True management at PS messed up this generation. Jim Ryan's incessent push for live service titles to address their concerns verses Microsoft, and their buyouts of ABK made them bunder and made really dumb decisions. A lot of arrogance just like when Sony revealed the PS3.

Like the buyout of Bungie for billions without so much research. As a support of such to their other studios; for their plans for several GaaS games - at the time. Then studios like Firewalk Studios (while having some talent) and trusting them with hundreds of millions and several years of development. To chase trends several years out of date in a saturated market they made.. whatever Concord was. Putting your flagship studio (Naughty Dog) on a live service games when they have no experience on that before, and then cancelling it.

Its like a rolling effect of execs who think of making product for shareholders, rather than the quality of product that customers really want. And yeah the lack of IP's talk was just hogwash. Time to hire some more creatives or with some vision and go back to making games. Not everything has to be a sequel or a cinematic experience in the hundreds of millions. Just make fun games, just like back in the PS1 and 2 days. Heck you could even copy Nintendo's homework and release smaller and still great experiences.

But to be fair their are some decent studios like Team Asobi that aren't so close to their HQ in California that are tainted by the hubris and are allowed just to make games, for the players.

I just think the the choice of games. When you had Concords actual game reveal that was did not go down well and was essentially ratioed. That should be a big indicator of a game should perform. SEGA saw that with Hyenas, cancelled and wrote it off not long after. Fairgame$ looks like its going to be next game to fail, unless they do something dramatic from it. But idk sometimes you just got to pull the plug if something aight right.

Its not like they can't get success on PC. Helldivers 2 was storming success on Steam and iirc that's where the majority of the player base bought and played the game. And their other games have some quite well for older ports. I think that going day one with their games will benefit them a lot instead of treating PC users as second class citizens but thats another can of worms lol. At least that would give a lot of people good will in buying their games instead of late ports.

Here come the Monday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Steam has three deals for us:

• JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R, that has a demo, will be 70% off until September 15: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1372110/JoJos_Bizarre_Adventure_AllStar_Battle_R/
• Mark of the Ninja: Remastered also gets a 70% discount until the 15th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/860950/Mark_of_the_Ninja_Remastered/
• And Eco, still in Early Access, has a 25% deal until September, 22nd: https://store.steampowered.com/app/382310/Eco/

The Humble Store brings the Immersive Sim Masters Sale, with up to 95% discounts during 3 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/immersive-sim-masters-sale/.

Fanatical has several new deals, and a new BundleFest:

• The new Star Deal is Dying Light 2 Stay Human: Reloaded Edition, 65% off during 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/dying-light-2-stay-human
• Publisher Hooded Horse puts its games up to 35% off during 6 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/hooded-horse
• Frontier Developments also puts its gams on sale with up to 83% deal during 6 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/frontier-developments
• And the first bundle of this BundleFest is the BYO Special Editions Bundle (Fall 2024), featuring 17 games to choose from for your 2+, 3+ or 5+ bundle: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-special-editions-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

INTEL Arc Graphics 32.0.101.5989 driver
https://videocardz.com/driver/intel-arc-graphics-32-0-101-5989
Highlights
Intel® Game On Driver support on Intel® Arc™ A-series Graphics GPUs for:

• Arena Breakout: Infinite
• Deadlock
• NBA 2K25
• Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown
• Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2

Intel® Game On Driver support on Intel® Core™ Ultra with built-in Intel® Arc™ GPUs for:

• Deadlock
• NBA 2K25
• Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2

Game performance improvements on Intel® Arc™ A-Series Graphics Products versus Intel® 31.0.101.5972 software driver for:

• Deadlock (DX11)
  • Up to 17% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Best Looking settings
  • Up to 13% average FPS uplift at 1440p with Best Looking settings
• Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown (DX12)
  • Up to 19% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Ultra settings
  • Up to 19% average FPS uplift at 1440p with High settings
• Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (DX12)
  • Up to 7% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Ultra settings
  • Up to 8% average FPS uplift at 1440p with Ultra settings

AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 24.9.1 driver download WHQL
https://www.guru3d.com/download/amd-radeon-software-adrenalin-2491-driver-download/
Mind you, AMD's press release mentions Radeon Software Adrenalin 24.9.1 specifically, however this seems to be a sidetrack 24.10.37.10 Preview Driver.
Highlights
AMD Radeon™ Anti-Lag 2 Vulkan® Support forCounter-Strike 2

• AMD Radeon™ Anti-Lag 2 now supports the Vulkan® API, offering additional responsive gaming options. AMD Radeon™ Anti-Lag 2 introduces an in-game option to optimally pace frames, further reducing input lag on AMD RDNA ;architecture-based graphics products.
  • Users looking for a way to measure response time can use our Frame Latency Meter (FLM) or the built-in latency monitor in AMD Radeon™ Anti-Lag 2.
    • Use the ALT+SHIFT+L hotkey to enable the Radeon Anti-Lag 2 Latency Monitor. Once activated, a small white chevron will appear in the top left corner of your display indicating that it is enabled.
    • Use ALT+SHIFT+L again to cycle through the following Latency Monitor display options: No metrics, FPS only, FPS and latency (in ms), FPS and latency (in ms and frames), FPS and latency (in ms and frames) with a legend.
  • To compare the difference between Anti-Lag 2 On and Anti-Lag Off, hold the right CTRL key.

Fixed Issues and Improvements

• Perfromance improvements for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2.
• Intermittent driver timeout or application crash while playing Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2.
• Overly dark shadows or desaturated colors may be observed while playing Black Myth: Wukong when Global Illumination is to Medium or higher.

>> VGChartz only made an article about the AFMF 2 part, but didn’t have the links to get the drivers.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Play as Kratos, Son Goku, 2B, Deadpool, Darth Maul & more in Black Myth: Wukong
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/play-as-kratos-son-goku-2b-deadpool-darthmaul-more-in-black-myth-wukong/
Over the past couple of weeks, a lot of character swap mods have surfaced for Black Myth: Wukong. As such, I’ve decided to collect and share the best of them in one big article. So, let’s take a look at them.
As the title suggests, PC gamers can now play as Kratos, Son Goku, 2B, Deadpool, and Darthmaul in this latest action title. There are also mods that allow you to become Donatello and Hellboy.
>> The article has five videos, showing 5 mods.

New Red Dead Redemption 2 mods overhaul its police system and its Euphoria physics
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/new-red-dead-redemption-2-mods-overhaul-its-police-system-and-its-euphoria-physics/
Last month, two interesting mods for Red Dead Redemption 2 surfaced online. And since they passed under my radar, I’ve decided to share them with you today. So, let’s see what’s in store for you.
The first mod attempts to overhaul the game’s police and guard response systems. As its creator noted, the mod focuses on stealth and evidence-based responses.
(...)
The second mod brings you some cool Max Payne 3-inspired shot and burning reactions. The shot reactions are written from scratch and shouldn’t really brake the immersion of RDR2.
Do note that this mod is not compatible with the other Euphoria mod we’ve shared. So no, you can’t use it with the D.R.O (DRAMATIC RAGDOLL OVERHAUL) Mod.
>> The article has one video. For which mod? You’ll have to find out by yourselves.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 just got a new custom Assassin vocation/class
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/dragons-dogma-2-just-got-a-new-custom-assassin-vocation-class/
Remember the Samurai/Ninja class mod for Dragon’s Dogma 2, inspired by Final Fantasy and Ghost of Tsushima? Well, good news everyone. Its creator has now released a new mod that introduces an Assassin class. So, let’s take a look at it.
The skills in this vocation are reimagined with the available skills/assets found in Dragon’s Dogma 2, using Skill Maker by alphaZomega.
As the modder noted, this new class has three main fighting techniques. These are the Samurai Techniques, the Ninja Techniques and the Forbidden Arts.
This class is designed to be fast, flexible, and adaptable in combat. Do note though that some skills can deal area damage, which might hit nearby teammates. The modder also suggests using one-handed swords for this class, either with or without a shield.
>> You’ll find two videos in the article.

New Starfield Mod Overhauls Interior Lighting & Ambient Light
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/new-starfield-mod-overhauls-interior-lighting-ambient-light/
Modder ‘anamorfus’ has released a new cool mod for Starfield that improves the interior lighting. The mod removes some of the old lights and adds new ones, making the areas look completely different. Do note that this isn’t a Reshade Mod. This is a proper lighting overhaul mod. So, let’s see what it does.
Enhanced Lights and FX has the goal to create a more atmospheric and realistic lighting. It overhauls the interior lighting, effects, ambient light and creates a new mood.
This mod makes all indoor light sources actually give off light. It also removes any lights that came from places where there wasn’t really a light source. The mod also boosts the use of reflection probes, making reflections and indirect lighting look better. Plus, it adjusts the fog, making indoor areas less foggy, and changes the color filters to be less intense. Additionally, it doubles the range of the flashlight and headlamp and adjusts how bright they are.
The result is a game that can look completely different from its original version. Thus, some of you may love it, while others may hate it.
>> Instead of a video, the article has some comparison screenshots, but they do a great job showing how different (better?) the game will look.

Just a few days in and people have already installed millions of mods for Baldur's Gate 3
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/just-a-few-days-in-and-people-have-already-installed-millions-of-mods-for-baldurs-gate-3/
Baldur's Gate 3's patch 7 released this week, bringing with it a host of changes including new evil endings, new honor mode actions to fear, and the much-anticipated in-game mod browser for official modding support. Mods made via BG3's official toolkit can now be managed and downloaded by an in-game browser, which will let you install and manage them both for yourself and across a multiplayer group.
As reported by Eurogamer, Larian boss Swen Vincke posted just this morning that mod installs for Baldur's Gate 3 were already at more than a million mods and counting. Just a few hours later mod.io and ModDB founder Scott Reismanis chimed in saying that they'd "Just ticked over 3m installs and accelerating."
"Modding is pretty big," said Vincke in a masterful deployment of what I believe is the classic and timeless rehtorical technique called understatement.

It only took two days for someone to unlock a developer mode in Baldur's Gate 3's modding tools, opening up the possibility of custom levels and campaigns
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/baldurs-gate/it-only-took-two-days-for-someone-to-unlock-a-developer-mode-in-baldur-s-gate-3-s-mod-toolset-opening-up-the-possibility-of-custom-levels-and-campaigns/
Just two days after Larian released Patch 7 for Baldur's Gate 3, a massive update that included official mod tools and an in-game mod browser, modder Siegfre on the Nexus uploaded BG3 Toolkit Unlocked. This mod reactivates disabled features of the toolkit, including a full level editor. It's early days yet, but this could open the possibility for custom areas or even standalone campaigns made using Baldur's Gate 3's engine.

GAMING NEWS

Silent Hill 2 Remake vs Original In-Game Graphics Comparison
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/silent-hill-2-remake-vs-original-in-game-graphics-comparison/
YouTube’s ‘Cycu1’ has shared a new video comparison between the original version and the upcoming remake of Silent Hill 2. This video will give you an idea of how close to the original material the remake will be. So, go ahead and take a look at it.

Leaked gameplay from Crazy Taxi Remake & Shinobi Remake
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/leaked-gameplay-from-crazy-taxi-remake-shinobi-remake/
In case you did not know, SEGA is working on official remakes of some of its classic games, including Crazy Taxi and Shinobi. And, from the looks of it, some gameplay footage from both of them has surfaced online.

The second (and longer than usual) part of the Monday news:

Overwatch 2 has another pricey deal: The once-free Oni Genji skin is available to players who spend $75 in the Blizzard Gear shop first
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/overwatch-2-has-another-pricey-deal-the-once-free-oni-genji-skin-is-available-to-players-who-spend-dollar75-in-the-blizzard-gear-shop-first/
Back in my day, I had to play Heroes of the Storm to get the Genji Oni skin, and then Blizzard just went and released it a year or so later, so players could get it for free in loot boxes or in the shop for something like 1000 OW coins. But now, after all these years, the Oni skin is back, and Blizzard is giving it out again for free. Sort of. 
There's currently a deal going on in the Blizzard Gear shop, where if you purchase $75/£70 or more, then you'll also get the Genji Oni skin for free. The offer is only valid until September 16, 2024, is only available for users over the age of 18 in the US and UK, and you'll only get one per purchase. You can read more about eligibility here. There are also only 500 codes available to redeem, so do check that the promotion is still on before purchasing $75/£70 worth of products. 
>> Quite scummy, if you ask me.

The Sims 4's next season of content is business as usual with two kits, a death-themed expansion, and another log-in rewards event
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-sims/the-sims-4s-next-season-of-content-is-business-as-usual-with-two-kits-a-death-themed-expansion-and-another-log-in-rewards-event/
The Sims 4 turned 10 this week and to celebrate the occasion it's *checks notes* business as usual, apparently. EA published a list of patch notes—longer than usual, thanks to that bug-defeating task force it had announced—and also rolled out a roadmap for the next suite of Sims 4 DLC, appropriately named the season of "To Be Continued". This train don't stop, folks.

Alan Wake and Alan Wake Remastered will have different ending songs starting next week
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/alan-wake-and-alan-wake-remastered-will-have-different-ending-songs-starting-next-week/
In our latest reminder that licensed music is a headache that most videogames could do without, Remedy has announced that the David Bowie classic Space Oddity will be removed from Alan Wake next week.
>> A shame.

Streamers captured Concord's final moments as the servers went offline: 'What a huge f***ing honor'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/streamers-captured-concords-final-moments-as-the-servers-went-offline-what-a-huge-fing-honor/
Earlier today, shortly after 1 PM Eastern, Concord's servers went offline. Ryan Ellis, game director at Concord developer Firewalk Studios, had announced the closure of the 5v5 hero shooter in an official PlayStation blog post published earlier this week on September 3, 2024—just 11 days after Concord's release.
>> You’ll still be able to see the game once more, when they air the Secret Level episode where it appears.

Once Human dev says some recent player feedback 'has been quite demoralizing'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/once-human-devs-says-some-recent-player-feedback-has-been-quite-demoralizing/
We had a fine time with free-to-play survival MMO Once Human: our review described the PvPvE open world shooter as deep and "surprisingly sticky." We're not alone in liking it, either: Steam review scores are "mostly positive" and two months after its July launch there's still over 100,000 concurrent daily players. Sounds like a well-received hit to me.
But that doesn't mean everything is going swimmingly, and according to developer Starry Studio, player reactions haven't been universally positive—or much fun to read.

Baldur's Gate 3 players are having their hearts thoroughly wrenched by the new evil endings to their companion romances: 'I'll never emotionally recover from this'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/baldurs-gate/baldurs-gate-3-players-are-having-their-hearts-thoroughly-wrenched-by-the-new-evil-endings-to-their-companion-romances-ill-never-emotionally-recover-from-this/
Baldur's Gate 3 got its eagerly anticipated Patch 7 yesterday, which added new, expanded ending sequences for evil player characters. Whether you're a Dark Urge or a more mundane variety of villain, an origin character or a custom-made scoundrel, your big moment has finally arrived if you're playing a bad guy. Sadly, as players have quickly discovered, ascending as an archvillain tends to have some unpleasant outcomes for the companions you might've romanced along the way.
There will be spoilers ahead for the new Baldur's Gate 3 evil endings.

Baldur's Gate 3's latest patch is not the final update, Larian says: 'The chefs must cook'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/baldurs-gate-3s-latest-patch-is-not-the-final-update-larian-says-the-chefs-must-cook/
Baldur's Gate's big patch 7 went live yesterday, adding a slew of new content, improvements, and built-in mod support. But that's not the end of the story, as Larian says it still has more to come.

Here's a little social deduction game about figuring out who's slacking off at work
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/heres-a-little-social-deduction-game-about-figuring-out-whos-slacking-off-at-work/
An indie social game called Dale & Dawson Stationery Supplies is getting a bit of buzz on Steam this past week, casting players as managers and specialists in an office trying get their work done while rooting out perfidious slackers, who'll ensure that productivity is in the toilet and the company goes bust.

Heads-up: Space Marine 2 has a photo mode and it rules
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/heads-up-space-marine-2-has-a-photo-mode-and-it-rules/
I've been playing Space Marine 2 during its early unlock period, and while it's a shame the campaign is balanced for co-op—expect a lot of objectives you have to complete while under attack and with AI allies who suck at keeping enemies off your back—it's still a blast getting stuck into hordes of tyranids. There are so many waves of them it's like a full degustation, and the finishing moves make it look like you're cracking open the shells of ornery lobsters.
One good thing about playing Space Marine 2 solo is that I can spend as much time faffing about in the photo mode as I like. Bring up the menu and press F to access it and you'll find the usual set of tools for lining up your own dioramas, including the option to change the marines' facial expressions. Now, in every screenshot I take, Titus and his squad are gurning like pros.

Free DLC for Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous adds a crossover with indie dungeon crawler Children of Morta
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/free-dlc-for-pathfinder-wrath-of-the-righteous-adds-a-crossover-with-indie-dungeon-crawler-children-of-morta/
Here's a surprise. Three years after its release, Owlcat CRPG Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous just got a new DLC for free, and it's a crossover with an indie action RPG that has a much smaller footprint. 

Fan-favorite stunty teams are coming to Blood Bowl 3 at last
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/board-games/fan-favorite-stunty-teams-are-coming-to-blood-bowl-3-at-last/
The teaser for the next season of Blood Bowl 3 contains good news—the next teams joining the game are two of its worst. 
(...)
Which doesn't mean they're no fun to play. I own a halfling team, and consider every draw I squeak over the line to be a moral victory. Seeing the teaser for Season 6 open with the arrival of a halfling team is a pleasant surprise. Even better, it ends with the shadow of a doom diver passing overhead, because we'll be getting two teams this season and the second is another stunty squad: goblins.

Stealth strategy takes a particularly demonic bent with this game of commando scientists vs Nazi occultists
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/stealth-strategy-takes-a-particularly-demonic-bent-with-this-game-of-commando-scientists-vs-nazi-occultists/
You know what's better than games about killing nazis? Killing wannabe nazi demon summoners. At least that's the concept behind Sumerian Six, a recently-released stealth strategy game from Devolver Digital's development studio Artificer that sends five commando scientists and one werebear to go stop some bad nazis from doing some bad nazi stuff.
>> If you like the trailer, there’s a demo on Steam.

This horny cyberpunk vampire RPG has already hit its goal on Kickstarter
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/this-horny-cyberpunk-vampire-rpg-has-already-hit-its-goal-on-kickstarter/
I played a demo of Vampire Syndicate: Gangs of Moonfall last year when it was still a top-down game that was designed in RPG Maker and looked like it. While it showed promise, the Kickstarter campaign was quickly canceled and its creator, a solo developer, went back to the drawing board. Now it's back as a flashier Unreal Engine 5 project with exploration and dialogue in first-person (you can toggle a third-person view), switching to a top-down view for the turn-based combat. The relaunched Kickstarter has already passed its initial goal of $25,000 and it still has 25 days to go.

Former World of Warcraft designer calls streamlined MMO levelling a mistake: 'Getting to level cap should be an accomplishment, not a blip'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/former-world-of-warcraft-designer-calls-streamlined-mmo-levelling-a-mistake-getting-to-level-cap-should-be-an-accomplishment-not-a-blip/
World of Warcraft: The War Within has, against all reasonable scepticism, shaken out to be pretty decent so far—a story that's really trying very hard to regain its composure, the new Warbands system and, as part and parcel of that, very nippy levelling and alt-friendly gameplay. You can get characters to max level in a jiffy, with a stacking XP buff making it faster the more 80s you have in the bank.
A veteran designer from both World of Warcraft (and the League of Legends MMO, which is still in purgatory), Greg 'Ghostcrawler' Street, however, seems to think this direction for MMO design is a step too far, as he explains in a recent set of tweets (thanks, GamesRadar).

HelloHalo
76561198854461127
Level 498
Steam profile marked as "playtime cheater" (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
231,816h
9659 days / 38636h per year

8792
1222
6


My cuurent steam hour stats. Trying to hit a million and collect games. But taking a slight break on the collecting becasue it costs so much money.

Wow. Take it easy, man. There's no need to rush.

AMD UDNA to unify gaming and data-center GPU architectures, successor to RDNA and CDNA

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-udna-to-unify-gaming-and-data-center-gpu-architectures-successor-to-rdna-and-cdna

NVIDIA Reportedly Delays GeForce RTX 4070 Super Orders Until End Of September

https://wccftech.com/nvidia-delays-geforce-rtx-4070-super-orders-until-end-of-september/

AMD Expected To Launch At Least Four Navi 48 & Navi 44 GPU SKUs In RDNA 4 “Radeon RX 8000” Lineup

https://wccftech.com/amd-launch-four-navi-48-navi-44-gpu-skus-rdna-4-radeon-rx-8000-lineup/

Sony expected to announce PlayStation 5 Pro tomorrow

https://videocardz.com/newz/sony-expected-to-announce-playstation-5-pro-tomorrow

AMD strategy shifts to prioritize market scale over enthusiast Radeon GPUs

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-strategy-shifts-to-prioritize-market-scale-over-enthusiast-radeon-gpus

GeForce GT 730, worth $20, now sold as a $1,000 luxury purse

https://videocardz.com/newz/geforce-gt-730-worth-20-now-sold-as-a-1000-luxury-purse

About time, splitting up RDNA and CDNA was probably a big drain on resources for AMD as programmers and developers had tpo pull double duty to get both functioning.

Well, at least the GT 730 is good for one thing now as opposed to nothing

The Tuesday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Steam’s Top 10

(Click here for the Top 100)

Space Marine 2 cruises past 225,000 concurrent users on Steam within hours of full release
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/space-marine-2-cruises-past-225000-concurrent-users-on-steam-within-hours-of-full-release/
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is now in full release and as the immortal Emperor of Mankind himself might say (if he was able to speak, or share a coherent thought of any kind), it's a banger.
Space Marine 2 has been playable since September 5 via the "early unlock" for players who preordered the Gold or Ultra editions of the game, but now it's fully live and we can get a proper idea of how it's going. The short version is, pretty damn good: Within a few hours of launch it sailed well past 200,000 concurrent players on Steam (the current peak sits at 225,254) and a "very positive" rating across more than 27,000 user reviews.
The acclaim isn't universal. Common complaints in Steam reviews include a short campaign and not-great AI companions, lack of ultrawide support, the game's use of Epic Online Services (required for crossplay between Steam and Epic), and—of course—troubles with online servers. But as redditor Ixziga pointed out, racking up more than 200,000 concurrents in the middle of a North American work day—a Monday, no less—is no mean feat.

GOG has five new sales/promos for us:

• The THQ Nordic Publisher Sale features up to 80% discounts until September 18: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20240910_thq_publisher_sale
• The Weekly Deals has games up to 90% off during 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20240910_weekly_deals_1_september
• The Post-Apo Promo has games with this setting with up to 90% deals for the next 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20240910_post_apo_promo
• The jRPG & Visual Novels Promo has games up to 95% off during 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20240910_jrpg_visual_novels_promo
• And the last one, the Renowned Series Promo, has games from several franchises on sale with up to 90% discounts during 10 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20240910_renowned_series_promo

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

• Hydroneer will be 55% off until Thursday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1106840/Hydroneer/
• The Ghost Recon franchise is on sale featuring between 65 and 80% discounts until Monday, the 16th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/GhostReconFranchiseSale
• Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator is going to be 60% off until the 18th of September: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1210320/Potion_Craft_Alchemist_Simulator/
• Railroads & Catacombs, still in Early Access, gets a 25% discount until the 23rd: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1156060/Railroads__Catacombs/
• And here are some of the weeklong deals:
  • The Librarian (Special Edition) is 25% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1364010/The_Librarian_Special_Edition/
  • Beach Invasion 1944 gets a 35% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2209680/Beach_Invasion_1944/
  • Dawn of Man is half its usual price: https://store.steampowered.com/app/858810/Dawn_of_Man/
  • Majotori has a 60% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/588730/Majotori/
  • CHUCHEL features a 70% deal: https://store.steampowered.com/app/711660/CHUCHEL/
  • And Rubber Bandits is 85% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1206610/Rubber_Bandits/

Fanatical has a new bundle: the Capcom Dead Rising Bundle, with 4 games and a 90% deal during 19 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/capcom-dead-rising-bundle.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Project U is a dream come true for all Super Smash Bros. PC fans
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/project-u-is-a-dream-come-true-for-all-super-smash-bros-pc-fans/
Code Hunter is currently working on Project U, also known as Project Ultibyte, for PC. This is a 2D free fan fighting game, similar to Super Smash Bros. Below you can find its first trailer and as you can see, it feels like a dream come true for all Smash PC fans.
Project U aims to capture the essence of classic arcade and console games, blending nostalgia with intense combat. In short, think of it as a Super Smash Bros. free 2D game for PC.
What’s cool here is the amount of characters you can select. Project Ultibyte has basically anything you’d like. You can play as characters from pretty much all known franchises. Sonic, Mario, Donkey Kong, Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, Pokemon, Zelda… they are all here. And that’s the beauty of fan games. Contrary to licensed games, free fan games can have a huge roster of characters.
Not only that but the fighting mechanics look pretty solid. The hits and the reaction animations are already great. Moreover, all characters have different movesets. For instance, Sonic can use some of his own skills. Scorpion can use his moves from UMK3 (as well as his spear). Ryu can shoot fireballs. Diddy Kong can use barrels from the DKC games. And so on.
Project U will have three game modes. The first one is the Crusade Mode. In this mode, you will be able to duke it out with up to 6 players. Then we have the solo mode. This will have a variety of 1-player modes. Finally, there will be Online Mode. In this mode, you can challenge other players online.
There is currently no ETA on when the game will come out. Naturally, though, I’ll be sure to keep you posted.
>> With so many IPs involved, we’ll see who’s the first one to send a C&D letter. Anyway, the article has an almost 6 minutes video.

New fan-made engine makes Black and White playable on modern PCs, because god knows neither EA or Molyneux is going to do it
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/new-fan-made-engine-makes-black-and-white-playable-on-modern-pcs-because-god-knows-neither-ea-or-molyneux-is-going-to-do-it/
Good news, friends: It's the early 2000s again. You are young—possibly not even born—your Apple products have ports, Peter Molyneux is back and ready to break your heart, and Black and White just got a release.
Specifically, Black and White 1's fan-made, open-source engine reimplementation just broke cover (via GamingOnLinux). Openblack has been cooking for the last five years and got its initial release yesterday. That's a 0.1.0 release, mind you, not a full-fat 1.0 thing. We're still a ways off from the devs declaring they're done.
The engine is a modern C++ reimplementation of the original game with support for rendering engines like Vulkan and that runs on all your myriad devices. It's also got support for Windows, macOS, and Linux, so you can play god on your Steam Deck, plus "experimental support" for Android and iOS. Note that it's still a bit janky in several areas—this is a 0.1 release, folks. Consider yourself more of a tester than a player if you download it to give it a shot.
Don't get mixed up: Black and White (and nearly the entire Lionhead oeuvre) is still as frustratingly inaccessible as it was when James Davenport was complaining about it in 2019. You can't just download Openblack and start playing, you need to slot the files from the original game into it to make it all work, much like you do with other game engine reimplementations like Morrowind's OpenMW. Pretty much the only way to (legitimately) get those files is to have them on a disc.

GAMING NEWS

Square Enix has reduced the stutters in Final Fantasy 16 PC Demo
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/square-enix-has-reduced-the-stutters-in-final-fantasy-16-pc-demo/
Square Enix has just released a new update for the PC demo of Final Fantasy 16. As the team noted, it has fixed most of the stuttering issues that plagued it. Thus, we’ve decided to test the game to see if those claims were true.

Star Wars Outlaws Patch 1.1.2 brings PC performance optimizations, cross-progression, cross-saves, and tweaks to stealth missions
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/star-wars-outlaws-patch-1-1-2-brings-pc-performance-optimizations-cross-progression-cross-saves-and-tweaks-to-stealth-missions/
Ubisoft has just released Title Update 1.1.2 for Star Wars Outlaws. This update improves how the game runs on PC, and adds cross-progression and cross-save features. It also makes changes to the stealth missions to make them better.

Tuesday news, part two:

A book with names from a 340,000-player TF2 petition has been hardbound and sent to Valve, as part of the #SaveTF2 campaign
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/a-book-with-names-from-a-340-000-player-strong-tf2-petition-has-been-hardbound-and-sent-to-valve-as-part-of-the-savetf2-campaign/
Team Fortress 2 is—second only to Half-Life—probably what you think of when you picture a Valve game. It's built a huge, passionate player base of loyal fans who have, from an outsider's perspective, been stuck in a sisyphean, circular nightmare of bots and banwaves for some time now.
(...)
In June of 2024, fans campaigned to #SaveTF2, which saw its player count double as Valve did something about the problem, mercilessly banning players and telling them "No" when it came to appeals. It is now September 2024, and—okay, in fairness, this one's an extension of the last plea, though I get the uneasy sense we're stuck in a time loop.
Compiled by the author of that same petition website, TheWhat, this tome carries with it the hopes and dreams of the petition's 340,000 plus signatories and has, according to the YouTuber-slash-organiser, been hand-delivered to Valve HQ. I've reached out to Valve itself to confirm this, and I'll update this article if I get a response.

Literal rock star tells Rockstar 'go f*** yourself' over measly GTA 6 offer
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/grand-theft-auto/literal-rock-star-tells-rockstar-go-f-yourself-over-measly-gta-6-offer/#comment-jump
Martyn Ware is one of the greats of electronic music. He may not be a household name, but you'll certainly have heard of two of the bands he co-founded: the Human League and Heaven 17. Ware's a composer, songwriter, music programmer, has a list of production credits as long as your arm, and of course has been involved in the creation of several global hits.
One of these is the Heaven 17 song Temptation, a pulsing track about lust that builds around a lyric from the Lord's Prayer ("lead us not into temptation"). Ware has now revealed that Rockstar games contacted his publishers about using this song in the upcoming Grand Theft Auto 6, and to say he wasn't impressed by the company's offer would be an understatement.
"I was recently contacted by my publishers on behalf of Rockstar Games RE the possibility of using Temptation on the new Grand Theft Auto 6," says Ware. "Naturally excited about the immense wealth that was about to head my way, I scrolled to the bottom of the email RE the offer…
"It was $7500—for a buyout of any future royalties from the game," said Ware, though later clarified that this was his cut as one of three co-writers. "$7500 each for 3 writers—Still utterly unacceptable."
So the offer was $22,500 upfront, but with the caveat that Ware and his co-writers would forego any future royalties from the use of the song in the game. You might well be thinking that 20-odd grand doesn't sound too bad, but Ware puts this in the context of Grand Theft Auto 5 grossing $8.6 billion. "Ah, but think of the exposure…" writes Ware: "Go fuck yourself."
>> I tip my imaginary hat to him. The article has the song, in case you want to hear it.

Destiny 2 is abandoning big annual expansions and linear campaigns in favour of more frequent releases that are 'mysterious, weird, and not afraid to try new things'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/destiny-2-is-abandoning-big-annual-expansions-and-linear-campaigns-in-favour-of-more-frequent-releases-that-are-mysterious-weird-and-not-afraid-to-try-new-things/
The arrival of the 10th anniversary of Destiny heralds some big changes in the works for Destiny 2, which will drop linear campaigns completely following the end of The Final Shape in favor of two "medium-sized" expansions per year, along with four"major updates" that will be free for all players.

Embracer's Lost Boys Interactive studio hit with another round of layoffs
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/embracers-lost-boys-interactive-studio-hit-with-another-round-of-layoffs/
Embracer studio Lost Boys Interactive has undergone a second round of layoffs, saying in a message posted to LinkedIn that it "has made the very difficult decision to reduce our overall headcount." 
"As a co-development partner studio, Lost Boys is directly influenced by the projects and priorities of our development clients," the studio said in the announcement. "The need to adapt to shifting market conditions within the videogame industry has required us to reassess our operations to align with the evolving needs of our business and our partners."

Jagex announces official Old School Runescape private servers, because the grind can always get grindier
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/jagex-announces-official-old-school-runescape-private-servers-because-the-grind-can-always-get-grindier/
I fear and respect Old School Runescape players. As someone who has a long history with MMOs and live-service games, I've stomached plenty of grind over the years. But the OSRS player doesn't merely tolerate grind—they relish in it, willing to devote themselves to the near-ascetic self-denial of killing a mole for 8 months. And soon, there will be grinds to endure that we haven't even begun to imagine. Over the weekend, Jagex announced Project Zanaris, the studio's name for customized OSRS community-run servers, where players will be able to design the parameters for the Runescape grind themselves.

James Earl Jones, the legendary voice of Darth Vader, Mufasa, and CNN, has died
https://www.pcgamer.com/movies-tv/james-earl-jones-the-legendary-voice-of-darth-vader-mufasa-and-cnn-has-died/
James Earl Jones, the award-winning actor known for the deep, commanding voice that brought life to characters ranging from Mufasa to Darth Vader, has died at the age of 93. A Deadline report says Jones' death was confirmed by his representatives at Independent Artist Group.
(...)
And yes, there was videogame work in there too. Jones has credits in multiple Lion King games, but he also provided the voice of the Great PI of the Universe in Under a Killing Moon and is probably best known on the game front as General James Solomon in Command and Conquer: Tiberian Sun.
Somewhat unexpectedly, Jones did not provide the voice of his most famous character, Darth Vader, in the many Star Wars videogames: That job went to various other actors, most notably Scott Lawrence and Matthew Sloan.
>> A shame. D.E.P.

Another reminder that your digital library isn't forever: Oxenfree will be completely removed from Itch.io next month
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/another-reminder-that-your-digital-library-isn-t-forever-oxenfree-will-be-completely-removed-from-itch-io-next-month/
Oxenfree, the gloomy adventure game from Night School Studio, will leave indie game storefront Itch.io on October 1, according to an email sent to users who own it this week. And nobody, including anyone who has the game in their library, will be able to download it after it's fully removed.
>> That sucks. I hope they refund the owners.

Days Gone director blows a gasket as its protagonist is 'reduced to a cartoon shill' to promote 'small game' Astro Bot—Sony's all-star romp featuring Kratos, Aloy, and Nathan Drake
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/days-gone-director-blows-a-gasket-as-its-protagonist-is-reduced-to-a-cartoon-shill-to-promote-small-game-astro-bot-sony-s-all-star-romp-featuring-kratos-aloy-and-nathan-drake/
Astro Bot appears to be doing rather well—we're not nattering about it, obviously, because it's a PS5 game, but the scant few of us who have betrayed our rigs, and have access to the forbidden console, have only had glowing words for it.
Someone who is not doing well, conversely, is Days Gone's former director John Garvin. His former studio posted a cute cartoon featuring the game's protagonist, Deacon Lee St John (or Deek) to celebrate the launch of Astro Bot, since both developers are part of Sony's PlayStation Studios division. What should have been a bit of fun, with colleagues supporting each other, seems to have incensed Garvin who has been posting through it on Twitter (via Eurogamer), claiming that Deek has been "reduced to promoting other games".
>> I get that he must be frustrated, after all, the game was denied a sequel because it only sold 7 million copies (close to 9 now with PC), but this is out of place.