Month: September 2022

Source: TechPowerUp!

AMD late Wednesday released the Adrenalin 22.9.1 beta drivers. These come with optimization for “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II” open beta, There’s only one issue fixed with this release, and that’s Enhanced Sync causing an intermittent black-screen to occur when playing games or videos using extended displays, and switching the Enhanced Sync feature on or off. Support appears to have been added for various new Radeon 600M-series iGPU models, which feature with the recently announced Ryzen 7020 and Athlon 7020 “Mendocino” entry-level processors. The upcoming Ryzen 7000 “Raphael” desktop processors are expected to feature a similar class of iGPU.

The Radeon Software Adrenalin 22.9.1 drivers are available online at the AMD driver download page.

Matrix Games and 2by3 announce the first DLC for War in the East 2.

Gary Grigsby’s War in the East 2 was last year’s best-selling and most praised wargame. The simulation improved every aspect of its predecessor, effectively rebooting the series and giving it new life. Since its release, Gary Grigsby and his team have been working hard to improve gameplay with various upgrades. Simultaneously, 2by3 Games started work on the game’s first DLC, Steel Inferno. This expansion puts the spotlight on several major offensives that influenced the course of the war in the East. It is also expanding the gigantic map further by opening new areas throughout eight new Scenarios and two new Campaigns.

Steel Inferno covers Operations in Yugoslavia in 1944 for the first time and adds several German scenarios, such as the attack into the Caucasus. The addition of hypothetical scenarios and two new full map campaigns offer countless extra gameplay hours in historically detailed settings and what-if alternatives.

The Steel Inferno DLC includes:

Two complete Campaigns:
• 1943 Campaign – 3 Jul 43 – 6 Jul 45 — an entire Campaign starting with the German Operation
• 1944 Campaign- 11 May 44 – 4 Jul 45 — an entire Campaign that begins with the Soviets readying for the start of their massive Summer 1944 offensives.

Nine Scenarios:
• Operation Kutuzov – 12 Jul 43 – 3 Oct 44
• Road to Karelia – 22 Jun 41 – 11 Oct 41
• Army Group A – Part I – Race for the Caucasus – 25 Jul 42 – 20 Nov 42
• Case Blue Phase II 42-43 – 25 Jul 42 – 5 Mar 43
• Case Blue Phase II 43-43 – Alternate – 25 Jul 42 – 5 Mar 43
• Army Group A – Part II – Kuban Bridgehead – 1 Feb 43 – 10 October 43
• AG C – Kutuzov to Bagration 43-44 – 12 Jul 43 – 2 Apr 44
• Western Ukraine 43-44 – 3 Nov 43 – 25 Apr 44
• Drama on the Danube 44 – 20 Aug 44 – 5 May 45

More information about Gary Grigsby’s War in the East 2: Steel Inferno can be found on the games official webpage.

The ‘Drone Age’ update features dozens of new military vehicles and new visual effects

Gaijin Entertainment announces that the “Drone Age” update for the military online action game War Thunder is already available to players. It expands the range of available weaponry from various eras: reconnaissance and combat drones (Russian Orion, Chinese Wing Loong 1 and the American MQ-1) make modern battles more believable, and the legendary Su-25 and Mirage 2000 show what piloted aircraft are capable of. There are dozens of new military vehicles added to the game including a new Chinese helicopter tech tree, Israeli versions of the M48 and M60 tanks, the Turkish T129 ATAK helicopter and the South African Rooivalk Mk1F CSH helicopter, the Italian Andrea Doria dreadnought, two new maps – “Golden Bay” and “Pradesh”, new visual effects for vehicle destruction, and much more.

The history of Chinese combat helicopters can now be experienced by progressing through their lineup in War Thunder. At first, local engineers adapted imported designs, like they did with SA.342L Gazelle. The first attack helicopter built entirely in China was the Z-9WA, created after studying French Dauphins. That led to even more local projects like the light strike-reconnaissance Z-11WA or the very successful Z-19. Finally, a full-fledged heavy attack helicopter Z-10 was designed with the involvement of specialists from the Russian Kamov design bureau.

Check out the trailer HERE.

The Mirage 2000C-S5 is the new top jet fighter that will capture the hearts of virtual pilots playing for France. The iconic delta wing, excellent flight characteristics and powerful armament make it a worthy competitor to other fourth-generation fighters. The French Air Force Mirage 2000 saw action in many conflicts in the 1990s, ranging from the Gulf War to Allied operations in Afghanistan. The aircraft is also in service in Egypt, India, Greece, Qatar, Brazil, Peru and other countries.

The new “Golden Bay” map for naval battles was created based on the coast of San Francisco with a recognizable silhouette of a picturesque bridge across the strait. The ground part is inspired by the landscape of the areas east of the bay, where small towns, green hills and mountains meet. And the location “Pradesh” (in Hindi this means “region”) is designed for ground and air battles and reproduces the foothills of the Himalayas on the border of India and Pakistan. Grassy hills and forested mountains coexist here with watery meadows and shrubbed plains.

In land and sea battles, procedurally generated shell-to-armor contact effects have been added that take into account the caliber and type of the projectile – now smoke and wisps of flame escape from the holes in armor. Tank explosion simulation has been improved, and track wheels can now fly off destroyed vehicles and interact with other objects on the battlefield. In addition, high-quality models of shells and missiles are now used in the kill camera and in the protection analysis menu. The player can now better see exactly how the enemy vehicle (or your own) was hit, and can better prepare for the upcoming battles.

Detailed information about the content of the update is available on the official website of the game.

Rebellion, one of the world’s most successful independent video games developers and publishers, has today released a free Survival Map for Sniper Elite 5, as well as the latest batch of Season Pass One content. Entitled ‘Amongst the Rubble’, the new Survival Map is available free to all players as part of the latest title update while the new Concealed Target pack, which features a new pistol as well as character and weapon skins, is available as part of Season Pass One or as an individual purchase.

You can watch a trailer for the new content HERE.

Playable in both solo and co-op ‘Amongst the Rubble’ takes you back to the once beautiful city of Saint Nazaire. Now ravaged by war, it’s down to you and your teammates to defend the Command Post as you fight a seemingly never-ending streams of Nazis in the smoke-filled streets and ruins.

The Concealed Target Weapon and Skin pack will take your stealth to the next level as you hunt down your enemies from the shadows. The pack includes:

• HS.22 pistol
• Pea Dot Camo weapon skin
• Ghillie Suit Elite character skin (Karl and Monika)

The authentic World War 2 Ghillie Suit Elite character skin (available for Karl and Monika) is designed to break up your visual silhouette allowing you to blend in with your surroundings for the ultimate stealthy approach. When paired with the Pea Dot Camo weapon skin it becomes particularly effective as you stalk your prey.

Meanwhile the covert HS.22 pistol features an integral suppressor which makes it practically silent. Firing .22 calibre rounds with almost no recoil, this sidearm is deadly and accurate.

Get the Concealed Target Weapon and Skin pack on Steam.

To keep up to date with all the latest Sniper Elite 5 news please visit sniper.com.

New Baltic Themed Expansion for Europa Universalis IV Available Now

For almost a decade, Europa Universalis IV has encouraged players to explore new and exciting alternate histories of the early modern world. In the newest immersion pack, Lions of the North, dramatically different pasts can unfold before your eyes. Denmark can keep its hold on its northern subjects. The Teutonic Order can retreat to its past crusader glories. Gotland can become a pirate haven.

All of these dramatic “what ifs” are now available in the new Baltic Sea themed add-on to Europa Universalis IV. With branching missions, new government options for major players and even new military units, Lions of the North is packed with variety and excitement. Make your enemies hear your roar!

Highlights of Europa Universalis IV: Lions of the North include:

• Expanded Branching Missions: Decisions taken along some mission trees will determine what options are available to you in the future, allowing you to follow distinct and dramatically different alternate paths.
• New Mission Trees for Denmark: Maintain power in Scandinavia while expanding your influence over the northern German cities.
• New Mission Trees for Sweden and Norway: Break free from Danish dominance, and turn a foothold on the continent into the base for a northern empire.
• New Mission Trees for Teutonic Order, Livonian Order and Riga: Follow a path of religious zealotry or secularize your realm with an eye on the future.
• New Mission Trees for Poland, Lithuania and the Commonwealth: Vast lands on the border of East and West present unique challenges for ambitious rulers.
• Other Mission Tree Changes: Pirate kings of Gotland, unique options for a united Scandinavia, a free Finland, and a powerful Danzig.
• New Government Reforms and Estate Privileges: Some regional powers will have unique government options and new ways to court the favor and influence of local estates.
• New Units: The Swedish Carolean Infantry and Polish-Lithuanian Winged Hussars will be available for recruitment.
• New Unit Art: 35 new army sprites for regional powers.
• New Music: 3 new pieces of Scandinavian music, plus 3 other Baltic themed songs.

Lions of the North is accompanied by a major update to Europa Universalis IV, free for all players.

Europa Universalis IV: Lions of the North is available for a suggested retail price of $14.99/£11.39/€14.99.

More info is available and you can purchase Lions of the North on Steam.

Eagerly awaited by many players and strategy game enthusiasts, the upcoming sequel to the acclaimed RTS franchise Men of War II will launch in 2023. The decision to reschedule the original 2022 release date was made in order to accommodate new features and content suggested by its fans and improve the game itself, which would not be possible due to delays caused by the war in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian studio Best Way was based in Severodonetsk and had to help its staff and their families relocate after the events of February 24th, 2022, during which period the development was put on hold. Despite this, the Best Way team has eagerly returned to development in the last several months, and with the help of the supportive community of fans surrounding the franchise, already ran several rounds of closed playtests and the participants were satisfied with the combination of classic Men of War gameplay and new features like the Frontline, Direct Control, and much more.

However, thanks to player feedback gathered through these tests, the development team plans to make the game bigger and better than anyone originally imagined. Realizing this vision will require more development time, but both Best Way and Fulqrum Publishing agreed that it would be well worth it to make the best and biggest Men of War game yet.

This extra development time will allow the Best Way team to add a lot of new content, such as the much requested standalone campaign for the Third Reich and new missions for other factions, improve upon many gameplay features such as the Dynamic Campaigns, significantly upgrade the user interface, and much more. More information will be coming soon about all the new features and improvements for the game, but in the meantime, discover a new epic trailer for Men of War II!

Experience World War II real-time strategy gameplay like never before! Men of War II, the new chapter in the evolution of the top-rated RTS franchise, brings you more units with different specializations to lead, pinpoint historical accuracy, and new levels of visual and audio excellence, all combined with the series’ original heart-pounding action. Lead your troops in intense real-time battles on the Western and Eastern Fronts and overwhelm your opponents in epic narrative single-player campaigns and skirmish modes, before then diving deep into the multiplayer action.

Utilize sophisticated military strategies, lay ambushes, or use brute force to show your ability as the greatest military leader of all time. Attain full command of different roles: from Air and Armor to Infantry and Support in fast-paced battles packed with action. Men of War II brings significant visual improvements, destructible environments, and an advanced AI, to create the classic real-time strategy game fans have been waiting for.

Men of War II will be available for PC via Steam, Epic Games Store and other digital stores in 2023. For more information, visit the official Fulqrum Publishing website or follow them on Steam.