Yeah, they're filled with Helium or some other gas to protect them.

It's not a bad idea to use external drives as back ups for the movies and files you can't find somewhere else. The trick is to not overdue it and try to back up everything.

I LOVE MODDING ON PC. So I also love audio mods ^^

I upload the first one in 4K but it was long so now I do 1080p and 1440p recordings lol.

The new soundtrack fits quite well.

TIE Fighter with raytracing:

Thank you very much guys.

Yep, it's Monday and these are the news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

GOG starts the week with two new Deals of the Day and two Sales:

• The first DotD is Xuan-Yuan Sword VII, 55% off during 46 hours: https://www.gog.com/en/game/xuanyuan_sword_vii
• The second DotD is Project Warlock, 77% off until Wednesday: https://www.gog.com/en/game/project_warlock
• The Summer Classics Sale, also known as Make Classics Last Forever, features up to 89% discounts during 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/2023_summer_classics_sale
• And the new Weekly Sale brings up to 90% discounts until July, 24th: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20230717_weekly_sale

Steam has two new deals:

• Skater XL - The Ultimate Skateboarding Game will be 20% off until Sunday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/962730/Skater_XL__The_Ultimate_Skateboarding_Game/
• Prison Simulator, that has a demo, will sport a 31% discount until July, 23th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/842180/Prison_Simulator/

The guys at Humble have a couple of new deals for us:

• At Humble Bundle there's the At-Home Arcade Bundle, with up to 7 games and 2 coupons to get during 18 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/athome-arcade
• The Humble Store has the Gearbox Franchise Sale... that translates to a Borderlands Sale, with up to 85% discounts during 4 days. There are keys for Steam and EGS: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/gearbox-franchise-sale/

And there's also Fanatical, with several new deals for us:

• The new Star Deal is DOOM Eternal - Deluxe Edition, 79% off during 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/doom-eternal-deluxe-edition
• The former deal is part of a Bethesda Sale, with up to 77% discounts during 6 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/bethesda-softworks
• Dovetail Games also puts its titles on sale with up to 74% deals during 6 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/dovetail-games
• Annapurna Interactive puts its games up to 75% off during the next 13 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/annapurna-interactive
• And there's a Summer Mystery Bundle, with up to 20 unknown games to get: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/summer-mystery-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

INTEL Arc & Iris Graphics 31.0.101.4575
https://videocardz.com/driver/intel-arc-iris-graphics-31-0-101-4575
Highlights
Intel® Game On Driver support on Intel® Arc™ A-series Graphics for:

• Exoprimal
• Jagged Alliance 3

Game performance improvements versus Intel® 31.0.101.4514 software driver for:

• League of Legends (DX11)
  • Up to 6% uplift at 1080p with Very High preset
  • Up to 10% uplift at 1440p with Very High preset

Fixed Issues
Intel® Arc™ Graphics Products:

• Halo Infinite (DX12) may experience application freeze or crash after loading to game menu.
• Streaming Dota 2 (DX11) using XSplit Broadcaster may exhibit corruption in Game Capture mode.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Here’s Red Dead Redemption running on PC with up to 300fps
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-red-dead-redemption-running-on-pc-with-up-to-300fps/
Digital Foundry has shared a video, showcasing Red Dead Redemption running on PC via the Xbox 360 emulator, Xenia, with up to 300fps.
From the looks of it, Xenia runs the game way better than the Playstation 3 emulator, RPCS3. In some of the least taxing scenes, Xenia is almost three times faster than RPCS3. For instance, in the scene where Xenia manages to get 300fps, the RPCS3 pushes around 94fps.
In order to achieve such high framerates, DF used an Intel Core i9 12900K with 64GB of RAM and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090.
Now obviously, Xenia cannot run the most taxing scenes with such high framerates. Still, and for a large section of the game, the aforementioned PC system can achieve 120fps at 1080p with 2XMSAA. However, in the towns, the framerate can drop at 90fps.
For those wondering, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 can provide playable framerates at native 4K with 2XMSAA and 16XAF. In some scenes, especially in big towns, the framerate can drop to the mid-50s. However, if you use a G-Sync monitor, you can finally get a smooth experience in this game.
What’s also cool is that you can use a program in order to add Keyboard and Mouse support to Xenia. DF could not enable it during its playthrough, but others have said that it’s working.
>> The article has the DF video in it, which is almost 18 minutes long.

Fallout: Free Cheyenne Demo, fan expansion for Fallout: New Vegas, available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/fallout-free-cheyenne-demo-fan-expansion-for-fallout-new-vegas-available-for-download/
Fallout: New Vegas fans, here is something for you today. Modder ‘userKN’ has released a demo for an upcoming fan expansion for Fallout: New Vegas, called Fallout: Free Cheyenne.
Fallout: Free Cheyenne Demo is described as an exciting new adventure to the center of post-apocalyptic America, featuring three new quests, brand new factions, and a whole new world to explore. The modder also claimed that they have used AI tools in order to generate the voices featured in this mod.
>> The article has the trailer of this mod (1:37).

Bloodborne Kart gets new gameplay video, featuring Micolash
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/bloodborne-kart-gets-new-gameplay-video-featuring-micolash/
Lilith Walther has shared a new gameplay video for Bloodborne Kart, showcasing Micolash who will be fully playable in it. For those unaware, Bloodborne Kart is a free fan Kart game based on Bloodborne, featuring PSX-style graphics.
Players will not only be able to play as Micolash but also fight him in the game’s campaign mode. In this mode, players will chase him into dead-ends (just like in the original game).
As Walther has mentioned, the game’s campaign mode will feature a linear progression of levels with little story cards in between to string them all together. This free game will feature three types of levels: Races, battles, and special. The first two are self-explanatory, but special stages offer unique scenarios like this boss fight here!
Winning levels will reward the player with racer and kart unlocks, echoes to level up and insight, the number of which varies depending on player performance. Players will be also able to collect all insight to unlock something special at the end.
Furthermore, Walther made the teleport mirrors navigable by the player, opening up a lot more opportunities for gameplay.
>> There's a 1:10 video of the mod.

Skyrim Special Edition gets new HD Texture Pack, overhauling all creatures
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/skyrim-special-edition-gets-new-hd-texture-pack-overhauling-all-creatures/
Modder ‘TREBoy’ has released a new AI-upscaled HD Texture Pack for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition that overhauls all creatures.
This pack comes in two versions. The first one upscales the vanilla textures by two times, whereas the second one upscales the textures by four times.
Since this HD Texture Pack uses AI techniques, it retains the art style of the original textures. Thus, consider these overhauled ones as lore-friendly textures. For those wondering, the modder used the ESRGAN training model and utilized the CC0 Creative Commons license.
The modder also noted that the pack may have a big performance impact, especially on GPUs that have 4GB of VRAM. For optimal performance, TREBoy recommends using GPUs with over 8GB of VRAM.
>> The article has some screenshots.

New gameplay video for CryZENx’s Zelda Ocarina of Time Remake in Unreal Engine 5.2
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/cryzenx-zelda-ocarina-of-time-in-unreal-engine-5-2-looks-better-than-ever-in-this-latest-gameplay-video/
CryZENx has released a new video, showcasing the latest version of his remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in Unreal Engine 5.2.
This new video shows off the “Inside Deku Tree” area. This fan remake of Ocarina of Time takes advantage of UE5’s Lumen which makes the game look better than ever. Moreover, CryZENx plans to release another gameplay video once he completes the “The Dungeon” area.
For those unaware, CryZENx has recreated numerous areas from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in both Unreal Engine 4 and Unreal Engine 5. This is the only playable fan remake of Ocarina of Time in Unreal Engine, so we suggest giving it a go.
>> The video is over 15 minutes long.

Fallout 4 gets an amazing gameplay mod that overhauls its AI
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/fallout-4-gets-an-amazing-gameplay-mod-that-overhauls-its-ai/
Modder ‘Thumblesteen’ has released an amazing gameplay mod for Fallout 4 that attempts to overhaul the AI of all NPCs and enemies. This is a must-have mod as it can improve Fallout 4’s gameplay mechanics, and we highly recommend downloading it.
Going into more details, real.AI removes the “blinders” from the NPCs (more about this below). Additionally, it replaces hard limitations with soft limitations and adds elements of unpredictability.
As the modder noted, Bethesda gave NPCs a series of invisible barriers that blocked their senses, meaning that they were essentially existing in a kind of bubble. This mod removes that bubble, allowing NPCs to interact with the world around them and to actually engage with their environment. As a result, snipers will actually snipe. Flanking NPCs will actually flank you. Not only that, but the inhabitants of the game will behave much more like living beings.
This AI mod for Fallout 4 also gives NPCs more free reign on choices they can make. NPCs and enemies can circle around large objects, hide, ambush and attempt to trick the player. They can also blindfire and engage targets based on the information they have at any given time.
Lastly, stealth and detection will be considerably more organic. Players can now hide in the middle of combat, and enemies will search for them.
>> The article has an over 4 minutes video of the mod in action.

The news, part two:

GAMING NEWS

Payday 3 fans lament its inevitable shutdown after Starbreeze confirms transition to always-online: 'This game is on death row'
https://www.pcgamer.com/payday-3-fans-lament-its-inevitable-shutdown-after-starbreeze-confirms-transition-to-always-online-this-game-is-on-death-row/
Bad news, wonky internet havers and those of you leading the rich lives of hermits out in the woods: Payday 3's developers have confirmed the upcoming multiplayer heist-em-up will be uncompromisingly always-online. Fans have speculated this might be the case for a while, ever since the game's system specs on Steam started featuring a requirement for a "Broadband internet connection" earlier this year, but it was confirmed by Starbreeze global brand director Almir Listo in a recent stream.

One of Japanese horror's most influential games is getting a remaster and its first official English translation
https://www.pcgamer.com/one-of-japanese-horrors-most-influential-games-is-getting-a-remaster-and-its-first-official-english-translation/
Clock Tower is a game developed by the now-defunct Human Co. and released in Japan for the Super Famicom in 1995. Directed by Hifumi Kono (Steel Battalion, Infinite Space), the game is a point-and-click adventure with a survival horror theme, with the player exploring a mansion as a young girl named Jennifer while being stalked by the deadly Scissorman. It is sometimes grotesque, always scary, and came to be a big influence on Japanese horror games.
It sold well enough to get a director's cut a year later and spawn several sequels, but Clock Tower never released outside Japan (though there are fan translations). Now Limited Run Games, which has been on a real hot streak of reviving classic games lately, has announced that in collaboration with developer WayForward the game is being re-released as a "reprint" with new elements.

Fallout co-creator unearths his 20-year-old pitch for Baldur's Gate 3: a first-person action RPG with PvPvE multiplayer
https://www.pcgamer.com/troika-baldurs-gate-3-pitch-tim-cain/
Tim Cain, one of the creators of the original Fallout and a co-founder of cult RPG studio Troika, has released a vlog revealing Troika's 2003 pitch to Wizards of the Coast for Baldur's Gate 3. This version sounds like an even wilder departure for the series than Larian's highly anticipated upcoming sequel.

Game publisher CEO says talk on monitoring employees with AI was hypothetical and taken out of context: 'We don't use any of these tools for HR'
https://www.pcgamer.com/game-publisher-ceo-says-talk-on-monitoring-employees-with-ai-was-hypothetical-and-taken-out-of-context-we-dont-use-any-of-these-tools-for-hr/
Tinybuild CEO Alex Nichiporchik stirred up a hornet's nest at a recent Develop Brighton presentation when he seemed to imply that the company uses artificial intelligence to monitor its employees in order to determine which of them are toxic or suffering burnout, and then deal with them accordingly. Nichiporchik has since said that his presentation was taken out of context online, and that he was describing hypothetical scenarios aimed at illustrating potential good and bad uses of AI.

After more than 2 years of work, Cyberpunk 2077 finally reaches a 'very positive' user rating on Steam
https://www.pcgamer.com/after-more-than-two-years-of-work-cyberpunk-2077-finally-reaches-a-very-positive-user-rating-on-steam/
Cyberpunk 2077's long, slow journey to redemption took a notable step forward today as its Steam user rating ticked over from "mostly positive" to "very positive," meaning that 80% of its more than 553,000 user ratings are now a thumbs-up.

Never before seen, 22-year-old E3 presentations help explain the rough first impression⁠—and enduring appeal⁠—of BioWare's other Dungeons & Dragons RPG
https://www.pcgamer.com/never-before-seen-22-year-old-e3-presentations-help-explain-the-rough-first-impressionand-enduring-appealof-biowares-other-dungeons-and-dragons-rpg/
Gaming YouTube channel Noclip continues to release rare, archival videogame footage on its secondary preservation channel. Last week, Noclip made good on a prior promise and dropped nearly an hour of never before seen Neverwinter Nights footage from E3s 2000 and 2001. Their presenter isn't identified, but it sounds like Trent Oster, NwN's project director who would later found prolific RPG remasterer Beamdog.

Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters is getting a free update with new enemies and gear, seems to be teasing more DLC
https://www.pcgamer.com/chaos-gate-daemonhunters-is-getting-a-free-update-with-new-enemies-and-gear-seems-to-be-teasing-more-dlc/
Since its release in 2022, turn-based tactics face-brutalizer Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters has received a string of free updates, with another due this month. While that update will add an enemy spawn group called the Tainted Sons, three new bits of wargear for the beleaguered Grey Knights, and two more warp surge events, the latest video on the official Daemonhunters YouTube channel seems to be teasing something different.

If I could go back in time and save one canceled game, it'd be the 2005 Fallout spiritual successor prototyped by the series' original creators
https://www.pcgamer.com/if-i-could-go-back-in-time-and-save-one-canceled-game-itd-be-the-2005-fallout-spiritual-successor-prototyped-by-the-series-original-creators/
One of my most cherished YouTube videos is this strange 2007 number from a guy with 15 followers and the handle "FilmNoir82". It shows off a tech demo for an unreleased, post-apocalyptic RPG (with music ripped from David Lynch's 1984 Dune) by Troika Games, a beloved, but short lived studio founded by former Fallout developers Tim Cain, Leonard Boyarsky, and Jason Anderson.
(...)
I always interpreted this demo as Troika's stab at Fallout 3 before getting outbid on the license by Bethesda, but in a vlog on his ever-informative YouTube channel, Troika co-founder Tim Cain revealed that the project would have been very much its own thing. Though Cain is uncertain about exact details, it sounds like the Fallout license was out of Troika's reach before it put much work into the project, code-named "Epic," and the team shifted gears into making a bespoke setting.

A new trailer for this 'embroidered medieval platformer' shows off the sprawling underworld buried under its sunny village.
https://www.pcgamer.com/a-new-trailer-for-this-embroidered-medieval-platformer-shows-off-the-sprawling-underworld-buried-under-its-sunny-village/
Scarlet Deer Inn is a game with a unique art style: all of its 2D sprite characters have been sourced from real-world embroidery. Most of its previews so far have focused on the game's sunny, bucolic overworld, but its latest trailer shows off a little bit more of the extensive catacombs featured in the game.

WoW's new specialisation turns death knights into 13 million DPS boss scourges, as long as you bring 22 of them along
https://www.pcgamer.com/wows-new-specialisation-turns-death-knights-into-13-million-dps-boss-scourges-as-long-as-you-bring-22-of-them-along/
Blizzard's new specialisation, the augmentation evoker, has continued to stir up the game's meta in weird and interesting ways. It acts as a support DPS, with most of its damage coming from buffs to its allies—a completely new playstyle for an MMO approaching its 20th birthday.

BattleBit developer says the game's success is 'just wild' and DICE is still capable of delivering 'an absolute stunner of a Battlefield'
https://www.pcgamer.com/battlebit-developer-says-the-games-success-is-just-wild-and-dice-is-still-capable-of-delivering-an-absolute-stunner-of-a-battlefield/
BattleBit Remastered is one of the year's breakout hits, a low-poly Battlefield-style FPS big on the destruction and, most importantly for players, big on value. The game has quickly found an enormous audience, many of whom are delighted by the idea of a game with an upfront price that doesn't subsequently nickel-and-dime them with a battle pass or DLC elements: you pays your money, you gets the whole thing.
The game has sold over two million copies in its first few weeks of release, and developer TheLiquidHorse took part in a fan Q&A to talk about BattleBit's future. "This is just wild," the developer said of the game's success. "I don't even think any one of us has realised what we actually have done now."

Payday 3 did too good a job of silently releasing a stealth trailer, so the devs had to prompt fans with bad poetry
https://www.pcgamer.com/payday-3-did-too-good-a-job-of-silently-releasing-a-stealth-trailer-so-the-devs-had-to-prompt-fans-with-bad-poetry/
(...)
Payday 3 released a video showcasing its stealth mechanics five days ago, but decided to play into the theme by hiding it. If you go to the Payday 3 website and watch the gameplay trailer, but turn down the volume during it, then the stealth trailer fades in and replaces it. It's a really neat idea even if a bit fiddly. Alternatively, visiting the page in an incognito Chrome browser will show the stealth trailer.

Intel Arrow Lake-S Desktop CPU Benchmarks Show Up To 21% Gain Over Raptor Lake, Over 2x iGPU Performance

https://wccftech.com/intel-arrow-lake-s-desktop-cpu-benchmarks-21-percent-gain-over-raptor-lake-over-2x-igpu-performance/

As usual with these early bench leaks, not only should you take them with a grain of salt but Intel generally nerfs their performance

AMD Navi 32-based Radeon RX 7800/7700 series reportedly targeting September launch

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-navi-32-based-radeon-rx-7800-7700-series-reportedly-targeting-september-launch

Take it with a grain of salt

NVIDIA Dominates South Korean DIY Market With 94% GPU Market Share, AMD & Intel Fighting For CPU Market Share

https://wccftech.com/nvidia-dominates-south-korean-diy-gpu-market-share-amd-intel-fighting-for-cpu-share/

ASRock Arc A750 Challenger 8GB is now available for just $179

https://videocardz.com/newz/asrock-arc-a750-challenger-8gb-is-now-available-for-just-179

Keeps getting cheaper lol

Intel Core 14000 “Raptor Lake Refresh” CPUs can now be identified with AIDA64 software

https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-core-14000-raptor-lake-refresh-cpus-can-now-be-identified-with-aida64-software

AMD Ryzen 8000 “Strix Point” GFX1150 and GFX1151 APUs appear in AMDGPU LLVM backend

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-ryzen-8000-strix-point-gfx1150-and-gfx1151-apus-appear-in-amdgpu-llvm-backend

Samsung Claims Higher 3 nm Yields than TSMC

https://www.techpowerup.com/311280/samsung-claims-higher-3-nm-yields-than-tsmc

Turns out Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart CAN run on a hard drive... thanks to DirectStorage 1.2 on PC

https://www.pcgamer.com/turns-out-ratchet-and-clank-rift-apart-can-run-on-a-hard-drive-thanks-to-directstorage-12-on-pc/

Already for July 24th ?

That seems a bit too good to be true for a refresh that won't come with more cores. Unless Intel uses these chips to introduce that tech it was working on (I forgot its name) to have better control of the voltage to keep both power consumption and thermals in check.

If that's true, AMD will have needed almost a full year to release the second and third tier of their new GPUs. "Amazing".

I hope they deliver in terms of performance, or launch at a great price point.