I remember there was a huge mod being developed for DS2 that would completely overhaul and fix this game's lighting. I wonder if that's already out.

Nvidia's Arm-based PC chips for consumers to launch in September 2025, commercial to follow in 2026: Report

https://www.tomshardware.com/desktops/gaming-pcs/nvidias-arm-based-pc-chips-for-consumers-to-launch-in-september-2025-commercial-to-follow-in-2026-report

Samsung Witnesses a Whopping 40% QoQ Decline In Semiconductor Profits, As They Struggle To Capitalize On AI Boom

https://wccftech.com/samsung-witnesses-a-whopping-40-qoq-decline-in-semiconductor-profits/

AMD Crushes Intel Lunar Lake By 27% Performance in LLM Applications As Ryzen AI Showcases Its NPU & iGPU Bruteness

https://wccftech.com/amd-crushes-intel-lunar-lake-by-ai-llm-ryzen-ai-showcases-npu-igpu-bruteness/

Intel Panther Lake to launch in second half of 2025, no more Memory on Package in future products

https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-panther-lake-to-launch-in-second-half-of-2025-no-more-memory-on-package-in-future-products

Samsung Preparing 400-Layer V-NAND Using Vertical Bonding For Higher Storage Capacity

https://wccftech.com/samsung-preparing-400-layer-v-nand-vertical-bonding/

Mortal Kombat Trilogy isn't a collection of MK games. It's own game all together. It has the MK3 graphical style but features every character in the franchise up to that point plus the boss characters and a new character Chameleon/Khamleon*. Sort of like the "Dream Match" style KOF games where threw everyone into the game, whether they were narratively alive or not.

*There two different Chamelon characters. The male Chamelone that was in every version of the game except the N64 version and the female Khameleon that was in typicaly exclusive to Nintendo versions of the game. They did the same thing with the Wii Version of Armageddon by adding female Khameleon to the game.

Fanatical has released Movember Game 'Stache Charity Bundle. 

It includes the following items.

• American Truck Simulator
• Chivalry 2
• THE CORRIDOR
• Doors: Paradox
• Eastside Hockey Manager
• The Escapists
• Filthy Animals | Heist Simulator
• For The King
• The Gunk
• Hello Neighbor
• Inertial Drift
• Isonzo - Movember Handlebar (DLC)
• The Little Acre
• Panzer Corps 2
• SteamWorld Build
• Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader

Repella Fella was removed shortly after release.

I was only missing Rogue Trader and Steamworld dig, but for 12 euros and for charity I consider it worth it.

Souls 2 is done. All 41 bosses completed solo. Need to finish Spiderman.

Steam was close to its all-time peak yesterday:

Will we see over 40 million concurrent users until the end of this year?

I think 39 millions are guaranteed, but 40 may be a bit too much.

Steam published the best releases of September a few days ago, and here they are:

SEPTEMBER

Age of Mythology: Retold link	Ara: History Untold link	Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster link
EA SPORTS FC™ 25 link	FINAL FANTASY XVI link	Frostpunk 2 link
God of War Ragnarök link	Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions link	MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics link
NBA 2K25 link	Ravenswatch link	Satisfactory link
Star Trucker link	TCG Card Shop Simulator (Early Access) link	Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown link
The Casting of Frank Stone link	The Forever Winter (Early Access) link	Tiny Glade link
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 link		Witchfire (Early Access) link

Let’s go with the Monday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

The Monster Hunter Wilds beta drew almost half a million concurrent Steam players in the first hour
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/the-monster-hunter-wilds-beta-drew-almost-half-a-million-concurrent-steam-players-in-the-first-hour/
Last night, Capcom opened the gates to the Monster Hunter Wilds beta on Steam, letting PC players get a preview of the next installment in giant lizard slaying. There was no shortage of eager hunters waiting for their chance: According to SteamDB, just an hour after unlocking on PC, the Wilds beta already had over 460,000 concurrent players.
As a point of comparison, SteamDB says that Monster Hunter: World's all-time peak user count was around 334,000 shortly after its PC release in 2018. Monster Hunter: Rise, meanwhile, only capped out at 231,000 players during the launch of the Sunbreak expansion. Comparing the player counts of a free beta test with those of full, paid game releases is, I'll admit, only so useful, but there's clearly a lot of interest in Wilds. Half a million players don't show up on accident.
>> If you’ve tried it or seen some videos and aren’t impressed with the graphics, don’t worry, the current build of the game is much improved.

I don’t recall posting it before but you know, better safe than sorry so here it goes: GOG has the Head Up Games Publisher Sale to celebrate its 15th anniversary, with up to 90% discounts during 4 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20241101_headup_publisher_sale.

Steam has two new deals:

• Dustborn, with a demo, is going to be 50% off until the 17th of November: https://store.steampowered.com/app/721180/Dustborn/
• The Early Access title Castle Of Alchemists gets a 55% discount until November, the 17th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1724770/Castle_Of_Alchemists/

Humble Bundle brings the Generations Zero: The Ultimate Resistence Bundle, featuring up to 19 items (1 game + DLCs) to get during 11 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/generation-zero-ultimate-resistance.

And last, but not least, there’s Fanatical, with their Birthday Bash Sale, and new bundles:

• These are today’s 24h Flash Deals:
  • STARFIELD is 43% off: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/starfield
  • Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth has a 57% discount: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/like-a-dragon-infinite-wealth
  • And Alone in the Dark features a 60% discount.. tho it says it’s sold out: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/alone-in-the-dark
• NeuroVoider - Deluxe Edition Bundle, with the game and DLC, is going to be 86% off during another 4 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/neurovoider-deluxe-edition
• The Movember Game 'Stache Charity Bundle has 15 games and 1 DLC: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/movember-game-stache-charity-bundle
• Birthday Favorites - Build your own Bundle (2024) has 14 titles to choose from for your 2+, 3+ or 5+ games bundle: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/birthday-favorites-build-your-own-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

AMD releases Adrenalin Edition Preview drivers for Dragon Age: The Veilguard
https://videocardz.com/pixel/amd-releases-adrenalin-edition-preview-drivers-for-dragon-age-the-veilguard
Highlights

• New Game Support
  • Dragon Age™: The Veilguard

• Fixed Issues and Improvements
  • Texture corruption may appear while playing The Crew™ Motorfest.

This Unreal Engine 5.4 Rome Italian Town Tech Demo will blow you away with its graphics
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/this-unreal-engine-5-4-rome-italian-town-tech-demo-will-blow-you-away-with-its-graphics/
Scans Factory has created an incredible Rome Italian Town Tech Demo for Unreal Engine 5.4, showcasing some of the most photorealistic graphics we’ve seen. This tech demo is available for download. As such, you’ll be able to run it and admire its stunning visuals on your PC.
The team said this demo has over 600 assets. These include building fronts, cobblestone streets, cozy restaurants, and classic Italian scooters. The demo has three scenarios: Sunset, Overcast, and Daytime. And, as you will see, it can give us an idea of what the next-gen games may look like.
This demo is 5.5GB in size, and you can download it from this link.
>> If you don’t want to download it, there’s a video in the article.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

PlayStation 4 Emulator shadPS4 V0.4.0 available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/playstation-4-emulator-shadps4-v0-4-0-available-for-download/
The team behind the best PlayStation 4 emulator, shadPS4, has released a brand new version of it. Version 0.4.0 comes with a lot of new tweaks, changes and bug fixes. So, let’s take a look at all of them.
Version 0.4.0 fixes some shader recompiler issues that plagued the emulator. Moreover, it adds support for CPUs that don’t have SSE4.2a. As such, shadPS4 will now run on a wider range of CPUs. The team has also added frame graph and precise 60FPS timing.
shadPS4 V0.4.0 improves keyboard navigation in game list. Plus, it implements IME and Videodec2. Furthermore, it packs some network libs fixes, and it brings initial support for Geometry shaders. Another interesting feature is the implementation of cooled memory. This should help in some PS4 games.
>> The article has some videos about the emulator and some games running on it.

Half-Life 3 fan game, Project Borealis, will be using Unreal Engine 5
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/half-life-3-fan-game-project-borealis-will-be-using-unreal-engine-5/
Back in September 2024, the team behind the Half-Life 3 fan game, Project Borealis revealed that a demo for it will be released on PC in Fall 2024. And although we still don’t have an exact ETA on when it will come out, the devs shared some vague PC requirements. Not only that, but we now know that this fan game will be powered by Unreal Engine 5.
Project Borealis is a fan-made project inspired by the huge cliffhanger from Half-Life 2: Episode Two. This prologue chapter will let players step back into the HEV suit of Gordon Freeman, and offer a glimpse into the next chapter of his journey.
>> There’s a 30 seconds teaser of the project.

Reality Redemption is a must-have mod for Red Dead Redemption
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/reality-redemption-is-a-must-have-mod-for-red-dead-redemption/
Now here is a must-have overhaul mod for the PC version of Red Dead Redemption that everyone should download. Titled Reality Redemption, this mod brings a lot of graphical improvements to the game. And, in a funny way, it manages to… remaster the remaster.
Going into more details, improves memory pools which will result in better general performance. Moreover, it improves the draw distance of vegetation and objects, as well as the quality of reflections, particles, debris and more. It also improves the textures for John Marston, as well as most of the game world textures such as trails, roads, grounds, and grass.
And that’s not all. The mod will also improve physics for liquids like water and the Euphoria physics, as well as the AI behavior of NPCs. Plus, the game camera will now behave more like RDR2.
>> There’s an almost 2 minutes video of the mod.

Starfield just got a must-have Seamless City Interiors Mod
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/starfield-just-got-a-must-have-seamless-city-interiors-mod/
Modder ‘PanConKeso’ has released an awesome new mod for Starfield that will let you explore its cities seamlessly. This mod will reduce the loading screens in the game’s cities. This means you can move between different areas without encountering a loading screen. Now that’s pretty neat.
To make this possible, the modder has changed the interior locations to exterior locations within the cities. By doing this, you can now visit different regions without encountering any loading screens.
Right now, the mod brings changes only to Neon City. All the other cities are not affected by it. To be more precise, the modder has changed the following locations.

• CityNeonReliantMedical
• CityNeonEmporium
• CityNeonMiningLeague
• CityNeonSieghartsOutfitters
• CityNeonEnhance

In future versions, PanConKeso plans to add support for more locations and cities. The ultimate goal is to allow players to freely explore all of Starfield’s cities.
>> The article has a less than 2 minutes video of this mod.

To 'appease the people who thought the game was too long,' an Alien: Isolation modder trimmed the campaign length down to a svelte 46 seconds
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/to-appease-the-people-who-thought-the-game-was-too-long-an-alien-isolation-modder-trimmed-the-campaign-length-down-to-a-svelte-46-seconds/
Here at PC Gamer, we're willing to admit our admiration for those who can maintain a personal grudge for a decade or more. It's a rare dedication to the art of being a hater; keeping your contempt at a steady simmer for that long takes a lot of discipline. I'm not talking about the kind of curmudgeon who deals in cheap dunks. I'm talking about those who write negative Steam reviews after collecting 8,000 hours of evidence, or—in the case of Alien: Isolation modder Matt Filer—publish mods for a 10-year old game just to mock its reviews from 2014.
Alien: Isolation is justifiably remembered as a triumph in videogame horror, one that imbued the xenomorph with an aura of terrifying lethality that it had otherwise slowly lost through however many sequels and spinoffs. However, as delightfully horrifying as evading the interstellar apex predator might've been, there was a common complaint from critics when Alien: Isolation released in 2014: It's maybe too long for its own good.
As our Fraser Brown recently wrote after finally finishing his decade-long dance with the xenomorph, "Alien: Isolation's first half is truly exceptional and terrifying, and there's an argument it should have ended at around the 10-12 hour mark. You defeat the xenomorph, time to celebrate. But no, there's more."
Thankfully, Filer's on the case. Just in time for this year's Halloween, the modder published a mod to pacify Alien: Isolation's detractors. Where before it might've taken 20ish hours for a typical Alien: Isolation playthrough, Filer's Impossible Campaign mod brings the story to a conclusion in less than a minute. Are you happy now?
>> There’s no media in the article.

GAMING NEWS

Anime-style open-world ARPG, Project 2/3, just got a 7-minute gameplay trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/anime-style-open-world-arpg-project-2-3-just-got-a-7-minute-gameplay-trailer/
Diversity Game Studio has released a 7-minute gameplay trailer for its upcoming game, Project 2/3. Project 2/3 is an anime-style open-world action RPG. It looks quite interesting, so be sure to take a look at it.

Bloober Team confirms that James has been stuck in Silent Hill for 20 years
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/bloober-team-confirms-that-james-has-been-in-silent-hill-for-20-years/
For those unaware, Silent Hill 2 Remake has a secret puzzle. During the whole game, James collects some photos. At first, these photos seem like simple collectibles. However, they have a hidden message that only a few people have figured out. That message also hints at a cool theory about SH2.

Since there are a ton of news from PCGamer, I’ve split them in two posts. In this first one you’ll find the ones that, in my opinion, are more relevant. In the second one are the rest and in short format (only headline and link):

World of Warcraft players have waited 11 years for this flying mount to finally spread its wings next month
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/world-of-warcraft/world-of-warcraft-players-have-waited-11-years-for-this-flying-mount-to-finally-spread-its-wings-next-month/
The curse of knowledge is finally over for all the World of Warcraft players waiting for Blizzard to release a mount that was first dug up by dataminers 11 years ago. The near-legendary electrified Stormcrow flying mount will finally be attainable in patch 11.0.7 next month.

Apex Legends ditches Steam Deck support: EA says Linux is 'a path for a variety of impactful exploits and cheats'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/battle-royale/apex-legends-ditches-steam-deck-support-ea-says-linux-is-a-path-for-a-variety-of-impactful-exploits-and-cheats/
Bad news, Steam Deck shooters: Electronic Arts has determined that Linux is "a path for a variety of impactful exploits and cheats" in Apex Legends, and it has thus decided to block anyone using the OS from accessing the game.

The reigning Pope of 1-bit mystery games is back with a Halloween treat: a haunted house game you can play in your browser
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/the-reigning-pope-of-1-bit-mystery-games-is-back-with-a-halloween-treat-a-haunted-house-game-you-can-play-in-your-browser/
Lucas Pope, developer of instant classics Return of the Obra Dinn and Papers, Please, may have just made the first LCD game in… decades? Well, except for the other LCD game he made last year to celebrate Papers, Please's 10th anniversary. With two of these things under his belt I'm ready to crown Pope the leading authority on modern browser games designed to replicate toys that ran on 40-year-old 4-bit microcontrollers.

Final Fantasy 14's patch 7.1 trailer teases much-needed character development for its bad dad antagonist Zoraal Ja—but a sluggish release schedule for everything else
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/final-fantasy/final-fantasy-14s-patch-7-1-trailer-teases-much-needed-character-development-for-its-bad-dad-antagonist-zoraal-ja-but-a-sluggish-release-schedule-for-everything-else/
Final Fantasy 14's next story patch has a lot riding on its shoulders—it'll sort of be the proof in the pudding as to whether Creative Studio 3 is able to respond quickly to story complaints, or whether we'll be stuck with an unfortunately plodding narrative for the next three patches. Still, I'm open to giving it a chance and, at the very least, this trailer promises not to abandon the premise just because of its clunky entry. Spoilers for Dawntrail, naturally.

PSA: Dragon Age: The Veilguard doesn't warn you which big quests are going to lock you out of finishing up side quests
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/dragon-age/veilguard-point-of-no-return-quests/
I wasn't all that far into Dragon Age: The Veilguard when I realised I'd been locked out of a sidequest unexpectedly. It was after the first significant event in the game where you, of course, have to make a big decision that has some longer-lasting repercussions. But if you're not paying attention to your quest log, you might not notice that some quests disappear into the completed section with a little entry above them saying something along the lines of "You can no longer complete this because this event has happened".
>> By the way, don’t miss this side quest.

BioWare has no DLC plans for Dragon Age: The Veilguard, has shifted focus onto Mass Effect
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/bioware-has-no-dlc-plans-for-dragon-age-the-veilguard-has-shifted-focus-onto-mass-effect/
Used to be, if you skipped the DLC for a Dragon Age game you'd miss at least one important part of the story. The Awakening expansion for Dragon Age: Origins introduced Anders, who returned in Dragon Age 2 as a central character. Dragon Age 2's add-on Legacy introduced Corypheus, who returned as the main villain of Dragon Age: Inquisition. And heaven help you if you play Dragon Age: The Veilguard without first playing Inquisition's plot-critical expansion, Trespasser.
You don't have to worry about missing the one essential DLC for Dragon Age: The Veilguard, however, because apparently there won't be any. According to Rolling Stone, who interviewed creative director John Epler, "there are currently no plans for downloadable expansions" and the studio's "full attention has now shifted entirely to the next Mass Effect".

Horizon Zero Dawn's questionable remaster launches to Mixed reviews as players lament a new mandatory PSN sign-in that wasn't in the original, visual glitches, and audio bugs
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/horizon-zero-dawns-questionable-remaster-launches-to-mixed-reviews-as-players-lament-a-new-mandatory-psn-sign-in-that-wasnt-in-the-original-visual-glitches-and-audio-bugs/
Despite ranking among history's least necessary remasters, the prettied-up re-do of Horizon Zero Dawn has been earning plaudits from testers. Ours included, actually. PCG hardware guru Nick Evanson was impressed by what he saw when he took the Horizon remaster for a spin, calling it the "best version of Horizon Zero Dawn it could possibly be, short of a full remake." I admit it: in spite of myself, I kind of want to drop the £10 on the upgrade just to see.
But maybe I should wait, because in the wake of its launch yesterday, Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered is currently sitting at a "Mixed" user-review score over on Steam. Some fans are loving it, mind you—61% of reviews are positive—but it looks like the experience is pretty variable depending on your hardware. Fans both on Steam and elsewhere report bugs and audio glitches with the new version. And some of them are justifiably annoyed about the PSN login requirement.

GTA Online's console-exclusive enhanced edition is finally coming to PC
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/gta-onlines-console-exclusive-enhanced-edition-is-finally-coming-to-pc/
After years of waiting, Rockstar says it's finally going to bring the PC version of Grand Theft Auto Online to parity with the "enhanced" edition that's been available for consoles for the past two years.

Another game is disappearing from Steam: Five years after its last update, Bethesda is closing its Elder Scrolls card game
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/card-games/another-game-is-disappearing-from-steam-five-years-after-its-last-update-bethesda-is-closing-its-elder-scrolls-card-game/
Five years after its last update, Bethesda's digital card game The Elder Scrolls: Legends has been removed from sale on Steam, and is set to go offline at the end of January.

Sintopia is a town-builder and god game that puts you in charge of the bureaucracy of Hell
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/sintopia-is-a-town-builder-and-god-game-that-puts-you-in-charge-of-the-bureaucracy-of-hell/
A new hybrid of god game and town-builder looks to marry the appeal of games like Dungeon Keeper with modern management game structures. Sintopia, forthcoming as an early access title in 2025, puts you in charge of hell's bureaucracy to be sure that people get properly punished for their sins and can behave in the next life. That means doing good layout and construction of Hell's infrastructure to keep that flow of souls moving and repenting. You'll also need to be sure that you hire competent "Imployees" to get the work done.

Magicraft is like Brotato mixed with Hades where you make up all your guns as you go along
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/magicraft-is-like-brotato-mixed-with-hades-where-you-make-up-all-your-guns-as-you-go-along/
A new action roguelike dropped this week that focuses on open-ended creativity with your attacks, focusing on the ability to slot different effects into one weapon to make a customized stack of powers. In Magicraft your wands all have open slots that can be filled with spells and spell modifiers that'll trigger from left to right, in order, every time you click.

Here's a time-devouring combination of factory-building and incremental game
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/heres-a-time-devouring-combination-of-factory-building-and-incremental-game/
A cheap little indie released this week combines two notoriously time-sucking genres into one monstrous whole. Widget Inc has the production-matching flow of a factory game but the gameplay of an incremental, letting you build up successive layers of industry in order to make ever more complex technology over 12 tiers of tech and associated upgrades. By cleverly expanding to take advantage of machine adjacency bonuses and terrain types you can get those production numbers ever-higher in order to unlock and research new tech at a good pace.