“Reconquista” The first DLC of Field of Glory II: Medieval brings the battles related to the Middle Ages in South West Europe.

Feudalism did not have such a dominant impact in Spain and Italy as it had in the rest of Europe and both these lands had unique factors which affected the conduct of warfare:

• Spain 1050, with more than half of the Iberian peninsula under the rule of Islamic states, the era of Christian Reconquista began. It would last until 1492, after centuries of clashes between Berber Empires (Murabits, Almohads and Hafsids) and Christian Kingdoms (Aragon, Castile y Leon, etc.).
• In Northern Italy the big cities formed the Lombard League to counter the attempts of the Holy Roman Emperor to enforce his authority over them. This was a part of the Wars between Ghibellines who supported the Holy Roman Emperor and the Guelfs that supporting the Pope.
• In Southern Italy, the Normans rose from humble mercenaries to conquer the whole of southern Italy and establish the great kingdom of Sicily, after conquering the island from the Arabs.

These are the backgrounds, stories and wars that lead to the new DLC, which will include:

• 20 more nations and factions covering Spain, Italy and North Africa from 1040 AD to 1270 AD. These include Andalusians, Almohads, Arabs, Aragonese, Byzantine Catapanate of Italy, Castilians/Leónese, Catalans, Granadines, Hafsids, Italian Guelfs, Italian Ghibellines, Italo-Normans, Lombards, Marinids, Murabits, Navarrese, Papal, Portuguese, the Kingdom of Sicily and Tuaregs
• 41 more units and 45 more army lists
• 8 more historical scenarios covering key engagements of the period on an epic scale. These include Monte Maggiore 1041, Civitate 1053, Cabra 1079, Sagrajas 1086, Legnano 1176, Las Navas De Tolosa 1212, Montaperti 1260 and Benevento 1266.
• 33 more historical matchups added to Quick Battle mode, increasing the total to 98, playable from either side.
• 4 more historically-based campaigns covering major leaders and conflicts of the era: El Cid, Muhammad II of Granada, Normans in the South and Frederick II Hohenstaufen.
• Sandbox campaign expanded to include all the new army lists, allowing you to lead any nation (and their historical allies) against any other nation (and their allies) – giving thousands of permutations.

Find out more about Field of Glory II Medieval on the games the official product page or via Steam.

The first massive mod for Close Combat: The Bloody First is now available.

It is called Veteran and it was developed by a well-known modder in the community, Nomada_Firefox.

He took upon himself the task of converting maps from Close Combat: the Longest Journey, as well as adding a lot more content. We were so impressed with it that we have worked to bring this content into the game as an optional addition you can directly download from the games client.

Nomada_Firefox’s Veteran mod main features include:

• New content that covers the whole of the Normandy landings.
• Adds British and Commonwealth forces as well as many new units for US and German forces
• Two new campaigns, one Allied and one Axis
• Dozens of new battles and operations
• 20 new maps converted from Close Combat The Longest Day

You can now download the Veteran mod directly from the game’s download system by doing the following:

1. Click the button ‘User Content’ which will appear on the game main screen next to the game title.
2. Select the ‘Veteran Normandy’ mod from the ‘User Content List’
3. Click ‘Download.’

Last but not least, Close Combat: The Bloody First is currently part of our Easter sale: If you don’t have it yet in your game library, you can acquire it at 30% off by entering the “happyeaster30″ coupon code. The offer is only valid on the Slitherine and Matrix Games stores.

Stop by the official Close Combat: The Bloody First webpage for more game information!

Full version coming to Steam in Q2 2021

Independent developer CreativeForge Games will release Aircraft Carrier Survival on Steam in Q2 2021. The Prologue is being launched today for free.

Aircraft Carrier Survival is a simulator set in World War II in which you take control of the aircraft carrier, its crew, officers, and planes as you choose the right equipment, crew, and escort for each mission.

In Aircraft Carrier Survival you’ll have to focus on making the best decisions to survive in a hostile environment in the middle of the ocean. Plan your missions, target your enemies and keep most of your crew safe from attacks.

Manage crew and officers
Assign a crew and choose what your officers should focus on. Your ship has many stations to man, and proper management will be the key to executing your plan, whether by taking on an enemy directly, sneaking past them, or taking an alternative route to completely avoid contact.

Damage control
Your damage control teams can handle fire outbreaks, torpedo strikes, hull flooding, enemy bombardment, airstrikes, and suicide attacks from enemy planes, but not all of them at once. Assess which threats need to be dealt with first in order to survive.

Survive and fight back
Use maneuvers, aircraft, anti-aircraft turrets, and whatever else you can to survive the enemy attack. Make sure that any enemy who dares to attack you will end up in the depths of the Pacific.

Hard decisions
Will you risk all lives on the vessel to save the one in need? Do you have what it takes to make a decision on the spot? No matter what, some sacrifices will be necessary and the only source of redemption is victory.

Mission planning
Use intel collected during recon missions to prepare pilots and aircraft for large operations. Target enemy land bases and even their entire fleets. Identify opponents before choosing attack directions and deciding the sequence of targets and maneuvers.

Features

• Take control of an aircraft carrier in World War II.
• Manage the crew, the officers, and the planes.
• Choose the right equipment, crew, and escort for each mission.
• Survive in a hostile environment in the middle of the ocean and fight back against your enemies.
• Plan your missions, target your objectives and keep most of your crew safe from attacks.

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.

• ADATA XPG Unveils XPG GAMMIX S70 BLADE PCIe Gen4x4 M.2 SSD
• Team Group Launches T-Force Xtreem DDR4 Memory Optimized for 11th Gen Core
• ZADAK Announces TWSG3 M.2 NVMe SSD
• Cougar Releases MX660 Mid Tower Chassis with Extruded Mesh Front Panel
• Thermalright Rolls Out the 47mm-Tall AXP90-X47 Low-profile CPU Cooler
• G.SKILL Unveils its Extreme Speed Memory Kits
• Corsair Refreshes RMx Series PSUs with Magnetic Levitation Fans, Upgraded Warranty
• HyperX Sets DDR4 Memory Breaches the 7156 MHz Marker
• Kingston Introduces NV1 Entry-Level NVMe SSD

Leviathan Add-On Introduces New Diplomatic and Development Options

Not everything has to be brute force. Armies are necessary, of course, but there are other ways to succeed. Build a force of diplomats, for example, and use your flattery as a weapon against others. Or draw wealth and power from the remote regions of your realm to construct a metropolis to be the engine of your economy. You can try many new routes to global power in Europa Universalis IV: Leviathan, coming next month.

Leviathan is the newest expansion to Paradox’s grand strategy classic about the early modern world. The first release from the Barcelona based Paradox Tinto, Leviathan adds new options for diplomatic and economic play, and will be available to Europa Universalis players on 27 April 2021.

One of the highlights of Leviathan is the ability to use diplomatic Favors to gain benefits from other nations. If you post a diplomat to curry favor in a foreign nation, you will slowly build up enough diplomatic power to request material aid, changes in alliances and even the return of core provinces.

Other features of Europa Universalis IV: Leviathan include:

• New Regency Options: Regency councils represent the interests of the most powerful estate, and can be extended to delay the ascension of an unfit monarch.
• Specialized Colonial Nations: Let your colonies focus on military help, trade power or self-government.
• Concentrate Development: You can now steal development from your vassals or territorial possessions to enhance the power of your capital city.
• Pillage Capital: Loot an enemy capital as a condition of peace, hauling development back to the capital metropolis.
• Expand Infrastructure: Provinces can expand their capacity to build new structures and manufactories, allowing smaller nations to create centers of wealth for a modest cost.
• Centralize State: Reduce the cost of government by spending unused Reform points.
• Totemism: Nations that follow the Totemist religion can revere a pantheon of past leaders, earning bonuses that reflect the skills they had in life.
• Monuments: Expand and establish great projects, adding new bonuses to your empire.
• New Unit Models: New army sprites for Southeast Asian nations, including Indochinese, Indonesian and Polynesian nations.
• And more: Including the ability to carpet siege enemy provinces, draft transports as a plutocratic nation, watch heirs gain legitimacy as they wait to inherit the throne and other changes.

As usual, Leviathan will be accompanied by a major free update available to all Europa Universalis IV players. This update includes modifications to the maps of Southeast Asia and North America, with major gameplay changes for North American First Nations. It also adds Australian Aboriginal nations.

Europa Universalis IV: Leviathan will be available on 27 April 2021 at the Paradox Store and major online retailers for the suggested retail price of $19.99/£15.49/€19.99.

More game information is available at the Europa Universalis IV: Leviathan webpage, or on the expansions Steam page.

Along with the new Intel 11th Generation Core “Rocket Lake” processor family released today, a number of Z590 chipset motherboard reviews are now available from a number of different manufactures. Click on the links below to learn how these new Z590 motherboards perform with the new “Rocket Lake” processors.

• TOM’S HARDWARE - MSI MPG Z590 Carbon EK X
• TOM’S HARDWARE - ASRock Z590 Steel Legend WiFi 6E
• TOM’S HARDWARE - MSI MEG Z590 Ace
• GURU3D - ASUS ROG Maximus XIII HERO
• GURU3D - MSI MEG Z590 ACE
• TECHPOWERUP! - Gigabyte Z590 AORUS Master
• TECHPOWERUP! - ASUS ROG Maximus XIII Hero

Intel today have officially launched its news 11th Generation Core processor family, given the internal name ‘Rocket Lake’,  led by the flagship Intel Core i9-11900K. Reaching speeds of up to 5.3 GHz with Intel Thermal Velocity Boost, the Intel Core i9-11900K delivers even more performance to gamers and PC enthusiasts. We have gathered a number of reviews featuring the Intel Core i9-11900K and Core i5-11600K and the Core i7-11700K processors. Check them out via the links below.

• GURU3D - Intel Core i9-11900K
• GURU3D - Intel Core i5-11600K
• TECHPOWERUP! - Intel Core i9-11900K
• TECHPOWERUP! - Intel Core i5-11600K
• ANANDTECH – Intel Core i9-11900K, Intel Core i5-11600K, Core i7-11700K
• TOM’S HARDWARE - Intel Core i9-11900K, Intel Core i5-11600K
• VORTEZ - Intel Core i9-11900K, Intel Core i5-11600K
• HOT HARDWARE - Intel Core i9-11900K, Intel Core i5-11600K
• PC PERSPECTIVE - Intel Core i9-11900K, Intel Core i5-11600K

Source: TechPowerUp!

NVIDIA today released the latest version of GeForce Software. Version 465.89 WHQL comes with optimization for “DiRT 5″ update with raytracing support; “Outriders,” and “Evil Genius 2: World Domination.” More importantly, the drivers formally introduce Resizable BAR support for GeForce RTX 30-series “Ampere” desktop and mobile discrete GPUs. Priliminary (beta) support is also added for virtualization on GeForce GPUs. Other major changes include support for the new OpenCL 3.0 compute API, NVIDIA SLI support for “Shenmue III” and “The Medium” (on “Turing” GPUs only). Support for 8K TVs is improved by extending the DP-to-HDMI 2.1 PCON clock frequency range.

Among the handful issues fixed with 465.89 WHQL are pixellated smoke with “Rainbow 6 Siege” in Vulkan API mode; a crash with X4 on RTX 30-series; a BSOD when a Samsung Odyssey G9 display is paired with HDMI TV; a BSOD when playing games and watching YouTube videos simultaneously on an RTX 2060; “Sunset Overdrive” showing green display corruption with in-game DOF enabled; Realtek DP to HDMI 2.1 converters being limited to 600 MHz pixel clock, abnormal idle power draw on “Turing” and “Ampere” GPUs with higher refresh-rate G-SYNC monitors; and screenshots captured using GeForce Experience appearing washed out with HDR enabled.

You can download the GeForce 465.89 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.

• 11th Gen Intel Core Unleashes Unmatched Overclocking, Game Performance
• ASRock Launches Z590 OC Formula Motherboard to Push Intel’s 11th Generation Processors to the Max
• ASRock Announces AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT OCF
• CORSAIR Launches K55 RGB PRO and K55 RGB PRO XT Gaming Keyboards
• Mushkin Launches New Delta and Gamma Series Solid State Drives
• Cougar DUAL BLADER Gaming Mouse Announced
• Kingston Announces NV1 NVMe PCIe SSD
• MSI Adds 6 Z590 / B560 Motherboards Compatible with 11th Gen Intel Core

The third episode of the Warplan Pacific weekly tour with Alvaro Sousa is now available: this week, we unveil more details on the games Naval Units. There is some great detail here if you are looking to explore some of the depth on mechanics such as oil, repair and fleet strength.

We also briefly explore WWI battleships and how they function, as they were the main body of what the USA had in 1941.

Episode #3 Naval Units Changes

If you are hungry for more information on Warplan Pacific, you can check out our product page on Matrix Games.

Warplan Pacific, the second game in the Warplan series, will be released on April 29th.