Monster Hunter Rise Gets DLSS Support On Steam, With An Unfortunate Side Effect

Enabling the newly added Nvidia DLSS feature for the PC version of Monster Hunter Rise comes with the unfortunate side effect of giving furry friends and foes a shaven appearance.

Via Rock Paper Shotgun, the feature comes as part of a new update for Monster Hunter Rise released alongside the game’s Sunbreak expansion, which in addition to new content has brought a number of changes and quality-of-life improvements to the latest entry in Capcom’s long-running series. That includes DLSS support on Steam, which uses AI-powered upscaling to boost in-game frame performance at higher resolutions.

That sounds great on paper, but unfortunately enabling DLSS currently smooths out fur and feathers to make the game’s creatures look significantly less furry or feathery, which is a problem. It’s particularly noticeable for the game’s cat-like companions, the Palicoes, which look like they just got buzz cuts at the barber down the street.

Why exactly this is the case is currently unclear, but one Reddit user in a thread about the issue speculates it could be because Monster Hunter Rise’s TAA anti-aliasing option handles fur rendering, and since DLSS replaces TAA, hair and feathers aren’t displaying properly. Changing the DLSS settings between quality, performance, or balanced mode doesn’t seem to fix the problem.

For the time being, it might be best to keep DLSS turned off until Capcom issues a fix. While a slight boost in frames-per-second is always nice, having to stare at poor fur-less Palicoes doesn’t seem worth the cost.

Capcom has outlined its plans for Monster Hunter Rise through the end of the year with a content roadmap, which includes a free update in August 2022. Free fall and winter updates will follow, with additional updates planned for 2023.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

World Of Warcraft’s Next Patch Will Bring Auction House Changes And A New Trade Channel

World of Warcraft’s next patch will add two major changes to how certain goods and services are sold in Azeroth, introducing region-wide commodities and a new trade channel.

As revealed in a forum post, patch 9.2.7, which is currently being tested on the game’s public test realm, will make selling consumable items like herbs, gems, and potions on the in-game auction house a region-wide affair, rather than a server-specific one. Blizzard notes that how the auction house functions or looks won’t be changing, but that the region-wide change will result in “way more buyers and sellers” for certain commodities. Many other items, like armor and weapons, will still be server-specific.

It’s a big shift for the economic side of WoW, which has always been server-specific. Having server-specific economies allowed dedicated players to corner markets, which will be much more difficult now that players will have to compete across all the servers in their region. However, the move should be a win for smaller-population servers that don’t have many goods and consumables to choose from on their server-specific marketplaces. The last major change to WoW’s auction house came in 2020 during the Battle for Azeroth expansion, during which Blizzard overhauled the Auction House’s user interface.

The patch will also introduce a new trade chat channel, Trade (Services). That doesn’t mean the original Trade channel, which has existed since the game first released nearly two decades ago, is going away. This new channel will be exclusively for buying or selling dungeon runs, PvP boosts, and other player services, while the original Trade channel will be for buying and selling items.

“We believe that with this new distinction, you’ll be able to keep Trade chat for the traditional buying and selling of items and professions, and not other chatter,” Blizzard writes.

WoW’s next expansion, Dragonflight, is slated to release before the end of the year. The fact that public alpha testing for Dragonflight hasn’t started yet has more than a few fans asking Blizzard to delay the game out of quality concerns. When Dragonflight does arrive, it will introduce major changes to the game’s talent system and professions, while also introducing a new corner of Azeroth to explore and new race/class, the Dracthyr.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

The Biggest Games Releasing In July: Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Stray, And More

With Not-E3 month over and done with, July is a month where you can catch your breath and sit down with games that are more relaxing in comparison to the blockbuster titles scheduled for the end of the year. This is a month where the headline acts consist of high-speed racing in F1 2022, a fresh collection of retro classics from Capcom, a feline protagonist in Stray, and the return of one of Nintendo’s most popular RPG series. Here’s a look at the highlights of the month and everything else that you can expect from the July gaming calendar.

F1 22 (July 1)

Codemasters’ F1 series of games have captured the sport at its most thrilling technical level for several consecutive years now, and thanks to the success of the documentary series Drive to Survive, there’s been an effort to add some drama to the digital track as well. This year promises more of the same, with updated tracks, cars, and teams competing to see who can stick to the line and come out on top of the fastest motorsport in the world. PS5 players can expect to feel that action in their hands, as DualSense controller features include subtle vibrations and intuitive feedback on the track.

Stray (July 19)

While it may not look impressive to actual cats, Stray still has plenty of us bipedal humanoids eager to soak up its atmospheric tale of a lost cat stuck in a cyberpunk world. The furry friend must navigate through a city using its cat-like reflexes, avoid enemies, solve puzzles, and survive in this dangerous world. Stray will land on PC, PS5, and PS4, and for anyone who has a PS Plus Extra or Premium subscription, they’ll be able to hop into the game on day one.

As Dusk Falls (July 19)

Years in the making, As Dusk Falls is a narrative-focused adventure with a unique visual style. While most story-driven games are primarily a single-player experience, As Dusk Falls allows for up to eight players to experience the story together locally, online, or through a mix of both. Player decisions can be voted on either in-game or in a companion mobile app, with every decision having major ramifications that will unlock one of the game’s multiple endings.

Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium (July 22)

Last year’s Capcom Arcade Stadium was a treasure trove of old-school classics given a new coat of paint, but that was just the tip of the Capcom catalog. This latest edition throws in 32 retro classics, as well as all the other extras that made the previous game shine as a love letter to arcade gaming. Expect a slick presentation in Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium, as well as a list of games that includes Black Tiger, Eco Fighters, several Street Fighter Alphas, and 1984’s SonSon as a free download.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (July 29)

Nintendo’s premier RPG series–and possibly also one of its most complex–caps off the end of the month with a new tale of war, love, and the fleeting fragility of life. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 follows a group of heroes with only ten years to live, with those precious moments spent waging a war between two nations that are seemingly locked in an eternal stalemate. Nintendo says that the Xenoblade Chronicles 3 expansion pass will have a year’s worth of content that includes special color variants on the game’s launch day, two packs including new heroes, quests, challenges, and a story expansion set to be released by the end of 2023.

July 2022 Video Game Releases

F1 2022 (PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S) – July 1Gamedec (Switch) – July 1Yurukill: The Calumniation Game (PC, PS5, PS4, Switch) – July 5Arcadegeddon (PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S) – July 5Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series (PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch) – July 8Madison (PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S) – July 8AI: The Somnium Files – Nirvana Initiative (PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch) – July 8FIST: Forged In Shadow Torch (Switch) – July 12Time on Frog Island (PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch) – July 12Monument Valley: Panoramic Edition (PC) – July 12Monument Valley 2: Panoramic Edition (PC) – July 12Krut: The Mythic Wings (PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch) – July 12Loopmancer (PC) – July 13Rune Factory 5 (PC) – July 13The Tale of Bistun (PC, Xbox One) – July 13Eyes in the Dark: The Curious Case of One Victoria Bloom (PC) – July 14Powerwash Simulator (PC) – July 14Super UFO Fighter (PC, Switch) – July 14Clanfolk – Steam Early Access (PC) – July 14Dreadout 2 (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One) – July 15Stray (PC, PS4, PS5) – July 19As Dusk Falls (PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S) – July 19Endling – Extinction is Forever (PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One) – July 19Wayward Strand (PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch) – July 21Nobunaga’s Ambition: Rebirth (PC, PS4, PS5, Switch) – July 21Severed Steel (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Switch) – July 21Post Void (PS4, PS5, Switch) – July 21River City Saga: Three Kingdoms (PC, PS4, PS5, Switch) – July 21Live a Live (Switch) – July 22Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium (PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch) – July 22Immortality (PC, Xbox Series X|S) – July 26Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town (PS4) – July 26Bear & Breakfast (PC, Switch) – July 28Captain Velvet Meteor: The Jump+ Dimensions (Switch) – July 28Digimon Survive (PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S) – July 29Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Switch) – July 29

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

Nintendo Fan Buys $40,000 In Stock To Ask President About F-Zero Revival

One dedicated gamer has revealed that he spent over $40,000 on Nintendo stock, primarily so that he would have an opportunity to ask the company about the possibility of seeing cult-classic games revived.

According to Business Insider who spoke to the new shareholder over Twitter direct messages, one unit of stock that equates to 100 shares would allow for the opportunity to attend the shareholder meeting, but getting a question answered wasn’t even guaranteed. Fortunately, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa did answer the fan’s question about reviving key franchises and F-Zero specifically during the company’s annual shareholder meeting this week.

During Nintendo’s annual shareholder meeting this week, the anonymous fan’s question about key franchises–specifically F-Zero, which hasn’t had a new entry since 2004–was answered by Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa.

“It is realistically difficult to develop new titles and remakes, including sequels, for every Nintendo game that people request, but we are very grateful and appreciate the expectations our fans have for our games,” Furukawa said via VGC translation.

One remaster that is reportedly in development is Metroid Prime, with remastered versions of the second and third games also planned. Nintendo has also begun preparing to expand on its first-party game production capabilities, as the company has invested in more game development technologies, acquired longtime development partner Next-Level Games, and will build a new development center next to its main headquarters in Japan.

Nintendo’s mobile division is also experiencing growth, as Fire Emblem Heroes has surpassed $1 billion in lifetime player spending globally.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

Doom Is Now Playable At A McDonald’s Order Kiosk

In the latest example of how Doom is playable on almost any form of technology, one enterprising individual has managed to get the classic FPS running on a Mcdonald’s kiosk. Whoever was responsible for loading the 1993 game onto the screen wasn’t revealed, but the official Doom Twitter account noticed their work.

a genius https://t.co/IiEilIQeMD

— DOOM (@DOOM) June 30, 2022

The only downside to the Mcdonald’s edition of Doom is that you’ll need owl-like neck muscles to play the game properly as the game has been flipped 90 degrees to the right. That slight inconvenience aside, Doom looks as good as you’d expect it to be on a fast food screen, especially one that displays a supersized version of the game.

Doom fans have been engaged in an arms race to see which devices they can get the game running on. One person got Doom to work on a graphing calculator powered by dozens of potatoes, a software engineer made a playable Doom GIF, and one genius modder has ported the game to a Lego brick. For a version of Doom that doesn’t require a lethal amount of squinting so that you can make out what’s happening on the screen, there’s always the Doom Slayers Collection for Switch or several ports on modern consoles.

The last game in the series, Doom Eternal, was recently updated. The new update was the second revision for version 6.66, and added both text-to-speech and speech-to-text capabilities, as well as a new contrast filter.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

EA Takes An L For Heavily Criticized Single-Player Games Tweet

Electronic Arts has owned up to one of its latest tweets missing the mark after it was roasted heavily by people–including its own developers–on social media. On June 30, EA jumped in on the “They’re a 10 but…” social media trend, but the company’s message wasn’t well received.

“They’re a 10 but they only like playing single-player games,” EA wrote. The tweet generated a lot of discussion and buzz, and even EA’s own Vince Zampella chimed in with the faceplam emoji. Developer Obsidian subtweeted EA, saying, “Single-player is dope. Multiplayer is dope. Games are rad.”

God of War producer Cory Barlog, meanwhile, said, “Single-player games forever.”

After getting massively roasted for the tweet, EA followed up with a message owning up to the L. “Roast well deserved,” EA said. “We’ll take this L cause playing single-player games actually makes them an 11.”

Roast well deserved. We’ll take this L cause playing single player games actually makes them an 11. https://t.co/PNg4FKOgfB

— Electronic Arts (@EA) July 1, 2022

In 2017, then EA CFO Blake Jorgensen said linear games were fading in popularity in the current market. This is part of the reason why EA canceled Visceral’s Star Wars game. “As we kept reviewing the game, it continued to look like a much more linear game [which] people don’t like as much today as they did five years ago or 10 years ago,” Jorgensen said at the time.

EA’s original tweet rubbed some people the wrong way. EA’s biggest business these days is live-service, online, multiplayer games, but the company still does make single-player games.

Some of its upcoming single-player game projects include Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, and the Dead Space remake.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

Where Is Xur Today? (July 1-5) – Destiny 2 Xur Location And Exotic Items Guide

Grandmaster Nightfalls are quickly coming to the Season of the Haunted in Destiny 2, requiring high-level Guardians to put their best strategies forward to survive. As usual, Xur is here to help, providing new Exotic weapons and armor to help you in the fight. Here’s where you can find Xur and what he’s selling.

Xur arrives in the Solar System with the daily reset on Friday, so we’ll update this article when he lands.

Xur is present every weekend in Destiny 2, starting with the daily reset at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET each Friday. His exact location is always a mystery when he first arrives, as he is not listed on the map, and for novice players, he can be easy to miss. However, there are a set number of locations where he takes up residence, including the Tower Hangar area, on Nessus in Watcher’s Grave, and in the Winding Cove area of the EDZ.

Alongside changes in his location, Xur’s inventory also rotates weekly. That means it’s worth visiting him each time to check out his new weapons and rolls on Exotic and Legendary armor. You can visit him any time between his arrival Friday and the weekly reset at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET the following Tuesday when Xur departs the Solar System.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

How To Change Your Pirate In Sea Of Thieves

In Sea of Thieves, the somewhat randomized character creator goes to great lengths to give each player their own special pirate to play as. Like the game’s environments, its pirates are full of life, each with their own builds, faces, and more. It’s rare–though not unheard of–for any two pirates to look quite alike because the choices are so abundant. Having said that, some players still seek to learn how to change a pirate’s appearance in Sea of Thieves because they don’t like the one they previously picked from a carousel of randomized choices. If you’d like to know how to change your pirate in Sea of Thieves, here’s a quick guide on the subject.

How to make a new pirate in Sea of Thieves

Though you can customize your pirate’s hair, clothes, tattoos, and more to make them your own, their basic attributes like height, weight, face, and other things aren’t alterable, at least not in pieces. Each player gets one pirate per account, but you can change your pirate by visiting the Pirate Emporium, either straight from the main menu when you open the game or on any outpost–it’s always situated above the Order of Souls’ dwellings. You’ll just need to look for the blue and gold coin, which is the symbol for Ancient Coins, the game’s real-money currency.

Beware the Pirate Emporium. They say many an Ancient Coin have gone in, only to never be seen again.

For 149 Ancient Coins, or about $2, you can purchase a Pirate Appearance Potion, which allows you to re-enter the randomized carousel of new pirates. You’ll maintain all of your stats and currency such as Gold and rank, so don’t worry about losing those things–this is purely cosmetic. As before, you can cycle through a small rotary of pirates, refreshing at will, or even saving some so they remain an option while you refresh the others.

Once you finally select a new pirate, you’ll re-enter the world with your considerable makeover. Your already-earned cosmetics will still be waiting for you, so if you want to dress your new pirate in a particular outfit you liked before, everything will be intact–except you from head to toe, that is.

A completely new pirate won’t come free.

If you want to see your pirate with a new look more drastic than an outfit but less permanent than a Pirate Appearance Potion allows, check out the game’s costumes, which are full-body outfits that go over your character from top to bottom. Costumes such as the Prehistoric Plunderer, Lionfish, and Barrel Bombadier can give your buccaneer a totally new look that can still be undone at any clothing chest on your ship or on any outpost.

While many costumes are earned in the Plunder Pass or purchased in the Pirate Emporium, you can earn four free costumes just by signing up as an Emissary with the four major companies–Gold Hoarders, Order of Souls, Merchants Alliance, and Reaper’s Bones–at any outpost. Visit these merchants and look for the tables next to them to sign up as an Emissary and unlock some free costumes in a matter of seconds.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News