We'll see what have created the crazy minds at Valve.

Thats true lol. At least Nvidia are pioneers in the software side offering forward looking tech to us. Locking out exclusive features as proprietary tech has been their MO since their inception into the market. AMD like you said just likes to go with the flow and are largely reactive since they bought out ATI. At least features are less locked down on the latter products but yeah, not cool. Pay walling proprietary stuff is shitty and frankly annoying as consumers when its shoved down our throats as a buying point.

Talking about Switch 2... DF did an video a couple years ago using DLSS to upscale from ultra low resolutions. I wonder how far Nintendo are willing to push and what kinda of internal res we're looking at. When running current generation games are so demanding on even PS5 and XSX/S. Wiling to bet its going to aiming for around 720P DLSS > 1080/4K, and be along the lines of a Steam Deck in pure performance

Honestly at least the "exclusivity reasoning" that Nvidia gives sort of makes sense. There are games that let you run Ray Tracing on Pascal/RDNA 1 and they really do cuck the performance on both very hard. You could technically run DLSS on Shader Cores similar to how DLSS 1.9 was instead of Tensor Cores but the issue is that by doing so, you have too many things trying to fight for the same resource... Where as if you just off load DLSS to Tensor cores, the shader cores can focus more on producing frames instead of producing frames and computing upscaling. DLSS 3 is similar in that fashion. A 3090 for example can do 285 Tensor-TOPs vs a 4060, that's right a 4060 can do 242 Tensor-TOPs. A 4090 can do 1321 Tensor-TOPs.

So to me, on paper, it at least makes sense even if it's lame.

The problem with Radeon exclusivity is that they are making Anti-Lag+ Exclusive and Hypr-RX exclusive because RDNA 3 architecture can apparently do something that RDNA 2 and older can't. But in the case of those two features it's like huh? moment. Hypr-RX is just a one click toggle that just enables 3 Radeon features which you can customize. Why does that need to be RDNA 3 exclusive since RDNA 2 can do Boost, Anti-Lag and FSR/FG? And Nvidia has had Reflex which is similar to Anti-Lag+ since Maxwell. Are you telling me that Nvidia had the foresight to implement a hardware feature 9 years ahead of Radeon? It just doesn't sound right but even if that is the case, I still don't see why Hypr-RX is exclusive to RDNA 3.

Well, the most plausible scenarios involve Nintendo using a 720p or a 800p panel (I don't really see them going with anything higher than that) and, at least the first couple years, the console should be able to run the games at that resolution natively.

When it comes to how it would perform while docked, if the Switch 2 works the same way as the first one, it should have more power and be able to run the games at a native 1080p output, again, at least the first years. And from that 1080p they would go for the 4K upscale.

At least that's what I think.

UE5 at it again:

I love how he says this while complletely ignoring the performance of the Xbox systems, both of which have far, far lower power output than the high end cards on the current market, even the 4090 itself.

No todd, I'm afraid this is mostly on you old bean.

I think that look on his face a few years back with 76 when he said "sometimes it doesn't just work" tells me that he didn't want to admit his company fucks up many a time.

I mean:

The face of a man who wants to take after his fellow mentor, Peter, yet gets caught out for his sweet lies nearly every time. I think Todd is acting more like Peter Mol as the years go on, this includes the part where you are meant to humble yourself and admit you made mistakes and maybe that the GAME ISN'T OPTIMISED TODD...

The amount of mods I'm seeing right now, that are designed to fine tune performance, tweak settings and also smooth out frame timings just tells me that it sure is a bethesda game, that clearly needed more time in the oven.

Now for a totally non rant: I know some ppl are losing their shit over the whole pronouns thing being a part of the game, but I honestly don't care that they are in the game, nono, that's not what bothers me...

What bothers me is that they thought "let's add pronouns into the game and maker sure they show up day one, but let's totally do our usual thing and skimp on optimisation and do that later, maybe blame it on user hw".

It's just kind of embarrassing to see other games coming out this yr that do have polish and run nice, and then there's those other big hitters over in the corner just running like ass for 3-6 months, because they really just wanted those first week/month sales windows so badly over anything else (this becomes so much more apparent now that even my next door neighbour, a hella hold guy, is able to pick up on this trope).

I feel super spoiled to hell that back in 2016 we got Doom and how smooth that game ran on my old rig and then my new rig in 2017, and fast forward some yrs, new tech for engines, new tech for GPU's, and yet we're still getting this worse level of non optimisations out the gate. As good as this yr has been to some ppl for games (not for me personally, not much new I've been interested in), it really has been quite shitty for performance ratios across the board (both consoles and PC). I just find it a bit insulting that someone as old as Todd has the balls to blame user end hw, ignoring the GPU crisis, as well as just throwing the consoles under the bus in that same line. 

Is Todd just from a generation that don't know how to read the room, or that they just refuse to because then they'd realise they have to actually do something and improve?. 

AFAIK the Switch 2 chipset is equal to half an RTX 3050, and that will probably be underclocked to some extent. I honestly don't know how that would compare to the Steam Deck or other consoles even when accounting for DLSS. I just hope they don't push the internal resolution too low.

Of course, if there's indeed frame gen, that might be less of an issue.

Idk, the cost for LCD displays at 7-8" are probably so negligable between different resolutions its probably worth them going for a 1080P for internal display just for the extra clarity. And we've been seeing constant rumors of having DLSS implemented so it wouldn't be so much a burden on the system either.

For native res it probably makes more sense but idk 720P screen in 2024 and way beyond doesn't sound very exciting, imo ofc. Docked 720P > 4K DLSS would be like going for ultra performance and that would like fine. Or 900P. Indefinately better than what solutions the NS has now at 1080P max output.

Hmm probably around a 1050 to 1050Ti but obviously with new feature sets and a modern architure. A 3050 is maybe 2x a 1050 so that's about right. And the Steam Deck runs at 800P natively. The APU should also be on 5nm.. which should be cheaper next year, and that is what (perhaps) Nintendo are banking on while everyone else moves onto 3nm.

And assuming rumors are true and the Switch 2 is a 2024 release. The chip will most definately been taped out already for mass production next year, and doubt it will include Frame Gen. Hopefully supports the 3.5 though.

We've reached the Friday news!

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Starfield breaks 1 million concurrent players across all platforms: a 'great milestone,' Phil Spencer says
https://www.pcgamer.com/starfield-breaks-1-million-concurrent-players-across-all-platforms-a-great-milestone-phil-spencer-says/
Starfield is now in full release, and—surprise!—it's a hit: Shortly after it went into release on September 6, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said on Twitter that Starfield had surpassed a "great milestone" of one million concurrent players across all platforms. That's a big number for sure, but is it really a high water mark of note? As the Doctor once said, it depends on the context.
"Starfield exceeded 1 million concurrent players across all platforms today," Spencer tweeted. "Thanks to all the players who helped us reach this great milestone and congrats to the @BethesdaStudios."

There are no new deals at Humble or Fanatical.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

INTEL Arc & Iris Graphics 31.0.101.4676
https://videocardz.com/driver/intel-arc-iris-graphics-31-0-101-4676
Highlights

Further refinements for Starfield.

Fixed Issues

Intel® Arc™ Graphics Products:

• Starfield (DX12) improved stability in different areas of the game.
• Starfield (DX12) may incorrectly render glass surfaces and objects.
• Starfield (DX12) may exhibit missing eyebrows on characters.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

You can already play Final Fantasy 7 Ever Crisis on PC in 4K
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/you-can-already-play-final-fantasy-7-ever-crisis-on-pc-in-4k/
Square Enix has just released Final Fantasy 7 Ever Crisis on smartphones and PC gamers can already use an Android emulator in order to enjoy it at 4K.
YouTube’s ‘KyoKat PC Gameplay | Benchmark‘ has shared the following video, showcasing Final Fantasy 7 Ever Crisis running on PC. In order to play this new FF game, the YouTuber used Bluestacks. However, you can also use LD Player 9 or Nox Player in order to run Ever Crisis on PC. Final Fantasy 7 Ever Crisis lets you relive the most memorable moments from FFVII and experience the journey of a young hero Sephiroth.
>> The video is a tad over 19 minutes.

Starfield mod enables Starfield achievements that were disabled by Starfield mods
https://www.pcgamer.com/starfield-mod-enables-starfield-achievements-that-were-disabled-by-starfield-mods/
One of the best things about Starfield is mods. There are already hundreds of them, ranging from the silly to the sublime—we've got a running list of the best Starfield mods, to help you stay on top of them all. There's just one drawback: If you use mods (or console commands), your Starfield achievements will be disabled. That's a real problem! The solution? You guessed it: A mod.
The mod in question is called Baka Achievement Enabler (SFSE), and what it does is very simple: "Prevents achievements from being disabled with mods or when using the console." It's not too difficult to get running, either. You'll need to use the Starfield Script Extender—that's the SFSE bit in the mod title—which enables "additional scripting capabilities and functionality" in Starfield. Once that's in place, grab the Baka Achievement Enabler mod, extract it into your Starfield root folder (the one with the starfield.exe file) and run the game using the sfse_loader.exe file rather than the normal startup exe.

Starfield gets a mod that fixes its sprinting stuttering issues
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/starfield-gets-a-mod-that-fixes-its-sprinting-stuttering-issues/
Modder ‘AntoniX35’ has released a mod for Starfield that fixes the annoying twitching/stuttering when sprinting on uneven ground. This is a must-have mod for Starfield, and we highly recommend downloading it as it should be compatible with all the previous mods we’ve shared.
>> There's a 1;20 video showing the before and after.

Starfield mod turns space travel into an actual series of loading screens by getting rid of all the ship landing and take-off scenes
https://www.pcgamer.com/starfield-mod-turns-space-travel-into-an-actual-series-of-loading-screens-by-getting-rid-of-all-the-ship-landing-and-take-off-scenes/
For one Starfield modder, every short animation of your ship landing and departing from planets that you're forced to watch is time you could've spent actually playing the game. So, they cut out every transitional space travel scene to please all the players who are tired of seeing them every time you want to travel somewhere new.
Ship Skip is a mod that makes Starfield's space travel a little more honest. It deletes the short animations where you see your ship dock, undock, land, or takeoff and skips right to the loading screen. It effectively transforms Starfield into the "series of loading screens" experience that people jokingly described it as when they found out you can't actually land your ship manually.
It works as intended for both the Steam and Windows Store versions of Starfield. Installation is fairly simple, but you should know going in that it has some bugs the developer is currently working on squishing. When you board enemy ships, you can get stuck in an animation loop, and your ship's docking extension will stay out after you dock.
>> There's a short gif of the mod.

Nobody asked, but this Starfield modder delivered—here's the most innocent companion as Thomas the Tank Engine
https://www.pcgamer.com/nobody-asked-but-this-starfield-modder-deliveredheres-the-most-innocent-companion-as-thomas-the-tank-engine/
The Starfield mod pipe has been gushing out bangers, like one that overhauls the UI and another that adds Nvidia's DLSS, but, until today, none of them have inserted the funny blue train that seems to get modded into every videogame in existence: Thomas the Tank Engine.
BulwarkHD has corrected that with a mod that transforms Starfield's most innocent companion into Starfield's most horrifying companion. Thomas the Tank Engine Vasco Retexture is a mod that wraps the nice little robot in the skin of the happy blue train, and it couldn't be more disturbing to look at. The mod paints the lanky robot blue and red and slaps Thomas' unblinking face onto the front of his body.
>> I don't find it creepy, but you can judge it by yourselves thanks to the one screenshot included in the article.

Worried about missing companion chats in Baldur's Gate 3? This mod aims to fix that
https://www.pcgamer.com/worried-about-missing-companion-chats-in-baldurs-gate-3-this-mod-aims-to-fix-that/
I really like the companion conversations in Baldur's Gate 3—they range from adding new insight to characters to being absolutely hilarious, like this one with Astarion where he rips you a new one for your bad aim.
The downside is, they can be really easy to miss. There's no UI notification that lets you know when they might have something to say, and with some companion flags being outright bugged on release (such as the whole cast being a bit too horny, or Minthara simply not speaking her mind to the tune of 1,000 missing lines), there's been plenty of anxiety as to whether putting off Long Rests will have you missing out on all that juicy story content.
It's still receiving tweaks and adjustments, but the Camp Event Notifications mod by Kvalyr aims to fix that. "This mod regularly checks for pending/available 'Camp Night Events' and adds a floating exclamation point above your main character's head (similar to the one that shows on companions when they have something to say to you)."

GAMING NEWS

Bethesda claims that the Intel ARC GPUs do not meet Starfield’s PC minimum requirements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/bethesda-claims-that-the-intel-arc-gpus-do-not-meet-starfield-pc-minimum-requirements/
Bethesda has officially released Starfield to PC and from the looks of it, owners of the Intel ARC GPUs will have trouble running it. According to Bethesda Support, even the Intel Arc A770 GPU does not meet Starfield’s PC minimum requirements.
>> I don't know who gave Bethesda so many shovels, but they're quite busy digging a deep hole.

Beyond Sunset is a cyberpunk retro FPS, inspired by Doom Eternal and Deus Ex
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/beyond-sunset-is-a-cyberpunk-retro-fps-inspired-by-doom-eternal-and-deus-ex/
Movie Games has announced that its upcoming cyberpunk first-person shooter that is inspired by Doom Eternal and Deus Ex, Beyond Sunset, will hit Steam Early Access on November 8th.

Remnant 2 September 7th Update brings QoL improvements and Potato Mode, full patch notes
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/remnant-2-september-7th-update-brings-qol-improvements-and-potato-mode-full-patch-notes/
Gunfire Games has released the September 7th Update for Remnant 2 that brings to the game numerous QoL improvements, as well as a Potato Mode.

The Crew Motorfest Final PC System Requirements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-crew-motorfest-final-pc-system-requirements/
Ubisoft has revealed the final PC system requirements for The Crew Motorfest (via its Ubisoft Connect store page). Moreover, Ubisoft has shared the resolution, settings and framerates that these PC requirements target.

Mortal Kombat 1 Jean-Claude Van Damme is locked behind Premium Edition
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/mortal-kombat-1-jean-claude-van-damme-is-locked-behind-premium-edition/
And we finally went full circle. Mortal Kombat started as a fighting game that would be focused on Jean-Claude Van Damme. However, that never came to fruition and now, after over 30 years, Jean-Claude Van Damme finally makes his debut in it.
Jean-Claude Van Damme will be a skin for Johnny Cage. (...)
The bad news here is that he will only be available to those who have purchased the Premium Edition, which really, really sucks. (...)