Time for the news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

GOG has three new sales:

• The Weekly Deals has launched with up to 90% discounts during 6 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20241008_weekly_deals_1_october
• The Paradox Publisher Sale comes with games up to 82% off during 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20241009_paradox_publisher_sale
• And the Atmospheric Promo features up to 95% deals during 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20241009_cozy_atmospheric_sale

Steam has two new deals:

• GRIS is going to be 90% off (the cheapest it has ever been) until the 15th of October: https://store.steampowered.com/app/683320/GRIS/
• And Dice & Fold gets a 30% discount until October 22: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2693930/Dice__Fold/

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Silent Hill 2 Remake DLSS 3 Frame Generation Mod Released
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/silent-hill-2-remake-dlss-3-frame-generation-mod-released/
NVIDIA RTX 40 series owners, we’ve got some good and some bad news for you. The good news is that a mod has been released for Silent Hill 2 Remake that enables DLSS 3 Frame Generation. The bad news is that it’s a paid mod.
Created by modder PureDark, this mod enables DLSS 3 Frame Generation in SH2R. According to early reports, it works pretty well. But, as I said, this is a paid mod. Currently, the mod is only available to PureDark’s patrons. Moreover, there is no word on when, and if, the modder will release it to the public.
>> There’s an almost 5 minutes video in the article.

This Silent Hill 2 mod removes the 30fps lock from the cutscenes
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/this-silent-hill-2-mod-removes-the-30fps-lock-from-the-cutscenes/
One of my biggest gripes with Silent Hill 2 Remake was the 30fps locked cutscenes. So, what did the modders do first? Well, they’ve managed to remove that 30fps lock so that all PC gamers can enjoy them at high framerates.
I’ve tested the mod and it works like a charm. At least in the first couple of cutscenes. I did not spot any framepacing or speed issues. So, again, I don’t know why Bloober Team locked them at 30fps on PC. From what I can see, they run fine at high framerates.
Do note that the mod will unlock the cutscenes, meaning that they will run with an unlocked framerate. So, if your GPU cannot handle the game with 60fps, you may also get choppy cutscenes.
>> The article has video, but it’s for a WIP first person mod, not the one the from the article.

Silent Hill 2 players are modding away the fog and freeing the camera to discover hidden detail in the remake
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/silent-hill-2-players-are-modding-away-the-fog-and-freeing-the-camera-to-discover-hidden-detail-in-the-remake/
Silent Hill's fog was famously inspired by a hardware limitation. The short draw-distance of the original PlayStation, combined with a fondness for Stephen King's The Mist, led to a town covered in clouds of fog that hid distant detail. This handily masked the limitation, but also meant that you heard monsters before you saw them—footsteps or wingbeats suggesting their presence before they appeared. The designers leant into this, adding a radio that buzzed with static when the reality-defying monsters were close, and cementing a formula for effective dread that carried over multiple sequels.
Now the Silent Hill 2 remake is out on PC, modders have begun their work. There are already more than 50 mods on Nexus Mods, with more being added all the time. Among them are two that remove the fog: Sunny Hills and Silent Hill 2 HD Collection, the latter a cheeky reference to the reduced fog effects in the disappointing HD re-release from 2012. While both are tongue-in-cheek—removing a defining feature of the series for the sake of some funny screenshots—it's fascinating to see what Bloober's version of the town looks like without limits.
(...)
There's also a Simple FreeCam mod to really perk up your pics. With that installed Alt+F1 enables a flycam, and other commands lets you disable the UI, pause time, teleport James to the camera, and otherwise fill in for the absence of an official photo mode. Thanks to which, The Easter Egg Hunter found an out-of-bounds reference to a particular poor-quality asset from the HD Collection. FreeCam has also allowed players to confirm something that's a massive spoiler for the game, so if you haven't finished either the original or the remake stop reading now. Bye! 
>> The article has a couple of screenshots.

GAMING NEWS

Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 Patch 3.1 Fixes Heavy Stutters on Some CPUs
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/warhammer-40k-space-marine-2-patch-3-1-fixes-heavy-stutters-on-some-cpus/
Saber Interactive has released Patch 3.1 for Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2. According to the team, this update, among other things, fixes heavy stutters that could occur on some CPUs. So, let’s take a closer look at what are the other changes.

The second part of the news:

Ubisoft's grudging return to Steam continues as Assassin's Creed Valhalla finally gets achievements 2 years after launch
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/assassins-creed/ubisofts-grudging-return-to-steam-continues-as-assassins-creed-valhalla-finally-gets-achievements-2-years-after-launch/
Is it just me, or does Ubisoft's ongoing crawl back to Steam sometimes feel a little grudging? Sure, the company is returning to day-one Steam releases with February 14's Assassin's Creed Shadows, but you're still going to have to launch Ubisoft Connect using Steam in a horrifying ouroboros of perpetual initialisation, aren't you?
Almost as if Ubi would rather you just bought the game directly on its own platform and cut out the middleman. Perhaps that reticence about fully embracing Steam also explains why it's taken two years for Assassin's Creed Valhalla to get Steam Achievements.
>> O.o It didn’t have achievements? Lame (and that comes from someone that doesn’t care a lot about them).

Here's another headache for Ubisoft: Lawsuit alleges it illegally shared Ubisoft Store customer data with Meta
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/heres-another-headache-for-ubisoft-lawsuit-alleges-it-illegally-shared-ubisoft-store-customer-data-with-meta/
As if it doesn't have enough to worry about, Ubisoft is now facing a potential class action lawsuit alleging it illegally shared personally identifiable information about Ubisoft Store users with Meta.
>> Uff! I hope for their own sake it’s not true. Otherwise, the fine they’ll get won’t be small.

Oof: Years before Steam, a Blizzard engineer wanted to turn Battle.net into a third-party game store, but was reportedly turned down
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/oof-years-before-steam-a-blizzard-engineer-wanted-to-turn-battle-net-into-a-third-party-game-store-but-was-reportedly-turned-down/
The world of today is the result of every decision and accident that led to it, which is a disconcerting thought given how many things it's possible to almost do in a lifetime. Case in point, according to a new book on the history of Blizzard, the Warcraft studio rejected a proposal to turn Battle.net into a third-party game store years before Steam launched.
>> Dear God. Can you imagine Steam in the hands of Activision and Bobby Kotick? **shudders**

Sci-fi author sues Bungie, says it nicked ideas from his Wordpress blog for Destiny 2's blowout first campaign
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/sci-fi-author-sues-bungie-says-it-nicked-ideas-from-his-wordpress-blog-for-destiny-2s-blowout-first-campaign/
Bungie's off to court, but it might not have much to worry about. The studio is being sued (via The Game Post) in a copyright infringement lawsuit for—so alleges plaintiff Kelsey Martineau—copying parts of Destiny 2's storyline from Martineau's work. He's after damages and injunctive relief—which, given you can't actually play the offending campaign anymore, might be a moot point.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard will offer 5 'curated' difficulty levels, including a Nightmare mode that you're stuck with once you start
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/dragon-age-the-veilguard-will-offer-5-curated-difficulty-levels-including-a-nightmare-mode-that-youre-stuck-with-once-you-start/
With Dragon Age: The Veilguard now locked in for its Halloween release, Electronic Arts is getting deeper into the specifics of the game, including most recently a rundown of the game's difficulty settings and accessibility options.
"Regardless of skill level or ability, we want everyone to be able to enjoy the full experience and story of our game," EA said in today's update, and to that end it's whipped up five "curated" difficulty levels aimed at covering all the bases.

'I can assure you that Spectre isn’t going anywhere': Spectre Divide chief says the game isn't dying, so please stop saying it is
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/i-can-assure-you-that-spectre-isnt-going-anywhere-spectre-divide-chief-says-the-game-isnt-dying-so-please-stop-saying-it-is/
The free-to-play shooter Spectre Divide is not dying: So says Mountaintop Studios co-founder and CEO Nate Mitchell in a new update addressing concerns that low concurrent player counts means the game is not long for this world.

After botching the Cree nation in Civ 6, Firaxis established a partnership with the Shawnee to ensure 'authentic, sincere' representation in Civilization 7
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/after-botching-the-cree-nation-in-civ-6-firaxis-established-a-partnership-with-the-shawnee-to-ensure-authentic-sincere-representation-in-civilization-7/
In 2018, Firaxis announced that the Cree Nation was being added to Civilization 6, a move that did not sit well with the leader of the real-world Poundmaker Cree Nation, who said the game's portrayal of Indigenous people is "very harmful." To help avoid that kind of misstep in the next game, the studio established a partnership with the Shawnee Nation to ensure a proper and accurate portrayal of its famous leader Tecumseh.

The FPS/mecha hybrid from the creator of Cruelty Squad, which was an immersive sim designed to make you feel sick, will be out next year
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/the-fps-mecha-hybrid-from-the-creator-of-cruelty-squad-which-was-an-immersive-sim-designed-to-make-you-feel-sick-will-be-out-next-year/
Remember Cruelty Squad? The dystopian assassin game whose visuals and especially sounds gave you an instant headache and made you want to throw up? Well, if you're a glutton for that kind of punishment, Cruelty Squad's creator Consumer Softproducts will have more of it for you in 2025.

Blizzard canceled a roguelike version of Diablo 4 with permadeath and Batman: Arkham-style brawls
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/blizzard-canceled-a-roguelike-version-of-diablo-4-with-permadeath-and-batman-arkham-style-brawls/
If things had gone differently at Blizzard 10 years ago, we might've been playing a version of Diablo 4 with melee brawls akin to the Batman: Arkham series. I'm not even sure that idea sounds good on paper, but it didn't seem to work out in practice either because Blizzard eventually rebooted the project into the demon-slaying action RPG we have today.

And the third part of the news:

Bloodlines 2 is 'a bit more of an action RPG,' Paradox exec says: 'People who have seen it talk about Dishonored'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/bloodlines-2-is-a-bit-more-of-an-action-rpg-paradox-exec-says-people-who-have-seen-it-talk-about-dishonored/
It was a very big deal when Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 was announced in 2019, and it's been a very big shit show ever since. (…)
(***two and a half paragraphs later***)
Comparisons with the original Bloodlines are inevitable, but in gameplay terms, "people who have seen it talk about Dishonored," Lilja said. "So it's a bit more of an action RPG, but very steeped in the lore in the sense that you're a vampire in World of Darkness."

The next game in the Like a Dragon series was almost a fishing game: 'I wanted to make a game called Like a Dragon: Tuna'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/the-next-game-in-the-like-a-dragon-series-was-almost-a-fishing-game-i-wanted-to-make-a-game-called-like-a-dragon-tuna/
Among the many games on the February 2025 videogame calendar is Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, a Like a Dragon spin-off featuring fan favorite Goro Majima dressing as a pirate and fighting his way across Hawaii. Yet, as wild as that idea seems, we could have had an even stranger spin-off.

Helldivers 2 players are constructing a 'Democratic Space Station' in the runup to Liberty Day, which some think is just so that the Illuminate can steam in and blow it up
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/helldivers-2-players-are-constructing-a-democratic-space-station-in-the-runup-to-liberty-day-which-some-think-is-just-so-that-the-illuminate-can-steam-in-and-blow-it-up/
Helldivers 2 is approaching an important fictional anniversary: Liberty Day. On October 26 the citizens of Super Earth, Arrowhead Game Studios, and the playerbase celebrate glorious liberty, an occasion that the original game would mark with title screen fireworks and (often though not always) in-game events or content additions.

We've collectively spent 11,000 years playing Balatro, fans reply it's gotta be more than that
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/weve-collectively-spent-11-000-years-playing-balatro-fans-reply-its-gotta-be-more-than-that/
What do the domestication of rice, the Bronze Age collapse, the founding (and sacking) of Rome, the American Revolution, and the Moon landing have in common? That's right: You could fit every single one of them into the time we've all spent playing dangerously moreish deckbuilder Balatro and have a few millennia left to spare.

Silent Hill 2 got an emergency patch after a 'huge translation mistake' spoiled the whole game for Italians
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/silent-hill-2-got-an-emergency-patch-after-a-huge-translation-mistake-spoiled-the-whole-game-for-italians/
Holy Roman Emperor Charles V used Spanish to speak to God, French to speak to men, and German to speak to his horse. Italian, however, he reserved for spoiling videogames, and it delights me to say that Bloober Team's quite good Silent Hill 2 remake keeps that tradition alive: The devs had to release an emergency patch to stop Italian-language players from having the entire game unveiled for them right at the start. Che brutta figura.

Why do I already want a 5090? My case probably isn't big enough.

I just realized (yeah, I know, I'm slow) that if that memory configuration is true, the 5060 will come again with a paltry 128-bit bus and either an insuffcient 8GB of VRAM or 16GB that won't do anything because the chip won't hav eenough memory bandwidth to take advantage of it. After all, we know Nvidia isn't going to use the newer and expensive GDDR7 on such lower parts.

So yeah, for those that want more memory, AMD may be the only one to bring it. And we'll see if they do or not. ***stares at the equally crippled 7600 8GB & 7600XT 16GB cards***

Anyone thinks this card will be good? Because this late in the cycle and likely aimed only for China, it doesn't look like it will bring much to the table.

It' not good, obviously, but it's not the end of the world.

It's your lizzard brain. ***New is better. Need to have better***

If money isn't an issue, and it wouldn't surprise me if the card costs $2k, or if your gaming experience is held back because of your GPU, then why not? Get one if you want. Enjoy it. But, unless your 4090 is limiting you in any way, you won't really notice the upgrade.

There's a reason why those that can afford it upgrade every couple of generations, so they can notice the performance increase they're paying for.

**Edit** Of course, that comment loses some of its value coming from a guy that still uses the card he got in 2016, so take it with perspective.

Oh man, that gap between 5090 and 5080...half RAM, half cores...as Daniel Owen said, I'm thinking nVidia is trying to pull 4080 12GB again.

I think you are 100% correct.  On paper the 5090 is way more powerful but I can run most games maxed 4k dlss quality at 80 to 120 fps.  So real world tangible benefits are null.  Especially since 4k vs 4k quality look identical to me and my TV maxes at 120 hz.  

Vanillaware is such an odd case, in that I keep hearing their CEO doesn't like PC gaming, because of the fact that we can mod our games and such. The weird thing is the fact that they seem to not be aware of PC gaming's nature/long-term history (we've had modding as far back as the 70/80's, all the way to this day), which makes his decision to not budge, having him look like a bit of an ignorant person.

We've seen plenty of Japanese games selling decently on PC, welcomed with open arms and even hyped. It's the ones that don't put the effort into the port jobs that tend to recieve the negative treatment, but that's only because we want them to do better, instead of settling for less.

It occurred to me the other day that this time Nvidia may have another reason to do this other than greed: China.

Remember that the US limited the hardware capabilities that could be exported to China for AI research, and the 4090 surpassed it, leading to the launch of the cut down 4090D.

Now, Nvidia could never launch a 5090 slower than the 4090 (can you imagine it?), but they could make the 5080 slightly slower than the 4090 to avoid going above that limit and be able to sell the card in China without problems.

And well, the card will still be 25-30% faster than the 4080, so it's not like anyone will be able to accuse Nvidia of not delivering a good generational jump.

I think I am at a point of caring less and less about hardware news. Like I am obviously going to post them but instead of being from the perspective of "Oh boy, I can't wait to buy it" to "Thank fuck I don't have to think about buying it" lol

Back in the day, 80 class always felt like the flagship. You started with the "80" as the top dog and then "80 Ti" the year later for around the same price if you wanted "Titan tier" performance. Yea there were Titans and all that but those felt like the rich people toys since 80 class never felt very compromised. These days it feels like the 80 class is there just to keep competitive with Radeon while 90 class shows off the true capabilities and the generational uplift we want to see... For the kidney prices we don't want to spend. If the rumours end up being legit, the gulf between 5080 and 5090 is a generational leap in itself.

Feels like a situation where instead of upgrading every gen or every 2 gens, you buy the top dog and chill for 6-8 years.