amd-radeon-software-adrenalin-2019Source: TechPowerUp!

AMD today posted the latest version of Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition drivers. Version 19.9.1 beta comes with day-one optimization for “Gears 5,” with up to 5 percent performance improvement in the DirectX 12 mode. It also expands the Vulkan API feature-set with four new extensions, “VK_AMD_device_coherent_memory,” “VK_EXT_calibrated_timestamps,” “VK_EXT_line_rasterization,” and “VK_EXT_shader_demote_to_helper_invocation.” Lastly, the drivers address a bug that causes GIGABYTE RGB Fusion 2.0 software to hang the system on graphics cards based on RX 5700-series GPUs.

The new Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition 19.9.1 beta drivers are available online at the AMD driver download page.

Hardware Video Cards | Donster | |

command-modern-operationsThe King is Back

You thought lightning strikes just once? Think again! Command: Modern Operations, the sequel to 2013’s Wargame of The Year “Command – Modern Air/Naval Operations” is coming soon.

The first release of Command rocked the foundations of modern PC wargaming, steamrolled its way into the Pentagon and won numerous “Wargame Of The Year” awards. Now, the restless rascals at WarfareSims are back at it with a vengeance! The already legendary game of modern cross-domain operations returns with an all-new UI, even more refined simulation mechanics and a host of new features and content to engross you into the challenges of warfare post-WW2 and in the 21st century. Are you ready? Are you up to it?

  • A dark UI for our dark times: Command’s user interface has been radically overhauled with a dark, sleek theme that emphasizes usability and style. In addition, Command can now be played either as a standard desktop windowed application or as a more traditional full-screen game.
  • Command in comfort: Hundreds of tweaks, changes and improvements on the user interface and gameplay experience directly based on player feedback. Minimaps? Check. Quickly load recent scenarios or saves? Yup. Real-time dynamic ORBATs of both friendly forces and known contacts? Yessir. Time-step sim execution to prevent “runaway sim”? Can do. Glorious victories or crushing defeats have never felt so easy to experience.
  • Treat your eyes while punishing your foes: Feast your vision on Command’s new smooth-flowing global map, complete with new high-resolution map layers that must be seen to be believed. More than half a terabyte’s worth of imagery & terrain information at your fingertips to exploit in combat or just wander around. Optionally link up with Tacview for real-time 3D visualization of the battlefield.
  • The war just got more ruthless: Don’t spend too long gawking at the pretty UI and maps, because the battlefield is even more alive and ready to crush you! Expanded ground ops let you take advantage of distinct terrain types (desert, forest, urban, swamps etc.) for mobility, weapon effects and visibility. Enhanced AI routines for dogfights and even more technical factors make your grip on air superiority more tenuous. The groundbreaking features of the “Chains Of War” campaign are now standard: Disrupt your enemy’s communications to isolate his units (but watch out for your own), perform scriptless amphibious, airdrop or pickup operations, watch as aircraft limber back shot almost to pieces and marvel at exotic new weaponry.
  • Jump quickly into battle, or build your own war: The new “Quick Battle Generator” lets you quickly get into the action without worrying about wider strategic or political complexities. Or use the scenario editor to put together your own dream battle just the way you want it. Enhanced scripting capabilities through the built-in Lua engine mean you can even create your own combat AIs. Think you can create your own WOPR/Joshua? Prove it!
  • Six years on and still the best: All the original Command official scenarios remastered from the ground up by professional scenario designer Rory Noonan (author of the “Silent Service” DLC), plus brand-new official and community scenarios to quench your mayhem appetite. Updated cold-war and modern-day databases with the latest in hardware and systems mean you’ll never run out of setups to try out. Seamlessly import and use your existing Command scenarios, saves, .inst files and more!

Watch the Command: Modern Operations Announcement Trailer HERE. Find out more about Command: Modern Operations at the games official website.

uplay-plusSource: TechPowerUp!

Ubisoft’s games SaaS (software as a service) subscription platform, UPlay+, has gone live in select markets, such as the UK. The month of September is completely free, and is charged £12.99 per month thereafter. Unlike Origin Access, UPlay+ isn’t tiered, and you get full access to over 100 AAA titles from Ubisoft, including their premium editions and DLCs. UPlay+ subscribers also become eligible to early-access beta access to upcoming games. You also get SaaS essentials such as the ability to cancel your subscription at any time, and renew it later (along with your data intact). There’s a catch to the September FFA – you need to provide your credit card details upfront, which UPlay authenticates with a £1 reversible charge. On October 1, the first charge for £12.99 takes place, and your subscription rolls on. Reddit members have reported teething troubles with the payment gateway such as failed credit card charges.

Gaming | Donster | |

lian-li-011-dynamic-xl-caseBy Peter Donnell @ eTeknix

Regular eTeknix readers may recall our review of the Lian Li 011-Dynamic just a couple of months ago. Well, Lian Li is back and they’re going big! The new Lian Li 01–Dynamic XL is their latest monster-case built for those with big intentions. Massive water cooling and air cooling potential, huge tempered glass windows, and uncompromising hardware support? It has them all, and then some. If that’s not enough, it’s also ROG Certified. Albeit, to my knowledge that means the built-in RGB can be used with Aura Sync and it has a ROG logo on the side. But hey, that’s still cool with me.

Read The Review Here

Cases Hardware | Donster | |

team-group-cardea-liquid-m2-pcie-ssdBy Hilbert Hagedoorn @ Guru3D

High-performance NVMe SSDs tend to run hot. Ergo you have seen the manufacturers offer solutions with heatsinks, incl motherboard manufacturers making that even easier for you. Team Group takes it to the next level, as they are fitting the Cardea NVMe SSD with a heatsink holding liquid. That’s right, that is passive liquid cooling for you.

Read The Review Here

Hardware Storage | Donster | |
Hardware | Donster | |

Tactical Hide and Seek For Higher Ranked Vehicles as Helicopters and Tanks Equip Night Vision and Thermal Aids for Low Light and Night Time Combat

Gaijin Entertainment today announced that War Thunder will receive a new major Content Update this September, nicknamed “Night Vision”. It will bring a lot of new content, including the eighth playable nation – China.

The initial line-up of Chinese vehicles available in War Thunder features tanks, fighter aircraft and bombers which were used during World World II or shortly after, and will show just how turbulent the history of the country’s military in the 20th century was. Players will be able to try aircraft employed by foreign volunteers from the Flying Tigers regiment that helped China fight against Imperial Japan, captured Japanese vehicles, military imports from the USSR that became part of China’s military as well as local variants of Soviet MiG jets and American Patton tanks. Each vehicle that will become a part of War Thunder’s initial Chinese vehicle tree was historically used by China at some point: The Henschel Hs 123A-1, for example, was imported by the Chinese Nationalist forces from Nazi Germany and was used against the Imperial Japanese Navy during battles at the Yangtze river.

Immediately after the release of the “Night Vision” Update, all players will get access to a first selection of Chinese ground vehicles and aircraft. Players who wish to gain access to the entire Chinese tech tree as fast as possible can do so by fulfilling a series of in-game tasks in War Thunder, or by purchasing one of the Chinese pre-order packs that include a premium vehicle, in-game currency, premium account time and cosmetic items. One of the packs will grant access to the aircraft tech tree and the other one will unlock the ground vehicles tech tree.

Another important part of the new update and a significant expansion to the gameplay of War Thunder on higher ranks is the introduction of night vision devices and thermal sights. For the latter, the game will calculate the temperature of each component of a vehicle, i.e. the gun or tracks, and show their temperature accordingly. The hotter components get, the more visible – and thus more vulnerable to detection – the affected vehicles will become. On the other hand, tankers in War Thunder will then be able to turn off their engines to decrease their vehicle’s temperature, e.g. to prepare for ambushes. Night vision devices, which allow increased visibility in dimly lit conditions or darkness, will not only be available to tanks, but helicopters as well – including the modern Eurocopter Tiger, which is also included in this update. Of course, this also means that there will be an increased chance for night time encounters in higher-ranked ground forces battles.

More information about the Chinese vehicle tree, new vehicle models from other nations and the night vision and thermal sight features are available at the official War Thunder website.

MMO/RPGs War Thunder | Donster | |
Hardware | Donster | |

ace-combat-7-skies-unknownSource: Gematsu

Bandai Namco has released a new trailer for the Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown‘s fourth Season Pass downloadable content, “Unexpected Visitor.”

While the first three add-ons for the Season Pass have already been released and consist of additional aircraft, the three add-ons that have yet to be released are story-based mission downloadable content.

Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is available now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

To find out more about Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, head over to the games official website.

just-cause-4-danger-rising

Square Enix Ltd. is pleased to announce that Just Cause 4: Danger Rising is available now for Gold Edition and Season Pass owners.

Watch the Just Cause 4: Danger Rising Gameplay Trailer HERE.

Danger Rising is the third and final part of the “Dare Devils, Demons and Danger” expansion pass and the biggest addition to Just Cause 4 since launch, featuring 9 new missions, plus exciting new gadgets, weapons and vehicles. Last but not least is a new addition to Rico’s already impressive suite of traversal options in the massive open-world of Solís: a fully functional Hoverboard.

The story picks up with giant submarines appearing off the coast of the island of Solís, serving as massive outposts for the Agency, who have arrived to hunt down the rogue agent Rico and reclaim their technology. He must take down all strongholds to bring the Agency to their knees. Every submarine base presents new gameplay challenges and requires a fresh approach to strategy in order to put them out of commission.

With Agency operatives stalking the shores of Solís, Rico is faced with a difficult new challenge – an enemy with the same technology and training as him. For the first time, Rico must fight other agents, tough and dangerous foes with grapple hooks of their own and incredible new high-tech weaponry.

Just Cause 4: Danger Rising is available now on XBOX ONE, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation 4 computer entertainment system and Windows PC. The game has been rated M (Mature) by the ESRB and the latest expansion is available for a suggested price of $11.99 (US) and £9.99 GBP.

You can read more about the improvements to Just Cause 4 on the Developer Blog.

Gold Edition purchasers receive 7 days early access to the Just Cause 4: Danger Rising DLC, starting the 29th of August. Standard Edition access begins on September 5th, 2019.

For more information on the Gold Edition visit: http://justcause.com/buy-now