If you thought 4090s were expensive... Just wait till you see this event

It's even worse than "just" stupid and retarded. It's actively misleading.

If you look closely, you'll see that the 9W chips have higher numbers than the 15W ones, implying to the customers that the weaker ones are actually the more powerful option. This could possibly actually be considered as malpractice at a court, so Intel should be very careful with those confusing naming schemes.

The Thursday news, a long part one:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

The Epic Store gives away two games:

• Tandem: a Tale of Shadows: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/tandem-a-tale-of-shadows-c3f55e
• The Evil Within 2: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/the-evil-within-2

Next week they'll give F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch and Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion.

Steam has two new deals:

• Scars Above will be 60% off until November, 1st: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1196090/Scars_Above/
• Strange Brigade will get a 95% discount until the same 1st of November: https://store.steampowered.com/app/312670/Strange_Brigade/

By the way, Steam's Halloween Event, the Scream Fest, should start with today's refresh.

Fanatical has a new Star Deal and a bundle:

• The Star Deal is Spin Rhythm XD, 55% off during 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/spin-rhythm-xd
• The new Marvelous Mystery Bundle has up to 20 unknown games to get during the next 10 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/marvelous-mystery-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

NVIDIA GeForce Game Ready 545.92
https://videocardz.com/driver/nvidia-geforce-game-ready-545-92
Highlights
Game Ready for Alan Wake 2
This new Game Ready Driver provides the best gaming experience for the latest new games supporting DLSS 3.5 technology and DLSS Ray Reconstruction including Alan Wake 2. Additionally, this Game Ready Driver supports the launch of titles supporting NVIDIA DLSS 3 technology including Ghostrunner 2.

Fixed Issues
Fixed Gaming Bugs

• [VR] Desktop colors turn overexposed after closing VR app [4171604]

Valve is dropping local currency support for Turkey and Argentina amid 'exchange rate volatility,' moving to 'regionalized USD pricing' for 25 countries
https://www.pcgamer.com/valve-is-dropping-local-currency-support-for-turkey-and-argentina-amid-exchange-rate-volatility-moving-to-regionalized-usd-pricing-for-25-countries/
Valve is making changes to Steam pricing in Argentina and Turkey that will see game sales in those countries switched from their local currencies—the Argentine peso and Turkish lira—to US dollars. The change is being made to address "exchange rate volatility" that Valve says has made it difficult for developers to set and maintain prices for their games.

After a month in beta Valve has released SteamVR 2.0 for the headset-wearing masses
https://www.pcgamer.com/after-a-month-in-beta-valve-has-released-steamvr-20-for-the-headset-wearing-masses/
Valve has released SteamVR 2.0 after a month in beta. The virtual reality software is finally heading to headsets with some big changes to the store, keyboard, library, and more.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

-Empty-

GAMING NEWS

Here’s your first look at Star Citizen’s Ray Tracing Global Illumination
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/heres-your-first-look-at-star-citizens-ray-tracing-global-illumination/
At CitizenCon 2953, Cloud Imperium revealed some cool Ray Tracing Global Illumination (RTGI) effects that are on the way to Star Citizen and Squadron 42. And, we’ve got a video to show you these effects in action. In the video, you’ll see lots of scenes with RTGI and without it. This will give you a good idea of what to look forward to.

Unreal Engine 5-powered Still Wakes the Deep looks incredible in its latest gameplay trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/unreal-engine-5-powered-still-wakes-the-deep-looks-incredible-in-its-latest-gameplay-trailer/
Secret Mode has shared a new gameplay trailer for its upcoming Unreal Engine 5-powered first-person narrative horror game, Still Wakes the Deep.

Metal Gear Solid Delta Snake Eater gets first official in-engine video
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/metal-gear-solid-delta-snake-eater-remake-gets-first-official-in-engine-video/
Konami released the first official in-engine video for its upcoming remake of MGS 3, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater will be powered by Unreal Engine 5, and this pre-alpha video will give you a glimpse of its graphics.

First in-engine trailer for the ARK: Survival Evolved Remake in Unreal Engine 5
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/first-in-engine-trailer-for-the-ark-survival-evolved-remake-in-unreal-engine-5/
Studio Wildcard has released the first in-engine trailer for its upcoming remake of ARK: Survival Evolved in Unreal Engine 5, ARK: Survival Ascended.
>> It's now in Early Access, and here you'll find the PC requirements.

Cities Skylines 2 runs with 20fps on an NVIDIA RTX4090 at 4K/High, even on an empty map
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/cities-skylines-2-runs-with-20fps-on-an-nvidia-rtx4090-at-4k-high-even-on-an-empty-map/
Paradox Interactive has released its latest city builder, Cities Skylines 2. Unfortunately, though, this is one of the worst-optimized PC games of 2023. Cities Skylines 2, even on a completely new/empty map, runs with 20fps on an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 at 4K/High.
>> With a 99% GPU usage and two CPU cores going up to the 70-ish%. Lame.

Valheim Patch 0.217.27 released and here are all its fixes, tweaks, changes and improvements
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/valheim-patch-0-217-27-released-and-here-are-all-its-fixes-tweaks-changes-and-improvements/
Iron Gate has released Patch 0.217.27 for its exploration and survival game, Valheim. This update brings a bunch of improvements, new stuff, and performance tweaks. We’ll break it down for you, so keep on reading.

Here are all the fixes, tweaks, changes and improvements of the Counter-Strike 2 October 25th Update
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/here-are-all-the-fixes-tweaks-changes-and-improvements-of-the-counter-strike-2-october-25th-update/
Valve just dropped a fresh update for Counter-Strike 2 on October 25th, and it’s packed with lots of changes to make the game even better. The October 25th Update comes with numerous fixes, tweaks, changes and improvements. So, let’s dive in and see what’s new.

Lords of the Fallen Patch v.1.1.243 improves performance by optimizing UE5’s Lumen
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/lords-of-the-fallen-patch-v-1-1-243-improves-performance-by-optimizing-lumen/
Hexworks has released Patch 1.1.243 for Lords of the Fallen. According to the developers, this new update comes with two optimization tweaks that will improve the game’s performance on a variety of PC configurations.

Cyberpunk 2077 Patch 2.02 is available for download and here’s its full changelog
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/cyberpunk-2077-patch-2-02-is-available-for-download-and-heres-its-full-changelog/
CD Projekt RED has just released Patch 2.02 for Cyberpunk 2077, and revealed its full changelog. This update comes with numerous fixes for the game’s latest expansion, Phantom Liberty.

Alan Wake 2 does not have Denuvo and it will NOT prevent you from running it on older/unsupported GPUs
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/alan-wake-2-does-not-have-denuvo-and-it-will-not-prevent-you-from-running-it-on-older-unsupported-gpus/
A lot of frustration surfaced earlier this month when Remedy’s Lea-Newin claimed that the game would require DX12 Ultimate and Mesh Shaders. And since Remedy has just lifted the review embargo for Alan Wake 2, we can finally confirm that the game will NOT prevent you from running it on older/unsupported GPUs. In fact, we were able to launch it on an NVIDIA GTX980Ti.

Thursday news, the even longer part two:

Cities: Skylines 2 studio promises performance issues can and will be fixed: 'We want to assure you that the issues are not deeply rooted in the game’s foundation'
https://www.pcgamer.com/cities-skylines-2-studio-promises-performance-issues-can-and-will-be-fixed-we-want-to-assure-you-that-the-issues-are-not-deeply-rooted-in-the-games-foundation/
A few days before the launch of Cities: Skylines 2, Paradox Interactive issued a warning about the game's performance—specifically, that it might be a little less than ideal, especially on lower-end hardware. Sure enough, this was our experience: "random fps dips, slowdowns and hitches, and sometimes complete freezes that lasted a few seconds," along with graphical glitches and outright crashes. The bigger the city, the worse the problems.
If you're struggling, we have a guide to five graphics options changes that will provide a big boost to Cities: Skyline 2 performance, but hopefully the need for those tweaks will lessen in the relatively near future. In a "post-release plans and goals" update posted today, developer Colossal Order said Cities: Skylines 2 "is built for the future with modern hardware in mind," essentially repeating the statement it made in the pre-release performance warning, but committed to improving the situation in future updates—and, importantly, assured players that the issues can be fixed.
>> Am I the only one that rolls his eyes when finding the "built for the future" excuse for a game's bad performance.

Skyrim's former design lead tips his hat to Baldur's Gate 3: 'Very few of the decisions in a Bethesda game feel highly meaningful, you get maybe three or four'
https://www.pcgamer.com/skyrims-lead-designer-tips-his-hat-to-baldurs-gate-3-very-few-of-the-decisions-in-a-bethesda-game-feel-highly-meaningful-you-get-maybe-three-or-four/
(...) In an interview with MinnMax, Nesmith is asked about his thoughts on Larian's RPG: "I love Baldur's Gate, I'm a huge Dungeons & Dragons fan," he says, before rotating his camera around to his shelves and shelves of RPG books and modules.
(...)
He then reflects on Bethesda games, and how every hero becomes a multitasking polymath—good at everything, questioned by no one. He talks about Larian's attitude, one that's happy to shut off entire storylines, as something "we could never get ourselves to do—[Larian] poked into all the darkest corners. They've come out and said, quite bluntly, 'we don't care if only 1% of the players will ever see this.'"

Steam's most wishlisted city builder, Manor Lords, announces 2024 early access launch date
https://www.pcgamer.com/strategy-city-builder-manor-lords-announces-2024-early-access-launch-date/
Manor Lords is a strategy city builder so highly anticipated that it appeared on more Steam wishlists than even the daddy of all city builders, Cities: Skylines 2. And for as long as I can remember, Manor Lords' release date on Steam has been listed as "2023," a year that is rapidly approaching its end.
Alas, for anyone (like me) who hoped to hunker down over the holidays and grow a tiny medieval town into a bustling village, that launch date has been revised. Manor Lords is now planned to release on April 26, 2024.

2023's most slept-on horror game is getting an absolutely sadistic new mode where nearly everything's randomized and you have to spend precious fuel just to save
https://www.pcgamer.com/2023s-most-slept-on-horror-game-is-getting-an-absolutely-sadistic-new-mode-where-nearly-everythings-randomized-and-you-have-to-spend-precious-fuel-just-to-save/
I absolutely love Amnesia: The Bunker⁠—it's gotten lost in the tangle of one of the best years for gaming in a long time, but The Bunker is quietly one of the best horror games I've ever played. Now Frictional Games is augmenting that already mondo-stressful experience with a surprise Halloween update and harder-than-hard "Shell Shock" mode.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth goes full Animal Crossing, will let you manage an island paradise 'with a cozy DIY lifestyle'
https://www.pcgamer.com/like-a-dragon-infinite-wealth-goes-full-animal-crossing-will-let-you-manage-an-island-paradise-with-a-cozy-diy-lifestyle/
The Yakuza series, now renamed Like a Dragon, is known for minigames that are fun enough to yank attention away from the gangster melodrama for hours and hours. Nintendo's Animal Crossing: New Horizons has sold more than 40 million copies since 2020 and was fun enough to yank attention away from everything else during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. You can probably see where this is going.
Sega revealed today that the upcoming Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth has a new minigame that looks the opposite of mini: it's called Dondoko Island, and it's very much Yakuza Does Animal Crossing.

Still Wakes the Deep's debut gameplay trailer asks, 'What if Dear Esther was set on an oil rig, and also something was trying to eat you?'
https://www.pcgamer.com/still-wakes-the-deeps-debut-gameplay-trailer-asks-what-if-dear-esther-was-set-on-an-oil-rig-and-also-something-was-trying-to-eat-you/
The Chinese Room stepped into the spotlight earlier this year as the new developer of Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, but that's not the only project it has on the go. It's also working on a new horror game called Still Wakes the Deep, and today we finally got our first look at gameplay—and I'm happy to say that it looks like everything I hoped, and feared, it would be.

Diablo 4 Rogue uses a pair of pants to one-shot its hardest bosses: 'Uber Lilith was absolutely child's play'
https://www.pcgamer.com/diablo-4-rogue-uses-a-pair-of-pants-to-one-shot-its-hardest-bosses-uber-lilith-was-absolutely-childs-play/
Diablo 4's world bosses are meant to be fought by several players, but a single pair of pants gives Rogues the power to instantly take them down alone.
Rogues work differently than other classes in DIablo 4. Classes like Sorcerers spend mana to cast spells, but Rogues use Energy and, optionally, Combo Points—which generate on basic attacks.
(...)
But Tibault's Will, one of season 2's new unique items breaks that rule, and the way it works is far too powerful for it to be intended. Instead of giving Rogues more Energy to use certain skills, the pants give them more total combo points, up to 23. The problem wouldn't be so bad if there were no way to quickly build up a ton of combo points at once, but Condemnation, a unique dagger, has a bonus that will do just that.

Elden Ring fans discover 'cut' sword behind frenzied speculation has, in fact, been hiding in plain sight the whole time
https://www.pcgamer.com/elden-ring-fans-discover-cut-sword-behind-frenzied-speculation-has-in-fact-been-hiding-in-plain-sight-the-whole-time/
Even a year-and-a-half after release Elden Ring retains mystique, secrets, areas of the game that even the most dedicated cannot fully unravel. This is of course by design and has been the way ever since Demon's Souls, with FromSoftware always aiming to leave plenty of room for player interpretation: it's arguably one of the reasons that the lore of these games really sticks with people.
But one player tool does divide people: data-mining. (...)
A minor example of this is a greatsword that is seemingly not in the game, but does have icons showing it in three different variations. This sword is seen first in an ancient and weathered sheath; then it is seen sheath-less as a beautifully preserved blade, an archetypal greatsword; finally it is seen charred and twisted, as if forged anew in some demonic fire.

Victoria 3 conjures up yet another DLC type as it braces for its 'grandest update to military, economy, and diplomacy' yet
https://www.pcgamer.com/victoria-3-conjures-up-yet-another-dlc-type-as-it-braces-for-its-grandest-update-to-military-economy-and-diplomacy-yet/
Like the industrial revolution itself, Victoria 3 forges ahead with patches and expansions, tearing asunder the idiocy of rural life, melting all that was once solid into the air, and faring relatively poorly in the Steam reviews for its DLC (the Steam reviews for capitalism would have been terrible in 1848, which is probably why they didn't have them).
But the game's next DLC is adding some ordem to all that progresso, taking us away from the empires of Europe in order to focus on South America, particularly Brazil.

Starbreeze explains ongoing Payday 3 patch delay: 'There was a significant risk to player progression being wiped' by update errors
https://www.pcgamer.com/starbreeze-explains-ongoing-payday-3-patch-delay-there-was-a-significant-risk-to-player-progression-being-wiped-by-update-errors/
A new update from Starbreeze on the status of the much-needed first patch for Payday 3 does not offer much in the way of good news: The patch is still not ready to go, and there's no indication as to when it will be. Instead, the studio has come to us with a brief explanation of how it all went so disastrously wrong, and what it's doing to try to fix it.

Timb-err: Old School Runescape's new forestry update gets panned for being 'too convoluted for its own good'
https://www.pcgamer.com/timb-err-old-school-runescapes-new-forestry-update-gets-panned-for-being-too-convoluted-for-its-own-good/
Forestry 2, the sequel to Forestry, is another expansion to Old School Runescape's woodcutting skill. If you assume that something like chopping down trees is a casual, uncomplicated, nice way to kill a few hours—you would be gravely mistaken. I'm about to try and break this down for you, but even just skimming the surface is giving me conniptions.

After Payday 3's disastrous launch, Starbreeze partners up with an Australian studio to lend its 'expertise in release management' to a Fortnite Island
https://www.pcgamer.com/after-payday-3s-disastrous-launch-starbreeze-partners-up-with-an-australian-studio-to-lend-its-expertise-in-release-management-to-a-fortnite-island/
Payday 3 is in a rocky state. Its launch was dreadful, its fans are angry, and its promised patch keeps getting punted further and further into the future (though for what sounds like a good reason). There's only one thing to do if you're a developer in this dicey situation: launch a Fortnite Island. It's the oldest trick in the book.
(...)
To be clear, Turtle vs Turtle is only being "launched" by Starbreeze. The development comes from Australia's Torus Games, notable for having a frankly enormous roster of licensed games under its belt. Although it'd be kind of funny to imagine Starbreeze devs suddenly getting way into making a Fortnite Island while Payday 3 smoulders away in the background, it's just the publishing arm of the studio lending its "expertise" in "marketing, community management, live service operations, development funding… data management and analytics," as well as, uh, "release management." Hm.

Final Fantasy 14's bizarre Fall Guys event drops later this month, and I'm scared my trips into the bean dimension will be a good way to make gil
https://www.pcgamer.com/final-fantasy-14s-bizarre-fall-guys-event-drops-later-this-month-and-im-scared-my-trips-into-the-bean-dimension-will-be-a-good-way-to-make-gil/
The Final Fantasy 14 x Fall Guys event has been in the pipeline for a while now, and we've just been treated to a full list of details, as outlined on the game's official website.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER listed with AD103 GPU and new Device ID

https://videocardz.com/newz/nvidia-geforce-rtx-4080-super-listed-with-ad103-gpu-and-new-device-id

Sounds like Kopite will be correct once again. Jensen really does not want to sell AD102 to gamers outside of the 4090. Thank god Ai craze started after 4090 release otherwise ultra high end would have been even more cut down.

AMD Threadripper PRO 7985WX with 64 Zen4 cores is 30% faster than Zen3 and 60% than Zen2 models

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-threadripper-pro-7985wx-with-64-zen4-cores-is-30-faster-than-zen3-and-60-than-zen2-models

All ARCTIC LGA1700 coolers are compatible with Intel next-gen Arrow Lake CPUs

https://videocardz.com/newz/all-arctic-lga1700-coolers-are-compatible-with-intel-next-gen-arrow-lake-cpus

If RDNA 5 can't turn things around I have a tough time believing AMD will stick around in PC graphics for much longer

https://www.pcgamer.com/if-rdna-5-cant-turn-things-around-i-have-a-tough-time-believing-amd-will-stick-around-in-pc-graphics-for-much-longer/

They do bring up a good point about RDNA 2 GPUs still being in stock while Ampere down to the 3060 Ti has been out of stock. While I am sure AMD will find a way to keep Radeon around, really if Intel graphics starts to gain traction, there may not be enough room for 3 vendors.

With that being said though, Radeon is at their strongest when they target entry-mid range so it's highly unlikely Intel will be as competitive for a very long time.

Lol launching on EGS exclusively without DRM? Someone at Remedy was thinking about PC gamers thats for sure. I'll sail the 7 seas until it comes to Steam.

I might share more of my thought about Cities: Skylines II at some point, but the tl;dr is that 1080p performance is mostly fine aside from a few problematic settings (I ended up getting the RTX 4060, and it's running everything except the few problematic settings at high, and the game mostly feels quite smooth - not 60 FPS, but smooth, but we'll see once my city grows more). Supposedly even more dated hardware runs the game somewhat passably. It's definitely not ideal, and for some reason, it seems to scale quite poorly to higher resolutions. I'd probably be pretty mad if I wanted to play the game at 4K or perhaps even 1440p (although 1440p is supposedly a lot better), but personally I'm very happy with my purchase so far, despite my concerns. The game certainly deserves a lot of critique for its performance, but I'd argue that the amount of critique it's getting is actually way overblown.

That is so ironic coming from Pc Gamer after all the shit they said about Starfield :_D .

Also guys that post about Tod has also been shown as a little click bait

I read the article. Your headline was a little click-baity. I know Todd well and he’s a brilliant game designer that also inspires those around him to be better people. He lifts everyone up and he can find what is special about you and help you grow that. Bethesda is filled with…

— Tim Willits (@TimWillits) October 25, 2023

Thsnks for sharing that tweet.

The problem with interviews is that you don't know what ends up being left out of the cut or the way things are said. In any case, what the article says and Willits' response aren't mutually exclusive. Howard may inspire those around him, but still be the person that ends making the final decisions and influencing the rest of the team(s) with his point of view.

Yeah it's a nice tweet and all, but they really fucked with Magicka over the iterations of ES, and fucked with some of the lore, and while Todd can "inspire" those around him, it hasn't "inspired" them to not fuck around with what worked before, as well as learning to not release the buggiest/jankiest of games.

Both Todd and Tim are probably chill guys irl, but they still let their fingers slip every time they release a new game, and well, I'm kinda sick of seeing a bunch of older devs not learning to do better.