I frankly have my doubts about whether's that's the case. The game's GPU-bound at the moment, so the simulation itself is probably running fine (unless it's running the simulation at least partially on the GPU, which sounds odd, and in which case resolution probably shouldn't make such a huge difference to performance). The previous game also did pretty much the same. If the citizens are the issue, it's probably because of insufficient LoD models, which should be a simple but laborious fix. I guess we'll see as soon as someone mods invisible citizens or something in the game, but that would be such a dumb mistake that I really doubt that's the case. My bet is on harder-to-fix rendering issues. I've seen people be enraged about the detailed citizen models, but 95% of that is probably people being enraged at the first potential reason they can understand (not that much unlike populism).

Then again, I've seen claims that the first game didn't use instancing where it could and neither does the second one, so maybe they thought it was good enough until they noticed it wasn't, and then it was already 'too late'. You tend to optimize only as much as you need to, and only when you need to. Premature optimization is expensive.

Giving me Cyberpunk Deja Vu where a lot of reviewers played it on PC and we later found out the console version was ass. With those requirements, this game is gonna be a slaughter even with 4090 systems. Least I am not gonna buy it till it reaches Steam and is on a discount.

^it will be fine... said no one but the blinds that can't see the signs.

The Tuesday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Steam's Top 10

(Click here for the top 100)

Lords of the Fallen has already sold 1 million copies
https://www.pcgamer.com/lords-of-the-fallen-has-already-sold-1-million-copies/
We just can't get enough punishing fantasy horror action RPGs. After Elden Ring last year and Lies of P in September, and despite some early performance complaints and proximity to RPG juggernauts Baldur's Gate 3 and Starfied, Lords of the Fallen has already sold more than a million copies, according to its publisher.

Steam has new sales and weeklong deals:

• Euro Truck Simulator 2 is going to be 75% off until October, 31st, with its DLCs up to 70% off (same goes for ATS): https://store.steampowered.com/app/227300/Euro_Truck_Simulator_2/
• The Fallout Day Sale brings up to 80% discounts until the 31st: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/falloutdaysale
• Slender: The Arrival will be 30% off until the 1st of November: https://store.steampowered.com/app/252330/Slender_The_Arrival/
• The Last of Us™ Part I gets a 20% discount unti lthe 2nd of November: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1888930/The_Last_of_Us_Part_I/
• Inscryption will be 50% off until the 2nd: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1092790/Inscryption/
• Warhammer: Vermintide 2 features an 80% discount until November, the 2nd: https://store.steampowered.com/app/552500/Warhammer_Vermintide_2/
• And Iratus: Lord of the Dead is going to be 87% off until the 6th of November: https://store.steampowered.com/app/807120/Iratus_Lord_of_the_Dead/
• In this spot I'd usually say something like "here's a sample of the weeklong deals" or something like that, but I'm having troubles with Steam, blocking over 1700 titles over "my preferences" (I'm not logged while doing this), and not letting me scroll down to check the remaining 640 titles. Therefore, there'll be no samples today.

The Humble Store has four new sales:

• The Plug In Digital Fall Sale brings up to 90% discounts during 3 days. There are keys for Steam, EGS and direct downloads: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/plug-in-digital-fall-sale/
• Paradox Interactive puts its games up to 80% off during the next 6 days. The keys are for Steam and there are also some direct downloads: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/paradox-week/
• The Role Playing Radness Sale features up to 90% discounts during the next 6 days. There are keys for Steam, EGS, UbiConnect and direct downloads: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/roleplaying-radness-sale/
• And the Fallout Day Sale also arrives here, wit the games being up to 80% off during the next 7 days. All the keys are for Steam: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/fallout-day-sale-2023/

Fanatical has two new deals:

• The Star Deal is the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Complete Bundle, 82% off during 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/stalker-complete-bundle
• The Infernal Bundle, with 6 games has an 89% discount: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/infernal-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

INTEL Arc & Iris Graphics 31.0.101.4900
https://videocardz.com/driver/intel-arc-iris-graphics-31-0-101-4900
Highlights
Ghostrunner 2 – For the best gaming experience, it is recommended to launch the game using DirectX 12 option. Intel® Game On Driver support on Intel® Arc™ A-series Graphics for:

• Alan Wake 2
• Cities: Skylines 2
• WRC
• Ghostrunner 2

Game performance improvements versus Intel® 31.0.101.4887 software driver for:

• Alan Wake 2 (DX12)
  • Up to 20% average FPS uplift at 1080p with High settings
  • Up to 22% average FPS uplift at 1440p with Medium settings
• Cities: Skylines 2 (DX11)
  • Up to 34% average FPS uplift at 1080p with High settings
  • Up to 26% average FPS uplift at 1440p with Medium settings

>> There are no new fixes with this release.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Baldur's Gate 3 mod lets un-partied characters participate in conversations
https://www.pcgamer.com/baldurs-gate-3-mod-lets-un-partied-characters-participate-in-conversations/
One of the most frustrating things about Baldur's Gate 3 is getting to the end of a conversation, only to realise later that having a specific companion in your party would have completely changed the course of the game. Worse yet, the idea that you might be missing important plot points for your companions due to their absence.
Thankfully, modder Silent Note is on the case, with a Baldur's Gate 3 mod called Everyone in Dialogue (via PCGamesN).
Uploaded to Nexus Mods by Shagone, the mod "Allows all allies, whether they are party members or not, to participate and react to the player's dialogues, regardless of distance or the party size."
Not only is it toggleable per character—in case you decide there are certain characters you don't want to witness certain events—it works even when you're playing as another character.
>> There are no screenshots nor videos of the mod.

Age of Empires 2 modder remakes Skyrim as an RTS, and you can play it soon
https://www.pcgamer.com/age-of-empires-2-modder-remakes-skyrim-as-an-rts-and-you-can-play-it-soon/
I've been playing Skyrim for a whopping 12 years thanks to its hard-working mod community, constantly downloading new quests, texture packs and ambitious features. But long before that I was spending my days playing through custom scenarios and fiddling around with the map editor in Age of Empires 2—the genesis of my love for modding. And thanks to Age of Empires 2 modder Grouchy_Bluejay4511, both of these brilliant games have now been combined.
Over on Reddit, Grouchy shared screenshots of their current project, where they've remade Skyrim in the venerable RTS. The first is unmistakably Whiterun, with the Jarl's fancy home, Dragonsreach, looming over the city. Smaller settlements have also been recreated in less detail, and you can see Helgen (on fire, naturally), Riverwood and Ivarstead surrounding High Hrothgar, sitting on the Throat of the World, in the second screenshot.
(...)
As for how it plays, it seems to be—rather appropriately—an RPG/RTS hybrid, where you'll be able to take charge of one of Skyrim's holds as you try to claim dominance of the region. Expect more than 50 quests and 100 unique characters, to boot.
>> The article has several screenshots.

Sonic Megamix Mania is a must-have for all old-school Sonic fans
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/sonic-megamix-mania-is-a-must-have-for-all-old-school-sonic-fans/
Team Megamix Mania just dropped an awesome mod for Sonic Mania Plus that’s a total must-have for classic Sonic fans. This mod lets you play as six different characters from the Sonic world, and it adds cool new artwork, music, and levels.
In Sonic Megamix Mania, you’ll get to play in two cool game modes: Classic Mode and Megamix Mode. Classic Mode takes the levels from the ‘Sonic Megamix’ Rom-Hack and makes them even better with top-notch artwork and improved level design. On the other hand, Megamix Mode takes the original Rom-Hack’s cool ideas and puts a fresh twist on them. This mode has brand-new art, music, levels, and exciting surprises.
Sonic Megamix Mania will feature 12 Classic Mode Acts and The Final Fight, as well as 8 Megamix Mode Acts.
In this mod, you can play as some cool characters from the Sonic world. There’s Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Shadow, and Mighty the Armadillo. And guess what? Each of these characters has awesome new moves and super cool abilities.
>> There's a 1:42 video of the mod.

GAMING NEWS

Cities Skylines 2 developers target 30fps and not 60fps, even on the latest and greatest high-end PCs
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/cities-skylines-2-developers-target-30fps-and-not-60fps-even-on-pc/
A few days ago, we shared some early benchmarks for Cities Skylines 2. In those benchmarks, an Intel Core i9 13900KS with an AMD Radeon RX 7900XTX struggled to run the game at 4K/High Settings. And in a recent Reddit AMA, the developers claimed that their target is 30fps and not 60fps, even on PC.
Colossal Order’s “damsku” made some pretty wild claims. They said that running a city-building game at 60fps doesn’t really make a difference. But it seems like they haven’t tried panning the camera around at 30fps, where you can notice the jerky movement.
>> It's worth reading the article for the full quote of the developer/PR guy as well as some other bits of info.

NVIDIA shares new tech details and performance/framerates for Alan Wake 2’s Path Tracing effects
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/nvidia-shares-new-tech-details-and-performance-framerates-for-alan-wake-2s-path-tracing-effects/
NVIDIA has just shared some new technical details about the Path Tracing effects of Alan Wake 2. Moreover, the green team shared some performance figures for its RTX 40 series GPUs.

Tuesday news, part two

Remnant 2's latest dev talk puts crosshairs on the game's most busted ring, confirms loadouts with a 'Yep', and gets into the armour nitty-gritty
https://www.pcgamer.com/remnant-2s-latest-dev-talk-puts-crosshairs-on-the-games-most-busted-ring-confirms-loadouts-with-a-yep-and-gets-into-the-armour-nitty-gritty/
The Remnant 2 Dev Loop, a tell-all set of posts by Principal Designer at Gunfire Games Ben Cureton (otherwise known as Verytragic), hit the Remnant 2 subreddit over the weekend, and it's a doozy.
The second of these dev insight blogs, this dev loop went into the Gunfire's upcoming balance changes and plans. In particular, Cureton made sure to specifically note one absolutely busted ring as in dire need of adjustment.

Blizzard halts Diablo 4 trading again, warns that players who take advantage of a new duplication exploit will be 'actioned'
https://www.pcgamer.com/blizzard-halts-diablo-4-trading-again-warns-that-players-who-take-advantage-of-a-new-duplication-exploit-will-be-actioned/
Blizzard has put a halt to trading in Diablo 4 while it works to fix a duplication exploit that came to light over the weekend, and warned that players caught taking advantage of the bug could find themselves in trouble.

There's secret dialogue supporting Baldur's Gate 3 fans' favorite forbidden romance locked behind an impossible nap⁠—but someone managed to find it anyway
https://www.pcgamer.com/theres-secret-dialogue-supporting-baldurs-gate-3-fans-favorite-forbidden-romance-locked-behind-an-impossible-napbut-someone-managed-to-find-it-anyway/
For a lot of Baldur's Gate 3 fans, the real romantic pairing of the game isn't between their Tadpoled Adventurer and a companion, or even Raphael and Withers, but rather tiefling Barbarian Karlach and erstwhile infernal smith-turned-heart engine mechanic Dammon. There's certainly some sparks there in the game, but as reported by GamesRadar, an inaccessible camp scene makes it way more explicit.

The official Bloodlines 2 theme song is giving me a minor existential crisis over how old the first game is, and how much older I am now
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-official-bloodlines-2-theme-song-is-giving-me-a-minor-existential-crisis-over-how-old-the-first-game-is-and-how-much-older-i-am-now/
Paradox Interactive has revealed the official theme song for Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, a dark, moody piece called Midnight that's really quite good. Also, I don't think I like it. Let me explain.
>> I'll let you find his explanation/excuse by yourselves.

After slaying 666 cows, Diablo 4 player makes major breakthrough in the hunt for the secret cow level
https://www.pcgamer.com/after-slaying-666-cows-diablo-4-player-makes-major-breakthrough-in-the-hunt-for-the-secret-cow-level/
The Oxen Gods are finally pleased. After four months with no news, a Diablo 4 player has made a major discovery in the hunt for its supposedly non-existent secret cow level.
"Uh hey, so I just got the Musty Tome from a cow after killing about 666 of them (it was hard to count)," a user who goes by Grampajoe wrote in the Not Finding A Cow Level Discord server last night. "The cow died with a red curse effect and the tome dropped from it."

Konami says to expect slowdown in some Metal Gear Solid cutscenes, but a patch is coming post-launch
https://www.pcgamer.com/konami-says-to-expect-slowdown-in-some-metal-gear-solid-cutscenes-but-a-patch-is-coming-post-launch/
Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection is out on Tuesday, finally bringing the best Metal Gear game—MGS3—to PC for the first time. As I wrote in my preview back in August, I'm still disappointed by how barebones the ports of these great games are. While Konami's going above and beyond with its included bonus materials and different regional versions of the games, their work on the underlying emulation—like running the games at higher resolutions and framerates—leaves a lot to be desired. Speaking to IGN, Konami has also now confirmed several issues that haven't been fixed in time for the launch.

FF14's director Naoki Yoshida gets griefed by the series' creator live on stage during a bossfight: 'This tank is big trouble'
https://www.pcgamer.com/ff14s-director-naoki-yoshida-gets-griefed-by-the-series-creator-live-on-stage-during-a-bossfight-this-tank-is-big-trouble/
Final Fantasy 14's London Fanfest 2023 might be over, but it's still produced a lot of great moments—like confirmation that Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of the Final Fantasy franchise, has cleared some of the hardest raids in the game.
Those are some impressive chops. With the game's director Naoki Yoshida also being an active raider (on a black mage—one of the hardest jobs in the game to optimise), it follows that they'd want to play together some. They hopped online, using the game's Party Finder system on a first come, first serve basis to do some fights with the community. A good bit of fun. Or so one would think.

This free Frasier JRPG is a better return to the show than the new series
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-free-frasier-jrpg-is-a-better-return-to-the-show-than-the-new-series/
(...)
Anyway, all this is to say that Frasier Fantasy (spotted by RPS), a mashup of Frasier and the old Final Fantasy games that you can play for free in your browser, is tailor-made for me specifically, and it's a much better way to return to the Crane boys' adventures than the series' recent tired return on Paramount.

American McGee says the Alice series is dead, finished, kaput, and people need to stop 'continually asking me questions to which I do not have answers'
https://www.pcgamer.com/american-mcgee-says-the-alice-series-is-dead-finished-kaput-and-people-need-to-stop-continually-asking-me-questions-to-which-i-do-not-have-answers/
(...)
The writing was on the wall and in April McGee took to Youtube to say EA was out and it was time to move on. He also announced his retirement from game design entirely, so this was about as definitive an end point as you get. To be fair to McGee he has been transparent throughout the whole period of trying to get Alice: Asylum made and, while he had a Patreon allowing people to donate, he and others have done a considerable amount of pre-production on Asylum over this time, culminating in a design bible for the game which is available for download.
In a follow-up video posted last week, McGee acknowledges this year's various events and that, following EA's definitive 'no' in April, he disappeared for a while. "I was emotionally quite destroyed by the fact that our proposal was rejected," says McGee. "Not only because we had invested so much into it as a community and as creators, but because I felt quite strongly it presented a vision for something that was not only achievable but would have been quite beautiful." McGee says he had a sense of "shame" at having failed to get the game made, and re-emphasises that he and everyone invested in this "need to move on."

Players blast Metal Gear Solid Master Collection for missing options, vanished Steam pages, and muddy textures: 'absolutely poor and not worth its asking price'
https://www.pcgamer.com/players-blast-metal-gear-solid-master-collection-for-missing-options-vanished-steam-pages-and-muddy-textures-absolutely-poor-and-not-worth-its-asking-price/
The Metal Gear Solid Master Collection is here, bringing Metal Gear Solid 3 (the best one) to PC for the first time in a package that also contains MGS 1 and 2 plus the original MSX Metal Gear games. It's a day I've been hotly anticipating for literal years: The Metal Gear games are some of my favourites ever made, and to have the classics finally start trickling over to PC should be great.
Except, ah, these ports leave something to be desired. A few hours out from release, all three Metal Gear Solid games have grim beige "Mixed" ratings on Steam, and players have drawn up a long litany of complaints about Konami's work. Having played a little of the collection myself I can't help but agree.
>>*Insert Surprised Pikachu meme*

NVIDIA Reveals Alan Wake 2 Game Performance: 4K 120+ FPS With GeForce RTX 4090 With DLSS 3.5 & Path Tracing

https://wccftech.com/nvidia-alan-wake-2-performance-4k-120-fps-geforce-rtx-4090-dlss-3-5-path-tracing/

Not as bad as I initially thought considering it's full path tracing. 4090 being able to do 4k 30fps Native isn't too bad for what's being shown. We will see how actual benchmarks turn up.

Intel APO game optimizing technology delivers up to 31% higher FPS with Core i9-14900K

https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-apo-game-optimizing-technology-delivers-up-to-31-higher-fps-with-core-i9-14900k

"Intel Application Optimization (APO) is a new feature exclusively compatible with the 14th Gen Core CPU series. It draws upon insights gained from Thread Director, an Intel technology designed to optimize workloads based on the specific software in use and the core architecture best suited for the task. Inclusion of Thread Director was particularly important for Alder Lake, Intel’s first Core-S client CPU featuring a hybrid architecture, as it required robust software support.

Roger Chandler, Intel’s VP and the public face of the 14th Gen Core launch, clarified in an interview with TweakTown that APO represents the next evolution of this technology. What sets it apart are the optimizations it offers for each individual application. When a game is added to the APO list, it adjusts the Thread Director’s policy, with the goal of yielding even higher framerates for gamers, assuming all functions as intended."

I do wonder if it's software locked to 14th gen since it sounds like something that should be achievable with 13th gen. Still interesting improvements if true but hopefully a more reputable reviewer will test it.

AMD Reportedly Receives Orders For Next-Gen Instinct MI300X AI Accelerators From Oracle

https://wccftech.com/amd-reportedly-receives-orders-for-next-gen-instinct-mi300x-ai-accelerators-from-oracle/

Seems that 4090s being banned from China is in fact raising its prices globally

It will be interesting to see if this goes anywhere and if they can match the performance of x86

AW2 is less resource-intensive than CP2077 Overdrive then. Should have known those PC specs were a bit bogus/confusing as usual, unless it runs really badly in Radeons or pre-Ada GPUs.

New challenger approaches

Wait for reviews as always

I don't doubt they can compete, especially in efficiency (given 4 nm and ARM) but a lot of their graphs were incredibly vague.

Still, a worrying trend for Intel with a lot of companies making their own CPUs now.