The rest of the Tuesday news (thanks, Rhonin), all in one post:
SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS
Fanatical has some deals for us:
SOFTWARE & DRIVERS
Epic Games Store adds free retro cloud gaming platform Antstream Arcade
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/epic-games-store-adds-free-retro-cloud-gaming-platform-antstream-arcade/
The Epic Games Store is becoming something of a PC gaming meta-platform, having recently started making discrete gaming platforms available to download from its own storefront. Earlier this year, Itch.io came to Epic Games Store, and now it also plays host to cloud gaming platform Antstream Arcade, which lets you play over 1200 retro games for free on your PC.
Antstream has a huge games library, focusing mostly on games from the 80s and early 90s. While I'm of the unhip opinion that games from the Spectrum ZX and Commodore 64 era are a little too archaic to keep you glued to your screen for more than a few minutes of nostalgic novelty, there are some bona fide 16-bit classics from later eras in there too.
>> And that's why they're giving away the Antstream - Epic Welcome Pack this week.
MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS
Grand Theft Auto IV: Liberty Visual is a new graphics total overhaul mod, available in Early Access
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/grand-theft-auto-iv-liberty-visual-is-a-new-graphics-total-overhaul-mod-available-in-early-access/
Modder ‘orangebrains’ has released a new graphics overhaul mod for Grand Theft Auto 4, Grand Theft Auto IV: Liberty Visual. According to the modder, Liberty Visual is a WIP global overhaul for GTA IV aimed at bringing natural and almost photorealistic visuals to the game’s graphics.
This mod will completely rework vanilla timecycle as well as textures and assets without any harm to the game lore. It also packs a lot of different fixes and unique features such as upscaled textures, parallax textures, reworked vehicle materials, extended reflections and shadows, etc.
As said, this graphics mod is available in Early Access. The bad news is that it’s behind a Patreon wall. Thankfully, though, its final version will be free to everyone.
>> There are screenshots and also a video.
Crysis Back to Hell Mod promises to be an unofficial sequel to the original Crysis
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/crysis-back-to-hell-mod-promises-to-be-an-unofficial-sequel-to-the-original-crysis/
Modder ‘Flowgroover’ announced an unofficial sequel mod to the original Crysis game, called Crysis Back to Hell. Crysis Back to Hell will take place right after the ending of the first Crysis game, and will release on December 11th.
According to the modder, this mod will have the same sandbox gameplay that most Crysis and Warhead fans enjoyed. Crysis Back to Hell will have 4/5 levels, and promises to have a quality level design. Additionally, the modder claims that your decisions may affect your playthrough (whatever that means).
GAMING NEWS
GTA The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition Update 1.03 released, full patch notes
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/gta-the-trilogy-the-definitive-edition-update-1-03-released-full-patch-notes/
Rockstar has just released a brand new update for GTA The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition. According to the release notes, Update 1.03 brings numerous fixes to all three remakes. Moreover, it packs a number of PC-only fixes.
Play Company of Heroes 3 multiplayer for free this week
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/play-company-of-heroes-3-multiplayer-for-a-week/
Company of Heroes 3 might not be appearing in full until next year, but Relic and Sega are giving us another taste of the World War 2 RTS very soon. Tomorrow, in fact, after which you'll be able to play singleplayer skirmishes and multiplayer matches for a week.
>> That tomorrow is today, and you'll be able to download it from Steam.
Superhero battle royale Super People enters closed beta December 7th
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/superhero-battle-royale-super-people-enters-closed-beta-december-7th/
It's a bold statement for a game to say that it will "revolutionize how you think about the [battle royale] genre." It sounds so forceful, so Elon-Muskian. But while I'm as wary of vapid marketing as I am of games with all-caps names, our own Joseph Knoop's pithy description of upcoming battle royale game Super People as "PUBG with superpowers" was all I really needed to hear for it to get my attention.
Cyberpunk 2077's next 'major update' will arrive early in 2022
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/cyberpunk-2077s-next-major-update-will-arrive-early-in-2022/
In October, CD Projekt delayed the PS5 and Xbox Series X-S versions of Cyberpunk 2077 into the first quarter of 2022. Roughly a week after that it postponed all "updates, improvements, and free DLCs" for Cyberpunk 2077 into 2022 as well. Today it narrowed that window down somewhat, saying in its latest financial report that the next major update for Cyberpunk 2077 will also arrive sometime in the first three months of 2022, at the same time as the release of the next-gen version.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong delayed to ensure 'a healthy work-life balance' for devs
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/vampire-the-masquerade-swansong-delayed-to-ensure-a-healthy-work-life-balance-for-devs/
Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong, the in-development tale of politics, intrigue, and blood that is not Bloodlines 2, has been delayed again. Following a postponement earlier this year that saw it moved to February 2022, developer Big Bad Wolf has announced that it needs a little more time, and has pushed it to May.
Sea of Thieves will now let you bury your booty
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/sea-of-thieves-will-now-let-you-bury-your-booty/
Rare dropped a preview video today outlining new features coming to their co-op pirate simulator later this week.
Sea of Thieves now offers that most primal of pirate fantasies: burying your own treasure, complete with an auto-generated map to find it. The system ties in handily with multiplayer, letting you share your treasure maps via a quest board. When other players dig up and cash in on your treasure, you both reap the reward. It reminds me of other asymmetric multiplayer systems like Death Stranding's shared cargo hauls or Dark Souls' messages.
>> Arr! A real pirate would never share his booty.
Halo Infinite design lead is 'feeling everyone's pain' about the battle pass
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/halo-infinite-design-lead-is-feeling-everyones-pain-about-the-battle-pass/
Halo Infinite design lead Jerry Hook says that addressing complaints about Halo Infinite's battle pass progression "will be top of my list" of things to do when the development team gets back to work after a post-release break.
Halo Infinite will now give you bonus XP for your first few matches each day
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/halo-infinite-will-now-give-you-bonus-xp-for-your-first-few-matches-each-day/
More EXP changes have been added to Halo Infinite, giving players a nice boost for their first few games each day.
>> The changes, detailed in the article, will go live later today.
Age of Empires 4 Winter Update weakens ships, strengthens spears
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/age-of-empires-4-winter-update-weakens-ships-strengthens-spears/
A behemoth strategy game like Age of Empires 4 was never going to be the finished article on release. (...)
Developer Relic has been wasting no time in building on the game's solid foundation, and yesterday took the first step on its six-month roadmap by releasing the Winter 2021 Update.
Bots have made Capcom Arcade Stadium one of the most popular games on Steam
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/bots-have-made-capcom-arcade-stadium-the-third-most-popular-game-on-steam/
Take a look at the following games and point the odd one out: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, Capcom Arcade Stadium, PUBG, Apex Legends. Four of them are consistently and astronomically popular online games that have been among the most-played games on Steam for years, while one is a half-decent retro games emulator that has averaged about 20 players a month since it came out in May 2021.