The news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Just under 150K players flooded back to Stardew Valley for the 1.6 update, and hopefully, only a small number drank the mayo
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/life-sim/just-under-150k-players-flooded-back-to-stardew-valley-for-the-16-update-and-hopefully-only-a-small-number-drank-the-mayo/
Stardew Valley's 1.6 update is now live, releasing yesterday after Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone had enough time to wake up and make a cup of coffee—very funny, Barone. After waiting beside my PC all day for any signs of life, I immediately updated and jumped into 1.6 to start a brand new farm (and try to romance Sebastian all over again), and it looks like I wasn't the only one. 
Stardew Valley broke a new record yesterday as it beat its own player count on Steam, reaching a whopping 146,159, meaning it's currently the seventh most-played game wedged between Helldivers 2 and GTA 5. Previously, the record for player count in Stardew Valley was 94,879 back in January 2021, around the same time that patch 1.5.4 was released.  
>> More details about the update in the second news post.

Besides bringing back an old game, more of that in the second post, GOG has two new DotD and a Sale:

• Here are the two Deals of the Day, that will last 46 hours:
  • BallisticNG is 20% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/ballisticng
  • The Cloudpunk: Ultimate Edition (game + DLC + both OSTs) has a 62% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/cloudpunk_ultimate_edition
• And now that Steam’s Spring Sale is coming to an end (only 26 hours remaining), GOG launches their own Spring Sale, with more than 5500 games on sale until the 3rd of April: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/2024_spring_sale

When it comes to Steam, I’ve said it above, only 26 hours remaining of the Spring Sale.

And Fanatical has one one bundle: the BYO Elithe VR Bundle 2024, with 22 games to choose for your 3, 5 or 7 pack: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-elite-vr-bundle.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

NVIDIA GeForce Game Ready 551.86 driver
https://videocardz.com/driver/nvidia-geforce-game-ready-551-86
Highlights
This new Game Ready Driver provides the best gaming experience for the latest new games supporting DLSS 3 technology including Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition. Further support for new titles leveraging NVIDIA DLSS technology includes the latest DLSS 3.5 update for Portal with RTX which introduces DLSS Ray Reconstruction and NVIDIA RTX IO.
Our newest Game Ready Driver also adds support for 11 G-SYNC Compatible displays that deliver a baseline Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) experience that makes your gaming smoother and more enjoyable.

Optimal Settings For New Games

• Helldivers 2
• Three Kingdoms Zhao Yun

Fixed Issues
Fixed Gaming Bugs

• [Advanced Optimus] Notebook may not wake up from sleep when in NVIDIA GPU only display mode [4454524]
• [Hitman 3] Stutter observed in some Advanced Optimus notebooks [4443236]

Fixed General Bugs

• RTX HDR uses saturation and tone curve that matches Gamma 2.0 instead of 2.2 [4514298]
• RTX Digital Vibrance incorrectly detects Paint.net app as a supported app [4539617]

>> The article lists the monitors, from AOC, Asus, LG and Samsung.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Need For Speed: Underground RTX Remix Path Tracing Mod Available for Download
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/need-for-speed-underground-rtx-remix-path-tracing-mod-available-for-download/
Need for Speed fans, here’s something special for you today. Modder ‘alessandro893’ has released an alpha version of his RTX Remix Mod for the first Need for Speed: Underground game. This mod adds to the game real-time Path Tracing effects, allowing you to experience it with better graphics.
Going into more details, the modder has added more than 1000 lights to the game via the latest RTX Remix Tools. Moreover, he upscaled a lot of the game’s textures so that you can get a better image quality. Do note, though, that there are still some low-res textures. For instance, the trees appear to still have their original low-res textures.
As alessandro893 noted, 80% of the lighting job is done and just a few cars have headlights at this moment (Skyline and MX5). Moreover, there are still some visual bugs and glitches. Thankfully, the modder plans to iron these issues in future versions.
>> The article has some screenshots and a roughly 1 minute video.

Castlevania ReVamped is a new free 8-bit fan game for PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/castlevania-revamped-is-a-new-free-8-bit-fan-game-for-pc/
Castlevania and NES/8-bit retro fans, here is something special for you today. Lv.4 Games has released a reworked version of the classic Castlevania that came out on NES in 1987. Castlevania Revamped adds some metroidvania elements to the game, and packs a number of QoL improvements. And yes, it’s available for free on PC.
Since Castlevania never found its way to the PC, this is a must for all PC retro gamers. So, waste no time and download it from this link. And, since this is a free game based on a Konami IP, we recommend getting it right away. For all we know, Konami may one day take it down.
>> The article has an almost 2 minutes long video.

GAMING NEWS

Believe it or not, the official implementation of AMD FSR 3.0 in The Last of Us Part 1 looks and feels worse than its mod
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/the-last-of-us-part-1-amd-fsr-3-0/
Naughty Dog and Iron Galaxy Studios have released Patch 1.1.3 for The Last of Us Part 1 which adds support for AMD FSR 3.0 Frame Generation.
Now what’s interesting here is that according to some early reports, this official implementation of FSR 3.0 is actually worse than the FSR 3.0 Mod.
>> Can’t say it surprises me given that the port of this game has been a mess since day one.

Red Dead Redemption 2 Title Update 1.32 Brings Stability Improvements, Full Patch Notes
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/red-dead-redemption-2-patch-132/
Rockstar has released Title Update 1.32 for Red Dead Redemption 2 which brings numerous stability improvements to the game. The company has also shared its full patch notes, so let’s take a closer look at it.

Project Birdseye is a fast-action roguelike from the creators of The Callisto Protocol
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/project-birdseye-is-a-fast-action-roguelike-from-the-creators-of-the-callisto-protocol/
Striking Distance Studios, the creators of The Callisto Protocol, announced a new fast-action roguelike shooter, called Project Birdseye. This is a side project and not its next triple-A title. Still, it may interest some of you, so go ahead and check out its announcement gameplay trailer.
>> The style is completely different.

Starfield Patch 1.10.31 brings over 500 fixes, tweaks & improvements
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/starfield-patch-1-10-31-brings-over-500-fixes-tweaks-improvements/
Bethesda has released a massive new title update for Starfield. According to the patch notes, Update 1.10.31 brings over 500 fixes, tweaks and improvements to the game. So, let’s take a closer look at them.

The a-bit-longer-than-usual-but-also-last part two:

Overwatch 2's Hacked Event Double Trouble is almost over, which is probably for the best
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/overwatch-2s-hacked-event-double-trouble-is-almost-over-which-is-probably-for-the-best/
Blizzard is trialing some small changes to Overwatch 2's format in a series of short-lived Hacked Events. According to a Blizzard blog post earlier this year, this is an effective way to "quickly understand what [players] like and possibly implement changes to improve gameplay." 
The Previous event introduced faster respawn times, payload speeds, and match starts. While I didn't massively adore most of these changes, they didn't make a real difference to my games, unlike the most recent event, Double Trouble. 

Stardew Valley's 1.6 update is finally live, and Eric Barone wasn't kidding: it is massive
https://www.pcgamer.com/life-sim/stardew-valley-16-update-live-patch-notes/
BaroneWatch 2024 has concluded: The Stardew Valley 1.6 update is now live, and that means we've finally got the full rundown of all the changes in the long-awaited update.

After 10 years, Destiny is getting a game mode that fans wanted from the start
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/after-10-years-destiny-is-getting-a-game-mode-that-fans-wanted-from-the-start/
Of all the odd decisions Bungie has made over the course of Destiny's existence, one of the oddest has to be the reluctance to add a true horde mode. Sure, we've had quasi-horde seasonal activities like Escalation Protocol and The Menagerie, but never a proper hunker-down-and-defend deal. That changes on April 9 with the release of the free Into the Light update, which includes the new Onslaught mode that pits teams of three players against up to 50 waves of enemies, escalating in difficulty. 

Ubisoft shows off AI-powered 'Neo NPCs' at GDC: 'It could be the start of a fantastic paradigm shift,' but let's be honest, it probably won't
https://www.pcgamer.com/software/ai/ubisoft-shows-off-ai-powered-neo-npcs-at-gdc-it-could-be-the-start-of-a-fantastic-paradigm-shift-but-lets-be-honest-it-probably-wont/
Ubisoft unveiled a new project called Neo NPCs today at GDC, offering an early look at its "first player-facing generative AI (GenAI) prototype that could transform the way players interact with non-playable characters (NPCs) in videogames."
>> I was curious to see out which company would be the first to show a demo with AI, and I’m not surprised that it’s been Ubisoft.

Roblox reveals new AI-powered 3D modeling tools to 'empower the creation of anything, anywhere, by anyone,' which we're probably not meant to read too closely
https://www.pcgamer.com/software/platforms/roblox-reveals-new-ai-powered-3d-modeling-tools-to-empower-the-creation-of-anything-anywhere-by-anyone-which-were-probably-not-meant-to-read-too-closely/
Today at GDC, Roblox unveiled a pair of AI technologies aiming to streamline 3D modeling for the platform's boundless legion of content creators. The tools aim to automatically prepare 3D models for animation and provide AI-powered texture generation, offering either a way to offload some creative tedium, or to accelerate the expansion of the company's exploitable labor pool, depending on how charitably you want to look at it.
>> Question: do you care about Roblox news? I’ve posted several, but I’m not sure if they fit the thread or not. What do you think?

Helldivers 2 patch tackles patrols appearing out of thin air, over-the-top meteor swarms, and accidentally blowing yourself up with your own mech
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/helldivers-2-patch-tackles-patrols-appearing-out-of-thin-air-over-the-top-meteor-swarms-and-accidentally-blowing-yourself-up-with-your-own-mech/
Attention, patriots! A new Helldivers 2 patch is here, though this one's mostly just bug fixes and tweaks to the game's new fancy weather system. 
The full list of patch notes is available on Steam and the game's official Discord, but here's the broad strokes: The weather's looking nicer, relatively speaking. While fire tornadoes, meteor swarms, earthquakes, and every weapon mother nature has to throw at you will still bother you during missions, it should be happening a little less frequently now. 
>> Well, time to reset the “days without Helldivers 2 news” counter back to zero.

Larian CEO Swen Vincke extols the 'incredible achievement' of Baldur's Gate 3 influence Ultima 7, but confesses he hasn't played since the '90s 'because I don't want to spoil the memory'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/larian-ceo-swen-vincke-extols-the-incredible-achievement-of-baldurs-gate-3-influence-ultima-7-but-confesses-he-hasnt-played-since-the-90s-because-i-dont-want-to-spoil-the-memory/
Larian CEO Swen Vincke is obsessed with Ultima 7. You can find its DNA—the many weird systems, the possibilities for emergent gameplay, and the beautifully stackable crates—across Larian's entire catalogue, and especially in Baldur's Gate 3. Vincke says he's "been chasing it ever since" it came out back in the '90s, and yet he hasn't been back and played the game in just as long.
In a chat with PC Gamer at this year's GDC, Vincke said he's loath to return to classics like Ultima 7 "because I've played old games before that I thought I was still going to love… I don't want to do it again, because I'm pretty sure it will have not aged very well.
>> I think that’s something we can all relate to.

Metal Gear Delta's producer says 'we're doing our best' to create a 'modern-style Metal Gear' but the core design will remain unchanged
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/metal-gear-deltas-producer-says-were-doing-our-best-to-create-a-modern-style-metal-gear-but-the-core-design-will-remain-unchanged/
Konami has hosted what it calls a "production hotline" event, featuring some of the key creatives behind the Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection and the upcoming MGS3 remake Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. Hey: call these things Hotline Konami. You can have that one for free.
The key figure here is producer Noriaki Okamura, who's in charge of the company's attempts to revitalise the series, and a true Konami veteran who also worked with the old Kojima Productions throughout its lifespan. Okamura has a seriously impressive history: among other things he was key to Policenauts and had senior roles on tons of Metal Gear games. He even got a "special thanks" from Kojima in Metal Gear Solid's credits.

5 years after it was yanked off stores, GOG's bringing underrated spy RPG Alpha Protocol in from the cold with fewer crashes and new achievements
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/5-years-after-it-was-yanked-off-stores-gogs-bringing-underrated-spy-rpg-alpha-protocol-in-from-the-cold-with-fewer-crashes-and-new-achievements/
Good news for those of still fighting the good fight, still holding aloft the proud banner of truth and justice, still committed to struggle for what's right instead of what's simply popular. Five years after it was unceremoniously yanked from sale, Alpha Protocol is back via GOG.

Fallen London studio says its latest game 'didn't sell particularly well', but don't worry—it's been sensible enough with its cash to avoid layoffs: 'We've had better years, but also much worse'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/visual-novel/fallen-london-studio-says-its-latest-game-didnt-sell-particularly-well-but-dont-worryits-been-sensible-enough-with-its-cash-to-avoid-layoffs-weve-had-better-years-but-also-much-worse/
2023—and, unfortunately, 2024—have been dire years for industry layoffs, (…)
Regardless, some good news came out of (appropriately-named) Failbetter games yesterday: yes, their last game didn't sell that well, and yes, they're doing fine. As announced in a state of the studio address, "we've had better years, but also much worse."

Helldivers 2 player photographs two myths—flying bugs and blue lasers—at the same time, like getting a shot of Bigfoot next to a UFO
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/a-helldivers-2-player-photographs-two-mythsflying-bugs-and-blue-lasersat-the-same-time-like-getting-a-shot-of-bigfoot-next-to-a-ufo/
If you listened to your Super Earth superiors—which you should—you would know that flying bugs in Helldivers 2 are a myth created by insect-loving fascists, and blue lasers are a figment of your imagination. Unless you've been looking at video evidence, which is high treason, so you shouldn't be doing that.

Starfield's lead quest designer had 'absolutely no time' and had to hit the 'panic button' so the game would have a satisfying final quest
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/starfields-lead-quest-designer-had-absolutely-no-time-and-had-to-hit-the-panic-button-so-the-game-would-have-a-satisfying-final-quest/
Starfield may have over 1,000 planets, but the ending of the game's main quest (mild spoilers incoming) involves just a single one: Masada 3. (...)
The creation of this lengthy final quest was all very last minute, according to former Starfield lead quest designer Will Shen, and only came together out of "necessity and urgency."

Given this is a prototype, I'm quite impressed, it recognizes spoken language and meaning of it and responds to it (video below)

https://volume.vox-cdn.com/embed/63b3a12c4?playing=false&loop=true&placement=article&player_type=chorus&tracking=article:middle

It looks like DD2 has some performance issues that Capcom will need to iron out in the next few weeks. Maybe I could put the ol' 4090 to some work, but not too much in a hurry though since I'm giving MHW a second playthrough.

The Thursday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

This week, the Epic Store gives away two games:

• Call of the Wild: The Angler: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/call-of-the-wild-the-angler
• Invincible Presents: Atom Eve: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/atom-eve-ff090d

Next week, the free game will be Islets.

Humble Bundle features the new Earth Defense Force UNITED Bundle, with up to 23 items to get during the next 20 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/earth-defense-force-friends-unite.

Fanatical ha anew Star Deal: Metro Exodus - Gold Edition will be 86% off during 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/metro-exodus-gold-edition.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 24.3.1 driver
https://videocardz.com/driver/amd-radeon-software-adrenalin-24-3-1
Highlights

• New Game Support
  • Dragon’s Dogma 2
  • Horizon Forbidden West™ Complete Edition
  • Outpost: Infinity Siege
• Expanded HYPR-Tune Support
  • Dragon’s Dogma 2
  • Diablo® IV
  • Ghostrunner 2
  • Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League

Fixed Issues

• Excessive micro stutter may be intermittently experienced after enabling AMD Fluid Motion Frames for select games.
• Improvement to intermittent driver timeout or application crash experienced while playing HELLDIVERS™ 2 on AMD Radeon™ RX 7900 series GPUs.
• Intermittent application crash or driver timeout may be observed while playing Starcraft II™ on Radeon™ RX 7000 series GPUs.
• Improvements to reduce initial loading times while playing World of Warcraft with DirectX 12 API on some AMD Graphics Products, such as the Radeon™ RX 6800.
• Purple corruption may be observed while playing Dying Light 2 Stay Human: Reloaded Edition with Radeon™ Boost and Raytracing enabled.
• Some characters may appear invisible or have missing textures while playing Cossacks 3.
• Flickering lights may be observed while playing Space Engineers in certain indoor environments.
• The maximum memory tuning limit may be incorrectly reported on AMD Radeon™ RX 7900 GRE graphics products.
• Shader caching may fail for Windows usernames containing accented characters.
• FPS performance metric may incorrectly report values while a game is minimized.
• GPU Acceleration may be missing/greyed out in Adobe Premiere Pro on some hybrid graphics systems.
• Performance drop may be observed while using some DirectML workloads in Topaz AI.

AMD has just announced FSR 3.1 with Improved Upscaling Quality
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/amd-has-just-announced-fsr-3-1-with-improved-upscaling-quality/
AMD has just announced FSR 3.1 which will come with improved upscaling quality. This new version of FSR promises to improve image stability and reduce ghosting. And below, you can find some examples of these improvements.
(...)
AMD says FSR 3.1 will make games more stable when you’re still or moving. That means fewer flickers and shimmers, and less weirdness when things are in motion. Plus, it’ll reduce ghosting and preserve more details than before.
AMD FSR 3.1 also has another cool feature. With this new version, Frame Generation will work with all other upscaling techs. Finally, PC gamers will be able to use NVIDIA DLSS 2 or Intel XeSS alongside AMD FSR 3.1 Frame Generation.
>> The article has the gifs that AMD has provided to show the improvements.

INTEL Arc Graphics 31.0.101.5379 driver
https://videocardz.com/driver/intel-arc-graphics-31-0-101-5379
Highlights
GAMING HIGHLIGHTS
Intel® Game On Driver support on Intel® Arc™ A-series Graphics GPUs for:

• Diablo IV Ray Tracing Update 
• Dragon’s Dogma 2 
• Horizon Forbidden West 
• The Legend of the Condor Heroes 

Fixed Issues
Intel Arc A-Series Graphics Products:

• Counter Strike 2 (VK) may experience an application crash while launching game
• DOTA 2 (VK) may experience an application crash while launching game

Intel Core Ultra with built-in Intel Arc GPUs:

• Serif Affinity Photo 2 may experience an application crash while running benchmark.
• Alan Wake 2 (DX12) may experience corruption while turning off global reflection settings.

>> The article also has the average % fps improvement this driver brings in 9 games.

'You name it, we made it faster'—The State of Unreal keynote didn't just show off Unreal Engine 5.4 graphical goodies, but major performance optimisations too
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/game-development/you-name-it-we-made-it-fasterthe-state-of-unreal-keynote-didnt-just-show-off-unreal-engine-54-graphical-goodies-but-major-performance-optimisations-too/
Epic has delivered its annual keynote at this years GDC 2024, the "State of Unreal" address, and while there were plenty of demos showing off the expected graphical improvements and the addition of new tools and features to the latest version of Unreal Engine 5, some performance improvements were also announced to help our poor, ailing machines deal with all that fidelity.
(...)
This included faster Lumen, shadows and ray tracing effects, improved instance culling, improved parallelism in the renderer, and variable rate shading for Nanite.
This should come as good news for those of us with less than top-tier systems, as while UE5 has certainly shown off a lot of impressive visual features since its release, it can be remarkably demanding on your hardware.
Torangeau gave an example of the city sample from The Matrix Awakens Unreal Engine 5 demo, which on UE5.4 was said to, on console at least, reduce the render thread time by 50%, and reduce the GPU render time by 25%. Given the demanding nature of the demo and the use of console hardware, that bodes well for potential major performance gains in games making use of the new version of UE5 running on PC.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

New Skyrim Mods Add Subsurface Scattering, Dynamic Cubemaps, Water Caustics & Parallax Mapping
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/new-skyrim-mods-add-subsurface-scattering-dynamic-cubemaps-water-caustics-parallax-mapping/
Modder ‘doodlez’ has released a few must-have mods for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition. These mods add to the game Subsurface Scattering, Dynamic Cubemaps, Water Caustics, Rain Wet Effects, and Water Parallax Mapping. So, let’s take a closer look at them.
>> The article has several gifs that show the changes.

Crusader Kings 2 modding peaks with 'Leper Roulette,' which gives members of your dynasty a chance of winning red, black and green all at once
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/crusader-kings-2-modding-peaks-with-leper-roulette-which-gives-members-of-your-dynasty-a-chance-of-winning-red-black-and-green-all-at-once/
Even in the wake of its sequel, Crusader Kings 2 remains my most-played game on Steam, having swallowed a full 585 hours of my life since it released all the way back in 2012. To be honest? It's a bit of a cakewalk these days. I'm so familiar with the game and all its systems that it's not long in any campaign before I'm ruling over all of Europe with some kind of semi-immortal dynasty of genetically perfect demigods. 
Is there anyone out there who can help add some challenge back into one of my favourite games of all time? Can anything be done to make the trials and travails of ruling Europe a bit more trialling and travailing?
Introducing Leper Roulette, a crime from CK2 modder Gembleton. 
Gembleton is relatively taciturn in the description for Leper Roulette on Nexus Mods, gnomically describing it as a mod "in which a random dynasty member is given leprosy every ~7 years." Perhaps this is what happened to Baldwin IV.
Much like real life, finding a loved one arbitrarily struck down by a Biblical plague of the flesh really makes it difficult to focus on your various admin tasks, layering on the challenge to a game that's long-since been broken over players' knees in its decade-plus on the market.
"No particular reason," says Gembleton of what compelled them to make the mod, "It just has a chance to really ruin your game." A quick glance at our hero's Nexus files page reveals a penchant for mods in this vein. One of them—a mod called GL's Negative Start—has an even more laconic description than Leper Roulette. It simply reads "I want die."
Gembleton does mention a figure named "Lybon" in the author credits and description for Leper Roulette, so it's probably all their fault. For purposes of drama, I am choosing to imagine Lybon as a figure like Twin Peaks' Killer Bob, a malignant spiritual presence that occasionally drives Gembleton to evil.
>> His most played game and has less than 600 hours in it? Pfff. Pathetic. Anyway, there are no videos or screenshots of the mod in the article.

GAMING NEWS

DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO gets first raw gameplay video
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/dragon-ball-sparking-zero-raw-gameplay-video/
Bandai Namco has released a new video, showcasing raw gameplay footage from its upcoming Dragon Ball game, DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO. As such, this video will give you a pretty good idea of what this new DB game is all about.

Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra will be powered by Unreal Engine 5.4, gets first in-engine trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/marvel-1943-rise-of-hydra-will-be-powered-by-unreal-engine-5-4-gets-first-in-engine-trailer/
Marvel Games has just released a story trailer for its upcoming narrative-driven action-adventure game, Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra. This trailer will give you a sneak peek into an original story that takes players on a WWII-era adventure.

Next-Generation Action MMORPG, Chrono Odyssey, Gets Stunning In-Engine GDC 2024 Trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/next-generation-action-mmorpg-chrono-odyssey-gets-stunning-in-engine-gdc-2024-trailer/
Chrono Studio has shared a new in-engine GDC 2024 trailer for its upcoming next-generation action MMORPG, Chrono Odyssey. Chrono Odyssey will be powered by Unreal Engine 5, and promises to feature amazing graphics. So, be sure to watch the trailer after the jump.

Thursday news, part two:

Stardew Valley 1.6 adds a creepy punishment for sequence breakers: A battering from the mysterious Mister Qi
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/life-sim/stardew-valley-16-adds-a-creepy-punishment-for-sequence-breakers-a-battering-from-the-mysterious-mister-qi/
The 1.6 update for Stardew Valley has added loads of new stuff for players to discover. Even though it's only been live for less than 24 hours, some have already found a new, slightly spooky interaction with the strange Mister Qi. 

You can grab the legendary Terraria sword Meowmere in Stardew Valley 1.6, but there'll be no wall of flesh, probably
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/life-sim/you-can-grab-the-legendary-terraria-sword-meowmere-in-stardew-valley-16-but-therell-be-no-wall-of-flesh-probably/
Another day, another strange secret found in the crevices of Stardew Valley's 1.6 update. It's only been two days since it was released, and so far, we've seen killer attacks by a member of the Blue Man Group and drinkable mayo. Now, some dedicated players have managed to break the barrier between games and obtain Terraria's legendary sword, Meowmerre, thanks to a lot of lava and one Wizard. 

Respawn finally comments on Apex cheating scandal that saw pro players' games hijacked, basically says nothing at all
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/battle-royale/respawn-finally-comments-on-apex-cheating-scandal-that-saw-pro-players-games-hijacked-basically-says-nothing-at-all/
(...)
"On Sunday, a few professional Apex Legends player accounts were hacked during an ALGS event, " says a Respawn statement. "Game and player security are our highest priorities, which is why we paused the competition to address the issue immediately.
"Our teams have deployed the first of a layered series of updates to protect the Apex Legends player community and create a secure experience for everyone."
Well, that's all as clear as mud.

The Art of Rally developer is trying something different: An F1 management game set in the 'golden era' of 1970s excess
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/the-art-of-rally-developer-is-trying-something-different-an-f1-management-game-set-in-the-golden-era-of-1970s-excess/
Having worked its magic on drifting and rallying, minimalist racing studio Funselektor is now turning its attention to "the golden era of open wheel racing." Golden Lap is going to be quite a bit different than the studio's previous racing games, though, because this time around you're not the driver—you're the boss.

Marathon reboot gets a surprise game director replacement as Bungie is once more denied a moment's peace
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/marathon-reboot-gets-a-surprise-game-director-replacement-as-bungie-is-once-more-denied-a-moments-peace/
A new game director has been appointed on Marathon, the upcoming reboot of Bungie's classic Macintosh shooter series. As reported by IGN, Joe Ziegler, hired by Bungie in 2022 after departing his role at Riot as Valorant game director, has replaced previous Marathon game director Chris Barrett, best known for his work on Destiny 2's critically acclaimed Forsaken expansion. Barrett's updated bio on X now reads: "Executive Creative Director @Bungie."

Game developers come together at GDC for a 'GDScream' to vent rage at the state of the industry: 'It feels hard to be here and pretend like everything is fine'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/events-conferences/game-developers-come-together-at-gdc-for-a-gdscream-to-vent-rage-at-the-state-of-the-industry-it-feels-hard-to-be-here-and-pretend-like-everything-is-fine/
Developers at GDC gathered today to express their feelings about the state of the game industry, in what under the circumstances is really the only reasonable way to react: with a scream.

Diablo 4's loot rework PTR begins on April 2, season 3 extended until mid-May 'to ensure that we get all the feedback'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/diablo-4s-loot-rework-ptr-begins-on-april-2-season-3-extended-until-mid-may-to-ensure-that-we-get-all-the-feedback/
Blizzard announced during today's Campfire Chat livestream that the big Diablo 4 loot rework announced in February will go live on a public test realm on April 2, giving players one week—until April 9—to put the update through its paces and see what's changing.

Blizzard just killed Diablo 4 by announcing a list of changes so massive that it's practically a new game
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/diablo-4-season-4-changes/
Blizzard should call Diablo 4's next season Diablo 5 because the changes coming are so fundamental and widespread, it's going to feel like you're playing a full-on sequel.
After months of teasing a massive overhaul to Diablo 4's core design, Blizzard used today's Campfire Chat steam to walk through season 4's rework to loot and many of the game's other core systems over the course of a nearly two-hour stream.

Shin Megami Tensei 5 breaks Switch exclusivity for an expanded PC release, and it's coming sooner than previously announced
https://www.pcgamer.com/shin-megami-tensei-5-breaks-switch-exclusivity-for-an-expanded-pc-release/
The fifth mainline instalment in the gargantuan, offshoot-laden Shin Megami Tensei series released for Nintendo Switch in 2021, marking the series' first dalliance with open world design. In typical Atlus style, SMT 5 is getting a new edition in June called Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance. It has a new main story running parallel with the original, big changes to the core combat, and a comprehensive range of other tweaks. The good news is it's coming to PC too.
Update 03/21: Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance will now release for PC on June 14, 2024, instead of the previously announced date of June 21.

'Big Wait's dead': Dwarf Fortress creators are going to stop disappearing for months to get updates done in a post-Kitfox world
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/big-waits-dead-dwarf-fortress-creators-are-going-to-stop-disappearing-for-months-to-get-updates-done-in-a-post-kitfox-world/
The arc of Dwarf Fortress is long, but it bends towards, well, not having arcs. In a chat with PC Gamer at GDC, Dwarf Fortress creators Tarn and Zach Adams spoke a little about their approach to the game's meatiest patches in a post-premium edition world. Long story short? More bite-sized updates at a faster tempo. The Big Wait is dead.

Sorry, but today there’s a third post with news:

Dragon's Dogma 2 NPCs are making CPUs weep and tanking the frame rate, but Capcom is 'looking into ways to improve performance in the future'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/dragons-dogma-2-npcs-are-making-cpus-weep-and-tanking-the-frame-rate-but-capcom-is-looking-into-ways-to-improve-performance-in-the-future/
Dragon's Dogma 2 is a stellar RPG, but as you may have noticed in our performance analysis it's not exactly the smoothest one. It's incredibly demanding on CPUs, resulting in performance issues that you won't be able to escape regardless of how beefy your rig is. Capcom is aware of this, it says, but it seems unlikely they'll be resolved by launch. 
Speaking with IGN, a Capcom representative explained that "a large amount of CPU usage is allocated to each character and dynamically calculates the impact of their physical presence in various environments. In certain situations where numerous characters appear simultaneously, the CPU usage can be very high and may affect the frame rate". 
>> You’ll have to wait to test it by yourselves. How much? Well, here’s when it launches in each region to help you solve that question.

Putting the roleplay back in the RPG was a huge reason for Cyberpunk 2077's recent metro and romance updates, says associate game director: 'It's easy to overlook'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/putting-the-roleplay-back-in-the-rpg-was-a-huge-reason-for-cyberpunk-2077s-20-updates-says-associate-game-director-its-easy-to-overlook/
Cyberpunk 2077's 2.0 update was a huge overhaul for the game's RPG systems, arriving hand-in-hand with the stellar expansion Phantom Liberty. But you might've noticed that a lot of the post-launch patches were substantially less crunchy. A fully-functioning metro system, better romances—in other words, flavour and fluff. 
According to associate game director Paweł Sasko, who spoke with PC Gamer's Ted Litchfield at GDC earlier this week, the choice to add texture to Night City was not only deliberate, it was an essential part of the RPG experience the team felt was missing.

CPDR wanted to split players 'in a way that's almost 50/50' with Phantom Liberty's hardest choice, and drew on the toughest decision in Witcher 2 to do it
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/cpdr-wanted-to-split-players-in-a-way-thats-almost-5050-with-phantom-libertys-hardest-choice-and-drew-on-the-toughest-decision-in-witcher-2-to-do-it/
Cyberpunk 2077's Phantom Liberty expansion was great—87% great per PCG's Ted Litchfield in his Phantom Liberty review—and gruelling. CD Projekt Red is no stranger to tough decisions in its games, but the fork in Phantom Liberty's road is a truly tough one. And hey, CDPR says that was the whole point, and one that built off the studio's other great Sophie's choice moment: Choosing who you'll side with in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. Spoilers ahead for both, naturally.

Broken Roads will now mix Mad Max, Disco Elysium, and Baldur's Gate in April release date after last year's out-of-the-blue 5-month delay
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/broken-roads-will-now-mix-mad-max-disco-elysium-and-baldurs-gate-in-april-release-date-after-last-years-out-of-the-blue-5-month-delay/
Ozzie philoso-RPG Broken Roads is emerging from its state of koala-like hibernation with a new release date. After a lengthy delay, it'll now arrive on April 10 this year, which so far as I can tell is a date with no relevance to Australia at all apart from being the birthday of lawn bowler Steve "Biscuits" Glasson. So it's probably to coincide with that.

Helldivers 2 community's ambitious plan to liberate 5 planets in 3 days in jeopardy as galactic war trackers catastrophically fail—but don't worry, Joel is on it
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/helldivers-2-communitys-ambitious-plan-to-liberate-5-planets-in-3-days-in-jeopardy-as-galactic-war-trackers-catastrophically-failbut-dont-worry-joel-is-on-it/
After last week's race to gas Terminid planets with super pesticide, I thought for sure Arrowhead would give the Helldivers 2 community a break. Then yesterday, a new major order came in: liberate a total of five planets in just three days—a daunting challenge, but not one that would be out of reach for the Super Earth fighting force that has exceeded Arrowhead's expectations at every turn.
(...)
But earlier today, the war effort hit a major snag—a catastrophic failure of galactic war tracking within Helldivers 2. Missions can be completed, but right now they aren't counting for anything. All liberation has ceased, and with little time remaining, the Terminids are gaining back ground with no resistance.

Super Earth finally admits flying bugs exist in Helldivers 2, then blames galactic war map hiccups on dissidents that have been 'identified, arrested, tried, and executed'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/super-earth-finally-admits-flying-bugs-exist-in-helldivers-2-then-blames-galactic-war-map-hiccups-on-dissidents-that-have-been-identified-arrested-tried-and-executed/
Flying Terminids are a myth no longer in Helldivers 2—that's according to an official in-game dispatch that hit the servers yesterday, along with horrifying towers that spawn soaring insectoids. 
The current major order to liberate Zagon and Fori Prime is proceeding apace, with Fori Prime on the cusp of liberation at the time of writing. However, there's been a snag—our brave soldiers are reporting an insectoid menace previously thought a fascist myth: Shriekers.  

Dragon's Dogma 2 already has the file for DLSS Frame Generation, so where is the feature?
https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/graphics-cards/dragons-dogma-2-already-has-the-file-for-dlss-frame-generation-so-where-is-the-feature/
Unless you've been purposely ignoring all of the news surrounding Dragon's Dogma 2, you can't have missed the fact that the game's performance is somewhat poor. Although it's almost entirely CPU-limited in the main city, the open world is still pretty demanding on graphics cards and it's begging for a spot of upscaling and frame generation to give it all a handy boost. The former is already in the game but where's the latter, especially since the DLSS 3 file for frame gen is in the installation folder.
(...)
AMD doesn't use external dll files for its upscaling and frame generation system, FSR 3, but it is part of the game. Or at least the upscaling is, but just as with Nvidia's AI-powered frame interpolator, there's no sign of the AMD version in DD2.

What y'all been playing?

As for me

Planning to finish Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Borderlands GOTY Enhanced this month.

Playing MK8D on my OG Switch - I dont know if I'll play through 200cc on MK8D - I tried one time and didnt like so I'll likely just finish up Mirror mode and do some online runs to see how it is.

As for Borderlands GOTY Enhanced (PC), I finished the main campaign about a little over a week ago and finished up one of the DLCs (Zombie Island of Dr Ned) last weekend. Gonna do as much and hopefully finish by end of month.

Gonna focus on Smash Ultimate on my OG Switch and hopefully finish up World of Light in April.

Aside from that - playing Driveclub (PS4) on my PS5 casually and almost at the end of the base game, 70+ hours in.

Also been playing Final Fantasy VII (NS) on my Switch OLED whenever I am on break at work. Finished Part 1 and on Part 2 of the game now.

I'm gonna be downsizing the number of games I'll be playing so I can better focus on what I am playing rather than having 7-8 games at a time. So at max 1-2 at home with the third being whatever I play at work/break.

As for what I plan to play next in my list.....

Gears of War 2 (X360) on my Xbox Series X.

Dragon Quest I (NS) on my OG Switch

Tekken 2 (PS4) on my PS5

River City Girls (Steam) on my gaming PC

Kirby's Dream Course (NSO) on my OG Switch

Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade (PS5)

Bravely Default II (NS) on my Switch OLED

It’s time for the Friday news. Woo-Hoo!

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

The Humble Store has two new sales:

• The Spring Into Adventure Sale has upt o 94% discounts during 6 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/spring-into-adventure-sale/
• And Square Enix, with its Spring Spotlight Sale, puts its games up to 90% off during 13 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/square-enix-spring-spotlight/

Fanatical has launched the BYO Special Editions Bundle, with 27 games in their GOTY, Special, Completed, etc. form to choose to build your bundle with 2, 3 or 5 of them: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-special-editions-bundle.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Nothing to see here-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Princess Peach: Showtime! is already playable on PC via Nintendo Switch emulator Ryujinx with over 60fps
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/princess-peach-showtimepc-nintendo-switch-ryujinx-60fps/
Nintendo has just released Princess Peach: Showtime! on Nintendo Switch and, to the surprise of no one, the game is already playable on PC via emulators. To be more precise, the Nintendo Switch emulator Ryujinx can run the game with over 60fps.
(...)
Princess Peach: Showtime! is powered by Unreal Engine 4 and from what we see, it does not push the Nintendo Switch hardware to the limits. However, this game comes with an amazing art style. This is to be expected as most “Mario” games follow the same tech formula.
As showcased in the following video, an Intel Core i9-14900K with an ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4090 can run the game at around 90fps. GPU utilization is at 39% so no, this game won’t be taxing any high-end or mid-tier GPUs.
>> The article has an almost 4 minutes video.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 DLSS 3 Frame Generation Mod Released
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/dragons-dogma-2-dlss-3-frame-generation-mod-released/
Capcom has just released Dragon’s Dogma 2 on PC and in a matter of hours, modder PureDark released a free DLSS 3 Frame Generation Mod for it.
Although NVIDIA claimed that the game would support DLSS 3 from the get-go, there is currently no support for it. My guess is that Capcom will add it via a post-launch update. So, for now, you’ll need this mod in order to improve the game’s performance.
Now contrary to PureDark’s previous DLSS 3 Mods, this is free to everyone. Yep, you read that right. You can go ahead and download this must-have mod from his Patreon page. And no, you won’t have to pay the modder so that you can gain access to it.

GAMING NEWS

Unreal Engine 5-powered first-person narrative horror game, Still Wakes the Deep, releases on June 18th
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/unreal-engine-5-powered-first-person-narrative-horror-game-still-wakes-the-deep-releases-on-june-18th/
Secret Mode has announced that the Unreal Engine 5-powered first-person narrative horror game from The Chinese Room, Still Wakes the Deep, will be released on June 18th. To celebrate this announcement, the publisher has also shared a new trailer that you can find below.

INDUSTRIA 2 officially announced, to be powered by Unreal Engine 5, first details & screenshots
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/industria-2-officially-announced-to-be-powered-by-unreal-engine-5-first-details-screenshots/
Headup Games has just announced INDUSTRIA 2. INDUSTRIA 2 is made by Blackmill Games and they’re using Unreal Engine 5. And although it’s not a big-budget game, it looks amazing. You gotta see the first pictures and the trailer – they look awesome.

The latest trailer for Path of Exile 2 focuses on the Ranger class
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/the-latest-trailer-for-path-of-exile-2-focuses-on-the-ranger-class/
Grinding Gear Games has released a new trailer for its highly anticipated action RPG, Path of Exile 2. This new trailer focuses on the Ranger class, which was the first of the original Path of Exile classes.
>> More news about the game in the second post.

Third-person gun fu action game, SPINE, gets a proper gameplay trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/spine-gameplay-trailer/
In December 2023, Nekki announced a cool new game called SPINE. Ironically, a lot of folks thought that it was a fake trailer with pre-rendered footage. As such, Nekki decided to release a new trailer showing actual gameplay. So, let’s take a look at it.

Friday news, part two:

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang reckons we might see AI-generated games in less than 10 years
https://www.pcgamer.com/software/ai/nvidia-ceo-jensen-huang-reckons-we-might-see-ai-generated-games-in-less-than-10-years/
AI-generation has been making huge leaps and bounds in recent years, from prompt-based image generation through to recent developments in fully AI-generated video. When it comes to our games though, most of the AI innovation has been limited to things like upscaling existing content. 
That might be about to change in the next decade, however, if Jensen Huang's latest predictions turn out to be correct, as the Nvidia head-honcho reckons we may be less than 10 years away from fully AI-generated games.
>> And they'll only comefor streaming platforms, to make the whole dystopian situation even worse.

WoW's new pirate battle royale ignites a baffling flame war between PvP and PvE players, meanwhile Blizzard's ramping up the rewards to make the grind a touch kinder
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/world-of-warcraft/wows-new-pirate-battle-royale-ignites-a-baffling-flame-war-between-pvp-and-pve-players-meanwhile-blizzards-ramping-up-the-rewards-to-make-the-grind-a-touch-kinder/
World of Warcraft's funky, limited-time event, Plunderstorm, is just fine by my making. I've played a handful of rounds, and experienced a slightly-clunky romp where you kill some enemies and messily try to land some skillshots Guild Wars 2 style in an MMO not really built for it. But hey, you can get some mounts out of the whole deal.
(...)
Issue being, that rewards track is somewhat slow—though it should be faster now, as per a hotfix.

Riot hits the development reset button for its League of Legends MMO: 'The initial vision just wasn’t different enough from what you can play today'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/riot-hits-the-development-reset-button-for-its-league-of-legends-mmo-the-initial-vision-just-wasnt-different-enough-from-what-you-can-play-today/
Riot has "reset" the development of its League of Legends MMO, according to cofounder and CPO Marc Merrill. Posting on Twitter, Merrill confirmed that "yes, we're still working on the game," but that the project has been set back to its early stages to pursue a new design direction. The decision was made "some time ago," based on the studio's feeling that the in-development MMO, set in the League of Legends' Runeterra world, was too similar to its competitors. "The initial vision just wasn’t different enough from what you can play today," Merrill said. "We don’t believe you all want an MMO that you’ve played before with a Runeterra coat of paint."

Bold new era of Helldivers 2 lightning combat short-circuits as Arc Throwers start crashing games
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/bold-new-era-of-helldivers-2-lightning-combat-short-circuits-as-arc-throwers-start-crashing-games/
Democracy giveth, and democracy taketh away—though I maybe wouldn't say that where the Super Earth Ministry of Truth censors can hear. Fresh off the heels of today's earlier developments in the Helldivers 2 war effort, which fixed the buggy planetary liberation tickers, dropped a dispatch for confronting a new, flying bug menace, and—well—terminated dissidents, the war for galaxy-wide liberty has hit its latest roadbump. In short: don't use any lightning weaponry or stratagems until another patch hits, because you might crash your game.

DeathSprint 66 is like Mario Kart, but ultraviolent and minus the carts: 'It's The Running Man as reimagined for a new generation'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/racing/deathsprint-66-announcement/
DeathSprint 66 has made me see Mario Kart in a new way. The brief teaser shown at today's Future Games Show (above) doesn't contain any gameplay, but game director Andrew Willans showed me a short video of the sci-fi racing game in action at GDC this week. It's a lot like Mario Kart—simple arcade racing controls, weapons, traps, maneuvers like slipstreaming and drifting—with one major exception being that I don't remember any version of Mario Kart containing a gore system.

Harold Halibut, the stop-motion-style story about life at the bottom of an alien ocean, gets a big new trailer and an April release date
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/harold-halibut-the-stop-motion-style-story-about-life-at-the-bottom-of-an-alien-ocean-gets-a-big-new-trailer-and-an-april-release-date/
Harold Halibut finally has a release date: Announced today at the Future Games Show, the stop-motion-style story of life in a stranded spaceship at the bottom of an alien ocean will be out on April 16.

Path of Exile 2's developers ended up reworking the entire game's combat around a new control scheme because of a single class
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/path-of-exile-2s-developers-ended-up-reworking-the-entire-games-combat-around-a-new-control-scheme-because-of-a-single-class/
Development of Path of Exile 2 has been an adventure for Grinding Gear Games, with several major reworks and redesigns happening since the ambitious free-to-play ARPG sequel's debut at Exilecon in 2019. Its latest big pivot is a literal game-changer. What started out as a gimmick for a single class has become what feels like the primary way to play for every class—an action-oriented control system, controlled like a top-down shooter on WASD and mouse. Or a gamepad, if that's your jam.

Path of Exile 2 is sticking to its 'ethical free-to-play' model instead of chasing Diablo 4's success
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/path-of-exile-2-is-sticking-to-its-ethical-f2p-live-service-model-instead-of-chasing-diablo-4s-success/
Having played the first few hours, I'm still a little shocked that brooding gothic action RPG Path Of Exile 2 (due out later this year) is set to be free. Or at least, every bit as free as its predecessor. During a preview event in Los Angeles, I got to ask the game's director, Jonathan Rogers, if the game would be following at all in the footsteps of Diablo 4, which despite catching some flak for its aggressive live service monetization and MMO aspects, has still been Blizzard's biggest financial hit yet.
His response for Path of Exile 2 was clear. "It's definitely not an MMO. I've never liked MMOs, actually," he said. Rogers explained that while he was a huge Diablo 2 fan, he firmly bounced off World of Warcraft and its more social side. He's an ARPG diehard, still making the kind of game that appeals to him, and doesn't feel that MMO elements bring much to the classic ARPG formula.

Path of Exile 2's beta delayed from June 'until later in the year'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/path-of-exile-2s-beta-delayed-from-june-until-later-in-the-year/
We've had plenty of intriguing news about Path of Exile 2 today, like the combat having been reworked around a new control scheme and the announcement it will be sticking to its "ethical free-to-play" model. However, to pour a little ice water on the fire, here's one bit of not-so-great news: the beta previously announced for June 7 now won't be happening until late in the year.

Bungie perma-bans Destiny 2 players who sent racist abuse to one of its developers during a livestream this week
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/bungie-perma-bans-destiny-2-players-who-sent-racist-abuse-to-one-of-its-developers-during-a-livestream-this-week/
In the wake of a depressing burst of toxic abuse aimed at one of its developers during a Destiny 2 livestream, Bungie says it has issued permanent bans against several of the people involved, and is taking steps to ensure it doesn't happen again.