Friday news

You should delete your Cyberpunk 2077 mods ahead of update 2.0, and you may need to do a clean reinstall of the game
https://www.pcgamer.com/cyberpunk-2-0-update-mod-issues-clean-install/
I figured I was going to have to uninstall my Cyberpunk 2077 mods before checking out Phantom Liberty and update 2.0⁠. Most of the mods I went for on my last playthrough were difficulty and loot adjustments that'd clash with 2.0's big changes, and for the rest, mod authors would likely need to update their files to play nice with the patch. What I wasn't expecting was needing to do a clean reinstall⁠—complete with deleting some leftover files⁠—to clear up a persistent crash on startup.

You can prep for Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty and get a preem free gun on launch day—all you have to do is download Gwent
https://www.pcgamer.com/you-can-prep-for-cyberpunk-2077-phantom-liberty-and-get-a-preem-free-gun-on-launch-dayall-you-have-to-do-is-download-gwent/
CD Projekt Red has this whole rewards system thing going on with Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty. Jumping through a few simple hoops will net you some pretty cool rewards—like a snazzy pistol that sets people on fire—and all it'll cost you is your time.
(...)
One reward—a pistol by the name of Scorch—can be snagged for free. Simply download Gwent on GOG (or your linked platform) and you'll be able to claim the gun in-game by travelling to V's stash. You can find it in the stash in their apartment or stash in the trunk of any vehicle they own. (...)

Here are the full patch notes for Cyberpunk 2077's huge 2.0 update
https://www.pcgamer.com/cyberpunk-2077-2-0-patch-breakdown/
Cyberpunk 2077's biggest update ever is now live—and that's saying something if you look back on some of the mega patches CD Projekt Red's dropped for the game over the last two years. Instead of an endless list of bugfixes, the 2.0 patch is almost all deep, meaningful changes and additions to Cyberpunk's core systems, including a long-awaited revamp of the police system, a do-over for skills and progression, and a wholly new approach to loot.
>> Among the changes, there's now a button to look at your gun.

Keanu Reeves looks more like Keanu Reeves now thanks to Cyberpunk 2077's latest update
https://www.pcgamer.com/keanu-reeves-looks-more-like-keanu-reeves-now-thanks-to-cyberpunk-2077s-latest-update/
Alright, here's something I barely clocked after 30 hours with Phantom Liberty and now can't unsee: they gave Johnny Silverhand a got dang reverse facelift. Digital Keanu Reeves is just that much more craggy and aged now, looking less like a Keanu Reeves mannequin and more like the man himself.

Baldur's Gate 3 is finally getting an appearance-changing 'magic mirror,' praise Mystra
https://www.pcgamer.com/baldurs-gate-3-is-finally-getting-an-appearance-changing-npc-praise-mystra/
It's about time—Baldur's Gate 3 has a lovely little character creator, giving you a wide range of choices to tickle your Tav's fancy. But there's been a lingering curse in the game since launch day: once you leave character creation, you're stuck that way forever. Well, with the upcoming Patch 3 arriving September 22, no longer.

Ubisoft casually announces The Division 3
https://www.pcgamer.com/ubisoft-casually-announces-the-division-3/
Star Wars Outlaws creative director Julian Gerighty will take a new role at Ubisoft once that game is done: executive producer of everything Tom Clancy's The Division. That includes oversight of all the Division-branded games: The Division 2, The Division Heartland, mobile game The Division Resurgence, and, what's this? The Division 3, which Ubisoft casually announced in the press release about Gerighty's new job.

DDoS attacks were the source of Destiny 2's server troubles this week
https://www.pcgamer.com/ddos-attacks-were-the-source-of-destiny-2s-server-troubles-this-week/
An increase in Destiny 2 error code encounters earlier this week was caused by DDoS attacks, says developer Bungie. The attacks caused some players to be unable to log in or stay connected, and got worse over September 18 and 19—by the evening of the 19th many couldn't play at all.

Cities: Skylines 2's newest road tool has me way too excited
https://www.pcgamer.com/cities-skylines-2s-newest-road-tool-has-me-way-too-excited/
We all know traffic management is half the game in Cities: Skylines. As for Cities: Skylines 2, it seems the devs at Colossal Order have been paying close attention to the road tools we use most to ease the burdens that busy junctions place on our cities. As such, they look to have added a brand-spanking new tool to help keep traffic flowing, in the form of a No Straight Through road sign tool.
It's going to be super useful for creating dedicated lanes, as before there were only No Right/Left Turn signs in the game's Road Tools menu.

Microsoft finally lays UK regulators' cloud gaming fears to rest—new consultation suggests an end to the drawn-out Activision Blizzard acquisition saga
https://www.pcgamer.com/microsoft-finally-lays-uk-regulators-cloud-gaming-fears-to-restnew-consultation-suggests-an-end-to-the-drawn-out-activision-blizzard-acquisition-saga/
Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard has been a major source of corporate drama these past few months. Back in April, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) moved to block the acquisition, stating "Microsoft’s proposed solution failed to effectively address the concerns in the cloud gaming sector". (...)
It seems things are moving forward, though, according to a statement by the UK Government. "Earlier this year, the CMA blocked Microsoft from acquiring the whole of Activision due to concerns that the deal would harm competition in cloud gaming in the UK. After that deal was blocked, Microsoft submitted a restructured transaction in August for the CMA to review.

The official Lord of the Rings special effects studio is making a cozy hobbit game
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-official-lord-of-the-rings-special-effects-studio-is-making-a-cozy-hobbit-game/
The spirit of Tolkien's Shire has always lent itself to the cozy game aesthetic. It's been a dream of those with a love of all things that grow for some time but finally, someone has decided to turn their hand at a cozy Shire game. And it's not just any old game studio taking the lead here. Tales of the Shire will be coming straight from the hands of the official Lord of the Rings special effects studio, Wētā Workshop, in New Zealand.

Let's now check what we'll find at GOG and Steam this weekend:

+GOG

• There are three new Deals of the Day, that will last until Monday:
  • The first one is Blasphemous 2, 10% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/blasphemous_2
  • American Hero Unrated gets a 14% discount (more if you have the Unrated version): https://www.gog.com/en/game/american_hero_unrated
  • The third one is Gord - Deluxe Edition, 25% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/gord_deluxe_edition
• GOG celebrates its 15th anniversary with a sale, featuring up to 90% discounts on more than 900 games during the next 10 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/2023_gog_15th_anniversary
• And, if there's a big sale, you know what comes now: a GIVEAWAY: The Night of the Rabbit will be free during the next 70 hours: https://www.gog.com/game/the_night_of_the_rabbit

+Steam

• Planet Zoo will be 70% off until September, 26th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/703080/Planet_Zoo/
• Farming Simulator 22 gets a 20% discount until the 28th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1248130/Farming_Simulator_22/
• Blood Bowl 3 will be 30% off until the 28th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1016950/Blood_Bowl_3/
• We Were Here Forever gets a 35% discount until the 28th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1341290/We_Were_Here_Forever/
• The Overcooked franchise is on sale with up to 81% discounts until the same September, 28th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/overcookedfranchisesale
• The Game Devs of Color Expo brings demos and games with up to 75% discounts. The duration of the discounts varies from game to game. I've seen some last until September 25th while others lasted until (at least) the 2nd of October. Check it out here: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/gdocexpo
• And there's also the Tokyo Game Show 2023 Sale that, in theory, will last until the 24th, but that's not really true, because different developers are also running their own sales that will last beyond that like, for example:
  • Capcom: https://store.steampowered.com/developer/capcom/sale/tgs
  • D3 Publisher: https://store.steampowered.com/developer/d3p/sale/tgs23
  • Koei Tecmo: https://store.steampowered.com/developer/KOEITECMO/sale/tgs23
  • Square Enix: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/squareenix_tgssale23

That's it, no more news. Until the next time, I wish you all a happy and gaming weekend.

MSI preparing “Beyond 6GHz” BIOS settings up to 6.3GHz for upcoming Intel 14th Gen Core CPUs

https://videocardz.com/newz/msi-preparing-beyond-6ghz-bios-settings-up-to-6-3ghz-for-upcoming-intel-14th-gen-core-cpus

Should be called "Beyond 4090 power usage"

Intel Core i9-14900KF becomes the fastest CPU in PassMark single-core ranking

https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-core-i9-14900kf-becomes-the-fastest-cpu-in-passmark-single-core-ranking

Intel 5th Gen Xeon Platinum 8580 “Emerald Rapids” CPU Leak: 60 Cores, 420 MB Cache, 350W

https://wccftech.com/intel-5th-gen-xeon-platinum-8580-emerald-rapids-cpu-leak-60-cores-420-mb-cache-350w/

Knowing Konami and their prices...hell naw.

I play at 2k, so playing at a borked 1080p and an fps cap from 30-60 on my gsync is going to be jank as hell (nearly every game I have played on this rig with an fps cap has hardly ran smooth for me, let alone being locked at 1080p, it's just pure mutilation). 

Imagine locked 1080P, for ports of nearly 20+ year old games and over. That can run on potatos via emulation..

Konami.

Almost as lazy as Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption 'remaster' or PS4/Switch ports.

i9 13900K: 223W

Ryzen 9 7950X3D: 86W

Damn is that X3D efficient!

I'm sure a few Valve employees know that information. The IRS probably, too.

Like are they even aware we have been emulating their games for years, let alone modding them to look and play better, even at 4k 60fps lol?.

It's looking more obviously like a cash grab plain and simple, and their commitment to core gaming has been hella shaky since Kojima left, so this further cements them still not wanting to fully commit to being back with core gaming, and well:

if they don't want our money and don't want to learn from their past lessons and don't want to keep up with their competition, then that's entirely on them. I've wanted to play MGS1 for fucking years, same with MGS4, but I ain't gonna buy from them if that's how little they care for their own legacy games.

AAA don't seem to care much these days for their legacy games and it's showing lol.

Looks like it's still a safe bet for me to upgrade to that 5800X3D at some point. 

A fun fact is the 5800X3D is actually way to power hungry out of the box and you can put a crazy undervolt on it along the lines of 30-40% less power usage for around a 5% performance loss and it becomes super efficient you can even set it to 5600X power draw and retain 90% of the 5800X3D's performance. It's also one of the simplest to do  from my experience and everything I read you can just put -30 on every core and it's stable and loose a couple of % for a decent power usage and temp drop.

In fact Undervoltig is the 2nd thing I do after adding something new to my PC because these days everything has way to much power thrown at them to the extent it's causing the parts a performance loss long gone are the days of overclocking.