The Friday news!

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Deep Rock Galactic Survivor sails past a million sold as developers salute players' 'ravenous appetite' for space dwarf content
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/deep-rock-galactic-survivor-sails-past-a-million-sold-as-developers-salute-players-ravenous-appetite-for-space-dwarf-content/
Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor released in early access in February, and developer Funday Games and Ghost Ship Publishing have announced that the spinoff of Deep Rock Galactic has now sold over a million copies. A Vampire Survivors-inspired take on the joys of dwarves space-mining in extreme peril, the initial reception has been positive and left our own Robin Valentine "much more hooked than I expected."
It's good times for fans of beards, with the OG Deep Rock Galactic having now sold over 8 million copies itself and gearing up for its fifth season (which starts in June). Deep Rock Galactic released in early access in 2018, moving into full release in 2020, since when it's followed a live service style seasonal model and gone from strength to strength. Deep Rock Galactic Survivors is published by Ghost Ship Games, a publishing label established after the original game's success, and there's more to come: cooperative roguelike spinoff Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core will enter Early Access later this year.

The Humble Store has two new sales:

• The VR Unleashed – Enter the Simulation Sale has up to 94% discounts during 6 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/vr-unleashed-enter-the-simulation/
• And the Koei Tecmo Golden Week Sale puts its games up to 77% off during 13 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/koei-tecmo-golden-week-sale/

Fanatical has a new Star Deal: Brewmaster: Beer Brewing Simulator can be yours with a 67% deal during the next 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/brewmaster-beer-brewing-simulator.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 24.4.1 driver
https://videocardz.com/driver/amd-radeon-software-adrenalin-24-4-1
Highlights
New Game Support

• Manor Lords

Expanded HYPR-Tune Support

• Nightingale
• SKULL AND BONES™

Expanded Vulkan Extensions Support

• VK_KHR_shader_maximal_reconvergence
• VK_KHR_dynamic_rendering_local_read

Fixed Issues

• Performance improvements for HELLDIVERS™ 2.
• Intermittent application crash may be observed while playing Lords of the Fallen and entering certain areas on Radeon™ RX 6000 series graphics products.
• Artifacts may appear in certain mud environments while playing SnowRunner on some AMD Graphics Products, such as the Radeon™ RX 6800.
• Rainbow-like artifacts may appear in water environments while playing Horizon Forbidden West™ Complete Edition on Radeon™ RX 6000 series graphics products.
• Intermittent application crash or driver timeout may be observed while playing Overwatch® 2 with Radeon™ Boost enabled on Radeon™ RX 6000 and above series graphics products.
• Intermittent application freeze when first launching SteamVR using the Quest Link feature on Meta Quest 2.
• Intermittent system or application crash when screen sharing using Microsoft Teams.
• Intermittent application crash changing Anti-Aliasing settings while playing Enshrouded on Radeon™ 7000 series graphics products.
• Display colors may appear “dim” or “washed out” after closing Enshrouded with Auto HDR enabled.

Epic Games highlights the key features of Unreal Engine 5.4
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/epic-games-highlights-the-key-features-of-unreal-engine-5-4/
Epic Games has released a new video that highlights the key features of the latest version of Unreal Engine 5, UE5.4. Unreal Engine 5.4 is currently available to all developers. And, the following video will give you a glimpse at its major features. So, let’s take a look at them.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Dragon’s Dogma 2 Now Has a Path Tracing Mod to Download
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/dragons-dogma-2-now-has-a-path-tracing-mod-to-download/
Now here is something that may blow you away. Modder ‘EXXXcellent’ has released a new mod that adds proper Path Tracing to Capcom’s latest game, Dragon’s Dogma 2.
This is an incredible mod that can greatly enhance the graphics of the game. By default, Dragon’s Dogma 2 supports RTGI. However, with this mod, you can unlock the full potential of Path Tracing. And, as you will see in the following screenshots, the visual improvements can be easily noticed.

Fallout Miami, DLC-sized expansion mod for Fallout 4, gets new in-engine trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/fallout-miami-dlc-sized-expansion-mod-for-fallout-4-gets-new-in-engine-trailer/
In October 2022, we informed you about an upcoming DLC-sized expansion mod for Fallout 4, Fallout: Miami. And, a few hours ago, its modding team released a new in-engine trailer for it.
In Fallout: Miami, there will be a whole new area to explore with an exciting main story. Plus, fans will find lots of extra stuff like side missions, gear, places to live, and loads of cool characters and friends to meet along the way.
In this DLC/expansion, players will solve the mystery of some people who vanished mysteriously. They’ll also get involved in a big fight between Order and Freedom. And in Fallout Miami, the city will have different parts, each with its own cool places and vibes.
Although there is still no ETA on when this expansion mod will come out, Fallout: Miami will be compatible with the Next-Gen Update.
>> The video is less than 2 minutes long.

GAMING NEWS

THQ Nordic has shared new screenshots for Gothic 1 Remake
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/thq-nordic-has-shared-new-screenshots-for-gothic-1-remake/
THQ Nordic has updated the Steam store page of Gothic 1 Remake with some new screenshots from it. Gothic 1 Remake will be using Unreal Engine 5, and these new screenshots will give you an idea of what Alkimia Interactive aims to achieve.

SAND LAND still suffers from shader compilation & traversal stutters on PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/sand-land-still-suffers-from-shader-compilation-traversal-stutters-on-pc/
In March 2024, Bandai Namco released a PC demo for SAND LAND. As I’ve reported, that demo had major stuttering issues. And sadly, the final version of the game still suffers from both shader compilation and traversal stutters.

STALKER 2 gets new 4K screenshots & in-engine trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/stalker-2-gets-new-4k-screenshots-in-engine-trailer/
GSC GameWorld has released a new set of 4K screenshots and a new in-engine trailer for STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl. These new screenshots show off some of the game’s amazing environments. Not only that, but they appear to be showcasing Unreal Engine 5’s Lumen lighting system.

Friday news, part two:

Manor Lords dev asks press and YouTubers to stop breaking the game: 'please restrain yourself'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/city-builder/manor-lords-dev-asks-press-and-youtubers-to-stop-breaking-the-game-please-restrain-yourself/
Manor Lords' sole developer, Greg "Slavic Magic" Styczeń, has made a plea to everyone with a review copy of the soon-to-be-released city builder: please stop messing around with the castle planner and breaking the game. 
In response to the recent issue, he tweeted, "I just saw one press review try to cheese their way and build town walls with the castle planner tool, please restrain yourself from doing so. I'll add a *proper* town wall tool in one of the updates and the castle planner is meant for manors/castles. Should've locked it for now." 

'Marketing's dead, and I can back this s**t up': Larian's publishing director says players 'just want to be spoken to, and they don't want to be bamboozled'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/marketings-dead-and-i-can-back-this-sht-up-larians-publishing-director-says-players-just-want-to-be-spoken-to-and-they-dont-want-to-be-bamboozled/
During Baldur's Gate 3's trip around the award circuit winning every major GOTY trophy there is, the developers at Larian have taken some of their stage time to criticize corporate greed and mass layoffs. In the wake of its massively successful self-published game, Larian hasn't been shy about pointing the finger at what it sees changing—and going wrong—in the games industry. Larian publishing director Michael Douse brought that same energy to a recent PC Gamer roundtable interview, confidently stating "marketing is dead" in a discussion with other prominent game developers.

BlizzCon 2024 isn't happening
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/events-conferences/blizzard-announces-there-will-be-no-blizzcon-in-2024/
One year after bringing it back as a live event for the first time since 2019, Blizzard has announced that the annual weekend convention known as BlizzCon will not return for 2024. The studio says it made the decision internally, not at the direction of new owner Microsoft.

Slay the Spire co-creator advises that 'taking risks is actually the least risky thing you can do,' arguing for the appeal of 'hyper-engaging' games
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/slay-the-spire-co-creator-advises-that-taking-risks-is-actually-the-least-risky-thing-you-can-do-arguing-for-the-appeal-of-hyper-engaging-games/
Casey Yano, co-founder of Slay the Spire developer Mega Crit, quit his job several years ago to work on the deckbuilder that would eventually earn a 92% from PC Gamer and a 97% overwhelmingly positive rating on Steam. It wasn't a smash hit at first, when it launched in early access, but as Slay the Spire picked up attention it eventually became the inspiration for dozens more singleplayer deckbuilding roguelikes. Many of those games have also been successful, but the surprise breakout of this year's Helldivers 2 and its unique approach to a live service shooter prompted PC Gamer's Evan Lahti to ask to what extent developers should be trying to capitalize on whatever's currently trendy.
"If any big companies are listening: Taking risks is actually the least risky thing you can do," Yano said in a recent PC Gamer roundtable interview on the State of PC Gaming. His argument: "People just want novelty. If you see a strange flavor of ice cream, you're gonna try that ice cream. I want to try the weird ice cream. I'm just saying—the pineapple mint sorbet I had the other day was incredible."

Fallout 4's 'next gen' update is over 14 gigs, breaks modded saves, and doesn't seem to change much at all
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fallout/fallout-4s-next-gen-update-is-nearly-16-gigs-breaks-modded-saves-and-doesnt-seem-to-change-much-at-all/
Fallout 4's long promised next gen (really current gen) update is finally here after a two-year wait since its initial announcement, but it's not a winner on PC. We anticipated there would be the usual issues with mod compatibility (see the Fallout London devs delaying their highly anticipated project), but PC players aren't getting much benefit from the ~14.4 gig patch.

Remember all those Destiny 2 guns you deleted after they got sunset? Bungie admits you shouldn't have done that: 'We regret we have no recovery mechanism'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/remember-all-those-destiny-2-guns-you-deleted-after-they-got-sunset-bungie-admits-you-shouldnt-have-done-that-we-regret-we-have-no-recovery-mechanism/
In what has come as an unexpected but huge W for those with a chronic hoarding problem, Bungie has today announced that it is undoing the last part of one of its most unpopular design decisions: Weapon sunsetting. Back in 2020, the studio made a huge call to remove huge swathes of content from the game, including entire planetary destinations and raids, and also capped the power of all old weapons, meaning they could no longer be 'infused' to the current power cap, rendering them useless in many activities.
(...)
So it was quite the shock to read in the latest This Week in Destiny post that, yeah, probably shouldn't have done that...

Escape From Tarkov players rage as developers lock co-op PvE behind a new $250 edition despite promising access to 'all subsequent DLCs' in its old $150 edition
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/escape-from-tarkov-players-rage-as-developers-lock-co-op-pve-behind-a-new-dollar250-edition-despite-promising-access-to-all-subsequent-dlcs-in-its-old-dollar150-edition/
Battlestate Games has unveiled a new $250 edition of Escape From Tarkov that includes access to a PvE mode with co-op support and persistent progress that won't be reset when the game is wiped. It sounds pretty cool, but it has quite a few players upset because the mode is only accessible with the new, very expensive edition of the game—even though the previously-released $150 https://www.escapefromtarkov.com/preorder-page">Edge of Darkness Edition of Tarkov, which is no longer available, promised "free access to all subsequent DLCs."
Battlestate Games claims that the new mode doesn't qualify as DLC, an argument that is going over with Tarkov players about as well as you'd expect.

Helldivers 2 devs send players into a frenzy as they tease 2 new potential stratagems via meme propaganda
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/helldivers-2-devs-send-players-into-a-frenzy-as-they-tease-2-new-potential-stratagems-via-meme-propaganda/
Helldivers 2 devs have proven before that they aren't above a little trolling—proclaiming that bugs can't fly (they can), that there are no such things as heavy machine guns (there are) and that blue lasers aren't real (jury's still out on that one).
Super Earth propagandists have apparently discovered new and creative ways to mess with us, however, as shared on the official Helldivers Twitter today.
>> And please, stop bullying the blue armored helldivers.

Wake up! These spider-looking phenomena just spotted on Mars are clearly Helldivers 2 bugs preparing for a surprise attack
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/wake-up-these-spider-looking-phenomena-just-spotted-on-mars-are-clearly-helldivers-2-bugs-preparing-for-a-surprise-attack/
Stop me if you've heard one of these lines of propaganda before. Bugs can't fly. The Automatons haven't developed aerial gunships yet. There's no such thing as a heavy machine gun. These images from the surface of Mars are just "seasonal eruptions of carbon dioxide gas," not thousands of alien spiders gathering for an imminent attack on us, the good citizens of Super Earth.
Yeah, right.

After 10 years on Steam, Korean MMO ArcheAge is giving up on North America and Europe
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/after-10-years-on-steam-korean-mmo-archeage-is-giving-up-on-north-america-and-europe/
A study about what might happen at the end of the world based on player behaviour in the Korean MMO ArcheAge is about to be put to the test. After a nearly 10-year run on Steam, ArcheAge servers in North America and Europe will be closed in June.

FF14 players are struggling to complete the Yo-kai Watch event thanks to a tide of Blue Mages armed with bad vibes and missiles
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/final-fantasy/ff14-players-are-struggling-to-complete-the-yo-kai-watch-event-thanks-to-a-tide-of-blue-mages-armed-with-bad-vibes-and-missiles/
The Yo-kai Watch event has made a return to FF14, letting players grab weapon glams, mounts, and a terribly cursed dog. It's a fun excuse to run around the overworld and complete FATEs, which are public group quests that spawn regularly in most zones—but there's a wrinkle to the good times: the feared Blue Mage.

MultiVersus fans, you were right: The character models are actually bigger in the upcoming re-release
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fighting/multiversus-fans-you-were-right-the-character-models-are-actually-bigger-in-the-upcoming-re-release/
You might recall a couple of weeks ago that MultiVersus fans meticulously had picked apart a new gameplay video for its upcoming re-release, and came to two major conclusions: The game looked an awful lot slower, and the character models an awful lot bigger.
While the jury's still out on the first deduction, the second one has recently been confirmed by the developer itself. Player First Games took to Twitter to share a comparison between the old and new character sizes, as well as a little explanation behind the change.

Helldivers 2 players complete another major order by the skin of their teeth, and some can't help but feel Joel's going easy on them
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/the-helldivers-complete-another-major-order-by-the-skin-of-their-teeth-and-some-cant-help-but-feel-joels-going-easy-on-them/
With only hours to go, things were not looking good for Helldivers 2's latest major order. These come down from on-high with regularity, and shape the game's ongoing galactic war: in this case, Super Earth tasked the Helldivers with successfully liberating 10 planets from enemy takeover. Earlier in the week things looked a bit grim, with only three planets freed from alien tyranny, but as the finish line came into sight something remarkable happened. Call it democracy manifest if you like but, from my vantage point, it sure looked like we killed a lot of bots and bugs when the chips were down.

Time to check the GOG and Steam deals for the weekend:

+GOG

• Only three Deals of the Day at GOG, with the first one being the NSFW Fetish Locator Week Three, 10% off during 70 hours: https://www.gog.com/en/game/fetish_locator_week_three
• The second one is Total Annihilation: Kingdoms + Iron Plague, with a 50% discount until Monday’s refresh: https://www.gog.com/en/game/total_annihilation_kingdoms
• And the third one is Kane and Lynch: Dead Men, featuring an 80% deal for 70 hours: https://www.gog.com/en/game/kane_and_lynch_dead_men

+Steam

• Capcom is running its Golden Week Sale with up to 87% discounts until the 29th of April: https://store.steampowered.com/developer/capcom/sale/goldenweek
• Activision puts its games up to 75% off until the 2nd of May: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/ActivisionPublisherSale2024
• Bandai Namco also celebrates a Golden Week Sale, with up to 90% discounts until the 6th of May (except Tekken 8’s deal, that will end the 2nd): https://store.steampowered.com/developer/BANDAINAMCO/sale/bandainamcosale
• WITCH ON THE HOLY NIGHT will be 20% off until May, the 7th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2052410/WITCH_ON_THE_HOLY_NIGHT/
• FOREWARNED gets a 40% discount until May 9: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1562420/FOREWARNED/
• Ragnarock, that has a demo, will be 60% off until the 9th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1345820/Ragnarock/
• Electrician Simulator sports a 70% deal until May the 9th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1080020/Electrician_Simulator/
• Aliens: Fireteam Elite is going to be 70% off until, once again, May the 9th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1549970/Aliens_Fireteam_Elite/
• And last, but not least, there’s the Steamworld franchise sale, featuring up to 93% discounts until the 9th of May: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/SteamWorldFranchiseSale

That’s all folks! Until next time, I wish you a happy and gaming weekend.

Board partners report GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GPUs are experiencing supply issues

https://videocardz.com/newz/board-partners-report-geforce-rtx-4060-ti-gpus-are-experiencing-supply-issues

Another Radeon RX 6600 LE graphics card has been released in China

https://videocardz.com/newz/another-radeon-rx-6600-le-graphics-card-has-been-released-in-china

NVIDIA NVK Vulkan Driver Gets Implicit Pipeline Caching Support, Big Boost In Gaming Performance

https://wccftech.com/nvidia-nvk-vulkan-driver-implicit-pipeline-caching-support-big-boost-gaming-performance/

Intel Confirms Next-Gen Panther Lake CPUs In Fabs, 18A Chips On Track For Mid-2025 Launch

https://wccftech.com/intel-confirms-next-gen-panther-lake-cpus-fabs-18a-chips-on-track-mid-2025-launch/

I didn't pay so much attention to the memory configuration. It looks quite good, and clearly designed for gaming in mind.

But I have my doubts about it being used in a laptop environment, at least at full power settings. A Mini-PC may be an option, if it's a bit bigger for a bigger cooler. But well, we'll see what they'll surprise us with.

I wonder why these chips are the ones that have more supply issues. Is it because they're really popular and Nvidia can't meet the demand, or is it because Nvidia focuses on chips for higher-end GPU that give them more profits, plus AI?

Since we dont have a iOS/mobile thread here....

I guess this is the only other best place to post about it but iOS recently got emulators approved.

Playing Super Mario World on an iPhone with a Dualsense controller, what a timeline.

Cool that you can do that, but it sounds quite complicated. Wouldn't it be easier to get a Steam Deck or ROG Ally and install some emulators on it? I know a handheld PC would take more room than a DS controller, but it will also be a more powerful and capable gaming device.

These are the Steam Top releases of:

MARCH

A Difficult Game About Climbing link	Alone in the Dark link	Backpack Battles (Early Access) link
Dragon's Dogma 2 link	Dune: Imperium link	ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom in the Mist (Early Access) link
Expeditions: A MudRunner Game link	Horizon Forbidden West™ Complete Edition link	Knowledge, or know Lady (NSFW) link
Lightyear Frontier (Early Access) link	Living With Sister: Monochrome Fantasy (NSFW) link	Millennia link
Outpost: Infinity Siege link	SOUTH PARK: SNOW DAY! link	STAR WARS™: Battlefront Classic Collection link
TerraTech Worlds (Early Access) link	The Outlast Trials link	The Thaumaturge link
	WWE 2K24 link

Its actually really simple.

The Delta Emulator which is the only emulator available right now plays NES, SNES, N64, GB/C, GBA and DS games.  You dont really need something powerful to emulate these platforms. Transferring files is simple too and the UI is great - you can customize controls and even the boxart for the library display.

Connecting a controller is simple too - Dualsense, Dualshock 4, Xbox Series and even the Switch Pro controllers and the NSO online controllers work.

I've been testing it out on my iPhone 13 Pro Max and have had no issues.

Not really interested in getting a handheld PC....I mean I dont even have a reason to get myself a laptop (for gaming or otherwise) since I do almost everything on my iPhone and my gaming desktop is only for gaming and my general desktop is for everything else I do (buying stuff, paying bills, etc). I also have a Plex Server desktop for music and movies/tv shows.

My 2014 gaming laptop still around but I havent used it in years.

I see. I'm glad it works for you.

Intel really is in the shitter jeez