I have seen a lot of posts on social media and even from reviewers saying stuff like this:

https://twitter.com/Sebasti66855537/status/1592635449763590146?s=20&t=C0h_-PojLIcjgKgU-oDkKw

Personally I feel as though saying $1200 for a 4080 is too much but $1000 for a 4080 would make it great is nonsense. Imo both $1200 and $1000 and anything above $800 for 80 class is insane. I know inflation and TSMC and such but these dies are heavily cutdown so Nvidia should be making a ton of margins on these so I really don't think its acceptable for a 80 class to be anywhere near that price range. Yet I seen a lot of people and reviewers normalizing that price range because then, it would be better position against Radeon offerings. But people failed to realize that Radeon also increased the price of their 7800XT, they just called it a 7900XT.

I'm so confused by this table, because it shows the 4090 with DLSS 3 gains and without, but nothing with FSR for the AMD cards and no DLSS for the others, so what am I to measure from this, that Plague Tale is the next Crysis?.

I mean look at the 3080 lol, is this all captured in native 4k for the other cards?, because if it's 4k only, I'd be hella mad to see Alex just testing 4k and not 1080p/1440p gains with the patch, I already knew he got super lazy in not going back to re-test Cyberpunk.

Ayy lmao, wtf is that guy even smoking?, 1000 would be "great"?, yeah if you're still thinking in the Crypto mindset, but that ship sank, we're now back to some level of normality, so we should really be going back to £600-700 for that 4080, just like how I paid near enough 700 for my 1080ti.

Calling bullshit on that 1k being a fair or normal price, not even close, and even AMD asking for 900 for their slightly lower new card is silly.

80 classes should always be in the 6-700, possibly 800 range, but not higher than 800, because then we're reaching into what we used to measure as the Titan class series price range (I still remember Totalbiscuit paying close to 1200 for his Titan X).

I swear if reviewers and ppl buying the price gouged cards try to normalise this shit, I'm calling doom on humanity, because we've already seen what happen when we go "oh it's only horse armor, oh it's only F2P, oh it's only a mobile game" and what happened to the industry after all that was normalised, I don't want that happening in the hw sector.

It's making me think that the more ppl we shit out on this rock, the more stop giving a shit and let bad practices thrive heavily, I mean we already have a wealth of drama youtubers literally thriving and making profits off of negativity (something that would get you laughed or shouted off stage has now become the hot topic). 

I know I get doom and gloom, but c'mon man, this is getting pretty stupid to watch play out, and I'm getting tired of getting pushed outta my hobbies with this kind of crap. 

Like I already wanna get back into art, and now I'm seeing a rise in defenders for AI art bros (seriously wish those guys would walk right off a cliff), trying to pass themselves off as competition.

I believe those numbers are with DLSS 2 upscaled to 4k with internal resolution at 1440p. This game doesn't have FSR but Alex used the TAAU for Radeon GPUs for upscaling.

I feel like Alex is getting infected by Linus or something, like what do you think is the ratio between 1080p/1440p to 4k owners for him to focus on pushing for 4k results?.

Also, completely different topic, but hooooly shit are TBT, TBS and Grand Strat fans eating a feast next year...

meanwhile, me and my 3 RTS games next year, and this e-sports focused flop:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1072190/Crossfire_Legion/

Like fr, why is it so hard for me to ask for a good base building RTS game, let alone getting 10+, because the other sub genres I mentioned above are getting a fuck ton next year and this yr combined.

I know Pem's gonna tell me "we got this RTS game, we got that one", but all I can see is Homeworld 3, that RTS game being made by an ex Blizz studio, and that C&C-like RTS next yr, and the ex-Blizz RTS is looking more e-sports focused, just like Crossfire legion is getting more E-sports focus than single-player/co-op vs AI (Crossfire legion literally has a trailer where the devs admit to wanting it to be a "competitive game", which means flip flopping of nerfing units, and I fucking hate that infesting the single-player/co-op realm of RTS)

I'd be over the moon if we got a brand new sequel of Warcraft RTS, Starcraft 3, Command & Conquer 5, Supreme Commander 3, Total Annihilation 2, Planetary Annihilation 2, someone to make a new KKND, announcing all of those would make up the past decade and a half of flops and failures to me. I just feel like I'm getting scraps at this point.

I've done a comb over of that Crossfire legion game several times, looked at ea reviews and scanned multiple vids and it just flat out looks less base building and more rush and play meta e-sports strats, and I wish they'd stop trying to act like RTS is suddenly gonna become League of legends level big with huge competitive tourneys, because mates, that time has looong since passed, the genre would need to come back real strong for that to be a viable approach, and we just ain't there.

Like if MS isn't paying for big arena spaces to host Age of Empire tourneys like League does for it's tourneys, and if Blizz isn't doing that for WC3R, or EA with prev C&C games, then why does an indie dev feel the spur to act like they can do what League does?. I just don't feel like competitive RTS is anywhere as big as the folks like me who grew up with shitty internet and playing vs AI or the single-player campaigns (hell, a youtuber that's well evrsed in RTS asked a load of his viewers and tallied their results, most preferring co-op/vs AI/singleplayer over competitive play).

I found his vid again, and I'm just gonna repost it here (I know I posted it on this thread months ago, but I'm just goign to drive the point home on why competitive RTS shouldn't take precedence over SP/co-op vs AI)

Well to be fair, what he was trying to do was compare GPU scaling against consoles. Consoles don't have a 1080p or 1440p setting so they only way he can compare is to use the same methods that consoles were using which is 4k upscaling with 1440p internal. I don't think there's anything wrong with what he did this time around lol.

And yea, RTS revolution ain't gonna happen anytime soon. But least it is creeping up with MS to a degree. They did AoE 1/2/3 DEs and now they are doing AoM DEs. AoE IV was a step in the wrong direction imo but hopefully they learn and make the next one better. It's one of those situations where RTS is on life support which is a sad reality.

The Friday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Fanatical has a new Star Deal and a sale:

• The Star Deal, that started yesterday after they run out of keys for the previous one, is DOOM Eternal - Deluxe Edition, that should last 48 hours, but there's only 33% of keys left so... https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/doom-eternal-deluxe-edition
• The former is part of a Bethesda Sale with up to 82% discounts during 12 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/bethesda-softworks

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

INTEL Arc Graphics Driver 31.0.101.3802
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/729157/intel-arc-graphics-windows-dch-driver-beta.html
Highlights
Intel® Game On Driver support on Intel® Arc™ A-series Graphics for:

• Sonic Frontiers
• Marvels Spiderman: Miles Morales
• Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0
• Dysterra

Game performance improvements versus the Intel® 31.0.101.3490 software driver on Intel® Arc™ A770 Graphics Products for

• Chorus
  • Up to 3% using 1440p with Epic settings
• Dirt 5
  • Up to 8% using 1440p with Ultra High settings.
• Far Cry 6
  • Up to 3% using 1080p with Ultra preset settings.
  • Up to 3% using 1440p with Ultra preset settings.
• Forza Horizon 5
  • Up to 3% using 1080p with Extreme settings.
  • Up to 3% using 1440p with High preset settings.
• Ghostwire Tokyo
  • Up to 7% using 1440p with Cinematic settings.
• Gotham Knights
  • Up to 5% using 1080p with Highest preset settings.
• Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
  • Up to 3% using 1080p with Ultra preset settings.
  • Up to 3% using 1440p with High preset settings.
• Sniper Elite 5
  • Up to 3% using 1080p with Ultra settings

Fixed Issues

• Doom Eternal (Vulkan) may exhibit flickering corruption on certain textures in the “cultist base” map.
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege (DX11) may experience lower than expected game performance.
• Death Stranding Director’s Cut (DX12) may exhibit lighting or flickering corruption.
• Forza Horizon 5 (DX12) may experience corruption lines when MSAA 2x is enabled

>> If you check the videocardz article, you'll also see the numerous fixes for Intel's Control software.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Unreal PSX Rework gets some new comparison screenshots
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/unreal-psx-rework-gets-some-new-comparison-screenshots/
Back in September 2017, we informed you about an unofficial remake of the canceled Playstation version of Epic’s classic Unreal game. And today, we are happy to present you some new comparison screenshots from it.
In case you weren’t aware, this canceled version of Unreal featured exclusive content, and about 75% of its content was recovered. Thus, Unreal PSX Rework will attempt to complete it, and retexture the maps, make them 100% co-op playable. It will also fix scripts, finish them up and fill up holes of “not salvaged content.”

GAMING NEWS

Ubisoft shares the first concept artwork for Splinter Cell Remake
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/ubisoft-shares-the-first-concept-artwork-for-splinter-cell-remake/
Splinter Cell fans, here is something for you today. Ubisoft has revealed the first official concept artwork for Splinter Cell Remake. While these artworks do not show much in terms of real-time graphics, they can at least give you an idea of the game’s art style.
>> And, to celebrate its 20th anniversary, they're giving it away for free, but it doesn't mention until when.

Gotham Knights November 17th Update is 1.3GB in size, full patch notes
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/gotham-knights-november-17th-update-is-1-3gb-in-size-full-patch-notes/
Warner Bros has released a new update for the PC version of Gotham Knights. According to the team, this update is 1.3GB in size, packs a number of bug and stability fixes, and below you can find its complete changelog.
For those wondering, no. This patch does not address the game’s performance/optimization issues. So yeah, don’t expect to be playing the game smoothly after applying this new update.

Friday news, part two:

Paradox reveals new 'deep sea' survival colony builder coming in January
https://www.pcgamer.com/survive-lurking-horrors-while-you-weaponize-human-cloning-in-paradoxs-new-deep-sea-survival-game/
Paradox Interactive has unveiled a new addition to its 'Surviving' series of bad-situation management sims, and this one is a little more sinister than its predecessors. Surviving the Abyss puts players in charge of a research lab at the bottom of the sea, where they'll have to build and maintain facilities while managing the needs of its inhabitants.
>> Paradox sure loves naming its colony games "Surviving".

Pentiment director says he 'never would have proposed' the game without Game Pass
https://www.pcgamer.com/pentiment-director-says-he-never-would-have-proposed-the-game-without-game-pass/
Game Pass has proven to be of great value over the years. It's a way to venture outside our comfort zones and explore games we would normally hesitate to buy. It's not only been a great way for us to explore our tastes but for developers to make weirder and more wonderful games.
That's certainly the case for Pentiment, a game that director Josh Sawyer says wouldn't exist without Microsoft's subscription service. He appeared on Waypoint's Radio podcast, telling host Rob Zacny "I never would have proposed making Pentiment without Game Pass. Like, I literally just wouldn't have done it. I just don't think it would have been possible."

Kerbal Space Program director explains why 'colonies are going to change everything,' lays out early access plans
https://www.pcgamer.com/kerbal-space-program-director-explains-why-colonies-are-going-to-change-everything-lays-out-early-access-plans/
In October, Kerbal Space Program 2 developer Intercept Games announced that the long-delayed sequel is finally just a few planetary rotations away: it'll be out in early access on February 24, 2023. Today creative director Nate Simpson joined the PC Gaming Show 2023 Preview to talk in-depth about the sequel, including what to expect on day one and what order further features will arrive in. If you, like me, are most excited for Kerbal 2's addition of multiplayer, prepare for some minor heartache: we're going to be waiting for that feature for a good while.

Kerbal Space Program 2 is going to let you have competitive multiplayer space races
https://www.pcgamer.com/kerbal-space-program-2-is-going-to-let-you-have-competitive-multiplayer-space-races/
In an interview for the PC Gaming Show 2023 Preview, Kerbal Space Program 2 creative director Nate Simpson offered us the first details on how multiplayer will work in the sequel. It's still a long ways off—KSP2 has a list of major features to add during early access first—but when multiplayer does finally arrive, it won't just be cooperative. Kerbal Space Program's going to get cutthroat.

Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader reveals first look at gameplay at the PC Gaming Show
https://www.pcgamer.com/warhammer-40000-rogue-trader-reveals-first-look-at-gameplay-at-the-pc-gaming-show/
A new trailer for the upcoming RPG Warhammer 40,000 RPG Rogue Trader made an appearance during today's PC Gaming Show, showcasing the "unique and powerful servants of the Imperium" who seek out new worlds and new servants, stamp out Heresy, and bring the Emperor's light to the darkest reaches of space.

Somehow there's never been a Battlefield map set in Sweden until now
https://www.pcgamer.com/somehow-theres-never-been-a-battlefield-map-set-in-sweden-until-now/
Battlefield 2042's third season starts on November 22 and will bring with it the usual new stuff: a new specialist, new guns, and a new map. I was mildly surprised to learn that the map, called Spearhead, will be the first official Battlefield map set in Sweden, where lead Battlefield developer DICE is based.

This new card game on Steam costs $70 and has another $216 in DLC
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-new-card-game-on-steam-costs-dollar70-and-has-another-dollar216-in-dlc/
PC gamers have grown accustomed to getting their digital card games for free. Hearthstone, Gwent, Marvel Snap, Legends of Runeterra, Magic: The Gathering Arena—you can spend big piles of money on them, sure, but if you just want to jump in and see what it's all about, it won't cost you a penny. Not every game follows that free-to-play path, however.
Cardfight!! Vanguard Dear Days, which launched today on Steam, is one such game, and it's a doozy. The base game sells for a whopping $70—the same price that major franchises like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 have begun to adopt—which is wildly out of sync with the big names in the CCG genre. But what's even more astounding is that there are 17 pieces of DLC available for purchase on top of that, which collectively add up to another $216—that's nearly $300 for the full loadout.

My favorite city builder of 2022 just got a major update
https://www.pcgamer.com/my-favorite-city-builder-of-2022-just-got-a-major-update/
(...)
Farthest Frontier entered Steam Early Access back in July, and quickly became my favorite city builder of the year with gorgeous looks, a deep farming system, and some vexingly clever bandits who kept robbing my town and scampering off with my gold. It's received several patches since to address bugs and add some quality of life features, but version 0.8.0 arrived today and it's a hefty one, packed with more meat than a medieval smokehouse.

'Survival tribe builder' Aska tasks you and your friends with building a Viking society
https://www.pcgamer.com/survival-tribe-builder-aska-tasks-you-and-your-friends-with-building-a-viking-society/
Vikings are hot right now, with recent successes like God of War: Ragnarok and Valheim showing that everybody's horny for horned helmets. Romanian developer Sand Sailor is working on its own special twist on the Norse craze with Aska, a survival "tribe builder" with up to four-player co-op.

Sonic co-creator Yuji Naka among former Square Enix employees arrested over Dragon Quest-related insider trading
https://www.pcgamer.com/former-square-enix-employees-arrested-over-dragon-quest-related-insider-trading/
On November 17, Japanese outlet Automaton reported that two Square Enix employees had been arrested by Tokyo Police on suspicion of insider trading. The arrest is in relation to money they invested in a third-party developer, Aiming Co, ahead of the public reveal that it would work on the mobile Dragon Quest spinoff, Dragon Quest Tact, which released in 2020.
Update: Fuji News Network is now reporting that Yuji Naka, co-creator of Sonic the Hedgehog and director of Balan Wonderworld, has been arrested by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office in connection with the insider trading case. Like the two previously arrested suspects, Naka is accused of buying shares in Aiming Co before it was revealed that the developer was taking on a lucrative contract to make a Dragon Quest mobile game. In Naka's case, he allegedly bought around 10,000 shares, roughly worth 2.8 million yen. It has not been disclosed whether Naka or the other suspects sold their shares.

Gearbox has bought up Risk of Rain and the fans are already doomposting
https://www.pcgamer.com/gearbox-has-bought-up-risk-of-rain-and-the-fans-are-already-doomposting/
The Embracer Group's second quarter interim report has been a real barnburner for old Gearbox. Not only has the studio been handed oversight of Saints Row developer Volition, but the report also quietly announced that Gearbox has gone and bought up the Risk of Rain series too.

And yes, this is the third part of the Friday news (mostly with Activision-Blizzard articles):

Modern Warfare 2 and Overwatch 2 drop prepaid phone restrictions
https://www.pcgamer.com/modern-warfare-2-and-overwatch-2-drop-prepaid-phone-restrictions/
Activision has eliminated the restrictions on prepaid mobile phones for Battle.net's 2FA system, meaning that everyone with a mobile phone—no matter what kind—will be able to play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Overwatch 2.

WoW: Dragonflight just made it absurdly easy to level a new character to 60
https://www.pcgamer.com/wow-dragonflight-just-made-it-absurdly-easy-to-level-a-new-character-to-60/
The long road to max level in World of Warcraft has been cut in half weeks before the Dragonflight expansion drops at the end of the month.
Blizzard has issued a patch to lower the amount of XP it takes to go from level one to level 60, which is a 57% reduction, according to a calculation from Icy-Veins. Unlike temporary boosts to XP gain, like the recent Winds of Winter buff, Blizzard has permanently made the entire leveling experience faster than it's ever been.

Overwatch's Mei is finally back after her Kiriko-induced leave of absence
https://www.pcgamer.com/overwatchs-mei-is-finally-back-after-her-kiriko-induced-leave-of-absence/
Mei, Overwatch 2's Mr. Freeze-esque killer with a friendly and bumbling personality, is once again playable after 17 days' unpaid leave. She's the second legacy hero to be temporarily removed from the game since its launch October 4, with fellow day-one hero Bastion having been relegated to the sidelines last month due to exploits with his abilities.

Blizzard isn't 'completely satisfied' with Overwatch 2's rewards, will make them suck slightly less next season
https://www.pcgamer.com/blizzard-isnt-completely-satisfied-with-overwatch-2s-rewards-will-make-them-suck-slightly-less-next-season/
With Overwatch 2 pivoting to free-to-play, it's shaken up a lot of what long-time fans have been used to. One of those is the way new hero goodies are earned. Loot boxes stuffed with random voice lines, sprays and skins are gone, with battle passes where everybody gets the same thing becoming the new normal. But the new reward system hasn't proved the most popular, and it's a problem Blizzard is aware of.

Blizzard acknowledges no one's playing support in Overwatch 2, and that's a problem
https://www.pcgamer.com/blizzard-acknowledges-no-ones-playing-support-in-overwatch-2-and-thats-a-problem/
Overwatch 2 has a serious support shortage right now. The role is proving rather unpopular, with queue times substantially shorter for those brave enough to tackle babysitting two diving DPS and a tank that's somehow halfway across the other side of the map. I've been queueing flex almost exclusively, getting a role that isn't support once every 20 games or so if I'm lucky. Overwatch 2 has made me hate playing support, partly fuelled by role fatigue and also thanks to it becoming even more thankless than the first Overwatch.

Blizzard says 'come back in, the water's lovely' to lapsed WoW players
https://www.pcgamer.com/blizzard-says-come-back-in-the-waters-lovely-to-lapsed-wow-players/
In the run up to the full release of World of Warcraft: Dragonflight, Blizzard is thinking about all those millions of lapsed WoW accounts. You know the kind. That guy in the office who once had a hardcore raiding obsession but says he's fine now, eyes darting side-to-side. Come back, says Blizzard, the water is lovely.

Modern Warfare 2's new map arrives with giant invisible walls
https://www.pcgamer.com/modern-warfare-2s-new-map-arrives-with-giant-invisible-walls/
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has just received the Shoothouse map as part of its first major update and… oh dear, oh dear oh dear. Players have been encountering a bug in the new release, which lest we forget is actually a re-release of an older map, which means that there are giant invisible walls across portions of the map: you can see other players, but fire and your bullets just pepper a wall you can't see.

If you extract with a gun in Warzone 2 DMZ, you unlock it forever in Modern Warfare 2
https://www.pcgamer.com/if-you-extract-with-a-gun-in-warzone-2-dmz-you-unlock-it-forever-in-modern-warfare-2/
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 players have noticed a quirky feature that intertwines that game's multiplayer unlocks with DMZ, the extraction mode that launched this week alongside Warzone 2. If you escape from DMZ with a new gun, it'll be unlocked in Modern Warfare 2, too.

Warzone 2 is locking players out and asking them to buy Modern Warfare 2
https://www.pcgamer.com/call-of-duty-Warzone-2-is-locking-players-out-and-asking-them-to-buy-Modern-Warfare-2/
Call of Duty: Warzone 2 has a bug that is locking players out of the free-to-play game unless they purchase Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II. This is slightly confusing: Warzone 2 and Modern Warfare 2 share the same client launcher, but are distinct products, and players should be able to download Warzone 2 and play it without having purchased Modern Warfare 2.
>> Is it really a bug?

Valorant's newest agent temporarily disabled because his ultimate is too sumptuous to handle
https://www.pcgamer.com/valorants-newest-agent-temporarily-disabled-because-his-ultimate-is-too-sumptuous-to-handle/
Riot has temporarily disabled Harbor, Valorant's newest hero, in competitive queues after it came to light that his ultimate ability was causing dramatic lag spikes in some matches. It turns out that Harbor's ultimate—called Reckoning—is just too much for servers to handle in some spots: The enormous visual effect it triggers can make servers slow to a crawl, as showcased in this YouTube short.

And here are the GOG and Steam deals for the weekend:

+GOG

• The first Deal of the Day is Between the Stars, still in development, 35% off during 70 hours: https://www.gog.com/en/game/between_the_stars
• The second DotD is Dead Cells, 40% off until Monday: https://www.gog.com/en/game/dead_cells
• And the third, and last DotD is Stellaris: Federations, a DLC, with a 50% discount until the 21st: https://www.gog.com/en/game/stellaris_federations
• The Weekend Sale features Hack'n'Slash games with up to 90% discounts during 3 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20221118_weekend_sale
• The EA Publisher Sale comes with up to 75% discounts during 5 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/2022_electronic_arts_autumn_sale
• And the Bethesda Publisher Sale will bring up to 85% discounts until November 30: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/2022_bethesda_autumn_sale

+Steam

• F1 Manager 2022 gets a 35% discout until November 22: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1708520/F1_Manager_2022/
• Sea of Thieves will be 50% off until next Tuesday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1172620/Sea_of_Thieves/
• Unrailed! is free to play during the weekend and also 75% off until Tuesday 22: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1016920/Unrailed/
• The Capcom Single's Day Sale, which I don't know when it started, brings up to 84% discounts until the 22nd: https://store.steampowered.com/developer/capcom/sale/singlesday
• BANDAI NAMCO puts its games up to 90% off until the same November 22: https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/BANDAINAMCO/sale/BandaiNamcoSale
• The EARTH DEFENSE FORCE franchise goes on sale with up to 90% discounts until the 23rd: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/EDF22
• Roguebook will be 50% off until November 24: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1076200/Roguebook/
• And the Styx Collection, with three items, gets an 83% discount until the 24th (the individual games are also on sale with up to 90% discounts): https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/27635/Styx_Collection/

And that's all. Until next time, I wish you all a happy and gaming weekend.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7000 “Storm Peak” CPU spotted with 96 cores

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-ryzen-threadripper-7000-storm-peak-cpu-spotted-with-96-cores

AMD exec makes fun of NVIDIA RTX 4090 power cables melting issue

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-exec-makes-fun-of-nvidia-rtx-4090-power-cables-melting-issue

Very petty from a company refusing to show performance figures. Reminds me of the "Hunting Titans" days.

Intel releases XeSS plugin for Unreal Engine 4, 4.26 and 5.0

https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-releases-xess-plugin-for-unreal-engine-4-4-26-and-5-0