Q3 reservations will become available from this week Unlike thelast time Valve ramped up Steam Deck production, it’s not clear if this speedier shipment schedule was already taken into account when listing the availability estimates. But given the Deck technically launched back in February, the waiting list is indeed a long and arduous one, so anything that helps work through it quicker should be welcomed. Maybe Liam will finally get his?...

“Hi, please don’t do this” Also in Steam Deck news, Valve’s Lawrence Yang – a designer who worked on the on the handheld PC – has weighed in on a widely shared mod that replaces the pre-installed SSD with a larger, faster model. His advice: don’t do it. The mod, by Twitter userBelly Jelly, swaps out the dinky default M.2 2230 SSD for a slightly longer M.2 2242 drive. It seems to mostly work fine except for making “the heat spreader bow a bit....

Forgive it for being unforgiving You start in a hub area populated by a few aliens and robots having some drinks near the bar. I’m told that this cosy space will evolve a little between runs, with NPCs commenting on your progress and new folks popping in for a chat. It’s no Temple Of Styx a la Hades, though, so don’t expect any rigorous customisation options or any branching paths to expand it....

AI-powered anti-aliasing for more powerful RTX graphics cards Nvidia DLAA (Deep Learning Anti-Aliasing) is more of a niche prospect than its upscaler cousinDLSS(Deep Learning Super Sampling), though it shares the same ultimate goal of making your PC games look sharper. Like DLSS, DLAA uses a dash of AI brainpower to stitch together frames with more detail than conventional anti-aliasing techniques like TAA and MSAA – only with DLAA, there’s no upscaling involved....

A great deal for the current gaming monitor sweet spot. Lenovo’s G27q-20 G-Sync/FreeSync gaming monitor is down to £200, a fantastic deal for a 1440p 165Hz model in a 27-in screen size. Here’s why we rate it. First up, it’s all about the panel. A few years ago, you had a serious decision to make between IPS and TN panels. IPS panels were great for content creation and slower-paced games, where their superior colour performance, viewing angles and overall picture quality gave them an advantage....

The RPS Hivemind is finally complete Back in the depths of February, we began our search for asection editorto take on our growing reviews section and bring their expert editing skills to every part of the site. Today, at long last, I’m happy to say we’ve found that person, and we’ve also given them the proper job title they deserve. Please say hello to Rachel Watts, our brand-new reviews editor....

Looking at more interesting upcoming indies Every weekend, indie devs show off current work on Twitter’s#screenshotsaturdaytag. And every Monday, I bring you a selection of these snaps and clips. This week, we have cute trainline-building, ghost violence, surreal things both intentional and unintentional, and a cyberpunk New York City. I like theTownscaper-style block-plopping of diorama-building gameIslands & Trains(comingto Steam): Building a tiny little island with a tiny little (new) trainstation & some happy little (new birch) trees and bushes that Bob Ross would hopefully be proud of☺️#screenshotsaturday#lowpoly#gamedev#indiedev#WIP#game#madewithunityhttps://t....

Not sure this is what they meant by ‘Sonic mania’ One of the developers behind the component games of Sega’sSonic Originscollection has spoken out on Twitter to defend their team in light of the collection’s numerous alleged bugs. Headcannon founder Simon Thornley, also known as Stealth, took responsibility for some of the collection’s issues in a lengthy series oftweets, but said that “a lot was beyond our control”. “This is frustrating,” Thornley said....

Full-timers are paid an undisclosed amount, whereas part-timers get “cool rewards” The most wishlisted game on Steam,The Day Before, is being developed entirely by volunteers according to its developer’s website. Fntastic say they accept full-time and part-time volunteers to work on their games. Watch a video about volunteering that’s featured on the company’s website below. The company website for Fntastic now has a ‘volunteer’ section, which says: “Fntastic’s culture is based on the idea of volunteering....

It’s the first in-person event for years Some intriguing speedruns are lined up on PC over the rest of this week. The wee hours of tomorrow morning see a versus Any% battle between the original and definitive edition of my favourite GTA,Vice City. I’d wholeheartedly recommend the Any% runs of classic FPSsStar Wars: Jedi Knight II – Jedi Outcastand Powerslave Exhumed on Wednesday, along with adventure game King’s Quest V on Thursday....

Here’s where to go to find Titan Ore in both Cycle: Frontier maps Looking for Titan Ore in The Cycle: Frontier?It’s an aptly impressive name for a very valuable and hard to come by type of ore that grows in certain areas of Fortuna III. As a prospector, you’ll be expected to go out and find Titan Ore at times - at which point, you may scratch your head and wonder where you need to go to get it....

New footage of a blighted Blighty Post-apocalyptic modFallout: Londonwill arrive next year, the development team have announced with a new video released as part of theFalloutFor Hope charity initiative. It’s a DLC-sized mod forFallout 4that’s bringing the unchanging nuclear war across the pond. Doff your bowler hat out of respect for all the nuked chippies, and watch the trailer below. Judging from the trailer, there’s some slightly Orwellian shenanigans going on in the devastated remains of old London town....

A good entry-level gaming laptop for a bargain basement price. The Dell G15 is a well-equipped laptop in general you’d have to say, with its current-gen RTX graphics card unlocking future-proofing RTX and DLSS functionality and a powerful 10th-gen Core i5, backed by a 1080p 120Hz screen, 8GB of memory (easily upgradeable to 16GB) and a roomy 512GB NVMe SSD. The G15 drew plaudits last year for its ‘gaming, but not too gaming’ design, and with specs like these, you’ll be thrilled to pick it up for a mite over £500....