I haven't watched the entire video but that part about the vram is interesting...

On the 2070 Super, the game for some reason is reserving 1600 MB of Vram for OS/Apps but Alex showed that his OS is infact only using 465 MB. When they tested on the 4090, it's reserving 4850MB of Vram for OS/Apps when infact the OS and background apps are not using anywhere near that. The game doesn't actually scan how much vram the OS/Background apps are using but instead, just has a blanket % depending on how much vram it detects.

There really isn't any reason for the game to stupidly reserve that much for the OS. Maybe on the PS5 yes but not on PC.

Yeah, the problem for 8GB-VRAM-cards is that they can't use "high textures" due to that reserved VRAM-space, which  look almost as good as the "ultra textures".

The medium textures look a lot worse and the low textures (f.e. for Steam Deck) look abysmal:

I wouldn't buy the PC version until my next GPU, even on sale. Good that I also have a PS5, which can keep up in native 1440p with the RTX4090-PC in UHD quite well.

And I wouldn't be surprised if the game is added to the PS+ Extra subscription in a few months. 

I am happy to support a new PC Nation thread.

I think one of the big reasons this one has been kept alive rather than shuffled under the rugs was because of Zarx passing. - His family drops in here occasionally.

It's really hard to recommend any GPU with less than 10-12GB of VRAM unless you are building a low-spec system.

Honestly I kinda want to just have control of the polls so we can change them. There's a lot of topics that if we had control of the polls, could give really good insight as to what people think and would be fun.

If @JEMC doesn't want to takeover from Zarx (I'm pretty sure we should still have a feature where we can switch posts out to other users) then I wonder if there's a way for @Bandorr to code it so that JEMC could specifically have control over this threads poll owner despite not being an OP?

...Or alternatively just tell @Pemalite to do it.

Yeah, I can change the polls if needed, frequent the thread daily. Inbox me any time.

Yeah I gotta agree, although Zarx is no longer with us, I feel the sentiment that it is time to change the leadership of the thread, and I feel that JEMC has more than earned that title over the years.

Hey, look! It's the Monday news!

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

GOG's Spring Sale will end in 7 hours. That's all the time you have to decide if you want "that" game or not.

Steam has two new deals:

• Hacker Simulator will be 70% off until Sunday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1754840/Hacker_Simulator/
• And RUNNING WITH RIFLES gets an 80% discount until April 9: https://store.steampowered.com/app/270150/RUNNING_WITH_RIFLES/

There are three new deals at Humble:

• At Humble Bundle there's the Best of Survivors-Like Bundle, with 8 games to get during the next 11 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/best-survivorslike
• And at the Humble Store there are another two sales:
  • Publisher Coffee Stain puts its games up to 80% off during 4 days. There are keys for Steam and EGS(2): https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/coffee-stain-publisher-sale/
  • The Cards & Puzzle Sale features up to 85% discounts during 4 days. There are keys for Steam, GOG and UPlay: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/card-puzzle-sale/

Fanatical has launhed its Easter Eggstravaganza Sale, with deals form a lot of publishers, plus some other deals:

• The new Star Deal is Hi-Fi Rush Digital Deluxe, 28% off during 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/hi-fi-rush-digital-deluxe
• There are four "new" bundles: Star Wars Collection (13 days, 79% off), Rimworld with all expansions (14 days, 12% off), The Jackbox Quintpack (14 days, 40% off) and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Complete Bundle (14 days, 81% off)
• There's a Mystery Egg Bundle, with between 1 and 20 games to get. If you want to know which games can be obtained, click this link: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/mystery-egg-bundle
• There are also supposed to be 2 Flash Deal, (maybe the Star Deal is one of them), but they aren't loading at the time of writing this.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Fallout 4 gets a 41GB 4K Texture Pack, optimizing all 40,962 textures
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/fallout-4-gets-a-41gb-4k-texture-pack-optimizing-all-40962-textures/
Modder ‘Painstaking Rick’ has released a new 4K Texture Pack for Fallout 4. This pack weighs around 41GB in size, and aims to optimize all of the game’s textures. That’s 40,962 textures in total.
Going into more details, Performout 4 – Fancy introduces 4K textures for all objects. The key feature here is that these 4K textures perform similarly to the game’s vanilla textures. So, if your computer ran the vanilla version at 60fps, it can also run this 4K modded version at the same speed.
>> The article has some comparison screenshots.

This flying car from Blade Runner feels right at home modded into Cyberpunk 2077
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-flying-car-from-blade-runner-feels-right-at-home-modded-into-cyberpunk-2077/
Cyberpunk 2077 already borrows a fair bit from other standbys of the genre⁠—I've spent like 90 hours tooling around Night City on the bike from Akira (sorry, the "Yaiba Kusanagi CT-3X"), why not add in some more vehicles that tickle the lizard-like "hey, I recognize that!" part of my brain?
Enter Nexus modder ctxrisec's Blade Runner Spinner, which adds Ryan Gosling's spiffy air sedan from Blade Runner 2049 to CD Projekt's own vision of the dark future. The spinner honestly looks right at home in Night City: it has a retro, but still quite sleek design that wouldn't be out of place in a uh, "corpo rat's" garage, and I find it cuts a similar "luxury sports car but weird" silhouette to the Delamain cabs already in the game.
>> There are some screenshots of the car.

I hope Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree's new weapons take a page from this modder's sick custom movesets
https://www.pcgamer.com/i-hope-elden-ring-shadow-of-the-erdtrees-new-weapons-take-a-page-from-this-modders-sick-custom-movesets/
Ashes of War and Weapon Arts in FromSoftware's newer games have really spoiled us⁠—it used to be you got your R1, R2, and some movement-dependent attacks, and that was it. Now when I go into a Soulsborne, I want some spice. I want the Rakuyo double-bladed katana's mixups, the Farron Greatsword's straight-up Samurai Champloo breakdancing, or the Marais Executioner Sword's Jedi telekinesis nonsense. I've been a little worried that FromSoft just won't be able to top the excellent and varied armory already in Elden Ring, but modder clevereraptor6 over on NexusMods has been quietly toiling away on custom weapon movesets that prove just how much juice is left in the animations and effects FromSoft has already created.
>> There's a short video of the mod.

I found a Skyrim mod that adds skooma hallucinations, now I'm a drug addict with an imaginary goat
https://www.pcgamer.com/i-found-a-skyrim-mod-that-adds-skooma-hallucinations-now-im-a-drug-addict-with-an-imaginary-goat/
I was somewhere around Whiterun on the edge of Fort Greymoor when the skooma began to take hold. Things became washed-out and smeary, and then there was two of everything including me and my pet elytra—an odd kind of mantis-looking bug who I realized, seeing two of the bizarre insect beside me, probably wasn't the best companion to bring on a 10-skooma bender.
Skooma is a narcotic substance made of refined moon sugar that's banned in some parts of Tamriel due to its addictiveness, though considered a sacred sacrament by the khajiit. In Morrowind and Oblivion it fortified your speed and strength while draining your intelligence and agility, while in Skyrim it simply restores stamina. Its addictiveness and hallucinatory qualities have never really been modeled by any of the Elder Scrolls games—until now.
JaySerpa is responsible for the Skyrim on Skooma mod, which not only makes skooma addictive, but adds 69 different psychedelic experiences you'll randomly enjoy one of each time you consume a bottle of the madgod's favorite tipple. It may sound like a joke, and it was uploaded on April 1st, but it's clearly a labor of love that took JaySerpa about five months to create. One of the best Skyrim mods? Well, I think so.
>> There are some screenshots.

GAMING NEWS

CD Projekt boss confirms it's reassessing its multiplayer Witcher game: 'We don't want to carry on with projects that we are not aligned with'
https://www.pcgamer.com/cd-projekt-boss-confirms-its-starting-over-with-multiplayer-witcher-game-we-dont-want-to-carry-on-with-projects-that-we-are-not-aligned-with/
We already kind of knew that CD Projekt-owned studio The Molasses Flood had gone back to the drawing board with Project Sirius, its upcoming multiplayer Witcher game, following a recent announcement to CD Projekt investors. But now CDP has confirmed that the project is being "re-evaluated", and provided a little insight into why.

Windy Meadow will take players back to the world of one of 2022's best narrative adventures
https://www.pcgamer.com/windy-meadow-will-take-players-back-to-the-world-of-one-of-2022s-best-narrative-adventures/
Associate editor Lauren Morton chose Roadwarden as her game of the year personal pick for 2023, saying it "nails the intersection between novel and adventure game in a way that, for the first time, doesn't make me wish it were just one of those other things instead." It's also acclaimed over on Steam, where more than 1,600 user reviews have conferred upon it an "overwhelmingly positive" rating.
All those fans will no doubt be happy that more is on the way: Developer Moral Anxiety Studios says Windy Meadow—A Roadwarden Tale is a "familiar-yet-new ‘slice of life’ adventure where every decision matters on the quest to forge a noble path."

I played DayZ creator Dean Hall's next game, which is like RimWorld in a submarine
https://www.pcgamer.com/i-played-dayz-creator-dean-halls-next-game-which-is-like-rimworld-in-a-submarine/
I'm not sure when, or even if, DayZ creator Dean Hall sleeps. Not only has his New Zealand-based game studio, RocketWerkz, updated its survival game Icarus every week for 68 consecutive weeks, but it continues developing space station management game Stationeers and upcoming transport tycoon game Art of the Rail.

Marvel's Avengers gets its final update, unlocking all the cosmetics for everyone
https://www.pcgamer.com/marvels-avengers-gets-its-final-update-unlocking-all-the-cosmetics-for-everyone/
The final update for Marvel's Avengers is now live, meaning players now have full access to "nearly all" of the game's content, including outfits, emotes, takedowns, and nameplates, plus a special "Founder's Gift" for everyone who's earned at least one achievement or trophy by April 1.

Ark 2 delayed until 'end of 2024'
https://www.pcgamer.com/ark-2-delayed-until-end-of-2024/
Ark 2 has been delayed until late 2024, according to a post on the dinosaur survival game's official site. While a specific date for the sequel to Ark: Survival Evolved has never been announced by Studio Wildcard, it was planned for sometime this year.

Monday news, part two:

E3 2023 organizer says the big game companies were 'enthusiastic' at first, but then 'the mood changed'
https://www.pcgamer.com/e3-2023-organizer-says-the-big-game-companies-were-enthusiastic-at-first-but-then-the-mood-changed/
GamesIndustry.biz, whose parent company ReedPop was organizing E3 2023 before its cancellation this week, has published an editorial which details some of what happened. The short if it, according to the site's head of games B2B, Christopher Dring, is that "the industry just didn't want this E3."

Dark and Darker dev starts and then pauses GoFundMe for Nexon legal battle: 'The reality of the situation is that their end goal is to bleed us dry in court fees'
https://www.pcgamer.com/dark-and-darker-dev-starts-and-then-pauses-gofundme-for-nexon-legal-battle-the-reality-of-the-situation-is-that-their-end-goal-is-to-bleed-us-dry-in-court-fees/
The legal battle between publishing giant Nexon and a small group of ex-employees at Ironmace who left to make their own game is only getting uglier. Nexon's claims that Ironmace's Dark and Darker illegally uses code and concepts from its own cancelled "P3" project have so far resulted in a police raid on Ironmace's South Korean studio and the official removal of Dark and Darker's Steam page.
Ironmace is fighting the claim, having this week published its own evidence that Dark and Darker was developed from scratch and utilized purchased assets from the Unreal library. Whether or not Nexon has a case against Ironmace, the verdict isn't likely to come before months of expensive legal proceedings.

Kratos calls for ceasefire in console wars
https://www.pcgamer.com/kratos-calls-for-ceasefire-in-console-wars/
Voice actor Christopher Judge, the man behind Kratos in the modern God of War and God of War Ragnarok, took a moment after winning the BAFTA for Performer in a Leading Role to ask you all to please be more polite to each other: "Thank you to the fans. Be easier on each other. You have more in common that what separates you. No matter what platform you love, no matter what game you love, you're still part of the gaming community, and give each other a break."
>> Kratos? I can only see Teal'c.

Resident Evil fans vote for their favorite character, pick Leon
https://www.pcgamer.com/resident-evil-fans-vote-for-their-favorite-character-leon/
A recent poll in Japanese gaming rag Famitsu ahead of the release of the Resident Evil 4 remake asked fans of the survival horror series to select their favorite character, as well as the most detestable (via @bioranger_PT on Twitter). Albert Wesker unsurprisingly took the prize for most detestable, with Nicholai Ginovaef from RE3 in second place, and the Licker in third. Funnily enough, Wesker also rated in the favorite characters poll, where he placed sixth.

Naughty Dog apologizes to Last of Us players on PC
https://www.pcgamer.com/naughty-dog-apologizes-to-last-of-us-players-on-pc/
(...)
"We know some of you have not experienced the Naughty Dog quality you expected", begins the developer's Twitter thread addressed to The Last of Us Part 1 PC players. "Our team is working hard to resolve issues currently preventing some of you from experiencing the game to ensure it reaches the quality level you expect and deserve.

I had my weekend turned on its head by this stop motion-animated pagan fever dream of a game
https://www.pcgamer.com/i-had-my-weekend-turned-on-its-head-by-this-stop-motion-animated-pagan-fever-dream-of-a-game/
Judero left an immediate impression on me⁠—its stop motion animation is the first thing that hit me, beautifully recalling the work of Ray Harryhausen or Phil Tippett. As the developers themselves put it, "For us, this art style invokes something nostalgic; in part comical but perhaps a bit creepy too."

This upcoming FPS is a love letter to soul patches, JNCOs, nu metal, and everything else 1999
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-upcoming-boomer-shooter-is-a-love-letter-to-soul-patches-jncos-nu-metal-and-everything-else-1999/
"Seven weapons, blood and gore, twisted music by Seepage & Psyko Syndikate, and maps where you can blow up everything," Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengance of the Slayer promises with its YouTube trailer. "Its awesome. started making it in 1998 in high school with my friend and now im 37, so i have life experience now."

Cyberpunk life-sim RPG Citizen Sleeper's third, final free DLC is live
https://www.pcgamer.com/cyberpunk-life-sim-rpg-citizen-sleepers-third-final-free-dlc-is-live/
Citizen Sleeper was already one of the best cyberpunk games on PC, and now there's even more of it. The narrative life-sim RPG that casts you as an escaped synthetic worker trying to carve out a new life for yourself in the off-world colonies—sorry, I mean on the space station city called Erlin's Eye—has received several free DLC updates since it launched last year. The third of them is live now.

Everything's underwater but you and your friends in survival game Sunkenland
https://www.pcgamer.com/everythings-underwater-but-you-and-your-friends-in-survival-game-sunkenland/
An upcoming survival game is set in a world covered by a huge ocean, with the ruins of former civilization beneath and the remnants of humanity dwelling on mobile boats and the last handful of scattered islands above the waves. Developers Vector3 Studio explicitly call out the 1995 Kevin Costner movie Waterworld as an inspiration for their game, depicting as it does a flooded world that has lost all hope of returning to land.

Obviously, this is a fast-paced roguelike where you are a crab with a gun
https://www.pcgamer.com/obviously-this-is-a-fast-paced-roguelike-where-you-are-a-crab-with-a-gun/
Remember that incredibly goofy dance music video with the dancing crabs that everyone loved back in like 2018? People did a bunch of memes of it. Anyway, the artist who made that, Noisestorm, made a roguelike third-person action shooter about crabs. It's called Crab Champions, and though it released into early access on April 1st, 2023 it's anything but a joke. It's actually kind of... good?

Here's 23 free game prototypes from the creators of Totally Accurate Battle Simulator
https://www.pcgamer.com/heres-23-free-game-prototypes-from-the-creators-of-totally-accurate-battle-simulator/
Indie development studio Landfall has made a big collection of their unfinished and unreleased game prototypes from years of development, including an unreleased version of Totally Accurate Battle Simulator that dates back to 2017. Landfall has made a name for themselves in the past few years with TABS, as well as games like Clustertruck and Totally Accurate Battlegrounds.