What?! It's Monday already? *Ugh* Let's... just do the news:
SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS
GOG has four new deals, two 46 hours DotDs and two sales:
Steam has two new deals:
There's a new Humble Bundle: the Sid Meier's Ultimate Collection: One More Turn, with 20 games and a coupon, that will last 11 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/sid-meiers-ultimate-collection-one-more-turn.
And, finally, there's Fanatical, with new deals, sales and bundles:
SOFTWARE & DRIVERS
Inkle's scripting language, Ink, has Unreal integration thanks to Bloodlines 2 developers The Chinese Room
https://www.pcgamer.com/inkles-scripting-language-ink-has-unreal-integration-thanks-to-bloodlines-2-developers-the-chinese-room/
You may know Inkle from interactive storygames like 80 Days, Heaven's Vault, Overboard!, and the Steve Jackson's Sorcery! Series. All of these games were made with Ink, a scripting language the studio created that uses markup instead of script, and came with Unity integration built-in. Given how badly Unity dropped the ball then also tripped over the ball then ate the ball while rolling around in dirt this year, it makes sense developers with an interest in using Ink might want to divorce it from Unity.
Now they can, thanks to Nick Slaven, technical director at The Chinese Room, the studio that made its name with a Half-Life 2 mod turned foundational walking sim, Dear Esther—though nowadays it's working on nautical horror game Still Wakes the Deep and long-awaited RPG sequel Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2.
The Unreal Engine plugin for Ink is called Inkpot, and like Ink it's open source. You can download Inkpot from The Chinese Room's Github page. It'll work with any version of Unreal from 5.3 onward, and Ink version 20.
MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS
Red Dead Redemption 2 gets a Realistic Euphoria Physics Mod
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/red-dead-redemption-2-gets-a-realistic-euphoria-physics-mod/
Modder ‘hunter14322’ just dropped a cool new mod for Red Dead Redemption 2. This mod is all about making the Euphoria Physics Engine in the game super realistic. It’s like taking the physics in the game and making them as real as can be. So, if you’re a fan of the game and want to see some mind-blowing physics, this mod is where it’s at.
This mod allows NPCs to stiffen up when shot. NPCs will stumble less, will fall down more easily when shot, and they will roll in pain when shot enough times. Moreover, players and NPCs will curl up into a ball when falling down a mountain, and there is also a rare “knockout” move. Players can also expect realistic bullet forces.
But there’s a little hitch – the modder didn’t share any videos comparing the regular game physics to the modded ones. So, we’re in the dark about whether this mod is really worth your time or not. We also can’t say for sure if it’s a big improvement over the D.R.O (DRAMATIC RAGDOLL OVERHAUL Mod), which is also made by hunter14322. At the end of the article, you’ll find a video that demonstrates this specific mod, so don’t forget to check it out.
New Cyberpunk 2077 Mod for Version 2.0 further improves its Police System
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/new-cyberpunk-2077-mod-for-version-2-0-further-improves-its-police-system/
Modder ‘Yorpie’ shared a new mod for Cyberpunk 2077. This mod is all about making the police system in the game even better. It takes what the developers did to improve the law enforcement system and makes it even cooler.
Let’s now dive deeper into this Law Enforcement Overhaul Mod. The mod adds a bunch of new types of police units and vehicles that can come after you. This means you might get chased by tough SWAT trucks, giant Mechs, techy Netwatch agents, county sheriffs, detectives, and MaxTac ground vehicles.
The mod also makes some small but handy changes. The way the police react now will depend on where you are in the city. In high-class areas, you’ll notice the newer police cars, but in the poorer parts of town, you’ll see the older ones. Plus, it’ll take longer to shake off the cops when they’re after you.
To wrap it up, the mod also changes how many police show up when you’re in trouble. When your wanted level is low, only a few cops will come, and they’ll take their time getting there, just like in real life. But when things get really intense, you’ll see a bit more police action.
>> The article has no screenshots nor video of the mod.
Fallout New Vegas gets a must-have mod that reduces landscape texture seams
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/fallout-new-vegas-gets-a-must-have-mod-that-reduces-landscape-texture-seams/
Modder ‘Biggie404’ just dropped an awesome mod for Fallout New Vegas. It’s called the Landscape Texture Improvements, and it smooths out the textures in the game’s landscapes, making everything look more natural and real.
The vanilla version of Fallout New Vegas has a lot of landscape texture seams. These seams become extremely obvious when you are using high-quality Texture Packs. So, the main purpose of this mod is to smooth out these transitions and make the seams as minimal as possible whilst keeping the texture variety and natural look.
This mod doesn’t just stop at reducing those lines. It also makes the textures flow together more naturally, so the landscape looks better. It adds logical textures around objects to make them fit in, and it fixes some sharp bumps on the landscape.
>> There are some screenshots to show the difference this mod makes.
Half-Life 2: VR Mod – Unleashed is now available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/half-life-2-vr-mod-unleashed-is-now-available-for-download/
Vittorio Romeo recently released an upgraded version of the Half-Life 2 VR Mod. It is called Half-Life 2: VR Mod – Unleashed, and it’s a must-have for all VR gamers. This new version brings some awesome VR features, like being able to hold and use two weapons at once, doing cool melee attacks, and even having a virtual stock.
Half-Life 2 VR Unleashed does something pretty cool. It takes each weapon in the game and adjusts it so that your hands stay in the right place, making it easier to aim. And guess what? You can actually jump in the game now. Imagine playing and getting some exercise with all that jumping. It’ll be a fun workout for VR gamers.
In this mod, there’s another cool feature called Grip-Holster Mode. If you let go of the grip button, your character puts away the weapon. And when you hold the grip button again, he will grab the last weapon he put away. Also, all hand interactions will take priority over equipping the last holstered weapon.
>> There's an almost 3 minutes video of the mod and the article lists other mods that may interest you.
I knew the promise of an entire BioWare game remade inside another, older BioWare game was too good to be true, but what I found was even weirder than I imagined
https://www.pcgamer.com/i-knew-the-promise-of-an-entire-bioware-game-remade-inside-another-older-bioware-game-was-too-good-to-be-true-but-what-i-found-was-even-weirder-than-i-imagined/
"Mad lad puts Neverwinter Nights into Baldur's Gate 2 for some reason" was my coworker Joshua Wolens' summation of Andrey Balabokhin's truly confounding mod project, NWNForBG, which seeks to demake BioWare's 2002 D&D RPG in its more critically acclaimed 2000 D&D RPG. The result is not how I'd recommend enjoying either game, but it's one of the weirdest and most fascinating mod projects I've seen in a minute.
>> There are several screenshots.
GAMING NEWS
Here’s an hour of gameplay from Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/heres-an-hour-of-gameplay-from-like-a-dragon-infinite-wealth/
SEGA has shared a new video in which Community Manager Carlos & Sr. Brand Manager Brent play over an hour of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.
In Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, you’ll see two amazing heroes team up. One is Ichiban Kasuga, a never-give-up guy who’s used to starting from scratch. The other is Kazuma Kiryu, a guy who’s had a tough life and is now nearing the end of his journey.
Metal Gear Solid Master Collection vs Metal Gear Solid 2/3 PS3/Xbox 360 Emulation
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/metal-gear-solid-master-collection-vs-metal-gear-solid-ps3-xbox-360-emulation/
It appears that the physical disc copies of METAL GEAR SOLID Master Collection Vol.1 are out in the wild. As such, we’ve decided to share two gameplay videos from Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3, and compare them with the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of these games, running on PC.
>> You may guess the result. Yes, the emulated games look better.
Lords of the Fallen Patch 1.1.224 brings improvements to New Game+ and Enemy Density
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/lords-of-the-fallen-patch-1-1-224-brings-improvements-to-new-game-and-enemy-density/
Hexworks has released a brand new update for its latest Souls-like game, Lords of the Fallen. According to the release notes, Patch 1.1.224 brings tweaks and improvements to the game’s New Game+ Mode and Enemy Density.