Month: October 2019

Source: TechPowerUp!

NVIDIA has released the latest version of its GeForce Software suite. Version 440.97 WHQL comes game-ready for “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare,” and “The Outer Worlds,” including SLI support for the latter on “Turing” GPUs. SLI support is also added for “The Darwin Project.” The drivers also introduce G-SYNC support for OpenGL and Vulkan games and applications.

Among the bugs fixed are crash-to-desktop (CTD) on FIFA 19 and FIFA 20; random flickering in “Apex Legends,” CTD on “Star Wars: Battlefront II,” an application crash with “Growtopia,” missing objects in “Tradesmen,” flickering in the character-selection screen in “World of Warcraft,” a ghosting effect when moving the brush tool in Cinema 4D; a game crash with “Shadow of the Tomb Raider” in DirectX 12 mode, color corruption in “Forza 4,” and problems with boosting GeForce GTX 970M.

You can download the GeForce 440.97 WHQL Game Ready Drivers via GeForce.com.

Check out these latest hardware announcements for today from around the web. Also included are some hardware news bits, and on some days, a few rumors tossed in for good measure. Click on the links below to read the official press release, visit the products web page, or to an independent news source.

• Razer Announces Raptor Monitor: 27″ IPS, 2560 x 1440, 144 Hz, HDR 400, AMD FreeSync
• Xiaomi Jumps Into Gaming Monitors With 144Hz Curved 34-Incher
• New GIGABYTE AORUS Gen4 AIC Adaptor Turns PCIe 4.0 Slot into Four M.2 slots
• EK Water Blocks Unveils EK-Quantum Momentum ROG Crosshair VIII Hero D-RGB Monoblock
• Kingston Digital Introduces New KC600 SATA SSD
• GIGABYTE Threadripper TRX40 AORUS Motherboard Teased
• New Ion Series PSUs from Fractal Design Bring UltraFlex to SFX
• Enjoy Crystal-clear Chat and Less Ambient Noise with the New Razer Tetra Headset
• AOC Launches 165Hz 27” AG273QX Gaming Monitor
• Dominate at HyperSpeed with the Razer Viper Ultimate Wireless Gaming Mouse
• GALAX Announces Work The Frames (WTF) GeForce RTX Series

Secrets and Sabotage Take Center Stage in La Résistance

The quickest way to kill an enemy is to do it from within. Learn its secrets. Sabotage its industry. Break its codes. Strike at vulnerable points behind the front lines. Send agents to build a network of informants and a secret army that will rise against the occupiers. Resistance is never futile.

Paradox Development Studios is happy to announce Hearts of Iron IV: La Résistance, an expansion to the best-selling grand strategy wargame. La Résistance introduces a new espionage system to the game, and also increases the range of interactions and options with resistance movements in occupied territory. Watch the Hearts of Iron: La Resistance – Announcement Trailer HERE.

Features of Hearts of Iron IV: La Résistance includes:

• New Focus Trees for France: New National Focuses for Free France and the Vichy Regime, as well as an option for conservatives to restore the old French Monarchy.
• More in Depth Spanish Campaign: New National Focuses for Republican and Nationalist Spain, as well as an expanded Spanish Civil War that can spiral into a wider conflict..
• Espionage: Use you Intelligence Agency to train spies to specialize in certain types of information warfare and develop passive resistance to enemy espionage, then send them on special operations.
• Support Resistance: Use your agents to assist allied resistance movements, giving them what they need to damage the enemy.
• Collaboration Governments: Use your agents to prepare the ground for collaborators to fill the void once you’ve conquered your target.
• Code Cracking: Decrypt enemy communications to gain short term battlefield advantages.
• Recon units: Scout planes can provide useful information on nearby areas while armored cars help in detecting and suppressing resistance activities.

As usual, La Résistance will be accompanied by a significant free update to Hearts of Iron IV, available to all players. This update will include a reworking of the resistance system, interface improvements to battleplans and air operations, and many other quality of life improvements.

Paradox Announces Sequel to Classic Medieval Grand Strategy Game

The security of a dynasty rests in the quality of its successors. An heir should be strong. An heir should be forward thinking. Heirs should improve on the oversights of their predecessors. But the most successful heirs are those who build on an already secure foundation.

Crusader Kings III is the sequel to the classic Paradox Development Studio game about medieval conquest, intrigue, religion and high drama. It is a firm step in the direction of a new generation of grand strategy games, with new 3D character models and an even more detailed map. Designed to enhance the experience of Paradox veterans while being more welcoming to young squires, Crusader Kings III is a rich setting for an infinite number of new stories.

Crusader Kings III is slated to arrive in 2020, available for PC via Steam and included in Xbox Game Pass for PC. Watch the Crusader Kings III – Announcement Trailer – An Heir is Born HERE.

“Crusader Kings III is a grand medieval simulator where you are free to live out any plausible ruler fantasy that we could think of – but not without challenge.” says Henrik Fåhraeus, the Game Director. “Seeing its predecessor explode in popularity was very satisfying, especially considering that user friendliness was never our primary goal. Now we have a chance to address an even larger audience.”

Crusader Kings III is the ultimate grand strategy role-playing experience.

• Shape Your Dynasty: Guide unique characters through history, choosing lifestyles best suited to their personalities and your ambitions.
• Rewrite Medieval History: Dynasties will change and adapt to changes in family and politics, and religious beliefs are more firmly under your control.
• Build a Mighty Kingdom: Use your vassals’ fear of you as a weapon or call on familial obligations to persuade reluctant relatives to submit.
• Experience High Drama: Stranger than fiction stories leap off the screen, as characters plot against you and events push you to extremes.
• Learn as You Go: Guided advice to help newcomers navigate a rich medieval world. In-game suggestions tip you off to paths you might not have considered.
• The Usual Crusader Kings Fun: Keep a stubborn council in line, scheme against your overbearing uncle or marry the rich duchy…oops, I mean pious duke or duchess of your dreams.

Greater detail about the features of Crusader Kings III will be coming in the next few months.

And, since there is no better time to practice your skills as a ruler, Paradox Development Studios is happy to announce that the base game of Crusader Kings II is now free on all platforms where it can be purchased. CK2 players can also join us on The Monarch’s Journey, a series of custom challenges for the game that will unlock in-game rewards upon completion.

Prepare your trusty steed and rally your banners.The troubadours are ready to sing your songs. The splendor and intrigue of the Middle Ages returns in Crusader Kings III.

When American P-38s covering a British naval force in the Aegean Sea encountered a group of attacking German Ju-87s, a massacre ensued.

By Anthony Rogers @ Historynet.com

In October 1943 U.S. Lockheed P-38 Lightnings were briefly involved in an ambitious British operation in the Aegean Sea, providing cover for the Royal Navy, carrying out fighter sweeps and bombing enemy ground installations. Despite chalking up multiple victories during one of the most lopsided air actions of the war, no sooner had they made their presence felt, than the P-38s were withdrawn to continue operations over southern Europe.

Read on…

Source: Blue’s News

A post to the Activision Games Blog explains the Call of Duty team’s approach to releasing new content for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Admitting there are “still questions around how the economy will evolve throughout the post-launch, live seasons,” they say that Battle Passes for the shooter will not be sold upon launch to allow players to work through the unlocks, and that all functional content can be unlocked by playing. They are also removing multiplayer map packs to allow everyone to play together, and making other changes to create an even playing field:

A message from the Call of Duty team.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is almost here. From the moment this project began three years ago, the energy has been extraordinary.

We’ve set our sights on not only creating the best game possible this year, but also on breaking down walls and bringing the community together. Starting with Modern Warfare, we will be:

• Introducing crossplay to unite the community across platforms for the first time.
• Removing Season Pass and a la carte DLC multiplayer map packs to ensure everyone can play together.
• Delivering free post-launch multiplayer maps and modes for all players.
• Releasing post-launch multiplayer maps and modes simultaneously on all platforms.

We are excited about what these changes will bring to Call of Duty players. That said, we also recognize there is one more topic that many fans are interested to learn more about.

Today, let’s address the basics for the in-game economy coming in Modern Warfare.

• We are introducing a new Battle Pass system, not a loot box system.
• All functional content that has an impact on game balance, such as base weapons and attachments, can be unlocked simply by playing the game.
• The new Battle Pass system will allow players to see the content that they are earning or buying. Battle Passes will launch timed to new, post-launch live seasons, so you can unlock cool new Modern Warfare-themed content that matches each season.
• With the new Battle Pass system, players will be able to earn COD Points by playing the game.
• There will be both a Free Stream and a Premium Stream of content in the Battle Pass System in Modern Warfare. New base weapons will be earned through gameplay, simply by playing Modern Warfare. Functional attachments for base weapons can be unlocked through gameplay as well just like in the game’s Beta.
• The Battle Pass and the In-Game Store will feature a variety of cosmetic content that does not impact game balance.

The Battle Pass System for Modern Warfare will not launch when the game releases on October 25th. Here’s why: First and foremost, we are all focused on making the Day One experience awesome. Second, it’s important to us that everyone who is playing Modern Warfare has the chance to work their way through the new game and unlock all the rewards that are waiting for you. We expect to launch this system for Modern Warfare later this year.

Understandably there are still questions around how the economy will evolve throughout the post-launch, live seasons. We recognize this will take time to fully demonstrate. Please know we are committed to delivering a fair system guided by the principles we’ve outlined here, and will continue to monitor feedback and player engagement to help us achieve that goal.

Please look for more information on the live seasons and post-release content plans for Modern Warfare throughout the year and beyond.

We are looking forward to playing in just a few days.

Thank you.

You can play The Division 2 for free this weekend, in celebration of the release of Episode 2: Pentagon—The Last Castle and a massive free update bringing wide-ranging improvements to all players. From now through October 20, you can download and play the full game on Xbox One (Xbox Live Gold required), PS4, and PC. Take to the conflict-ravaged streets of Washington, DC and fight against diverse enemy factions as you level-up your Agent, expand your arsenal, and explore the city in solo or co-op play with up to three other players. Any progress you make during the free weekend will carry over should you decide to purchase the game, which will be on sale for up to 70% on the PlayStation Store (Oct. 15-28), Microsoft Store (Oct. 17-27), Uplay Store (Oct. 17-28), and Epic Store (Oct. 17-20).

For more details, visit The Division 2 Free Weekend site, and to check in on the latest updates and new content drops, peruse our Division 2 news hub.

Source: Blue’s News

Steam offers free weekend for another game, as Crusader Kings II can be played gratis for the next free days. Here’s a refresher on this Windows, macOS, and Linux grand strategy game:

The Dark Ages might be drawing to a close, but Europe is still in turmoil. Petty lords vie against beleaguered kings who struggle to assert control over their fragmented realms. The Pope calls for a Crusade to protect the Christians in the Holy Land even as he refuses to relinquish control over the investiture of bishops – and their riches. Now is the time for greatness. Expand your demesne and secure the future of your dynasty. Fill your coffers, appoint vassals, root out traitors and heretics, introduce laws and interact with hundreds of nobles, each with their own agenda.

A good lord will always need friends to support him. But beware, as loyal vassals can quickly turn to bitter rivals, and some might not be as reliable as they seem… Stand ready, and increase your prestige until the world whispers your name in awe. Do you have what it takes to become a Crusader King?

Crusader Kings II explores one of the defining periods in world history in an experience crafted by the masters of Grand Strategy. Medieval Europe is brought to life in this epic game of knights, schemes, and thrones…

Keeping Threadripper cool on a budget

By Garrett Carver @ Tom’s Hardware

A large, dual-tower heatpipe cooler with an RGB accented shroud, Arctic’s newly released Freezer 50 TR is designed specifically to attack the substantial thermal loads produced by AMD’s Threadripper CPUs. For $75.99 (£60), the Freezer 50 TR even includes an aRGB control module to manage the integrated lighting accents along the top of the cooler shroud.

Read The Review Here

Source: TechPowerUp!

AMD late Thursday released the Radeon Software Adrenalin 19.10.1 WHQL. These drivers are identical to the Adrenalin 19.10.1 Beta drivers released earlier this month, with the only difference being WHQL certification. AMD is picking up the pace with WHQL releases of Radeon Software, as more OEMs are implementing Radeon RX 5700-series and upcoming RX 5500-series GPUs, and prefer WHQL-signed drivers. The 19.10.1 drivers introduce support for AMD’s new Radeon RX 5500 series graphics cards based on its new 7 nm “Navi 11″ silicon, along with fixes for “Borderlands 3″ running in DirectX 12 mode, optimization for “GRID,” and fixes certain display problems with high refresh-rate settings.

The new Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition 19.10.1 WHQL drivers are available online at the AMD driver download page.