And here are the Friday news!

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

The nicest community in gaming has over 8 million members and an urgent friendly fire crisis as Deep Rock Galactic releases its 2023 stats
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-nicest-community-in-gaming-has-over-8-million-members-and-an-urgent-friendly-fire-crisis-as-deep-rock-galactic-releases-its-2023-stats/
By all accounts, space-dwarf mining sim Deep Rock Galactic has one of the last positive communities left in all of videogames. There's something about rambunctiously stripping the galaxy of resources as a squad of stout 'n' shouty guys that brings out the best in people. That must be why—per developer Ghost Ship Games' own 2023 end of year stats—over 8 million people have gotten in on the action since the game released in early access back in 2018.
Or at least, 8 million have bought the game, and I suppose a fair few of them went on to let it languish in their Steam libraries untouched. Nevertheless, DRG is going from strength to strength, selling a record 2.5 million copies in 2023 alone. But we have to talk about some of these other stats.

The Humble Store has launched the Clever Moves Sale, featuring puzzle and tabletop games with up to 90% discounts during 6 days. There are keys for Steam, GOG, EGS and direct downloads: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/clever-moves-sale/.

Fanatical has a new Star Deal: The Chant will be 75% off during 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/the-chant

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Valve continues to improve the gaming performance of Linux open source drivers for AMD GPUs, as part of the Mesa project
https://www.pcgamer.com/valve-continues-to-improve-the-gaming-performance-of-linux-open-source-drivers-for-amd-gpus-as-part-of-the-mesa-project/
Mesa is a long-running project that started life as an open-source driver, bringing the OpenGL graphics API to a host of different platforms. Today, developers from AMD, Google, Intel, and others all take part. One of the most well-known Mesa drivers is RADV: A Vulkan-based driver specifically for AMD's GPUs running on a Linux operating system. A recent update to them, created by Valve's developers, has added a neat little performance boost for any device using them.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Call of Duty 4 RTX Remix Path Tracing Mod Available for Download
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/call-of-duty-4-rtx-remix-path-tracing-mod-available-for-download/
Modder ‘xoxor4d’ has released the first version of his RTX Remix Mod for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare that adds full ray tracing/path tracing. Below you can also find three videos that showcase these Path Tracing effects. So, go ahead and take a look.
Now I should note that this mod is not based on the RTX Remix Creation Tools that NVIDIA will release on January 22nd. Instead, it’s based on the RTX Remix Runtime that came out in April 2023. In short, this first mod may have various graphical glitches. If I had to guess, I’d also say that the game’s materials haven’t been updated either.
For a “first attempt “, this RTX Remix Mod is kind of cool. And, in some scenes, you can definitely see the visual improvements of path tracing. However, there are also other scenes in which the game looks kind of flat. So yeah, this feels like a mixed bag. It’s cool, but it’s not perfect.
>> The article has three videos.

Fans are working on remakes of Tomb Raider Legend & Soul Reaver in Unreal Engine 5
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/tomb-raider-legend-soul-reaver-remakes-unreal-engine-5/
It appears that fans are working on remakes of Tomb Raider: Legend and Soul Reaver in Unreal Engine 5. Now before getting excited, know that these two projects are in a very early development phase. So no, don’t expect to be playing them anytime soon.
The Soul Reaver Remake is a cool project by Ali Aljaber. Ali has shared a video showing off a new locomotion system. With this, you can fly, fight, climb, and interact with switches and boxes. The next update will focus on magic powers and some wandering enemies. Again, this is a WIP project. Thus, you should temper your expectations.
The Tomb Raider: Legend Remake in UE5 is in an even earlier dev state. Monkey Riot, the developer, is figuring out how to make the controls just right before working on the game’s environments. And even though it’s early, Lara moves really well in this prototype, which is pretty cool.
>> There are a couple of videos in the article, one for each project.

GAMING NEWS

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Update 8 Released, Full Patch Notes
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/star-wars-jedi-survivor-update-8-released-full-patch-notes/
EA and Respawn have just released Title Update 8 for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, and shared its full patch notes. This latest update brings two new features and several improvements to Slow Motion. So, let’s take a closer look at them, shall we?

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown PC Demo Available Now for Download
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/prince-of-persia-the-lost-crown-pc-demo-available-now-for-download/
Ubisoft has just released the PC demo for Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown on Epic Games Store and Ubisoft Connect. PC gamers can download the demo right now, and get a taste of this new Prince of Persia game.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will support Ray Tracing, gets Ultra PC Requirements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/suicide-squad-kill-the-justice-league-will-support-ray-tracing-gets-ultra-pc-requirements/
Rocksteady has shared the Ultra PC requirements for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. In addition, we can confirm that the game will support Ray Tracing.
>> The GPU requirements are somewhat reasonable, but the CPU ones at high and ultra are a bit odd?

Akira Toriyama’s Upcoming Action RPG Gets a Release Date
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/akira-toriyamas-upcoming-action-rpg-gets-a-release-date/
Bandai Namco revealed that Akira Toriyama’s new action RPG, SAND LAND, will hit stores on April 26th. To make things even more exciting, they’ve released a new trailer to celebrate. So, go ahead and watch it after the jump.

Granblue Fantasy: Relink PC Requirements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/granblue-fantasy-relink-pc-requirements/
Cygames has revealed the official PC system requirements for its upcoming action RPG, Granblue Fantasy: Relink. This new role-playing game will come out on February 1st and from what we can see, it won’t require a high-end PC system.

Friday news, part two:

The Finals drops major nerf on controller aim assist, targets controller spoofing on PC
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-finals-drops-major-nerf-on-controller-aim-assist-targets-controller-spoofing-on-pc/
Embark Studios is clamping down on aim assist in The Finals in a new patch. It's a rare move for an FPS to make in our crossplay climate, but Embark says the changes were informed by "an in-depth review of how aim assist works—something we've only been able to validate with a player base as large as ours."

I was already intrigued by this Disco Elysium-inspired, D&D-based RPG where you play as the world's worst cleric, but its demo blew my expectations out of the water
https://www.pcgamer.com/i-was-already-intrigued-by-this-disco-elysium-inspired-dandd-based-rpg-where-you-play-as-the-worlds-worst-cleric-but-its-demo-blew-my-expectations-out-of-the-water/
Esoteric Ebb seemed like a game tailor-made for me, and that left me nervous. An irreverent, dialogue-focused RPG proudly announcing its Disco Elysium inspirations⁠—my mind jumped to all those soulslike games I've gotten my hopes up for that just don't quite have the FromSoft magic.

Minecraft Legends goes into maintenance mode 9 months after release, as devs announce they're 'going to take a step back from development'
https://www.pcgamer.com/minecraft-legends-goes-into-maintenance-mode-9-months-after-release-as-devs-announce-theyre-going-to-take-a-step-back-from-development/
Minecraft Legends, the self-described "action strategy" game that sees players command Minecraft mobs in a ceaseless war against invading Piglins, is going into maintenance mode around nine months after its release.
Developers Mojang and Blackbird announced Tuesday that they had spent their time since launch taking community feedback on board and using it to implement "changes and tweaks to make the game better." With that process now supposedly "complete," they're "going to take a step back from development," calling an end to any new content for the game following the release of its final batch of new content, Lost Legends: Snow vs Snouts.

And here are the weekend deals from GOG and Steam:

+GOG

• There's one new Deal of the Day: Jagged Alliance 3 will be 34% off until Monday: https://www.gog.com/en/game/jagged_alliance_3
• And there's a new Action Games Sale, featuring up to 90% discounts during 6 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20240112_action_games

+Steam

• The Hi-Rez Studios Publisher Sale brings up to 75% discounts until Monday, 15th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/hirezpubweekend2024
• The Copenhagen Games Week runs from the 11th to the 15th, although some deals will last longer, and features up to 80% deals: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/copenhagengamesweek
• Quasimorph, still in Early Access, gets a 20% discount until January, 18th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2059170/Quasimorph/
• Hammerwatch II will be 30% off until the 18th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1538970/Hammerwatch_II/
• Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront gets a 75% discount until next Thursday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/400750/Call_to_Arms__Gates_of_Hell_Ostfront/
• Old World will be 30% off until the 22nd: https://store.steampowered.com/app/597180/Old_World/
• And the last deal is Roboquest, that has a demo, with a 25% discount until January, 23rd: https://store.steampowered.com/app/692890/Roboquest/

That's all folks! Until next time, I wish you a happy and gaming weekend.

Part of me wants to congratulate you, and another part wants to send your wallet his condolences.

Enjoy it.

AMD Radeon RX 7000M GPUs missing from new gaming notebooks at CES 2024

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-radeon-rx-7000m-gpus-missing-from-new-gaming-notebooks-at-ces-2024

History really does repeat itself

AYANEO Next Lite comes with Ryzen 4500U/4800 and HoloISO instead of Windows, price starts at $299

https://videocardz.com/newz/ayaneo-next-lite-comes-with-ryzen-4500u-4800-and-holoiso-instead-of-windows-price-starts-at-299

Welp this certainly went from exciting potential to a letdown in every front. While it is using Steam OS, it isn't an official implementation as they used HoloISO to install it. On top of that, not only is the 4000 series APUs old, but they have Vega GPUs which Radeon has officially stopped game ready drives for. Pretty much a bad product from every front lol. Yea it's cheap but so is a Steam Deck or a Switch.

AMD Recommeds Dual-Channel DDR5-6000 Memory As “Sweet Spot” For Ryzen 8000G AM5 Desktop APUs

https://wccftech.com/amd-recommeds-dual-channel-ddr5-6000-memory-sweet-spot-ryzen-8000g-am5-desktop-apus/

When is DisplayPort 2.1 Going to be Used on Monitors?

https://tftcentral.co.uk/articles/when-is-displayport-2-1-going-to-be-used-on-monitors

As a person that will be buying a 4k 240hz OLED in the coming months, this article is very informative and if you are interested, it is worth a read. But to summarize... All current forms of GPU display connections that are out in the market, whether it be DP1.4 on Nvidia, DP2.1 on Radeon or HDMI 2.1 on both will not be able to display 4k 240hz without DSC. The reason is Radeons implementation of DP2.1 isn't full bandwidth. So all display connections will be using some form of DSC, HDMI 2.1 and DP2.1 will use 2:1 ratio while DP1.4 will use 3:1 ratio.

As far as noticeable differences between uncompressed and DSC as well as input lag between them, there is no noticeable difference between uncompressed, 2:1/3:1 ratios. Back in the early days of dp1.4, there were monitors that couldn't display full chroma 4:4:4 so had to go down to 4:2:2 but that's because the DSC implementation wasn't properly done. These days, dp1.4 can do 4k 240hz without any issues and no one will be able to tell the difference between 1.4 + DSC and DP2.1.

The only issue may arise would be black screen or flickering issues if the compatibility between the GPU and monitor isn't done properly but generally those get resolved with firmware updates to the monitor and driver updates to the GPU. Anything beyond the current requirements however such as 4k 360hz, dp1.4 will no longer be viable as the display port even with DSC has reached it's final limits.

That new Ayaneo handheld now looks like a scheme to get rid of old parts they had around. It's the only reason to go for with those APUs and explains why they're going with Linux, to avoid spending more than necessary for a Windows license.

Capcom has begun adding the DRM Enigma to its old games on Steam. According to players this has had an impact on performance, mods, and working on Steam Deck. Though it has reversed the update Capcom has indicate it will launch it again when the issues have been resolved. It has also added it so some newer games, like Ghost Trick and the Mega Man Battle Network games.

Capcom adds new DRM to old PC games, raising worries over mods
https://www.polygon.com/24034967/capcom-drm-resident-evil-revelations-steam-mods
Publisher Capcom has been adding file-protection software to its back catalog of games on Steam, seemingly as part of the company’s efforts to crack down on piracy — but also on PC mods, which the company claims are “no different than cheats” for its games.

Capcom reverses Resident Evil Revelations update with Enigma DRM
https://www.eurogamer.net/capcom-reverses-resident-evil-revelations-update-with-enigma-drm
Capcom has rolled back a recent update to 11-year-old game Resident Evil Revelations which added a DRM called Enigma Protector.

And today I learned that you can ignore a publisher on Steam. Just go to their homepage, click the gear icon and select Ignore this creator.

I can get that the incident with the naked Chun Li mod pissed off Capcom, but what they're doing is dumb.

I agree.

Good luck fighting that. The harder you try to stop it the more motivated they get. They just say Challenge accepted.