Facebook Photo from Harebrained Schemes reminds us that a Kickstarter is coming for Shadowrun: Hong Kong, the next installment in their tactical RPG series. They previously indicated their next fundraiser would start this month, and the new image shows this should get underway on this Tuesday, January 13th.

The Monthly Report for December on the Roberts Space Industries website recaps last month's action in development of Star Citizen, Cloud Imperium's upcoming science fiction game. They hear from various different studios for specifics of what they worked on during the month, with many of the updates also taking the opportunity to discuss the game's progress over the course of 2014. Thanks 88fingers.

Steam Database tweets an image showing Steam Trades now use Google's reCAPTCHA to screen for bots: "Valve has now switched from their own captcha to the new version of Google's reCAPTCHA. The 'No CAPTCHA reCAPTCHA '." The ensuing replies discuss the implications this has for third-party trading services. Thanks VG247.

Capcom has issued a fact sheet for Resident Evil HD that has Windows PC system specifications for the survival/horror remake that's due for release next week. These are also now posted on the game's Steam page as well as right here:

MINIMUM:
OS: Windows® 7 SP1 / Windows® 8.1
Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo 2.4 GHz, AMD Athlon™ X2 2.8 GHz, or better
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX260, ATI Radeon HD 6790, or better
Monitor Resolution: 1024×768 or higher
DirectX: Version 9.0c
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Hard Drive: 20 GB available space
Sound Card: DirectSound compatible (must support DirectX 9.0c or higher)
Additional Notes:
Controller: Supports Keyboard +Mouse. Genuine Xbox 360 PC compatible controller or comparable XInput-based gamepad recommended.
Note: Some high end integrated graphics chips and modern laptop class discrete GPUs may work but have not been tested, nor are they officially supported by Capcom.

RECOMMENDED:
OS: Windows® 7 SP1 / Windows® 8.1
Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Quad 2.7 GHz, AMD Phenom™ II X4 3.0 GHz or better
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 560, ATI Radeon HD 6950, or better
Monitor Resolution: 1280×720 or higher
DirectX: Version 9.0c
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Hard Drive: 20 GB available space
Sound Card: DirectSound compatible (must support DirectX 9.0c or higher)
Additional Notes:
Controller: Supports Keyboard +Mouse. Genuine Xbox 360 PC compatible controller or comparable XInput-based gamepad recommended.
Note: Some high end integrated graphics chips and modern laptop class discrete GPUs may work but have not been tested, nor are they officially supported by Capcom.

DONTNOD Entertainment offers a first video diary from Life is Strange, the first of a three-part diary series titled "A New Beginning." Word is: "The films were shot at DONTNOD Entertainment’s studio in Paris with the aim to provide a behind the scenes view of the game and the team working on it. In this first video, the developers introduce to you the origins of the game and describe the story, themes and characters you will encounter as you play through." The game is due at the end of the month, and is now available for pre-purchase on Steam, where they now offer system requirements:

MINIMUM:
OS: Windows Vista
Processor: Dual Core 2.0GHz or equivalent
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Graphics: ATI or NVidia card w/ 512 MB RAM (not recommended for Intel HD Graphics cards)
DirectX: Version 9.0
Hard Drive: 3 GB available space

RECOMMENDED:
OS: Windows 7
Processor: Dual Core 3.0GHz or equivalent
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Graphics: ATI or NVidia card w/ 1024 MB RAM (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 or ATI HD 4890)
DirectX: Version 9.0
Hard Drive: 3 GB available space

Continue here to read the full story.

Valve reports the following are the 10 bestselling titles on Steam for last week:

1. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
2. DayZ
3. RUST
4. Far Cry 4
5. Garrry's Mod
6. Depth
7. Don't Starve Together: Frontier Pack
8. Resident Evil
9. Arma III
10. Football Manager 2015

• Always Sometimes Monsters on Steam. Save 60%.
• Winter Wonders on GOG.com. Save 70%.

• Creators of Kim Jong Un-Themed Video Game Shuts Down Kickstarter Campaign Due to Threats & Cyber Attack.

• LAN parties live on - How the internet hasn't killed them off, yet.
• Smite World Championship 2015- day 2 in review.
• How to host your own video game exhibit—or, really, any nerdy exhibit.

• Microsoft Looking To Improve Xbox One’s DRAM Performance.
• Mega Man Battle Network 2 Now Available On Wii U Virtual Console.
• Forza Horizon 2 DLC Causing Crashes, Fix Coming Soon.

Thanks Ant.

• Valiant Hearts: The Great War - IGN's Free Game of the Month.
• Apple now a more popular camera brand than Nikon -- on Flickr anyway.
• Apple Watch launch expected in March, retail training set for mid-February. Thanks HARDOCP.
• Tablet users to exceed one billion. Thanks HARDOCP.

• Microsoft Spartan Vs. Internet Explorer. Thanks HARDOCP.

Thanks Ant.

• Let's Make TVs Accurate, Not "Enhanced."
• Laying To Rest That Odd Linux Kernel Regression. Thanks Linux Today.
• Fedora 19 -Schrödinger's Cat- Reaches EOL and Is Now Definitely Dead. Thanks Linux Today.

• Anonymous claims first victim in 'Operation Charlie Hebdo.' Thanks HARDOCP.
• Obama to unveil executive actions cybersecurity ahead of State of the Union address. Thanks HARDOCP.
• A brief history of Linux malware. Thanks Linux Today.

• House Dem revives major cyber bill. Thanks HARDOCP.
• Stop threats to Canada's online pirates, rights holders told. Thanks Ant via Slashdot.
• Guy who complained to FCC about Comcast modem fees gets $30 back.

• Why 2014 Was The Year of the Videogame Glitch Crisis. Thanks Ant…

Happy birthday to Ant, who has to have sent in more links over the years than any other reader. Like Frans' birthday, this is one I often am late on, so offering timely birthday wishes to both of them this year is an accomplishment. And yes, it is sad that I am so proud of myself over this.

R.I.P.: Taylor Negron, Actor Known For ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High,’ ‘The Last Boy Scout,’ Dies at 57. Not to be confused with Robert Romanus.

Birthday Links:	Thanks Ant and Acleacius.
Play:	Accurate Slapshot Level Pack 2. Fancy Snowboarding.
Link:	Budweiser Is Building A Life-Size Pacman Arena For The Super Bowl.
Story:	New Discovery Channel president: No more man-eating snakes, fake sharks. Thanks HARDOCP.
Media:	KINGDOM HEARTS (Honest Game Trailers). Matthew McConaughey and the Lincoln MKZ- Existential Crisis. Thanks Kxmode.
Follow-up:	SpaceX Rocket Makes Crash Landing On A Drone Barge.