Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun is 33% off: http://store.steampowered.com/app/418240/Shadow_Tactics_Blades_of_the_Shogun/

Get this one folks if you are fan of old Commandos and Desperados style of games (there was even Robin Hood one, IIRC) - it's really good one, though still somewhat pricey.

^I got it during the last New Lunar Year sale, but still haven't played it. There are other games first on the list.

But I bought it because of the Commandos vibe I got from the trailer. I only hope it's more like Commandos 1 & 2, and less like the third one.

Ok, now that I managed to make it to the site (did anyone else have problems to connect or was it just me?), I have one important article that's great for us, but bad for AMD:

Bitmain ASIC Miner May Reduce Gaming GPU Demand for Mining
https://www.gamersnexus.net/industry/3269-bitmain-asic-miner-relieves-gaming-gpu-demand
Analyst Christopher Rolland recently confirmed Bitmain’s completed development of a new ASIC miner for Ethereum (and similar cryptocurrencies), and thusly reduced stock targets for both AMD and NVIDIA. According to Rolland, Bitmain’s ASIC may eat into GPU demand by cryptomining companies, as the ASIC will outperform GPUs in efficiency for the hashing power.

Rolland noted that this may, obviously, reduce demand for GPUs for mining applications, highlighting that an approximate 20% of AMD and 10% of NVIDIA sales revenue has recently come from mining partners.

For our readers and viewers, the most immediate relief would be in potential GPU demand reduction. Gaming machines have become impossibly expensive to build, by comparison to previous years, with thanks to increasing Flash and GPU customer cost. We’re hopeful that Bitmain’s address to Ethereum-specific ASIC mining will make for more cards making it to retail channels. Presently, many manufacturers are selling straight to large mining operations, as are some retailers (according to our sources), which indicates that a hefty percentage of overall product never makes it to retailers for consumer purchasing.

Although this new Bitmain ASIC won’t replace GPUs for all mining, it could replace them for most Ethereum (and similar) mining, similar to what ASICs did for BTC mining many years ago.

Wednesday news!

SALES & "SALES"/DEALS

Sea of Thieves surpasses two million players, is the best-selling Microsoft first-party game on Windows 10
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/sea-of-thieves-surpasses-two-million-players-is-the-best-selling-microsoft-first-party-game-on-windows-10/
Microsoft has announced that Sea of Thieves has more than two million players, and is already the best-selling Microsoft Studios first-party title on Windows 10. Furthermore, Microsoft revealed that more than 100,000 players have streamed Sea of Thieves since launch.

Humble Indie Bundle 19 comes with Soma, Superhot and plenty more
https://www.pcgamer.com/humble-indie-bundle-19-comes-with-soma-superhot-and-plenty-more/
The 19th Humble Indie Bundle is now live over on the Humble store. It'll be available through 11 am Pacific on Tuesday, April 10, with a new batch of games to come on Tuesday, April 3. If you purchase the bundle anytime before then, you'll receive the new games when they're added to the bundle, provided your purchase cracks their price tier.

At GOG, we have another three new sales:

• The daily deal is Banished, 75% off: https://www.gog.com/game/banished
• There's a publisher sale with the 11-bit studios publisher: https://www.gog.com/promo/20180328_11_bit
• And there's a midweek multi sale, with games like War for the Overworld, Heroes of Might & Magic or Settlers up to 75% off: https://www.gog.com/promo/20180328_midweek_multi

And at Steam, we have the Midweek Madness sales with:

• Slime Rancher, 40% off: http://store.steampowered.com/app/433340/Slime_Rancher/
• The Warhammer 40,000 / Dawn of War franchise is on sale: http://store.steampowered.com/sale/warhammer/
• The Multiplayer Party Pack is on sale, 55% off. The individual games go from 25 to 50% off: http://store.steampowered.com/bundle/6429/Multiplayer_Party_Pack/

SOFTWARE

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MODS/EMULATORS

Citadel is an open-source fan remake of the first System Shock in Unity 5 Engine
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/citadel-is-an-open-source-fan-remake-of-the-first-system-shock-in-unity-5-engine/
I’m pretty sure that a lot of System Shock fans are a bit disappointed after what happened with its official remake. According to the latest reports, this remake now targets a 2020 release. However, we may actually a play a different remake of System Shock sooner than that. JosiahJack is currently working on an open-source fan remake of the classic System Shock game in Unity 5 Engine and has announced that he targets to release a beta version in Q3 2018.

GAMING NEWS

Richard Garriott’s Shroud of the Avatar and Far Cry 5 are now available
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/richard-garriotts-shroud-of-the-avatar-and-far-cry-5-are-now-available/
Man, what a day today. Ubisoft, Travian Games and KOEI Tecmo have released today Far Cry 5, Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues and Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings, respectively.

The first major update for Sea of Thieves is now available, packs numerous performance improvements and fixes
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-first-major-update-for-sea-of-thieves-is-now-available-packs-numerous-performance-improvements-and-fixes/
Rare has released the first major update for Sea of Thieves. According to the developers, this is a full game update as opposed to just a patch, meaning that gamers will have to re-download the complete game. The good news is that this update comes with numerous performance improvements and fixes.

Destiny 2 March Update 1.1.4 available, brings faster movement, new weapon buffs and balance tweaks
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/destiny-2-march-update-1-1-4-available-brings-faster-movement-new-weapon-buffs-and-balance-tweaks/
Bungie has released a brand new update for Destiny 2. According to the release notes, the March update 1.1.4 brings faster movement, new weapon buffs and balance tweaks, weekly rotating crucible playlist and unique weekly nightfall strike rewards.

New gameplay trailer released for 16-bit action platformer, FOX n FORESTS
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-gameplay-trailer-released-for-16-bit-action-platformer-fox-n-forests/
EuroVideo has released a brand new gameplay trailer for Bonus Level Entertainment’s upcoming 2D 16-bit action platformer, FOX n FORESTS. The game is inspired by classic games such as Super Ghouls ‘n’ Ghosts, Wonder Boy in Monster World, ActRaiser 2, and the Castlevania and Zelda series.

New Outlast 2 update adds an easier Story Mode, restores content to avoid an Adult Only rating
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/new-outlast-2-update-adds-an-easier-story-mode-restores-content-to-avoid-an-adult-only-rating/
Red Barrels has released a brand new update for Outlast 2 that adds a new Story Mode, allowing players to experience the game with minimal challenges, fewer enemy encounters and more breathing room to fully immerse themselves in the universe.

First gameplay footage revealed for tactical turn-based adventure game, Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/first-gameplay-footage-revealed-for-tactical-turn-based-adventure-game-mutant-year-zero-road-to-eden/
Funcom has released the first gameplay video for its upcoming tactical turn-based adventure game that is being created by former HITMAN & PAYDAY developers, Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden. Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden is powered by Unreal Engine and is a tactical adventure game combining the turn-based combat of XCOM with story, exploration, stealth, and strategy.

Here are 3 minutes of gameplay footage from New Gundam Breaker
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-3-minutes-of-gameplay-footage-from-new-gundam-breaker/
Gematsu has shared a new video, showing 3 minutes of gameplay footage from Bandai Namco’s upcoming New Gundam Breaker. New Gundam Breaker releases on June 22nd and this trailer will give you an idea of what you can expect from it.

DRAGON QUEST XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age is coming to the PC on September 4th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/dragon-quest-xi-echoes-of-an-elusive-age-is-coming-to-the-pc-on-september-4th/
Square Enix has just announced that DRAGON QUEST XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age is coming to the PC on September 4th. In order to celebrate this announcement, the publisher also released a new set of screenshots that you can view below.

>>celador has made a thread about it.

LEGO The Incredibles releases on July 13th, first details and screenshots
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/lego-the-incredibles-releases-on-july-13th/
Warner Bros, TT Games, The LEGO Group, Disney and Pixar today announced LEGO The Incredibles, a new video game where players take control of their favourite Incredibles characters in unforgettable scenes and action sequences from both Disney/Pixar films, The Incredibles and the upcoming Incredibles 2.

Wednesday news, part two:

Battletech release date revealed in a new story trailer
https://www.pcgamer.com/battletech-release-date-revealed-in-a-new-story-trailer/
The new trailer for Harebrained's turn-based tactical combat game Battletech sets up a not-exactly-new tale of deposed backwater nobility going to war to reclaim their lost throne. But you're not the noble—you're the hired gun taking up arms for the cause not because you're a believer but because you've got bills to pay. It's a fairly bare-bones setup, but as an excuse to hustle around in hundreds of tons of stomping, fire-spitting death robots for cash. It'll do. More relevantly to our immediate interests, the trailer also brings us a release date of April 24.

GTA Online gets two new cars, half price Fort Zancudo hangar, double GTA$ on Special Cargo Sales
https://www.pcgamer.com/gta-online-gets-two-new-cars-half-price-fort-zancudo-hangar-double-gtadollar-on-special-cargo-sales/
GTA Online rolled out its Southern San Andreas Super Sports Series last week with new vehicles, a Vice City-inspired Hotring Circuit and the promise of new stuff from now till the end of May. The first of that takes the form of the Pegassi Tezeract and the Vapid Ellie.

Destiny 2's 'Go Fast' patch brings big buffs to PvE weapons and speeds up Supers
https://www.pcgamer.com/destiny-2s-go-fast-patch-is-out-buffs-all-weapons-in-pve/
It is now Tuesday afternoon in the Eastern Time Zone, and right on schedule the Destiny 2 1.1.4 patch—that's the "Go Fast" one—is now live. We've already got a pretty good idea of what's in store, and now the full patch notes are here to lay out all the details.

Rainbow Six Siege's scrappy recoil system is getting revamped again
https://www.pcgamer.com/rainbow-six-sieges-scrappy-recoil-system-is-getting-revamped-again/
Ubisoft has been iterating on its Rainbow Six Siege recoil system for a while now, but according to a new blogpost, it looks like the studio has finally hit the nail on the head. The problem involves automatic weapons and the occasional instance of bullets not hitting where the reticule is aimed. Basically, recoil should throw your aim off, but the bullet should always hit where that reticule is, whether you want it there or not.

Planet Coaster rolls out Hollywood-inspired Studios Pack
https://www.pcgamer.com/planet-coaster-rolls-out-hollywood-inspired-studios-pack/
Out now, the Hollywood studios-themed DLC brings with it two coasters, a new ride, 19 scenery blueprints, 20 special effects, 127 character animatronics, and 85 scenery items—including a back lot and city props—among a host of other new features. The sum of those can be found within this Steam Community update.

Fortnite to get Guided Missile launcher, adds dino outfit and pickaxe
https://www.pcgamer.com/fortnite-to-get-guided-missile-launcher-adds-dino-outfit-and-pickaxe/
When Fortnite teased jetpacks earlier this year, I pondered a scenario that jetpacks couldn't make better. I was a wee bit disappointed, then, when "coming soon" turned to unspecified delay, and I wasn't overly taken by its Hunting Rifle substitute.
I am, however, digging the thought of arsing around with a Guided Missile launcher—blowing folk away from distance and, perhaps, riding rockets across the map.

Website has been shit for weeks for me.
Pages aren't rendering in their entirety, just white and text elements on most pages. (This and a couple of other threads seem fine though.)

Wasn't able to connect at all yesterday.

Not that it matters, don't really have the time at the moment to converse online/play with tech like I used to, work is in full swing, emergency service training, being involved in car racing, gym, social and so on.

Yeah. But like Halo Wars 2... No Steam, no buy.


******************

So... Hard Drive Mining has also become a thing.
This Ray Tracing push has me interested. (Need time to read about it's various implications/what it entails though.)

Well, not being the only one with troubles on the site is some minor comfort. But I'm not as busy as you .

What's that Hard Drive Mining thing? Didn't heard about it.

Also, Ray Tracing may be coming to games this year, but it will still be a lot of time until it's heavily used. I didn't post it yesterday, but here's some context to where Ray Tracing is right now: Unreal Engine 4’s real-time raytracing tech demo was running on four NVIDIA Tesla V100 GPUs

The news:

SALES & "SALES"/DEALS

GOG's new daily deal is GoNNER, 70% off: https://www.gog.com/promo/20180329_daily_deal_gonner

On the Humble Store, there's an Indie Mega Week sale, with up to 75% discounts: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/indie-mega-week/

SOFTWARE

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MODS/EMULATORS

Final Fantasy XV Luminous Engine Graphics Configuration allows you to go beyond the in-game presets
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/final-fantasy-xv-luminous-engine-graphics-configuration-allows-you-to-go-beyond-the-in-game-presets/
Modder ‘skacikpl’ has uploaded the Luminous Engine Graphics Configuration Tool that was found in the demo version of Final Fantasy XV. Thanks to this tool, which now works with the final/retail version, PC gamers can go beyond the in-game graphics presets and enable some hidden options.

>>Download the tool from Nexus Mods.

Skyrim’s rocks receive the photogrammetry treatment with this new 4K Texture Pack
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/skyrims-rocks-receive-the-photogrammetry-treatment-with-this-new-4k-texture-pack/
Modder ‘JD’ has released a brand new 4K texture pack for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim that greatly overhauls its rocks. JD has used photogrammetric images of rocks and replaced the original and blurry textures with them.

>>This mod is also available from Nexus Mods.

GAMING NEWS

PC games with minor ray tracing capabilities will come out in 2018
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/pc-games-with-minor-ray-tracing-capabilities-will-come-out-in-2018/
Toni Tamasi, senior vice president of content and technology at Nvidia, told Fudzilla that the first PC games with support for ray tracing will come out later this year. As Tamasi claimed, these first games will not be completely ray traced but instead a combination of traditional shader/rasterization with ray tracing.

Here are 7 minutes of gameplay footage from Valve’s DOTA 2 card game, Artifact
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-7-minutes-of-gameplay-footage-from-valves-dota-2-card-game-artifact/
Gamespot has shared a video, showing 7 minutes of gameplay footage from Valve’s upcoming DOTA 2-themed card game, Artifact. The gameplay of Artifact is to build a deck of collectable cards, obtained primarily via trading, in order to defeat an opponent in a 1v1 situation, and this video will give you an idea of what you can expect.

New combat gameplay alpha video released for Rune: Ragnarok
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-combat-gameplay-alpha-video-released-for-rune-ragnarok/
Human Head Studios has released a new gameplay video for Rune: Ragnarok that, like its previous videos, focuses on the game’s combat system. This video was captured from its alpha build and as we can see, it still looks really rough.

Hello Games is working on No Man’s Sky Next, the next major free update for No Man’s Sky
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/hello-games-is-working-on-no-mans-sky-next-the-next-major-free-update-for-no-mans-sky/
Hello Games today announced that No Man’s Sky Next is deep in development as another free update for all existing players. As the press release reads, millions of gamers worldwide have already spent hundreds of millions of hours voyaging across its vast, procedurally-generated sandbox universe – exploring, trading and fighting in a living breathing universe.

>>I'm honestly surprised to find out that they're still working on it.

Jurassic World Evolution will not have mod support at launch
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/jurassic-world-evolution-will-not-have-mod-support-at-launch/
Frontier’s upcoming dino park builder, Jurassic World Evolution, will release this Summer and according to its development team, it will not support mods at launch. Not only that, but players will not be able to upload and share their own creations.

>>

MotoGP 18 releases on June 7th, first official screenshots and details
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/motogp-18-releases-on-june-7th-first-official-screenshots-and-details/
Milestone and Dorna Sports announced today that the successful MotoGP franchise is continuing with a new chapter, MotoGP 18, which will be released on June 7th. MotoGP 18 will give players the opportunity to take part in the best motorcycle racing show on earth, featuring all the official content from 2018 MotoGP season and exclusive improved features which will set a completely new level of realism and immersion.

God Eater 3 gets an official announcement gameplay trailer + new screenshots
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/god-eater-3-gets-an-official-announcement-gameplay-trailer-new-screenshots/
A few days ago, we informed you about God Eater 3 coming to the PC. And today, Bandai Namco released the announcement gameplay trailer for it, officially revealing the PC/Steam version.

New beautiful screenshots for CODE VEIN released
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/new-beautiful-screenshots-for-code-vein-released/
Bandai Namco has released a new set of screenshots for CODE VEIN, showcasing a new enemy and some of the game’s characters, as well as some of the environments. CODE VEIN gives players the chance to answer requests for help from other Revenants finding difficulty battling against the Lost.

Jurassic World Evolution – Preliminary Minimum PC Requirements + New Screenshots
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/jurassic-world-evolution-preliminary-minumum-pc-requirements-new-screenshots/
The official Steam store page for Jurassic World Evolution has revealed some brand new screenshots, as well as the game’s preliminary minimum PC requirements. According to the specs, PC gamers will at least need an Intel i5-2300 or an AMD FX-4300 with 8GB of RAM and an NVIDIA GTX 650 or an AMD Radeon 7850.

Part two of the news:

You can play de_dust2 in Far Cry Arcade
https://www.pcgamer.com/you-can-play-de-dust2-in-far-cry-arcades-multiplayer/
Far Cry Arcade's map-making tools have already been put to good use. Mythic Counter-Strike map de_dust2 now exists in Far Cry Arcade's competitive multiplayer map pool, an impressive recreation by user Izoolee. Have a look for yourself in the video below, in which YouTuber Widdz plays a match on the custom map. You can see him look for the usual sightlines and, impressively, most of them are there.

Watch 30 minutes of Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden gameplay
https://www.pcgamer.com/watch-30-minutes-of-mutant-year-zero-road-to-eden-gameplay/
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden came to our attention last month by way of a Stalker-scented countdown that was ultimately revealed as a tactical combat game in the style of XCOM, set in a post-apocalyptic world populated by mutants that look like Fallout versions of Looney Tunes. Wes took a closer look at it earlier today and not to put too fine a point on it, but he think it's going to be "really fucking cool."

Edmund McMillen says Mewgenics work is 'in effect' but still a few years away
https://www.pcgamer.com/edmund-mcmillen-says-mewgenics-work-is-in-effect-but-still-a-few-years-away/
Cutesy cat game Mewgenics was announced way back in 2012, after which it was delayed, canceled, and then in January of this year, brought back to life under slightly new management. With Team Meat cohorts Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes having parted ways, McMillen is now working on Mewgenics with The End is Nigh co-creator Tyler Glaiel. And despite the glacial pace of development so far, McMillen said they are in fact getting down to work on it.

Rocket League is getting 'Chat Bans' in next month's Tournaments Update
https://www.pcgamer.com/rocket-league-is-getting-chat-bans-in-next-months-tournaments-update/
Psyonix is taking new steps to combat bad behavior in Rocket League with a "Chat Bans" system that will be added as part of the upcoming Tournaments Update. The studio said the system is "the new first step in addressing abusive language and toxic behavior in game."

Red Faction: Guerrilla is coming back in a 'Re-Mars-tered' edition
https://www.pcgamer.com/red-faction-guerrilla-is-coming-back-in-a-re-mars-tered-edition/
THQ Nordic has announced plans to bring back another old-time THQ classic with another weird, tongue-twisting title: Red Faction: Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered will feature updated graphics with improved lighting, shading, post-processing effects, and support for 4K resolutions.

"PC games with minor ray tracing capabilities will come out in 2018"
"Here are 7 minutes of gameplay footage from Valve’s DOTA 2 card game, Artifact"
Make it happen, Valve.

Ray tracing will allow us to create environments and scenes that were once seen as impossible (very, very hard) to make.
We will probably have to wait until it can be done quickly on cheap hardware though.

For now, it will hopefully help remove SSR artifacts, on glossy surfaces (like large bodies of water).
Whilst also improving the correctness of AO, shadows, and lighting.

Oh and also: miners can have all the HDDs they want.
As long as they stay away from the SSDs.