Yea there has been a growing trend of CPUs cucking GPUs as the generation kicks into gear. And once you are CPU limited, there isn't much anything can be done to increase the frame rate and that is why Frame Generation is becoming increasingly more important. But the latency penalty will certainly be a hit unless you have Reflex on. In theory, CPU limited + Reflex shouldn't have much noticeable difference than CPU Limited + FG + Reflex since there is no way to experience a higher frame rate in that situation. So you will still get that CPU limited latency but experience much smoother frames.

We will see how FSR 3 handles this though with Anti-Lag + being exclusive to RDNA 3. As Reflex is a big part of what makes DLSS 3 viable, without Anti-Lag+, it will be interesting to see the tests on older GPUs.

Nice, I dont have any of the games and half of them are on my wishlist.

Edit: Nice - Tiny Tina has the season pass included.

This is pretty cool.

https://steamcommunity.com/groups/steamworks/announcements/detail/3684558162504860651

Yeessss, this is great news. Thanks for sharing!

Oh hell yeah! Valve has really been going above and beyond in overhauling Steam in practically every way. 

I always thought it was dump simply having "Partial Controller Support" and "Full Controller Support" listed on a game. More information is always welcome. 

For those who have been wishing for a modern Command & Conquer game, this is probably the closest we'll get to it! Free demo is out now and the game itself just kicks so much ass! 

Sucks as well because of a lot of games are releasing in such a poor state when it comes to performance on PC. And that's why the omition of DLSS of a game like on Starfield is felt so much. And Frame Gen, despite having its quirks is a nice to have feature.. turned into something that that's almost required when you have engines that perform like they are; take UE5 games. And most people are likely to be CPU bound considering that lots are still on AM4, older (or Intels equivelant) and can't or don't to upgrade platforms just to play a game, or two.

And idd hopefully FSR 3 works out well, if AMD/RTG can sort can produce somewhing along the lines of Nvidia's FG and avoid the pitfalls of latency then it should be a game changer for basically everyone gaming on PC. If not, it'll be a nice to have on older GPU's and a boon for those on 7000 series cards. All depending if 'just works'.

3D Realms colabs to make RTS. Nice.. will have to check this out.

This is how you do it and at the same time, show up the other guy for trying to dime the crowd. 

At this point Puredark could make his free, but it's too late for that.

The news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

What do the names of bestselling Steam games have in common? Words like Manager, Tycoon, Remastered, and HD
https://www.pcgamer.com/what-do-the-names-of-bestselling-steam-games-have-in-common-words-like-manager-tycoon-remastered-and-hd/
The folk behind the GameDiscoverCo newsletter have gone on a deep dive into Steam, ranking 212 words based on the median gross lifetime revenue of games that have them in the title. The results they pull out of their data may not all be super surprising, but that doesn't mean they're not interesting.
Number one with a bullet is the word HD, with a median gross Steam revenue of $63,082. It's not the only word commonly associated with rereleases near the top of the list, with Remastered at number three ($32,243) and Gold at number six ($11,239). Collection, Deluxe, and Ultimate all place solidly as well. Nothing shocking there, of course. We live in an age of remakes, which is fine as long as we can still get the originals.
Slightly more unexpected is how well management sims are represented. The word Manager clocks in at second place ($33,341), with Tycoon at number four ($18,903). Though there are other words associated with specific genres in the list, they're ranked much lower: Tactics at number 12 ($5,391), Hidden at number 20 ($3,632), and Rogue at 22 ($3,228) for instance. Management sims really are a heartland PC gaming genre, even if they're not always the most attention-grabbing.

For some reason, GOG hasn't launched new Deals of the Day.

Steam has two new deals:

• Farm Manager 2021 gets a 64% discount until September 12th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1123830/Farm_Manager_2021/
• Rubber Bandits will be 80% off until the same 12th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1206610/Rubber_Bandits/

The Summer Sale at the Humble Store has ended, but it still has three deals going on for another 26 hours:

• The Capcom Summer Spotlight features up to 83% discounts. All the keys are for Steam: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/capcom-summer-spotlight/
• The One Piece Summer Spotlight keeps its up to 90% deals. The keys are for Steam: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/one-piece-summer-spotlight/
• And the Warner Bros Games Summer Spotlight also has up to 90% deals, all of them for Steam: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/wb-summer-spotlight/

Fanatical has launched the Kalypso Greatest Hits Bundle, with 6 games and 12 DLCs split into three tiers of 6, 11 and 18 items: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/kalypso-greatest-hits-bundle.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 23.9.1
https://videocardz.com/driver/amd-radeon-software-adrenalin-23-9-1
Highlights Please note AMD RX 7800 XT & RX 7700 XT require a special 23.9.1 driver.

New Features

• AMD Radeon™ Anti-Lag+ – Takes responsive gaming to the next level by introducing per-game profiling to intelligently pace frames further reducing input lag on RDNA 3 based Radeon GPUs AMD Radeon™ Anti-Lag+ product support is limited to AMD RDNA™ 3 products, including the AMD Radeon™ RX 7000 Series or newer.
• AMD Radeon™ Boost – Now supports AMD Radeon™ Anti-Lag+ and improves image quality through awareness of mouse sensitivity, reducing the image quality impact of dynamic resolution switching during motion—typically seen with high-DPI mice.
  • AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 23.9.1 introduces AMD Radeon™ Boost support for Resident Evil™ 4 Remake and Ghostwire™: Tokyo, which delivers extra performance and increased responsiveness with little perceived impact to quality.
• AMD HYPR-RX – Introducing a new driver experience that allows users to optimize their games using AMD Software features for their RDNA 3 based Radeon GPUs, achieving increased performance and lower latency with ease.
• AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 23.9.1 introduces the ability to intelligently combine AMD Radeon™ Anti-Lag+, Boost, and Radeon Super Resolution to achieve improved performance and latency reduction than these features can achieve on their own.

What’s Next?

• AMD Radeon™ Anti-Lag+ – Initially supporting 12 games, new game support for AMD Radeon™ Anti-Lag+ will be released through AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition updates in the coming months.
• AMD HYPR-RX – The HYPR-RX experience will continue to grow, including support for AMD Fluid Motion Frames to boost FPS using frame generation for DirectX® 11 and 12 games in Q1 2024.

Fixed Issues

• Error message may be observed when selecting Spatial sound format of “Dolby Atmos for home theatre”.

>> The article also lists the 12 games that support Anti-Lag+.

Epic Games highlights the key features of Unreal Engine 5.3
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/epic-games-highlights-the-key-features-of-unreal-engine-5-3/
Epic Games has shared a new video, highlighting the key features of Unreal Engine 5.3. Epic Games has just released this new version of UE5 to everyone, meaning that game developers can now use it in their games.
As well as enhancements to core rendering, developer iteration, and virtual production toolsets, Epic has introduced new experimental rendering, animation, and simulation features. Creators can now get their hands on cinematic-quality volumetric rendering, orthographic rendering, a Skeletal Editor, panel-based Chaos Cloth, and support for SMPTE ST 2110.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Starfield has already got a 'potato mode' mod to help you run it on machines from 1969
https://www.pcgamer.com/starfield-has-already-got-a-potato-mode-mod-to-help-you-run-it-on-machines-from-1969/
Earlier this year, I got myself a treat. To replace my decrepit GTX 1080 Ti—the one that meant I occasionally had to turn my entire PC upside down—I bought an RTX 4080 the size of a loaf of bread. My rays were traced, my SS was DL'd, and all it required was a power draw roughly the size of Turkmenistan's.
Turns out I needn't have bothered, though, because the biggest game of the moment has now gotten a mod that would, notionally, let it run on something far weaker. Starfield has got its very own potato mode mod, crunching its textures down to 128 bits and saving you all that precious, precious VRAM you have on your, I don't know, 3DFX Voodoo 3.
>> The article only has one screenshot, but you can imagine how will the game look.

Rejoice: there's already a Starfield interface overhaul called StarUI
https://www.pcgamer.com/rejoice-theres-already-a-starfield-interface-overhaul-called-starui/
One of the most popular mods on Nexus Mods for Skyrim is SkyUI, a complete overhaul of the game's fumbled inventory system that, among a lot of other things, actually tells you the type, weight, and value of an item at a glance. It sits at over 860,000 endorsements and 6.5 million unique downloads (25 million total).
It's an absolute godsend which is basically required to play the game, unless you're really a fan of slowly scrolling through a list of shiny 3D models to get the whole picture. Fallout 4 got a similar treatment, and UI—UI never changes. It was inevitable that Starfield would follow.
StarUI Inventory is a mod by m8r98a4f2, which at the time of writing has close to 50,000 unique downloads already. StarUI aims to fix most of Bethesda's classic UI issues by, similarly to other mods of its ilk, presenting things in a more accessible list format. It lets you sort your inventory by ascending and descending order for things like weight, value, and DPS. You can also add custom columns by editing the mod's .ini file, such as ammo type, rounds, stack value—all that good granular stuff.
>> There's only one screenshot.

GAMING NEWS

Bethesda has removed Denuvo from Doom Eternal
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/bethesda-has-removed-denuvo-from-doom-eternal/
Bethesda has just released a new update for Doom Eternal that has removed the Denuvo anti-tamper tech from it. Doom Eternal came out in March 2020, meaning that it took Bethesda over three years in order to remove Denuvo from it.

EA’s WRC will have Denuvo, will support DLSS, FSR & VR on PC, gets official PC requirements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/eas-wrc-will-have-denuvo-will-support-dlss-fsr-vr-on-pc-gets-official-pc-requirements/
Electronic Arts announced yesterday its new WRC game which will be developed by the team behind the DiRT Rally series. Furthermore, EA shared some new details about this upcoming racing game, including its PC system requirements.

REPLACED and Alone in the Dark have been delayed until 2024
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/replaced-and-alone-in-the-dark-have-been-delayed-until-2024/
Sad Cat Studios and THQ Nordic have announced that REPLACED and Alone in the Dark have been delayed until 2024. REPLACED is a 2.5D sci-fi retro-futuristic action platformer, whereas Alone in the Dark is a third-person psychological horror game.

Wednesday news, part two, with several Starfield and Baldur's Gate news:

If you're not having sex in Starfield daily, you're missing out on a massive XP buff
https://www.pcgamer.com/if-youre-not-having-sex-in-starfield-daily-youre-missing-out-on-a-massive-xp-buff/
If you've been saving yourself for that one special Starfield romance partner in your playthrough, it turns out you've been missing out on a status effect that's arguably better than any single chem can provide. It's called "Emotional Security," and the only way to get it is by having sex. If only it were that easy, Starfield.

Starfield errors like 'you're too early' expected at launch, Microsoft says 'please be patient'
https://www.pcgamer.com/starfield-error-youre-too-early-launch/
Following six days of "early access" for $100 Premium Edition owners, Starfield launches for all owners at 5 pm Pacific today, as well as for Game Pass subscribers. A lot of people are going to race to launch Bethesda's big space RPG at that moment, but when they do, they could get an error message. If that happens to you, take some comfort in the knowledge that this was anticipated, and may be resolved quickly.
>> Talking about errors or bugs, there's one with your crew mates and your ship while in space.

Stardew Valley creator ignites new fan theories with five simple words: 'Here's a Haunted Chocolatier screen'
https://www.pcgamer.com/stardew-valley-creator-ignites-new-fan-theories-with-five-simple-words-heres-a-haunted-chocolatier-screen/
"Here's a Haunted Chocolatier screen": That's what you say if you're ConcernedApe, aka Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone, and it's apparently a slow Tuesday and you want to wind things up a little bit. And then you post the screen in question, and all your followers immediately go bananas.

Swen Vincke says Baldur's Gate 3 devs created Karlach's new epilogue after post-launch feedback, with actress recording new lines 'within the week'
https://www.pcgamer.com/swen-vincke-says-baldurs-gate-3-devs-created-karlachs-new-epilogue-after-post-launch-feedback-with-actress-recording-new-lines-within-the-week/
In a recent interview on the Dungeons & Dragons official channel, founder and CEO of Larian Studios Swen Vincke dove into the nuts and bolts of how the team's been turning around patch fixes so quickly, especially as a response to community critique.

The new Baldur's Gate 3 hotfix brings proper romance to the game's most evil companion
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-new-baldurs-gate-3-hotfix-brings-proper-romance-to-the-games-most-evil-companion/
A new hotfix for Baldur's Gate 3 is now live, and it brings good news for players eager to bump uglies with the deadly drow Minthara: You'll now be able to carry on your romance of evil through the game's third act.

Baldur's Gate 3 devs tried to make D&D's Dispel Magic work for a long time, but they had to can it: 'it would've doubled the size of the game'
https://www.pcgamer.com/baldurs-gate-3-devs-tried-to-make-dandds-dispel-magic-work-for-a-long-time-but-they-had-to-can-it-it-wouldve-doubled-the-size-of-the-game/
I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Baldur's Gate 3, but I did have several instances where I thought: "man, it'd be good to have Dispel Magic here." Clouds of darkness, enemy buffs like Haste—they'd all make for prime tactical dispel targets. In an interview with D&D, founder and CEO of Larian Studios Swen Vincke revealed that they'd tried to make it work, but couldn't for one tragic reason—it'd break the game in half.
>> Ir probably didn't help that the lead gameplay programmer had a hard time describing the spells to the engineer.

Blizzard bigwig seems to offhandedly confirm Diablo 4 is adopting Destiny's expansion model
https://www.pcgamer.com/blizzard-bigwig-seems-to-offhandedly-confirm-diablo-4-is-adopting-destinys-expansion-model/
Ready for more Diablo 4? I hope so, because that's what you're getting. At least, that seems to be the takeaway from a recent Dexerto interview with Diablo general manager Rod Fergusson, in which the Blizzard VIP happened to mention, offhandedly, that Diablo 4 is apparently going for a model based on quarterly seasons and annual expansions. I guess you could call it destiny.

Remnant 2 will get a 'potato mode' soon, alongside other quality of life improvements
https://www.pcgamer.com/remnant-2-will-get-a-potato-mode-soon-alongside-other-quality-of-life-improvements/
Gunfire Games' determination to polish up Remnant 2 proceeds apace—I've already been mighty pleased with tweaks to the Orb of Undoing respec cost and changes to its archetypes system. Ben Cureton, the game's Principal Designer, teased an upcoming patch on Twitter/X yesterday.

Baldur's Gate 3's narrator was once going to be much harsher—'The direction I was given was Scar from the Lion King'
https://www.pcgamer.com/baldurs-gate-3s-narrator-was-once-going-to-be-much-harsherthe-direction-i-was-given-was-scar-from-the-lion-king/
Baldur's Gate 3's dungeon master was almost as vindictive as the DM I had who cackled every time I failed a perception check and fell into a spike pit. This is according to the voice of Baldur's Gate 3's narrator and dungeon master, Amelia Tyler. "The direction I was given was Scar from the Lion King," Tyler said in an interview with TheGamer. "Like, 'I'm enjoying watching you fuck up. This is gonna be great.'"