PC Gaming

The donations are tied to GOG's Preservation Program, which aims to keep old games running on new hardware even when they're no longer supported by their original developers

If you don't know what Deus Ex Randomizer is, here's the trailer from v3.0 which gives an overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3mTcG6xeq4&list=PLZIQTa_kwZhBksj7UzcahPiRaHk87fWch&index=1

Download here: https://mods4ever.com/

It's been about 1 year since v3.0 let you pet the dogs and other animals. Here are some of the biggest things we've added since then.

• Many new game modes:
  • Halloween mode, WaltonWare Halloween, and other varieties - adds zombies, limited saves, and Mr. H who is a big invincible guy that roams the map and tries to smack you.
  • Mr. Page's Mean Bingo Machine - A new mode where you play through the whole game, but must complete a bingo line before being allowed to progress to the next mission. Once you get to the next mission, you are given a new bingo board!
  • Zero Rando Plus - like "Zero Rando" (no randomization, very vanilla) but Plus more quality of life additions and balance tweaks.
  • Speedrun Training mode - shows where possible goal locations are without spoiling them.
  • We split off the old "Normal Randomizer" mode into "Full Randomizer", with the new "Normal Randomizer" being a more welcoming game mode to learn the Randomizer.
  • Strong Augs mode - increases the strength of augmentations.
  • One Item Mode - Our new dumbest game mode! All items in a map will be replaced with a single type of item (eg. all flares, all biocells, or all beers)

• Many new loadouts and augmentations:
  • The default "All Items Allowed" loadout now starts with the new inferior "Running Enhancement" instead of the old "Speed Enhancement". Choose the "Speed Enhancement" loadout if you want to start with that like before.
  • The Three Leg Augs loadout - Allows Running Enhancement, Jump Enhancement, and Run Silent. You start with one of them. Enables aug slot rando by default.
  • My Vision Is Augmented loadout - Allows Vision Enhancement, Short-Range Vision Enhancement, InfraVision, and Motion Sensor. You start with one of them. Enables aug slot rando by default.
  • Random Starting Aug (instead of Running Enhancement)
  • And more!

• Lots of balance changes
  • Allowing even more variety of play styles, especially with augmentations.
  • Balance changes are also now toggleable in the options. Disabled by default for Zero Rando, but most are enabled by default for Zero Rando Plus.
• More goals rando, especially for Gordon Quick, and Area 51.
• New augmentation slot randomization feature (so speed can be an eye aug)
• Multiple, rotating quicksave slots
• New menu to change current in-game settings
• Many new bingo goals and improvements to our bingo game modes!
• Deus Ex: Revision support is massively improved as a whole

• We're doing a speedrun marathon on Sunday for Deus Ex's 25th Anniversary! (June 22nd)
  • All of the Deus Ex games are here, including some runs of the Randomizer
  • Stream: https://twitch.tv/sumofbesties
  • Schedule: https://oengus.io/marathon/dx25/schedule/dx25
• Our speedrun leaderboard was created about a year ago: https://www.speedrun.com/dxrando (we split the leaderboard for a couple of big updates that changed the run a lot)
• We did 3 amazing speedrun races: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZIQTa_kwZhDZjz905W-hpORQ4S1Rj3a6
• We have a WaltonWare tournament soon! Stay tuned on my YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@die4ever2005/videos

cross-posted from: !deus_ex_randomizer@lemmy.mods4ever.com | https://lemmy.mods4ever.com/post/454

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/31648346

It also seems as though plans for a sequel to Baldur’s Gate 3 are in the early stages already. Speaking to PC Gamer, Eugene Evans, the senior vice president of digital strategy and licensing for WotC and Hasbro, said the company has already started conversations about what the next Baldur’s Gate game will look like and how it’ll be made. “We’re now talking to lots of partners and being approached by a lot of partners who are embracing the challenge of, what does the future of the Baldur’s Gate franchise look like?” he said.

Full title: He was devastated when his favorite Facebook game shut down, but at 10 years old, what could he do? 8 years later, he's got the rights, the original code, and is about to relaunch Dungeon Rampage on Steam

What if Sherlock Holmes met Resident Evil? Well, here you go:

Curse: Eye of Isis.

No, it’s not actually Sherlock Holmes battling bioweapons, but you do play as a 19th-century detective investigating the theft of an Egyptian artifact at a British museum—only to stumble onto undead monsters that want you very, very dead.

You get to choose between two detectives: Dr. Darien Dane or his assistant, Victoria Sutton. They even have different scenarios, though, let’s be honest, you’ll be hunting for keys and weapons either way. Expect plenty of zombies. And mummies. Lots of mummies.

This one’s ancient by gaming standards—2003—so you’re dealing with the classic fixed camera angles and tank controls that defined survival horror back then.

Reviews were meh when it came out, but since nobody really makes games like this anymore, I’d wager a lot of people today would actually get a kick out of it. Sure, the controls are a little wonky, but it’s easy to pick up and play.

Definitely worth a spin!

It doesn’t look like Borderlands 4 will make the jump in price up to $80. A visit to the Xbox Store shows that the base version of Borderlands 4 will cost $69.99.

There are other editions of the game that are more pricey, including a $99.99 Deluxe Edition and $129.99 Super Deluxe Edition.

I believe he's being willfully obtuse about the fanbase.

My first PC ever built is sort of unusable in its current state, and there are a few things I could do:

• Update necessary parts and keep it as a retro-media-compatible PC/nas/server. I love how it has a floppy drive!
• Get rid of it and save money

If I wanted to replace it, I would need to get at minimum:

• motherboard
• ram
• CPU

I'm hoping I can keep using the following parts, some of which have been updated over the years:

• pcie 2.0 graphics card
• 500 W power supply
• monitor / peripherals
• optical / floppy drives
• SSD / HDD
• ATX case (the original case and motherboard PCI slots never lined up quite correctly...) Cooler Master centurion (?)

I've never done anything like this, and last time I built a PC was in 2006. I lack a lot of knowledge...

1. Is my case likely to be compatible with a modern motherboard?
2. Can I buy a modern motherboard/CPU that will be compatible with this other stuff?
3. Would it be less expensive to buy another used PC and use its motherboard/CPU ?

After visiting the Vancouver Retro Gaming Expo, I keep asking myself the same question:

What’s the purpose of it all?

Sure, part of it’s just fun. But mostly, it comes down to whether I can actually share something I love—or not. Let me explain.

I’m just as into music. I listen to vinyl every day with my daughter. Easy to share: put on a record, and people get it.

Same with photography. Snap a picture, share it. Instant enjoyment.

Video games? Not so much. The barrier to entry is just so damn high.

First, you need the hardware—not just any hardware, but often something specific.

Then you need the software. Sometimes you can stream it, but streaming usually sucks. I’ve tried—multiple times. Even with 2Gbps at home, the latency ruins it. So you’re left with physical media or downloading everything locally.

And even if you’ve got all that, there’s still a dilemma. On consoles, the game might be optimized, but unless it’s exclusive, it’s rarely the “definitive” experience. On PC, you can get the definitive version, but you’re always tweaking, chasing that ideal.

And what even is “definitive”? Is it keyboard and mouse on a monitor? Gamepad on a TV? Handheld in bed? Everyone’s experience is different, and unless you find someone with the exact same setup, yours is unique. As a PC gamer, finding that overlap is rare.

I’d love for gaming to be more social, but because of who I am, I mostly play solo campaigns—except with family, who’ve been good sports about it.

I’ve tried dragging friends into gaming. I’ve even gifted games and hardware. Never works. I get it.

Online, I talk about games I love, review hidden gems, try to explain why certain things matter to me. But my taste has veered so far from the mainstream—not because I’m a contrarian. I’ve never played StarCraft, WoW, or Dota. Not because I think they suck. I’ll probably love them when I do get around to it. Like how I finally tried Oblivion this year and loved it, despite hating the older Elder Scrolls games.

But I have a whole library of games I wish got more attention—not because I want them canonized, but just because I want to talk about what makes me happy.

And honestly, the sad thing is, if something never enters the “canon,” it’ll probably die in obscurity.

Which brings me to something sort of related: the older I get, the more things I love disappear. The diner I used to visit? Gone. My elementary school? Demolished.

As a kid, I loved those candy cigarettes that puffed out powdered “smoke.” They don’t exist anymore—nobody wants to encourage kids to smoke, and that’s fine, but I remember them. They were a core part of my childhood.

All these things—I can’t share them anymore.

But I can still talk about old video games. I can’t play arcade games in a convenience store with Slurpee cups and magazines everywhere. I don’t own a 386 with a ball mouse. But I can still play those games, talk about them, and build new memories—ones I’ll remember with my grandkids someday.

Eventually, all of it will go away. That’s life. It’s impermanent.

But there’s still purpose in all of it. We’re social by nature. And there’s something magical about transmitting meaning from one person to another.

Even if it’s just about a damn video game.