The numbers of the 3D models don't seem right to me. From all the tests we saw since it launched, the 5800X3D was something like 15-20% faster than the regular model at 1080p, but here it's close to 30% faster (and yes, I know it's a bit downclocked to 4.4GHx, but still feels way too much). I wouldn't put give those numbers too much credibility.

As for the low stock of RDNA3 cards, it's disappointing. Not really surprising given AMD's past releases, but disappointing nonetheless.

Those are impressive results. Faster than the 7700X in multicore threads is a big blow to AMD.

Yeah... they may do good in servers and other business systems, but only the more fanatical will spend that much on those drives. The PCIe 4.0 drives were seen as expensive when they launched, and they were half the cost of these.

Yea those X3D benches feels fake. I think it will be closer to Raptor Lake by the end.

And yea, Gen 5 SSDs are largely useless for consumers.

Dang he looks broken

It's an extrapolation guesstimate from the results on a few select games as specified in the title. That's all there is to it, really.

Depending on what specifically is the CPU bottleneck in these games, these results might end up being accurate, an overestimate, or an underestimate.

He honestly looks like he's lost hope for UE and reviewing PC ports and tbh, I don't blame him.

Meanwhile Timmy is busy bitching on Twitter about how evil Steam is, dev cuts bs (where pubs make the most money, not the devs), and bitching about monopolies, to a point where he's completely ignored the still ongoing issues with UE, like Alex says in that video "1 and a 1/2 yrs?", but nah, it's been going on longer than 1 1/2 yrs, try nearly a decade of stuttering shit with UE. 

Devs need to stop releasing games in busted states, actually hire human beta testers who they will pay to test the absolute shit outta their games, and Epic needs to stop focusing on just fucking Fornite and Timmy's fee fees and focus on sorting out UE stutter mania. 

This is why I didn't give a single shit about the new UE demos being shown off, because why care about the majestic visuals or larger open worlds, when in reality we all know they will stutter like shit on PC and consoles, and devs will act like UE is DX 12, where it'll take years and years to "master", instead of EPic making something fucking fool proof, where a dev doesn't need to handle absolutely everything on their end

I'm tired man, I'm tired of MS, tired of Epic and other corps making tools and going "you master them, I won't teach you, you're on your own", like fr, that method of dev needs to fuck right off, because it helps NO ONE. I'm not wanting to sit here for another decade, only to watch a dev still not having mastered DX 12 or the new UE, because I ain't got time to wait and be disappointed to hell, because I know this is something M<S/Epic can solve on their end, by just not making tools that heavily rely on devs to have godlike knowledge of.

Well, now that it works again, I'll post what was supposed to be the Monday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Steam's Top 10

GOG starts the week with 5 Deals of the Day and 3 new sales:

• The Deals of the Day will last until Wednesday:
  • Blade Runner gets a 33% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/blade_runner
  • Songs of Conquest, still in development, is also 33% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/songs_of_conquest
  • Kenshi gets a 50% deal: https://www.gog.com/en/game/kenshi
  • Mary Skelter: Nightmares gets a 75% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/mary_skelter_nightmares
  • And the last one is Steel Division 2, 80% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/steel_division_2
• The new Weekly Sale brings a lot of shooter titles with up to 90% discounts during 7 6 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20220205_weekly_sale
• GSC World celebrates its 27th anniversary putting its games up to 75% off during 7 6 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/2022_gsc_world
• And there's a Special Sale with isometric games with up to 89% discounts until December 12; https://www.gog.com/en/promo/2022_isometric_sale

Steam has two new deals:

• Pathfinder: Kingmaker - Enhanced Plus Edition will be 60% off until December 11: https://store.steampowered.com/app/640820/Pathfinder_Kingmaker__Enhanced_Plus_Edition/
• And Beholder 2 gets a 85% discount until Sunday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/761620/Beholder_2/

Humble has new deals for us:

• Humble Bundle features the new Premier VR bundle, with up to 7 games to get during the next 10 days https://www.humblebundle.com/games/premier-vr
• And at the Humble Store we find another three two deals:
  • Daedalic Entertainment puts its games up to 90% off during 3 days. There are keys for Steam and GOG: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/daedalic-publisher-sale/
  • And the Flip the Table Sale features up to 95% discounts during the next 3 days. There are keys for Steam, GOG and 1 for EGS: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/flip-the-table-sale/

Last, but not least, there's Fanatical:

• Deep Silver puts its games up to 90% off during 5 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/deep-silver
• And BundleFestive starts with three new bundles: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Complete Bundle (3 games, 66% discount), Epic Quest Bundle (4g, -94%) and BYO Play on the GO Bundle 3.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim gets a fully voiced DLC-sized mod, heavily inspired by the mechanics of Mass Effect and Dragon Age
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-gets-a-fully-voiced-dlc-sized-mod-heavily-inspired-by-the-mechanics-of-mass-effect-and-dragon-age/
Modder ‘TheBawb’ has released a fully voiced DLC-sized mod for Skyrim Special Edition that is heavily inspired by the mechanics of Mass Effect and Dragon Age, called Warden of the Coast.
In this mod, players will travel to an isolated island, earn the loyalty of your 9 companions, stop a daedric lord from returning to power, and close shut the jaws of Oblivion once more.

This Elden Ring Mod offers a dozen new invasions with new characters, weapons & challenges
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/elden-ring-mod-invasions-new-characters-weapons-challenges/
Modder ‘Clever’ released a new mod for Elden Ring that offers over a dozen new invasions, containing new characters, weapons, and challenges.
According to its description, in this mod, each target has one of Clever’s modded weapons. After killing them, players can loot and acquire these new weapons.
Players will obtain the kill orders from behind the Weeping Peninsula Isolated Merchant’s shack. Then, they’ll have to read each letter’s description for the invasion location. And after defeating all targets, they will travel to Farum Azula via the Four Belfries to face retribution in the infinite wave arena.

The fourth chapter of the Half Life: Blue Shift Remake for Black Mesa will release on December 10th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-fourth-chapter-of-the-half-life-blue-shift-remake-for-black-mesa-will-release-on-december-10th/
Back in June 2022, we shared some screenshots from the upcoming fourth chapter of the Half-Life: Blue Shift Remake Mod for Black Mesa, Black Mesa: Blue Shift. And today, we are happy to report that this new chapter will release on December 10th.
In Black Mesa: Blue Shift, players will relive the Black Mesa Incident as Gordon Freeman’s best friend, Barney Calhoun. This fan remake currently has the first three chapters of Blue Shift. These chapters are Living Quarters Outbound, Insecurity and Duty Calls.

Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered First-Person Mod available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/marvels-spider-man-remastered-first-person-mod-available-for-download/
In September 2022, we shared a video showcasing Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered in first-person mode. And today, we are happy to report that this FP Mod is available for download. However, there is a catch here.
Instead of releasing it for free to everyone, modder ‘jedijosh920’ has put this mod behind a Patreon-wall. As such, you’ll have to become one of their Patreon members in order to download it. And, I get it. It took them a lot of work to create and polish this mod. However, we are always against paid mods.
>> There's a video, in case you want to take a look at the mod.

Modders are adding Into the Spider-Verse animations and costumes into Spider-Man: Miles Morales
https://www.pcgamer.com/modders-are-adding-into-the-spider-verse-animations-and-costumes-into-spider-man-miles-morales/
With Marvel's Spider-Man: Mile Morales out on PC now, modders have gotten to work on it, and in a delightful trend some are taking inspiration from 2018 Miles-centric movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The depiction of Miles in that movie, as well as the beautifully stylish animation that's the center of Spider-Verse, have served as inspiration for two especially neat mods.
The first mod, Leap of Faith, puts in Miles' layered look from Spider-Verse into the game. While there's already a Spider-Verse style costume, the mod costume has the hoodie, jacket, shorts, and extremely vital Air Jordans over top of it. (...)
The second, called Faithful Animations, is an inspired and thorough mod that adds animations modeled directly after the movie to Miles' moveset. Alongside the already-unique animations made by Insomniac especially for Miles, and a few cut animations found in game files, these really add a lot of attitude and flavor to how Miles moves.

This modder has been exploring the Souls series' mysterious out-of-bounds cities
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-modder-has-been-exploring-the-souls-series-mysterious-out-of-bounds-cities/
FromSoftware's games have inspired a host of dataminers eager to reconstruct their secrets and cut content. YouTuber Crest has been dissecting the games for years, exploring the game in every possible way since Dark Souls' developer version leaked in 2014. Notably, Crest breaks out of bounds to bring new perspectives on the games' worlds, as well as close-up views of FromSoft's evocative background assets.
Most recently, Crest did a tour of the Boletarian town in Demon's Souls, a far-off walled city you can observe from the heights of World 1, the Boletarian Palace. Crest and fellow modder Thens created an enlarged version of the faraway town with added collision detection, allowing you to walk through and examine it up close through the use of their mod.

Here's a mod that promises to help Darktide run better on your low-end PC
https://www.pcgamer.com/heres-a-mod-that-promises-to-help-darktide-run-better-on-your-low-end-pc/
Did you buy Darktide even though your PC can barely or not even make the system requirements? Are you the kind of person who likes to live dangerously even though I don't recommend buying and playing games your PC can't/shouldn't run? Perhaps you're just a doofus and forgot to check the specs and now you're past the refund period?
Or are you just some kind of enlightened gamer for whom merely concept, not graphics that resemble anything at all, is the key to true happiness?
Either way, modder yakuzadeso has you covered: Performance Boost for Potato PC, now on Nexusmods, will enable you to make Warhammer 40,000: Darktide look just... not great. But maybe it'll run great, and that's enough sometimes!

GAMING NEWS

First PC patch for The Callisto Protocol fixes shader compilation stutters but does not resolve all of the other optimization issues
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/first-pc-patch-the-callisto-protocol-fixes-shader-compilation-stutters/
Striking Distance Studios has just released the first PC patch for The Callisto Protocol. This first patch completely resolves the game’s shader compilation stutters.
The game will start compiling its shaders as soon as you launch it. Although there isn’t any on-screen indicator, all of its movies will feel choppy until it finishes the procedure.
>> Keep in mind that other sites state that the patch helps with the stutters, but isn't a complete fix.

Fortnite is the first game using Unreal Engine 5.1, supporting Nanite, Lumen & Virtual Shadow Maps
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/fortnite-is-the-first-game-using-unreal-engine-5-1-supporting-nanite-lumen-virtual-shadow-maps/
Epic Games has launched the fourth chapter of Fortnite, and has ported the game to Unreal Engine 5.1. As such, Fortnite is the first game powered by Unreal Engine 5.1 that supports Nanite, Lumen and Virtual Shadow Maps.

Frictional Games has announced Amnesia: The Bunker, coming to PC in March 2023
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/frictional-games-has-announced-amnesia-the-bunker-coming-to-pc-in-march-2023/
Frictional Games has announced the next part in its Amnesia series, Amnesia: The Bunker, which will come out on PC in March 2023. In order to celebrate this announcement, the team has also released a new trailer that you can find below.

Warframe now supports cross-play between PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/warframe-now-supports-cross-play-between-pc-playstation-xbox-and-nintendo-switch/
Digital Extremes has launched Cross Platform Play support for Warframe, allowing PC gamers to play alongside their friends on PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.

The past Monday news, part two:

The Warhammer 40K CRPG is already getting its first alpha
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-warhammer-40k-crpg-is-already-getting-its-first-alpha/
CRPG devs Owlcat Games have announced the first closed playtest of the upcoming Warhammer 40K RPG, Rogue Trader. Purchasers of the Developer's Digital Pack or Collector's Edition versions of the game will have access to an alpha test starting December 7.

Destiny 2 players can't matchmake with anyone, days before the season ends
https://www.pcgamer.com/destiny-2-players-cant-matchmake-with-anyone-days-before-the-season-ends/
Four days before the end of Destiny 2: Season of Plunder is set to end, players have found themselves completely unable to matchmake, along with some additional pesky server issues rising to the surface.

'We don't want to be predatory'—Darktide devs explain why they switched to an in-game currency to sell cosmetics
https://www.pcgamer.com/we-dont-want-to-be-predatorydarktide-devs-explain-why-they-switched-to-an-in-game-currency-to-sell-cosmetics/
If I want to buy a new sub-class for my favorite dwarf warrior in Warhammer: Vermintide 2, I can do that right through the Steam store: it costs $3.99. Vermintide 2 also has an in-game cosmetic shop using a currency called shillings, earnable by playing the game, but some of its skins are sold for real cash, too: I can spend $2.99 to give my bright wizard a new look. That option doesn't exist in developer Fatshark's new 40K game, Darktide.
Instead, Darktide follows the common F2P game monetization route of making you buy a premium currency in bundles—$4.99 for 1000 Aquilas, in this case—which you can then spend on skins. There's currently no way to buy exactly how many Aquilas you need for a one-off purchase, which some angry players have called "predatory bullshit." According to Fatshark lead developers, that was the opposite of their intention.

Darktide's crafting system isn't quite ready because Fatshark 'ripped it out and started over' mid-development
https://www.pcgamer.com/darktides-crafting-system-isnt-quite-ready-because-fatshark-ripped-it-out-and-started-over-mid-development/
Warhammer 40K: Darktide's had a bit of an unusual launch: throughout a two-week pre-order beta, developer Fatshark rolled out a selection of new missions and features alongside frequent bug fixes. One obvious missing ingredient was the crafting system—and on launch day, it was still mostly missing. Only one of four aspects of the crafting system is currently available, with the rest labeled "Open soon!" This hasn't sat well with some players, who've pointed out that the premium cosmetic store was ready for launch, but crafting wasn't. So I talked to Fatshark's lead developers about why they made that call.

Genshin Impact goes to war against leakers, sues Discord to find leaker's real identity
https://www.pcgamer.com/genshin-impact-goes-to-war-against-leakers-sues-discord-to-find-leakers-real-identity/
It looks like Genshin Impact publisher Cognosphere is going after one of the game's biggest leakers: As reported by TorrentFreak, lawyers representing the company have filed a DMCA subpoena demanding that Discord provide it with the real identity of the person known online as Ubatcha.

Victoria 3 designer on why communism is OP: 'We just implemented the mechanics the way we understood them'
https://www.pcgamer.com/victoria-3-communism-op/
In the month since the release of Paradox Interactive's latest grand strategy game, Victoria 3, some players have struggled with one persistent issue: The communists are right. As entrenched conservative interests in their 19th-century nations prevent modernizing reforms—you know, like abolishing slavery—players start to rail against landowners, exploitative capitalists, and the Petit Bourgeoisie in rants that could have come from Marxists a century ago or today.

Alpha test for Creative Assembly's new PvPvE shooter is live now
https://www.pcgamer.com/alpha-test-for-creative-assemblys-new-pvpve-shooter-is-live-now/
Hyenas is a zero-G PvPvE shooter first teased way back in 2018, and officially unveiled this year. We had some reservations when we took a closer look at it in September, finding some interesting concepts but also a lot of, well, cringe: News writer Mollie Taylor said she couldn't tell "if this is a game that's trying too hard or not trying hard enough," and worried that Hyenas would be able to find a niche for itself in a genre that's already crowded.

Just two years after release, DJ rhythm game Fuser is being delisted
https://www.pcgamer.com/just-two-years-after-release-dj-rhythm-game-fuser-is-being-delisted/
The DJ rhythm game Fuser made a pretty good impression on us when it released in late 2020: It melted James' EDM-hating heart, and convinced Tyler that Smash Mouth's "All-Star" belongs, well, in pretty much every other song you can name. "Fuser feels like a natural evolution for Harmonix and, scoring system aside, lets players take control of the music more than ever before," we wrote in our 77% review. Very solid appraisals all around!
Unfortunately, just two years after it launched, Fuser is going away for good. "On December 19, we will be disabling Fuser's live services and all sales of the game, as well as its DLC," Harmonix announced today. "Players who already own Fuser will still be able to play the Campaign and Quick Play with any DLC they have already acquired. Thank you again for your support and for all the amazing mixes over the years."

Team Fortress 2's most important update in years gives its community the keys to the kingdom
https://www.pcgamer.com/team-fortress-2s-most-important-update-in-years-gives-its-community-the-keys-to-the-kingdom/
For a game that's 15 years old, Team Fortress 2 retains a remarkably vibrant community: it's perpetually among the most-played games on Steam. There are over 97,000 people playing it as I write.
This is also a community that, this year, decided enough was enough and began pressuring Valve to pay them some more attention. (...)
And once again Valve has done a Valve. A new update for Team Fortress 2 adds a feature that is going to be absolutely core to this game's future and functionality but, I'll warn you up front, it doesn't sound very sexy. Team Fortress 2 now has VScript support, a system that is already embedded in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Left 4 Dead 2, and which allows mappers to embed script code into maps.

Activision Blizzard sees second successful union drive
https://www.pcgamer.com/activision-blizzard-sees-second-successful-union-drive/
Quality Assurance workers at Blizzard Albany, formerly Vicarious Visions, voted to unionize their department on Friday, with 14 votes for and none against of the eligible 18 members of the unit (credit to Polygon.) Game Workers Alliance Albany is the second QA unit at an Activision Blizzard-owned developer to unionize, following in the footsteps of Raven QA's successful push this past Summer.

Crusader Kings 3 makes it easier to abandon your unwanted bastard children
https://www.pcgamer.com/crusader-kings-3-makes-it-easier-to-abandon-your-unwanted-bastard-children/
Crusader Kings 3's latest update is a doozy, a fat list of upgrades, fixes, and AI tweaks that diversify the medieval goings-on significantly. The 1.8 "Robe" update is free to everyone who owns the game, and spices up the system around reforming religions with some new visuals, then adds a bunch of new symbols for custom faiths.

Geralt and other Witcher characters will arrive in Lost Ark next year
https://www.pcgamer.com/geralt-and-other-witcher-characters-will-arrive-in-lost-ark-next-year/
Massively multiplayer fashion-brawler Lost Ark began a Witcher crossover on its Korean servers in November, but only now has Amazon Games confirmed when Geralt and pals will be arriving on western servers: January, 2023.

And here's what should have been the part three of the Monday news:

Bioware celebrates Dragon Age Day with a new Dreadwolf teaser
https://www.pcgamer.com/bioware-celebrates-dragon-age-day-with-a-new-dreadwolf-teaser/
Bioware is celebrating this year's Dragon Age Day by highlighting works from the community and giving yet another tantalizing look at the long-awaited Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. The developer and fans are also supporting a good cause, the Trans Empowerment Project via Tiltify. The fan-organized Unofficial DA Day Team has a preliminary goal of $15,000 in donations, and in previous years supported Child's Play, the Legal Defense Fund, and AbleGamers.

Epic does what Nintendon't, brings Geralt and the Doom Slayer to Fortnite
https://www.pcgamer.com/epic-does-what-nintendont-brings-geralt-and-the-doom-slayer-to-fortnite/
Fortnite presses ever onward, and Epic Games has put out two new trailers for the game's just-launched Chapter 4. There's a lot of stuff here that scares and threatens me because I'm an old man who's with what isn't it, but I'll tell you what is cool: you'll be able to play as beloved PC gaming mascots Geralt of Rivia and the Doom Slayer.
>> Given the article's title, someone's butthurt about Smash.

Cyberpunk 2077 is getting a Game of the Year edition
https://www.pcgamer.com/cyberpunk-2077-is-getting-a-game-of-the-year-edition/
Following the release of its Phantom Liberty expansion and another patch, troubled open-world RPG Cyberpunk 2077 will be rereleased in a Game of the Year Edition, CD Projekt CEO Adam Kiciński told investors during a recent call. As reported by Polish news site Stockwatch, and spotted by Insider Gaming, Cyberpunk 2077 GOTY Edition is scheduled for a 2023 release.

Next year, be a retired botanist in a puzzle-filled mansion of forgotten plants
https://www.pcgamer.com/next-year-be-a-retired-botanist-in-a-puzzle-filled-mansion-of-forgotten-plants/
I love the pitch for Botany Manor, an upcoming exploration and puzzle game: "Welcome to Botany Manor, a stately home in 19th century England. You play as inhabitant Arabella Greene, a retired botanist. Explore your house and gardens, filled with research, to figure out the ideal habitat of forgotten flora. Grow each plant to discover the mysterious qualities they hold."

Halo Infinite multiplayer creative director departs 343 Industries
https://www.pcgamer.com/halo-infinite-multiplayer-creative-director-departs-343-industries/
A long-time member of the Halo development team has departed, as Tom French, the creative director for Halo Infinite's multiplayer, had his last day at 343 Industries on Friday, December 2, 2022. French had worked on Halo for roughly 11 and a half years.

Five years after launch, heartfelt indie Rakuen is getting a 'major update' and spin-off
https://www.pcgamer.com/five-years-after-launch-heartfelt-indie-rakuen-is-getting-a-major-update-and-spin-off/
In 2017, indie developer and composer Laura Shigihara released Rakuen, a delightful adventure-RPG about a sick boy and his mother who travel back and forth between a whimsical fantasy land and the somewhat less whimsical hospital where he's staying. Now, Shigihara has announced that Rakuen is getting a significant update, and a new game in the same setting will be released next year.

Firaxis pulled out all the stops to let a dying fan play Midnight Suns
https://www.pcgamer.com/firaxis-pulled-out-all-the-stops-to-let-a-dying-fan-play-midnight-suns/
Marvel's Midnight Suns released last Friday, but one fan got his hands on it more than a year before the rest of us. A report from GI.biz highlights the story of Luke Wiltshire, a terminal cancer sufferer in the UK, and the lengths that Firaxis went to in order to get a working build of Midnight Suns into his hands before he died.

Elden Ring's creator has no idea why it's so successful and doesn't want to find out
https://www.pcgamer.com/elden-rings-creator-has-no-idea-why-its-so-successful-and-doesnt-want-to-find-out/
Friends, it turns out that Hidetaka Miyazaki and I are basically the same person. Both of us, when people like our work, react with a kind of pleased befuddlement. The Dark Souls director says he hasn't the foggiest why Elden Ring has been so successful, which is pretty much the same as when I used to be surprised by good marks for essays I wrote the night before the deadline. Kind of. A bit. Look, just let me have this.

Stopped procrastinating and started experimenting with Stable Diffusion. Can generate 20 images in ~90 seconds with my current prompt setup. Was really discouraged with my results with the vanilla version but custom models like Anything V3 have given me MUCH better results. Thought I'd give it a couple hours and here I am five hours later still trying new prompts. Maybe I'll post some when I get the NSFW stuff out of my system, lol.