Stardock now offers Core Worlds, new DLC for Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation, the real-time strategy game set in the farthest reaches of outer space. This is available on the Stardock Store and Steam. We inquired why it is not on GOG.com, but have not yet received a reply. Update: It's now on on GOG.com as well. The add-on comes with a new patch for the base game, and all the details on that are here. The Core Worlds Trailer shows off some gameplay, and here's a description:

Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation - Core Worlds DLC adds new maps based on real-world geographical locations. Asymmetrical in nature, the metal and radioactive resources that are distributed on each map are meant to offset their various geographical disadvantages.

Fight against your enemy on maps of various sizes that feel like you’re fighting somewhere in the real world – which isn’t all that surprising, since that’s what they’re all based on.

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Hamsters Gaming announces Shelter Manager, another strategy game using the cheery setting of life after a global apocalypse (of your own choosing, no less). This will first arrive in Early Access, but it doesn't yet carry a release date. Here's a very brief official trailer with a look at the game, and you can follow development through its Steam Listing. Here's more on this chance to be Archie Bunker:

In Shelter Manager, players can customize the existential threats they’re facing, with multiple scenarios available. Nuclear war, deadly plague or a planet-pulverizing meteor impact each provide different challenges to face in the dark days ahead. After choosing their starting location and initial resources, players have to decide what kind of civilization they want to lead out of the apocalypse.

Without a well-managed bunker, the destruction of everything you’re protecting seems inevitable. Players are tasked with managing the wellbeing of their bunker and the civilians inhabiting them. Deal with food rationing, electricity usage, and even everyone’s sleeping habits in order to maintain order. The bunker itself needs to be expanded and reinforced as well, as the stability of the structure will deteriorate over time. Nobody said the apocalypse would be easy.

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Game Source Studio announces Mahokenshi, a deckbuilding adventure game coming to Steam in Q1 2022. And if just being a plain vanilla samurai doesn't get you going, you're in luck, as in Mahokenshi you play as a samurai mage. The Announcement Trailer includes a look at gameplay and introduces a colorful faction system, which is touched on in the details below:

In Mahokenshi, players will become powerful samurai mages, Mahokenshi, fighting to defend the Celestial Islands from an ancient enemy, the forces of corruption. Wielding both steel and magic, they will choose their samurai from one of the four different houses, which define how they build their decks. Each house provides a particular play style and gets its power from a different elemental spirit, the Kami.

• House Sapphire - Defensive, drawing its power from the Kappa, ruler of lakes and rivers.
• House Topaz - Cunning, drawing its power from the Kitsune, master of fire and illusion.
• House Ruby - Fierce, drawing its power from the Tengu, winged lord of the mountains.
• House Jade - Secretive, drawing its power from the Ogumo, spider kami of the deep forest.

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• Save 40% on Before We Leave on Steam.
• Save 20% on Penko Park on Steam.

• Hardspace: Shipbreaker - The Admin Oversight update is live! - Steam News.
• No Man's Sky Frontiers Patch 3.64.1 Hotfix.
• VALORANT Patch Notes 3.05.

Thanks Ant.

• Dying Light 2 Stay Human Audio Story — Rosemary.
• Far Cry 6 - Game Overview Trailer.

↑ Official trailers. ↓ Content creator videos.

• Children in video games - Viva La Dirt League.
• The History of Portal - GVMERS.

• Crysis: Developer Interview - Intel Gamer Days - Intel Gaming (video).

• Aliens: Fireteam Elite - Season 1- Phalanx is now live. Here's a trailer.

• Struggling Is Now Available For Xbox One And Xbox Series X|S.

• Call of Duty: Mobile Collaborates with Famed Mecha Designer Shoji Kawamori on New Reaper — Ashura Operator.

• Proton welcomes Sir Tim Berners-Lee to its advisory board – as ProtonMail suffers a privacy backlash. Thanks RedEye9.
• How to Mass Delete Emails in Gmail. Thanks Neutronbeam.

• BurnAware Free 14.7. Thanks DSLReports via Ant.

• Microsoft: Attackers Exploiting Windows Zero-Day Flaw.

• Dull Grey is now on Steam offering "an award-winning visual novel about growing up"…
• Indian news channel uses Arma 3 gameplay footage to claim Pakistan bombed Afghanistan…

Last Link of the Day: Another One Bites The Dust (ft. Pee-wee Herman). Thanks Ant.

Surviving Mars is currently available for free on Steam, offering the chance to terraform the Red Planet for nothing in this Windows, macOS, and Linux sim. This comes just in time for the release of the new Below and Beyond expansion. The giveaway may be of interest to anyone who missed getting this for free previously, as it's been given away not once but twice on the Epic Games Store and it was also a Humble Freebie a few months back. You'll need to act fast, as the offer expires at 1:00 pm EDT today (apologies for the short notice). If you snag it by then, it's yours to keep. Here's a refresher:

Surviving Mars is a sci-fi city builder all about colonizing Mars and surviving the process. Choose a space agency for resources and financial support before determining a location for your colony. Build domes and infrastructure, research new possibilities and utilize drones to unlock more elaborate ways to shape and expand your settlement. Cultivate your own food, mine minerals or just relax by the bar after a hard day’s work. Most important of all, though, is keeping your colonists alive. Not an easy task on a strange new planet.

EXOR Studios tweets that The Riftbreaker will be released on October 14th for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5. This notes that the Windows edition is available to wishlist on Steam where there's also a playable demo of the base-building survival game. The PC edition is also coming to the Epic Games Store and will be available via the Xbox Game Pass on Day One as well. Here's a Release Date Announcement Trailer along with a refresher:

You play the role of captain Ashley S. Nowak - you are the Riftbreaker, an elite scientist/commando inside a powerful Mecha-Suit. Enter a one-way portal to Galatea 37, a distant planet at the far reaches of the Milky Way Galaxy, with the purpose of building up a base that will allow travel back to Earth and further colonization. Ashley's Mecha-suit, which she calls "Mr. Riggs", can withstand the harshest environmental conditions and has a full range of equipment for base construction, resource extraction, gathering specimens and of course - combat. It is capable of traveling through rifts that connect space across vast distances.

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Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt is now available in Early Access on Steam, offering the chance to try this battle royale based on the World of Darkness horror franchise. Since the game is free-to-play, it would be fair to call this a soft launch, but there are plans to take the game offline for a day or so in about a week to make changes based on feedback. A date for an official launch is not yet set. A new Community Update #2 Video offers over 80 minutes from the Shakmob development team about Early Access. Here's more:

A treacherous betrayal has stirred a war amongst vampires, who are also targeted for annihilation by the secret society known as the Entity. Use your supernatural powers, weapons, and wit in this third-person battle royale game to dominate the night and restore the masquerade.

JOIN THE BLOODHUNT
Feed on potent blood to grow in power then hunt using your supernatural abilities and senses. With Prague in lockdown, defy gravity and strike from anywhere in your quest to dominate the night.

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The Wyoming expansion is now available on Steam for American Truck Simulator, adding more of the wide-open spaces of the American west to the Windows, macOS, and Linux transportation simulation. The SCS Software Blog has a recent trailer showing off some highways and byways, along with a feature list:

So what exactly does our Wyoming DLC have to offer for truckers? These are just a few of the things we think you will love:

• Deliver to and from 10 cities and discover 14 settlements
• Discover and deliver to Wyoming's important industries like coal & soda ash, farms & agriculture, railyards, and more!
• Haul livestock cargo to our new cattle auction houses
• Drive on the Highway to Heaven.
• Haul cargo on the I-80, the second-longest Interstate highway in the United States
• See wildlife unique to Wyoming including Bison
• Visit landmarks like Devils Tower National Monument and part of the Yellowstone National Park and get bird's-eye views with many new viewpoints.
• Admire accurate representations of cities like Cheyenne, Casper, Jackson, Sheridan, and more!
• Visit and take a rest at famous Wyoming rest stops & gas stations.
• Unlock Wyoming-specific Steam Achievements

...and much more!

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Celebrating today's 55th anniversary of the debut of Star Trek, GOG.com now offers a collection of six classic games based on the science fiction series. The list is a little too modern to include Star Trek: 25th Anniversary, but the beloved point-and-click adventure is also available and on sale. It also does not include Armada or Armada II, but both real-time strategy games are said to be "coming soon."

Digital storefront GOG.COM and Activision are celebrating 55 years of Star Trek by bringing some of its most iconic and critically acclaimed video games back and updated to work on modern operating systems.

It’s a perfect opportunity for both devoted Trekkies and new players to discover and enjoy these amazing titles, as every game on this list offers a different experience and the chance to meet some of the most beloved characters. Six classic Star Trek games now available on the GOG.COM store include:

• Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force – a first-person shooter set onboard the USS Voyager where you must take on some of the most dangerous special missions.
• Star Trek: Elite Force II – a stunning sequel set on Enterprise-E where you get your orders from Captain Jean-Luc Picard himself!
• Star Trek: Hidden Evil – a third-person adventure game with both Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner reprising their roles as Captain Picard and Lt. Cmdr. Data.
• Star Trek: Away Team – an isometric turn-based tactical game influenced by titles like Commandos and the X-Com series.
• Star Trek: Starfleet Command III – a simulation game with RPG elements where you can customize your starship and lead it into space battles.
• Star Trek: Bridge Commander – a space combat simulation game that sits you in an actual captain’s chair with a crew waiting for your orders.

• Special Sale: engaging jRPGs up to 80% off - GOG.com.

• Elder Scrolls Online PC/Mac Patch Notes v7.1.6.
• Fallout 76: Fallout Worlds Update Notes – September 8, 2021.
• No Man's Sky version 3.64.
• Steam Client Beta.

↑ Official patches. ↓ Unofficial patches and mods.

• Call Of the Abyss is a 15GB new overhaul mod for Dark Souls 3.

• Marvel's Midnight Suns Gameplay Showcase Full Presentation.
• In Sound Mind – Gameplay Trailer.
• 101 Trailer - Crystal Guard - Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege.
• US Speed tour West - Launch Trailer - The Crew 2.

↑ Official trailers. ↓ Content creator videos.

• NEW Star Wars Mandalorian game LEAKED! - But is it real? Thanks Reddit.

• MythBusters: The Game - Crazy Experiments Simulator by MovieGames — Kickstarter. "Plan, build, and explode things in our creative simulation game! Confirm or bust real life myths and get as many viewers as possible!"

• No Man's Sky Expedition Three: Cartographers.
• England footballer Jesse Lingard now has a Rainbow Six Siege esports team.

• Forza Horizon 5 Reveals a Huge Car List, and It's Not Even Complete - IGN.
• Mid-Saga Update is coming to Tribes of Midgard on October 5.

• Rumor - PS5 Pro Out By Late 2024, Reportedly Aimed At 8K Gaming And Will Cost $600-$700.
• Welcoming Firesprite to the PlayStation Studios Family.
• Ubisoft reconfirms that Far Cry 6 will have a free next-gen upgrade.
• BattleTech makes an epic return to PlayStation with MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries.
• The Riftbreaker arrives on PS5 October 14.
• Death Stranding Director's Cut - Final Trailer - PS5.
• MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries coming to PS5, PS4 on September 23.
• Alphaset By POWGI Is Now Available For Xbox One And Xbox Series X-S.

• Samsung Has a New Stretchable Display That Turns 2D Content Into 3D Moving Scenes.
• Samsung Could Introduce 576-Megapixel Sensors to Market by 2025.
• Our iPhones are six years old. Here's why we are dreading upgrading them. Thanks Ant.
• The Gmail app takes calls now, too, because Google wants it to do everything.
• Barely anyone is using Apple Pay in stores anymore.

• Enthusiast Gaming acquires Addicting Games.
• DONTNOD introduces permanent work from home policy for all employees.
• HBO Max Launches In Six European Countries In October.
• PayPal acquires Japanese buy-now-pay-later unicorn for $2.7 billion.
• In Kenya, Influencers Are Hired to Spread Disinformation (may require registration or subscription).
• Click the first link on a Wikipedia page. Repeat. Eventually, you'll end up on "Philosophy." After that it's turtles all the way down.
• The Series One Desk 27 Google Meet machine doubles as a laptop monitor. To rob me you need a gun.

Thanks Neutronbeam.

• The 20GB Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti we could have had has been found down the Russian GPU mines.
• Google's Incredible New Photo AI Makes 'Zoom And Enhance' a Real Thing. Thanks Max.
• The Verge's Infamous PC Building Video Gets Fixed In 2021.
• I bought a 49-inch ultrawide monitor — and it has transformed how I work.

• Facebook believes accountability and investment signals it is taking privacy seriously.
• Worried about ransomware? Take these three key steps to protect yourself.
• AT&T Alien Labs warns of 'zero or low detection' for TeamTNT's latest malware bundle.
• Ransomware attacks are inevitable. Paying the ransom isn’t.
• BladeHawk attackers spy on Kurds with fake Android apps.
• Malwarebytes 4.4.6.132 - CU 1.0.1053. Thanks DSLReports via Ant.

• UK.gov is launching an anti-Facebook encryption push. Don't think of the children- Think of the nuances and edge cases instead.

• Tales of Arise Review - Keeping the Flame Alive - Wccftech.

• Gaming Chair: Secretlab Titan Evo 2022 gaming chair review - PC Gamer.
• Game Controller: Scuf Instinct Pro PC controller review - PC Gamer.
• Graphics Card: ASRock Radeon RX 6600 XT Phantom Gaming D Review - TweakTown.
• Graphics Card: GAINWARD GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Phoenix Review - TweakTown.
• Graphics Card: MSI Radeon RX 6600 XT GAMING X 8G Video Card Review - The FPS Review.
• Keyboard: Epomaker NT68 Regular Profile Keyboard Review - TechPowerUp.
• Keyboard: Epomaker NT68 Low Profile Keyboard Review - TechPowerUp.
• Laptop: Lenovo Legion 5 15 G6 AMD Review- Affordable gaming laptop with a lot of power - NotebookCheck.net Reviews. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• Laptop: The MSI GE76 Raider Review- Tiger Lake Plus Ampere Equals Framerate - AnandTech.
• RAM: Mushkin Redline Lumina DDR4-3600 C16 Review- The Single-Rank Handicap - Tom's Hardware.
• SSD: Teamgroup Cardea Z44Q 4TB NVMe SSD review - Guru3D.

• Ubisoft Appoints Igor Manceau as Chief Creative Officer…
• Garry's Mod has sold 20 million copies…

Today is the 55th anniversary of the debut of Star Trek, as the premiere episode first aired on NBC on September 8, 1966. The original series only ran three seasons, but its influence belies that short period, though it's arguable this wouldn't be the case if its revival wasn't spurred by the post-Star Wars science fiction craze. I lived for TOS reruns when I was a kid, forever fashioning myself makeshift uniforms, phasers, tricorders, and communicators. It's probably because of how young I was at the time, but my favorite episodes are probably the comedic ones like the Harcourt Fenton (Harvey) Mudd episodes. I mean how can you not love Kirk and Spock as prohibition era gangsters? "Well, in a few years, the Iotians may demand a piece of OUR action!"

Prime Directive Round-up
Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.

Breakfast Link

• CHOOSE YOUR REALITY. Thanks Jaysen.

Story

• A family of wild boars organized a cage breakout of 2 piglets, demonstrating high levels of intelligence and empathy. Thanks Max.

Science

• Two 9/11 victims identified nearly 20 years after the attacks.
• Trigger warnings appear to have little impact on emotional responses or learning. Thanks Max.
• How long do dogs live? New study looks into 'centenarians' dogs.

Media

• Inside of an F4 tornado.
• Why this observatory fires lasers at satellites...
• Dog Gets Shocked After Waking Up to Bear looking at it. Looks like the bear got the bigger shock.

Follow-up

• Britney Spears' father petitions to end her conservatorship.