Certainly will be interesting against QD-OLED from Alienware. It's ironic that PC gamers that have been consistently getting shat on by overpriced IPS/MiniLED manufacturers that the 42 inch OLED felt like the dream. Yet Alienware and Samsung cut the hype right from under them. But there are still some benefits such as getting HDMI 2.1 and 4k 16x9 for consoles.

Maybe eventually, we will have a monitor that will have QD-OLED in a 32 inch 16x9 4k display with HDMI 2.1 and Display Port 2.0. And I think that is the dream that might be worth waiting for.

The Friday news!

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Fanatical has two new deals:

• The new Star Deal is Assassin's Creed Valhalla - Ragnarök Edition, 47% off during the next 48 hours. The key is for UPlay: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/assassin-s-creed-valhalla-ragnarok-edition
• The new BYO Slayer Bundle 5 comes with 18 games for your 3, 5 or 7 games bundle: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-slayer-bundle-5

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

NVIDIA GeForce Game Ready 512.15 WHQL Driver available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/nvidia-geforce-game-ready-512-15-whql-driver-available-for-download/
NVIDIA has released a brand new driver for its graphics cards. According to its release notes, the NVIDIA GeForce Game Ready 512.15 WHQL driver provides the best day-0 gaming experience for Ghostwire: Tokyo. Moreover, it adds support for Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands.
Furthermore, NVIDIA suggests using this driver in order to take advantage of DLAA in Chorus, Jurassic World Evolution 2, and No Man’s Sky.
As always, this new driver also comes with a number of fixes and tweaks. For instance, it resolves some shadow rendering issues in Enscape. It also increases registry reads by DWM.exe when GPU is connected to G-SYNC/G-SYNC Compatible display.
>> Available from here.

AMD Radeon Adrenalin 22.3.2
https://www.amd.com/en/support/kb/release-notes/rn-rad-win-22-3-2
Support For

• Ghostwire: Tokyo
• Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands
  • Up to 23% increase in performance in Tiny Tina's Wonderlands @ 4k Badass settings, using AMD Software Adrenalin Edition 22.3.2 on the Radeon RX 6900XT, versus the previous software driver version 22.3.1RS-465
  • Up to 21% increase in performance in Tiny Tina's Wonderlands @ 4k Badass settings, using AMD Software Adrenalin Edition 22.3.2 on the Radeon RX 6800XT, versus the previous software driver version 22.3.1RS-466
  • Up to 20% increase in performance in Tiny Tina's Wonderlands @ 4k Badass settings, using AMD Software Adrenalin Edition 22.3.2 on the Radeon RX 6700XT, versus the previous software driver version 22.3.1RS-467
• Additional Vulkan® extensions. Click here for more information.

Fixed Issues

• While playing Cyberpunk 2077™ on some AMD Graphics Products such as Radeon™ RX 570 Graphics, some users may observe an issue where indoor areas appear darker than expected.
• Game crash may be observed by users on some AMD Graphics Products such as Radeon™ RX 6900 XT while playing Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin™.
• Stuttering may be experienced while playing Genshin Impact™ with video playback or encoding on some AMD Graphics Products such as Radeon™ RX 6900 XT.
• Using the AMD Software hotkey to open and close Radeon™ Overlay may introduce stuttering while playing some games such as Grim Dawn™.
• During Hades™ gameplay, some users on AMD Graphics Products such as Radeon™ RX 6800 may experience game crash.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Mod for Skyrim, Skyblivion, gets a new developer diary
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/the-elder-scrolls-iv-oblivion-mod-for-skyrim-skyblivion-gets-a-new-developer-diary/
A few days ago, we shared a comparison screenshot between Skyblivion and Oblivion. And today, its team released a brand new developer diary.
As we’ve already reported, Skyblivion aims to bring The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion to a new generation of gamers and re-introduce it to long-time fans of the series. This mod will also support both Skyrim Legacy Edition and Skyrim Special Edition.

Bloodborne Kart is a new fan-made PSX-like free game for the PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/bloodborne-kart-psx-free-game-pc/
Lilith Walther, the developer behind the amazing PSX demake of Bloodborne for PC, has announced Bloodborne Kart. Yeap, you read that right. The game a lot of Bloodborne fans have been waiting for is happening, and will be available for free on PC.

Quake 4 in Quake 1 Demake is now available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/quake-4-in-quake-1-demake-is-now-available-for-download/
Remember the Quake 4 in Quake 2 Demake we shared last month? Well, modder TheMrBenpulido is back with a similar mod for the first Quake game. As the title implies, this mod demakes all of the Quake 4 levels for id Software’s classic Quake game.
In order to recreate these levels, the modder used assets from the first Quake. The modder also used enemies from the first Quake in order to replicate some of Quake 4’s boss encounters. Additionally, you can expect Quake 3 music on some maps, as well as a new graphical interface.

GAMING NEWS

Star Wars: Battlefront 3-inspired game, Galaxy in Turmoil, has been cancelled
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/star-wars-battlefront-3-inspired-game-galaxy-in-turmoil-has-been-cancelled/
Frontwire Studios has announced the cancellation of its Star Wars: Battlefront 3-inspired game, Galaxy in Turmoil. After an underwhelming demo and a failed Kickstarter campaign, the team decided to shut this project down.

Alterborn is a new Dark Souls-inspired roguelite looter shooter, coming to PC in Q3 2023
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/alterborn-is-a-new-dark-souls-inspired-roguelite-looter-shooter-coming-to-pc-in-q3-2023/
Iron Lung has announced a new game that is inspired by Dark Souls, called Alterborn. In order to celebrate this announcement, the team also released an in-engine trailer that you can find below.
Alterborn is a third-person survival action shooter filled with dark humor. The game draws inspiration from multiple genres such as soulslike, roguelite, looter shooter, and more.

Friday news, part two:

Shinji Mikami wants to make more non-horror games
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/shinji-mikami-wants-to-make-more-non-horror-games/
Ghostwire: Tokyo is a really good action game, but it is not horror. "Weird things happen, and you may be unnerved by going into the home of a malicious spectre," we said in our 72% review, but "if you're looking for a good scare, you're not going to get it here." That came as a bit of a surprise, and maybe disappointment, for fans of Shinji Mikami and Tango Gameworks, the developer of The Evil Within games, which most definitely are horror.
It seems the trend away from horror is likely to continue in the future for Tango. Mikami said in an interview with Famitsu (translated by VGC) that he wants the studio to be known for more than just horror games, and in fact at least one other non-horror project is already in development.

Apex Legends' best mode is coming back next week
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/apex-legends-best-mode-is-coming-back-next-week/
Apex Legends' best chill-out mode is coming back, as Control makes its return in next week's Warriors Collection Event with a new location on King's Canyon.
Debuting with a 3-week binge at the start of Season 12, Control was the casual shootout Apex always needed—a more traditional capture point mode that effectively let you play Team Deathmatch with Apex's sandbox. It absolutely banged, so I'm thrilled to see it return with a new map built around the Caustic Treatment region of King's Canyon.

Hunt: Showdown Traitor's Moon event intros four new guns you can unlock early
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/hunt-showdown-traitors-moon-event-legendary-guns/
There's a new event live over in the bayou in Hunt: Showdown. The Traitor's Moon event is just hitting the servers across the globe, and brings with it new "Orwellian" effigies to smash, clues to find, and legendary hunters and weapons.

Medieval spaceships battle with swords and axes in this action RPG
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/medieval-spaceships-battle-with-swords-and-axes-in-this-action-rpg/
What if medieval knights skipped the industrial revolution and the modern era and jumped right into the space age? Their spaceships might look like the knights themselves: heavily armored and wielding swords, axes, and maces, slashing and bashing each other in crunchy melee combat. But in space.

A new Activision Blizzard sexual misconduct lawsuit calls for Bobby Kotick's termination
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/a-new-activision-blizzard-sexual-misconduct-lawsuit-calls-for-bobby-koticks-termination/
Activision Blizzard is facing another lawsuit alleging widespread sexual harassment and discrimination at the company. A Bloomberg report says the lawsuit, filed on behalf of a current employee, alleges that "Activision Blizzard’s open ‘frat boy’ environment fostered rampant sexism, harassment and discrimination," resulting in 700 reported incidents of misconduct during CEO Bobby Kotick's tenure.

If Activision Blizzard recognizes a union, Microsoft 'will not stand in the way'
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/if-activision-blizzard-recognizes-a-union-microsoft-will-not-stand-in-the-way/
(...)
Microsoft's corporate vice president and general counsel, Lisa Tanzi, gave a statement to the Washington Post in response, saying that the company "will not stand in the way" if Activision Blizzard's management does recognize a union. "Microsoft respects Activision Blizzard employees' right to choose whether to be represented by a labor organization and we will honor those decisions," Tanzi said.

Bungie says last week's Destiny 2 video takedowns were 'fraudulent'
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/bungie-says-last-weeks-destiny-2-video-takedowns-were-fraudulent/
It turns out that the wave of weird copyright strikes against a number of high-profile Destiny content creators last week were the result of fraudulent takedown requests mixed with a little help from Google.

Gun Jam is a rhythm FPS where the note highway is your weapon wheel
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/gun-jam-is-a-rhythm-fps-where-the-note-highway-is-your-weapon-wheel/
Ever since Crypt of the Necrodancer mashed rhythm and dungeon crawlers into a cool new thing, I've been waiting for the same wave to hit first-person shooters. Gun Jam is one of a few games taking a crack at the rhythm FPS, and so far, it's the one I'd like to play the most. Developer Jaw Drop games debuted a new trailer for the unusual shooter during the Future Games Show 2022, which you can watch above.

Midnight Ghost Hunt will start haunting computers March 31
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/midnight-ghost-hunt-will-start-haunting-computers-march-31/
First unveiled at E3 2019 at our very own PC Gaming Show, Midnight Ghost Hunt showed its final pre-release trailer at the Future Games Show ahead of its March 31 release date.
Midnight Ghost Hunt is a 4v4 FPS/prop hunt by way of Ghostbusters (which, coincidentally, announced a new game this week), with a team of poltergeists capable of possessing inanimate objects looking to outsmart a team of paranormal investigators armed with laser guns.

Sci-Fi thriller Deliver Us Mars looks bleak, but comes with a robot buddy
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/sci-fi-thriller-deliver-us-mars-looks-bleak-but-comes-with-a-robot-buddy/
Deliver Us Mars, the sci-fi puzzle sequel to Deliver Us The Moon, got a new trailer at the Future Games Show Spring Showcase: and it looks bleak. A two-passenger space pod is torn apart all over on the red earth while the shaky camera explores the wreckage. Sparks hiss, there's no pilot in sight, and it looks like everything went very wrong. The shot pans up and you see a lone astronaut pacing the landscape until they stop to see a Wheatley-like robot blink and boot up. It's cute, but I can't help from feeling like it's not going to be a joyous escape from the planet.

The Time I Have Left is a 'time-driven escape adventure' with a lot of style
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/the-time-i-have-left-is-a-time-driven-escape-adventure-with-a-lot-of-style/
The Time I Have Left, a third-person adventure game from new studio Ground Games, was announced today during the Future Games Show Spring Showcase. The game is described as a "time-driven escape adventure" that looks a bit like an old-school Resident Evil game filtered through a stained glass window.

Fortnite's 'No Building' mode will be made permanent, dataminers say
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/fortnites-no-building-mode-will-be-made-permanent-dataminers-say/
Epic recently switched off building in Fortnite's default mode, a change explained by way of a convoluted story trailer that ends with a surprise appearance by Doctor Strange. As Jody put it at the time, "Videogames!" The change was meant to be a temporary novelty, although we predicted that a no-build mode could become a permanent option if it was sufficiently popular.

Forever Skies is a post-apocalyptic survival game with a blimp as your base
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/forever-skies-is-a-post-apocalyptic-survival-game-with-a-blimp-as-your-base/
First-person, post-apocalyptic survival is good and fun, but why spend it rooting around at the base of collapsed, dirt-covered cities when you could instead be flying? Forever Skies will take you above the end of the Earth when it launches in early access this year, putting the controls of a customizable airship into your survivalist mitts.

The Cub channels Another World in a big way
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/the-cub-channels-another-world-in-a-big-way/
The Cub was revealed today during the Future Games Show Spring Showcase. The 2D platformer, in looks at least, channels the work of Eric Chahi as much as more modern titles. Playing as a child, abandoned when others went to the stars, the trailer is about the game's dual nature: exploration, and being hunted.

LEGO Bricktales is a kiddy Kerbal Space Program
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/lego-bricktales-is-a-kiddy-kerbal-space-program/
An intriguing new LEGO game was revealed during the Future Games Show's Spring Showcase, and one that arguably leans more into what actual, physical LEGO is than its most successful videogames. LEGO Bricktales is being developed by Clockstone Studio, creators of the Bridge Constructor series, and the first thing that comes to mind with this is, oddly enough, an underrated Xbox 360 exclusive.
>> This one could be fun, if you're a LEGO fan.

Sierra founders tried to make a game with Stephen King 'many times' before creating Phantasmagoria
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/sierra-founders-tried-to-make-a-game-with-stephen-king-many-times-before-creating-phantasmagoria/
(...)
"I always wanted to do Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The guys at Infocom got to do that. I badly wanted to work with Douglas Adams, but never could pull it together," Ken Williams told me in an interview at this year's Game Developers Conference, where the pair are showing off the new Colossal Cave Adventure.
The even bigger fish they tried to land during Sierra's heyday was Stephen King, the biggest name in horror fiction in the '80s and '90s. The Williams took turns sharing bits of memories from the Sierra game projects that never came to fruition.

Latest Microsoft Flight Simulator world update fleshes out Spain, Portugal and more
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/latest-microsoft-flight-simulator-world-update-fleshes-out-spain-portugal-and-more/
Sure, you could play Microsoft Flight Simulator for its complex simulation features, but I prefer to just fly around the world looking at stuff. Asobo has been issuing new world updates at an astonishing pace, adding real world detail to places like France, Sweden, Australia, the United Kingdom and more.
The latest world update turns its attention to the Iberian Peninsula, which takes in Spain and Portugal, but also smaller territories like Gibraltar and Andorra. That means the cities of Lisbon and Madrid are more detailed than ever, with actual architecture, rather than Flight Simulator's computer-made predictions based on map data.

Konami's Crimesight is anime Sherlock meets Clue, and looks kinda great
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/konamis-crimesight-is-anime-sherlock-meets-clue-and-looks-kinda-great/
Konami's Crimesight got a new trailer and a release date at yesterday's Future Games Show Spring Showcase—and it looks like Sherlock Holmes plus anime demons plus Clue (Cluedo for Brits) may be a winning combination. An isometric murder mystery that pits up to four players against one another, Crimesight is all about either saving the murder target, or teaming up to make sure the dirty deed is done.

Time to check the deals at GOG and Steam:

+GOG

• The first flash deal is Production Line, 75% off until Monday: https://www.gog.com/en/game/production_line
• The second flash deal is X3: Reunion, 90% off during the next 69 (*wink, wink*) hours: https://www.gog.com/en/game/x3_reunion
• And there's also the Spring Edition of its GOG Games Festival, featuring demos, and games up to 90% off until April 4th. Learn more here: https://www.gog.com/en/news/the_gog_games_festival_come_inside_discover_future_hits_have_a_blast

+Steam

• The first deal is Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos, that has ad emo, and will be 60% off during the next 49 hours: https://store.steampowered.com/app/787810/Rogue_Heroes_Ruins_of_Tasos/
• The Paradox Management Weekend Sale brings up to 80% discounts until Monday. Plus, Surviving the Aftermath is free to try during the weekend: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/paradox_mgmtweekend
• The Nacon Publisher Sale brings up to 90% discounts until the 28th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/Nacon_PublisherSale_2022
• Square Enix also puts its games on sale, up to 94% off until Monday, 28: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/SQEXPublisherWeekend22
• Yes, Your Grace will be 50% off until March 31: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1115690/Yes_Your_Grace/
• Human: Fall Flat is going to be 66% off until the 31st of March: https://store.steampowered.com/app/477160/Human_Fall_Flat/
• Hunt: Showdown features a 55% discount until April 7: https://store.steampowered.com/app/594650/Hunt_Showdown/
• The D3 PUBLISHER Sale brings up to 90% discounts until April 7: https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/d3p/sale/D3P2022
• And we can't forget about the weeklong deals.

Nothing else to add. Until next time, have a happy and gaming weekend.

The 5850X boosts at what, 4.3-4.4GHz on all cores? It would be impressive if they turn that to 55GHz, but I wouldn't bet on it.

There's also a tech demo of XeSS from the GDC:

https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/take-a-look-at-intels-dlss-competitor-xess-in-this-new-gdc-2022-tech-demo/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWE0oKN0p8g

@Captain_Yuri Yup, manufacturers sitting on status quo for too long on the monitor space with LCD's at exorbitant prices - compared to what else is available on the TV market. Crazy to think its only really this year that OLED to come to the mainstream on the PC space now they're getting smaller and another big player in the OLED game (Samsung).

And yeah Samsung really did light a fire under LG lol. Its great for us consumers though x)

But yeah I still think 42"+ is way too large for gaming and general work, so something smaller like a 38" UW or a 32" would be much better for general desktop use. And while the PPI is goodat 104.9 PPI (just below a 1440P 27" display) I'd want something a tad more clearer at a comfortable viewing distance. Bring on the (smaller) OLED's I say!

So I'm still watching this vid, but so far it's been quite a good and informative watch:

The author behind it runs a community for RTS players, has a team working on two unreleased/unannounced games and has played RTS games for 20+ yrs, so he knows the genre pretty well.

The thing that's caught my eye so far in his video, is that he goes on to mention that the biggest part of the genre isn't the dedicated hardcore PVP players, but the casual players, the ones who play the campaign/skirmish and co-op modes, and while I knew this for other RTS games, I didn't actually know it to be the case for Starcraft II (he even includes a 2016 clip with a staff member from Blizz specifically stating the percentage of players who played the campaign vs those that played the multiplayer).

I do strongly believe that devs should stop putting too much focus on making RTS games just for PVP'ers, because that always involves and endless cycle of balance changes and trying to please everyone, while also losing players over time, and let's face it, all PVP based games have a finite lifespan (even the private hosted servers only last for so long). Instead devs should focus on making a well rounded RTS, a good campaign and a story to tell, units that really stand out and battles that feel alive, of course you can add in PVP, but don't make that your main focus, don't try to make your game an esport, because that time has pretty much come and gone since 2010.

Also, he nails it on the head with games like Grey Gooo and AoE IV, and why I'm still not touching AoE IV.

Not only is the focus on pvp but high level pvp players. So much of gameplay design and balancing is done for top 1-3% of players. I know that post was about RTS but am speaking in general for lot of other pvp or games that want to be esports.

Like for Overwatch. So much focus on Overwatch League and design the game around them. If no one is playing the damn game and enjoying it. They won't watch it.

Just my few thoughts.

It shouldn't be far off at the very least, considering that the very early engineering sample already reached that aircooled, and that AMD affirmed it was running at that speed on all cores.

Also, funny if they would reach the speed of your little typo

This is why most RTS and Shooters I play are old ones or inspired by them without an multiplayer focus (except Unreal Tournament that is).

If they manage to do that, then all the better for us. But I'll remain skeptical until then.

And oops! If AMD managed to reach those clocks, then it would be game over, no more competition nor anything, they would have won.