Tuesday news, the very short and Helldivers focused final part:

Seized by the spirit of democracy, Helldivers 2 CEO holds an impromptu workshop on how to improve the game's host-based kick system: 'there's always a better solution'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/seized-by-the-spirit-of-democracy-helldivers-2-ceo-holds-an-impromptu-workshop-on-how-to-improve-the-games-host-based-kick-system-theres-always-a-better-solution/
Helldivers 2's systems aren't perfect—and while I've not had this problem often myself, enough players have complained about receiving unjust boots from their games that there might be room for improvement.
(...)
"This is so shitty," writes Pilestedt. "Also very hard to solve—we have some ideas but no conclusion." In a move that would make me question his allegiance with the bugs, were I not assured of his patriotism by this point, Pilestedt then calls upon the "hive mind … do you have a design suggestion for how to improve this experience?"

Helldivers 2 patch finally tackles its infamous tank infestation, tweaks chargers so players can aim for the head instead of busting kneecaps
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/helldivers-2-patch-finally-tackles-its-infamous-tank-infestation-tweaks-chargers-so-players-can-aim-for-the-head-instead-of-busting-kneecaps/
As promised, Helldivers 2 has finally called in pest control to take care of its tank infestation. That's via a patch that dropped this morning—which should prompt a great sigh of relief from the community.

Since Jizz/Yuri isn't back yet, here are some other news:

US government report reveals how Discord, Roblox, Reddit and others co-operate with the FBI and Homeland Security over content like 'user-generated re-creations of mass shootings'
https://www.pcgamer.com/software/platforms/us-government-report-reveals-how-discord-roblox-reddit-and-others-co-operate-with-the-fbi-and-homeland-security-over-content-like-user-generated-re-creations-of-mass-shootings/
>> It could be an interesting read.

Samsung does an Apple with its first Snapdragon X Elite laptop, suggesting the new Arm-based Windows machines aren't going to be a cheap alternative to x86
https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-laptops/samsung-does-an-apple-with-its-first-snapdragon-x-elite-laptop-suggesting-the-new-arm-based-windows-machines-arent-going-to-be-a-cheap-alternative-to-x86/
>> 1,800 € /$1966/£1,534/AU$2,976 for a 14-inch, 16GB RAM, 512GB laptop.

Chip Prices Face Possible Surge as Electricity Prices in Taiwan Set to Rise by 30%?
https://www.techpowerup.com/320231/chip-prices-face-possible-surge-as-electricity-prices-in-taiwan-set-to-rise-by-30
>> And here’s the revenue for the Top 10 foundries in Q4, in case you want to know how much they made.

Intel Core i9-14900KS 6.2 GHz CPU Listed For $749 At Microcenter, $50 Higher Price Than 13900KS
https://wccftech.com/intel-core-i9-14900ks-6-2-ghz-cpu-listed-749-us-microcenter-50-us-higher-than-13900ks/

Intel Lunar Lake CPU at 17W Offers 50% Multi-Threaded Performance Uplift Over Meteor Lake 15W
https://wccftech.com/intel-lunar-lake-cpu-17w-50-percent-faster-multi-threaded-performance-vs-meteor-lake/
>> And they’re supposed to lack hyper-threading...

LPDDR6 Memory To Power Next-Gen Devices: JEDEC To Finalize Standard By Q3 2024
https://wccftech.com/lpddr6-memory-power-next-gen-devices-jedec-finalize-standard-q3-2024/

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 20 & GTX 16 “Turing” GPUs Get Unofficial Resizable BAR Support
https://wccftech.com/nvidia-geforce-rtx-20-gtx-16-turing-gpus-unofficial-resizable-bar-support-nvstrapsrebar/
>> With a modded BIOS.

NVIDIA NVK Vulkan Driver Sees Addition of Sparse Memory Support, Enabling Support For More Games
https://wccftech.com/nvidia-nvk-vulkan-driver-sparse-memory-support-enabling-support-for-more-games/

And here come two conflicting rumors, from the same leaker:

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 “Blackwell” GB200 Gaming GPUs To Retain Same Memory Interface As Ada, 384-bit At Max
https://wccftech.com/nvidia-geforce-rtx-50-blackwell-gb200-gaming-gpus-same-memory-ada-384-bit-max/
>> That mas in March, 9. Two days later...

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 “Blackwell” GPU Rumors: GB202 & GB203 With Up To 512-bit, Utilize 28 Gbps GDDR7 Memory
https://wccftech.com/nvidia-geforce-rtx-50-blackwell-gpu-gb202-gb203-512-bit-28-gbps-gddr7-memory/

Also

NVIDIA Blackwell “GB203” GPU to feature 256-bit bus & GB205 with 192-bit, claims leaker
https://videocardz.com/newz/nvidia-blackwell-gb203-gpu-to-feature-256-bit-bus-gb205-with-192-bit-claims-leaker

Meteor Lake-U also only has 2 cores out of 10 (or 12 if you want to include those) that can do HT. Depending on how much the chips were turbo-ing, some of this could simply be due to higher sustained clock speeds.

Also, hyperthreading is just supposed to fill the gaps from conventional work allocation in the CPU. Intel's Rentable Units does it without splitting the work into two threads and supposedly fills the gaps more efficiently than HT does, so this certainly helps, especially with a 4+4 configuration compared to 2+8.

So the Meteor Lake processor only has two HT cores? Well, that shows how little I know about mobile processors. I guess we'll have to wait for a more apples to apples comparison (same kind of cores) before taking proper conclusions.

Thank you.

Since Alder Lake Intel's ultrabook chips and below only have 2 P-cores and 4-8 E-cores. One of the main reason why I wouldn't buy one of them if I could avoid them; here AMD has a much better value proposition even with older CPUs. A Ryzen 5 5625U has the same 15W, the same 12 threads, but comes with only P-cores and 7CU GPU. And despite all being P-cores, AMD still has a higher base clock speed than Meteor Lake (1.6/1.1Ghz on Core Ultra 5 135U, 2.3Ghz on the Ryzen 5 5625U)

It's probably also why AMD went and released 2 (much-maligned) Zen 2 based chips last year in that segment, they're still powerful enough to keep up with Intel here even with just 4c/8t... 

Hey, look, it’s the Wednesday news!

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Steam's latest breakout indie hit is a fantasy autobattler about how many magic items you can fit in your backpack
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/steams-latest-breakout-indie-hit-is-a-fantasy-autobattler-about-how-many-magic-items-you-can-fit-in-your-backpack/
I've been wondering when a game might finally tear me away from last month's indie Steam hit, poker roguelike Balatro. Turns out it's Backpack Battles, a PvP-ish (I'll explain that in a second) autobattler about playing inventory tetris with a bunch of magic items. It arrived in early access on March 8, and within two days it sold over 100,000 copies, according to its developer, Furcifer.
After playing a few rounds today, I'm not surprised about that huge sales total, or about the "Overwhelmingly Positive" scores on Steam, or its peak concurrents: over 35,000 players today. Backpack Battles is a ton of fun, so easy to get into that it doesn't need a tutorial, and has such lightning fast gameplay you can blast through a dozen matches on a work break.

Resident Evil achieves complete global saturation, sells enough copies to make it the 8th biggest country on Earth
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/resident-evil/resident-evil-achieves-complete-global-saturation-sells-enough-copies-to-make-it-the-8th-biggest-country-on-earth/
I admit it: I kind of thought, given that the original Resident Evil 4 has been reissued more times than the Bible and the Little Red Book combined, that enthusiasm for its full-blown remake might have been at a low ebb. Well, shows what I know. Capcom just announced that the RE4 remake has topped 7 million sales a little under a year post-release.
Not only that, but the Resident Evil series as a whole has sold over 154 million games since it first emerged from a gross flesh chrysalis back in 1996, which means you could give a copy to the entire population of Russia and still have almost eight million left in reserve. Congratulations to Resident Evil on becoming the eighth largest nation on Earth.

GOG has gour new Deals of the Day and a new Sale:

• These are the DotD, that will last 46 hours:
  • REPLIKATOR is 60% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/replikator
  • The Messenger has a 75% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/the_messenger
  • Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Collection gets a 79% deal: https://www.gog.com/en/game/jazz_jackrabbit_2_collection
  • The fourth one is Dex, that has a demo, 90% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/dex
• And the Platformers Sale features up to 92% discounts during 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20240312_platformers_sale

Steam has three new deals:

• The first Daily Deal is Starfield, 33% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1716740/Starfield/
• The second Daily Deal is Untitled Goose Game, with a 50% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/837470/Untitled_Goose_Game/
• And Tails of Iron is going to be 80% off until the 26th of March: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1283410/Tails_of_Iron/

Fanatical has launched the BYO Expeditions Bundle, featuring 20 games to choose from to make a 3, 5 or 7 games bundle: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-expeditions-bundle.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Nothing to report-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

You Can Now Play Resident Evil 2 Remake With Classic Fixed Camera Angles Thanks to This Amazing Mod
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/resident-evil-2-remake-fixed-camera-mod/
Resident Evil fans, here is something special for you today. Modder ‘alphaZomega’ released a mod for Resident Evil 2 Remake that allows you to play it with classic fixed camera angles. So, waste no time and download it.
The modder has placed 1700 fixed camera angles in the game. These camera angles were all carefully placed. And yes, you can play the entire game, from start to finish, with this mod.
>> The article has a 15 minutes video.

GAMING NEWS

Nobody Wants to Die is a new detective noir adventure game in Unreal Engine 5
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/nobody-wants-to-die-is-a-new-detective-noir-adventure-game-in-unreal-engine-5/
PLAION and Critical Hit Games have announced a new detective noir adventure game that will be powered by Unreal Engine 5, Nobody Wants to Die. This new title will be coming to PC in 2024, and below you can find its debut in-engine trailer.

Wednesday news, part two:

Your sick kickflips were the reason why other players kept crashing in Destiny 2, but now everything's been put right
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/your-sick-kickflips-are-the-reason-why-other-players-are-having-such-a-dismal-time-in-destiny-2-right-now/
Destiny 2 players have been experiencing an increasing number of crashes in the last week and it looks like all fingers are pointed at the new Skimmer, but unfortunately, there's also an unknowing accomplice: You. 
Update: You are now free to do all the kickflips you could ever want, as Destiny 2's 7.3.5.1 update fixed the issue that was causing the game client to crash if players decided to try performing rapid boosts or other tricks. However, you may have to wait a bit longer as maintenance is still taking place, and downtime was extended—an update on this is expected within the next hour, according to a Twitter post from Bungie Help. 

The original artist behind Minecraft's pixel art recalls Notch asking them to help out on his 'weird indie hobby game'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/the-original-artist-behind-minecrafts-pixel-art-recalls-notch-asking-them-to-help-out-on-his-weird-indie-hobby-game/
You know all the tiny, pixelated paintings that you can decorate your walls within Minecraft with? Many of them were created by Swedish artist Kristoffer Zetterstrand, who "shrunk down" photos of his oil paintings to produce the now iconic pixel art canvases.  
On Twitter, Zetterstrand recently reflected on his contribution to Minecraft and shared the png that started it all. 

Final Fantasy 14 won't let you blast past its story for free anytime soon because Yoshi-P worried 'the value of the game itself will be diminished'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/final-fantasy-14-wont-let-you-blast-past-its-story-for-free-anytime-soon-because-yoshi-p-worried-the-value-of-the-game-itself-will-be-diminished/
Director and producer Naoki Yoshida has squashed the possibility of introducing a new alternative starting point in Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail.
(...)
The possibility of a skip to allow people to join the story during the post-Endwalker patches was discussed last year, so in a recent interview I did with Yoshida, I thought I would bring the question up again. Sadly, nothing is in the works anytime soon. "For the story we are not currently planning any kind of new skip feature," Yoshida said. "This is something I'm constantly torn about, and we have already finished implementing a feature that allows players to learn about the story, setting, and characters even when they skip the story."
>> At least he’s open to more FF7 crossover content on the game, but not until the remakes are done.

Six months after the disastrous launch of Payday 3, Starbreeze CEO is out as the company says it needs 'different leadership' for the future
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/six-months-after-the-disastrous-launch-of-payday-3-starbreeze-ceo-is-out-as-the-company-says-it-needs-different-leadership-for-the-future/
Starbreeze CEO Tobias Sjögren has been shown the door, as the board of directors has decided that it is in need of "different leadership" to take the company forward. The move comes just six months after the catastrophic launch of struggling heist-shooter Payday 3.

Eric Barone goes mad with power: He's revealing a single Stardew Valley update patch note every day
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/life-sim/eric-barone-goes-mad-with-power-hes-revealing-a-single-stardew-valley-patch-note-every-day/
"Power tends to corrupt," Lord Acton warned us in 1870. "And absolute power corrupts absolutely." Those words carry no less weight today than they did 150 years ago, and I can think of no more pointed example of the truth of his caution than that of Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone, who has clearly gone mad with the kind of power only attainable as a successful indie game developer: Stardew Valley's tyrant king is now taunting his long-suffering followers with a slow-drip release of patch notes for the upcoming 1.6 update.
>> At least he has confirmed that harvesting from left to right was, indeed, a bit faster. And also a bug that will get fixed.

Star Wars Jedi director who left Respawn in 2023 to 'pursue other adventures' reveals that his other adventure is a new game studio called Giant Skull
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/star-wars-jedi-director-who-left-respawn-in-2023-to-pursue-other-adventures-reveals-that-his-other-adventure-is-a-new-game-studio-called-giant-skull/
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor director Stig Asmussen said when he left Respawn in September 2023 that he wanted "to pursue other adventures," and now we know what he meant. Asmussen announced today the launch of a new studio called Giant Skull, "dedicated to building gameplay-driven, story immersed action-adventure games set in captivating worlds."

Yoshi-P reflects on Final Fantasy 14's stress-free casual content: 'looking back over the past 10 years, I think we may have overdone it a little bit'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/final-fantasy/yoshi-p-reflects-on-final-fantasy-14s-stress-free-casual-content-looking-back-over-the-past-10-years-i-think-we-may-have-overdone-it-a-little-bit/
I like Final Fantasy 14 a whole lot—but, like so many in the non-raiding crowd, I'm thirsty for a little more challenge. As I mentioned in my retrospective earlier this year, the game suffers from a kind of polarised difficulty, where non-organised raid content is a smidge too easy, and organised raid content is appropriately hard—but really the only thing going when it comes to challenge.
Fortunately, that's something the game's director Naoki Yoshida (Yoshi-P) seems to be aware of, as per a Famitsu interview translated by Automaton. Speaking with Famitsu, Yoshida says: "In the course of FFXIV's development, we have tried to make the game more comfortable and stress-free for players, but looking back over the past 10 years, I think we may have 'overdone it' a little bit."

Konami's latest Metal Gear Solid masterstroke is releasing a patch to fix MGS1's worst bug that doesn't work
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/konamis-latest-metal-gear-solid-masterstroke-is-releasing-a-patch-to-fix-mgs1s-worst-bug-that-doesnt-work/
The Metal Gear Solid Master Collection released in a bit of a state. (...)
But today Konami released patch 1.5.0 for the MGS Master Collection, fixing a small smattering of bugs across all six games and, crucially, announcing it had "Fixed an issue in which analog input did not work as intended" in the first MGS. Well, people were positively giddy: "Certainly a massive W," said a fan on Reddit. "This is great news! Keep up the good work!" said a Steam Forums user.
But having just spent far too long testing the patch myself, here's the thing: It doesn't work.
>> Disappointing, but not surprising.

CCP reveals first details of survival game set on a single shard in the EVE universe, but wait: here comes the blockchain
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/ccp-reveals-first-details-of-survival-game-set-on-a-single-shard-in-the-eve-universe-but-wait-here-comes-the-blockchain/
EVE developer CCP games announced last year it was working on a blockchain-based game set in the space MMO's universe, codenamed Project Awakening, and has now revealed the first details and an upcoming playtest. The Icelandic studio rather boldly says this is the next step in its quest to "create virtual worlds more meaningful than real life." Goodbye to my children: I love you but you really oughta try this new CCP joint.

Veteran Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu believes settling for Hollywood-style scores means 'game music cannot develop further'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/veteran-final-fantasy-composer-nobuo-uematsu-believes-settling-for-hollywood-style-scores-means-game-music-cannot-develop-further/
Videogame music never ceases to amaze me. Whether I'm listening to Nero's battle theme, Devil Trigger, from Devil May Cry 5 or immersing myself in the beautiful Peruvian-inspired soundscape of Ultros, the creativity and breadth on offer is astounding and something to celebrate. Well, at least that's what I thought. It turns out that Nobuo Uematsu, the veteran Final Fantasy composer, thinks we can do better and that Hollywood may be holding us back.  
>> The links are for the reviews, and not the OSTs, of those games.

Deep Rock Galactic devs drill for a Helldivers 2 collab, stream the game just to say please, pretty please don't leave us on read
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/deep-rock-galactic-devs-drill-for-a-helldivers-2-collab-stream-the-game-just-to-say-please-pretty-please-dont-leave-us-on-read/
Deep Rock Galactic and Helldivers 2 have a lot in common. They're horde-shooters about deploying to hostile planets where you shoot bugs—still, a crossover hasn't emerged yet, though that's not a shocker. Not only has the game been out for just over a month, it's also been bombarded with major server issues thanks to its runaway success. It's safe to assume that Arrowhead Games has been very busy, in the same way that the ocean is very wet.
That hasn't stopped the charmingly chaotic scamps over at Deep Rock Galactic developer Ghost Ship Games (who recently mobilised its fanbase into making 'dwarf' an official Steam category) from shooting their shot. As spotted by GamesRadar, the developers streamed Helldivers 2 over the weekend as a gesture of good will to Arrowhead Games.
>> Consider this article the link between regular news and the next post.

And here are the Helldivers 2 news from today. Do whatever you want with them:

Helldivers 2's latest major order gives players the chance to make a sector permanently bug-free with a planet-sized pesticide system
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/helldivers-2s-latest-major-order-gives-players-the-chance-to-permanently-rid-a-sector-of-bugs-with-a-planet-sized-pesticide-system/
Earlier today Helldivers 2 called in pest control and took care of a big bug problem. The quick version is that the game had been spawning in some of its most heavily armored Terminids right on top of players, everything from bile titans to chargers to annihilator tanks, which gave the Helldivers in question little time to respond before they were slashed, melted, crunched, and generally battered.
The patch fixed this, and also made some tweaks to the bugs generally, targeting things like the "leg meta" with chargers (where targeting the legs over the head was more effective than it should've been), and now we know why Arrowhead's been focusing special attention on the Terminids: shortly after the patch, a new major operation was launched offering Helldivers the chance to permanently rid a sector of the infestation.

Shellshocked Helldivers 2 players so stunned by indiscriminate friendly fire from Stratagems they've begun to question if the Automatons are behind it
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/shellshocked-helldivers-2-players-so-stunned-by-indiscriminate-friendly-fire-from-stratagems-theyve-begun-to-question-if-the-automatons-are-behind-it/
Helldivers 2 loves a bit of friendly fire and, while this mechanic has been around in various games since the year dot, its re-emergence at the heart of the current big thing has really captured some imaginations. After all, we live in a world where it feels like half the games you play seem afraid of putting up a fight.
But Helldivers? Half the time your problems seem to stem from your erstwhile companions in democracy, as they over-enthusiastically apply the game's explosive Stratagems in your general vicinity. (...)
So far this makes sense. I don't exactly love it when clumsy companions scatter my limbs to the four winds with a misplaced superweapon, but it gives the Stratagems an enormous "oomph" and sense of danger (and if I'm being honest, sometimes it's maybe a tiny bit my fault). But to certain players, something about this doesn't smell right… in fact, there's a whiff of those dastardly xenos to it.

Helldivers 2's friendly fire and killer bugs show 'the fragility of humans' and are also just funny, creative director says
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/helldivers-2s-friendly-fire-and-killer-bugs-show-the-fragility-of-humans-and-are-also-just-funny-creative-director-says/
Helldivers 2 threw out the first game's top-down camera perspective, bringing us closer to our soldiers to make us feel extra vulnerable as we face off with extraterrestrial killer bugs and robots, Arrowhead Studios CEO and creative director Johan Pilestedt told PlayStation Blog.

Helldivers 2 players share videos of new flying bug enemy, Arrowhead boss immediately declares them 'bug sympathizers' and insists 'bugs can't fly'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/helldivers-2-players-share-videos-of-new-flying-bug-enemy-arrowhead-boss-immediately-declares-them-bug-sympathizers-and-insists-bugs-cant-fly/
There's a new Terminid threat on the horizon, and Super Earth doesn't want us to know about it. Reports from Helldivers 2 players suggest a new type of enemy has joined the frey: a bug breed possibly called the "Shrieker." They travel in packs, attack from the skies, and look annoying as heck.

PSA: The new Helldivers 2 Warbond isn't replacing the old one—so don't feel obliged to grind a bunch of super credits in a democracy-fuelled fugue
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/psa-the-new-helldivers-2-warbond-isnt-replacing-the-old-oneso-dont-feel-obliged-to-grind-a-bunch-of-super-credits-in-a-democracy-fuelled-fugue/
Helldivers 2 is getting a new Warbond tomorrow: Cutting Edge, a 'battle pass' filled with high-tech zappers, stylish armours, and a few new fancy capes. 
If you're used to the live-service grind and haven't been keeping up-to-date with the game, that news might fill you with dread, prompting you to rummage around for medals and super credits. Well, I've got an order from Super Earth high command, and it says you need to take a deep breath and relax. 
As mentioned by the devs before launch, Warbonds aren't designed to be FOMO machines—not only can you earn them through elbow grease (as I personally did after around 30 hours of shooting bugs and bots), they don't vanish when a new one appears. To reiterate: When Cutting Edge comes out, Steeled Veterans will remain. 

We’re already Thursday and these are the news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

The guys at the Epic Store have changed their minds and offer two free games this week:

• The Bridge: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/the-bridge
• Deus Ex: Mankind Divided: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/deus-ex-mankind-divided-4c6370

Next week, the free games will be Call of the Wild: The Angler and Invincible Presents: Atom Eve.

Steam has Train Valley 2 with a 65% discount until the 21st of March: https://store.steampowered.com/app/602320/Train_Valley_2/.

There’s a new Humble Bundle: the Plaion: The Hits – Saints Row & Red Faction Bundle, with up to 10 games & DLCs to get during 20 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/plaion-hits-saints-row-red-faction-collection.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

This Dark Souls 2 Mod adds dynamic shadows, better textures, better skyboxes, better normal maps, better water & more
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/dark-souls-2-graphics-mod-dynamic-shadows-better-textures/
Modder ‘fromsoftserve’ has released a must-have graphics mod for the original version of Dark Souls 2. This mod aims to significantly improve the graphics and visuals of the game. So, let’s take a closer look at what it brings to the table.
Vanilla DS2 Remastered adds to the game dynamic shadows, better textures, better skyboxes, and better normal maps. Moreover, it brings better mesh/texture lods, and better water reflections. Not only that but it allows torches to cast shadows onto more of the environment.
Going into even more details, the mod adds shadows to trees, houses, grass, buildings, and pretty much everything else that didn’t have shadows before. Plus, it makes the textures look way better by doubling their resolution. The modder also made new normal maps for walls and floors to make them look even cooler. Oh, and he turned the water from not-reflecting to reflecting, and added more stuff to see in the reflections. So, the game now looks way, way better than before.
As said, this mod is for the original version of DS2. You can’t use it with Scholar of the First Sin. However, fromsoftserve has released a similar mod for Scholar of the First Sin that you can download from this article.
>> The article has some screenshots.

GAMING NEWS

Empire of the Ants promises mindblowing graphics thanks to Unreal Engine 5
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/empire-of-the-ants-promises-mindblowing-graphics-thanks-to-unreal-engine-5/
IGN has shared a new in-engine trailer for the Unreal Engine 5-powered Empire of the Ants, which appears to pack incredible visuals. Developed by Tower Five, Empire of the Ants promises to offer mindblowing graphics that will impress players.

TopSpin 2K25 is coming to PC on April 26th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/topspin-2k25-is-coming-to-pc-on-april-26th/
2K Games has announced that TopSpin 2K25, a revival of the beloved tennis video game simulation series, will be released on April 26th. The game will boast a roster of over 24 playable pros, TopSpin Academy training center voiced by tennis legend John McEnroe, competitive single-player, and multiplayer modes, all four historic Grand Slam tournaments, and much more.

Here are over 4 hours of gameplay footage from Delta Force: Hawk Ops
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/4-hours-gameplay-delta-force-hawk-ops/
YouTube’s ‘Virgin Wizard’ has shared a video, showcasing over 4 hours of gameplay from the upcoming Delta Force game, Delta Force: Hawk Ops. This video was captured from an event that took place earlier this month.

Diablo 4 Ray Tracing Update Launches on March 26th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/diablo-4-ray-tracing-update-launches-on-march-26th/
NVIDIA has revealed that the Ray Tracing Update for Diablo 4 will be released on March 26th. This update will add to the game ray-traced reflections and shadows.

Star Wars Outlaws will support NVIDIA DLSS 3, Ray Tracing and Reflex
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/star-wars-outlaws-will-support-nvidia-dlss-3-ray-tracing-and-reflex/
NVIDIA has announced that it has partnered with Ubisoft and Lucasfilm Games for Star Wars Outlaws. As such, the game will support NVIDIA’s DLSS 3 and Reflex, as well as Ray Tracing effects.

New Portal With RTX Update Adds Support for DLSS 3.5 & RTX IO
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/new-portal-with-rtx-update-adds-support-for-dlss-3-5-rtx-io/
NVIDIA announced the release of a new update for Portal with RTX. This update adds support for DLSS 3.5 Ray Reconstruction and RTX IO. Basically, these will make the game look even better and run smoother. The Ray Reconstruction tech makes the Ray Tracing effects in the game look even better, while RTX IO makes everything load faster.

Black Myth: Wukong will have Ray Tracing Global Illumination, Shadows & Reflections on PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/black-myth-wukong-will-have-ray-tracing-global-illumination-shadows-reflections-on-pc/
Black Myth: Wukong is one of my most anticipated games of 2023. This third-person action game will be released on August 20th, and it will have full Ray Tracing effects on PC.

Thursday news, part two:

'We were in such dire need of talent'—Persona 3 Reload director explains why Episode Aigis was removed from the main game amid a tough development
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/we-were-in-such-dire-need-of-talentpersona-3-reload-director-explains-why-episode-aigis-was-removed-from-the-main-game-amid-a-tough-development/
Persona 3 Reload wasn't the "complete experience" that Atlus had promised, but the development process for Episode Aigis was apparently so chaotic that it nearly didn't happen. In an interview with Famitsu, DLC director Yu Hashizume and creative director Kazuhisa Wada explained why developing Episode Aigis was so difficult, and why it had to be removed from the original release. 

Enshrouded's new 2024 roadmap has dozens of features players have been clamoring for
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/enshroudeds-new-2024-roadmap-has-dozens-of-features-players-have-been-clamoring-for/
Co-op survival RPG Enshrouded got off to a great start in early access with over 2 million players diving into its massive fantasy world to build elaborate bases, battle monsters, and… well, honestly, mostly to build elaborate bases. 
While player feedback has been almost entirely positive, there have been a few requests (technically, a few thousand requests) of how the game could be improved—and it looks like a lot of those requests are going to be answered this year.

RuneScape creator unveils new MMO after 10 years of development: 'At times it has felt like an insurmountably ambitious task'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/runescape-creator-unveils-new-mmo-after-10-years-of-develoment-at-times-it-has-felt-like-an-insurmountably-ambitious-task/
Game designer Andrew Gower, who created the legendary, still-active RuneScape MMO with his brother Paul in the early 2000s, has just unveiled a new MMO, and it's releasing this year.
Brighter Shores has been in development for 10 years, according to Gower's studio, Fen Research. It aims to provide "a relaxing respite from daily life," casting players first as town guards in a "cozy" fantasy world—but not so cozy that the whole game is about snoozing next to a portcullis. Players' concerns will quickly reach "far beyond the town walls."

Palworld is looking for beta testers for future updates, but warns that tests are 'not intended for free play or experiencing new content early'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/palworld-is-looking-for-beta-testers-for-future-updates-but-warns-that-tests-are-not-intended-for-free-play-or-experiencing-new-content-early/
Palworld developer Pocketpair is looking for players to join its new testing program to help work out bugs in future game updates. There's just one catch: This one is actually a beta test, and you'll be expected to put some effort into it.

42 games from legendary British indie Jeff Minter's psychedelic back catalogue are now bundled with an 'interactive documentary' on Steam
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/42-games-from-legendary-british-indie-jeff-minters-psychedelic-back-catalogue-are-now-bundled-with-an-interactive-documentary-on-steam/
Jeff Minter is a legendary developer who's been doing his own thing since the early 1980s on platforms like the Sinclair ZX81, Commodore VIC-20, and C64. His best-known work is probably Tempest 2000 for the Atari Jaguar, although saying so will likely spark heated debates in some corners of the internet—some will no doubt argue that 2007's Space Giraffe or the 2016 psychedelic shooter Polybius is a better call.
In any event, the man has been prolific, but most of his creations were lost to time and older formats. However now you can play a whopping 42 of his old-time classics on modern PCs by way of Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story, a new "interactive documentary" from Digital Eclipse that's now available on Steam.

Summer Game Fest returns to fill the E3-shaped hole in our hearts on June 7
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/events-conferences/summer-game-fest-returns-to-fill-the-e3-shaped-hole-in-our-hearts-on-june-7/
E3 may be dead but the Summer Game Fest is alive and well, and will return to action for 2024 on June 7 with another live-and-livestreamed show happening at the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles.

'Probably one of the worst launches of all time': Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection players tear into Aspyr for bugs, crashes, and 3 64-player launch servers for nearly 10,000 users
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/probably-one-of-the-worst-launches-of-all-time-star-wars-battlefront-classic-collection-players-tear-into-aspyr-for-bugs-crashes-and-3-64-player-launch-servers-for-nearly-10000-users/
Aspyr sure is running hot and cold at the moment. Right after last month's well-regarded remasters of the first three Tomb Raider games, the company has put out the Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection, an uprezzed repackage of the original, beloved Battlefront games. It came out today and, well, oh dear.
With over a thousand Steam user reviews already in, the Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection has spiralled down to a "Mostly Negative" overall rating, as fans complain of bugs, crashes, server issues, and a borderline-unplayable multiplayer mode.

Tim Sweeney emailed Gabe Newell calling Valve 'you assholes' over Steam policies, to which Valve's COO simply replied 'you mad bro?'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/tim-sweeney-emailed-gabe-newell-calling-valve-you-assholes-over-steam-policies-to-which-valves-coo-simply-replied-you-mad-bro/
Valve is currently embroiled in a US antitrust lawsuit with Wolfire, a developer that alleges the Steam platform holder uses its position to unfairly crowd-out rivals and control game prices. Valve tried to have the suit dismissed, but in May 2022 the court ruled it could go ahead with some changes and enter the discovery phase: the juiciest part of the legal process where, among other things, plenty of internal correspondence from the companies involved is made public.
>> Another thing that has emerged: in 2018 Steam made more money per employee than any other tech company.

'Balatro is the first deckbuilder I ever played,' says developer who singlehandedly made Balatro
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/card-games/balatro-is-the-first-deckbuilder-i-ever-played-says-developer-who-singlehandedly-made-balatro/
(...)
Despite making the best poker deckbuilding roguelike around, solo developer Localthunk told PC Gamer last month that he doesn't play poker at all. Which is a surprise! But given how meticulously designed the game feels—and how neatly it sidesteps a lot of my frustrations with other games in its genre—surely he's at least a deckbuilder fan? It turns out that, no, he hadn't played those either.

Paradox says where we're going, we don't need no marketing plan as it just shows off and chats about the unannounced Europa Universalis 5
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/paradox-says-where-were-going-we-dont-need-no-marketing-plan-as-it-just-shows-off-and-chats-about-the-unannounced-europa-universalis-5/
While other developers stick loyally to promotional schedules crafted at great expense by dedicated professionals, publisher Paradox Interactive knows that with some things there's no need to bother. All you do, see, is show off a bit of a world map, start talking a little bit about population complexity and, like hungry sharks drawn to the blood of the chum, the Europa Universalis massive will materialise.
A new blogpost by Johan Andersson, studio manager at Paradox Tinto, basically just straight-up starts talking about and showing off elements of Project Caesar, a game that is very clearly Europa Universalis 5. Andersson is the creator of the series and, after over 25 years at Paradox, established Paradox Tinto in 2020 which initially worked on supporting Europa Universalis 4.