This article didn't fit in the PC news posts as it's related to the N64, but I thought some of you may like it:

A Konami code variant in Castlevania has been discovered after a quarter of a century
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/a-konami-code-variant-in-castlevania-has-been-discovered-after-a-quarter-of-a-century/
The Konami code is one of those Easter eggs that has long since travelled outside of its origins. It first appeared in the seminal shooter Gradius in 1986, but came to prominence in the west thanks to the NES release of Contra (it is sometimes called "the Contra code"), and basically gives the players bonuses depending on the game: in Gradius you got all the power-ups, in Contra you got 30 lives.

Funnily enough, the code was intended as a debug tool, but someone forgot to remove it and, with Gradius in the latter stages of production, the decision was made to just leave it be. Konami's developers, recognising it was hard to input accidentally but easy if you knew the secret, adopted it as something of a trademark and began including bonuses in many of its games based on the code (usually on the title screen).

The code became so ubiquitous that any new Konami game was immediately Konami-coded to oblivion by players, and it's not the most complex Easter egg, so there's been a widespread assumption that every possible use of the Konami code had been found. Not so. Two dedicated Castlevania 64 players, Moises and LiquidCat, have discovered an example that's remained hidden in Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness for 25 years (their finding was subsequently brought to wider notice by YouTuber JupiterClimb and The Gamer.) 

(...)

The reason no-one had discovered this (or at least made it known)? Firstly the inputs are not, as usual, made with the d-pad or analogue stick. The Nintendo 64 controller had two main face buttons, A and B, but then four C buttons marked with directional arrows. In this example, the Konami code is not triggered by its usual form: which would be up up, down down, left right, left right, then A+B (sometimes followed by the Start or Select button).

Instead, and for whatever reason, the developers doubled every input. So the Konami code for Legacy of Darkness is: C-up x4, C-down x 4, C-left x 2, C-right x 2, C-left x 2, C-right x2, and then pressing the N64 pad's L+R shoulder buttons alongside pulling the Z-trigger. Put like that, you can see why even people trying out the Konami code everywhere on this game hadn't found it till now.

Let’s do the news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Considered doomed 6 years ago, Fallout 76 is attracting record player numbers thanks to the TV series
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fallout/considered-doomed-6-years-ago-fallout-76-is-attracting-record-player-numbers-thanks-to-the-tv-series/
Following the success of the Fallout TV adaptation, Fallout 76 has—perhaps inevitably—attracted a new audience, reaching over a million players in a single day according to the series' official X account.
Taking Steam as a sole metric (the game is also on Sony and Xbox consoles), Fallout 76 reached its all-time player peak only two days ago, with 73,368 concurrents reported on Sunday. Though originally released in 2018, Fallout 76 was exclusive to the Bethesda launcher ahead of its eventual Steam release in May 2020, when its peak concurrent hit a comparatively modest 32,982. And that remained its record until a few days ago.

GOG has three new Deals of the Day and a new sale:

• These are the DotD, that will last 46 hours:
  • The first one is Ostriv, still in Early Access, with a 10% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/ostriv
  • To Hell With The Ugly is 45% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/to_hell_with_the_ugly
  • The third one is Warlords III: Darklords Rising, featuring a 49% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/warlords_iii_darklords_rising
• And publisher Wired Productions will host is hosting its Direct right now, if it hasn’t ended yet, to show its new titles. Plus, they’ve put their games on sale with up to 85% discounts until April, 28. Learn more here: https://www.gog.com/en/news/lets_watch_wired_direct_24_together

Steam has two new deals:

• Wavetale, that has a demo, gets a 65% discount until the 7th of May: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1823930/Wavetale/
• Oxygen will be 80% off until the same 7th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2061430/Oxygen/

The Humble Store presents the Tripwire Spotlight Sale, with up to 80% discounts during 6 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/tripwire-spotlight-sale/.

And Fanatical’s new Star Deal is Dying Light 2 Stay Human: Reloaded Edition, 61% off during 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/dying-light-2-stay-human.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Fallout London's project lead is not taking the surprise drop of Fallout 4's update well: 'That has, for a lack of a better term, screwed us over'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fallout/fallout-londons-project-lead-is-not-taking-the-surprise-drop-of-fallout-4s-update-well-that-has-for-a-lack-of-a-better-term-screwed-us-over/
Dean Carter, the project lead on Fallout London, revealed in a short interview with the BBC that Bethesda gave their team of modders no warning before Fallout 4's next-gen update, which he says "has, for a lack of a better term, screwed us over."

GAMING NEWS

Riven Remake Gets an Official Gameplay Trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/riven-remake-gets-an-official-gameplay-trailer/
Cyan Worlds has just released an official gameplay trailer for its upcoming remake of Riven in Unreal Engine 5. This official remake will be similar to the Myst Remake, meaning that it will allow you to fully explore the game’s world.

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Title Update 3.2 Released & Detailed
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/avatar-frontiers-of-pandora-title-update-3-2-released-detailed/
Ubisoft has released Title Update 3.2 for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, and shared its full patch notes. According to the changelog, this new patch is 3GB in size on PC, and it enables Intel XeSS Super Sampling.

Men of War 2 will be now officially released on May 15th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/men-of-war-2-will-be-now-officially-released-on-may-15th/
Fulqrum Publishing has announced that its upcoming strategy game, Men of War 2, will be now released on May 15th. Men of War 2 was delayed in 2022, so hopefully Best Way used these two extra years to further polish it and optimize it.

Horizon Forbidden West PC Patch 1.3.55.0 Released & Detailed
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/horizon-forbidden-west-pc-patch-1-3-55-0-released-detailed/
Nixxes Software has released Title Update 1.3.55.0 for Horizon: Forbidden West, and shared its full patch notes. This patch is around 300MB in size, and it will upgrade Intel XeSS to its latest version.

KARMA: The Dark World Is a New Unreal Engine 5-Powered First-Person Cinematic Psychological Thriller
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/karma-the-dark-world-is-a-new-unreal-engine-5-powered-first-person-cinematic-psychological-thriller/
Remember The Dark World: KARMA? Well, of course you don’t. This game was announced back in June 2021. And today, Wired Productions revealed a title change and a new trailer for it.

Remnant 2 now officially supports NVIDIA DLSS 3.7 and Intel XeSS 1.3
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/remnant-2-now-officially-supports-nvidia-dlss-3-7-and-intel-xess-1-3/
Gunfire Games has released a new update for Remnant 2 that adds official support for NVIDIA DLSS 3.7 and Intel XeSS 1.3. As such, PC gamers will no longer have to use mods in order to get the best image quality in this game when using these upscalers.

Wednesday news, part two:

Grand Theft Auto 5 actor 'shot some stuff' with Rockstar for a 'James Bond Trevor' expansion that never happened
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/grand-theft-auto/grand-theft-auto-5-actor-shot-some-stuff-with-rockstar-for-a-james-bond-trevor-expansion-that-never-happened/
Grand Theft Auto 5 first released in 2013 (coming to PC in 2015), and from the vantage point of 2024 we can see it was a live game in disguise. The singleplayer side of the game, which for the first time featured three protagonists players could switch between on-the-fly, acted as Trojan horse for Rockstar's second swing at GTA Online, the multiplayer mode that would come to dominate the studio's time and attention and generate unfathomable levels of cash.
This meant that some plans went by the wayside. Originally GTA 5 had post-launch plans that were more in-line with GTA 4, which received two excellent singleplayer expansions: The Lost and the Damned, and The Ballad of Gay Tony. Rockstar was planning three singleplayer expansions for GTA 5, each themed around one of the game's protagonists, but after the launch itself re-focused on creating expansions for GTA Online (the studio first mentioned singleplayer DLC in 2013, but it would take until 2017 for its cancellation to be confirmed).
Thanks to dataminers, we know that the first expansion was named Agent Trevor, while the latter two had the working titles of "Zombie Apocalypse" and "Alien Invasion." (...)

Gloomhaven studio releases a demo for a new game and lays off more than half its employees on the same day
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/gloomhaven-studio-releases-a-demo-for-a-new-game-and-lays-off-more-than-half-its-employees-on-the-same-day/
In a strange and unfortunate turn, indie developer Flaming Fowl Studios, known for past games including Fable Fortune and Gloomhaven, has released a demo for a new game on Steam while simultaneously laying off more than half its employees.
"Today we are releasing a demo of Ironmarked, a new game we have been working on recently," Flaming Fowl said. "Unfortunately, due to the current lack of funding in the games industry, we are putting production on hold and have had to downsize the studio, letting go of some amazing people. 

Blizzard admits WoW is rough for new players and plans to fix that: 'We know that we have a lot of work to do'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/world-of-warcraft/blizzard-admits-wow-is-rough-for-new-players-and-plans-to-fix-that-we-know-that-we-have-a-lot-of-work-to-do/
If I didn't have years of prior experience playing World of Warcraft, I imagine my first hour in The War Within alpha would've gone much worse. WoW immediately buries you in buckets of spells and items and quests that even had me gasping for air trying to make sense of it all. The new and returning player experience is rough, and Blizzard is willing to admit as much, according to a recent interview with Windows Central.

German government wants games like Baldur's Gate 3 to 'also go on to be developed in Germany'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/german-game-awards-baldurs-gate-3/
Last year, we were slightly surprised to learn that not only does the German government sponsor a videogame award ceremony, it gives serious cash prizes to most of the winners. At the 2023 German Computer Game Awards—aka the Deutscher Computerspielpreis (DCP)—retro RPG Chained Echoes won Best German Game and a €100,000 endowment, and at this year's ceremony on April 18, the same honor and cash prize went to Everspace 2 and Hamburg-based developer Rockfish Games.
(...)
The point of the cash prizes is of course to support and encourage German game development, and Michael Kellner, Parliamentary State Secretary at Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, says he wants to ensure that German studios produce games like Baldur's Gate 3 in the future. (And also do some climate action, I assume.)

Homeworld 3's latest system requirements won't fill up your SSD but you'll need all the CPU and GPU you can throw at it
https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/homeworld-3s-latest-system-requirements-wont-fill-up-your-ssd-but-youll-need-all-the-cpu-and-gpu-you-can-throw-at-it/
With Homeworld 3 just weeks away from launch, Blackbird Interactive has done what surprisingly few developers do these days: updated and released a comprehensive system requirements chart. For gamers using a modest PC, it looks very promising, but if you're hoping to play it at 4K with maximum graphics, you're going to need the very best gaming hardware.

FF14 and FF16 senior translator Koji Fox says 'you can kinda tell' game director Naoki Yoshida is 'like: I'm done with dark fantasy, I want to do something light again'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/final-fantasy/ff14-and-ff16-senior-translator-koji-fox-says-you-can-kinda-tell-game-director-naoki-yoshida-is-like-im-done-with-dark-fantasy-i-want-to-do-something-light-again/
Naoki Yoshida, also known as Yoshi-P, is the producer of both the (critically-acclaimed) MMORPG Final Fantasy 14 as well as Final Fantasy 16, which is still yet to come to PC. 
In terms of tone, FF14 is a celebratory grab-bag of Final Fantasy stories, whereas 16 (from what I've seen) hangs its hat far more upon Game of Thrones-style dark fantasy. Of course there's still a side of giant kaiju battles with primals, but still—it's a more sombre affair at first glance.
That's an opinion shared by Square Enix senior translator Michael-Christopher Koji Fox, who has worked on both games, in a recent interview with MinnMax (thanks, GamesRadar): "I went from something very light like Final Fantasy 14 where it's craziness, it's all over the place—you have the weirdness of Hildebrand … then you go to [FF16 and] it's this game about slavery, and the end of the world, and humans losing their wills, and it's so heavy."

Embracer's CEO says 'I'm sure I deserve a lot of criticism' as he reflects on a company split three ways—but maintains that every 'key entrepreneur and CEO' believed in its 'mission'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/embracers-ceo-says-im-sure-i-deserve-a-lot-of-criticism-as-he-reflects-on-a-company-split-three-waysbut-maintains-that-every-key-entrepreneur-and-ceo-believed-in-its-mission/
If you've not been following the journey of Embracer, let me speedrun an explanation real quick: Over the course of seven years, Embracer snapped up a bunch of companies, hit an iceberg of a sunken $2 billion dollar deal, subsequently laid off 1,400 people in six months, and scrapped a bunch of projects while selling off studios to bail water.
Recently, the hull has split three ways. Embracer will break off into Asmodee Corp, Coffee Stain & Friends, and Middle-Earth Enterprises & Friends. This is something Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors called "the start of a new chapter". Going forward, he'll be a shareholder in all three companies.
Looking back on the rest of the book, though, Wingefors does seem to admit that he might have messed up. Just a bit. 

'We are going home': PUBG's original Erangel map from Early Access is 'making a triumphant return to the battlegrounds'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/battle-royale/we-are-going-home-pubgs-original-erangel-map-from-early-access-is-making-a-triumphant-return-to-the-battlegrounds/
PlayerUnkown's Battlegrounds is scrapping the new and going back to the old so players can revisit the classic Erangel map, which was the battle royale's first-ever battleground. It will be available on PC from May 14 and is "designed to evoke nostalgia for players who remember the early days," according to an official blog post. 

The Thursday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

The Epic Store gives away:

• INDUSTRIA: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/industria
• LISA: The Definitive Edition: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/bundles/lisa-the-definitive-edition

And next week, the free games are… unknown. There’s not even a sign to say there’ll be one.

GOG has several new deals:

• The first one is the Builder Sale, with up to 90% discounts during 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20240425_builder_sale
• Some Dontnod games land on the store, and they do it with a 20% discount until the 5th of May. Learn more here: https://www.gog.com/en/news/a_variety_of_dontnod_entertainment_titles_is_joining_the_gog_catalog
• The Maximum Entertainment Bundle is going to be 95% off until the 9th of May: https://www.gog.com/en/game/maximum_entertainment_bundle
• And the last one, the Indie Sale, with 600 titles up to 90% off during the next 14 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20240425_indie_sale

Steam has two new deals:

• Lonely Mountains: Downhill, that has a demo, is going to be 70% off until May, the 8th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/711540/Lonely_Mountains_Downhill/
• And The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing gets a 90% discount until the same day, the 8th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/215530/The_Incredible_Adventures_of_Van_Helsing/

At Humble Bundle we find the new Create, Automate & Manage Bundle, featuring up to 8 items to get (there’s one coupon) for the next 20 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/create-automate-manage.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

INTEL Arc Graphics 31.0.101.5445 driver
https://videocardz.com/driver/intel-arc-graphics-31-0-101-5445
Gaming Highlights:
Intel® Game On Driver support on Intel® Arc™ A-series Graphics GPUs and Intel® Core™ Ultra with built-in Intel® Arc™ GPUs for:

• Manor Lords

Fixed Issues
Intel® Arc™ A-Series Graphics Products:

• A Plague Tale: Requiem (DX12) may experience lower than expected performance.

Steam closes refund policy loophole, finally comes up with a name for the thing where you can play a game early if you preorder
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/steam-closes-refund-policy-loophole-comes-up-with-official-term-for-the-thing-where-you-can-play-a-game-early-if-you-pre-order/
Few videogame marketing terms are more aggravatingly ambiguous than "early access." Most painfully, it can refer to two very different scenarios: Sometimes it means putting an in-development game on sale before it's done, and other times it means offering access to a finished game early, typically as a deluxe edition preorder bonus. Starfield offered several days of "early access" with its Premium Edition, for instance.
Steam, the platform responsible for popularizing the first meaning of early access, has had enough. It's now designating the latter scenario, when a developer offers pre-launch access to a completed game, "Advanced Access."
"Unlike Early Access, Advanced Access is not a unique model of development for a game, it's simply an opportunity to play a game before it fully releases on Steam," says the platform.
(...)
I'm sure someone at Valve shares my irritation with the fluctuating meaning of "early access," but the new distinction probably has less to do with that, and more to do with a refund loophole. Apparently, when you got advanced access to a game in the past, your pre-release playtime didn't count toward the two-hour refund window. Now that Steam has formalized advanced access, it does.
Steam's updated refund policy still includes one exception to the two-hour rule, "beta testing," which refers to special beta builds of games that developers can make available for a limited time. So, if you accept an invite to a free playtest on Steam, it won't contribute to your playtime should you later buy the game. But if you pre-purchase a game, and then gain advanced access to it, your playtime will count toward the two-hour limit for automatic refund approval.
The potential for confusion still exists, because sometimes developers call advanced access periods beta periods, even if nobody thinks it's sensible to claim you're "beta testing" a game two days before its wide release. But it's progress.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Garry's Mod is removing 20 years' worth of Nintendo-related items from its Steam Workshop following takedown request: 'It's Nintendo. Need more be said?'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/garrys-mod-is-removing-20-years-worth-of-nintendo-related-items-from-its-steam-workshop-following-takedown-request-its-nintendo-need-more-be-said/
Following a takedown request issued by Nintendo, the famed physics sandbox Garry's Mod is removing "all Nintendo related stuff" from its Steam Workshop.
"Some of you may have noticed that certain Nintendo related workshop items have recently been taken down," Facepunch Studios said in a Steam update. "This is not a mistake, the takedowns came from Nintendo.
"Honestly, this is fair enough. This is Nintendo's content and what they allow and don't allow is up to them. They don't want you playing with that stuff in Garry's Mod—that's their decision, we have to respect that and take down as much as we can."
(...)
There's definitely a lot of Nintendo-related stuff available for Garry's Mod. A search for "Nintendo" in the Garry's Mod Steam Workshop brings up 44 pages of results, while "Mario" delivers a whopping 186 pages of results. Other Nintendo characters, including Bowser, Zelda, Princess Peach, Luigi, and Yoshi also bring up dozens of pages of results. It's a big pile to sort through, and Facepunch turned to the community for some help with the effort.
"This is an ongoing process, as we have 20 years of uploads to go through," it wrote. "If you want to help us by deleting your Nintendo related uploads and never uploading them again, that would help us a lot."
Whether it will get that help seems to be an open question. Despite the message, there's still some doubt among Garry's Mod players that the takedown request is real. Some are criticizing the development team for "falling for it," while others are demanding proof that Facepunch verified the takedown requests are legit. A few legal theories about fair use in Japan are being kicked around, and there are also calls for Facepunch to keep the Nintendo content in place as a matter of principle, and damn the consequences. Naturally, there's also a good deal of upset with Nintendo, and occasional predictions of Garry's Mod's imminent demise (not all of them polite) should it knuckle under to the forces of injustice.
None of which is likely to matter—there's nothing in the takedown announcement indicating that this is anything but a done deal. As Facepunch put it, "It's Nintendo. Need more be said?"

This Fallout-inspired post-apocalyptic wasteland game runs in Excel, because spreadsheets will outlive us all
https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/this-fallout-inspired-post-apocalyptic-wasteland-game-runs-in-excel-because-spreadsheets-will-outlive-us-all/
If productivity apps were party guests, Microsoft Excel would be the guy who sits in the corner, interrupting every anecdote with the phrase "actually, I think you'll find…", and as a result, rarely gets invited back. It's a dependable old workhorse of a program, depressingly accurate and dry as the apocalyptic wastes. 
However, this Fallout-inspired RPG runs right inside of the spreadsheet creator, and once again shows off exactly what the dependable Microsoft app can do when shown a dash of creative spark. 
Simply referred to as "Fallout-like-excel-rpg v 1-1", the game has players explore the post-apocalyptic wasteland of Mercer, and features two primary gameplay components, questing and battling (via Tom's Hardware). The gameplay is mostly text-based, but there is a top down perspective map in which you can move your party via cell-based arrow buttons.
The questing portion of the game features eight missions in which players solve the mystery of the location of Vault 11's missing overseer, while the battling system involves defeating foes using D&D-style mechanics in order to level up their party.
It's worth noting that you'll need Microsoft Excel proper in order to run it, as I tried in LibreOffice Calc and was met with quite a few runtime errors. You'll also have to untick the "this file came from another computer..." unblock box in the file properties to enable macros as well, so there's a little bit of fiddling involved.
>> There’s a short video of the game.

GAMING NEWS

Total War: Warhammer III Patch 5.0 will add new free content
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/total-war-warhammer-iii-patch-5-0-will-add-new-free-content/
Creative Assembly and Feral Interactive announced Title Update 5.0 for Total War: Warhammer III which adds new free content to the game.

After almost a decade, Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition is finally available on PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/after-almost-a-decade-tomb-raider-definitive-edition-is-finally-available-on-pc/
In 2014, Square Enix released a remastered version of the 2013 reboot of Tomb Raider on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. And now, after almost a decade, this Definitive Edition is finally available on PC.
(...)
Now while this is good news, there is a catch. This Definitive Edition is only available on Microsoft Store. I don’t know why, but Steam does not have this version. And, since this was a shadow-drop, I don’t expect Square Enix to release it on Valve’s distribution service.

Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection Patch 2 Released, Bringing Stability & Bug Fixes
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/star-wars-battlefront-classic-collection-patch-2-released-bringing-stability-bug-fixes/
Aspyr has released the second major update for Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection, and shared its complete changelog. According to the release notes, Patch 2 comes with numerous bug fixes and stability improvements.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 April 25th Patch Available for Download
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/dragons-dogma-2-april-25th-patch-available-for-download/
As promised, Capcom has released a new Title Update for Dragon’s Dogma 2 on all platforms. According to the release notes, the April 25th Patch brings adjustments to Pawns’ behavior and dialogue, and fixes a number of issues. So, let’s take a closer look at them.

Thursday news, part two:

The futility of Helldivers 2's 'Menkent Line' has parts of the community feeling bot fatigue: 'We fought hard to establish a defensive line, and for what?'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/the-futility-of-helldivers-2s-menkent-line-has-parts-of-the-community-feeling-bot-fatigue-we-fought-hard-to-establish-a-defensive-line-and-for-what/
The ever-marching galactic war campaign of Helldivers 2 is impressive, so much so that it's a little difficult to follow, though the sense of FOMO is there for the right reasons, that being "I'm missing out on a cool, emergent, player-driven story". Well, that's the idea at least—right now, the community's a little bummed out.

No Rest for the Wicked chief defends early access, says more games should do it: 'Imagine [if] Dark Souls 1 had been in early access'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/no-rest-for-the-wicked-chief-defends-early-access-says-more-games-should-do-it-imagine-if-dark-souls-1-had-been-in-early-access/
No Rest for the Wicked, the action RPG from Ori and the Blind Forest developer Moon Studios, launched into early access on Steam last week, and it's really quite good. Not everyone is entirely taken with it, though: An awful lot of negative reviews flowed in immediately after release, complaining about a raft of issues including performance, balance, and an overall lack of polish.
(...)
Regardless of all that and whatever anyone else might think about it, Moon Studios CEO and creative director Thomas Mahler has no regrets, calling the early access release "one of the best decisions we could've made."
"I see some people are still irked about why games like Wicked, Hades 2, Larian's new game, etc. launch into early access even if the studio 'should have the funds to finish the game and release it then'," Mahler wrote on Twitter. "But that's looking at a complex problem through a way too simple lens.

Surprise! Minecraft's brand new mob has rolled out months before the update we expected it would be in
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/surprise-minecrafts-brand-new-mob-has-rolled-out-months-before-the-update-we-expected-it-would-be-in/
Minecraft launched some new creatures this week in the form of armadillos and eight new types of wolf. If you thought: "Hold on, aren't armadillos the new mob coming in the Minecraft 1.21 update later this year?" Yup, that's what I'd assumed too. They'd been in snapshots already, but now they've actually rolled out not as an experimental feature, but as part of a regular old game update this week (version 1.20.8 for Bedrock and 1.20.5 for Java edition). Surprise!

Klei's new co-op brawler makes a strong first impression in early access
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/rotwood-early-access-launch/
I like a game that chucks me into the thick of it with minimal preamble: Just beat me up! I'll learn! Klei's new co-op brawler is one of those: You can handwave the NPC welcoming committee who tries to explain the controls and just start swinging a hammer at forest monsters within seconds. My kind of game.
I've only played about an hour of Rotwood, which released on Steam in early access today, but for $11 (even less right now since it's on sale), I'd already recommend it to my friends. They've invested as much in lesser games just to have something new to play in co-op, and I've even been enjoying Rotwood as a solo game.

Lords of the Fallen now has one of those masochistic enemy randomizer modes for action RPG fans looking for punishment
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/lords-of-the-fallen-now-has-one-of-those-masochistic-enemy-randomizer-modes-for-action-rpg-fans-looking-for-punishment/
Lords of the Fallen's final update, version 1.5, gives it what every good action RPG must have: a randomizer mode for the sickos who thrive in the chaos of unpredictable enemies and loot.

Manor Lords' publisher explains why there's no price attached yet: 'we don’t want players to get scammed or cheated'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/city-builder/manor-lords-publisher-explains-why-theres-no-price-attached-yet-we-dont-want-players-to-get-scammed-or-cheated/
Medieval city-builder Manor Lords is Steam's most wishlisted game and is a mere day away from release, but no one is actually sure how much it's going to cost. 
Apparently, that's on purpose. Tim Bender, the CEO of Hooded Horse, Manor Lords' publisher, took to Reddit to explain the collective decision not to disclose the price until its launch day. "We don’t like to declare a price in advance of release," Bender says. "Because sharing the US price alone will lead to misunderstandings. People will be concluding the game is unaffordable in their region when at launch they will have pricing that will work for them." 

US game devs celebrate as non-compete clauses, previously deemed 'a trash way to keep the talent', face a ban from the FTC—which would free up movement across the AAA industry
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/us-game-devs-celebrate-as-non-compete-clauses-previously-deemed-a-trash-way-to-keep-the-talent-face-a-ban-from-the-ftcwhich-would-free-up-movement-across-the-aaa-industry/
Workers from just about every industry in the US are celebrating a landmark announcement by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that, unless stopped, will ban non-compete clauses in around four months.
A non-compete is, in essence, a clause that dictates whether a worker can find employment (or create a product) that directly competes with their employer—even if they aren't working for them anymore. Typically, these will last around six months to a year after the end of employment, but they can last longer. 

AMD Ryzen 9050 “Strix Halo” specs leaked: 16 Zen5 cores and 40 RDNA3.5 CUs, LP5x-8000 memory and 32MB MALL cache

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-ryzen-9050-strix-halo-specs-leaked-16-zen5-cores-and-40-rdna3-5-cus-lp5x-8000-memory-and-32mb-mall-cache

SDC launches 4K 165Hz Nano-IPS monitor with DisplayPort 2.0 at $415

https://videocardz.com/newz/sdc-launches-4k-165hz-nano-ips-monitor-with-displayport-2-0-at-415

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang to deliver keynote on June 2nd, right before Computex

https://videocardz.com/newz/nvidia-ceo-jensen-huang-to-deliver-keynote-on-june-2nd-right-before-computex

ASUS ROG Ally finally gets AMD Fluid Motion Frames support

https://videocardz.com/newz/asus-rog-ally-finally-gets-amd-fluid-motion-frames-support

I'm really curious to see how the Stric Halo performs. With those 40 CUs it beats the 7600 and the PS5 GPU, albeit with the problem of running LPDDR5 instead of GDDR6 and at an unknown frequency, and so it could be a perfect chip to power a HTPC with some good enough gaming capabilities.

Heck, if Valve wants to give it a second chance, they could use this to give their Steam Machines a second chance. Use the Deck to play on the go and then turn this thing once at home, let it sync your progress, and you're ready to keep playing on your TV or monitor.

For those of us using Windows Defender or Kaspersky Antivirus, here's something worth knowing:

Major Windows Defender security flaw can wipe your files and apps
https://www.club386.com/major-windows-defender-security-flaw-can-wipe-your-files-and-apps/
Researchers have discovered major flaws in Microsoft and Kaspersky security products. They claim that Windows Defender can be tricked into deleting databases. Even worse, the exploit can be activated remotely and possibly allow attackers to delete files and applications from afar. Spooky indeed.

As first reported by The Register, cybersecurity outfit SafeBreach discussed its findings during the Black Hat Asia conference in Singapore. The team asserts that the hole could remain exploitable even if both vendors claim to have patched the problem.

SafeBreach’s VP of Security Research, Tomer Bar, and security researcher Shmuel Cohen discovered that both Windows Defender and Kaspersky’s Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) can be manipulated to detect ‘fake’ malicious files. These files can then be used to affect an entire database and delete it.

The attack relies on the fact that both companies use byte signatures to detect malware. Byte signatures are unique sequences of bytes in file headers. “Our goal was to confuse EDR by implanting malware signatures into legit files and make them think it’s malicious,” explained the experts.

(...)

When made aware of the exploit, Kaspersky claimed the issue was not a security vulnerability. “The product’s behaviour is more driven by design,” said the vendor. Fortunatetly, it did concede that it has plans to implement some improvements to help mitigate the issue. Cohen said he has tested these claims and has found that the mitigations seem to work. However, he does not guarantee the patches cannot be bypassed.

The exploit similarly affects Windows Defender and Microsoft-associated products like Azure Cloud. The researchers chose not to test the vulnerability on the cloud-based service because the potential consequences are far too damaging. Instead, SafeBreach reported its findings to Microsoft in January 2023. Microsoft acknowledged the potential flaw as CVE-2023-24860 and issued a subsequent patch.

Of course, the researchers did not stop there. They claimed that patches from both companies were merely surface-level fixes. Since Microsoft’s products are far-reaching, the team chose to focus its efforts there. By December 2023, the experts yet again managed to bypass the initial patch and trigger the exploit. This time, Microsoft was unphased and claimed that the bypass only worked on already compromised endpoints.

The duo have, therefore, concluded that remote deletion vulnerabilities are especially difficult to fix when the security controls rely on byte signature detection. Cohen commends Microsoft for being amenable and collaborative, but he argues that the flaw is deeply rooted inside Defender, and the only way to fix the issue entirely would require a total product redesign.

I wonder what the bandwidth speed is. It's a quad channel setup and the 32MB of MALL Cache basically function like the APUs Infinity Fabric. AMD looks like they are trying to address the biggest weakness of PC APUs. I'm curious to see how effective their efforts will be.

Quad-channel (256bit) LPDDR5-8000, which is what AMD advertises for the chip, would result in 256GB/s bandwidth, just slightly lower than the 288GB/s of the RX 7600(XT) and RTX 4060Ti desktop GPUs and same as the mobile 4070 - though of course it has to share it's bandwidth with the CPU, so effectively it should be somewhat lower, more comparable to the mobile 4060's 224GB/s. On the other hand the MALL cache should effectively work like infinity cache, which would certainly alleviate any bandwidth-related issues.

Since the clock speeds of the Strix Halo GPU are probably more in line with the mobile GPUs (and probably even than closer to Max-Q level), I'd say it has enough bandwidth - if laptop manufacturers don't cheap out too much on the memory that is! LPDDR5-7200 would result in a total bandwidth of 230GB/s, which could still be okay, but with LPDDR5-6400 we'd drop down to 205GB/s, at which point it will become very inadequate at best.

This all of course if the memory is quad-channel or 256bit, if the manufacturers cheap out here (which I really hope AMD forbids for those chips) then we'll get a chip that is totally choked by it's memory interface.

What I'm also interested in is what kind of cooler they will use to cool a 120W APU chip in a laptop environment.