Welcome to the "How can it be blue Monday when there are so many gaming news?" and other similar BS intros I come up with for the news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

GOG gives us two new Deals of the Day and a new sale:

• These are the DotD, that will last until Wednesday:
  • The first one is Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Master Collection, with a 75% deal: https://www.gog.com/en/game/warhammer_40000_dawn_of_war
  • The second one is Alone in the Dark: The Trilogy 1+2+3, 80% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/alone_in_the_dark_the_trilogy_123
• And to fight the blue Monday, there's the Cheer Up Sale, with up to 90% discounts during 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/2024_blue_monday_cheer_up

Steam only has one new deal: Hacknet will be 85% off until the 21st of January: https://store.steampowered.com/app/365450/Hacknet/

Humble Bundle presents the new Awesome Games Done Quick 2024 Bundle, with 8 items to get during 11 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/awesome-games-done-quick-2024.

And Fanatical has two new deals/sales:

• The new Star Deal is DREDGE, 40% off during 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/dredge
• And the January Savers Sale features up to 90% discounts during 14 days. Check them out here

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

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MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Prey Hi-Def 3.0 Graphics Overhaul Mod Released
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/prey-hi-def-3-0-graphics-overhaul-mod-released/
Modder ‘y2keeth’ has released a brand new version of his Hi-Def Graphics Overhaul Mod for the original Prey game. This mod brings new high-quality textures to the game. So, if you plan to replay it, you should definitely get it.
To demonstrate the new textures, the modder shared the following screenshots. These screenshots should give you an idea of what you can expect from it. As you can see, the game can now look really sharp. So yeah, this is a mod that we highly recommend using. At the end of the article, you can also find a showcase video.
Sadly, y2keeth has not shared any additional details. Thus, we don’t really know whether this latest version improves the polygon count of enemies. We also don’t know whether or not it improves the quality of shadows. So, consider this an HD Texture Pack.
>> There is also a video.

Tomb Raider looks incredible with RTX Remix Path Tracing
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/tomb-raider-rtx-remix-path-tracing/
YouTube’s ‘skurtyyskirts’ is currently working on an RTX Remix Mod for the first Tomb Raider game. This RTX Remix Mod will add Full Ray Tracing/Path Tracing to this classic title, and below you can find some new screenshots from it.
From what I know, these screenshots are not from the upcoming Open Beta Build of NVIDIA RTX Remix. In other words, they are based on the NVIDIA RTX Remix Runtime that came out last year. So, in theory, this mod will look even better once NVIDIA launches the Open Beta phase of RTX Remix.
As we can see, the lighting can literally transform this classic third-person action adventure game. The visual improvements are beyond what Reshade Ray Tracing can achieve. And, well, that shouldn’t come as a surprise. After all, RTX Remix implements proper Path Tracing.
For those wondering, this mod is not yet available for download. There is also no ETA on when it will come out. Naturally, though, we’ll be sure to keep you posted.
>> The article only has 4 screenshots.

Someone has recreated Flappy Bird in Unreal Engine 5
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/flappy-bird-remake-unreal-engine-5/
Remember Flappy Bird? Well, YouTube’s ‘Zaidadoo’ has released a remake of this game in Unreal Engine 5. Zaidadoo has recreated this game from the ground up so that he can bring it into the modern era with improved graphics and game mechanics using Unreal Engine 5.
Now there are some good and some bad news. The good news is that this fan remake of Flappy Bird is complete and available for download. The bad news is that it’s behind a Patreon wall. So yeah, that kind of sucks. I mean, I was willing to try this Flappy Bird Remake in UE5 in case it was free. After all, I wasn’t a big fan of this mobile game.
Anyway, you can at least watch the following video which showcases the game in action. So, you can at least get an idea of how this fan remake looks and plays like. It’s really cool and I understand why its creator is charging money for it. However, I don’t see it becoming viral anytime soon.
Zaidadoo is also working on a remake of Pac-Man 3D in Unreal Engine 5. Now that’s a remake I’d most likely pay money to play. I mean, I was a huge fan of Pac-Mania back in the Amstrad CPC days. And, from what I’ve seen, this upcoming remake of Pac-Man 3D looks pretty cool.

Max Payne Remixed With Path Tracing Will Blow You Away, Demo Available for Download
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/max-payne-remixed-path-tracing-demo-download/
Max Payne fans, here is something special for you today. Modder ‘Slasks Psykbunker’ has just released a demo of Max Payne Remixed. Max Payne Remixed is one of the best examples of RTX Remix Mods, adding Path Tracing to this classic title.
This RTX Remix Mod features detailed PBR textures and custom light sources. Additionally, it comes with remastered models and assets. As such, it’s miles better than the COD4 RTX Remix Mod we shared yesterday.
It’s also worth noting that this RTX Remix Mod supports NVIDIA’s DLSS. Thus, owners of an RTX GPU will be able to improve overall performance by enabling it.
>> The article has some screenshots and a video.

Final Fantasy 7 has been remastered on PC with widescreen support, better backgrounds and a new world camera
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/final-fantasy-7-mods-widescreen-backgrounds-world-camera/
Modder ‘Cosmos’ has released two amazing mods for the classic 1997 version of Final Fantasy 7. These two mods add proper widescreen support, overhaul all of the background images, and introduce a new world camera.
As said, there are two new mods for FF7: Cosmos Limit Break and Cosmos Gaia. The first one, Cosmos Limit Break, improves all the backgrounds in the game and adds widescreen support. The modder used a mix of AI and manual editing, and the end result is seriously amazing. This is what a proper remaster of FF7 should look like.
On the other hand, Cosmos Gaia gives the world map a major upgrade by changing how the terrain looks. You can now move and control the camera more smoothly, almost like using an analog stick. Plus, there’s cool real-time lighting and you can see much farther. So, consider this a major QoL improvement.
By using these two mods, you can experience Final Fantasy 7 like never before. This may be the ultimate way to re-experience this classic. So, if you plan on replaying it, we suggest doing it with these mods.
>> There's an over 5 minutes video of this mod.

Here are 35 Mods to improve Fallout New Vegas’ gunplay
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/35-mods-fallout-new-vegas-gunplay/
YouTube’s ‘Mutant Mods’ has shared a list of mods that will significantly improve the gunplay mechanics of Fallout: New Vegas. These mods are a must for everyone who wants to replay this Fallout game. So, let’s take a closer look at them.
>> The article also has an almost 15 minutes video.

The creator of Delicious in Dungeon drew portraits of the Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 cast you can use in-game
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-creator-of-delicious-in-dungeon-drew-portraits-of-the-baldurs-gate-1-and-2-cast-you-can-use-in-game/
I've watched the first two episodes of the anime version of Delicious in Dungeon, which is based on Ryoko Kui's manga, and been well-pleased with how it's been adapted. (...)
It's also extremely game-y. Delicious in Dungeon is the closest thing to a Wizardry anime since, well, the Wizardry anime from 1991, and feels a lot like someone's D&D campaign. (...)
Which makes sense, because Ryoko Kui is a fan of CRPGs. On her blog she's drawn fan art of Planescape: Torment, Pathfinder: Kingmaker, and Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, as well as portraits of the characters from the first two Baldur's Gate games, which really capture Imoen's journey from happy-go-lucky scamp to hardened adventurer.
The portraits have even been packaged up as a mod called Baldur's Gate 2: Anime Edition, should you want your next replay of the classic CRPG to be a little more fabulous. Just download the Portraits folder, then copy it into Baldur's Gate II – Enhanced Edition in your Documents. I can't wait to see the cast off Baldur's Gate 3 in this style.
>> There is only one screenshot.

The creator of the canceled Portal 64 demake says, 'Don't be mad at Valve here'
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-creator-of-the-canceled-portal-64-demake-says-dont-be-mad-at-valve-here/
Programmer and Nintendo Jedi James Lambert has spent the last couple of years working on a demake of Valve's first-person puzzler Portal for the Nintendo 64, a machine I wasn't sure could even display a proper circle let alone a moveable hole in reality you can use to teleport through 3D space in real-time. That project, Portal 64, was recently canceled after Valve's lawyers asked Lambert to take it down.
In a new video Lambert made it clear that he expected this, and he doesn't want people who were excited about the project to be upset at Valve. "I don't blame them at all," he said, "and I don't think you should either. Don't be mad at Valve here. The project was probably doomed to be taken down from the beginning."

GAMING NEWS

SMITE 2 officially revealed, to be powered by Unreal Engine 5, first trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/smite-2-unreal-engine-5-first-trailer/
Hi-Rez Studios has officially announced SMITE 2. SMITE 2 will be powered by Unreal Engine 5, and below you can find its debut in-engine trailer.

Lords of the Fallen Patch 1.1.430 Released, Packing Over 80+ Enhancements & Optimisations
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/lords-of-the-fallen-patch-1-1-430/
Hexworks has released patch 1.1.430 for its latest Souls-like game, Lords of the Fallen, packing over 80+ enhancements and optimisations. So, let’s take a closer look at them.

Unreal Engine 5-powered dinosaur shooter, Instinction, gets a 7-minute gameplay video
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/unreal-engine-5-dinosaur-shooter-instinction-7-minute-gameplay-video/
Hashbane just dropped a new 7-minute gameplay video for their upcoming dino game, Instinction. The video shows Izzy, the main character, checking out some of the game’s early areas. Just a heads up, though – there aren’t any dinosaurs in this video, so don’t get too hyped up about that.
>> The article lies. There are dinosaurs in the video.

And here's the second part of this "sad" Monday:

Starfield data miner uncovers fossilized remains of a much cooler, more hardcore game tucked away in its files: 'We had a washed version of the game'
https://www.pcgamer.com/starfield-data-miners-uncover-fossilized-remains-of-a-much-cooler-more-hardcore-game-tucked-away-in-its-files-we-had-a-washed-version-of-the-game/
Space travel in Starfield is pretty easy. Remarkably easy, actually. You just bring up the map, click a dot and go. Sure, some things might be out of immediate jump range, but if all the yawning void of the cosmos has to threaten me with is "mild inconvenience," then I'm gonna complain that documentaries like Event Horizon really overhyped the horrors that lie in the great beyond.
Things weren't always that way. For one thing, Todd Howard himself has spoken about versions of the game where it was possible to run out of fuel and find yourself stranded among the stars, a feature which ended up getting yanked out because it was a "fun killer". But now a player on Reddit (spotted by GamesRadar) has found evidence lurking in Starfield's files of a much crunchier, and riskier, kind of space travel.

The 'biggest Starfield update yet' is coming to Steam beta next week, but it actually looks pretty small
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-biggest-starfield-update-yet-is-coming-to-steam-beta-next-week-but-it-actually-looks-pretty-small/
Bethesda announced on Twitter today that the "biggest Starfield update yet" is headed to beta testing on Steam next week. This isn't the start of the big gameplay updates Bethesda promised in December, though: Instead it looks to be a pretty standard patch, making "more than 100 fixes and improvements" to graphics, gameplay issues, and quest bugs.

Blizzard is taking a sledgehammer to the way Overwatch 2 is played by letting everyone heal themselves
https://www.pcgamer.com/blizzard-is-taking-a-sledgehammer-to-the-way-overwatch-2-is-played-by-letting-everyone-heal-themselves/
Blizzard is about to take a sledgehammer to the way Overwatch 2 is played. The change will take effect when season 9 launches later this month.
For the first time in the hero shooter's history, every tank and DPS hero will heal themselves, loosening their reliance on support in a match. Through a new passive ability, tanks and DPS will gradually regain their health outside of active combat. It will be a "tuned-down version of the support self-healing passive," game director Aaron Keller wrote in a blog post today. In addition to this, more changes to reduce "damage spikes in combat" will be detailed in another blog post closer to the season's launch.

Final Fantasy 14's director loves the game so much, he says he'd start over from the bottom as a contractor on it if he got fired from Square Enix
https://www.pcgamer.com/final-fantasy-14s-director-loves-the-game-so-much-he-says-hed-start-over-from-the-bottom-as-a-contractor-on-it-if-he-got-fired-from-square-enix/
It's clear that Final Fantasy 14's producer and director, Naoki Yoshida, is in it for the love of the game. As reported by Automaton and GamesRadar, in a recent joint interview at the Final Fantasy 14 Fan Festival in Tokyo, Yoshida went so far as to contemplate what would happen to the game in the event of his firing from Square Enix, or even his death.

This stunning platformer about the only human awake on a terraformed moon has been cooking for 6+ years, and its first demo does not disappoint
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-stunning-platformer-about-the-only-human-awake-on-a-terraformed-moon-has-been-cooking-for-6-years-and-its-first-demo-does-not-disappoint/
The beautiful, mysterious platformer Europa has been at the back of my mind ever since I saw one of its trailers, so I was excited to try its first public demo available on Steam. The game seems to offer a more meditative, relaxed take on the exploration-heavy 3D platformers of the '90s, and I'm more excited than ever to get my hands on the full game when it arrives April 16.

Sins of the Flesh, Cult of the Lamb's 'sex update', is coming out this month
https://www.pcgamer.com/sins-of-the-flesh-cult-of-the-lambs-sex-update-is-coming-out-this-month/
First, they said Sins of the Flesh wouldn't be "the sex update". Then they said, fine, since you weird little freaks seem to want it so bad, if Cult of the Lamb gets 300,000 followers on Twitter before the end of 2023, "we will add sex to the game". And when that happened with unseemly haste, the developers at Massive Monster stuck to their guns and now the free expansion for their spooky-cute action roguelite management sim is almost here.

Spinoff of cute little Factory Town turns it into a sprawling spreadsheet exercise
https://www.pcgamer.com/spinoff-of-cute-little-factory-town-turns-it-into-a-sprawling-spreadsheet-exercise/
The industrially-inspired town building game Factory Town has a spinoff as of this week, packing the entire experience of building up and expanding an oddly factory-like society into a series of oddly spreadsheet-like screens. All of which depict the details of an oddly factory-like society. I think you get my drift.

Factorio 2.0 will let items on conveyor belts stack, something long thought impossible
https://www.pcgamer.com/factorio-20-will-let-items-on-conveyor-belts-stack-something-long-thought-impossible/
Friends in factory-building, a day has come which I thought I would never see. Wube Software has announced that, in the upcoming Factorio 2.0 release, objects on conveyor belts will be allowed to stack upon each other, and a new bulk inserter type will pick up and drop entire piles of objects at once. It's a change that the developers of Factorio have said was impractical to add for years now.

A new trailer for this psychedelic metroidvania confirms that cosmic womb gardening is very good videogame subject matter
https://www.pcgamer.com/a-new-trailer-for-this-psychedelic-metroidvania-confirms-that-yes-this-is-unhinged-in-the-best-way/
A new trailer for psychedelic action-platformer Ultros has me freshly excited to see what's going on in its bizarre world of plants and space demons when it releases on February 13, 2024. The game attracted our attention last year not just because of its colorful visuals, but because of its interesting looking dash, slash, and dodge combat.

Turns out that farming is a pretty compelling addition to the horde survival roguelite formula
https://www.pcgamer.com/turns-out-that-farming-is-a-pretty-compelling-addition-to-the-horde-survival-roguelite-formula/
The horde survival genre grows weekly and a recent entrant is Pesticide Not Required, which tosses in familiar tropes from the ever-popular farm and life sim genres: Don't craft or pick up your weapons, grow them instead. Defeat enemies for money, then buy seeds, plant crops, and harvest them for experience—or go mining and fishing, like you do.

After Nebraska and Arkansas, American Truck Simulator is going to show me Missouri
https://www.pcgamer.com/after-nebraska-and-arkansas-american-truck-simulator-is-going-to-show-me-missouri/
American Truck Simulator is looking at an extremely busy 2024, with three new states on the way for the wildly popular simulation game about driving a truck around the mostly western bits of the Continental United States. Except, here in 2024, it's pushing quite far East, isn't it?
As announced last summer, Nebraska and Arkansas are on the way this year, and SCS Software has now announced they'll be joined by the Show-Me State: Missouri.

Baldur's Gate 3 player finds an edge case the game doesn't account for: Reverse-pickpocketing a dead wizard into the devil's inventory like a Trojan nuke
https://www.pcgamer.com/baldurs-gate-3-player-finds-an-edge-case-the-game-doesnt-account-for-reverse-pickpocketing-a-dead-wizard-into-the-devils-inventory-like-a-trojan-nuke/
Baldur's Gate 3 has choices—oodles of 'em. Choices that Larian's accounted for, for the most part. In my recent playthrough, instead of taking a certain character to a certain body for a story quest, I picked up the corpse and dumped it back in camp like a cat bringing their owner a dead bird. The dialogue still worked (though I had to have them in my party) besides one or two out-of-context lines.
However, one player has found an edge-case scenario that the game doesn't account for at all, and it's honestly pretty reasonable when you break it down. Spoilers for Act 1 and Gale's storyline to follow, as well as a minor Act 3 spoiler.

Going to Vancouver Island so not able to post news today

An unknown Elden Ring DLC was uploaded to the Steam Database today, which might or might not be Shadows of the Erdtree. The DS3 DLCs came rather quickly after being uploaded to the database so fingers crossed.

One of the news that surprised me today was MSI saying that they're working on the Claw 2 because they'll treat it as a laptop and launch new versions every couple years. I'm like "b*tch, your machine is more expensive (here in Europe) than any of the competitors and because you're going with Intel it will also perform the worst, and you expect it to do well enough to bring a successor to the market?"

Yeah, that was a good laugh.

True story, a water cooled system with a RTX 4080/7900 XTX ends up being around the same price as a RTX 4090 build. The power gap between those cards is so large that the water option ended up being pointless. Talk about being massively overpriced, they should be $799 at best.

If you want the best of the best, you have to pay an extra for it. And Nvidia knows that.

Also, it also shows that watercooling parts have become more and more expensive with the years, to the point of making it less attractive than ever... at least for GPUs. If you go with an Intel i9 or a R9 7950X, watercooling is an option to keep in mind (for different reasons).

Which games are on your RTX Remix wishlist?

I'm hoping for "No One Lives Forever" 1 & 2 and "Bully".

You mean, in the meantime, there is finally resolution to that nightmare called "who owns NOLF IP"?!?

But yeah, that would be wonderful.

I know I am a couple of days late...

Higher voltages allows for less energy losses during transmission... However stepping down those voltages loses energy.

Higher amperage and lower voltages tends to require more stepping up to meet the voltages required for certain parts of a device, which introduces losses.

So it really depends on what components they are running as to what is the best fit.

Then you have the charging side of the equation which heavily influences on how parallel/serial the battery cells are laid out.