Slaughtahouse

Assassin's Creed Mirage Max - 4K I just rolled the credits. 35hrs, nearly 100% completion. I am very impressed with Mirage. I was super skeptical of AC, it still has quite a bit of jank (e.g., character not going where you want to go) and in certain locations and quests, it can look disproportionally worse when compared to the majority of the outdoor environments or large temples. As if some assets and textures were remixed between old and new. Most importantly, very fun to play when you're focused on stealth, especially on Hard. The game punishes you fairly fell if you try to just "kill everyone". Takes quite a few hits and it's slow. They decentivize the hack and slash fairly well. Fun tactic: Equipment a unique sword, that you can unlock which reduces your health by 50%, but also increases damage dealt by 50%. Mixed with Hard mode, you go down it one to two hits and really cranks up the risk/reward for going stealth. If you're looking for a... stealth / action / narrative... highly recommend.

Cool vid! What are you using to record gameplay? I used to use Shadowplay from Nvidia back in the day but it's been a long time since I've recorded.

It must be an error.... I think I see some red flags. First, an RTX 3070 is approx. 50% faster than an RTX 3060. Second... If we look at the chart, they're effectively saying that a 3060 = 3070. It's the same throughput / render load (3% variance) yet they're recommending a card 50% faster? Math isn't mathing. Edit: Also, I am skeptical that when Ray Tracing or Path Tracing is on, a faster CPU isn't recommended. Too many red flags.

On second thought, I may for a tech deep dive review on PC before Alan Wake 2 arrives…. The resolution vs. upscaling recommendations are a little concerning. I knew it was going to be a GPU burner since it is Nvidia sponsored, supports Path Tracing, and well… because light itself is a key mechanic. However, when a RTX 3070 is recommended for effectively 720p (1080p DLSS quality) @ Medium settings with Low Ray Tracing… for 30 FPS!?… something doesn’t add up. Either whomever drafted the chart doesn’t understand upscaling OR the game is very poorly optimized on PC. Alan Wake 2's PC specs are here - and they're as scary as the game itself WWW.EUROGAMER.NET Remedy has revealed the full system requirements to run its highly-anticipated sequel, Alan...

First Picklefest in Toronto today. I bought a bunch of pickles. I also tried a pickle beer and various pickle burgers. I love pickles.

I wonder which part…

LOOL

October 18 2023 - Updates I've been silently updating the sheet (mainly scores) where I can these past couple weeks since the release schedule for this year is just about locked in. Every update to the sheet since my last post is noted with a cell highlighted in yellow. Not much value for me to write it out, so here's a copy / paste from the "Data" tab . As a reminder, console scores are PS5 first (if applicable). Title Name System Release Date Metacritic Score (PC) Metacritic Score (Console) Cocoon PC, PS, XB, NS September 29, 2023 89% 92% Assassin's Creed Mirage PC, PS, XB October 5, 2023 76% 77% Wargroove 2 PC, NS October 5, 2023 82% 85% Detective Pikachu Returns NS October 6, 2023 N/A 66% Forza Motorsport PC, XB October 10, 2023 83% 85% NHL 24 PS, XB October 11, 2023 N/A 75% Total War: Pharaoh PC October 11, 2023 75% N/A Lords of the Fallen (2023) PC, PS, XB October 13, 2023 76% 72% Sonic Superstars PC, PS, XB, NS October 16, 2023 TBD 75% Wizards with a Gun PC, PS, XB, NS October 17, 2023 71% TBD Hellboy Web of Wyrd PC, PS, XB, NS October 18, 2023 61% 55% 7th Guest VR PC, PS, VR October 19, 2023 TBD 74% Endless Dungeon PC, PS, XB, NS October 19, 2023 78% TBD Super Mario Bros. Wonder NS October 20, 2023 N/A 93% Marvel's Spider-Man 2 PS October 20, 2023 N/A 90% Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol.1 PC, PS, XB, NS October 24, 2023 TBD TBD Cities: Skylines II PC, PS, XB October 24, 2023 TBD TBD Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord VR October 26, 2023 N/A TBD Ghostrunner 2 PC, PS, XB October 26, 2023 TBD TBD Alan Wake II PC, PS, XB October 27, 2023 TBD TBD Most of these games I won't play anytime soon but I've been watching a few videos on Cities: Skylines II and I think it has a strong potential on PC but be aware: Cities: Skylines 2 performance has "not achieved the benchmark we targeted", Paradox admits ahead of launch WWW.EUROGAMER.NET Ahead of Cities: Skylines 2's release next week, publisher Paradox Interactive has admitted the city building sequel ha… I was also looking forward to the Metal Gear Solid collection but this "performance" chart is really deflating any interest to spend $70 CAD on it. Why is it capped to 1080p / 60fps on PC... yikes. Alan Wake II remains my highlight. Fingers crossed it plays well on PC with minimal hiccup. I want to blast through it before Halloween (if possible). Here's a new recap trailer for those who havent played Alan Wake.

For sure it's not easy, otherwise I think we would see it more frequently already. Depending on the game, especially one based on realism and through a body cam, it makes a lot of sense. For a lot of games where the player camera is not meant to be a real camera, I can see why a lot of post-processing effects don't make sense from an artistic vision.

Have to agree with Ultra. To push it to the next level of visual fidelity, there are a lot of camera features in Unreal that are giving the impression it’s near life like. That said, the foundation of the work comes from the quality assets and the lighting. The level of quality from models like Quixel Mega Scans which when mixed with Nanite (“infinite” level of detail) allow creators to get this much more detail without blowing the render budget. Even iphones now have Lidar technology these days to start scanning on your own. Sure… it won’t match professional equipment but it just makes learning the tools that much easier. I don’t pretend to understand the full pipeline from scan to game asset but sitting on the sidelines, they’re getting close to a level of fidelity that is unlike anything we could do before. What I find really remarkable footage from Unreal like this is how well it can adjust exposure in a scene based on all of the lighting sources in real time. Going from interior to exterior scenes, seeing the highlights blow out or the contrast reduce is just like adjusting the aperture on a camera, or when your eyes dilate, is impressive. Mixed with HDR and post processing will really make games pop. If you look at the trailer of Unrecord, compare it against the video of people just walking in the asset file (it’s accessible online) you can see how much of an impact post processing makes the footage look real The devs for that game in development have really well tuned the post processing to give the impression of body cam footage. Motion blur, chromatic aberration, fish eye lens, pixelated / compression effect etc. I’ve only used Unreal personally to take models from Revit / 3DS Max for static renders (architectural visualization) but when I see footage like this, it feels like we’re on the verge of getting real time visualizations. I found a video that better explains the process of how all the post processing can really spice up look and feel.

After 72 hrs and no response, I've included the additional submission, re ran the random number generator, and we have another winner! Edit: Congratulations Acoustic! While the sand dunes of Baghdad is significantly more arid than the Aegean Sea, there are tones of sights to be seen in this historic gem. Enjoy

I’ll gladly join, though I mainly play single player games.

I added it to my wishlist a few days ago. Tempted AF to play it and I recall the reviews were praising the remake. My only challenge is time… Mirage has got me hooked and I’ll switch to RE4: Separate Ways and then Alan Wake II before Halloween. October fully booked!

I've followed up with the winner and I dont mind including your submission in the redraw (if it happens).

Just a bit too late. Just waiting for winner to confirm via PM. If they don’t respond or claim, we’ll re-roll.

And… we have a winner! I’ve sent a PM to the winner. If they do not accept the code within the next couple days, Ill draw again.

Last chance to enter I'll likely do the draw this time tomorrow.

alright alright, you win XD Heck yea! I find it addictive just to pause the game and get creative with the scene. You don’t have full control like a DSLR or film camera but they do a great job at providing accessible photo tools to make interesting photos.

I’m turned off by most shooters (competitive) but considering this is a cooperative / PVE game, you’ve recommended it in the past, and so have friends, I may give it a try in the future RE: AC I was very skeptical. I’ve played maybe 2 hrs in Odyssey and about 3-4 hours in Valhalla before calling it quits. I couldn’t enjoy the gameplay loop and I know those games are essentially part-time jobs, I have no interest to play them. Mirage promised to go back to roots and I think they delivered

AC2 was the last one I beat so...

Difficult for me to comment on the steps back because I haven't played the newer Ghost Recon series or much of the AC series in recent years but I am glad the photos help give you a better picture of the visuals. All I can say is that Mirage looks very impressive at times and comparing it against captured footage, it does look better (especially in HDR / 4K... :P) but in other areas or at other times (there is an inconsistency), facial animations and some interiors falls flat. The environment doesn't appear to be nearly as diversified as the screenshots you've shared of Wildlands but that's the nature of the game. Mirage is very enjoyable to play and watch, which is a bit surprising to me personally because I strongly disliked the direction the series was going (hack & slash, RPG). Especially coming off of Starfield, it's good change of pace. If you're interested in giving it a try, I'm giving away a code in a couple days here -> https://extremehw.net/topic/3225-giveaway-assassins-creed-mirage-ubisoft-connect/ Alternatively, send me a PM.

The lighting can be very impressive depending on the time of day. Just note that all of those screenshots above are from the photo mode. It doesn't mean that in-game looks bad, but I've tweaked aperture and post-processing effects in game to jus it up. I'll add some screenshots below, not from photo mode. I'd also flag that there are two notable scenarios or elements that look bad in my opinion. Some large open interiors during the day and faces (depending on the scene). An example: I raided a large prison today and found, arguably the most bland area I've seen in the game. Once I went into the prison court yard, the direct sun light brought some life into it. I suspect largely due to the particle and volumetric effects (sun light hitting clouds of sand). Example screenshots from the prison at 1440p (TAA native) max settings. Figure 1. Indoor, during mid day in large interior area Figure 2. Exterior, same time of day, just outside in a courtyard. Once I passed through this mission and area, night started to fall and the next interior with the local lights and candles changed the perceived visual quality immensely. Figure 3. Interior, new location, night, mid cutscene (rendered in realtime) Now, if find a nice scene for lighting outside, even at 1440p, and use the photo mode, you can a better understanding of the difference. Figure 4. Exterior, new location, dusk, photomode with tweaks. I can't take screenshots with my controller when playing on the OLED (4K) because there is no shortcut / input on Ubisoft Connect but here is a "screenshot" in photomode with all the default settings (no additional post-processing). Which looks by and large, the exact same when playing at 4K in realtime. Figure 5. Exterior, morning, photomode without tweaks.

Next Fest October 2023 - NOW LIVE! STORE.STEAMPOWERED.COM Steam Next Fest is a week-long celebration featuring hundreds of FREE playable demos as well as developer livestreams and chats. Players try out upcoming games on Steam pre-release, developers gather... Not enough games to try? Check out the latest Next fest. You'll find demos of upcoming games, primarily indie.

Congratulations on wedding! Hope you enjoy Greece next year! Try to hit up some the islands if you can I went to Italy this year for a few weeks with the wife and it was great. Great food, lots of little sights along our drive. Got some AC2 vibes in Florence.