Another week, another Monday gaming news summary:
SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS
Steam has four new deals and also four new sales/events:
There are two new Humble Bundle:
And Fanatical has these deals:
SOFTWARE & DRIVERS
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MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS
Doom 64 Path Tracing Mod Released – Available for Download
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/doom-64-path-tracing-mod-released-available-for-download/
Doom 64 is, at least in my opinion, one of the best Doom games. And now, owners of high-end GPUs can enjoy it with real-time Path Tracing. However, there is a catch.
This real-time Path Tracing mod is for Doom 64: Retribution. This is a total conversion mod that brought Doom 64 into the GZDoom engine. In other words, it’s not for the PC version of Doom 64, which came out in March 2020.
The mod adds volumetric fog, ordinary-lamp light shafts, moonlight, clouds, and lightning. It brings stylized water with projected caustics. It also adds smoke, impact sparks and debris, projectile scorch effects, and exploding barrels.
And that’s not all. The mod adds blood splats that stay in the world, along with unique blood colors for each monster. It also adds a flashlight, an updated HUD mugshot, and act title cards. Furthermore, it includes some subtle PBR material work. These effects are kept light because the denoiser is not yet good enough and can cause visual artifacts.
All in all, this is a dream come true for all Doom 64 fans. However, you might experience some visual bugs and glitches here and there. The mod is not perfect yet, but it does let you play the entire game. And now I know what I’ll be doing this weekend.
Those interested can go ahead and download the mod from this link. On the first run, the launcher will ask you for a DOOM II IWAD you own, Doom 64: Retribution v1.5, and its OGG music pack. At the end of the article, you can also find a gameplay video. This will give you a glimpse of this real-time Path Tracing Mod.
Fallout 4 Gets an 85GB HD Mod That Overhauls All Textures
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/fallout-4-gets-an-85gb-hd-mod-that-overhauls-all-textures/
Modder ‘Xenjoii85’ has released perhaps the best HD Texture Pack for Fallout 4, weighing around 85GB in size, called Project V.A.U.L.T. This is a comprehensive 4X vanilla texture overhaul mod that aims to improve each and every texture in the game.
According to the modder, the mod does not alter the original colors. It does not smudge any details, and it does not introduce any noise artifacts. Every asset strictly honors Bethesda’s original art direction.
The mod uses modern BC7 block compression where needed. This helps preserve fine details and accurate colors while keeping texture files easy for the GPU to handle.
It also keeps the original material properties intact. The mod preserves alpha channels, specular maps, and surface shader values across all types of assets. This helps textures react more naturally to the game’s lighting.
Instead of only improving popular textures, Project V.A.U.L.T. aims to improve the visual quality of every visible asset. It also keeps Bethesda’s original art style intact. The project covers characters, environments, objects, enemies, NPCs, and much more. That’s why the texture pack is 85GB in size.
Project V.A.U.L.T. uses 4X as its main target for both visual quality and performance.
At 4X, textures have 16 times the pixel detail. This helps bring out fine surface details, such as marks on metal, wood grain, and worn leather. The result is a much sharper look on modern displays.
4X also offers a good balance between image quality and performance. It gives Fallout 4 a major visual boost without placing too much stress on VRAM or texture streaming. This helps keep frame rates smooth, even in busy areas like Downtown Boston.
The mod also uses the original vanilla textures as its source. Each texture is processed in one pass. This helps keep textures sharp and avoids the blur, noise, and smudges that can come from repeated upscaling.
All in all, this is an HD Texture Pack that most Fallout 4 owners should use. You can go ahead and download it from this link. At the end of the article, you can also find some screenshots. These screenshots showcase the new modded textures. And, as you can see, Fallout 4 can look pretty amazing with it.
This mod transforms Doom into a terrifying tactical shooter, and it's partly inspired by another PC gaming classic
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/this-mod-transforms-doom-into-a-terrifying-tactical-shooter-and-its-partly-inspired-by-another-pc-gaming-classic/
It takes a brave soul to ask the question "What if Doom was an incredibly slow-moving tactical shooter?" In fact, it's not a question I ever thought I'd want an answer to—we aren't exactly short of grim-faced, hyper-lethal first-person shooters these days. But the most recent footage of Blackout has convinced me that tactical Doom might be a good idea, if only because its dark and dangerous demo looks so darned terrifying.
Blackout is a work-in-progress mod built for Doom source ports Zandronum and UZDoom, currently available in playable alpha. Created by modder PKmX, it's designed to provide "tactical military simulation-based gameplay that focuses on slow methodical clearing", according to a breakdown posted on the ZDoom forums, with players expected to "hide behind covers and execute proper breaching techniques to maximise chances of survival."
The mod makes several radical changes to Doom's basic playstyle. Movement is much slower, while your character is significantly more fragile. Weapons are based on real-life firearms that feature ADS and reloading, with damage and recoil that reflects their calibre, fire-rate, and so forth.
The enemies you face remain classic Doom monsters, but PKmX says their behaviours have been "tweaked to suit tactical gameplay". Attacks are deadlier but take longer to charge, and they can both suppress you and be suppressed by you. There's also a stealth and awareness system where gunfire draws monsters to your location, while remaining quiet may enable you to sneak past enemies unseen.
In motion, Blackout reminds me a lot of Stalker, with relatively slow movement but highly reactive (and vicious) gunplay. Surprisingly though, this isn't the inspiration that PKmX cites. Apparently, Blackout draws significantly from Crysis, right down to featuring an energy suit inspired by Crytek's nanosuit. Not only does this feature a damage-absorbing energy shield and an "adrenaline system" that provides a speed boost when near death, but it also includes a cloaking device which temporarily makes the player "almost undetectable" by enemies.
I think this goes a long way to explain why Blackout looks as good as it does. While Blackout is clearly a more methodical shooter than Doom, the emphasis remains on action and combat rather than the strategy and resource management layer of other tactical shooters. Indeed, a commenter on PKmX's video asks whether the game will feature magazine management, to which the modder responds "one of the goals of this mod is to avoid becoming an inventory simulator."
If you fancy giving Blackout a go yourself, you can download it via the Doomworld forums. PkmX also recommends several other mods to enhance the experience, including a palette mod to make levels darker, which certainly seems to fit with Blackout's tone.
>> The article has a close to 30 minutes video.
If you're desperate for more Baldur's Gate 3, here's a 6-hour mini-campaign all about Astarion with 4 different endings and 6 new companions
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/baldurs-gate/if-youre-desperate-for-more-baldurs-gate-3-heres-a-6-hour-mini-campaign-all-about-astarion-with-4-different-endings-and-6-new-companions/
We don't really need more Baldur's Gate 3, given how vast and replayable Larian Studios' RPG already is. That said, I'd never say no to more adventures within Larian's highly flexible adaptation of the Forgotten Realms. And while Larian itself has sworn off expanding BG3 any further, the modding community is still plugging away with new stuff, including the recent release of a 6-hour campaign revolving around everyone's favourite nefarious vampire elf Astarion.
A Dream of Silence ReVamped (via GamesRadar) is a mini-campaign based on a text game of the same name created by developer Abigail Corfman. The mod is divided into three acts which have been released separately over the last twelve months. With the release of the third and final act, however, the mod has been packaged and released as a single story.
The story itself takes place in Astarion's mind. But before you dismiss this as a hackneyed 'it was all a dream' narrative—the dreamscape of this particular tale is under the control of a Bastellus—essentially living nightmares that feed on dream energy. To help Astarion escape the Bastellus' grasp, your character—who is projected into Astarion's mind—must accompany him through an even more twisted version of Cazador's dungeon.
The campaign includes four different endings and six all-new companions to chat with. And like Baldur's Gate 3 itself, each of the three acts is structured very differently. Act One is primarily dialogue based, while Act Two features new mechanics, introduces the companions and lets you fight as well as talk through your problems. Apparently, Act Three changes things up further too, though the mod's creator, lizardphunk, doesn't specify how.
Lizardphunk says they created ReVamped to showcase the power of Baldur's Gate 3's modding tools, so hopefully it will lead to further custom campaigns being developed for Larian's RPG masterpiece. If you'd like to check it out yourself, you can download A Dream of Silence: Revamped over on Nexus Mods.
>> There is a close to three hours video in the article.
GAMING NEWS
Heatwarped Is a New Open-World Arcade Racer Inspired by NFS Underground
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/heatwarped-is-a-new-open-world-arcade-racer-inspired-by-nfs-underground/
Sealime has announced a new open-world arcade racing game that is heavily inspired by NFS Underground, called Heatwarped. Moreover, the developer has shared a PC demo that you can download and play.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Beta Has Leaked NVIDIA DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-4-beta-has-leaked-nvidia-dlss-4-5-ray-reconstruction/
It appears that the Beta for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 has leaked the unreleased NVIDIA DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction. As such, NVIDIA RTX owners can now download and try this leaked version.
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