It's good that the 4080 is selling so poorly, but the 4070Ti being the best seller card at 1.000 € GPU isn't doing any favors to any of us. Nvidia will only think that the problem with the 4080 is its price/performance ratio, not only the price.

At this rate, Nvidia will have no reason to launch cheaper cards next gen.

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

When i was pointing out how i didnt have much hope for this game in the PS nation thread since they where being selective with who to give review code too and since not many people liked the demo a few users thought to correct me. Seems they thought i was only shitting on the game since i post in the xbox thread and here. I wonder how they will feel now with the low review scores and now this the first 720P game on PS5??.

I feel like there is some tone deafness in that trailer, considering how there are plenty of |RTS games that heavily rely on base building to even function (much like theme park games do, or you don't have a theme park), and even at the end I caught a glimpse of "They are Billions", an RTS game that is about surviving against hordes of the undead, where you build public and military base structures, so why the hell is C&C and other RTS games now shown in the trailer at all?

It just feels so one sided, like base builders are somehow exclusive to theme park and colony games. This was Steam's one biggest shot to really promote to ppl "hey RTS is still here and alive guys, come check it out!", but they blew it on the already saturated theme park/colony building sub genres. It's just like that time where Steam celebrated turn based games, and didn't do much for it's counterpart, RTS (seriously, why is my fave genre being snuffed like this time and time again?). 

I haven't been interested in the game since day 1 because of how loose the gameplay looks. But boy did they do a horrid job on the optimization. And the worst part is that if you watch the review, it has worse lighting than FFXV from 6 years ago that run on the same engine.

What a delightful generation so far; component scarcity, poor stock, insane pricing, and a shitshow for optimization across platforms. It feels like things can only improve from here on out.

Just you wait until I pull what you might call a pro-gamer move on Taiwan...

Shit, I forgot about him! At this rate, I might be able to get my new rig sometime around 2030-2032, when the EUs suggested chip manufacture coop may have kicked in and started rolling out the goods.

The Tuesday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Steam has several new deals, including new weeklong deals:

• TinyBuild puts its games on sale with up to 75% discounts. Be warned, some deals end the 27th while others will last until the 30th: https://store.steampowered.com/developer/tinybuild/sale/vintage
• The Dynasty Warriors franchise will be up to 66% off until January 30: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33016879/sale/dynastywarriors
• Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon® Breakpoint is going to be 80% off until the 30th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2231380/Tom_Clancys_Ghost_Recon_Breakpoint/
• Of course, the Base Builder Sale is present, with up to 75% discounts until the 30th: https://store.steampowered.com/category/base_builder
• The SteamWorld franchise goes on sale with up to 85% discounts: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/SteamWorld-Build-Announcement-Sale
• Titanfall® 2 is going to be 90% off until the 2nd of February: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1237970/Titanfall_2/
• The Neptunia Franchise Madness Sale features between 60 and 80% discounts until February 6th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/neptunia23
• And here's a small sample of the weeklong deals:
  • Placid Plastic Duck Simulator gets a 15% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1999360/Placid_Plastic_Duck_Simulator/
  • Farmer's Life, that has a demo, will be 30% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1137750/Farmers_Life/
  • Mayhem Brawler features a 40% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1306720/Mayhem_Brawler/
  • 60 Parsecs! is 50% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/646270/60_Parsecs/
  • Assetto Corsa Competizione gets a 66% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/805550/Assetto_Corsa_Competizione/
  • Trailmakers will be 75% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/585420/Trailmakers/
  • Worms Armageddon gets an 85% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/217200/Worms_Armageddon/

Fanatical has a new Star Deal: Chernobylite Enhanced Edition will be 60% off during 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/chernobylite-enhanced-edition

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

NVIDIA GeForce 528.24 WHQL driver released, optimized for Dead Space Remake & Forspoken
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/nvidia-geforce-528-24-whql-driver-released-optimized-for-dead-space-remake-forspoken/
NVIDIA has released a new driver for its graphics cards. According to the release notes, the NVIDIA GeForce 528.24 WHQL driver offers the best day-0 gaming experience for Dead Space Remake & Forspoken.
Furthermore, this driver adds support for DLSS 3 in Marvel’s Midnight Suns and Hitman 3. Hitman 3 will definitely benefit from DLSS 3, and we’ll have a performance article once its patch becomes available.
>> Check the article for the download link as well as the fixed issues.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Half-Life 2: Episode One VR Mod to be released in Q1 2023
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/half-life-2-episode-one-vr-mod-to-be-released-in-q1-2023/
The SourceVR Mod Team has announced its plans to release a VR Mod for Half-Life 2: Episode One in Q1 2023. In order to celebrate it, the team has also shared a trailer that you can find below.

New Cyberpunk 2077 HD Texture Packs improve the textures of NPCs faces, hair & beards
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/new-cyberpunk-2077-hd-texture-packs-improve-the-textures-of-npcs-faces-hair-beards/
Modder ‘XilaMonstrr’ has released two new HD Texture Packs for Cyberpunk 2077. These packs use AI techniques and will overhaul the faces of generic NPCs, as well as the hair and beards of both the player and NPCs.
Since these packs use AI techniques, they retain the art style of the original textures. Therefore, we highly recommend downloading them. Sure thing, some may claim that they can achieve similar results by using a sharpening filter. However, and for those that don’t want to mess around with such filters, these AI-upscaled packs are amazing.
>> There are only some screenshots.

I can't believe this Elden Ring Halo map isn't actually imported from Elden Ring
https://www.pcgamer.com/i-cant-believe-this-elden-ring-halo-map-isnt-actually-imported-from-elden-ring/
Okay, Halo Infinite Forgers. You had my curiosity. Now you have my attention.
Halo Infinite Forge creator Blupe Vave has published a work-in-progress multiplayer map called Crumbling Lands, recreating one of the last dungeons from FromSoftware's Elden Ring, Crumbling Farum Azula. I can't think of two game aesthetics much more distinct than Halo and Elden Ring, and yet this map looks incredible. It's so authentic to Elden Ring, my first instinct was to assume that Blupe Vave had actually imported a pile of Elden Ring assets into Halo Infinite somehow.
But nope: it just shows how much you can do with the Forge mapmaking tool, if you have the skill and patience to pull it off.
>> There's a short video of the mod.

Swearing rats mod for Oblivion puts its vermin in permanent meltdown mode
https://www.pcgamer.com/swearing-rats-mod-for-oblivion-puts-its-vermin-in-permanent-meltdown-mode/
Oblivion's rats are now as uncouth as they are unclean, thanks to a mod from creator DavaScript that imbues the game's rodents with all the unbridled rage of early 2000s internet. The Swearing Rats mod uses clips from an infamous (and ancient) Ventrilo user meltdown to turn their squeaks and yelps into a barrage of inventive invective. There is no reason for it to exist and we should all be very thankful it does.
The mod is scarily effective. Hearing Oblivion's rats—probably the weakest enemies in the whole game—threaten to tear off various of my appendages and find new homes for them in other parts of my body really does make them quite a bit more intimidating than they usually are. It's like being pursued by a hundred four-legged versions of Malcolm Tucker; I can't think of anything more terrifying.
>> There's a roughly 1 minute long video of the article.

GAMING NEWS

Forspoken PC demo releases later today on all available digital stores
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/forspoken-pc-demo-releases-later-today-on-all-available-digital-stores/
Square Enix and Luminous Productions have announced that they will release a free playable PC demo later today. According to the teams, this PC demo will be available on all available digital stores, meaning that it will appear on Steam, Epic Games Store and Microsoft Store.