GTAV/Online - 'Black Chrome' Reflections Issue Fixed In Latest AMD GPU Drivers [Notification]

Just a quick Post to let other AMD GPU users know that AMD has, as of today, fixed the issue where enabling Reflections Antialiasing made reflections not appear and/or made chrome appear 'black'. 

Here is a Screenshot example of what it looked like:

(from my Screenshot at https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2369464566 )

And here is a Screenshot example of what it looks like now:

It's Fixed! Thanks, AMD 👍

The latest AMD Driver Release Notes, as of this post, can be found here, if interested:

https://www.amd.com/en/support/kb/release-notes/rn-rad-win-21-1-1

HTH ~T

Deals And Sales - Star Wars Games, Most On Sale All Weekend - May The 4th Be With You! [Notification]

Just a quick reminder or for those that may not have noticed yet, that Star Wars games (on PC and Consoles) are going on Sale like crazy everywhere right now, most places having them On Sale over the whole weekend, into Monday or Tuesday. Check out places like Good Old Games (now GOG.com), The Steam Store, EA's Origin Marketplace, HumbleBundle (to help Charities!) and more... Have fun shopping for yourself or your loved one(s) - and have a Happy Star Wars Day and May The 4th Be With You!


Edit:
I forgot to say - if you Login to Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG by May 7th, you will get an Astromech Droid pet after May 9th! Details from swtor.com:

•  Log in by May 7th to qualify for your very own M4-Y7 Astromech Droid Mini-Pet! A deeply loyal and rugged Droid, the M4-Y7 Astromech Droid is known for its steadfast and stoic reliability. No matter how far your adventures take you across the galaxy, the M4-Y7 is your “DBFF” (Droid Best Friend Forever)! Your new Astromech Droid can be claimed beginning May 9, 2018 at 11:59PM PDT (May 10, 2018 at 6:58PM GMT) through your in-game mail.

The M4-Y7 Droid, animation/GIF from the SWTOR.com website

http://www.swtor.com/info/news/news-article/20180501-0




[Note: I am not affiliated in any way with GOG.com, Steam, EA, Origin, HumbleBundle, LucasArts, Disney or any other company mentioned herein and I have not, and will not, receive any compensation in any form, for mentioning them here. I am merely a fan of the Star Wars franchise/products and an enthusiastic gamer, wanting to inform and help out others, as I can.]

Deals And Sales - 'Things Goin' On This Weekend' (Weekend of August 11th, 2017) [Notification]

Just a quick Notification of some things going on... Once in a while, I try to post about Sales going on somewhere - especially the 'big' ones, like Summer's End or Christmas Sales. This weekend, there are a few 'Free Weekends' and Sales going on (that I saw so far) and thought I wanted to share them, just in case there were others interested in these games, heh. Here's what I saw is Goin' On This Weekend:

Guild Wars 2 Expansion (Path Of Fire) is Free To Try all weekend:

https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/get-ready-for-the-guild-wars-2-path-of-fire-preview-weekend/






GOG.com (formerly Good Old Games) is having a couple of Sales on games which include series like Master Of Orion, Warhammer 40K, Painkiller, Delta Force, Red Faction and at the same time having a sale on Strategy Games like Codename Panzers, Men of War, Hybrid Wars, Total Annihilation, Empire Earth, and more:

https://www.gog.com/promo/20170807_weekly_sale
and
https://www.gog.com/promo/20170811_special_promo_strategy_sale






Some other games, which are Free To Try all weekend via Steam, are:







For Honor, the medieval swordplay/battle game is Free To Try all weekend and selling for half-price
(for those that remember Die By The Sword, it looks like it may be similar to that, but in an 'arena' setting [sorry, but I haven't been able to try it yet]):

http://store.steampowered.com/app/304390/FOR_HONOR/












Saints Row IV, from the crazy "each game is increasingly like GTA-on-drugs" open-world/action
series, is Free To Try all weekend and selling at a reduced price
[I haven't tried it yet, but I am still playing the wacky Saints Row III once in a while and still getting a kick out of it]:

http://store.steampowered.com/app/206420/Saints_Row_IV/






Sorry I didn't get to finishing this sooner, but the weekend isn't over yet! Get out there and try these games out or grab something you want on sale - and maybe See You In The Game!


Edit:

I completely forgot one more I was going to post in here! 

GamersGate also has some games on Sale right now, including Borderlands (for five bucks!), the Mafia series, Bioshock series, Xcom series, and more:

https://www.gamersgate.com/offers




[Note: I am not affiliated with these game sites, nor do I receive any compensation for mentioning them here (the Links do not have any 'affiliate tags' or similar additions to them) - I am merely an enthusiastic gamer and like to share deals and other goings-on with other gamers like me. Enjoy!]

Free Weekend - Overwatch and Fallout 4 [Notification]

Just a quick notification for those that didn't know, that this weekend is a Free Weekend for two great games: Overwatch by Blizzard Entertainment and Fallout 4 by Bethesda Softworks.
To commemorate this amazing alignment of the planets that these two behemoths occupy, I created this 'Mash-Up' Image Header as a Reminder, which I will release as a Full-Sized Wallpaper, for fans of these two franchises, once it is complete... Soon™

A big fan of both companies' products, I was so excited about it - but I haven't had a chance to play yet! So, I'm trying to help out all of you fellow gamers and notify you that these games are Free and Playable all weekend - including being sold at lowered prices - but it's almost over! Get out there and jump in - and have fun! GOGOGO

See You In The Game!

Gwent - Playable By All Now As It Enters Public Beta Phase [Notification]

Update: Added Bugs Personally Found - 20170525, Ongoing

Update: Added Example of Patch Notes - 20170526
Update: Embedded The Gwent Cinematic Trailer 'jussferfun' - 20170527

Just a quick notification that Gwent, the Free-To-Play online card game based on The Witcher series, is now playable by all, as it enters the Public Beta phase (Open Beta).

Stress-Test the servers!
Find bugs and improve the game!
Have fun!

https://www.playgwent.com/

From the GOG.com Store Page:

"GWENT: The Witcher Card Game is currently in public beta. The game requires an online connection to play and offers optional in-game purchases. Single player campaign will be added at a later date."

Fallout 4: High Resolution Texture Pack (Free DLC) Is Now Available [Notification]

For those that haven't heard yet, as mentioned last week at their site here, Bethesda has released a High Resolution Texture Pack, that is now available for free, downloadable via Steam.

The graphic 'upgrade' includes 'native 1440p' textures [which means the textures themselves are 2560x1440 pixels in size - but remember, textures usually aren't displayed at Full Size, they are squished into say, the sides of a gun, or a sign or other things in the world - even if they cover a large wall in the game, they will usually not display 'at full native size' - and even if they do, they can be repeated ("tiled") to fill in the space of objects needed, in the game world - basically, 1440p textures should make the game look great]. It also includes Enhanced Draw Distancing and God-Ray tweaks [those glow-y, streaks of light, showing up especially when a source of light is behind something, such as the sun behind trees or buildings].

Now, up until this release, I personally was playing with SweetFX a lot in FO4, having fun increasing Sharpness and Shading, dealing with the Aliasing, taking Screenshots and 'Realistic Photos' and 'Close-Ups' (with Depth-Of-Field, etc) of some of the Characters in the game. These can be found here, at a slowly-growing Flickr page I started for The Blog. A couple examples of these, taken with 'SweetFX in ReShade' are just below - I look forward to what the entire game could possibly look like with the new High Resolution textures!

Fallout 4 - Mrs. Nordhagen, Settler I - SweetFX in ReShade
(GTAMblog7Photo SweetFX Preset, made available Soon™)
Click to see Full Size

Fallout 4 - Mrs. Nordhagen, Settler I - SweetFX in ReShade
(GTAMblog7Photo SweetFX Preset, made available Soon™)
Click to see Full Size

ReShade by Crosire (reshade.me)
SweetFX by CeeJay.dk (ceejay.dk)
Game Material by Bethesda Game Studios (bgs.bethsoft.com)
Captured by Troy from The Game Tips And More Blog

Since I don't actually have room for it on any of the drives I have Games on at the moment [which seems to always happen when something cool comes out, of course], I will be moving some things around and uninstalling other games I am not playing at the moment, to make room for this big fella...

It is an optional/separate "DLC" download, weighing in at a hefty 58GB installation through Steam. Once I get it going, I will be working on a QualityTest for it, comparing the graphic look between the two versions and what they really look like in-game - as well as the Performance Hit the Texture Pack creates - look for that coming post Soon™ if you are waiting to see what they look like or if it is 'worth the download'; but if you can't wait and want to get started seeing it yourself, go get it via Steam for free now, here.

This free download, by the way, is - in Bethesda's own words, "...a love letter to our amazing PC fans that have supported us – not just with Fallout 4, but across multiple decades and games...". 

Right back at ya', Beth! 

"Thank You" ~ Sincerely, The Game Tips And More Blog

Header and Footer Images captured by Bethesda, from their example screenshots of the High Resolution Texture Pack

Battlefield Hardline: A Double XP Boost is on, starting July 27th! [Notification]

Just a quick notification to those interested in Hardline that a Double XP Boost currently on, as of July 27th!

http://battlelog.battlefield.com/bfh/

GOGOGO


Also, note that these smaller, frequent updates from these games ("Double XP Boost Events") will be listed in the future at The Game Tips And More Blog's Twitter, @GameTipsAndMore (https://twitter.com/GameTipsAndMore) and at The Blog's "New" Facebook Page, here:
https://www.facebook.com/The-Game-Tips-And-More-Blog-1646033402352335/



See You In The Game!

Battlefield 4: A Double XP Boost Is Currently Active ! [Notification]

Just a quick notification to those interested in Battlefield 4 that a Double XP Boost is Currently On!
http://battlelog.battlefield.com/bf4/
GOGOGO

See You In The Game!


[Update: As of 2016-07-26, the Double XP Boost appears to be over... slash-sadface]

Battlefield Hardline: Beginning July 15th, A Double XP Boost is Active ! [Notification]

Just a quick notification to notify those interested in Hardline to note that a Double XP Boost is Currently On! Note that the notification was noted on Battlelog, as of July 15th - unfortunately, I cannot tell at this time if it is a Premium-Only Boost or a Double XP Boost for 'Everyone', as I recently subscribed to Origin Access (to test it for one month, to see whether you 'lose' patches/etc that you have earned while it is 'on', which I will share as soon as I find out). Still, check out Battlelog and see if it is 'on' for you! http://battlelog.battlefield.com/bfh/ GOGOGO

See You In The Game!


[Update: As of July 20th, the Double XP Boost is now over... See you next time!]

Battlefield Hardline: A Double XP Boost is Currently Active! [Notification]

Just a quick post to notify those interested in Hardline that a Double XP Boost is Currently On! GOGOGO http://battlelog.battlefield.com/bfh/

See You In The Game!

And More: Deal and Sales - Battlefield 4 Expansion, Second Assault is Free from EA - Two Days Left [Notification]

Just a quick mention, for those who didn't catch it yet or for those who play [or never stopped playing!] Battlefield 4: Second Assault, the Expansion pack that adds Four Maps, Five Weapons, Ten Assignments and more, is currently being given away Free from EA/Origin until the 28th - that's only two days left to go get it!

Battlefield 4: Second Assault Expansion Pack Information Panel
in the "On The House" Section [ Free Games > On The House] in EA's Origin Game Client (Click to see Full Size)

Note that you need to already own Battlefield 4, as this is an Expansion Pack, but you can still get it now - even if you don't own BF4 - and play it later. Go and Download it now! GOGOGO

Battlefield 4: Second Assault Expansion Promotional Wallpaper by EA, Unedited
(Click to see Full Size)

See You In The Game!

And More: Deals and Sales - Free from EA: Battlefield Hardline's Getaway Expansion and Nox [Notification]

Personally, I am fighting a rough cold/flu 'thingy' [to use the medical term]; but I wanted to make sure and post a quick Notification for those interested in these two games, to mention here that they both are currently being offered Totally Free from EA via their "On The House" promotion:

The first mention is an expansion for Battlefield: Hardline called Getaway, which features 4 New Maps, 4 New Vehicles, 9 New Weapons (3 of them exclusive to owners of this Expansion), a New Gadget, a New Melee Weapon, a New Game Mode ("Capture The Bag") and more - although I am sure I saw and used guns like the MP5SD (silenced) just playing vanilla [no expansions] up to this point.

[Me just messing around with some Lens Flare and other minor effects on a Battlefield: Hardline Getaway promo logo image YAH FX]

The Expansion/DLC itself was originally released in January of 2016 and although it may not help with there only being 3-5 servers in North America on PC with a high number of players on them (there are a lot more if you are part of the EU), it is still worth going and grabbing [in my opinion, especially if people end up coming back or playing more in the future].

The second mention is Nox, the Action RPG [think 'like Diablo'] by Westwood Studios (developers of the Dune, Eye of the Beholder and Command and Conquer game series'). Originally released in January of 2000, its' gameplay was very Diablo-esque but with a little humour mixed in as well. It had an isometric view [angled-top-down] and fast gameplay, dungeon crawling with quests and goldz to collect, looking a lot like another successful game series, Fallout (the early Fallout games).
It also had a multiplayer aspect, including an Online Ladder Ranking System just like Diablo2, but I have not personally played this portion recently, to see if it is still functioning or supported.

[Edit: Apparently EA dropped multiplayer and online ranking support for Nox, but such functions may still be available through platform applications like GameRanger. Perhaps I will test these in the future].

[Not too exciting, but an example Screenshot of early stage Nox gameplay, one where I foundz me a Tunic to wearz]
(Click to see Full Size)

I have also slowly been working on a few Quick Tips and some Game Recorder TestRuns that I have been collecting together for a Game Recorder Comparison that I want to post here at The Blog in the future; but for now, if you are interested at all in these two great offers, grab them while you can - and See You In the Games!