Slaughtahouse

Honestly, looks good. I'm not a big fan of complicated GUI and I've always liked classic NVCP. However, it's very slow and does feel archaic when you can't have simple overlays or OC / UV. AMDs panel has a bit too many menus for me but I prefer the way it operates overall. If all the functionality is there but it's easier to navigate and runs faster, that's a win in my books.

Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon 1440p, Max Decided to take advantage of the sale. I’m not a huge mech fan, though I enjoyed Hawken from years ago (first person). Action and gameplay is super smooth. A lot of boost / stamina management and rips on PC. Very easy to hit high framerates. I think this is the first From Software game to support >60 FPS on PC. Not open world. No stuttering or hitching. The game’s structure is broken into separate missions with isolated areas and objectives. Gives off arcade vibes with scoreboards but it can get technical very fast with the combat, boosting / stamina management. I haven’t played enough but I see why people love it.

I want to believe that but my instincts tell me that the NPU will be more like a PhsyX type card. Great for upgrading an old rig but not ideal if you're considering getting faster video card that can simply do this work. Especially if future graphics cards have an NPU. Thanks for sharing. Curious how "NPUs" will evolve and from a practical standpoint, if they move the needle forward for enthusiasts.

2024-02-21 - Updates I'll work on plugging the announcements and release dates into the sheet as well, I'll summarize the announcements here later in the week* (Edit: So many announcements, need moar time ) Nintendo Direct: Partner Showcase 2.21.2024 - Nintendo Official Site WWW.NINTENDO.COM A Nintendo Direct: Partner Showcase is here! Tune in for around 25 minutes of information focused on games coming to the Nintendo Switch system in the first half of 2024 from our publishing and... Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree’s first trailer and release date are here WWW.POLYGON.COM Rise, Tarnished... and reinstall Elden Ring Microsoft confirms which Xbox games are going to Switch, PlayStation ARSTECHNICA.COM Hi-Fi Rush, Grounded, Pentiment, and Sea of Thieves are going multiplatform. Final Fantasy XIV Online Open Beta Now Available on Xbox Series X|S - Xbox Wire NEWS.XBOX.COM Critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV Online has officially launched into Open Beta on Xbox Series X|S!

100%. It's beautiful in it's own right. Where Avatar really looks great in both macro and micro views (large vistas and up close with nature and metallic structures), the level of detail in Alan Wake II is astounding. They layer on a lot of video effects, both post processing and active film / FMV over top to present their world in a unique way. When you throw on the path tracing, it's fun to see how shadows, materials, light bounces all dramatically change. From a gameplay perspective, it's difficult to notice but if you stop and stare, you can see it. Too bad it's really 4090 + terriority to play. The only other gripe is that there isn't an alternative AA to the upscalers. I tried to play it at 1440p on my monitor but since there is no AA (E.g., TAA) and I am on AMD (FSR is my only choice), the jaggies are real. I'm choosing to play the game at 4K super sampled on my monitor. Or playing native 4K on my TV. Alan Wake (1) was one of my all time favourite games, I love thriller films and stuff like American Horror Story, Twilight Zone etc. so this hits all those vibes. A little weird playing on Epic Game Store. I am a sucker for achievements but the sound effect for achievements on EGS is so loud, it gives me a mini heart attack because I am on EDGE... Only 3 hours in but if you're into Resident Evil, Silent Hill, or the original Alan Wake, you'll be right at home with this.

Alan Wake II 4K, Max Getting lost in looking all the little details. Fun to toggle path tracing (2nd and 4th screenshot enabled) to see how materials react. It's subtle and not worth the perf loss during gameplay but for screenshots, it's super fun

There are some areas that the benchmark doesn't represent well, like the planes (second, large biome) or some of the larger bases. That being said, pretty impressive results with a Fury X!

James Cameron would be proud XD

Sim City 3000 1440p I was intrigued by Andrew's post (Cities Skylines II) and decided to purchase Sim City 3000 on GOG. There is a simple mod for the .exe to get it to run on modern resolutions. Booted up the Berlin default map just to quickly get a feel for it. Brings backs the memories... Highly recommend this one if you love city sims. I'd argue it's the best one https://www.gog.com/en/game/simcity_3000

I believe the government will try to regulate AI but knowing how slow the regulators are, these corps will take advantage and print money while they can, as fast as they can. Might be 2-3 years of AI bubble money, might be 5-10 money. Who knows. I'm not sure if I was misunderstood but when I mentioned one player, I was referring to the OpenAI, which Sam A. is the face of A 7 Trillion request in funding today for single corp to manufacture chips is absurd. Especially when you contextualize the current market value per UltraMega's comment. Edit: Just more fuel for the OpenAI money generating fire

Still a 9x evaluation on an estimate for the entire market for only one player in the market, for just chip fabrication. Yea, AI is an immerging market but a 7 Trillion ask today is still absurd.

I think that's the key piece. It's still a tool and requires human input. I've seen more and more AI integration into various tools or various new tools, completely based on AI but ultimately, they need some level of input. My outlook on AI is more positive but for sure, there are some serious and valid concerns across the industry. While 7 Trillion today may sound completely unreasonable, because it is an unreasonable number, it's a good indicator that companies are ready to heavily invest into AI and this trend will continue. Whether it's sustainable at this pace is another question. My gut is no, as there likely be some form of market saturation very soon unless we continue to innovate with AI very rapidly. I'm seeing similar applications compete already compete with each other so that's why I'm a skeptical this will go at this pace. But I could be entirely wrong. Meanwhile, Nvidia just keeps printing money Nvidia passes Google’s market cap, now world’s fourth most valuable company ARSTECHNICA.COM Nvidia might soon be worth more than the world's biggest oil company.

Steam Next Fest: Eight game demos that stood out from the crowd ARSTECHNICA.COM From trucks in space to backpack management sims, and everything in between.

Yea something is in there. Let me zoom... A little closer Ah, there it is

Nvidia’s Chat with RTX is a promising AI chatbot that runs locally on your PC - The Verge WWW.THEVERGE.COM Chat with RTX is a very early demo app.

Alan Wake II 4K, Max (RT Disabled) Below: 4K Native Max Raster vs. 4K Native with Max Path Tracing My body is ready. My 7900 XTX is not ready (...path tracing melts it XD)

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora 1440p / 4K, Ultra Rolled credits after approx. 60hrs of clocked game time. Last 4-5 main missions are pretty fun, even if some of the unique mega bases still use a lot of familiar assets. Some large changes to the world start to occur towards late game which was fun. A lot of doom gloom, lets make you feel bad type moments with Navi and wildlife getting pillaged. I feel beyond a core selection of side quests (5-10), most are repetitive Ubisoft point A to point B and you should avoid. A bit of a shame because the world is really fun to explore but quest design got lazy. Unless you can enjoy jumping in trees, flying across valleys, and stalking prey in the wild, the world might feel pretty bland. Hard game to recommend if you really not into Avatar. I also felt there wasn't enough unique encounters (besides fauna / wildlife). There are also just a few too many bases to clear out for me to consider "100%ing" the game. A fun note is that you unlock another bow type weapon towards the final 3rd of the game. All three bows are fun to use in combat and have strength / weaknesses. I'd think I would land at an 8 out of 10. Great game but bogged down by typical Ubisoft tropes. Curious what the DLC brings but overall, I'm glad I played it. This is coming from someone who hates Far Cry games. No more Avatar spam from me anymore On to Alan Wake II and other games.

For sure there is something to be said about Reflex and how it differs from a driver level implementation. Both solutions have pro's and con's. Reflex's quality may very well depend on how well the developers implemented it. Ultimately, I'm less interested in the game to game testing and rather I am more interested in the broader education of this topic. I can use FSR3 for example in Avatar and boost avg. framerates from 70 to 120 but the gameplay at 120 feels worse than at 70. I am using AMD's equivalent, Anti-lag+. I don't play competitive games, yet I see how these solutions will ultimately be valuable for all demographics of gamers. I'll always enable them (Reflex, Anti-lag) if it's available and there is no clear net loss in perf.

An increasingly important topic to discuss as frame interpolation becomes mainstream within the rendering pipeline.

I think expect more Disney Meta verse stuff within Fortnite (E.g. Frozen x Fortnite, baby yoda skins etc.) and Disney diversifying their IPs across other developers. EA had a large stranglehold over Star Wars for the longest time. We got Star Wars Outlaws, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle coming out this year for starters (Ubisoft, Bethesda both working along side Lucas film /arts). Makes sense to keep pushing along with other large publishers and developers like Epic. We've come full circle...

Quick heads up that Steam and GreenManGaming has Armored Core VI on sale which is the first time it's dropped in price since release. It didn't drop in price during the Black Friday or Winter sales in 2023 for context. Various other retailers are doing larger sales for both lunar new year (year of the dragon btw) or valentine's day. Including larger publisher sales like Rockstar and Bandai Namco (Steam) or ABK on Battle . net. Keep those Wishlist's up to date people ARMORED CORE VI FIRES OF RUBICON | PC - Steam | Game Keys WWW.GREENMANGAMING.COM Pick up your ARMORED CORE VI FIRES OF RUBICON PC copy from Green Man Gaming today and remember to sign in for our best price

I agree that it doesn't need to be a NEW OS, but it should be more intuitive than desktop Windows. Otherwise, what's their proposition? It's just status quo. As a gamer who prefers PC, my biggest qualm is sitting at my PC on my free time. It sometimes feels like work and I generally prefer controller on the couch, but with the ability to tweak and mod my games. If Windows has a mode to make that experience streamlined for those who want it, I think it only help make PC gaming even more accessible (broader appeal).

Curious if Microsoft will remain a first party in the long term. They've never had the best traction in the hardware industry across all their divisions (PCs, mobile, consoles etc.). However, they never seem to give up either and I would be more surprised if they drop out than if they continue. I'd personally prefer if they developed an OS akin to the Steam OS on the Steam Deck (avoiding linux / proton translation) where its goal would be: Any Windows OS PC could run like a console. E.g., all I need to do is hold down the Xbox button on the controller and it boots into a console like UI to make that experience more accessible like a console. Steam tried it doing the whole package years ago (steam box) but it never took off. Steam OS on the deck however seems to be a really smart approach. If MS offered that within windows, and it's similar to Steam OS, but on any Windows device, it could be a smart play. As long as I can still access my Steam, GoG, EGS, Origin library there. Now if I have to buy my games exclusively through windows store, it'll never work (IMO). I know consoles have dedicated hardware to help optimize games but with consoles now already so close to PC's I don't see this being farfetched. In the short term, all they really need to do is get game pass or any game they publish like the CoDs, Starfields etc., on as many consoles as possible. Sony and Nintendo dominate there so I can see the argument "if you can't beat em', join em' ". The only hardware I would like them to continue to make are controllers.

2024-02-07 - February Update The list is pretty much up to date with any large or notable title that has a date in 2024. If you go into the DATA tab, you'll see I have about 30-40 more titles ear marked for 2024. Once the exact date is defined, you'll see it come up in the Pivot Tables (PC, Console tabs). I'm going to try and work on a Google Sheet schedule (third post) to highlight any major events or sales throughout the year. Still playing with it so consider it a draft / constant work in progress. If you know of a title that you don't see on the list that is expected to be released in 2024, post here and let me know In terms of upcoming notable releases for February, here's what to watch out for: Granblue Fantasy: Relink - Feb 1, PC, PS Persona 3 Reload - Feb 2, PC, PS, XB Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League - Feb 2, PC, PS, XB Legendary Tales - Feb 8, PC, PS (VR required) Helldivers 2 - Feb 8, PC, PS Tomb Raider I - II - III Remastered - Feb 14, PC, PS, XB, NS Mario vs. Donkey Kong (Remake) - Feb 16, NS Skull and Bones - Feb 16, PC, PS, XB Last Epoch - Feb 21, PC Nightingale - Feb 22, PC Pacific Drive - Feb 22, PC, PS Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth - Feb 29, PS As a reminder, this list is not exhaustive for ALL titles in 2024. Links above or in the sheet will prioritize Steam where possible.

AI can now master your music—and it does shockingly well ARSTECHNICA.COM Suddenly, everyone can master their own music.