Yes, you are.

NVIDIA “unlaunches” GeForce RTX 5090 from its Marketplace

https://videocardz.com/newz/nvidia-unlaunches-geforce-rtx-5090-from-its-marketplace

Crowxis lists its first Radeon RX 9000 graphics cards, all based on PowerColor designs

https://videocardz.com/newz/crowxis-lists-its-first-radeon-rx-9000-graphics-cards-all-based-on-powercolor-designs

Redditor begged retailer to sell him the last RTX 5090 as staff removed cards from shelves

https://videocardz.com/newz/redditor-begged-retailer-to-sell-him-the-last-rtx-5090-as-staff-removed-cards-from-shelves

China Now Requires An Export License For All New Large AI Models, Potentially Affecting Moonshot’s Unreleased Kimi K3.1, As Taiwan Criminalizes Smuggling Of Advanced Chips To China

https://wccftech.com/china-now-requires-an-export-license-for-all-new-large-ai-models-potentially-affecting-moonshots-unreleased-kimi-k3-1-as-taiwan-criminalizes-smuggling-of-advanced-chips-to-china/

NVIDIA RTX 5090 Gets Quad 8-Pin Power Connector Mod To Bypass Melting-Prone 12V-2×6, Nearly Halves Current Per Wire

https://wccftech.com/nvidia-rtx-5090-gets-quad-8-pin-power-connector-mod-to-bypass-melting-prone-12v-2x6-nearly-halves-current-per-wire/

It’s time for the Friday gaming news:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

Control Resonant sells 1 million copies in 3 weeks to become Remedy's fastest-selling game ever
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/control-resonant-sells-1-million-copies-in-3-weeks-to-become-remedys-fastest-selling-game-ever/
Remedy announced today that Control Resonant has surpassed one million copies sold, moving past Alan Wake 2 to become "the fastest-selling game in Remedy Entertainment's 31-year history."
Three weeks to a million copies isn't exactly a blistering pace by conventional videogame standards: The Blood of Dawnwalker hit the mark in three days, Wardogs did it in one, and Subnautica 2 put out twice that number in just 12 hours.
But despite producing a string of unique, memorable, and critically acclaimed games, Remedy has never really smashed a massive home run in the sales department. Even Alan Wake 2, which won numerous awards for narrative and art direction in 2023 (and would have claimed so many more if not for the Baldur's Gate 3 behemoth) took two months to sell a million copies, significantly outpacing the original Control and making it the studio's fastest-selling game at that time.

Fanatical doesn’t have a Star Deal, but we have the Cook up your own Culinary Capers Bundle, with 11 titles to choose from for your bundles of 3+, 5+ or 7+ games. It will last the usual 34 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/cook-up-your-own-culinary-capers-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Steam achievements are getting a huge overhaul, with separate sets for DLC and season passes, and an easy way to compare with friends
https://www.pcgamer.com/software/platforms/steam-achievements-are-getting-a-huge-overhaul-with-separate-sets-for-dlc-and-season-passes-and-an-easy-way-to-compare-with-friends/
Valve has pushed a new update to its Steam client beta introducing big changes to how achievements work and how they're displayed. Developers can now create sets of achievements customized to their game, like mastering a specific character class or finishing a singleplayer campaign. Sets also distinguish base game achievements from separate DLC and seasonal sets.
Previously if you unlocked all achievements for a game you'd see a nice 'n' tidy 100% in your achievements list. But if that game got DLC with new achievements, that 100% would drop accordingly. I can understand why achievement heads would be annoyed by this: what if you have no intention of playing the DLC, but want to retain 100% completion bragging rights? This update fixes that, assuming devs use it.
It's a similar situation for seasonal achievements, which I can see working well with battle passes. The example Valve uses is a set called "Halloween Event Achievements" which are valid for a certain period and don't affect the achievement count of the base game. In other words: if you have the completionist itch but skip a season, it won't affect your base game stats.
All these changes have prompted a refresh of the achievements page. Most achievements info is now displayed on a single page: your progress towards overall completion, and your progress towards unlocking individual achievements.
>> I quite like this update!

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

P.T. PC Port 1.0.4 Gets DX12, Path Tracing, Ray Reconstruction, and DLSS 5 Support
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/p-t-pc-port-1-0-4-gets-dx12-path-tracing-ray-reconstruction-and-dlss-5-support/
A new major update for the unofficial PC port of Konami’s P.T. has just been released. This update adds support for DX12, Path Tracing, Ray Reconstruction, Frame Generation, and DLSS 5.
Going into more detail, the port now supports DirectX 12, along with Vulkan. We also get a Path Tracing Mode. Every bit of light on screen comes from traced paths now. This means that the direct light of every lamp, traced glass, the bathroom mirror, the floor’s coat, and the flashlight are all path-traced. We also get several bounces of indirect light. In this mode, there is no baked light or fake fill.
Update 1.0.4 also adds support for Real HDR, with new options for white levels and peak brightness. The update also adds DLSS Frame Generation to DirectX 12, plus Intel XeSS Frame Generation. FSR 3 Frame Generation now works on DirectX 12, too.
Players can try new access options, such as sound captions, motion controls, and a wider field of view. You can also skip the ending cutscene by holding the pause button. The PC settings menu now has tabs, clearer prompts, and better controller support.
And that’s not all. The game starts faster, has fewer stutters, and loads enhanced textures much faster. Many visual bugs have been fixed, and the game now handles low video memory better.
The update also adds in-game updates, faster downloads, and safer file checks. It fixes Linux updates and improves support for long folder names. It also adds Discord Rich Presence, Windows spatial sound, and better VR support.
As I said, players can install community-made DLSS 5 tools and unlock DLSS Frame Generation on RTX 20 and 30 cards. Do note, though, that the DLSS 5 implementation is not native. However, it can make it easier to enable DLSS 5 in this game.
Those interested can download this latest version of the P.T. PC port from here (Github).
>> The article has no media.

Gran Turismo Sport Unofficial PC Port Available for Download
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/gran-turismo-sport-unofficial-pc-port-available-for-download/
When Sony first said it would bring PlayStation games to PC, many of us hoped to see Gran Turismo and Demon’s Souls Remake. Sadly, neither game made the jump. But now, thanks to the rise of the PC recompilation scene, we can finally play both games on our PCs.
What’s interesting here is that, compared to other PC recomps, this one has some cool under-the-hood tweaks. For instance, we have three settings for shader compilation. These are Precompile on the splash screen, Pause while new shaders compile, and Compile batching.
With Precompile on the splash screen, every shader the game has used before on your PC is built while the splash screen shows, with a progress bar, and the game waits until it is done. With Pause while new shaders compile, a shader the game has never used now pauses the game (its clock too) until it is compiled, with “Compiling new shaders…” in the bottom left. Finally, Compile batching groups shader compilation tasks together during a gameplay pause to reduce the overall number of micro-stutters during actual gameplay.
Moreover, the PC port supports AMD FSR 3.1 Frame Generation. However, since the game does not provide motion vectors, fast edges and the HUD can ghost a little.
The latest version also brings more speed gains. It now uses cached memory for fence writes and saves texture lookup results for reuse. The command thread also checks the last matching shader setup first. These changes can cut shader search time by about 30%.
But what about performance? According to mlgprorektm8, the game runs at 42-60 fps depending on how many cars are on screen. He also said that he tested the game on an Intel i7-13700KF with an RTX 4070Ti, and on an AMD Ryzen 5 9600X with an RTX 3060. However, I don’t know for which PC setup these performance figures are.
Finally, mlgprorektm8 is working on a multithreaded renderer. This new renderer should be able to overcome the limits of the previous renderer, allowing the game to run faster.
Those interested can go ahead and download this PC port of Gran Turismo Sport from here (Github). As with all PC recomps, it does not have any in-game assets. To play it, you’ll have to provide your own ISO.
>> This article doesn’t have any media either.

Take a Look at This HD-2D Fan Remake of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/take-a-look-at-this-hd-2d-fan-remake-of-the-legend-of-zelda-a-link-to-the-past/
Reddit’s ‘JoggingThruThe6’ is currently working on an HD-2D remake of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. And while there is no ETA for when this project will come out, we have its first in-game video, which you can watch below.
This HD-2D fan remake adds many new features to improve the game. It adds dynamic lighting, weather, and a full day-and-night cycle. NPCs can also follow set plans, and guards have better AI. They can alert other guards and show their status.
The fan remake also adds a new intro scene, a new map, and new menus. You can move from the open world into homes and caves with no loading screens. Doors now have new lights and animations. You can also peek inside before you enter.
For the Thor device, which JoggingThruThe6 used to showcase his remake, it adds a dual-screen setup with haptic feedback. You can drag items to buttons or tap an item to set it to one of six buttons.
It’s also worth noting that the HD-2D Remake will add voxel graphics. However, these are still in the early stages and can cause bugs. Right now, the game runs without major issues when voxels are turned off.
All in all, this is a dream come true for all Zelda fans. Sadly, there is no ETA for when this HD-2D fan remake will come out. Naturally, though, I’ll be sure to keep you posted.
My guess is that this will be a mod for the unofficial PC port of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. For those who did not know, in August 2022, we got an unofficial PC port of it. That PC port came out way before the recent rise of the PC recomp scene, which heavily uses AI tools to assist it.
>> This time there’s an over two minutes video in the article.

GAMING NEWS

No DSoG articles for here so... you know the drill

Peter Molyneux explains why Black & White 3 remains MIA, and then drops a tantalising teaser: 'It's such a difficult, difficult, challenging title to develop'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/peter-molyneux-explains-why-black-and-white-3-remains-mia-and-then-drops-a-tantalising-teaser-its-such-a-difficult-difficult-challenging-title-to-develop/

The Friday gaming news, the sequel:

The Shogun 2 remaster is so bad, Sega is removing it from sale and bringing back the original
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/the-shogun-2-remaster-is-so-bad-sega-is-removing-it-from-sale-and-bringing-back-the-original/
Just two days after the disastrous release of Total War: Shogun 2 - Complete Edition, Sega says it is removing the game from sale and putting the original back until it gets things sorted out.
(***a resume and timeline of what has happened***)
Which brings us to now: After two days of silence, Sega has finally made a move: It says "the current experience is not where it needs to be," and is thus "working with platform holders to remove the game from sale and to reinstate the original game while we investigate the issues."
>> Apparently it runs like crap, has the same bugs as the original game and some assets look like they’ve been poorly AI-upscaled.

World of Warcraft: Forever devs say gear upgrades will stay relevant 'for a long, long time': 'It's very much our intention to try wherever we can to not invalidate old content'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/world-of-warcraft/world-of-warcraft-forever-devs-say-gear-upgrades-will-stay-relevant-for-a-long-long-time-its-very-much-our-intention-to-try-wherever-we-can-to-not-invalidate-old-content/
The developers of World of Warcraft: Forever, the venerable MMO's newest 'Classic+' flavor, say that even though the level cap is staying at 60, there will always be new gear to chase, and lower level gear has never been more powerful.
>> I’m starting to get tired of so many WoW: Forever articles. What about you?

Less than 2 weeks after announcing RuneScape Reignited, Jagex is scrapping the whole thing
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/less-than-2-weeks-after-announcing-runescape-reignited-jagex-is-scrapping-the-whole-thing/
Life comes at you fast, as the saying goes, and the folks at RuneScape developer Jagex can sure attest to that. Less than two weeks after announcing RuneScape Reignited—essentially a way for new and lapsed players to restart their adventures from fresh on separate, unique servers—the studio has decided to cancel it.

And now, the weekend deals at GOG and Steam

+Steam

• Battlefield 6 will be free to try during the weekend and 60% off until Tuesday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2807960/Battlefield_6/
• Nova Roma, in Early Access, will have a 35% discount until Thursday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2426530/Nova_Roma/
• VEIN, also in Early Access, will also be 35% off until the 22nd. And it has a demo: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1857950/VEIN/
• World of Goo 2 gets a 50% discount until October 22: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3385670/World_of_Goo_2/
• Stranded Deep is free to try during the weekend and it’s going to be 60% off until Thursday, the 22nd: https://store.steampowered.com/app/313120/Stranded_Deep/
• Dark and Light, an Early Access game that was last updated 7 years ago, gets a 73% discount until the 22nd: https://store.steampowered.com/app/529180/Dark_and_Light/
• Unity of Command II will be 90% off until the 25th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/809230/Unity_of_Command_II/
• Quarantine Zone: The Last Check features a 35% discount that will last until the 29th of October: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3419520/Quarantine_Zone_The_Last_Check/
• Architect Life: A House Design Simulator is going to be 70% off until October 29: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1296400/Architect_Life_A_House_Design_Simulator/
• Imperator: Rome will be 80% off until Thursday, the 29th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/859580/Imperator_Rome/
• And these are the two new sales:
  • Warner Bros Publisher Sale features games with up to 90% discounts and will last until the 22nd of October: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/wbpubsale2026
  • Galaxies Autumn 2026 has lots of upcoming titles, some demos and a lots of games on sale, up to 90% off. The length of the deals vary from game to game: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45348822/sale/GalaxiesAutumn2026

And that's it. Until the next time, I wish you a happy and gaming weekend.

After what they're doing to the comsumer PC market, I think you'll like this article:

The AI bubble may not have burst yet, but $1 trillion worth of air appears to have escaped
https://www.pcgamer.com/software/ai/the-ai-bubble-may-not-have-burst-yet-but-usd1-trillion-worth-of-air-appears-to-have-escaped/
Many of tech's heaviest hitters have seen their share prices decrease significantly this week. For instance, Nvidia has seen a decrease of about 8% over the last five days—and this AI company is far from the only one seeing such a dip.

Over the last five days, we've seen share prices fall by 13% for AMD, and nearly 15% for Intel. Looking more broadly across the AI and semiconductor industries, CNBC reports 20 of the most valuable players have shed more than $1 trillion in value as investors sell off stock.

The bigger picture doesn't look any better: over the last five days, Samsung Electronics has seen its share price decrease by nearly 20%, SK hynix is down 18%, and Micron has seen a dip of over 15%.

I am unironically tempted to try and sell my 4090 during this draught of high end gpus and buy a 5070 Ti or 9070 XT until the 6090 comes out. The going rate of a 4090 seems to be around $5000 cad while I bought mines for $2500 back in the day. Very tempting to say the least.

Is there any game you play where the 4090 is maxed out? Because that's what may make you regret selling it for something inferior.

Got invited by Ubisoft to test their new HoMM3 Remake, so let's see if I get chosen to test it:

Sadly most, if not all of this can be written down as profit-taking, the rally will still continue until it bursts. But when it does burst, BURST it will...

Congratulations! I hope you're part of the chosen ones.

Yeah, I know. But a man can dream.

And there's no guarantee that the shares will reach the same value anytime soon.