The Thursday news:
SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS
The Epic Store is going to give away Hell Let Loose during the next week: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/hell-let-loose-03f036 https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/hell-let-loose-03f036.
There is no word of which, if any, will be the next free game.
There’s a new Humble Bundle: the New Year, New You: Communication & Meditation Bundle that, despite what the title suggest, is a real games bundle featuring 7 games, and will last 13 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/new-years-resolution-learn-new-skill-encore.
Fanatical, whose Winter Sale is in Encore mode, has two new deals:
SOFTWARE & DRIVERS
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MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS
shadPS4 can now run even more PS4-exclusive games on PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/shadps4-can-now-run-even-more-ps4-exclusive-games-on-pc/
Last month, we shared a video that showcased the PlayStation 4 emulator, shadPS4, launching various PS4 games on PC. And today, we bring you another video showing even more games running on PC. So, let’s dive in.
In this video, we get to see shadPS4 launching KNACK, Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise, Alienation and The Witch & The Hundred Knight 2. All of these games were exclusives on Sony’s console.
Right now, shadPS4 can launch and run all of these games. In other words, they can go “in game”. However, Alienation and KNACK are not playable. At least in my opinion. Both of them have a lot of visual glitches and issues right now. On the other hand, Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise and The Witch & The Hundred Knight 2 appear to be in a better state.
To be honest, I’m shocked by how fast the compatibility list of shadPS4 increases. A few months ago, this PS4 emulator could barely run Bloodborne. But here we are now with a lot of PS4 games running on it. Yes, it will take a while until most of them are fully playable. However, it’s pretty shocking how fast it progresses.
Other PS4 exclusives that can run on shadPS4 are Godzilla, inFAMOUS Second Son, Killzone Shadow Fall, Driveclub and The Last Guardian. Do note, though, that none of them are playable. Still, we can assume that most of them will be playable by the end of 2025. And man, just imagine Driveclub at 4K with 60FPS.
>> The article has 4 videos.
Half Life 2: Episode 3 Interlude Demo Available for Download
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/half-life-2-episode-3-interlude-demo-available-for-download/
Half Life fans, here is something special for you today. The modding team behind Half-Life 2: Episode 3 Interlude has released a demo for it. This demo will give you a glimpse at what the modding team aims to create.
As the title implies, Half-Life Interlude will attempt to recreate the events of HL2: Episode 3. The mod is, obviously, based on Marc Laidlaw’s Epistle 3. In Interlude, Gordon Freeman awakens amidst the wreckage of a downed helicopter as the Combine is ruthlessly hunting him down.
Now what’s cool here is that the team is already working on the next part of this project. Part 2 will not only continue the story but also act as an update to Part 1. It will rework some community-reported issues such as the puzzles. It will also improve flashlight mechanics, tweak level design elements, and introduce new features.
And since I mentioned HL3, there are some Half-Life 3 rumors flying around lately. Some claim that Valve may have launched an internal test for a new Half Life game. And then there is a cryptic message that the voice actor of the G-Man tweeted a couple of days ago. So, things may become very interesting in 2025. Still, I suggest tempering your expectations. HL3 fans have been burned too many times. So, take nothing for granted.
>> In the article you’ll find an almost 15 minutes video of this demo.
Skyblivion only has one region of the map left to finish: 'We are nearly ready to release an entirely remastered Elder Scrolls game'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/skyblivion-only-has-one-region-of-the-map-left-to-finish-we-are-nearly-ready-to-release-an-entirely-remastered-elder-scrolls-game/
The TESRenewal modding group has been working on Skyblivion, a remastered version of Oblivion playable in Skyrim Special Edition, since 2018 "in earnest" though the project "officially started over 11 years ago," as the latest progress video explains. Said video also mentions how close to completion Skyblivion is, fast approaching its scheduled 2025 release. "We are nearly ready to release an entirely remastered Elder Scrolls game," the team says.
More specifically, they say, "We're finalizing the world map, with only the Nibenay region on Cyrodiil's eastern border left to complete. Massive swathes of the map are ready for the Hero of Kvatch to explore."
While 93% of the cells that make up Skyblivion's landscape are complete, only 44% of them have been navmeshed—a process that tells NPCs which parts of the terrain are traversable. There's still a ways to go on that front, and that's why the team is calling for volunteers to help them get Skyblivion over the finishing line. If you're an experienced modder, head to the volunteers section of their website to sign up.
As previously mentioned, Skyblivion won't include material from Oblivion's expansions at launch. "We are currently focused on the main game experience to ensure it is released on time," the team says. "Once the main game of Skyblivion is released we will look into how we can tackle DLCs and we will be sure to share more information on our next steps closer to the time. We're less than a year away from our target release of Skyblivion."
>> The article has an over 10 minutes video. And talking about Skyblion...
With the next Elder Scrolls and Fallout games still years away, here are 6 upcoming total conversion mods for Skyrim and Fallout 4 to get excited about
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/with-the-next-elder-scrolls-and-fallout-games-still-years-away-here-are-6-upcoming-bethesda-total-conversion-mods-for-skyrim-and-fallout-4-to-get-excited-about/
A "total conversion" is one of the most coveted and difficult modding projects one could undertake: Making a new, bespoke campaign using the mod tools of a pre-existing game, with the end result unable to be monetized due to copyright (unless you're working with the beautifully open source Doom engine). At a certain point, you'd probably be better off just making your own indie game, and that only makes these Moby Dickian efforts all the more enticing.
(...)
But when someone actually manages to do the thing, the results can be pretty spectacular. See the legendary Nehirim mod for Oblivion or Fallout: London's blowout success last year. With Bethesda's next full game after Starfield likely years away—unconfirmed rumors of Oblivion and Fallout 3 remasters not withstanding—I've collected some of the most promising upcoming total conversion projects for Bethesda games.
>> 4 of them are for Skyrim, with the other 2 for Fallout 4.
GAMING NEWS
The 2024 Steam Awards give Game of the Year to Black Myth: Wukong
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/the-2024-steam-awards-give-game-of-the-year-to-black-myth-wukong/
Chinese-made action RPG Black Myth: Wukong has cleaned up at this year's Steam awards, winning not just Game of the Year but two other categories in a community-voted awards event that only has 11 categories total. In addition to Game of the Year Black Myth: Wukong has netted both the Best Game You Suck At and Outstanding Story-Rich Game awards.
Try this cute freebie about crafting magical scrolls to pay your student loans
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/try-this-cute-freebie-about-crafting-magical-scrolls-to-pay-your-student-loans/
Here's an adorable little game in the vein of the much-enjoyed Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator with the exception, of course, that it is free. And everyone loves free things. In Enscroll you're a fresh magic academy graduate with hefty loans to repay using your newfound skills—but no prospect of full-time employment.
Former Age of Empires developer says the RTS genre's stuck in a rut: 'you're still playing the same game'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rts/former-age-of-empires-developer-says-the-rts-genres-stuck-in-a-rut-youre-still-playing-the-same-game/
Dave Pottinger has programming credits on all three Age of Empires games, was director of technology on Age of Mythology, and was lead designer on Halo Wars. He probably knows what he's talking about when it comes to the RTS genre. Speaking to Videogamer to promote his new studio Last Keep's upcoming RTS, Project Citadel, Pottinger pointed out the genre hasn't done a lot of evolving in the last two decades.
Not only did FF14's controversial chatter Wuk Lamat rank 1st for words spoken in Dawntrail, 'Wuk Lamat' was the most-used phrase by the characters in 2nd and 3rd place, too
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/final-fantasy/not-only-did-ff14s-controversial-chatter-wuk-lamat-rank-1st-for-words-spoken-in-dawntrail-wuk-lamat-was-the-most-used-phrase-by-the-characters-in-2nd-and-3rd-place-too/
Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail has a bit of a script issue—several, in fact—and while there were certainly moments I enjoyed quite a lot, it marks an otherwise low point for the MMO's otherwise sterling reputation for emotive and impactful storytelling. Well, except for that one questline before Titan back in A Realm Reborn, but we don't talk about the Company of Heroes.
Among the complaints, one of which I share, is that Wuk Lamat is given way, way too much screentime. It's not even an indictment of the character herself, I actually happen to like her, conceptually—and I was broadly charmed by her in the expansion's first few hours—but the writing weighs her so heavily you get a little sick of her no matter how much of a cat person you are.
Marvel Rivals' FPS bug puts players with potato PCs at a disadvantage, and that's not the only optimisation issue happening right now
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/marvel-rivals-fps-bug-puts-players-with-potato-pcs-at-a-disadvantage-and-thats-not-the-only-optimisation-issue-happening-right-now/
I spent a great deal of time over the holiday ranking up in Marvel Rivals. I had previously thought that my journey to Diamond was fought with hard work and skill, but it turns out that there's a pretty significant bug that might've been holding my opponents back.
At first, I thought the reports of players with better PCs doing more damage than those who can barely muster up 30 FPS were hyperbole, but it turns out that there are some real downsides to settling for low framerates. Those shackled to a potato PC do less damage, and move slower when compared to players with 60 or 150 FPS.
PUBG creator Brendan Greene swears his infinite, mega-ambitious digital universe isn't like all the others: 'I want to build a metaverse because I don't think anyone else is'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/pubg-creator-brendan-greene-swears-his-infinite-mega-ambitious-digital-universe-isnt-like-all-the-others-i-want-to-build-a-metaverse-because-i-dont-think-anyone-else-is/
PUBG's creator, Brendan Greene, has been tinkering away at his next next project for a while now with his homegrown studio, PlayerUnknown Productions. Called Project Artemis for the time being, it's a procedurally generated Earth-sized world simulation… thingy.
If it sounds like I'm being vague, it's because Greene's not keen on putting it into defined boxes, either, as he told our own Christopher Livingston in March last year: "I don't want to classify it as a game … I'm sure there will be gameplay elements. And we do have plans for a light survival exploration-type, life civilization game mode type thing—what else would you do with a massive world?"
A recent interview with IGN doesn't bring things into any kind of sharper focus, though the word "metaverse" has entered the arena: "I hesitate to talk about this, because it's just such a dirty word, but I want to build a metaverse because I don't think anyone else is. I think everyone's building IP bubbles that might talk to each other at some stage in the future, maybe if we're lucky, but it's not the metaverse."
G-Man's voice actor rings in the new year by dropping a cryptic tweet grenade promising 'unexpected surprises' into the starving Half-Life 3 fanbase
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/g-mans-voice-actor-rings-in-the-new-year-by-dropping-a-cryptic-tweet-grenade-promising-unexpected-surprises-into-the-starving-half-life-3-fanbase/
There are certain, well, certainties in life. Death and taxes are two of them, while the fact that Half-Life 3 is probably never coming is a fitting third. Despite a bevvy of occult rumours and whisperings, prayers and sacrifices to the periodic table have never borne fruit. Silksong, for all its despair and mania, can't even hold a candle to the long, 21-year old flame that fans of Half-Life 2 have been holding for the sequel that never was.
But hark! What's that cresting yonder hill, a cryptic tweet from G-Man's official voice actor? Could it be that the end-times are finally upon us? Is the rapture finally come? On the 31st of December 2024, at 10:00PM—basically at the crack of the new year—Mike Shapiro, voice of the beloved and cryptic G-Man, tweeted a slow-pan of the cover art from his music single Best Long Dog.
>> As usual, take it with all the caution you can.
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