To visualize that part, I multiplied each month's percentage shares with the concurrent users of that month; f.e. each GPU gen after 24 months (only 23 months for Ada, since it launched in October 2022):

• February 2016: 19.22 % Maxwell x 12.9 million concurrent users = 2.48 million Maxwell GPUs
• May 2018: 33.30 % Pascal x 16.8 million concurrent users = 5.59 million Pascal GPUs
• September 2020: 22.26 % Turing x 22.0 million concurrent users = 4.90 million Turing GPUs
• September 2022: 21.33 % Ampere x 29.1 million concurrent users = 6.21 million Ampere GPUs
• September 2024: 23.07% Ada Lovelace x 38.4 million concurrent users = 8.85 million Ada Lovelace GPUs

Any thoughts on water coolers for CPU? I love the concept but the idea of running water in a PC with expensive equipment scares me quite a bit. Any thoughts?

Well, the end result is the same: the older hardware is being used much longer than it used to be, hence less people upgrade their GPUs (buying a new PC/laptop instead) and the intervals for those who do is getting longer

Looks cool (literally!), but unless you have a high-powered CPU (140W+), you can save a lot of money by just using an air cooler.

In your case with your 13700K, a water cooler with a 2x140mm or 3x120mm would be the way to go to avoid thermal throttling.

I currently have a NH-D15 Noctua, with two 140 mm fans.  I haven't seen my temps get higher than low 40s C.  Sounds like water has little to no gains, at least nothing to worry about.

Thanks.

It’s time for the Friday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero is trouncing the fighting game competition on Steam, with nearly double Street Fighter 6's all-time players record
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fighting/dragon-ball-sparking-zero-is-trouncing-the-fighting-game-competition-on-steam-with-nearly-double-street-fighter-6s-all-time-players-record/
Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero released on Steam earlier today and, oh boy, it's doing numbers. At the time of writing there are 121,330 players according to SteamDB which, with a little bit of context, proves to be an overwhelming number.
Cast your mind back to June 2023 when Street Fighter 6 released on Steam. Many pointed out at the time that its launch-day concurrents were huge for a fighting game, and that was true: it compared favourably to Mortal Kombat 11 and Tekken 7, for example (35,147 and 18,966 respectively). Right now Street Fighter 6 has an all-time peak of 70,573 corresponding with its launch window. Dragon Ball, let me repeat, is currently sitting at 121,330 players.
(I just refreshed the SteamDB page and it's now up to 122,431. Wow.)

Metaphor: ReFantazio is the new fastest-selling game in Atlus' history, selling a million copies in its first day
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/metaphor-refantazio-is-the-new-fastest-selling-game-in-atlus-history-selling-a-million-copies-in-its-first-day/
Metaphor: ReFantazio releases today, but you probably already know that. In fact, there's a decent chance you already own it. Atlus is bragging that the game—its tale of high-fantasy racism fought by fake David Bowie—has already sold a million copies across all platforms
In a (machine-translated) post on its own site, Atlus announced that "total worldwide sales (packaged version shipped + download version sold) have surpassed 1 million copies!" As is company tradition, the studio got artist Shigenori Soejima to throw together a quick celebratory sketch of Gallica—pretty much the game's equivalent to Persona 5's mascot Morgana or Persona 4's Teddie—to mark the occasion.

The Humble Store has two new sales:

• Publisher Frontier puts its games on sale with up to 90% discounts during 6 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/frontier-publisher-sale/
• The Handheld Hits Sale is full of games to play on the go up to 90% off during 6 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/handheld-hits/

Fanatical has quite some deals:

• The Star Deal is DAVE THE DIVER, 48% off during 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/dave-the-diver
• Publisher Plus In Digital puts its games on sale during 7 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/plug-in-digital
• The Showcase Sale features games from many publishers, like Bethesda or 11-bit Studios, during 9 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/on-sale
• And there are also two bundles:
  • NeuroVoider - Deluxe Edition has a 87% deal during 7 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/neurovoider-deluxe-edition
  • Batman: Arkham Collection has an 87% discount during 9 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/batman-arkham-collection

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Free fan game Sonic Project Reignition promises to bring the Nintendo Wii exclusive, Sonic and the Secret Rings, to the PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/free-fan-game-sonic-project-reignition-promises-to-bring-the-nintendo-wii-exclusive-sonic-and-the-secret-rings-to-the-pc/
Now here is something that passed under my radar. Last month, a demo was released for Sonic Project Reignition. Project Reignition is a fan-remake of the 2007 Wii title, Sonic and the Secret Rings. Since this Sonic game never came out on any other platform, you can now experience it via this fan game on PC.
Sonic Project Reignition is using the Godot game engine, and aims to bring Secret Rings to modern standards. As such, you can expect standard controller support, updated visuals, and improved gameplay. Pretty cool, right?
The demo contains every single mission from Sand Oasis and Dinosaur Jungle. These are the first two proper areas of the game. It also features over 30 skills and an experience system.
The devs have also changed the game’s Ranking System. So now, you’ll have to finish the stage as fast as possible and link actions together to earn bonuses and build up your final score.
>> There’s a roughly one minute video of the game.

After 11 years, Doom 2 got a Doom 3 Mod, featuring 2 whole chapters, 36 new tracks and 20+ hours of gameplay
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/after-11-years-doom-2-got-a-doom-3-mod-featuring-2-whole-chapters-36-new-tracks-and-20-hours-of-gameplay/
Modder ‘camaxide’ has been working on a direct sequel mod for Doom 2 for the past 11 years, and has just released to the public. This mod, called Doom III, takes place right after the events of Doom 2. So, let’s take a closer look at it.
The Doom 3 Mod features two new chapters of new levels with multiple playable characters. For instance, you can play as Doom Guy, Doom Gal, or one of the other selectable characters. These chapters are playable in both solo and co-op modes.
Alongside the well-known Doom monsters, there are also many additional monsters. You can also expect to find new items, weapons and power-ups to help you fight back the demons.
In total, this mod offers 20+ hours of gameplay, with extra modes, collectibles, achievements and unlocks. It also has 36 new music tracks.
Now the reason this mod is called Doom III is because it’s a sequel to Doom II. This has nothing in common with id Software’s Doom 3 game, which came out in 2004 and was a reboot.
>> The article has some screenshots and a trailer for the mod.

Thanks to its all-encompassing Randomizer mod, Deus Ex has gotten a festive Halloween update with game modes and modifiers to turn it into a survival horror game
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/thanks-to-its-all-encompassing-randomizer-mod-deus-ex-has-gotten-a-festive-halloween-update-with-game-modes-and-modifiers-to-turn-it-into-a-survival-horror-game/
The Deus Ex Randomizer, an extensive mod for customizing playthroughs of the classic immersive sim, has just delivered something I'd never thought I'd see: A seasonal update for Ion Storm's twisty cyberpunk noir, complete with Halloween-appropriate level decorations and new, survival horror-themed modes.
The Deus Ex Randomizer has always gone above and beyond in how it remixes the immersive sim classic⁠—at this point, it can serve as one-stop shopping for customized playthroughs with compatibility for multiple mods and extremely granular options for tweaking the game. You can choose how randomized the maps in a playthrough will be, and in what ways, with enemies, NPCs, objectives, passwords, and even start/exit points on the table. On the most extreme end, the "WaltonWare" mode breaks the game up into bite-sized chunks for quick play sessions, dropping you into random (and randomized) maps with a list of objectives that are more Jackass than immsim.
In the spirit of Halloween, mod author Die4Ever added in new modes and criteria predominantly inspired by survival horror games. You can now activate limited saves like the old Resident Evil typewriter ribbons, requiring you to find "Memory Containment Units" and save your game at computers or public terminals. There's also an option to make killed enemies rise as zombies after a 20-second delay, as well as a mechanic that lets you loot "costumes" from downed enemies to then wear around.
You also naturally get the de rigueur jack-o-lanterns and spiderwebs tastefully arranged on these familiar maps. My favorite new feature is probably "Mr. H," a beefy Terminator-type guy who will pursue you through the levels and who can't be killed, a clear homage to survival horror standbys like Resident Evil's Tyrant. All of these options come packaged in an umbrella "Halloween mode" or can be applied a la carte with other adjustments.
>> There’s a slightly over 2 minutes video in the article.

Satisfactory 1.0 finally has mod support, and the revamped mod manager now supports dedicated servers too
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/satisfactory-1-0-finally-has-mod-support-and-the-revamped-mod-manager-now-supports-dedicated-servers-too/
A month to the day since Satisfactory left early access, the community-driven mod manager has been updated to support version 1.0. Satisfactory Mod Manager v3.0 was "rewritten from scratch for better performance and smaller size" and includes some pretty significant new features, including support for installing and managing mods on dedicated servers and a brand new UI.
Most important, of course, is just that mods will now work with the version of Satisfactory that everyone is playing. For the last month modders have been stuck on the final early access release of Satisfactory, unable to take advantage of the very nice additions in 1.0. If you download the latest release of the mod manager from Github, it'll now play nice with the default version of the game you can download via Steam.
Mods themselves, however, aren't all going to work immediately.
"Remember, every mod needs to be revised and recompiled under the new engine setup! Just like any major update, some mods may take days, others weeks, others will sadly never be updated," warns today's announcement on the Satisfactory modding Discord. "Please keep in mind that all of this formidable work is done by volunteers in their free time, and be patient. Use the Compatibility Information icons in the Mod Manager and on Ficsit.app (the rocket and the flask) to tell if a mod is ready for 1.0."
>> Given the subject of the article, it’s no surprise that there’s no media in it.

The Witcher 3 HD Reworked NextGen Releases on November 23rd
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/the-witcher-3-hd-reworked-nextgen-releases-on-november-23rd/
Modder ‘Halk Hogan’ has announced that the highly anticipated The Witcher 3 HD Reworked Project NextGen Edition will be available for download on November 23rd. To celebrate this announcement, the modder also shared a new video that you can find below.
In this video, Halk Hogan gives us a preview of the new textures for Novigrad. As with all of his videos, it has comparison scenes between the vanilla and the modded versions. So, go ahead and take a look at it.
>> The video is around 7 minutes long.

GAMING NEWS

Red Dead Redemption Remaster will be priced at $49,99 on PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/red-dead-redemption-remaster-will-be-priced-at-4999-on-pc/
A couple of days ago, Rockstar revealed that Red Dead Redemption Remaster will be coming to PC on October 29th. And while the team shared the game’s PC requirements, it did not reveal its price. Well, it appears that the Epic Games Store page has leaked that price, and from what we can see, the game will cost $49,99.

Stop-motion cinematic action adventure, The Spirit of the Samurai, coming to PC on December 12th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/stop-motion-cinematic-action-adventure-the-spirit-of-the-samurai-coming-to-pc-on-december-12th/
Kwalee and Digital Mind have announced the release date for upcoming 2D stop-motion action adventure, The Spirit of the Samurai. The game will be coming to PC via Steam on December 12th. Moreover, a free playable demo will become available durint the Steam Next Fest event.

Killing Time: Resurrected will be released on October 17th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/killing-time-resurrected-will-be-released-on-october-17th/
Nightdive Studios and Ziggurat Interactive have announced that Killing Time: Resurrected, the HD remaster of the cult-classic horror boomer shooter, will launch on October 17th. To celebrate this announcement, the teams have shared a gameplay trailer that you can find below.

Football Manager 25 has been delayed until March 2025
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/football-manager-25-has-been-delayed-until-march-2025/
SEGA and Sports Interactive have announced that Football Manager 25 has been delayed until March 2025. As the devs noted, this additional time will be used to further polish the game, so that it meets their expectations and high standards.

Halo 3 vs Halo Unreal Engine 5 Early Graphics Comparison
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/halo-3-vs-halo-unreal-engine-5-early-graphics-comparison/
A few days ago, Microsoft revealed that the next Halo game will be powered by Unreal Engine 5. To showcase what the devs plan to create, Halo Studios shared Project Foundry. So, here is an early graphics comparison between Halo 3 and Halo Unreal Engine 5. Let’s take a look at it.
>> Not really a good comparison given that Halo 3 was an Xbox360 game. It has some years.

Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered is coming to PC in February 2025
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/tomb-raider-iv-vi-remastered-is-coming-to-pc-in-february-2025/
After the success of the first Tomb Raider trilogy, here comes the second one. Aspyr Media has just announced remasters for Tomb Raider 4, 5 and 6. Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered will be coming to PC in February 2025, and below you can find all the details for it.

Friday news, the second part:

'We've managed to keep the lights on… until now': Cosy dino game Paleo Pines is asking players for help amid 'a sudden drying up of publishing and investment opportunities'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/life-sim/weve-managed-to-keep-the-lights-on-until-now-cosy-dino-game-paleo-pines-is-asking-players-for-help-amid-a-sudden-drying-up-of-publishing-and-investment-opportunities/
It's been almost a year since the cosy dinosaur farming simulator Paleo Pines was released, and unfortunately, it has been anything but a smooth ride for developer Italic Pig. After a year of hard work, the studio finally resorted to asking its players for help. 
(...)
The team has been working on extra content for DLCs, which includes more dinosaurs, regions, and even multiplayer, but without a production partner, it doesn't really matter how much extra content is planned down the road. "We've managed to keep the lights on… until now," Italic Pig says. "Unless we can find a partner who is keen to see the Paleo Pines universe grow, we won't be able to keep our team together for much longer." 

The first game from Mike Morhaime's new company is 'a couch co-op tactical adventure' that aims to recreate the experience of tabletop gaming
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/the-first-game-from-mike-morhaimes-new-company-is-a-couch-co-op-tactical-adventure-that-aims-to-recreate-the-experience-of-tabletop-gaming/
Mike Morhaime stepped down as president of Blizzard in 2018, more than 25 years after he co-founded the company (as Silicon and Synapse) alongside Allen Adham and Frank Pearce. Two years later he launched a new venture called Dreamhaven—and now, four years after that, we've finally got a look at its first project, a "couch co-op tactical adventure" called Sunderfolk.

Persona series director says Atlus's flashy menus are 'actually really annoying' to design
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/persona-series-director-says-atluss-flashy-menus-are-actually-really-annoying-to-design/
Atlus RPGs mean bold aesthetic decisions, and that includes the studio's menus. Where other games might be content to rely on the proven, dependable rectangle, Atlus's interfaces are as much modern art as they are menus. They're arranged at off-kilter angles; they tumble onto the screen as a collage of disparate elements. They might, in the case of Metaphor: ReFantazio, be embellished with runic transcriptions of encoded Esperanto. They're striking, they're satisfying, and—according to Persona series director Katsura Hashino—they kinda suck to make.

Spooky Stardew-like farm sim Everholm launches in November
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/life-sim/spooky-stardew-like-farm-sim-everholm-launches-in-november/
Earlier this month I collected a list of my favorite creepy cozy games for autumn and now I may need to consider another: Everholm. This Stardew-like farm sim revolves around witches, magic, and a mystery. It's just announced a November 11 release date but you can actually play its demo right now.

Overwatch 2 teases a new tank hero in its season 13 trailer and his name could be 'Spiker'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/overwatch-2-teases-a-new-tank-hero-in-its-season-13-trailer-and-his-name-could-be-spiker/
Overwatch 2 has another mystery for players to solve. At the end of the trailer for its upcoming witch-themed season, called Spellbinder, a new voice cuts in as the camera pans over a vandalized spawn room of an existing map teasing a new hero.

Whoops, Blizzard just leaked all the cards from Hearthstone's next expansion
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/card-games/whoops-blizzard-just-leaked-all-the-cards-from-hearthstones-next-expansion/
Blizzard announced a new Hearthstone expansion today, The Great Dark Beyond, a spacefaring set of 145 new cards set to go live on November 5. Unfortunately, in a break from the normal drip-feed reveal schedule, every single card was revealed to the community at the same time thanks to what must be the biggest leak in the game's decade-long life. It's one way to celebrate, I suppose.

RuneScape creator's new MMO gets a one-day delay, and it's the US government's fault
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/runescape-creators-new-mmo-gets-a-one-day-delay-and-its-the-us-governments-fault/
Brighter Shores, the new MMO being developed by RuneScape creator Andrew Gower and his brother Paul, has been delayed: Instead of launching into early access on November 5 as planned, it will arrive on November 6. No, it's not much of a wait as these things go, but the reason for the postponement is pretty funny.

There's now a third studio boasting Disco Elysium veterans trying to follow up the beloved RPG—here with a spiritual successor 'psychogeographic RPG'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/theres-now-a-third-studio-boasting-disco-elysium-veterans-trying-to-follow-up-the-beloved-rpg-here-with-a-a-spiritual-successor-psychogeographic-rpg/
Disco Elysium 2 is dead, long live Disco Elysium spiritual successors. Newly-revealed studio Longdue has announced that it is working on a Disco-inspired RPG, with a "dozen strong" staff that includes some former members of Studio ZA/UM.

This overlooked Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles roguelike is even better on PC than it was on Nintendo Switch—and there's a free demo available now
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/this-overlooked-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-roguelike-is-looking-even-better-on-pc-than-it-did-on-nintendo-switch-and-theres-a-free-demo-available-now/
Back in August, I found myself very pleasantly surprised by a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles roguelike on Nintendo Switch—and happy to discover a PC port was also on the way. Now it's got a free demo on Steam, and a quick play confirms it's definitely the better version of a great game.
Basically, imagine Hades, but with four turtles instead of one goth teenager. Wacky powers allow you to create all sorts of fun builds over the course of a run, throwing together elemental types including "ooze", "ninja", and "utrom" into brilliantly chaotic combinations. There's co-op, too, which is a cool addition to the formula—though equally my solo playthrough didn't feel lacking, so it's far from mandatory.
>> The game is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate.

Helldivers 2's 60-day patch, which was due this weekend, is now a 63-day patch because oops, turns out there's a Saturday in the way
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/helldivers-2s-60-day-patch-which-was-due-this-weekend-is-now-a-63-day-patch-because-oops-turns-out-theres-a-saturday-in-the-way/
If you've been following the Helldivers 2 news, you'll know that Arrowhead Games is on a democracy-sanctioned mission to turn the ship around and, fair play, appears to have been doing a solid job of it so far.
A huge, buff-heavy balance patch arrived last month. ()
But that's just step one of the plan. As the now-CEO Shams Jorjani promised back in August, Helldivers 2 is on a self-imposed 60-day timer to get the game all fixed for a bright future. Well, it's October 11 now, and it was August 13 then, meaning that the end of that wait is just around the corner. October 12 to be precise.
Alas, that 60-day timer is now a 63-day timer. Egads, shock and horror, broken promises! Well, not really—turns out, it's more a mishap of scheduling than development. See, tomorrow is the weekend, and Arrowhead doesn't patch its game on weekends because, well, that's when everyone's busy playing it, and patches have a habit of breaking stuff.

A Disco Elysium successor studio has been announced for the second time today, meaning there are now 4 companies battling for the title of ZA/UM's true inheritor
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/a-disco-elysium-successor-studio-has-been-announced-for-the-second-time-today-meaning-there-are-now-4-companies-battling-for-the-title-of-za-ums-true-inheritor/
How many Disco Elysium successor studios is too many? Trick question, no such number has yet been invented. For the second time today (and the fourth time total) a gaggle of former ZA/UM devs has announced they're coming together to boot up a new studio. This one is called Dark Math Games, and it's working on XXX Nightshift, which looks, huh, a little like Disco Elysium.
>> This is almost comical. At least this one already has a game in the works.

AI in games might've just proven itself useful for a change—Activision claims Call of Duty's seen a 43% drop in 'disruptive voice chat' since the start of the year thanks to its robo-snitch
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/call-of-duty/ai-in-games-mightve-just-proven-itself-useful-for-a-change-activision-claims-call-of-dutys-seen-a-43-percent-drop-in-disruptive-voice-chat-since-the-start-of-the-year-thanks-to-its-robo-snitch/
AI in games is a weird subject—glassy-eyed, soulless neo-NPCs, hideous AI art slapped onto social media accounts and, thanks to the seemingly irresistible, gravitational allure of its power as a buzzword to sell software and tat, a lot of confusion as to what "AI-powered" actually means.
I'm on record as a sceptic myself. While I think AI—that is, specifically, generative AI—doesn't really have much to offer games in terms of writing or art, I must admit, with a mouthful of humble pie, that Activision (of all the studios) might've stumbled onto a good use for it with the help of Modulate.
I say might've only because it's my job to be sceptical, and because these are all numbers from Activision itself, which has a clear and vested interest in wanting you to believe that it makes good decisions. Still, as per its toxicity report blog post, the numbers are allegedly looking pretty good.

And these are the weekend deals at Steam, because GOG has no new deals:

+Steam

• The Planet Crafter, with a demo, will be 40% off until October 17: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1284190/The_Planet_Crafter/
• Teardown gets a 50% discount until October, the 17th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1167630/Teardown/
• Publisher Zachtronics puts all its games 50% off until the 17th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/ZachtronicsPublisherSale
• Tropico 6 features a 65% discount until the same 17th of October: https://store.steampowered.com/app/492720/Tropico_6/
• Biped is going to be 75% off until the 17th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1071870/Biped/
• Starbound also gets a 75% discount until the 17th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/211820/Starbound/
• Publisher Telltale puts its games on sale, up to 80% off until October, the 17th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/TelltaleSale2024
• If you’ve ever wanted to try PowerWash Simulator to know why people like it so mych, now you can! It’s going to be free to try during the weekend and also gets a 30% discount until the 18th of October: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1290000/PowerWash_Simulator/
• The Kingdom franchise is on sale, up to 90% off until October 22 (By the way, Kingdom Two Crowns will also be free to try during the weekend): https://store.steampowered.com/app/701160/Kingdom_Two_Crowns/
• To celebrate the announcement of the remasters, the Tomb Raider franchise is on sale with up to 94% discounts until the 24th of October: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/tombraider_franchise

And that’s it. Until the next time, I wish you a happy and gaming weekend.

I saw the peak concurrent a couple of days ago and it was over 90,000 with the early access Ultimate Edition that is costing £90 so thought it was already a big success so it will be interesting to see over the weekend where it should peak even higher.

NVIDIA’s Entire Blackwell AI GPU Supply Sold Out For The Next 12 Months, AI Firms Gobble Up 100K Units In A Single Order Highlighting Insane Demand

https://wccftech.com/nvidia-entire-blackwell-ai-gpu-supply-sold-out-ai-firms-100k-units-a-single-order-highlighting-insane-demand/

Today’s The 25th Anniversary of The World’s First GPU: The NVIDIA GeForce 256

https://wccftech.com/nvidia-geforce-256-the-worlds-first-gpu-25th-anniversary/

AMD Ryzen X3D “3D V-Cache” CPUs See A Significant Price Surge Worldwide

https://wccftech.com/amd-ryzen-7000x3d-5000x3d-3d-v-cache-cpus-significant-price-surge-worldwide/

AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D rumored for early November launch, Intel confirms Core Ultra 200 will be about 5% slower than 7000X3D

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-ryzen-7-9800x3d-rumored-for-early-november-launch-intel-confirms-core-ultra-200-will-be-about-5-slower

How the mighty have fallen

Ok, guys, now that the weekend is over, we can start posting in the thread again. I'll start with the Monday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

GOG has two new sales:

• The Tomb Raider Franchise Sale has its games up to 89% off during 10 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20241011_tomb_raider
• And the Shooter Promo features up to 91% discounts during 14 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20241014_shooter_promo

Steam has three new deals:

• We have a daily deal! Moncage will be 35% off during 26 hours: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1195290/Moncage/
• The Suicide of Rachel Foster has a 90% discount until the 27th of October: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1057750/The_Suicide_of_Rachel_Foster/
• And publisher Headup Games celebrates its 15th anniversary puttings its games up to 95% off until October 27: https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/Headup/sale/15th-Anniversary-Sale

We have two new deals at Humble:

• At Humble Bundle there’s the new Madcap Multiplayer Missions Bundle, with up to 7 games to get during 18 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/madcap-multiplayer-missions
• At the Humble Store there’s the Tomb Raider Spotlight Sale, with up to 86% discounts during 10 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/tomb-raider-spotlight-sale/

And Fanatical has a new Star Deal and a bundle:

• The new Star Deal is RimWorld, with a 30% deal during 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/rimworld
• The BYO Fall Bundle 2024 has 15 games to choose for your bundle of 3+, 5+ or 7+: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-fall-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Steam's new disclaimer reminds everyone that you don't actually own your games, GOG moves in for the killshot: Its offline installers 'cannot be taken away from you'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/steams-new-disclaimer-reminds-everyone-that-you-dont-actually-own-your-games-gog-moves-in-for-the-killshot-its-offline-installers-cannot-be-taken-away-from-you/
Steam has apparently made a little change to its shopping cart page in the form of a new message that very clearly lays out to one and all that you're not buying a game—you're buying a license.
I say the message is "apparently" new because I can't swear it hasn't been there for days, weeks, or maybe even months already. But it's definitely there now, and was only noticed by the internet at large within the past 24 hours. Given the absence of scathing "you fool, you absolute buffoon" messages on Reddit, though, I strongly suspect it is indeed new. 
(…)
Never missing an opportunity to weigh in on such matters, GOG took a moment to mull a checkout message of its own.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

New Red Dead Redemption 2 Mod overhauls all main characters
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/new-red-dead-redemption-2-mod-overhauls-all-main-characters/
Modder ‘instanity’ has released a must-have high-quality HD Texture Pack for the PC version of Red Dead Redemption 2. This pack will overhaul all of the game’s main characters. So, let’s take a closer look at it.
Now in case you’re wondering, instanity is the same modder behind the 4K Improved Story and Side Characters Mod. For that mod, the modder used AI tools to upscale the original textures. In this new pack, however, we get custom hand-made textures.
As said, this mod improves the faces and clothes of all main characters as well as side characters. And, since it has custom textures, I highly recommend using it. From what I could see, it has better textures than it. Still, if you want the original textures at a higher resolution, you can stick with the previous pack.
>> The article has some screenshots.

New Skyrim Mod enables AMD FSR 3.1 Native AA & NVIDIA DLAA
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/new-skyrim-mod-enables-amd-fsr-3-1-native-aa-nvidia-dlaa/
Skyrim fans, here is something for you today. Modders have released an SKSE plugin that implements AMD FSR 3.1 Native AA and NVIDIA DLAA for ENB in Skyrim Special Edition. This will allow you to enjoy Skyrim with less aliasing. As such, it’s a must-have for everyone.
This mod works by directly replacing the game’s temporal anti-aliasing. Unlike the Skyrim Upscaler, this runs before some post processing effects, and uses more optimal hooking methods resulting in improved performance.
If the mod detects a GPU that supports DLSS, it will use NVIDIA DLAA. Otherwise, AMD FSR 3.1 Native AA will be enabled. Both of them are running natively on D3D11.
You can download the mod from this link. Do note that it will NOT enable Frame Generation or other Super Resolution settings. If you want to use Intel XeSS, AMD FSR and NVIDIA DLSS Super Resolutions, you should use this mod. Plus, this mod will NOT work in VR. So, avoid it if you’re playing Skyrim in VR.
>> There’s no media in the article.

DreamPunk 2.1 aims to make Cyberpunk 2077 as photorealistic as possible
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/dreampunk-2-1-aims-to-make-cyberpunk-2077-as-photorealistic-as-possible/
YouTube’s ‘NextGen Dreams’ has shared a video, showcasing a brand new version of their DreamPunk Mod for Cyberpunk 2077. Version 2.1 promises to make CP2077. And, as you can tell from the header, it looks absolutely incredible.
Now the bad news here is that this is a paid mod. Right now, DreamPunk is only available to NextGen Dreams’ patrons. Thus, most of you won’t be able to make CP2077 look THIS good. Thankfully, there are other free alternatives. However, from what I’ve seen so far, nothing can come close to DreamPunk.
As the modder noted, Update 2.1 remakes the graphics configuration, indirect dighting, light diffusion, LUT saturation, and more.
Sadly, the modder has not included any performance overlay. However, we know that they have used DLSS 3.7.10 to get playable framerates at 8K on an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Plus, Path Tracing was enabled. So, basically, this is the best CP2077 can look on PC.
>> The video is almost 5 minutes long.

Modders have changed Angela & Maria in Silent Hill 2 Remake to make them more beautiful & feminine
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/modders-have-changed-angela-maria-in-silent-hill-2-remake-to-make-them-more-beautiful-feminine/
A lot of players were disappointed with the new looks of Maria and Angela in Silent Hill 2 Remake. To put it simply, they did not look as hot as they did in the original game. And, to the surprise of no one, modders have figured out ways to make them more beautiful and feminine.
I’ve seen a lot of excuses online about why some games don’t have 3D female characters that can resemble their live actresses. And, honestly, those are mere excuses and nothing more. There is no technological difficulty here. In fact, with the tools we now have, it should be easier than in the past. That’s why we have more advanced tools and more advanced game engines.
So, the different looks of Angela and Maria were purely artistic changes. And, you know what? James also looked worse when Konami first showcased the game. Contrary to Angela and Maria, though, Bloober Team improved the 3D model of James after the harsh criticism. So, it’s not like it’s SO difficult to make changes to the 3D models.
Not only that but the fact that modders, without proper tools, have improved the 3D models in record time is proof enough that Angela and Maria look the way they do on purpose. Again, I’m saying this because a lot suddenly assume that it’s a tech issue. It’s not.
Anyway, you can go ahead and download the Angela and Maria mods from here and here, respectively.
Now while the mods improve these 3D models, they are not perfect. So, you should expect some minor glitches and visual issues. Still, and despite those issues, I know that a lot of SH2 will greatly appreciate them.
>> The article has some screenshots.

GAMING NEWS

Until Dawn Patch 1.05 Released, Brings Performance Improvements, Fixes AMD FSR 3.1 Frame Generation
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/until-dawn-patch-1-05-released-brings-performance-improvements-fixes-amd-fsr-3-1-frame-generation/
Ballistic Moon has just released Patch 1.05 for Until Dawn. According to the changelog, this new update brings performance improvements for lower spec PCs & Steam Deck. Moreover, it fixes AMD FSR 3.1 Frame Generation which was not working. As such, PC gamers can now use it to boost their performance.

Free demos released for AI Limit, The Precinct, Delta Force, Empires of the Ants & Amerzone Remake
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/free-demos-released-for-ai-limit-the-precinct-delta-force-empires-of-the-ants-amerzone-remake/
Steam Next Fest October 2024 Edition launches today, and a few cool free demos have already been released. Right now, you can download the demos for AI Limit, The Precinct, Delta Force, Empires of the Ants and Amerzone Remake.