JEMC said: VGPolyglot said: Yay!!! A free game! I always love those They're actually two free games: Eador. Masters of the Broken World from Steam and Satellite Reign from the Humble Store. But maybe we can add a third one... Here's a free game to add to your GOG account: Constructor (1997). Go here, log in to your account and add it: https://www.gog.com/redeem/ZVSYRAFB?pp=

Plus Peggle on Origin.

All Kickstarter backers of "Shantae: Half-Genie Hero" got a free Steam code for the Ultimate Edition (includes all DLC and other extras) today... additional to their chosen platform.

That's perfect. Now I can play Shantae: Half-Genie Hero with all DLCs on my Vitas on the go and on my PC in 4K at home. All I payed back then was €11 and I got the main game + all DLCs (worth €40 to €55 depending on the platform) + backer exclusive content + the Ultimate Edition (probably around 30 bucks) on a second platform! And backers could play the main game and each DLC one week before the official release.

Wayforward restored my believe in crowdfunding!

Lucky you.

JEMC said: VGPolyglot said: Yay!!! A free game! I always love those They're actually two free games: Eador. Masters of the Broken World from Steam and Satellite Reign from the Humble Store. But maybe we can add a third one...   Here's a free game to add to your GOG account: Constructor (1997). Go here, log in to your account and add it: https://www.gog.com/redeem/ZVSYRAFB?pp=

Thanks!

JEMC said: VGPolyglot said: Yay!!! A free game! I always love those They're actually two free games: Eador. Masters of the Broken World from Steam and Satellite Reign from the Humble Store. But maybe we can add a third one...   Here's a free game to add to your GOG account: Constructor (1997). Go here, log in to your account and add it: https://www.gog.com/redeem/ZVSYRAFB?pp=

Boooooo

Got all of them already (though Eador only on GOG), so no luck for me

After coming back from vacation my sound on my GPC is completely fucked up. It basically is per default turned of and only springs to live for a fraction of a second every few seconds. If I try to turn it on it immediately shuts itself off again.

Tried to reinstall the sound driver, but it didn't work. Anyone else knows something about this?

edit: Seems to have something to do with my Stardock Acoustic Bridge. Uninstalled it and now it works again. But I need it. Unless somebody knows a better software solution.

edit2: bought myself a little amp now to hopefully compliment my passive mixer and finally get all my mixing dreams true. Still can't believe that something as simple as mixing analog sounds is that complex, niche and expensive.

. At least you managed to play them before us.... because you've played them, right?

Hi, there. Looks like our favorite gaijin is back! I hope you had fun.

Sorry about your computer problems.

Anyway, yesterday my main router decided to die. It made some whinning noises for a while and yesterday, after the light went of an on three or four times, it didn't came back to life. A whole day without internet!

Thankfully, nothing happened.

This morning I called my internet provider and a few hours later I got my new router installed. Yay!

Let's go with the news!

SALES & "SALES"/DEALS

Star Citizen surpasses two million players, version 3.3.0 planned for a Q3 2018 release
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/star-citizen-surpasses-two-million-players-version-3-3-0-planned-for-a-q3-2018-release/
Cloud Imperium has announced that Star Citizen has surpassed two million players and in order to celebrate this, it is releasing special badges to commemorate your dedication and engagement. In addition, the team has updated its roadmap, revealing the target windows for versions 3.3.0, 3.4.0 and 3.5.0.

>>With so many backers it "only" has two million players? That's odd.

Manhunt and survival battle-royale game, Darwin Project, is now free to play on Steam
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/manhunt-and-survival-battle-royale-game-darwin-project-is-now-free-to-play-on-steam/
Scavengers Studio has announced that its manhunt and survival battle-royale game, Darwin Project, is now free to play on Steam. This decision was made in order to bring more players to the game and make it easier to find matches in lesser populated servers.

GOG's "The Most Wanted Sale" ends in a few hours, and that means that they already have new deals for us:

• The daily deal is Pharaonic, 66% off: https://www.gog.com/game/pharaonic
• The new weekly sale is called "I got a plan", featuring lots of strategy games up to 90% off: https://www.gog.com/promo/20180523_weekly_sale

At Steam, the daily deal is the Early Access title Clone Drone in the Danger Zone, 34% off: http://store.steampowered.com/app/597170/Clone_Drone_in_the_Danger_Zone/.

SOFTWARE

Valve loses final appeal in Australian lawsuit, on the hook for $2.4 million fine
https://www.pcgamer.com/valve-loses-final-appeal-in-australian-lawsuit-on-the-hook-for-dollar24-million-fine/
Australia's High Court has upheld a ruling against Valve in a lawsuit filed against it in 2014 by Australia's Competition and Consumer Commission over the lack of a refund policy on Steam. The ACCC won the suit in 2016, and came out on top again a year later when Valve's first appeal was dismissed.

>>That's pocket change for Gabe.

MODS/EMULATORS

Here are God of War: Ascension and inFAMOUS 2 running on the PC thanks to RPCS3
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-god-of-war-ascension-and-infamous-2-running-on-the-pc-thanks-to-rpcs3/
John GodGames Emus has shared some videos, showing God of War: Ascension, inFAMOUS 2 and Warriors: Legends of Troy running on the best emulator for Playstation 3, RPCS3. Now before continuing, let me make this clear: these games are far from being playable, have graphical artifacts and lag like crazy.

>>But those are not the only games shown running on RPCS3, The Last of Us and Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge, Haze and Demon’s Souls have been shown too.

Halo Online ElDewrito 0.6 is now available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/halo-online-eldewrito-0-6-is-now-available-for-download/
The moment a lot of Halo PC fans have been waiting for has finally come. After two years, the team behind ElDewrito has released a new version of its amazing mod for Halo Online that is available for download right now.
ElDewrito is a community-made mod for Halo Online allowing multiplayer games to be played in player-hosted servers and aims to restore removed features, fix bugs and glitches, and add mod support. This mod has multiple server browsers, player and emblem customization, stat tracking, ranked and social servers (as well as an in-beta ranking system). Anyone can host custom servers – as a host player, or with a built-in dedicated server functionality, along with map/gametype voting functionality.

>>If you're interested, you can download it from mega or mediafire.

Beyond Skyrim's latest trailer shows the ambitious mod's take on the Breton and Redguard homelands
https://www.pcgamer.com/beyond-skyrims-latest-trailer-shows-the-ambitious-mods-take-on-the-breton-and-redguard-homelands/
I can't help but get excited every time I see something new come out of Beyond Skyrim, the massively ambitious mod that aims to recreate the whole of Cyrodil—all nine provinces—in the Fourth Era, when Skyrim is set. The idea is that you'll be able to load up the base game and wander wherever you want, crossing between borders at your leisure. Whether it'll all come to fruition remains to be seen, but the development team have already recreated Bruma, the city in Cyrodil, which at least shows that they're making progress. In the latest trailer, the team show off their plans for the provinces of Hammerfell and Highrock, the homelands of the Redguard and Bretons respectively.

Resident Evil 4 HD Project mod remakes The Island, prepares for something 'BIG'
https://www.pcgamer.com/resident-evil-4-hd-project-mod-remakes-the-island-prepares-for-something-big/
This time last year, the ever-impressive Resident Evil 4 HD Project remade Salazar's Castle to great effect—and followed up with the action horror game's opening village level shortly after. After teasing their work-in-progress dynamic lighting adjustments on The Island last month, project lead Albert has now marked the final zone as complete, as are a glut of "boring and time-consuming mini-tasks".

Darkest Dungeon class mod adds Dark Souls Darkwraith
https://www.pcgamer.com/darkest-dungeon-class-mod-adds-dark-souls-darkwraiths/
Courtesy of modder Carnifex—the person responsible for adding Solaire of Astora into Red Hook's brutally unforgiving tactical role-player—the Darkwraith Class Mod introduces the "most cruel dungeon invader", inspired by their appearance in the original Dark Souls.

GAMING NEWS

Capcom may be working on a new Dead Rising game
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/capcom-may-be-working-on-a-new-dead-rising-game/
It appears that Capcom may be working on a brand new Dead Rising game. Earlier today, Capcom announced that it will shut down Puzzle Fighter on July 31st and as the Japanese company stated, it will be now dedicating the focus of its Vancouver studio to its flagship Dead Rising franchise.

New beautiful Assetto Corsa Competizione screenshots released
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/new-beautiful-assetto-corsa-competizione-screenshots-released/
KUNOS Simulazioni has released a new set of screenshots for its new racing game that will be released this Summer on Steam Early Access, Assetto Corsa Competizione. Assetto Corsa Competizione is the new official game of the Blancpain GT series, named after world-renowned Swiss watch manufacture Blancpain and organized by SRO Motorsports Group.

>>And they released even more screenshots.

Wreckfest – April update is now available, adds more customization parts, improves environment art
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/wreckfest-april-update-is-now-available-adds-more-customization-parts-improves-environment-art/
Bugbear has released a brand new update for its demolition derby themed racing game, Wreckfest. According to the release notes, this April patch contains some new cool content such as the short route variant for Tarmac 1 (yes, finally!) and more customization parts for cars as well as important usability and gameplay improvements.

Ex-Ubisoft creative director says that every online shooter will have a battle-royale mode within a year
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/ex-ubisoft-creative-director-says-that-every-online-shooter-will-have-a-battle-royale-mode-within-a-year/
Alex Hutchinson, former creative director at Ubisoft Montreal who has worked in triple-A games like Far Cry 4 and Assassin’s Creed 3, claimed that pretty much all online shooters will feature a battle-royale mode within a year.

>>That almost looks like a menace.

Valve has acquired the developers of Firewatch, Campo Santo
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/valve-has-acquired-firewatch-developer-campo-santo/
Valve has announced that it has acquired the developers behind the single-player first-person ‘walking simulator’, Firewatch. The twelve people of Campo Santo will join Valve and will keep working on video-games. The team will continue supporting Firewatch and will keep working on its upcoming title, In the Valley of Gods.

Stormdivers is a new multiplayer-focused game from the creators of Nex Machina & Resogun
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/stormdivers-is-a-new-multiplayer-foucsed-game-from-the-creators-of-nex-machina-resogun/
Housemarque, developers of Nex Macina and Resogun, has announced its latest game, Stormdivers. Although we don’t have enough details about it, the game will be powered by Unreal Engine 4 and promises to offer a heavy hitting multiplayer centric experience.

Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA – First beta patch available, contains shader optimizations
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/ys-viii-lacrimosa-of-dana-first-beta-patch-available-contains-shader-optimizations/
NIS America and Nihon Falcom have released the first beta patch for the PC version of Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA. As the companies noted, this is a preview of the fixes that the developers are working on, and is not as stable as the default branch (meaning that players may experience some crashes).

Metro Exodus – Raytracing versus Rasterization comparison video (off-screen)
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/metro-exodus-raytracing-versus-rasterization-comparison-video-off-screen/
Last month, 4A Games announced that Metro Exodus will support real-time raytracing thanks to NVIDIA’s RTX. 4A Games will be using true raytracing to render both Ambient Occlusion and Indirect Lighting in full real-time, and the off-screen video below – courtesy of PCGamesHardware – showcases the benefits of it.

Earth Defense Force 4.1 Wingdiver the Shooter is coming to Steam on April 26th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/earth-defense-force-4-1-wingdiver-the-shooter-is-coming-to-steam-on-april-26th/
D3 Publisher has announced that its Earth Defense Force 4.1 THE SHADOW OF NEW DESPAIR 3D top-down shoot ’em up spinoff, Earth Defense Force 4.1 Wingdiver the Shooter, is coming to Steam on April 26th. In it, players will step into the shoes of a soldier in Pale Team, an elite branch of the EDF’s Wing Diver division, and once again fight in the world featured in 4.1.

Kickstarter launched for Solar Warden; space combat game from Star Citizen’s ex-lead technical designer
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/kickstarter-launched-for-solar-warden-space-combat-game-from-star-citizen-ex-lead-technical-designer/
Polar Zenith has launched a Kickstarter campaign for its upcoming six-degrees-of-freedom space combat game, Solar Warden. Solar Warden is being created by the former lead technical designer of Star Citizen and promises to feature an overarching campaign with real-time strategy elements.

Overload, six-degree-of-freedom tunnel shooter from the creators of Descent, releases on May 31st
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/overload-six-degree-of-freedom-tunnel-shooter-from-the-creators-of-descent-releases-on-may-31st/
Revival Productions announced that Overload, the new six-degree-of-freedom tunnel shooter from the original creators of the critically-acclaimed 90s classic Descent, will be available for PC (Windows, Mac, & Linux) beginning May 31st for $34.99.

Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia gets a new cinematic trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/total-war-saga-thrones-of-britannia-gets-a-new-cinematic-trailer/
SEGA and Creative Assembly have released a brand new cinematic trailer for Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia. As the press release reads, the next release from the multi-award-winning Total War strategy series takes England and the British Isles as its setting, during a time of great change that would come to define it.

Monday news, part two:

Blizzard accidentally revealed that Overwatch's Horizon Lunar Colony map is getting a major rework
https://www.pcgamer.com/blizzard-accidentally-revealed-that-overwatchs-horizon-lunar-colony-map-is-getting-a-major-rework/
Horizon Lunar Colony is one of Overwatch's most-hated maps.
It looks like Blizzard has taken notice, as a map rework is currently underway, dramatically changing the potential attack and defense avenues surrounding each point. Several flanking routes have been changed—some opened, some closed—and there's more available high-ground access sports.

Hollow Knight Lifeblood update now available, Gods & Glory DLC 'coming together'
https://www.pcgamer.com/hollow-knight-lifeblood-update-now-available-gods-and-glory-dlc-coming-together/
Hollow Knight's long-awaited Lifeblood update is now available, developer Team Cherry announced today. If you purchased the game through Steam or GOG Galaxy, it will automatically update. DRM-free GOG and Humble buyers will need to download an updated version from their respective storefronts.

Side-scroller Aura of Worlds opens its ever-changing labyrinth next week
https://www.pcgamer.com/side-scroller-aura-of-worlds-opens-its-ever-changing-labyrinth-next-week/
Shaun played a bit of Aura of Worlds at PAX Australia last year and found it rather promising, calling it a neat randomly generated side-scroller with a focus on improvised weapons. After a stay in early access on Itch, Aura of Worlds will enter Steam Early Access on Tuesday, April 24, developer Cognitive Forge announced today.

Edmund McMillen's next game, The Legend of Bum-bo, gets its first trailer
https://www.pcgamer.com/edmund-mcmillens-next-game-the-legend-of-bum-bo-gets-its-first-trailer/
The Binding of Isaac creator Edmund McMillen first teased The Legend of Bum-bo in March 2016 as a "turn-based puzzle RPG thingy that's randomly generated," and this January confirmed it had been delayed to the second half 2018. Today, McMillen and co-creator James Id revealed the first trailer for Bum-bo in a Tumblr post outlining the gist of the game.

Hearthstone game director Ben Brode is leaving Blizzard
https://www.pcgamer.com/hearthstone-game-director-ben-brode-is-leaving-blizzard/
Ben Brode, game director on Hearthstone and rapmeister extraordinaire, is leaving Blizzard. Brode dropped the surprise announcement today in a message saying that he's going to help start a new company that will "probably make games."

>>They should have used a better pic in that article...

After giving up on arcade games, it sounds like Housemarque is making a battle royale
https://www.pcgamer.com/having-given-up-on-arcade-games-it-sounds-like-housemarque-is-making-a-battle-royale/
"Arcade is dead," Housemarque said in January following poor sales of its latest arcade shooter Nex Machina (which was a very, very good game). After years of focusing on shoot 'em ups like Resogun and Dead Nation, the Finnish developer was on the hunt for a new genre—and it appears to have settled on battle royale.

Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire director urges RPG developers to be more 'radical', says some fans 'resistant to change'
https://www.pcgamer.com/pillars-of-eternity-2-deadfire-director-urges-rpg-developers-to-be-more-radical-says-some-fans-resistant-to-change/
Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire is just over two weeks away, and I can't wait. The first game was an homage to classic RPGs like Baldur’s Gate, Icewind Dale, and Planescape: Torment, and that was part of why players loved it so much. But the man in charge of directing it, Obsidian's Josh Sawyer, says that the genre needs to be more "radical", and that both Pillars 1 and 2 are "contributing to the problem" of a lack of innovation.

Iratus: Lord of the Dead, an RPG inspired by Darkest Dungeon, is heading to Kickstarter next month
https://www.pcgamer.com/iratus-lord-of-the-dead-an-rpg-inspired-by-darkest-dungeon-is-heading-to-kickstarter-next-month/
Iratus: Lord of the Dead is a roguelike inspired by Darkest Dungeon, the party-based dungeon crawler from 2016, and I can think of worse games to emulate.
The game is largely complete, but the team plan to launch a Kickstarter at the start of next month. They're searching for $10,000 so they can "polish it up and perhaps add some extra content", they said in a Steam post.

Super Mega Baseball 2 out on May 1, final reveal video shows off new focus on realism
https://www.pcgamer.com/super-mega-baseball-2-out-on-may-1-final-reveal-video-shows-off-new-focus-on-realism/
If you want to play a PC baseball management sim, you grab Out of the Park Baseball. If you want to actually get on the field, then Super Mega Baseball is, in my opinion, your best bet. The long-awaited sequel finally got a release date this week—May 1—alongside a video detailing how developer Metalhead Software has upped the realism this time around.

Upcoming PUBG weapons patch aims to stop players using assault rifles all the time
https://www.pcgamer.com/upcoming-pubg-weapons-patch-aims-to-stop-players-using-assault-rifles-all-the-time/
Assault rifles rule the roost in PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, and developer Bluehole wants to change that. In a Steam post, it said that an upcoming weapons balance patch will ensure that weapon choice is down to personal preference and the situation at hand, rather than just which gun is strongest. In other words, certain assault rifles will be nerfed, or the other weapons will receive buffs.

Next Stellaris update will overhaul anomalies and add multi-star systems
https://www.pcgamer.com/next-stellaris-update-will-overhaul-anomalies-and-add-multi-star-systems/
Stellaris, which we chose as one of the best strategy games on PC earlier this month, will overhaul the way that anomalies work in an upcoming update and introduce multi-star systems for the first time, developer Paradox Interactive has announced. The 2.1 update, called Niven, will remove the chance of failure when researching anomalies, which are points of interests on planets that can grant bonuses when investigated.

Pretty Metroidvania Faeland jumps onto Kickstarter
https://www.pcgamer.com/pretty-metroidvania-faeland-swings-onto-kickstarter/
Faeland's pretty pixel art first caught my eye in January when it was just a teaser trailer, but now it's come to Kickstarter with a prototype build in search of $29,000. It calls itself a "Metroidvania action adventure RPG", which is to say you travel back and forth between its various towns and villages, delve into castles and forests, solve puzzles, jump between platforms, slay enemies, fight bosses, unlock new areas and complete side quests to get better weapons and armour.

Knuckle Sandwich, the RPG about fast food and cults, smashes Kickstarter goal in 12 hours
https://www.pcgamer.com/knuckle-sandwich-the-rpg-about-fast-food-and-cults-smashes-kickstarter-goal-in-12-hours/
Knuckle Sandwich, the absurd, minigame-laden RPG about a boy working in a run-down diner, landed on Kickstarter earlier this week, and hit its $25,000 AUD (roughly $19,000) goal within 12 hours.
Tom compared it to EarthBound, the psychedelic 1994 SNES RPG, when he played a portion of it in 2015, while creator Andrew Brophy cites inspirations including Pokémon, Dragon Ball, Fargo, The Big Sleep, and American Psycho. Mix them all together and you get a surreal RPG involving a missing persons mystery and a fanatic cult.

Yoku's Island Express, the Sonic Spinball meets Studio Ghibli sidescroller, has a release date
https://www.pcgamer.com/yokus-island-express-the-sonic-spinball-meets-studio-ghibli-sidescroller-has-a-release-date/
I'm draugr-deep in God of War at the moment. And having spent the last few months committing crimes all over Los Santos—I most recently murdered a song—the idea of unwinding with pleasant and colourful games like Yoku's Island Express appeals to me. It's due on PC next month.

Final Fantasy 7 remake aims for 'quality that surpasses the original'
https://www.pcgamer.com/final-fantasy-7-remake-aims-for-quality-that-surpasses-the-original/
As reported by Gematsu (via IGN), new job postings for a Battle Planner and Level Planner reiterate the game is being made in-house, and that it'll be a "new Final Fantasy VII, not limited to a simple remake."
The original job post—featured here, translated by Gematsu here—doesn't mention the final game will be spread over multiple parts, however this is still thought to be the case. What the post does say is that the FF7 remake will blend action elements with traditional role-playing mechanics as it "preserve(s) the existing concepts users hold while creating a new world view."

>>I'm starting to doubt the game will come even during the PS5/X2 gen.

I played the heck out of Eador, I'm at over 320 hours according to Raptr, Bit less out of Constructor (I preferred it's sequel Mob Wars) and Satellite Reign

The solution with the amp on my passive mixer actually worked like a charm. That makes my setup finally complete.

Which means I had finally time to jump into FC5. It's not a bad game. It's polished, it has a good amount of content, it runs well on PC and it doesn't look terrible.

However I do not feel the same feeling of adventure and unlimited possibilities. It feels very bland and I don't even think it's the setting's fault. I'm certainly a bit fatigued by Ubisoft open world games but I think the main reason for my disinterest is the new level system.

Before this you just had a simple skill tree and you unlocked skills by leveling or doing certain quests. Now they bind all your skill points to challenges which stretch across all aspects of the game. That means if you really want to develop all your skills you have to play like the game wants you to play instead of doing your own thing and grind xp however you want. As a bow and arrow player it hurts me to be forced to kill people with explosives or machine guns. It's like forcing a mage to defeat aboss with a knife so he can upgrade his fireball. It's just moronic.

Now I just feel restrained, the opposite I should feel in an open world game. Getting absolutely nothing from killing people doesn't help it either. It feels like Oblivion or BOTW where you're actually punished for playing the game.

It's really sad because the setting and story and most of the missions are really engaging. And they fuck it all up by changing a simple thing that worked so well in all previous games.