Shining Force! On mobile... *sigh* For God's Sake!

For the retro lovers out there, here's something for you:

The Amiga 500 is getting a miniature console makeover
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/the-amiga-500-is-getting-a-miniature-console-makeover/

Commodore's classic Amiga 500 computer is getting an itty-bitty console remake.

Retro Games—the brain behind the Commodore 64 Mini—has created the A500 Mini, due to hit shelves in early 2022. It'll set you back around $139.99 / £119.99 and comes with a nice remake of the 2-button mouse and an 8-button gamepad. While the console has a decorative keyboard, you'll need to plug in one of your own for actual functionality.

The A500 Mini comes pre-loaded with 25 games like Worms, Another World and Simon the Sorcerer, but you can also pop a USB flash drive in and load up your own ROMs. Full WHDLoad support is included too, as well as classic emulation save states.

Only 12 of the 25 games have actually been announced so far, but here's the current list:

• Alien Breed 3D
• Another World
• ATR: All Terrain Racing
• Battle Chess
• Cadaver
• Kick Off 2
• Pinball Dreams
• Simon the Sorcerer
• Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe
• The Chaos Engine
• Worms: The Director's Cut
• Zool: Ninja of the "Nth" Dimension

I find it a tad expensive, but who am I to judge.

I had almost forgotten, how painfully slow every disc operation on PS3 is.

Even deleting a single game from the HDD can take minutes... is the PS3 scrubbing every bit?

The system backup of my 90% filled 1 TB HDD is already running for 13 hours to reach 50%... probably another 11 - 15 hours to complete it.

Yeah, that's not exactly cheap.

Then again, even just those 12 games are really worth playing and includes both a classic-looking Amiga mouse and a controller based on the CD32 controller.

Then then again, some of them have a DOS version on GOG

We'll have to see what the other games are - and what they are actually emulating here: the OCS from the Amiga 500 from which it gets it's name, the slightly better ECS or the AGA, which is much more powerful but for which only a handful of games have been made? Technically probably the latter, but I fear most games only come with OCS versions.

Oh, my. Looks like they already have one interested in the console .

I'm sorry for you, Conina, that's awfully slow. Well, I doubt you're using your PS3 much nowadays.

I must say, I am tempted to get the Samsung Neo G9

https://www.samsung.com/us/computing/monitors/gaming/49--odyssey-g95na-gaming-dqhd-led-monitor-ls49ag952nnxza/

Now it costs a lot, more than some OLED TVs but it does come with a lot of goodies like Mini-LED, 240 hz and HDR with up to 2000 nits of brightness. Mini-LED of course is much more competitive against OLED than the typical IPS panel. And the reviews have been very positive about the monitor. The really cool thing about it is the fact that you can do Picture by Picture mode. So on one side, you can have your PC at 1440p resolution and on the other side, you can have a console via HDMI 2.1. And it's one of the rare times that the CAD price is the same as the USD price. 

My biggest urghness other than the hefty price would of course be the fact that it's 49 inch super ultrawide. That means other than some games that support that aspect ratio, most content out there don't. So it will probably be a pass. Still quite tempting though.

Yeah the Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 looks like a great monitor and probably as future proof as you can get right now.

Love my Odyssey G7 and this would be a massive upgrade from that. That FALD implementation in the Neo G9 looks fantastic; from the reviews and probably won't be surpassed for some time. The only thing is the high cost, though if you have the funds.. this is surely one of the best that money you can buy. I'm really hoping to see mini-LEDs in the future.. and available in more models though it looks like the super high end is where its at atm for these FALD monitors.

If you're deliberating over price, it might be worth waiting a bit. Prices generally drop quite rapidly on monitors after release.

I actually bought one on a whim for a PC in my home due to the price and having good experiences with Crucial SSD's in the past... Still got an MX500 SATA SSD  somewhere floating around.

Realized it didn't have any Ram and returned it in favor of a 1TB Samsung 980 Pro.

But for the price, it's actually not a BAD SSD. I'm just a bit more fickle when it comes to storage, even sneering at particular brands due to a 1% higher failure rate via backblaze.

Crucial is definitely winning budget orientated gamers though, no doubt.

The Wednesday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

GOG has a new sale and also sees some new releases:

• The new Midweek Sale brings up to 90% discounts on platformers: https://www.gog.com/promo/20210811_midweek_sale
• The game Black Book launches with a 15% discount until August 17: https://www.gog.com/game/black_book
• And the game Later Daters arrives with a 30% discount until August 18: https://www.gog.com/game/later_daters

Steam has two new deals and also another two Midweek Madness deals not featured yesterday:

• The new daily deal is the King's Bounty Franchise, up to 75% off: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/KingsBountyFranchise
• The Darksiders Franchise is one of the new Midweek Madness deals, with up to 85% discounts until Friday: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/DarksidersFranchiseSale
• The other Midweek Madness deal is PAYDAY 2, free to try during the next 4 days and also 50% off until Monday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/218620/PAYDAY_2/
• Finally, the game West of Loathing will be 44% off until Monday, the 16th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/597220/West_of_Loathing/

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Unofficial Grand Theft Auto Vice City Remaster in RAGE Engine released
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/unofficial-grand-theft-auto-vice-city-remaster-in-rage-engine-released/
Back in 2020, we informed you about a fan remaster/port of Grand Theft Auto Vice City in the RAGE Engine. And today, we are happy to report that RevTeam has released a brand new version of their demo for it.
In case you weren’t aware of, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City 2 is a global modification based on the GTA IV (RAGE) engine. Basically, think of it as a high-quality remaster/remake of the original game. As such, it will feature all of the original missions, weapons and enemies.
The demo version that is currently available has two payphone missions with proper gameplay mechanics. Moreover, it comes with 20 hidden packages, 10 unique jumps and seven radio stations.
(...)
You can download Grand Theft Auto: Vice City 2 from here, and its latest patch from here.
>> If you're really interested, I'd grab it fast given how Take 2 has been acting as of late. More on that below.

GAMING NEWS

Here are 16 minutes of new gameplay footage for Tales of Arise
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-16-minutes-of-new-gameplay-footage-for-tales-of-arise/
GameInformer has shared a new video, showing 16 minutes of gameplay footage from Tales of Arise. This video shows off the game’s early Lord Balseph boss fight. Thus, and if you don’t want to know much about that particular fight, you should simply skip it.

Diablo 2 Resurrected Open Beta weekend launches on August 20th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/diablo-2-resurrected-open-beta-weekend-launches-on-august-20th/
Blizzard has just announced that the Open Beta weekend for Diablo 2 Resurrected will begin on August 20th. During this weekend, all gamers will be able to download and play the game’s beta build.
>> The leak from the MSoft Store was slightly incorrect, as it stated that it would being on the 17th.

Here are 11 minutes of gameplay footage from Forza Horizon 5
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-11-minutes-of-gameplay-footage-from-forza-horizon-5/
YouTube’s ‘Don Joewon Song’ has shared a video, showing 11 minutes of gameplay footage from Forza Horizon 5 in 4K. This video will give you a glimpse of the full Forza Horizon 5 map and the new 2020 Toyota Supra car. Moreover, it includes some customization (new body kits, new rims and the HKS widebody kit).

Aragami 2 gets a story trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/aragami-2-gets-a-story-trailer/
Lince Works has released a brand new Aragami 2 story trailer that introduces the main protagonist and pulls players into the intense conflict that sets the stage for this ambitious sequel.

Faith of Danschant: Hereafter will support Ray Tracing Reflections, Ambient Occlusion, Shadows & Global Illumination
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/faith-of-danschant-hereafter-will-support-ray-tracing-reflections-ambient-occlusion-shadows-global-illumination/
NVIDIA and Beijing Joyfun announced that Faith of Danschant: Hereafter will support Ray Tracing effects. According to the green team, the game will support Ray Tracing Reflections, Shadows, Ambient Occlusion and Global Illumination.

After 14 hours from its supposed gameplay debut, Abandoned has become one of the best trolling jokes ever
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/after-14-hours-from-its-supposed-gameplay-debut-abandoned-has-become-one-of-the-best-trolling-jokes-ever/
Blue Box Game Studios was supposed to reveal the first in-engine/gameplay/trailer for Abandoned yesterday. However, and after yet another delay, Abandoned has become one of the best trolling jokes ever.

Final Fantasy XI Online August Update released and detailed
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/final-fantasy-xi-online-august-update-released-and-detailed/
Square Enix today released the August update for Final Fantasy XI Online, featuring the latest update to The Voracious Resurgence storyline. This month’s update also brings a number of exciting campaigns and in-game events.

The news, the sequel:

Crafty Apex Legends players are managing to make Seer's ultimate even scarier
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/crafty-apex-legends-players-are-managing-to-make-seers-ultimate-even-scarier/
A crafty Apex Legends player has sussed out a neat trick to give Seer's ultimate an even bigger boost.

Superman's in Fortnite now, here's how to get him
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/superman-fortnite/
The Man of Steel himself has landed in Fortnite. The Superman skin is finally available for Season 7 battle pass holders, but much like previous seasons, you'll need to complete a few Superman challenges to unlock it.

Dr Disrespect is starting his own game development studio
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/dr-disrespect-is-starting-his-own-game-development-studio/
Guy "Dr Disrespect" Beahm is looking to launch his own game development studio, according to a job posting listed on his Champion's Club website. It's a major but in some ways unsurprising move for the streamer, considering he used to work at Call of Duty developer Activision as a level designer before deciding to spend his life wearing a wig and sunglasses.

Further Take-Two copyright notices fan GTA 3 remake rumors
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/further-take-two-copyright-notices-fan-gta-3-remake-rumors/
Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two has issued copyright takedown notices for several mods on LibertyCity.net, according to a post from the site. The mods either inserted content from older Rockstar games into newer ones, or combined content from similar Rockstar games into one larger game. The mods included material from Grand Theft Auto 3, San Andreas, Vice City, Mahunt, and Bully.

Players are unhappy about Rocket League's new casual mode rules
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/players-are-unhappy-about-rocket-leagues-new-casual-mode-rules/
Rocket League Season 4 starts this Wednesday, and along with the competitive rank reset and new cosmetic items, Psyonix has tucked in a change to the casual playlists: Players will now be penalized if they abandon more than one casual match per day.
Over on the Rocket League subreddit, many players are expressing confusion and disappointment. One of the top posts with 12.9K upvotes is titled: "No one asked for this. Its CASUAL for a reason."
>> Yoiu can read Psyonix response in the article.

Here's when Naraka: Bladepoint unlocks in your time zone
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/naraka-bladepoint-release-time-date-steam-unlock/
It's almost time for a battle royale with blades, parkour, and grappling hooks. Sixty-player action game Naraka: Bladepoint releases on August 11, and it's poised to be big. The battle royale pulled in more than 120,000 concurrent players in a beta test earlier this year, and it's launching simultaneously across the world with full English and Chinese support, as well as translations into eight other languages.

Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition gets 2 new civilizations, 3 new campaigns
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/age-of-empires-2-definitive-edition-gets-2-new-civilizations-3-new-campaigns/
While Age of Empires 4 is only months away, its beloved predecessor Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition is still being added to. The Dawn of the Dukes expansion brings the Bohemians and the Poles as playable civilizations with unique units and technologies, as well as three new campaigns.

Soviet immersive sim Atomic Heart is in the final stages of development, will have 2 endings
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/soviet-immersive-sim-atomic-heart-is-in-the-final-stages-of-development-will-have-2-endings/
Russian immersive sim Atomic Heart looks absolutely bonkers. From what we've seen in the gravity-defying trailer and a 45-minutes preview of robot rampaging, it's looking to be a real rollercoaster of a game, and it turns out we won't have to wait long until we can jump into the madness.

The latest Everspace 2 update has 150+ changes, including new missions inspired by PC classic Descent
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/the-latest-everspace-2-update-has-150-changes-including-new-missions-inspired-by-pc-classic-descent/
The latest update for Everspace 2, titled Zharkov: The Vortex, adds a huge amount of new content, tweaks, and features to the game—which developer Rockfish has helpfully outlined in a huge Kickstarter post. The update takes its name from a newly added region of space, which the dev promises is "filled with new secrets, activities, puzzles, and loot, but lots of danger too." Check out the gameplay trailer below to see the place for yourself.

Try out the new Stony Peaks biome with Minecraft's latest 1.18 experimental snapshot
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/try-out-the-new-stony-peaks-biome-with-minecrafts-latest-118-experimental-snapshot/
Mojang is hard at work on the second half of Minecraft's massive 1.18 Caves and Cliffs update, adding a bunch of new blocks, systems, and mobs to the game. Players have been able to access these updates early through Minecraft's snapshots, the newest being Experimental Snapshot 3 that introduces a whole new terrain generation system and a new mountain biome.

Chivalry 2 update adds new maps, a new mode, and best of all, the return of Arrow Cam
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/chivalry-2-update-adds-new-maps-a-new-mode-and-best-of-all-the-return-of-arrow-cam/
The first free content update for medieval battle simulator Chivalry 2 is titled House Galencourt, adding two new maps, a new mode, over 60 new customisation items, and the return of a fan favourite feature from the original game. You can watch a new trailer for the update below.

AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT Could Be The Mining King, Insane Cryptocurrency Performance of 32 MH/s at Just 55W Reported

https://wccftech.com/amd-radeon-rx-6600-xt-low-end-cryptocurrency-mining-king-insane-performance-efficiency/

This makes it the most efficient mining card ever made. We did it guys! We found the one thing it's good at!


New BIOS updates will make Windows 11 support less annoying on custom-built PCs

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/08/motherboard-makers-are-releasing-new-bios-updates-to-support-windows-11/


Blizzard has quietly announced that they're removing TCP/IP multiplayer from Diablo 2 Resurrected

https://www.reddit.com/r/pcgaming/comments/p26wsc/blizzard_has_quietly_announced_that_theyre/

They keep going downhill. Such a shame!


DXVK Native gets an official release to help Linux ports with Vulkan

https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2021/08/dxvk-native-gets-an-official-release-to-help-linux-ports-with-vulkan