen so far. (...)
Jeremy Blaustein, who translated Silent Hill 2's script into English as well as directing the motion capture and voiceover production, responded to the remake being announced on Twitter. "Cool!" he wrote. "And they will, once again, use the SH2 English script that I wrote/translated (oh, directed too) completely by myself and I will get zero compensation for it and there will not be tens of thousands of people on Twitter outraged on my behalf."

Secret messages found in Silent Hill Townfall's promotional material
https://www.pcgamer.com/secret-messages-found-in-silent-hill-townfalls-promotional-material/
In case you're having trouble telling them apart, Silent Hill Townfall is the new Silent Hill game being developed by Stories Untold studio No Code and published by Annapurna Interactive. Not the Silent Hill 2 remake or the prequel set in Japan called Silent Hill F. When Townfall was announced during Konami's Silent Hill transmission, creative director Jon McKellan said, "It's a real honor for us to bring a new title to this series that both respects the source material, but also does something a little bit different with it."
He concluded by saying, "So obviously the teaser trailer is just the beginning, we can't show you any more, [...] it might be worth watching that trailer again, and see what you might have missed." The internet took that as a challenge, and has already found some secrets buried inside it.

The vibes are immaculate in Victoria 3's 'LoFi VicHop tracks to chill or industrialise to' video
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-vibes-are-immaculate-in-victoria-3s-lofi-vichop-tracks-to-chill-or-industrialise-to-video/
I don't recall which volume it was, but I'm pretty sure that somewhere in Capital it's written that industrial capitalism came into the world "dripping from head to foot, from every pore, with rhythm and beats". Evidently, no one is more aware of that than the folks at Paradox, who have seen fit to bless us with "Victoria 3: LoFi VicHop—tracks to chill or industrialise to" ahead of tomorrow's release of Victoria 3.

Disco Elysium writer is suing developer ZA/UM
https://www.pcgamer.com/disco-elysium-writer-is-suing-developer-zaum/
Earlier this month, Martin Luiga—Studio ZA/UM founding member and developer on one of PC Gamer's all-time favourites Disco Elysium—announced the "dissolution of the ZA/UM Cultural Association." He said that the company as a cultural project "no longer represents the ethos it was founded on," adding that artist Aleksander Rostov, and writers Helen Hindpere and Robert Kurvitz, left "involuntarily." In a follow-up interview, Luiga said that the three were "fired on false premises," implying that legal action against ZA/UM was incoming.
Now, as reported by TechNewsSpace, that does indeed seem to be the case. As seen on the Estonian Ministry of Justice site Riigi Teataja, writer Kurvitz has filed against ZA/UM on behalf of his own company, Telomer OÜ.

NVIDIA’s 16-Pin Connector on GeForce RTX 4090 Graphics Card Burns Up, Melts The Cable & The Plug

https://wccftech.com/nvidia-16-pin-connector-on-geforce-rtx-4090-graphics-card-burns-up-melts-the-cable-plug/

Of course it's a gigabyte card that this starts with. We will see if it's going to be a wide spread issue or if it's just a one off.... Or if it has to do with a certain brand  only...

AMD Officially Confirms 4th Gen EPYC Genoa “Zen 4” CPU Unveil on 10th November

https://wccftech.com/amd-officially-confirms-4th-gen-epyc-genoa-zen-4-cpu-unveil-on-10th-november/

Raptor Lake CPUs Boost Intel Sales Versus AM5 But AMD’s AM4 Continues To Dominate & Ryzen 7 5800X3D Leads The Pack

https://wccftech.com/raptor-lake-boosts-intel-cpu-sales-versus-amd-am5-am4-dominates-5800x3d-leads-the-pack/

This was the orientation of the GPU where the cable got burnt:

I'll be honest, my cables don't have that much freedom... I am really hoping this is a faulty cable and not gonna be a wide spread problem but we will see.

Well, if he really had the card and cables installed like that, and excess bending of the cables doesn't seem like the cause of the fire. So it's either one of those "things happen" cases or Gigabyte went with this the wrong supplier for its cables. And if it's the second option, we'll know.

And yeah, it's quite ironic that, of all the possible brands, this has happened with a Gigabyte card.

I think there should be a caveat to the tl:dw because he tested this on Nvidia/AMD GPUs and not Intel GPUs. We know for a fact and also by Intels own announcement that XeSS is made for XMX that's exclusive to Intel GPUs and Intel did say that XeSS will run and look worse when running on other platforms. So while the video is a good thing to look into for those that may want to run XeSS on RDNA 2 for example, I wouldn't say it's worse than either DLSS/FSR until we see it running on Arc.

Looks like the burnt cable happened to another person...

https://www.reddit.com/r/nvidia/comments/yc6g3u/comment/itmjt9d/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

Nvidia really is about to turn into Novideo if this is wide spread... This isn't Gigashat either but rather an Asus TUF.

That's not good news for Nvidia. It wouldn't surprise me if some AIB partners go the old way with their custom PCB designs and we see cards with 3 or even 4 x8-pin connectors, tho I'm not sure how many will bother making custom PCBs at all.

With Ampere, quite a few Nvidia partners had problems with the capacitators, and now there are problems with the cables. The last Nvidia launches seem to be marred with kind of trouble.

NVidia RTX 4090 is on fire!

...

I'll see myself out.