Thursday news, part two:

The next game from Cruelty Squad's creator, a 'policing and punishment simulator', has dropped a new trailer showing off its gruesome mech combat
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/the-next-game-from-cruelty-squads-creator-a-policing-and-punishment-simulator-has-dropped-a-new-trailer-showing-off-its-gruesome-mech-combat/
Cruelty Squad is undoubtedly one of the weirdest indie breakthroughs of this decade, a wilfully obtuse and unpleasant immersive sim in which you play a corporate assassin in a lo-fi 3D world painted with vomit. But we dug its counter-cultural (and counter-mechanical) approach and, following its success, the developer has since been working on a new game called Psycho Patrol R, which has just dropped a new trailer in advance of its early access launch in a few weeks' time.

Doctor Strange's portals were 'particularly challenging' to add into Marvel Rivals, as they created 'unprecedented performance demand' for Unreal Engine 5
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/doctor-stranges-portals-were-particularly-challenging-to-add-into-marvel-rivals-as-they-created-unprecedented-performance-demand-for-unreal-engine-5/
I never cease to be amazed by portals in video games. Even though the tech is nearly two decades old (and older still, if you include the use of portal rendering for hidden environment transitions in Thief and other early 3D games), Portal's seamless, real-time transitions through holes in space still feel like magic to me, and I love seeing it appear in other games too. One of the better uses of portals lately can be found in Marvel Rivals, where if you're playing as Doctor Strange, you can conjure portals in thin air and drop your entire team of superheroes on the heads of your foes.
It's a fantastic effect which, as explained by Rivals' technical lead designer Ruan Weikang, was extremely difficult to pull off. Weikang recently spoke to Epic Games about how NetEase used Unreal Engine 5 to recreate an Avengers movie's worth of superheroes, and he referenced the good doctor's space-folding abilities as one of the trickiest powers to replicate.
>> The first real challenge for the game was, whoever, the destructible environment.

War Thunder players take a break from leaking classified information to review bomb their beloved game for adding an auction house
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/war-thunder-players-take-a-break-from-leaking-classified-information-to-review-bomb-their-beloved-game-for-adding-an-auction-house/
Gaijin Entertainment's War Thunder is usually in the news for one repeated reason: The people who play this military simulator take it incredibly seriously, and have a habit of leaking classified information onto the game's forums in an effort to win Internet arguments. But when they're not targeting each other, the favourite target of the playerbase is developer Gaijin and in various ways the game's extreme F2P grind: And they have a new focal point.
War Thunder introduced a new auction system on February 3 that, at the moment, allows players to bid on vehicle cosmetics with Gaijin Coin, an in-game currency bought with real-world money. The sense of putting limited time windows on premium currency sales, and the obvious FOMO of mixing that with time-limited items, is where the problems begin.

After The Sims 1 + 2 rereleases stumbled out to mixed reviews, EA issues a patch that boldly declares they 'should now launch in most situations'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-sims/after-the-sims-1-2-rereleases-stumbled-out-to-mixed-reviews-ea-issues-a-patch-that-boldly-declares-they-should-now-launch-in-most-situations/
Some might argue launching is the absolute minimum you should expect from a videogame, a fundamental prerequisite to enjoying the included experience. But I like a little frisson in my basic boot functionality. The nervous excitement of clicking the shortcut, the tense wait as the screen cuts to black. Will the game boot? Will it crash, or freeze? Will it reduce my machine to a smouldering heap of wires and silicon?
Such uncertainty is the secret spice that makes PC gaming so exciting. So I was disappointed to see EA has released a new patch for the Sims 1 + 2 legacy, which among other fixes ensures The Sims 1 "should now launch in most situations". Note it doesn't say "will now launch in all situations", so there's still hope for runtime daredevils such as myself.

Psychologist says 'there's a real sense of effort' to The Sims 4's emotional realism, from Maslow's Hierarchy to personal pep talks
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-sims/psychologist-says-theres-a-real-sense-of-effort-to-the-sims-4s-emotional-realism-from-maslows-hierarchy-to-personal-pep-talks/
The Sims series turned 25 this week and to mark the occasion we've asked a psychologist to take a reality check on The Sims 4. The series is meant to simulate life, sure, but certain things are always going to be exaggerated for comedic effect. You can't really die from laughter, right? Well, probably not.

Iron Galaxy lays off 66 employees in a 'last resort' effort to 'enable our long term survival'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/iron-galaxy-lays-off-66-employees-in-a-last-resort-effort-to-enable-our-long-term-survival/
Iron Galaxy, the developer of Killer Instinct seasons 2 and 3, Extinction, and Rumbleverse, is laying off 66 employees as a "last resort" effort to keep the studio afloat.

Less than 4 months after revealing his studio's new game, Michael Condrey has reportedly been given the boot by 2K Games
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/less-than-4-months-after-revealing-his-studios-new-game-michael-condrey-has-reportedly-been-given-the-boot-by-2k-games/
A Kotaku report says 2K Games has removed Michael Condrey, known for his work on the Call of Duty series and Dead Space and as the co-founder of Sledgehammer Games, from his position as president of its 31st Union studio. The decision was made, according to the report, after the lacklustre reveal of the studio's upcoming free-to-play hero shooter Project Ethos.

'No lotteries, and no onerous upkeep': World of Warcraft takes a cheeky potshot at Final Fantasy 14's egregious housing system as it readies up to unleash its own
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/world-of-warcraft/no-lotteries-and-no-onerous-upkeep-world-of-warcraft-takes-a-cheeky-potshot-at-final-fantasy-14s-egregious-housing-system-as-it-readies-up-to-unleash-its-own/
It only took two decades, but Blizzard is finally adding player housing to World of Warcraft, which'll be coming with the Midnight expansion. That's still a ways away, but that hasn't stopped Blizzard from doing a big ol' blog post diving into the developer's core principles for the process, with enough word count to throw shade at one of its biggest MMO competitors.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 honors Elden Ring legend Let Me Solo Her in touching Easter egg
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/kingdom-come-deliverance-2-honors-elden-ring-legend-let-me-solo-her-in-touching-easter-egg/
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 has been out in the wild for just over 24 hours and folks are already finding nice surprises waiting in its huge open world, like an Easter egg paying tribute to Elden Ring player Let Me Solo Her, who reached legend status in 2022 for joining players' worlds and singlehandedly destroying Elden Ring's toughest boss, Malenia, for them.
>> Also, if you’re having problems with alchemy in the game, maybe this will help you.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 dev says it deliberately avoids the 'instant gratification' of modern games, channelling the best of Bethesda like Morrowind and Oblivion
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/kingdom-come-deliverance-2-dev-says-it-deliberately-avoids-the-instant-gratification-of-modern-games-channelling-the-best-of-bethesda-like-morrowind-and-oblivion/
I was approximately 3.7 seconds into my playthrough of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 before I muttered to myself 'Huh, pretty Oblivion-y'. This is the second-highest praise I can offer a videogame, right beneath 'Huh, pretty Morrowind-y,' which I went onto say almost verbatim in our KCD2 review.
Turns out I wasn't just seeing old-Bethesda-shaped ghosts in a fit of nostalgia. Games like Oblivion and Morrowind were right at the forefront of Warhorse's thinking when it was making KCD2. In a chat with GamesRadar, the game's senior designer, Ondřej Bittner, said Henry's latest adventure was deliberately harkening back to those brilliant open worlds of old.

Civilization 7 is off to a rocky start as it receives 'Mixed' Steam reviews from its premium backers: 'Comparing this unfinished mess to the Civ 6 release is night and day'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/civilization-7-is-off-to-a-rocky-start-as-it-receives-mixed-steam-reviews-from-its-premium-backers-comparing-this-unfinished-mess-to-the-civ-6-release-is-night-and-day/
Civilization 7's full launch is still a few days away, but the strategy sequel unlocked earlier today for players who purchased its Founders edition. We've been especially intrigued by how this latest entry would be received by fans due to its radical shakeup of the formula. Sadly, the general response so far has been one of disappointment, albeit not for the reasons you might expect.
(...)
Instead, the community's main gripe with Civ 7 appears to be the UI. WillNever writes that "The UI looks and feels like it was created in the alpha stages of development and was never refined". While user Lathium states the interface is "unfortunately very poor here and feels ported over from console in the worst way possible." Other problems the community point to include a limited map selection, the maximum map size being 'Standard', and the lack of quick move and quick combat functionality.

*** NEW CONTEST ***

Square Enix's Chocobo Steam Deck is cute, fluffy, and unfortunately gets in-KWEH-dibly warm
https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/square-enixs-chocobo-steam-deck-is-cute-fluffy-and-unfortunately-gets-in-kweh-dibly-warm/

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, the second game in the classic RPG remake trilogy, is finally playable on PC. To celebrate the release, Square Enix has made three feathery Chocobo Steam Decks for UK-based charity Special Effect to give away. 'In-KWEH-dible,' indeed.

Special Effect is primarily known for their work crafting bespoke control set-ups for those with physical disabilities that mainstream gamepads otherwise exclude. The giveaway is in aid of the accessibility charity's upcoming Game Blast fundraising weekend, and at time of writing you've still got one week to get your entries in for a chance to win (so long as you're based in the EU or UK). However, you won't just be entering a draw to win one Steam Deck, but two.

According to a note attached to the giveaway Gleam page as well as a number of Special Effect's Instagram posts, the Chocobo Steam Deck can overheat due to all that fluff and feather. So, winners of the giveaway will receive not just the big bird handheld for display purposes, but another more standard Steam Deck to play as well—though you probably wouldn't want to dive into Final Fantasy VII Rebirth on either one anyway.

Nvidia really made a mess with this launch, and the worst part is that it all seems due to a rushed launch, which is weird as Nvidia is the one that controls the timing of t he GPU business.

By the way, there's some talk about the black screen problem also affecting some 4000 cards, which likely means that the problem is in the driver. So, if any of you have updated to the newest one, the 572.16, you may want to rollback to the previous one to be safe.

They already did that during the last crypto boom, but it's still disgusting to see first party card makers like MSI and ASUS play the scalper price game themselves.

That doesn't bode well for you, Cyran, but I hope you can get your 5090 at its original price.