Honestly... I stopped playing Heroes of Might and Magic after number 6... But 3 was definitely the pinnacle in the series.

I think I played (or maybe mostly watched) a bit of HoMM3 when visiting a friend as a child, but since then, it's been all purchases on GOG and no playing yet (because, you know, backlog).

We are PC Gamers.

We don't actually play the games, we play the collecting-digital-games, game.

My memories on specific details are...very vague. I remember enjoying VI and VII immensely, and was very meh about VIII. I would love to go back and replay them all, but unfortunately I don't have time even for the most of the new stuff that I want to play, let alone something that I know would take months to go through. 

I'm not sure what can be done with IP in the future - case of Wayward Realms might show the path, if it succeeds (despite Julian dying), at how old dogs can have new tricks up their sleeves, while maintaining feel of the original creations. But to be honest, I think THQ Nordic is probably only one that might pull it off, giving it enough funding, yet keeping it in A/AA space, if they acquire IP in the future.

Early HoMM are great games and more than worthy offshoots from main Might & Magic IP. II & III are my favourites, though I think last one I've played was V, so can't really tell anything about newer titles..

Wayward Realms looks interesting enough, though I largely prefer having a party instead of just a single character - which is why I never really got much into TES.

As for HoMM, my favorites are IV and III, in that order. IV is a bit off-putting at first due to all the changes, but once you get past them then the superior writing and story of the game shines through and you really start loving all the quality of life changes, like flaggable unit production buildings and caravans. III has the better balancing though, and I prefer it's combat map with hexes instead of what they did in IV. II is also great, but unbalanced especially for highest-tier units. I do like however how it's conflict shapes the game world of M&M VI and VII

I am back to do the hardware news. Thanks JEMC for carrying the torch while I was away!

South Korean GPU popularity market: 76% for NVIDIA, 21% for AMD and 3% for Intel

https://videocardz.com/newz/south-korean-gpu-popularity-market-76-for-nvidia-21-for-amd-and-3-for-intel

AMD CEO Says China AI GPU Licenses Not Granted Yet & Defends Strong Data Center Growth

https://wccftech.com/amd-ceo-says-china-ai-gpu-licenses-not-granted-yet-defends-strong-data-center-growth/

AMD Gutted By China GPU Ban – Posts Q2 Operating Loss

https://wccftech.com/amd-gutted-by-china-gpu-ban-posts-q2-operating-loss/

While it's an overall loss, gaming and client are up significantly. Datacenter needs more work but least it's up as well.

Intel’s CEO Lip-Bu Tan & His Ties With Chinese Firms Are Now Being Questioned By US Lawmakers, Saying That It Might Compromise US National Security

https://wccftech.com/intel-ceo-lip-bu-tan-his-ties-with-chinese-firms-are-now-being-questioned-by-us-lawmakers/

NVIDIA says their GPUs do not have backdoors, kill switches, or spyware

https://videocardz.com/newz/nvidia-says-their-gpus-do-not-have-backdoors-kill-switches-or-spyware

PCI SIG announces PCI Express 8.0 set to offer up to 1 TB/s of bandwidth

https://videocardz.com/press-release/pci-sig-announces-pci-express-8-0-set-to-offer-up-to-1-tb-s-of-bandwidth

AMD Ryzen Dual-X3D and Intel Nova Lake Dual-BLLC leaks surface almost simultaneously

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-ryzen-dual-x3d-and-intel-nova-lake-dual-bllc-leaks-surface-almost-simultaneously

Here come today’s gaming news, all in one post:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

The floks at GOG has launched the Hack 'n' Slash Promo, featuring up to 90% discounts during 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20250806_hack_n_slash_promo.

Steam has one new deal and one new sale:

• Gnomes, that has a demo, is going to be 30% off until the 14th of August: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3133060/Gnomes
• The Not Tonight franchise is on sale with up to 85% discounts until August 12: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/NotTonightFranchiseSale2025

The Humble Store has the new Persona franchise Sale, with games up to 90% off during 13 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/persona-franchise-sale-2025.

And Fanatical has new Flash Deals and a bundle:

• These are today’s 24h Flash Deals:
  • Tales of Arise has a 79% discount: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/tales-of-arise
  • Darksiders Blades & Whip Franchise Pack, with the first three games, is 85% off: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/darksiders-blades-and-whip-franchise-pack
  • Sid Meier’s Civilization® VI Anthology gets a 91% discount: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/sid-meier-s-civilization-vi-anthology-aspyr
• The new BYO Scorching Bundle (Aug 2025) features 15 titles to choose from for your bundles of 1+, 5+ or 10+ game bundles : https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-scorching-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Starfield Gets a Roguelike Permadeath Mode With New Mod
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/starfield-gets-a-roguelike-permadeath-mode-with-new-mod
NexusMods’ member ‘rbt’ has released a Redux version of the Quantum Immortality Mod for Starfield, which adds a Roguelike Permadeath Mode. This is a mod that some Starfield players may find interesting. So, if you are into games that have Permadeath mechanics, you should check it out.
With this mod, if you die as a Starborn, the game will restart in a new universe just like starting New Game Plus (NG+). The credits will roll, and you’ll be placed in a new world. Since this mod adds Permadeath, your death is final. Even worse, it will delete your old save files. Also, when you die and respawn, it doesn’t count as going through Unity again, so your Unity counter doesn’t go up. For example, if you die in NG+3, you’ll still start again in a new NG+3 universe with your same ship and suit. The hidden NG+ difficulty won’t change either.
This new Redux version of the mod removes all the basegame script hacks. It also fixes an issue with the ship death handling that plagued the original version. Furthermore, it adds some new gameplay options for configuration, and it introduces a new lightweight ‘ironman’ mode.
>> The article has a video of the original release of the mod.

Here’s American McGee’s Alice with RTX Remix Path Tracing
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/heres-american-mcgees-alice-with-rtx-remix-path-tracing
YouTube’s ‘Digital Clowntree’ is currently working on an RTX Remix Path Tracing Mod for American McGee’s Alice. While there is no ETA on when the mod will come out, you can find below a WIP video for it.
American McGee’s Alice is a third-person action-adventure game with a dark fantasy style. It was released on PC in 2000 and was made by Rogue Entertainment. In the game, you play as Alice and follow a set path through the story. Alice can talk to characters, fight enemies and bosses, and solve puzzles. She can walk, run, jump, grab onto ledges, climb, swing on ropes, and swim. She can also glide through the air using her dress like a parachute when she floats over hot steam.
Now, as you will see, this RTX Remix Mod is in a very early development stage. Right now, it manages to enhance the game’s lighting and shadows. However, there are some visual issues that most of you will be able to spot in the blink of an eye. For instance, Alice’s hair looks like plastic. There are some issues with the individual polygons of each character, too. Some parts of their bodies glow, whereas others have a different look from those right next to them. In a way, they remind me of the visual bug that could happen in Doom 3 once players enabled self-shadowing.
Since the mod is not available for download yet, I hope the modder will be able to fix them. Right now, it’s a cool concept demo. It has a lot of potential. From what I can remember, the game already looks better with this RTX Remix Mod, even in this early stage. Still, though, it needs a lot of work.
>> The article ha a slightly over 5 minutes video.

Elden Ring Nightreign's Seamless co-op mod now allows up to 6 players, but won't add any more as 'the game just becomes comically easy'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/elden-ring-nightreigns-seamless-co-op-mod-now-allows-up-to-6-players-but-wont-add-any-more-as-the-game-just-becomes-comically-easy/
FromSoftware was initially pretty adamant about player caps for Elden Ring Nightreign. It started with just a single-player or trio option, as the director said that the game was built for squads of three, end of discussion. But that was never going to fly, especially as players complained that they didn't know an extra person to trio with—duos were soon confirmed and finally became playable in update 1.02.
As the masses celebrate getting to drop their third wheel, the Nightreign Seamless co-op mod creators have had to switch direction to avoid becoming redundant.
"Nightreign is a relatively new release and is still being maintained by FromSoftware," mod creator Yui says in a Patreon post. "The current state of the seamless co-op mod is that it is now feature-complete. Originally, this mod was designed to just bridge the gap between the game's launch and the developers adding official 2-player support. Now that this has been done, the only real use this mod has over the vanilla game is mod support and increasing player cap."
So the next move for the Seamless co-op mod is to go the other way, and start adding more players to Nightreign. The maximum player count for Nightreign is now six, although that is apparently quite shaky with bugs emerging if you add over five players to a run. Although the creators are looking for bug fixes currently, and once these are tied up, "the project will be put in maintenance mode."
"I have no plans on adding PvP and/or random matchmaking," Yui continues. "Whilst in theory this player cap can be expanded further, beyond 6 players seems overkill and even with a very high scaling curve for enemies, the game just becomes comically easy."
>> The article has no media.

After 10 years, there's a functioning Metal Gear Solid 5 co-op mod so you and a friend can be played like a damn fiddle together
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/after-10-years-theres-a-functioning-metal-gear-solid-5-co-op-mod-so-you-and-a-friend-can-be-played-like-a-damn-fiddle-together/
For my money, Metal Gear Solid 5 remains the watermark for open world action games thanks to its excellent espionage toybox, its mercenary company management systems, and the timeless satisfaction of abducting enemy combatants with a little balloon. 10 years after its launch, it just got even better thanks to Dynamite, a functioning two-player MGS5 co-op mod from modder unknown321.
According to a lengthy "Making Of" memoir included in the Dynamite github repo, unknown321 began researching and modding MGS5 shortly after launch in 2015, eventually reverse engineering how the game handles weapon configurations and unique staff members. Driven by ennui, a yearning for more FOBs to conquer, and apparent resentment over the game's handling of encrypted JSON files, unknown321's white whale was the creation of a functioning MGS5 client/server emulator, which would allow the generation of randomized or hand-tuned FOBs to invade.
While unknown321 released an early prototype in 2017, that dream had to be deferred when "life happened" and the modder got a job. So it goes. But in 2023, unknown321 returned to MGS5 modding. Wielding additional years of experience in professional devops employment, they released Fuse, a functioning master server implementation. Meanwhile, other modders had made a critical discovery: the functions responsible for connecting opposing players during FOB invasions.
"I already had the master server to reliably connect two players together on FOB map, so what if we change the map / mission to singleplayer ones?" unknown321 said. "This is how dynamite was born - co-op mod with tendency to crash often."
That last bit is important: In the readme for Dynamite, unknown321 writes very clearly that "things won't work like you expect them to." It's buggy. The initial configuration is fiddly. Only a handful of missions are (mostly) playable, and your co-op partner will be riding an invisible horse.
But it's functioning co-op in Metal Gear Solid 5. It's magical—even if it is a bit of a mess.
After a full 25 minutes of setup and gingerly pushing arcane key combinations without being sure whether or not they were doing anything, my colleague Morgan Park and I successfully deployed together into Afghanistan, Morgan's own Big Boss materializing out of the desert air like a beautiful mirage to stand beside my own.
And then he choke-slammed me. And fultoned me. And then the game broke.
When you're staying within the very narrow lines that keep the co-op mod from tearing the game apart, however, it's delightful. It can be difficult to tell which Big Boss has been spotted and when, and splicing in unsanctioned FOB multiplayer functions leaves the game incapable of deciding whether the UI should treat enemy soldiers as friendly or hostile. But it's a beautiful kind of busted.
>> The article has a couple of screenshots and another couple of short videos.

GAMING NEWS

No more deploy beacon clown cars for recon players in Battlefield 6—the assault class will get them instead: 'We're intentionally redefining it as a teamplay tool for frontline flanking'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/no-more-deploy-beacon-clown-cars-for-recon-players-in-battlefield-6-the-assault-class-will-get-them-instead-were-intentionally-redefining-it-as-a-teamplay-tool-for-frontline-flanking/
Ever played a Battlefield game and watched, haplessly, as some jerk with a sniper rifle makes a camp in a hard-to-reach building and turns it into a clown car? Well, that's not gonna be how Battlefield 6 does it anymore.
That's according to an X post from the Battlefield Comms account ahead of the Battlefield 6 open beta. Namely, via changes made to the classes' various gadget pools.

EA tosses a last-minute life preserver to fans who missed out on Battlefield 6 beta early access, offers one more chance to get in
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/ea-tosses-a-last-minute-life-preserver-to-fans-who-missed-out-on-battlefield-6-beta-early-access-offers-one-more-chance-to-get-in/
Just as the requirements for getting into the two-day early access Battlefield 6 beta appeared set in stone, EA is giving folks another chance to get a 48-hour head start on the fun.
"Watch 30 minutes of any creator streaming Battlefield 6 on Twitch during August 7-8 to unlock Open Beta Early Access," the official Battlefield account posted on X today.
>> Some folks can’t really wait to play, and they’re idling on the main menu.

Kingmakers, the medieval combat sim with tanks and M16s, warns that guns don't always win knife fights: 'Not all of your bullets will have an easy time taking down all enemy types'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/kingmakers-the-medieval-combat-sim-with-tanks-and-m16s-warns-that-guns-dont-always-win-knife-fights-not-all-of-your-bullets-will-have-an-easy-time-taking-down-all-enemy-types/
Kingmakers, the game that asks 'What if you brought an M1 Abrams main battle tank to a knife fight,' is set to enter early access on October 8, and with that date slowly grinding nearer developer Redemption Road has released its debut dev blog—which I'm sorry to say is not about M1 Abrams main battle tanks, but rather the game's medieval units and machinery, and how you'll handle them on the battlefield.

'Touch grass, read a book, throw a ball, get tackled once in a while': Epic Games art director and OG System Shock 2 artist says the best-looking videogames are designed by people who don't just look at videogames
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/touch-grass-read-a-book-throw-a-ball-get-tackled-once-in-a-while-epic-games-art-director-and-og-system-shock-2-artist-says-the-best-looking-videogames-are-designed-by-people-who-dont-just-look-at-videogames/
Nate Wells, Epic Games art director and former artist on Looking Glass Studios classics like Thief: The Dark Project and System Shock 2, said in this week's episode of the Nightdive Studios Deep Dive podcast that the ecosystem of games artists where he started his career is extinct. In its place is a landscape of artists who are more skilled than ever—but it's a landscape where it's harder than ever to stand out.

After next week's Grafton Farmhouse rework, Phasmophobia is getting what I can only describe as 'haunted Waffle House'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/after-next-weeks-grafton-farmhouse-rework-phasmophobia-is-getting-what-i-can-only-describe-as-haunted-waffle-house/
Phasmophobia's haunted dwellings are undergoing a few renovations as developer Kinetic Games continues to overhaul the horror game's oldest maps. Grafton Farmhouse is the next in line for a makeover on August 12, and a new small map, Nell's Diner, launches later this year.

Indie horror game rejected by Steam releases for free instead: 'This is our response to being censored, and our rejection of the idea that horror can be defined as acceptable or not'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/indie-horror-game-rejected-by-steam-releases-for-free-instead-this-is-our-response-to-being-censored-and-our-rejection-of-the-idea-that-horror-can-be-defined-as-acceptable-or-not/
Indie horror game Vile: Exhumed launched today as a free donationware game under a Creative Commons license, following the cancellation of its planned release on Steam in July, reportedly over the presence of "sexual content with depictions of real people."
Vile: Exhumed had been listed on Steam, and was slated for release on July 22—the page is gone now, but still visible via the https://store.steampowered.com/app/3280010/VILE_Exhumed/">Internet Archive. According to SteamDB, the page was taken down on July 25.
>> The ban is for breaking a Steam rule, not for the Visa/Mastercard problem.

I thought it was a cute and casual little mining sim right up until it devoured my entire morning
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/i-thought-it-was-a-cute-and-casual-little-mining-sim-right-up-until-it-devoured-my-entire-morning/
Cute games: they're cute. Sometimes they're extremely cute. Once in a while they even have the word "cute" in their title, like Gemporium: A Cute Mining Sim. With a name like that, I thought, it's probably just a breezy little game where you dig up gems.
And it is. At first. As an industrious little mole in Gemporium, I've just inherited a cozy home and gemshop from my dearly departed grandmole, a loving bequeathment until you note the little P.S. in the will: grandma also left you all her debt, which is exactly a million bucks. That's a lot to pay off. Better start digging!

RTS sequel Ashes of the Singularity 2 promises to let you gleefully watch hundreds of thousands of units blow each other up in 2026
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/rts-sequel-ashes-of-the-singularity-2-promises-to-let-you-gleefully-watch-hundreds-of-thousands-of-units-blow-each-other-up-in-2026/
Oxide Games and Stardock's absurdly massive-scale RTS Ashes of the Singularity is returning. Ashes of the Singularity 2 is expected out next year, a decade after the first game let us cover its war-torn maps with thousands of mechanical units. If you're all about scale, this might make you very happy indeed.
Set in 2031, the sequel sees the return of its AI and augmented human factions, alongside a newbie: regular ol' squishy humans.
>> I don’t think it will be used as a benchmark this time given the very modest system requirements, which you can check from the Steam link in this article or by reading the DSOG article about it.

Welcome back Jizz, hope you had a nice holiday!

*Looks at Steam Survey...*

74% NVidia, 17.8% AMD and 7.9% Intel

AMD and especially Intel numbers are boosted by iGPUs/APUs, but it also shows how RDNA4 is well received as it sells above the Steam Market share despite those including APUs.

Remember that AMD's Gaming division includes consoles, and XS is dying while the PS5 is slowing down quite a bit, so GPUs do all the heavy lifting here. If GPU sales were flat, then the Gaming division would have been down YoY, so the increase is even more impressive than it looks at first glance. Really shows how well received RDNA4 is and how much NVidia fucked up Blackwell.

And poor Intel really can't catch a break. Plus their 18A node looks increasingly like Intel 10nm 2: Electric Boogaloo:

https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/processors/intels-bad-news-year-rolls-on-as-new-18a-chip-manufacturing-node-is-reportedly-in-trouble-with-10-percent-yields-and-doubts-over-profitability-of-the-panther-lake-cpu

Only 10% Yield rate less than 6 months before the (paper-)launch is horrible to say the least. And while Intel denied the 10% figure, saying that "they're better", they didn't provide any numbers, so "better" could also just be 15% for instance...

I haven't really cared about 'AI games' that basically amount to 240p, 12fps vague pantomimes of Minecraft or whatever beyond the sheer novelty of it, but this new platform by Google looks several steps beyond that:

I wonder what this will look like next decade. 

Yeah, just saw it yesterday on Two Minute Papers, and quite remarkable progress. I'm thinking in not so far future a lot of gaming might be "AI, take this book, read it, make me a game that is similar to "