Dec 21, 08:00


Kotaku Tuesday, December 21, 2021 6:00 AM
    

When manga and anime get live-action versions, one of the biggest stumbling blocks is the way things look. On the page or animated, a character and their outfit might appear awesome; however, the real-life interpretation could end up looking awkward or silly. That doesn't seem to be true for Nausicaä of the Valley of

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PCGamesN Tuesday, December 21, 2021 7:35 AM
     Fortnite Crackshot's Cabin and Sgt. Winter's Workshop locations

Want to know how to dance for three seconds at Crackshot's Cabin and Sgt. Winter's Workshop in Fortnite? Winterfest is now in full swing. We hope you've opened all your Fortnite presents so far, as there are a couple of free Fortnite skins and cosmetic items waiting for you inside. Every day also brings a unique challenge for you to complete in order to unlock more free stuff, and today's one is a location-based quest.

Both of the landmarks in question are close to Logjam Lumberyard, and all you have to do is reach each location and dance for three seconds. Other Winterfest challenges include warming yourself by the Yule log in Cozy Lodge, travelling 200 metres while having icy feet, and flying with a chicken.

To help you complete this challenge quickly, we have a map showing where to find Crackshot's Cabin and Sgt. Winter's Workshop, as they're not named locations on the Fortnite map.

RELATED LINKS: Fortnite V-Bucks, Fortnite Skins, Fortnite Creative Codes

PCGamesN Tuesday, December 21, 2021 7:32 AM
     Final Fantasy XIV patch fixes low-poly grapes, much to the dismay of fans

It's been a tough month for Final Fantasy XIV fans. While the Endwalker expansion has launched to universal praise, the ensuing server congestion has led to digital sales and the much-memed-upon free trial being temporarily pulled. Not long after one meme fell, though, has another now joined it: Square Enix has fixed Endwalker's low-poly grapes.

In FFXIV's 6.01 patch notes, the developer explains that Labyrinthos' grapes were looking a tad blocky as the polygon count was lowered to alleviate system memory usage in the area. While that's certainly appreciated, it meant that Labyrinthos' grapes didn't look quite as nice as those found in the Crystarium. That just won't do, you see, so Square Enix has bought graphical parity to both sets of fruit.

It's been a tough one for the community. The purple slab of grape became a beloved community meme for both those who managed to get into Endwalker and others who were scouring Reddit while sitting in the queue. One meme imagines the low-poly grapes as Hydaelyn's crystal form, whereas another imagines it as an orb truly worth pondering.

RELATED LINKS: The best MMOs on PC, FFXIV Reaper job guide, FFXIV Sage job guide

PCGamesN Tuesday, December 21, 2021 7:27 AM
     Factorio mods – seven of our top picks

If there was ever a game that needed mods, it'd be Factorio. Factorio mods, much like user-generated content for games like Kerbal Space Program, allow the players to fill in the small gaps and quality of life changes on behalf of the dev team so that they can concentrate on the bigger picture.

It's not ideal, but it works, and communities like these are great at coming up with fixes and ideas the rest of the dedicated playerbase can get behind. Factorio is another early access darling as well - first appearing on the scene in 2016. The players have had half a decade now to figure out what they want, and what's needed to elevate the economic management game to the next level.

We've compiled a short list of excellent Factorio mods that we think might be of interest to veteran and even returning players. We've cherry picked some enhancement mods, some helper mods, and a couple of overhauls that provide a new fresh experience. If you haven't had any experience with modding Factorio before, we've got a help section at the bottom of the article. Enjoy!


PCGamesN Tuesday, December 21, 2021 7:22 AM
     New Proton game compatibility milestone is great news for Valve's Steam Deck

If there's one positive we can glean from Valve's decision to delay the Steam Deck, it's that the company now has some extra time to polish its handheld gaming PC good and proper. In fact, this newfound extra time has already helped improve Proton compatibility with Steam's top games, which has just hit a new milestone.

According to analysis conducted by the ProtonDB community, 80% of Steam's top 100 games now run perfectly on Proton after a few tweaks. However, there's still plenty of work to be done before we can expect a flawless experience using the Steam Deck, with just 35% of the top 100 either running flawlessly or natively on Linux.

Compatibility could quickly rise to 88% if developers were to patch their games with Proton compatible versions of Easy Anti-Cheat or BattlEye services, which are currently leaving games like Destiny 2 and New World unplayable. That said, because the affected games currently can't launch using Proton, there's no way of knowing whether other issues accompany those related to anti-cheat measures.

RELATED LINKS: Best SSD for gaming, How to build a gaming PC, Best gaming CPU

PCGamesN Tuesday, December 21, 2021 7:34 AM
     Nvidia RTX 3090 Ti box leak suggests revamped GPU is still on the cards

The ongoing chip shortage situation is wreaking havoc in the gaming PC scene, with products like Nvidia's RTX 3070 Ti 16GB and RTX 3080 12GB suffering indefinite delays. While the green team released an entry-level RTX 2060 12GB revamp and an RTX 2050 laptop GPU this month, many enthusiasts are still looking for the best graphics cards money can buy. Thankfully, leaked snaps of an Asus branded RTX 3090 Ti box could confirm the card's existence, and it looks like it'll wield a beefier cooler.

Spotted by leaker 9550pro, the image depicts an Asus TUF Gaming branded RTX 3090 Ti, complete with packaging spec blurbs. According to the packaging, the revamped GPU will use PCIe 4.0, which contradicts whispers regarding PCIe 5.0 support. Previous rumours also suggest the new card will feature 24GB of GDDR6X memory, but the photographer's awkward angle makes it hard to determine its included VRAM.

Asus TUF gaming RTX 3090 Ti also includes more cooling fan blades than before, an adjustment that's in line with the card's 100W TDP bump. Fan tweaks aside, the GPUs shroud appears slightly thicker, but looks fairly similar to the company's original card.

RELATED LINKS: RTX 2070 Super review, RTX 2060 Super review, Best graphics card

PCGamesN Tuesday, December 21, 2021 6:34 AM
     Cheap League of Legends skins and champions – here are this week's deals

Following the launch of League of Legends patch 11.24 (and 11.24b) and just ahead of the incoming League of Legends patch 12.1, there are big deals on a bunch of skins and some of the best League of Legends champions right nowEach week, Riot Games throws an in-game sale giving you the chance to scoop up some characters and styles you might have had your eye on for a while, and there are some goodies worth being aware of this round.

There are a bunch of skins and champions on sale this week (of December 20) at up to 60% off their regular price. This week's selection offers a pretty wide variety of skins for cheap, with discounts on styles across quite a few of the MOBA game's lines, such as the Arcade, Nightbringer, Blood Moon, and Guardian of the Sands universes, among others.

As for champions on sale this week, there's a mixture of some great, popular champions all seeing their prices dropped at the moment. You can check out the full lineup of cheaper champs below.

RELATED LINKS: Best LoL Champions , League of Legends patch 12.1, LoL tier list

PCGamesN Tuesday, December 21, 2021 6:17 AM
     Final Fantasy 6's pixel remaster launches in February 2022

Final Fantasy 6's pixel remaster will be available to pick up on Steam in February 2022. Square Enix says it's giving itself the "necessary time to apply final polish" while completing development on the game, so sit tight. You're also getting some new items if you pre-purchase the game individually or have already bought the bundle, such as special soundtracks with remixes of Locke's Theme and The Decisive Battle alongside two unique wallpapers.

The pixel remasters of Final Fantasy 4 and 5 were released on September 8 and November 10, respectively, so you're facing a longer wait this time, but, hey, Final Fantasy 6's pixel remaster should be out around the same time as the Steam Deck, so that's something.

We recently got a wee glimpse of what the dev team is working on in an issue of Famitsu. The opera scene, in particular, has a 2.5D pixel vibe that's reminiscent of Octopath Traveller, though I'm keen to see how the rest of the game will look in comparison.


PCGamesN Tuesday, December 21, 2021 6:17 AM
     Vote for the most surprising game of the year in the Fanatical Game of the Year Awards

We all have our favourite gaming franchises that we can rely on for a great time. Heck, this year has seen some fantastic additions to long-running series like Halo, Resident Evil, Hitman and more – but there's no greater feeling for a gamer than coming across an undiscovered gem.

And this year has certainly delivered in this regard with brilliant games in every genre coming out of nowhere to surprise us. Now, in partnership with Fanatical, we want to hear from you. Which games took you by surprise this year? Will it be a high-octane shooter or an indie puzzler?

Before we get to the nominees, a quick word from our sponsor. Fanatical is an online retailer and as such is operating a massive sale this winter, with discounts all across its store. To stay in the loop on the latest deals, you can sign up for their newsletter via the widget below:


PCGamesN Tuesday, December 21, 2021 6:31 AM
     New World fiber: the best hemp location and how to get linen

Want to know how to get hemp in New World to get fiber and linen? Hemp is a valuable resource to gather, and not just for increasing your gathering levels. You can weave hemp into linen to level up your weaving skill, and you can use the linen to make clothes and armour. This is a skill you'll use early on, so if you're new to the MMO game, why not check out our New World beginner's guide for some tips to get you started.

Gathering skills are an important part of the game, and you should start leveling them early - you can find out more about this in our New World leveling guide. While you could theoretically go harvest herbs and farm plants to increase your harvesting skill easily, hemp gives you a great amount of early harvesting level experience. You need to increase your harvesting skill significantly to harvest some of the more unusual flora, so it's well worth investing in this skill as soon as possible.

While you could aimlessly wander around the world trying to find the best place to go and gather these tall violet plants, there is one farming location that yields a significant amount of this precious crop. This guide will show you the best New World hemp location.

RELATED LINKS: New World system requirements, New World beginner's guide, New World review

PCGamesN Tuesday, December 21, 2021 6:55 AM
     How to make money at New World trading posts

Want to know the best way to make money in New World? In MMOs such as World of Warcraft, Guild Wars 2, and Final Fantasy XIV, making vast sums of coin fast takes a bit of time and effort. While there is no way to create a massive pile of coins to swim in (like Scrooge McDuck in DuckTales), you can always buy a big ol' house and fill it with all sorts of fancy furniture.

New World houses are not the only thing you can buy with tons of cash. If you want to craft the best New World weapons, you have to spend some coin on specific resources at any town's trading post - which are shops where players can sell their unwanted equipment and desirable resources to make a profit. There are a couple of ways to make a fortune in New World, and while they're both straightforward to execute, you also need to spend some time doing some rather mundane tasks.

Another way to obtain coins is from quests, so if you get bored of the more repetitive methods outlined below, you can always opt to finish tasks given to you by the townsfolk in each of the towns.

RELATED LINKS: New World system requirements, New World beginner's guide, New World review

PCGamesN Tuesday, December 21, 2021 6:35 AM
     League of Legends patch 12.1 notes – Elderwood skins, Janna changes

The first patch of the League of Legends 2022 season has hit the PBE. League of Legends patch 11.24 has headed to live servers to make its debut on the Rift and, following a bunch of teases from Riot Games on social media, the latest batch of new content has begun trickling onto the testing grounds ready for patch 12.1's arrival in the live game soon. Let's take a look.

First up, we've got some new Elderwood skins on the way, this time for lucky champions Gnar and Rek'Sai. Riot also revealed a new skin for Ekko called Firelight Ekko, which is inspired by his style in the tremendously successful LoL spin-off Netflix show Arcane. However, this now won't be shipping with 12.1 as "an unfortunate mistake on [the studio's] part due to a miscommunication internally" means that the skin wasn't given new special effects, which the team now wants to make sure it adds. So, the skin has been taken off the PBE for now and will return in a few patches' time.

As is is very often the case when a patch has only just hit the PBE, we don't have many balance changes to check out just yet. However, there are some pretty big changes coming to champion Janna, which you can see below - and you can probably expect a batch of wider changes soon.

RELATED LINKS: Best LoL Champions , League of Legends patch 12.1, LoL tier list

PCGamesN Tuesday, December 21, 2021 7:49 AM
     Destiny 2: what is the Legendary Lost Sector today?

Are you looking for the Legend or Master Lost Sector locations in Destiny 2? While many Destiny 2 Exotics can be bought from Xûr or even in the world loot pool, the Exotics in these special Lost Sector instances cannot, forcing players to explore these dangerous areas if they want the best equipment available. To make matters worse, you have to complete them on your own to get a chance at the best rewards.

Before you can take on Legend Lost Sectors, you need to complete all the normal Lost Sectors first. If you don't, the new Legend Lost Sectors will not appear on the map. There are two quests per day in which the location, modifiers, and rewards rotate out for something new. The location for the Legend Lost Sector quests appear with the daily reset at 5pm UTC.

It's important to remember that Exotic drops are not guaranteed after completing these quests, so you may have to run through the same Lost Sector multiple times. You can go through them quests with a fireteam, but your rewards will be reduced to Enhancement Cores only.

RELATED LINKS: Destiny 2: Beyond Light review, Destiny 2 exotics, Play Destiny 2

PCGamesN Tuesday, December 21, 2021 1:20 AM
     Project Zomboid's huge Update 41 is out now and

It's a big day for one of the PC's best zombie games. Project Zomboid's Update 41 has arrived, and with it comes new visuals, remastered audio, improved netcode, and all new game modes. The developers say this update "feels more like a sequel than a patch update," and they're not wrong.

Since the test branch for Update 41 was released last week, developer The Indie Stone says "the truth is next to no one" is playing Build 40, with almost the entire player base having moved to the experimental branch. It was time to move on, the developers say, adding that "we feel strongly that Build 4,1 even with the remaining bugs and issues that need weeding out, casts a far superior first impression for new players."

There's far more in this update than we can feasibly list here, but some of the big ones include a huge overhaul on animation and character visuals, which now show torn clothing and the gear you're carrying, as well as any backpacks and bags you've brought along. There are new animations now for sneaking, sprinting, jogging, climbing over fences, falling over, reloading, and more.


PCGamesN Tuesday, December 21, 2021 6:58 AM
     New World fishing hotspots and how to get fish oil

Want to know everything about fishing in New World? Fishing is one of many different trade skills in New World, and catching rare fish takes a lot of work. Sometimes a quest asks for you to catch certain types of fish. Of course, you could just buy them from the New World trading posts, and the bots are out there filling its shelves, but as the famous saying goes - If you give a man a fish you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.

Teaching your character to fish opens up new possibilities, but it's more complicated than just casting a line and reeling in fish. The quality of your equipment makes rarer fish appear more frequently, and the types of bait you can attach to your fishing pole work differently depending on whether you fish near the sea, or from riverbanks and lakes.

So here is everything you need to know about fishing in New World, from how to craft better fishing poles, what each fishing pole perk does, how to get bait, and where to find fishing hotspots.

RELATED LINKS: New World system requirements, New World beginner's guide, New World review

PCGamesN Tuesday, December 21, 2021 7:17 AM
     The best io games

On the lookout for the best io games? If you're over the age of 20, you might not be aware of io games; accessible browser-based games that range from offline to MMO experiences. No need to clear any room on your hard drive - these games can be played on anything from low-specced machines to the best gaming PCs. All the heavy lifting is done on the website to ensure you can play these games anywhere.

There's a time and a place for io games - in particular, they conjure up images of sitting bored at school or work and looking for something to keep you occupied that'll make it past your network's filters. They're not just for browser-bound gamers, though - many of the best io games are a great choice for a casual evening spent with friends online, since nobody needs to purchase or download anything to take part. As long as you temper your expectations, you're bound to have a blast with these games.

These games are designed to keep you occupied for short bursts of time, but there are a few on this list which can be mastered if you're willing to learn. From puzzle games to battle royales, these io games will keep you entertained for at least the next ten minutes, and might just eat up the rest of your day - you've been warned.


Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Tuesday, December 21, 2021 7:11 AM
    

After GTA: The Trilogy - Definitive Edition had a pretty naff launch last month, Rockstar ended up giving PC remaster owners copies of the oldies for free as an apology. The devs have another freebie for those folks too now - you can claim a free copy of GTA V: Premium Edition, GTA IV: Complete Edition, LA Noire, Bully: Scholarship Edition, or Max Payne 3 over the holiday period. Ah, free festive violence.

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Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Tuesday, December 21, 2021 7:06 AM
    

We called Final Fantasy VII Remake a luscious spectacle that takes FF7 in a bold new direction. You know what else takes it in a new direction? Dresses. Loads of them. Modders have been hard at work weaving nice dresses with their virtual looms at a rate of knots. Oh, and they've morphed characters into Buster Swords and produced some other equally useful things too. Let's have a gander at some of their most interesting creations.

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Siliconera Tuesday, December 21, 2021 7:30 AM
    

Pre-order bonuses to include special soundtracks and wallpapers.

The post FFVI Pixel Remaster Release Date Falls in February 2022 appeared first on Siliconera.


Siliconera Tuesday, December 21, 2021 7:00 AM
    

A new raid means new armor and weapon sets for players to obtain.

The post Final Fantasy XIV 6.01 Patch Notes Detail Pandaemonium Raid appeared first on Siliconera.


Siliconera Tuesday, December 21, 2021 6:00 AM
    

The Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin Producer called it an "alternate retelling" of Final Fantasy "in a parallel universe."

The post Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin Producer Calls It an 'Alternate Retelling' appeared first on Siliconera.


Siliconera Tuesday, December 21, 2021 5:00 AM
    

To get in the spirit of the season, Hololive En members got together to perform and release the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas."

The post Hololive En 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' Song Released appeared first on Siliconera.


Siliconera Tuesday, December 21, 2021 4:00 AM
    

Like most smartphone games, it will be FTP with gacha elements.

The post Jujutsu Kaisen Game Pre-Registration Opens Ahead of 2022 Debut appeared first on Siliconera.


Destructoid Tuesday, December 21, 2021 5:00 AM
    

Most Wonderful Time of the Year If there's one thing that video game fans can expect when December 25 rolls...

The post Nintendo warns players to expect potential server overload at Christmas appeared first on Destructoid.


PC Invasion - FeedDDD Tuesday, December 21, 2021 2:05 AM
     Genshin Impact Sayu Hangout Event All Endings Choices GuideSayu is a diminutive ninja who wields the power of Anemo in Genshin Impact. You'll have a chance to aid her during her training. Here's our Genshin Impact Sayu Hangout Event guide to help you with all the endings and choices. Note: For more information about the game, check out our Genshin Impact guides and features hub. Likewise, you can take a look at our character build guide for Sayu.   Genshin Impact Sayu Hangout Event guide – All endings and choices Sayu's Hangout Event in Genshin Impact is called "Yoohoo Art: Seichou no Jutsu." In Inazuma City, you'll see a glimpse of Sayu which causes her to run away. She'll reveal herself after you interact with barrels and crates. Next, you'll go to the outskirts of Inazuma City in a section called Shuumatsuban Visitation. Here, you'll meet a Shrine Maiden named Kano Nana (she's in charge of Sayu's training). You'll also learn that someone wanted Sayu to ambush th...

Player Assist | Game Guides & Walkthroughs Tuesday, December 21, 2021 7:44 AM
     Haven is VALORANT'S only map with three bomb sites. The two bombsite setup, which most tactical shooting games have used for years, is already challenging to deal with both as a Defender or an Attacker. In Haven, VALORANT players have to devise a new way of attacking or defending, thanks to the addition of the […]

Pivotal Gamers Tuesday, December 21, 2021 3:06 AM
     What's up all? Giveaway Of The Day holds a new giveaway for Galactic Ravager. Their message follows. Galactic Ravager is available as a Giveaway of the day!You have limited time to download, install and register it. A few words about Galactic Ravager The planet earth was attacked by aliens. Only you, the captain of the aerospace forces, can save the planet from enemies. You have to protect t...