The Monday news! While there aren’t as many articles at PCGamer as I feared, they’re still more than one hundred. That’s way too many. Because of that, I’ve decided to limit the news to DSOGaming and, even then, in short form.
SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS
Bare bones Steam item generator Banana rakes in over 100,000 concurrents in the span of a few days—reaches top 10 on Steam's 'most played'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/bare-bones-steam-item-generator-banana-rakes-in-over-130-000-concurrents-in-the-span-of-a-few-days-reaches-top-10-on-steam-s-most-played/
Dear reader, I made the mistake of having a day off this week—and, like a time traveller stepping on a butterfly, I might have set a series of dominoes in motion. Either that or we've just collectively lost our grip on reality. Banana, a game I covered last week, has completely exploded in popularity.
In case you're unfamiliar, Banana is a clicker game that's not really played in the client itself. The actual .exe is extremely bare-bones, featuring a glossy .png of a banana, the ability to click it and make a number go up, and nothing else.
The real pulp of the 'nana, if you will, is in the game's bustling Steam item economy. These items, which can be traded and sold for cash in your Steam wallet, typically go for mere cents on the market (though rare bananas will sell for quite a bit more).
The actual ability to make money off this thing is more speculative than anything—maybe you could nest egg a few thousand bananas and wait for the market to change, but I'm not sure things are going to go your way if the concurrent player count's anything to go by.
At almost exactly the moment I chose to rest my weary head at midnight, June 4/5 (I'd actually stayed up until 3AM, but let's pretend I make good decisions) the game's player count began to rise. I am choosing to believe these two events are directly related, because either we live in a cold and uncaring universe where success is derived entirely by chance, or I can create popular games with my psychic dream powers. I'm feeling a little fragile at the moment, so I am choosing to believe the latter.
Initially resting at a cosy 34,000 concurrents, which my silly, naive self thought was impressive a week ago, Banana began to accelerate at a rate of roughly 25,000 additional concurrent players every 24 hours. Then on Thursday, June 6, at midnight UTC, the numbers began to explode like the volcano over Pompeii—with Banana shooting from 84,000 to 134,000 concurrent users in the space of 11 hours.
GOG has several new sales and DotD:
Steam has two new deals:
The Humble Store celebrates Volvy, Devolver Digital’s Mascot, 15th Anniversary with a sale featuring up to 90% discounts during another 4 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/devolver-direct-publisher-sale/.
And Fanatical has a couple of new deals:
SOFTWARE & DRIVERS
-Thankfully nothing-
MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Rebirth 6.7 Available for Download
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/the-elder-scrolls-iii-morrowind-rebirth-6-7-available-for-download/
Modder ‘trancemaster_1988’ has released Version 6.7 for the amazing The Elder Scrolls: III Morrowind Rebirth project. The modder has also listed all the tweaks, fixes and changes that are featured in it. So, let’s take a look at them.
For those who don’t know, Morrowind Rebirth is a complete overhaul of Bethesda’s classic RPG. This mod adds countless new details, weapons, armors and much more for you to see and do. Basically, this is a must-have mod for those who want to replay this classic TES game.
Morrowind Rebirth 6.7 includes a plethora of changes including new items, balance changes and a lot more. For instance, it fixes an issue where many exterior doors to various Waistwork interiors in Vivec are not properly attatched to their frames. It also resolves an issue where Kuda, the owner of Kuda’s Yurt, Zainab Camp, was missing from the game.
It’s also worth noting that this new version packs hundreds of UV fixes and other graphical improvements. It also brings new models and new icons. Furthermore, it replaces the Cutter (ship) model with a new more detailed model.
>> There are no screenshots nor videos of this update,
A mod has finally given New Vegas the more cinematic VATS visuals of Fallout 3
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/a-mod-has-finally-given-new-vegas-the-more-cinematic-vats-visuals-of-fallout-3/
Among the many little tweaks Obsidian made in Fallout: New Vegas was an overhaul of VATS. The crit bonus and damage reduction were revised downward, meaning that rather than being a bulletproof god who took 90% less damage like you did in Fallout 3, the New Vegas VATS enjoyer gained a mere 25% damage reduction while cinematics played out. What's more, those cinematics were less cinematic, with decreased use of those dramatic camera angles that let you linger on the gore.
Modder Hitman47101 has decided to change that, fully restoring the Fallout 3 visual style with the VATS Restored mod. As well as bringing back the old camera angles, it removes "a load of new, overly simple and static cameras with the word 'boring' literally in their editorIDs."
The video at the top of the page is a fine demonstration of what New Vegas looks like with VATS Restored, though other mods are clearly in play. The hilarious display of dexterity seen at 1.57 is evidence of that, as are the Fallout 1-style 10mm pistol, animations for classic weapons, animations for door-opening, ragdoll reactivity, and probably a bunch more that hardcore New Vegas modders will notice.
>> The video is less than 4 minutes long, and the article also has links for other mods mentioned.
GAMING NEWS
*** NEW GAME ANNOUNCEMENTS ***
Nightdive has officially announced The Thing: Remastered
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/nightdive-has-officially-announced-the-thing-remastered/
LEGO Horizon Adventures is officially coming to PC in Holiday 2024
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/lego-horizon-adventures-is-officially-coming-to-pc-in-holiday-2024/
>> curl-6 made a thread about this one.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind is a dream come true for all 16-bit SNES & SEGA Mega-Drive fans
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/mighty-morphin-power-rangers-ritas-rewind-is-a-dream-come-true-for-all-16-bit-snes-sega-mega-drive-fans/
First screenshots, gameplay trailer, PC requirements and release date for Slitterhead
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/first-screenshots-gameplay-trailer-pc-requirements-and-release-date-for-slitterhead/
Bethesda has announced DOOM: The Dark Ages with a gameplay trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/bethesda-has-announced-doom-the-dark-ages-with-a-gameplay-trailer/
Dragon Age: The Veilguard just got an official reveal trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/dragon-age-the-veilguard-just-got-an-official-reveal-trailer/
Microsoft has officially announced Gears of War: E-Day, and its has shared its first in-engine trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/microsoft-has-officially-announced-gears-of-war-e-day-and-its-has-shared-its-first-in-engine-trailer/
Atomfall is a new survival-action game that is coming to PC in 2025
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/atomfall-is-a-new-survival-action-game-that-is-coming-to-pc-in-2025/
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a new turn-based RPG with real-time mechanics
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/clair-obscur-expedition-33-is-a-new-turn-based-rpg-with-real-time-mechanics/
*** NEW INFO ABOUT UPCOMING GAMES ***
New gameplay trailer released for the STALKER/Metro-inspired first-person action MMORPG, PIONER
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-gameplay-trailer-released-for-the-stalker-metro-inspired-first-person-action-mmorpg/
Black Myth Wukong PC Ray Tracing Requirements Leaked
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/black-myth-wukong-pc-ray-tracing-requirements-leaked/
DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO will be released on PC on October 11th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/dragon-ball-sparking-zero-will-be-released-on-pc-on-october-11th/
Batman: Arkham Shadow gets a CG story trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/batman-arkham-shadow-gets-a-cg-story-trailer/
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Just Got a New Gameplay “Saints and Sinners” Trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/kingdom-come-deliverance-2-just-got-a-new-gameplay-saints-and-sinners-trailer/
Souls-like Enotria: The Last Song will be released on September 19th and has a free PC demo on Steam
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/souls-like-enotria-the-last-song-will-be-released-on-september-19th-and-has-a-free-pc-demo-on-steam/
Capcom’s Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is coming to PC on July 19th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/capcoms-kunitsu-gami-path-of-the-goddess-is-coming-to-pc-on/
Monster Hunter Wilds Gets a New Summer Game Fest 2024 Gameplay Trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/monster-hunter-wilds-gets-a-new-summer-game-fest-2024-gameplay-trailer/
Phantom Blade Zero feels like a new Sekiro game in its first gameplay trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/phantom-blade-zero-feels-like-a-new-sekiro-game-in-its-first-gameplay-trailer/
Here are the SGF 2024 trailers for Star Wars Outlaws, Unknown 9: Awakening, Dune: Awakening, The First Descendant, Palworld’s Sakurajima Update and more
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-the-sgf-2024-trailers-for-star-wars-outlaws-unknown-9-awakening-dune-awakening-the-first-descendant-palworlds-sakurajima-update-and-more/
>> There are 18 videos in the article.
Don’t sleep on these retro games that were heavily inspired by the classic 16-bit The Legend of Zelda and Desert Strike
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/dont-sleep-on-these-these-retro-games-that-were-heavily-inspired-by-the-classic-16-bit-the-legend-of-zelda-and-desert-strike/
Black Myth: Wukong will have Denuvo on PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/black-myth-wukong-will-have-denuvo-on-pc/
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater gets new gameplay trailer with David Hayter repricing his iconic role
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/metal-gear-solid-delta-snake-eater-gets-new-gameplay-trailer-with-david-hayter-repricing-his-iconic-role/
Fable releases in 2025, gets first in-game trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/fable-releases-in-2025-gets-first-in-game-trailer/
Perfect Dark gets first gameplay trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/perfect-dark-gets-first-gameplay-trailer/
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle gets an official 5-minute in-engine cinematic trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/indiana-jones-and-the-great-circle-gets-an-official-5-minute-gameplay-trailer/
STALKER 2 just got a short but sweet Xbox Games Showcase 2024 Gameplay Trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/stalker-2-just-got-a-short-but-sweet-xbox-games-showcase-2024-gameplay-trailer/
First in-engine trailer released for State of Decay 3
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/first-in-engine-trailer-released-for-state-of-decay-3/
Souls-like Action RPG WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers is coming to PC in 2025
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/souls-like-action-rpg-wuchang-fallen-feathers-is-coming-to-pc-in-2025/
Avowed just got an in-engine story trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/avowed-just-got-an-in-engine-story-trailer/
Here’s your first look at the single-player campaign of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/first-look-single-player-call-of-duty-black-ops-6/
The Precinct will be officially released on PC on August 15th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-precinct-will-be-officially-released-on-pc-on-august-15th/
Here’s the first proper gameplay trailer for Killing Floor 3
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/heres-the-first-proper-gameplay-trailer-for-killing-floor-3/
Nobody Wants to Die is a mix of Blade Runner, Observer and Batman Arkham’s Detective Mode, coming to PC in July 17th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/nobody-wants-to-die-is-a-mix-of-blade-runner-observer-and-batman-arkhams-detective-mode-coming-to-pc-in-july-17th/
Here are 24 minutes of gameplay from the “Devil May Cry meets Sekiro” action RPG, Phantom Blade Zero
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-24-minutes-of-gameplay-from-the-devil-may-cry-meets-sekiro-action-rpg-phantom-blade-zero/
*** OTHER ***
Alan Wake 2 Update 1.1.0 Released, Full Patch Notes
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/alan-wake-2-update-1-1-0-released-full-patch-notes/
>> This is also the update that brings support for the Night Springs expansion.
Don’t expect Splinter Cell Remake at Ubisoft Forward June 2024
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/dont-expect-to-see-splinter-cell-remake-at-ubiforward-2024/
Apparently, Ubisoft doesn’t know what the “gameplay” and “in-engine” terms mean these days
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/apparently-ubisoft-doesnt-know-what-gameplay-and-in-engine-mean-these-days/
>> It’s a rant about a new AC Shadows video that Ubi says it’s gameplay but it’s not.
While I won’t post the other PCGamer articles, here’s the one with all the news that showed up at the PC Gaming Show: https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/events-conferences/every-game-trailer-and-announcement-in-the-2024-pc-gaming-show/.
And check their news coverage from here: https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/news/.