In the rare case you didn't know:

https://store.steampowered.com/category/deckbuilders

This Steam Deck Builder Fest has me interested.

The Tuesday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Steam’s Top 10

(Click here for the Top 100)

Steam has new stuff for us, including new weeklong deals:

• Electronic Arts puts its games up to 85% off until the 28th of March: https://store.steampowered.com/developer/EA/sale/spring-sale-2024
• My Time at Sandrock gets a 25% discount until April, 1st: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1084600/My_Time_at_Sandrock/
• Cassette Beasts will be 30% off until next Monday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1321440/Cassette_Beasts/
• Potion Permit, that has a demo, will be 40% off until Monday, April 1st: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1337760/Potion_Permit/
• Block'Em!, also with a demo, gets a 50% discount until the 1st of April: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1529220/BlockEm/
• And that’s it. Unfortunately, I can’t check the weeklong deals to bring you a quick sample. You’ll have to do it by yourselves.

Humble has two new deals:

• Humble Bundle presents the Slice, Dice & Everything Nice: D3 After Dark Bundle, with up to 8 games to get during 20 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/slice-dice-everything-nice-d3-after-dark
• Humble Store bringsa the Koei Tecmo Easter Sale, with up to 80% discounts during 13 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/koei-tecmo-easter-sale/

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

New Dragon’s Dogma 2 Mod Improves Mouse Camera Movement
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/new-dragons-dogma-2-mod-improves-mouse-camera-movement/
One of my biggest issues with Dragon’s Dogma 2 on PC was its awful mouse controls. Although the game is powered by RE Engine, its mouse camera movement was like simulating a controller stick. And, thankfully, there is now a mod that fixes this issue.
Created by modders ‘r457’ and ‘gh057’, the “Proper Camera Controls for PC” Mod makes the camera in the game respond better when you move your mouse by making it twice as sensitive sideways. It also gets rid of the controller-like side effects when using a mouse.
The result is a better gaming experience when playing with a keyboard and mouse. So, if you don’t enjoy using a controller, we suggest downloading this mod from this link. After all, Capcom might not fix this problem anytime soon. Another mod you can use alongside it is this one, called Stay Centered. This mod stops your character from moving around on the screen, so he can always stay in the middle.
Speaking of PC controls, there is another mod that allows you to use weapon skills with one button. So, you won’t longer have to press CTRL in order to use your special skills. Honestly, I didn’t really mind that. However, I’m certain that some KB&M PC players will find it useful.
>> The article has no media about the mods.

GAMING NEWS

New gameplay trailer for Digital Extreme’s free-to-play action hybrid MMORPG, Soulframe
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-gameplay-trailer-for-digital-extremes-free-to-play-action-hybrid-mmorpg-soulframe/
Digital Extremes, the developers of Warframe, have released a new gameplay trailer for their upcoming free to play action hybrid MMORPG, Soulframe.

Tuesday news, part two:

After a leaker puts XDefiant delay down to chasing COD, the game's producer can't resist responding with a 'major eye roll'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/after-a-leaker-puts-xdefiant-delay-down-to-chasing-cod-the-games-producer-cant-resist-responding-with-a-major-eye-roll/
Ubisoft's upcoming shooter XDefiant was at one stage scheduled to be released in summer 2023. The date was pushed back to October, before a public test saw yet another delay to an unspecified future launch date. The game did remain in Ubisoft's Q3 2024 earnings report, however, indicating the publisher expected it to release before March 31, 2024.
Well, with a week to go, that's not looking likely, and a report from Insider Gaming claims to have the goods on why. It alleges the game has missed "dozens" of internal milestones and quotes an internal source as saying "the neverending hunt to chase COD and add pointless stuff always breaks the current build."
This may well raise eyebrows given that, delays aside, reception to XDefiant's test periods has generally been positive, and has focused on it being more in-line with the older style of Call of Duty games. The idea the game is being delayed to "chase COD" caught the eye of Mark Rubin, the executive producer of XDefiant and someone who certainly knows his way around a COD: he previously held the same role at Infinity Ward.

Dragon's Dogma 2 players are hurling their pawns into the briny depths to purge Dragonsplague, a mechanic so deadly and unique I don't want to spoil it in a headline
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/dragons-dogma-2-players-are-hurling-their-pawns-into-the-briny-depths-to-purge-dragonsplague-a-mechanic-so-deadly-and-unique-i-dont-want-to-spoil-it-in-a-headline/
Dragon's Dogma 2 is a game of bizarre mechanical complexities—it's at times frustrating, baffling, and weird, but that also gives it a unique flavour. The game isn't that interested in being convenient, but it is interested in leaving you asking what the hell just happened while you're surrounded by corpses. I'm about to spoil how, but you may want to read on if you're scared of calamity.

Overwatch 2 has killed any remaining hope for its future PvE missions, with the mode being scrapped in favour of going all-in on PvP
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/overwatch-2-has-killed-any-remaining-hope-for-its-future-pve-missions-with-the-mode-being-scrapped-in-favour-of-going-all-in-on-pvp/
Blizzard has completely gutted its planned PvE content for Overwatch 2, and will instead "double down" on PvP. That's according to a Bloomberg newsletter and information that PC Gamer also corroborated separately. 

Bethesda teases The Elder Scrolls 6 in anniversary message and brags its developers are already 'playing early builds' and loving it
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/bethesda-teases-the-elder-scrolls-6-in-anniversary-message-and-brags-its-developers-are-already-playing-early-builds-and-loving-it/
It's the 30th anniversary of the release of The Elder Scrolls: Arena, the very first game in one of the biggest and best RPG series of all time, and to mark the big birthday Bethesda Softworks has shared a message looking back on that long history and teasing what's ahead—that, of course, being The Elder Scrolls 6.

Remedy's multiplayer Control spinoff won't be free to play: expect a 'lower initial price' followed by live service updates
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/remedys-multiplayer-control-spinoff-wont-be-free-to-play-expect-a-lower-initial-price-followed-by-live-service-updates/
Remedy's latest annual report contains, among a great many other things, a very brief new look at Condor, the codename for the multiplayer spinoff game based on Control.

Palia welcomes new players with a startlingly large stuffed frog for its Steam launch
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/cozy-mmo-palia-welcomes-new-players-with-a-startlingly-large-stuffed-frog-for-its-steam-launch/
Farming and community sim MMO Palia has been in open beta since August 2023 and today it's sprouting on Steam where it will continue to be free-to-play in early access. Now that the scheduled patch downtime is over, you can download Palia on Steam to either hop in for the first time or sign into your usual account. But most importantly, you'll get to redeem that enormous in-game Frogbert plush from the wishlist campaign that Singularity 6 was running.

I've been waiting 5 years for the MMO by Journey's developers to launch on PC, and it's finally happening in April
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/ive-been-waiting-5-years-for-the-mmo-by-journeys-developers-to-launch-on-pc-and-its-finally-happening-in-april/
The delightfully friendly MMO from Journey's developers, Sky: Children of the Light, finally has a proper PC launch date. It's been in open beta since 2019, first on mobile phones and then on consoles, but never on PC—the Steam page has promised a release date of "To be announced" for the past year. Like Thatgamecompany's other emotional flying adventure, I've been eagerly awaiting the day when this one would finally turn up on my PC and I think the wait is going to have been worth it. Sky launches free-to-play on April 10 on Steam.

Dead Space 2 players uncover easy money trick hidden right in front of them 13 years after release
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/dead-space-2-players-uncover-easy-money-trick-hidden-right-in-front-of-them-13-years-after-release/
If you're low on money, you can always just smash up an ATM. In Dead Space 2, I mean. I'm talking about the videogame Dead Space 2. Because 13 years after the game came out, players have stumbled upon the discovery that applying a bit of percussive (or ballistic) maintenance to the game's various inanimate objects can yield significant rewards.

'It's got a fearlessness': Tales of Kenzera: ZAU lead animator reveals how the cut 'melee powerhouse' African boxing style inspired its martial movelist
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/its-got-a-fearlessness-tales-of-kenzera-zau-lead-animator-reveals-how-the-cut-melee-powerhouse-african-boxing-style-inspired-its-martial-movelist/
Tales of Kenzera: ZAU boasts two kinds of stunning fighting styles that are each tied to a mythical mask, and according to the animation lead, they are both inspired by just one martial art originating from Nigeria. 

And here are the Helldivers II news of today, Do what you want with them:

'The Automaton front needs reinforcements': Helldivers 2 players are pleading for help for a bot-threatened planet, but no one's stepping up
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/the-automaton-front-needs-reinforcements-helldivers-2-players-are-pleading-for-help-for-a-bot-threatened-planet-but-no-ones-stepping-up/
Things are looking desperate on the Western Front in Helldivers 2 as some players are trying to recruit soldiers to rush Mantes and stop the breakout in the Xzar sector, but their calls for aid aren't being answered. 

Helldivers 2 CEO says they'll 'never' turn off friendly fire: 'We would have to turn off bullet damage against enemies as well'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/helldivers-2-ceo-says-theyll-never-turn-off-friendly-fire-we-would-have-to-turn-off-bullet-damage-against-enemies-as-well/
Helldivers 2's breakout success continues, with the game sitting pretty near the top of Steam's top-selling and most-played games lists and boasting over 250,000 "very positive" reviews. Partly that's because it's a total blast, and the overarching galactic war is being played out beautifully, but not a little is down to the game's willingness to stick to its guns when it comes to certain principles: for instance, friendly fire.

Don't be fooled by a fake Joel: Helldivers 2's game master probably didn't drop an unreleased vehicle into a random player's game, but someone did
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/dont-be-fooled-by-a-fake-joel-helldivers-2s-game-master-probably-didnt-drop-an-unreleased-vehicle-into-a-random-players-game-but-someone-did/
The Helldivers 2 community took the latest in a series of surprised gasps this weekend when a video emerged purporting to show Arrowhead game master Joel joining a random player's game, dropping an unreleased vehicle onto the battlefield, and then leaving so he can "get back to work."
(...)
While it'd be on-brand for Arrowhead to reveal a major new feature by making something randomly appear for players, unfortunately, that's probably not what's happening here. Judging by what we already know about vehicles in Helldivers 2, and what little we know about Arrowhead's mysterious dungeon master, it's much more likely that we're dealing with a Joel impersonator who should be reported to the Ministry of Truth.

Helldivers 2 CEO spills the beans on an unreleased 'heavy machine gun' with a tripod before immediately correcting himself: 'Never mind. There's so such thing as HMG'
https://www.pcgamer.com/helldivers-2-hmg-heavy-machine-gun-arrowhead-johan-pilestedt/
Like a moth to a flame, Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt can't help but tease the future of Helldivers 2 whenever he logs on to Twitter.
Today, after penning a cryptic tweet about giving Super Earth citizens "more officially regulated and mandated freedom," Pilestedt replied to one fan's concept for a tripod-equipped minigun with a curious insight into a different, unreleased Helldivers 2 gun.

Arc weapons shouldn't crash your game anymore in Helldivers 2, so you can zap to your heart's content
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/arc-weapons-shouldnt-crash-your-game-anymore-in-helldivers-2-so-you-can-zap-to-your-hearts-content/
The latest Warbond for Helldivers 2 includes a lot of ways to dispense electric justice—and ways to survive those zaps when they inevitably blow back in your face. Unfortunately, an entirely different problem's been slaying Helldivers lately: A frozen game client.
(...)
Fortunately, that should all be fixed now. Arc weapons and stratagems should no longer crash your game. Community Manager Baskinator also shared a list of known issues the team at Arrowhead's still working on, as per the game's official Discord:

With our Pirate Captain still showing no signs of life (maybe once Easter is done?), I’m bringing you some other news to skip:

Orange Pi Neo gaming handheld released: Ryzen 7 7840U version costs $499
https://videocardz.com/newz/orange-pi-neo-gaming-handheld-released-ryzen-7-7840u-version-costs-499
>> Comes with the Majaro Linux distro, 16Gb LPDDR5 and 512GB of storage.

Qualcomm, Intel, & Google Join Hands To Come For NVIDIA, Plans On Dethroning CUDA Through oneAPI
https://wccftech.com/qualcomm-intel-google-join-hands-to-come-nvidia-plans-on-dethroning-cuda-oneapi/
>> They surely have more resources that AMD. Will they succeed?

Potential Intel Battlemage “Xe2-HPG” 20 & 24 Core GPU Spotted With 12 GB VRAM
https://wccftech.com/intel-battlemage-xe2-hpg-20-24-xe-core-gpu-spotted-12-gb-vram-rumor/
Intel's next-generation Battlemage "Xe2-HPG" GPUs have potentially been spotted within the SiSoftware Sandra database.

Samsung Officially Lists Next-Gen GDDR7 Memory For Next-Gen GPUs: 28 Gbps & 32 Gbps For Now
https://wccftech.com/samsung-lists-next-gen-gddr7-memory-next-gen-gpus-28-gbps-32-gbps-for-now/

NVIDIA Rumored To Limit Supply of GeForce RTX 40 “Ada” GPUs To Make Room For RTX 50 “Blackwell” Gaming Lineup
https://wccftech.com/nvidia-limit-supply-geforce-rtx-40-ada-gpus-make-room-rtx-50-blackwell-gaming-lineup/
NVIDIA has reportedly informed its partners that the supply of its existing GeForce RTX 40 "Ada" family will be reduced significantly moving forward as the company preps for RTX 50 "Blackwell" launch in the gaming segment.
The rumor comes from Quasarzone who talked to South Korean industry experts who highlighted that NVIDIA is informing its partners about limited shipments for its GeForce RTX 40 "Ada' GPUs as the launch of RTX 50 "Blackwell" GPUs approaches for 2H 2024.

AMD Prepping Ryzen 5000XT CPU Refresh For AM4 Budget Platforms, Faster Clocks On Zen 3
https://wccftech.com/amd-ryzen-5000xt-cpu-refresh-am4-budget-platforms-faster-clocks-zen-3/
AMD is planning to refresh its Ryzen 5000XT CPUs based on the huge popularity of the AM4 platform with faster Zen 3 chips.
The XT series by AMD is usually seen as a generational refresh & could be seen as a "final departure" by the company made for a particular platform. The last time we saw "XT" SKUs was in the Ryzen 3000 series, launched in 2019, to compete with Intel's Comet Lake processors, which were gobbling up AMD's market share at that time. The CPUs were presented beside the recent AMD presentation held during the AI PC summit in Bejing, China.

AMD 5th Gen EPYC Turin “Zen 5 & Zen 5C” CPU Lineup Leaks Out: Up To 160 Cores, 320 MB Cache & 500W TDP
https://wccftech.com/amd-5th-gen-epyc-turin-zen-5-zen-5c-cpu-lineup-leak-up-to-160-cores-320-mb-cache-500w-tdp/
AMD's 5th Gen EPYC Turin CPU lineup featuring Zen 5 & Zen 5C cores with up to 160 cores has been leaked out by Yuuki_AnS.

AMD 24.3.1 Drivers Unlock RX 7900 GRE Memory OC Limits, Additional Performance Boost Tested
https://www.techpowerup.com/320715/amd-24-3-1-drivers-unlock-rx-7900-gre-memory-oc-limits-additional-performance-boost-tested
Without making much noise, AMD lifted the memory overclocking limits of the Radeon RX 7900 GRE graphics card with its latest Adrenalin 24.3.1 WHQL drivers, TechPowerUp found. The changelog is a bit vague and states "The maximum memory tuning limit may be incorrectly reported on AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE graphics products."—we tested it. (...)

AMD Expected To Utilize Samsung 4nm Process For Low-End Ryzen APUs & Radeon GPUs
https://wccftech.com/amd-utilize-samsung-4nm-process-low-end-ryzen-apus-radeon-gpus-rumor/
AMD is reportedly going to utilize Samsung's 4nm process node for the development of low-end APUs and Radeon GPUs.
The rumor comes from @Tech_Reve who states that AMD is expected to utilize Samsung's 4nm node to power some of its client-side products including Ryzen APUs and Radeon GPUs. Citing "Reliable sources", it is projected that AMD will rely more on Samsung's Foundries in the future which might have to do with TSMC's fabs being booked out entirely due to huge demand from other segments such as AI.

Microsoft DirectSR API Seeks to Make Upscaling Easier
https://wccftech.com/microsoft-directsr-api-seeks-to-make-upscaling-easier/
About a month ago, the Game Developers Conference 2024 schedule unveiled a new technology called Microsoft DirectSR. As one could easily guess from its name (Direct SuperResolution), it's an attempt to make the implementation of upscalers easier, and it was built in collaboration with all of the main CPU and GPU vendors (NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel).
Shawn Hargreaves, Dev Manager at Microsoft's Direct3D division, took the stage on Thursday, March 21, in Room 2009 of Moscone Center's West Hall to introduce Microsoft DirectSR. Hargreaves noted that PC games nowadays are expected to support multiple upscaling techniques right away (just think of the controversies when AMD FSR or NVIDIA DLSS are missing in a game, like with Starfield), and platforms want to apply newer, improved techniques to existing games. These are precisely the kind of problems that DirectX was always meant to solve on behalf of developers.

Microsoft Patents Resource-Based Ray Tracing, Promises Less Strain on GPU VRAM
https://www.techpowerup.com/320778/microsoft-patents-resource-based-ray-tracing-promises-less-strain-on-gpu-vram
Microsoft has filed for a new and even potentially groundbreaking patent that could transform the way ray tracing graphics are processed, especially when video memory (VRAM) is scarce. The patent proposes a technique to minimize the memory footprint of ray tracing graphics, tackling the escalating concerns about the growing memory demands for ray tracing and path tracing. The innovation outlined in Microsoft's patent employs a dynamic level of detail (LOD) approach to adaptively modify the quality of ray tracing effects based on accessible resources. The patent portrays the ray tracing pipeline as an acceleration structure that can be streamlined using this LOD system. The cornerstone of this optimization is a residency map that aligns with a bounding volume hierarchy of objects. The graphics processing system can then utilize this map to ascertain the suitable quality level for objects at any given moment. This methodology enables a more reasonable allocation of resources, guaranteeing that the most crucial objects receive the highest quality rendering. At the same time, less important elements can be rendered at lower quality to conserve memory.

Don't worry, they'll add those in Overwatch 3. But not at launch, obviously, but later on...

Biggest issue I had with overwatch 1 is that it took them a year to release a couple of maps and 1 character.
...By then I had moved onto other games.

I did come back to Overwatch 2 for a few days, but just felt it really wasn't a sequel, it was more like an expansion, good thing it's free though I guess.
It's definitely a game that has fumbled rather impressively.

The summoning is getting real, I see.