Author: Donster

AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 21.7.1 Released

AMD has released the latest version of Radeon Software Adrenalin. Version 21.7.1 beta introduces optimization for F1 2021, with a 6% performance improvement seen at 4K UHD on an RX 6800 XT, over the previous drivers. Support is also introduced for the new Radeon RX 6700M and RX 6600M mobile GPUs.

Among the issues fixed are an Oculus service error preventing the Oculus Link setup from running on machines with RX 5000 and RX 6000 series graphics cards; lighting corruption noticed in Apex Legends with Radeon Boost enabled; AMD User Experience Program consuming abnormally high memory; driver version mismatch between Windows Store and AMD Support versions; high memory usage on some running 3DMark Time Spy; and an image corruption in Carrion with AF enabled.

The Radeon Software Adrenalin 21.7.1 drivers are available online at the AMD driver download page.

Hardware Video Cards | Donster | July 16, 2021 |

Just Announced Hardware for 16 July 2021

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.

Hardware | Donster | July 16, 2021 |

Panzer Corps 2 goes to the Pacific

panzer-corps-2-pacific For the first time in its 10 year history the Panzer Corps series is going to thoroughly explore the Pacific theatre of operations in the Second World War. This DLC is the first installment in a new series of campaigns which will portray the dramatic events of the Pacific War.

In this new expansion players can enjoy many new scenarios, be immersed in a completely new set of terrain graphics, new game rules and a new major faction. Pacific is still the good old Panzer Corps 2 game which fans enjoy and love, but at the same time it’s also a new, different and original experience.

At long last Japan has been added to Panzer Corps 2. With the introduction of Pacific, Japan is playable not only in a new campaign, but also in random scenarios and in Multiplayer. It is also fully available to modders and designers of custom content. In addition to that, the USA faction has also received many new units, with a particular focus on famous carrier-based aircraft. Overall, 70 new models will be added to the game.

In the Pacific theater naval warfare played a prominent and critical role, and thus the naval aspect of the game needed to be expanded and have depth added. For this reason, naval game rules have been significantly revamped and extended. All the existing content has also been tested and tweaked to work with the new naval system without any glitches.

The new Pacific campaign represents many famous (and some not so famous) battles which took place between 1941 and 1943, among which are Guadalcanal, Midway, Wake Island and Tarawa. As players have come to expect, after finishing this campaign, it will be possible to save core units and bring them to the next part of the series.

We will reveal and show more of Panzer Corps 2: Pacific and disclose the release date in the next few months. More information can be currently found on its product page.

Panzer Corps 2 Strategy and Wargaming | Donster | July 9, 2021 |

Panzer Corps 2: Axis Operations – 1942 Released

panzer-corps-2-axis-operations-1942 The Panzer Corps 10th Anniversary is coming soon, and we will start our celebrations with the release of the new DLC Axis Operations – 1942.

Axis Operations – 1942 continues the Axis Operations grand campaign to the pivotal year of 1942.

The 17 new scenarios will have you face the Red Army in some of the largest battles in all of World War II. From Rzhev to Stalingrad, your actions will decide the outcome of the war.

In fact, for the first time in the Axis Operations series, the 1942 campaign will have multiple endings and your performance as a general will matter more than ever.

Additionally, it introduces new units, new historical commanders, a new mission type… in short, it’s a must-have for all players of Panzer Corps 2.

Watch the new Panzer Corps 2: Axis Operations 1942 in 2 minutes video HERE.

Celebrate 10 Years of Panzer Corps with us.

As you may know, this weekend we will be celebrating 10 years of Panzer Corps.

Tune in to us tomorrow, on Friday 9th July, on our Twitch channel at www.twitch.tv/slitherinetv at 4 pm BST / 5 pm CEST for an exclusive stream. Alex Shargin, lead developer and designer of Panzer Corps, will be interviewed live, and we will be going through the past, present and future of the Panzer Corps saga.

Panzer Corps 2 Strategy and Wargaming | Donster | July 9, 2021 |

Microsoft Flight Simulator Update 5 Improves Performance Tremendously, Available July 27th

Source: TechPowerUp!

The upcoming Update 5 for the Asobo Studio-developed Microsoft Flight Simulator will be a welcome boon to any and all players of the simulator. The development studio has issued an update via YouTube describing the performance improvements they’ve seen with their latest work into the game engine, which has integrated DX 12 capability – taking advantage of its “closer to the metal” capabilities so as to improve performance.

The update is dropping on July 27th, the same time that the game will be made available on the Xbox family of consoles. One can easily construe a scenario where Update 5′s DX 12 and performance optimizations were made mostly as a way to make the game perform better on Xbox console hardware – the game is absolutely capable of bringing the most powerful graphics cards in the world to their knees at high resolutions and highest quality settings. With the same hardware, quality settings and playable scenario, average performance went from 32-40 FPS before the update up to the 55-60 interval post Update 5 optimizations. The update sees CPU utilization dropping by 25%; memory usage drop by 50%; and GPU utilization climbs from 75% up to 100%. Look for the break for a video showcasing the latest version of Microsoft Flight Simulator – with Update 5 applied.

Flight Simulation Microsoft Flight Simulator | Donster | July 9, 2021 |

Just Announced Hardware for 9 July 2021

Hardware | Donster | July 9, 2021 |

Left 4 Dead Characters Join Zombie Army 4

Bill, Francis, Louis and Zoey from Left 4 Dead available as playable characters in free DLC for all players. The terrifying Abaddon Asylum campaign mission awaits for Season Pass owners and as standalone paid DLC

Renowned zombie slayers Bill, Francis, Louis and Zoey from the Valve smash hit, Left 4 Dead, are tooled up and ready to take on a new horde as they join Zombie Army 4: Dead War as brand new playable characters in the latest free DLC in Season 3 which is available now! In addition to the free characters, Season Pass owners can now visit the spine-chilling Abaddon Asylum in a new campaign mission which is also available as standalone DLC.

Watch the blood-curdling new trailer HERE.

Abaddon Asylum is the second mission in the ‘Return to Hell’ campaign, following the events of Terminal Error where you uncovered information about the location of Baron Umbra, the mastermind behind the dastardly occult scheme. You will have to fight your way into the Asylum before tracking down Baron Umbra and taking him out once and for all.

As well as the thrilling new campaign mission, the latest DLC drop also includes:

World War 1 Joshua Outfit
World War 2 Headgear Pack
MP.1940 SMG Bundle
Zombie Tank Weapon Skins

Developed by Rebellion in collaboration with Flix Interactive and Radical Forge, Abaddon Asylum is available now as part of Season Pass 3 and also available to buy separately, priced £5.59. In addition, all players can also download the Left 4 Dead Character Pack for free now on all platforms.

The entire Season Pass 3 is available to buy now, priced £29.99 with far more content yet to come.

Zombie Army 4: Dead War is available now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Epic Games Store, Steam, Microsoft Store and Google Stadia. For more info, please visit ZombieArmy.com.

First-Person Shooters Zombie Army 4: Dead War | Donster | June 22, 2021 |

AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 21.6.1 Released with FidelityFX Super Resolution

Source: TechPowerUp!

AMD today released the latest version of its Radeon Software Adrenalin drivers. Version 21.6.1 beta introduce support for the upcoming FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) feature, AMD’s answer to the NVIDIA DLSS. The driver release notes don’t mention which exact titles support it at launch, so we’ll probably have to wait until a formal launch of the feature. In addition, the drivers also introduce support for the Radeon RX 6800M mobile graphics, and optimization for “Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance.”

Among the bugs fixed with this release are one which causes FreeSync to lock up during task-switching, an application crash with “Anno 1800″ in DirectX 12 mode; AMD Cleanup Utility accidentally mopping up non-graphics AMD drivers (such as chipset, storage, etc.); lower than expected performance with “Destiny 2″ on some products; and enabling raytracing in “Ring of Elysium” causing an application crash.

Anecdotal reports of fixed idle power consumption for AMD’s graphics cards are filling the internet following the release of their latest Radeon drivers, version 21.6.1. Besides introducing support for FSR (which we have already tested with a new special image comparison code from our resident W1zzard with great results), users are reporting reduced power consumption on idle or low-intensity workloads – something that we had already covered in our latest AMD reviews, which showcased higher power consumption compared to NVIDIA.

Users are reporting drops from around 30 W to ~8 W – nothing to scoff at, and getting AMD’s offerings in line with NVIDIA’s on that particular metric. While this remains anecdotal evidence for now, rest assured that we will be testing these new drivers so as to definitely claim an improvement (or the absence of it).

The Radeon Software Adrenalin 21.6.1 drivers are available online at the AMD driver download page.

Hardware Video Cards | Donster | June 22, 2021 |

NVIDIA Releases GeForce 471.11 Game Ready Drivers

Source: TechPowerUp!

NVIDIA today released the latest version of its GeForce Game Ready drivers. Version 471.11 WHQL comes with optimization for the upcoming patch of “DOOM Eternal” that enables DLSS support. The patch is expected to go live on June 29. The drivers also add optimization for “LEGO Builder’s Journey,” including RTX raytracing and DLSS support. Optimization is also added for F1 2021, and NVIDIA Reflex integration for “Escape from Tarkov.” In addition to these, the drivers add OS optimization for Windows 10 May 2021 Update (21H1).

Among the issues fixed with this release are random flickers with WoW Shadowlands; a blackscreen issue with GeForce GTX 980M SLI notebooks; FreeStyle not working on “Crossfire” (the game) after a game update; certain HDMI displays flickering in HDR mode; incorrect color rendering with the “sharpen” FreeStyle filter being enabled with HDR on RTX 30-series GPUs; and flickering and signal connectivity issues with launching a game on a machine with multi-monitor adaptive-Sync monitors.

You can download the GeForce 471.11 WHQL Game Ready drivers via GeForce.com.

Hardware Video Cards | Donster | June 22, 2021 |

Update 1.13 Brings Big Changes to Artillery Gameplay in World of Tanks

Players can also expect a whole heap of new features, including a brand-new mode, the latest season of Battle Pass, reworked HE shells and more

One of the biggest updates in recent history has arrived in World of Tanks. Update 1.13 sees major reworking of core mechanics, such as HE shells and SPG (self-propelled gun) countermeasures, as well as other changes and additions, such as a brand-new mode, the eagerly anticipated Season 5 of Battle Pass and interface improvements.

Watch the Artillery and High-Explosive shells: Important Changes for 2021 video HERE.

The heaviest change that players will notice is the new capabilities they now have to combat those vehicles that rain shells from the sky. SPGs have changed a great deal since their inception in World of Tanks, and it became clear more artillery countermeasures were needed to level the playing field somewhat. With the latest update, tankers will now have 3 tactical features at their disposal: Sound Detection is a new Commander-only perk which will warn those in the danger zone that an artillery shell is incoming through a special indicator, brighter shell tracers will allow players to better gauge from where an SPG has fired and the field of fire markers will let tankers know where an SPG recently fired (this marker will appear on the minimap for 10 seconds).

However, SPGs aren’t missing out on the fun either. Artillery now have three available shell types, all with their own purpose in battle, trajectory and velocity, granting a greater variety of tactical opportunities to arty players. Two of these shell types will not stun vehicles, which will greatly reduce the overall stun time seen in battle. Additionally, the SPG ammo interface has been updated and the Intuition perk has been reworked, meaning quicker changes of shells for all vehicle types.

Update 1.13 also sees the introduction of the reworked HE (high-explosive) shell mechanics on the main server. Now, HE shells will deal damage at the point of impact, meaning that damage will be calculated at the point of contact with the armor, unlike before which was based on a shell-burst sphere. Those playing heavily armored vehicles will certainly appreciate this change, as HE shells will inflict less damage to their frontal armor from now on. Additionally, they will also now be able to penetrate screens, tracks and the wheels of wheeled vehicles as well as insignificant and/or destructible objects, like fences, for example.

And there’s still more coming with Update 1.13. A brand-new game mode, Recon Mission, will allow tankers to test maps that are in the later stages of development, a collection of Premium vehicles and Clan Wars reward tanks are being rebalanced (as well as the Minsk map), Season 5 of Battle Pass is ready to challenge players, and a selection of interface improvements have been introduced.

For more information on World of Tanks, visit the games official website or stop by the new World of Tanks Steam page.

MMORPGs World of Tanks | Donster | June 21, 2021 |