So Chinese users grow 8% and Win 7 grows 6%? I guess that explains some things.

For those interested, the annual PC Secret Santa event will be happening again this year!

http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/thread.php?id=233298

Everyone is welcome, please stop by if you're interested!

Great!

And the fact that I'm not doing it this year makes it even greater .

Guru3D December 4th contest: win the Neptoon 240m Liquid Cooling kit, the RGB enabled a Mastermouse S and a Swift RXs mousemat.

http://www.guru3d.com/news-story/guru3d-2017-december-4-contest-win-a-cool-cooler-master-kit.html

Monday news!

SALES & "SALES"/DEALS

Steam's Top 10

1. PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS
2. Grand Theft Auto V
3. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
4. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Game of the Year Edition
5. Call of Duty: WWII
6. Assassin's Creed Origins
7. Divinity: Original Sin 2
8. Sid Meier’s Civilization VI
9. Sid Meier’s Civilization VI
10. NieR:Automata

World in Conflict Complete Edition is available for free on UPLAY until December 11th
http://www.dsogaming.com/news/world-conflict-complete-edition-available-free-uplay-december-11th/
Ubisoft is offering Massive’s World in Conflict Complete Edition for free on UPLAY. This offer will last until December 11th at 10:00 AM UTC. As such, we strongly suggest downloading this RTS game while you still can.

>>It's a very good game. I have the physical edition, and I'll get it on UPlay too.

At GOG, there's a new weekly sale called Beauty and the beasts, featuring games like Reus, Shelter or Renowned Explorers, with up to 85% off: https://www.gog.com/promo/20171204_weekly_promo

SOFTWARE

-empty-

MODS/EMULATORS

RPCS3 now boots God of War 3, Uncharted, Gran Turismo, Infamous, Heavenly Sword and more
http://www.dsogaming.com/news/rpcs3-now-boots-god-of-war-3-uncharted-gran-turismo-infamous-and-more/
The team behind the best Playstation 3 emulator, RPCS3, has announced that its emulator can now boot some triple-A games. Among these titles are Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale, God of War 3, Uncharted, Gran Turismo HD Concept, WipeOut and Infamous.

Skyrim mods replace the LOD blurry textures with 2K high quality textures & remove sky color banding
http://www.dsogaming.com/news/mods-skyrim-replace-lod-blurry-textures-2k-high-quality-textures-remove-sky-color-banding/
Skyrim is a game that has seen one hell of mods. From high quality textures to new and diverse effects, modders have been experimenting with Bethesda’s RPG for more than six years. However, we know that some users are as purists as it can get. These gamers want their game to look exactly the same with the vanilla version. Still, the following two mods are essential even for this type of gamers.

>>Check the article to find more info about those mods and the links to download them.

Fallout 4 New Vegas Total Conversion Mod Announced, First Pre-Alpha Gameplay Footage Revealed
http://www.dsogaming.com/news/fallout-4-new-vegas-announced-first-pre-alpha-gameplay-footage-revealed/
Obsidian’s Fallout: New Vegas is considered by many as one of the best modern Fallout games. So I’m pretty sure that a lot of gamers will be happy to know that a team of modders is working on a total conversion mod to bring its world to Fallout 4. Yeap, Fallout 4 New Vegas is a thing, and below you can find its first pre-alpha gameplay video.

Mafia Redux 1.1 mod for the first classic Mafia game adds new high resolution textures & 2D/3D assets
http://www.dsogaming.com/news/texture-pack-first-classic-mafia-game-adds-tons-new-high-resolution-textures/
Modder ‘GhostCZMods’ has released a brand new Texture Pack for the first classic Mafia game. According to its description, Mafia Redux 1.1 adds new roads, new sidewalks, new barrels and a new loading bar. Moreover, it adds a new window design, a new design of cigarettes and new skins for Tom, Paulie, Sam.

>>You can get it from moddb.

GAMING NEWS

DayZ leaves Early Access and fully releases in 2018
http://www.dsogaming.com/news/dayz-leaves-early-access-fully-releases-2018/
In a new status update, the Lead Producer of DayZ, Eugen Harton, revealed that DayZ will leave Early Access in 2018. Moreover, Harton claimed that there won’t be any new beta release in December, something that may disappoint the game’s fans.

Cuphead – Patch 1.1.3 improves saving and loading, fixes various freezes and brings gameplay tweaks
http://www.dsogaming.com/news/cuphead-patch-1-1-3-improves-saving-loading-fixes-various-freezes-brings-gameplay-tweaks/
StudioMDHR has released a new patch for its classic run and gun action game, Cuphead. According to the release notes, the Cuphead patch 1.1.3 improves saving and loading, and fixes various freezes, soft-locks and crashes.

4A Games’ VR first-person shooter ARKTIKA.1 gets a major update, featuring performance improvements
http://www.dsogaming.com/news/4a-games-first-person-vr-shooter-arktika-1-gets-major-update-performance-improvements/
4A Games has released a major update for its VR first-person shooter, ARKTIKA.1. This patch features multiple performance improvements and adds a Cloud Save functionality. Moreover, it fixes several known crashes and adds support for German, French, and Spanish languages.

Warhammer Vermintide 2 – First Impressions + 10 Minutes of Gameplay Footage
http://www.dsogaming.com/first-impressions/warhammer-vermintide-2-first-impressions-10-minutes-gameplay-footage/
Plan of Attack has sent us a preview code for Fatshark’s upcoming melee action game, Warhammer Vermintide 2, which gave us a small idea of what this new first person co-op game is all about. Given the fact that this is a preview build, we’ll not be focusing on its tech area. So, below you can read our First Impressions of it, accompanied by a video showing 10 minutes of gameplay footage.

TEKKEN 7 – Patch 1.09 features multiple network adapter crash fix, leaderboard & stability improvements
http://www.dsogaming.com/news/tekken-7-patch-1-09-multiple-network-adapter-crash-fix-leaderboard-stability-improvements/
A few days ago, we informed you about some crash issues in TEKKEN 7 that were caused by the presence of multiple network adapters. And while users discovered a workaround, Bandai Namco has released a new patch that fixes those crashes.

PlayerUnknown’s: Battlegrounds will get cosmetic microtransactions
http://www.dsogaming.com/news/playeruknowns-battlegrounds-will-get-cosmetic-microtransactions/
In a developer Q&A at G-Star Global Game Exhibition in Korea, CEO and lead game designer at Bluehole, Changhan Kim, revealed that PlayerUnknown’s: Battlegrounds will most likely receive cosmetic microtransactions. Changhan stated that the dev team does not plan to add any pay-to-win mechanics. However, cosmetic microtransactions will be coming to it after its full release.

Dynasty Warriors 9 gets a brand new “release date” trailer
http://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/dynasty-warriors-9-gets-brand-new-release-date-trailer/
KOEI Tecmo has released a new trailer for Dynasty Warriors 9, dedicated to its release date. Dynasty Warriors 9 releases on February 13th and will be the first true open world installment of the franchise.

Assassin’s Creed Origins – December patch will add Nightmare difficulty and two new quests
http://www.dsogaming.com/news/assassins-creed-origins-december-patch-will-add-nightmare-difficulty-two-new-quests/
Ubisoft has announced that it will release a new patch for Assassin’s Creed Origins in December. According to the French company, this update will add a new “Nightmare” difficulty level, and will an enemy scaling option. This enemy option will automatically scale the lower level enemies to players’ level.

Attack on Titan 2 releases on March 20th
http://www.dsogaming.com/news/attack-titan-2-releases-march-20th/
KOEI Tecmo revealed today that Attack on Titan 2 will release on March 20th. To celebrate the news KOEI Tecmo shared a new trailer, giving a taste of what players can expect from it.

AQP City, Unreal Engine 4 open-world game inspired by GTA & Red Dead Redemption, gets new trailer
http://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/aqp-city-unreal-engine-4-open-world-game-inspired-gta-red-dead-redemption-gets-new-trailer/
Back in 2014 we informed you about a new open-world game that was inspired by GTA V and Red Dead Redemption, AQP City. AQP City uses Epic’s Unreal Engine 4 and after almost two years, the team behind it released a brand new in-engine trailer for it.

The news, part two:

Paladins players angry over new loot box-based progression system
http://www.pcgamer.com/paladins-players-angry-over-new-loot-box-based-progression-system/
Hi-Rez Studios is testing some big changes to its free-to-play hero shooter Paladins, and an awful lot of players are not very happy about it. Essence, the in-game currency the studio rolled out early this year to much complaint, is gone, but it's been replaced by a loot box-based system that critics say will force players to either grind their faces off or spend real money on chests.

Social survival game SOS seeks 100 new players for 'Vets vs Threats' tournament
http://www.pcgamer.com/social-survival-game-sos-seeks-100-new-players-for-vets-vs-threats-tournament/
SOS is a survival game with an unusual twist. 16 players head to an island on a mission to recover and escape with an ancient relic, but the helicopter sent to make the pickup only has three seats. Complicating things further, there are no teams; instead, players are free to talk to one another, as well as members of the audience watching online, to try to make deals and alliances on the fly. It sounds very Survivor-like, and the sosgame.com website plays on that show's slogan, saying that players must "out-think, out-run, and out-fight" their opponents.

The Division 1.8 update is coming next week
http://www.pcgamer.com/the-division-18-update-is-coming-next-week/
Ubisoft has announced that the long-awaited 1.8 update to The Division, which will be free for all players, will be out next week. A hard release date won't be revealed until December 4, but the publisher shared a quick recap of what's in store in a new State of the Game update.

>>Of course, that is this week.

Roleplay and date feral cats in oddball RPG Cattails
http://www.pcgamer.com/roleplay-and-date-feral-cats-in-oddball-rpg-cattails/
Cattails is "a unique simulation RPG with light survival elements" to hear developer Falcon Development tell it. You play as a feral cat that does things feral cats do, like hunt mice, collect herbs and hunt for treasure.

FTC sternly warns CS:GO gambling fraudsters not to do it again
http://www.pcgamer.com/ftc-sternly-warns-csgo-gambling-fraudsters-not-to-do-it-again/
The FTC has finalized its settlement with Trevor "TmarTn" Martin and Tom "ProSyndicate" Cassell, the streamers who used their YouTube channels and other platforms to enthusiastically promote the skin gambling site CSGO Lotto without any indication that they happened to own 42.5% of CSGO Lotto.
The initial settlement, reached in September, set new standards of disclosure on the two and the site, forbidding them "from misrepresenting that any endorser is an independent user or ordinary consumer of a product or service."

Reimagined gothic adventure game, Black Mirror, is available now
http://www.pcgamer.com/reimagined-gothic-adventure-game-black-mirror-is-available-now/
Black Mirror—a re-imagining of Future Games' 2004 gothic-horror adventure series—is now available.
The remake honours the original game's point-and-click roots, focusing on "close-up investigation and interaction with nightmarish visions that plague the protagonist of the game David Gordon." It also promises to retain its "unique atmosphere of madness and psychological distress" as Gordon visits to his ancestral home in the 1920s, intent on discovering if he too will "follow in his father’s footsteps, down a path that leads to madness, and death".

"The culture of harassment and bullying in the gaming world has to end," says Magic the Gathering publisher
http://www.pcgamer.com/the-culture-of-harassment-and-bullying-in-the-gaming-world-has-to-end-says-magic-the-gathering-publisher/
Wizards of the Coast is working to shut down harassment and bullying in the Magic the Gathering community.
"We are incredibly proud of the Magic community and the tremendous good it does in people's lives. Magic is a game meant to bring people together—it's right there in the name "The Gathering." Our community is filled with stories of lifelong friendships and bonds forged through tapping lands, casting spells, and swinging in with everything for the win," said Elaine Chase, on a recent update.

Five Nights at Freddy's creator teases Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator
http://www.pcgamer.com/five-nights-at-freddys-creator-teases-freddy-fazbears-pizzeria-simulator/
When Five Nights at Freddy's creator Scott Cawthon confirmed that the sixth installment of the FNaF series had been cancelled, he teased "maybe I’ll try my hand at a pizzeria tycoon game." Fast-forward to six months later, it looks like that's exactly what he's done.

Check out fast-paced dungeon crawler Wizard of Legend in this new trailer
http://www.pcgamer.com/check-out-fast-paced-dungeon-crawler-wizard-of-legend-in-this-new-trailer/
Contingent99 has released a new trailer for its debut project, Wizard of Legend.
A "fast-paced dungeon crawler with an emphasis on dynamic magical combat", Wizard of Legend promises "quick movement and even quicker use of spells" that can be chained together to devastate enemies. It's also packed with over 100 unique elemental spells, procedurally-generated levels, dynamic bosses and enemies, and "endless" customisation options, plus couch co-op, too.

Here's what's new in Star Wars Battlefront 2's latest update
http://www.pcgamer.com/heres-whats-new-in-star-wars-battlefront-2s-latest-update/
Electronic Arts has detailed what's new in the latest patch for Star Wars Battlefront II.
While the prior patch addressed "critical gameplay and user interface issues", 1.03 heralds a new End of Round MVP screen that will focus on scores and not "specific honors" in a bid to diversify the number of names listed on the MVP summary.

New Past Cure trailer reveals astral projection, time manipulation, and stealth kills
http://www.pcgamer.com/new-past-cure-trailer-reveals-astral-projection-time-manipulation-and-stealth-kills/
Phantom 8 has released a new gameplay trailer for Past Cure, that action-stealth thriller about "the struggles of a man tormented by shiny muscular mannequins."

Find out more about Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord's faction, the Vlandians
http://www.pcgamer.com/find-out-more-about-mount-blade-2-bannerlords-faction-the-vlandians/
In a recent Steam community update, Taleworlds has revealed the lore behind Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord's faction, the Vlandians. The detailed post also includes a behind-the-scene peek at how the team designed the faction's backstory, and their accompanying weapons.

Samsara is a gorgeous portal-hopping puzzle game, due next year
http://www.pcgamer.com/samsara-is-a-gorgeous-portal-hopping-puzzle-game-due-next-year/
Samsara is a lovely-looking puzzle game whose world is comprised of two Stranger Things-like mirrored dimensions—with portals, echoes, and block placement. Having sunk countless hours into Divinity: Original Sin 2 and Football Manager 2018 of late, this one looks right up my street.

"World in Conflict: Complete Edition" & "Assassins Creed: Black Flag" for free:

https://blog.ubi.com/get-two-ubisoft-pc-classics-free-december/

vvv Proof we don't read your posts

On topic though, how good is strategy in this one?

Nice! Too bad I bought Black Flag a while ago.

Well, he adds the part about Black Flag being also free in a few days. so it's perfectly ok.

As for the game, I only played part of it (I was playing it when I had a problem with my PC and my hard drive went kaput), but it's more demanding that Age of Empires 2, if that helps.

I almost forgot!

Guru3D December 5th contest: Win an ASUS ROG STRIX Z370-F GAMING Motherboard

http://www.guru3d.com/news-story/guru3d-2017-december-5-contest-win-an-asus-rog-strix-z370-f-gaming-motherboard.html

(I fail to see the point of giving away a mobo without a CPU, but oh, well)