Star Trek online.... October update....

In less than three weeks we'll see the console graphics system hit the live pc version of STO.
Outside of the technical updates the new patch (Agents of Yesterday – Artifacts) brings a Star Trek: The Original Series-themed Starbase Fleet holding. Great for those in a fleet but not for an independent player like me. What is of interest to me is the new story arc that is to run through 2017!
With luck it will include a good amount of content. I am sure a more detailed information will be forthcoming soon.

I have tried the new version of STO on console. I have only played about an hour of a new character on my XboxOne. Not much time to give a detailed analysis. But enough time to see what it was like. It's not a bad translation, I created a new Romulan character and found the starter experience and UI to be very playable. I did find the aiming systems a bit strange as it seemed to be aiming off and away from what you were actually aiming at. I wont' be pulled into playing that version over the pc original. I find the pc version far more more accessible.

Most sites for both Xbox and Playstation are giving the game a 70% rating. with what I think is more of a liking for the game on ps4 than Xboxone. 70% It's a bad thing, and there are indeed things they could improve on. I just think that to improve on things they way critics want would require more input than the company would ever think of giving to the game not matter what form it's deployed on.

I consider the pc version to be fun if quirky. My consideration for the game will only improve once the new visuals are in the game. And with the new content on the way I am sure I'll enjoy it. I may even join a fleet.

 ACG: Star Trek Online Console Review 

 

Eve Online.... My New pre Alpha's....

The Alpha Clones are fast approaching. So I've decided to take a bit of a closer look at what I'll be doing with alt's.

The announcement of Alpha Clones has caused a hiccup in my original 60 day trial plan, making me bring their use forward. Also Mike Azariah's alpha prep post talked about training pre-Alpha trial clones now to take advantage of the faster training time, that makes sense. For some reason I thought I had more time.

I have two of those 60 day codes, if I use them now I may be able to train it fast enough to get a good portion of the skills trained before the changes are in. I plan on making a Minmatar and see about faction warfare the other will be a Caldari and be a more mission running character.

Of the two accounts that I did pay for there are a total of 6 Characters, 3 per account. I really don't intend to do much of anything with them. I'll keep an eye on them with the occasional login. I don't plan on transferring any ships, fits or isk from them. I am sure there will be further Alpha Clone restrictions that will be announced closer to the date of release with regard to transferring isk/assets.
It may sound silly to not use these maxed out Alpha clones but I guess that's just me. I have a separation in my head between the old, the new and what will be reusable.

Of the old trial accounts I did use, 2 were my initial "tries" at getting into the universe of Eve Online. I am sure that those characters skills are "all over the place", as these were my first taste of Eve. No real surprise. I also think that they have zero assets worth mentioning (no really, nothing, not even a ship). So I doubt that they will be of any use other than nostalgia and putting them into my main characters corp for the sake of it.

3 More trials were used as throwaway, ninja's. All three were well into T2 weapons and mods. I'm sure they hit the limit in training for what will be an Alpha alt. I know for sure that ships, mods and isk were moved from one character to another, leaving them with no assets or isk. This may not be a bad thing considering the NEW Player Experience that is to come with the changes.

I don't know what is planned for the New Player Experience but at least for now I can get 2 60 day accounts going with the old "experience". That will net some ships from the career agents and a good bit of starter isk.
The more I think about it the more I think I need to get them going a.s.a.p.

Minecraft.... More from the master....

A nice run through of the new features. Thank You Bdubs!

Fallout 4.... Done and dusted....

I've completed my playthrough's of the latest DLC, Nuka World, on both my "Brotherhood" and "Institute" characters which completes all three charecters. Doing so has brought a reversal of those characters interactions with the general commonwealth.
My Brotherhood character was pro Minuteman but went full on Nuka world to the end, then reversed course and can no longer speak to Preston. Whereas my Institute character was more in tune with wiping out Nuka world from the start and in doing so has gotten more interaction with the Minutemen and Preston than ever before which I never thought would happen.
They have both been interesting playthrought's and I'm not about to reload and redo from a previous save, they are where they are and I'm ok with that. I felt I played both properly with their perspectives on the storylines.

With both finished I did find myself going back to my "main, main" playthrough and updating a lot of settlements etc. With no more DLC coming there will be no incentive to revisit the Brotherhood or Institute characters again. Indeed with no more DLC there will be no more real reason to go onto my main, it feels like an abrupt end. Mods may be the way forward for further gamplay.  Time will tell.

Minecraft.... Exploration 1.11

Lots of changes are coming in the next update to Minecraft, V1.11 details. The release date is yet to be confirmed.

If I can get to use Treasure maps and the handiness of the Locate Command, I'll be happy.

This update also adds llamas, cute, cute, llamas :

 

BdoubleO100 talks about the update in his latest video....

WoW.... Another two down....

I've taken two more characters through their class hall and weapon quests. A Frost Death Knight and my Protection Paladin.

I found that my DK was not powerful at all. doing the quests felt painful. So this is another class that will be "parked".

My Paladin has always been protection and it was only halfway through the weapon quest that I actually got reminded that I'll have to level him as a tank.... But that's not as bad as it sounds. I found his dps to be quite good and a lot more playable than the DK. So much so I may have this character as my "second" main.

Something different....

Last week saw a draw in a football match. No not Soccer, not American Football (football, rolls eye's), I'm talking about Gaelic football.

Now I'm no sports fan. Never played and never watched most sports. But that match was the All Ireland final. The Superbowl of it's game. As big as it gets, so it was hard to avoid, and that got me thinking.
Gaelic sports have been shipped overseas from Ireland due to the large amount of Irish.... well.... everywhere. Yet I'm surprised at how little other countries know about both Gaelic Football and Hurling. I consider myself fairly knowledgeable and yet I'm surprised at how many other countries also have large domestic sports I've never heard of.
So in my own little way I'm gonna share this post about the two sports that are the backbone of every nook and cranny of this country.

If I was to pick between Football and Hurling I'd pick hurling every time. Both are games of skill, luck and brute force. Hurling is more so.
Instead of me creating a wall of text I'll link some insightful and informative video's.

As I said before Hurling is better than Football so Hurling first.....

For the video below I will say that the ball is pronounced more as 'slitter' rather than as pronounced by Ninh Ly. He does stick in a pop up text box saying it on the video but it only lasts a second.
Great Videos but the accent with the mispronounced name is comical, at least to me.

I also have to put in a reactions video here.... Great stuff :)

Ninh Ly explains the Rules of Gaelic Football:

It seems that a new series for Irish tv about the games and the communities that support them is out, worth watching for anyone interested:

But for anyone looking for a more immediate show, I did see this next one on youtube:

 

No Man's Sky.... No closer....

I've been taking more time here and there to continue the "at least I did it once" self goal to get to the center of No Man's Sky.
I've been getting harsh comments from Steam friends when they see me launch the game. I find that I'm having to defend my time in the game a lot more, self goal or no. In saying that I don't know how much longer I can try to get that goal done. What annoyed me the most is the slow progress. The last wormhole took me 973178 light years yet the map showed my distance from the center had barley changed. I'll try one more wormhole and if it doesn't get me closer then I'll stuff the game.


Funny that the advertising agency may get to force a change in No Man's Sky's steam page promo content....
http://www.pcgamer.com/no-mans-sky-is-being-investigated-by-the-advertising-standards-authority.


Some more of my screenies:

This creature does not look "unconcerned"

 

Star Citizen....

Dan Gheesling Star Citizen "INVESTIGATED" By Kotaku UK - Opinion Video:

kotaku.co.uk articles:

http://www.kotaku.co.uk/2016/09/28/who-are-the-star-citizen-superbackers-2

http://www.kotaku.co.uk/2016/09/26/the-24-year-feud-that-has-dogged-star-citizen

Dual Universe....

It's interesting to see the start of an MMO, the development, changes and the kickstarter campaign.

Again I have to say I had thought DU was going to be a free to play game, but no it will have a subscription, slightly disappointing.
Despite the difference between it and Eve Online I think I'll be sticking with the Eve free Alpha clones of my old characters. I've already spent a lot of cash over the years to abandon what I've already paid for.

The more I read about the game the more it sounded like it was taking a lot of que's from Eve. Just like Eve Online's PLEX, Dual niverse has it's own version. "Dual Access Coupon (DAC): The DAC is a virtual item that you will be able to use for different purposes. You will be able to consume one to get 30 days of play in Dual Universe, or give one to a friend. "

The game I'm sure will develop and change as time goes on. One to watch at the very least.

PC Gamer Dual Universe's voxel tech, explained :

markeedragon Dual Universe Space Survival MMO, Interview with JC, Founder of Novaquark:

Everspace.... Bought the game....

After reading up on reviews, forums and posts about the game I decided to buy it on Steam. It doesn't disappoint. Still an Alpha build but the core of the game is there and very playable. I look froward to getting updates and improvements as it develops. Due out fully early next year.
As it stand I have no problem with using a keyboard and mouse, in fact it feels a lot more accurate than with a 360 controller. Surprising yet I know I shouldn't be.

The in game "freeze" for screenshots is a nice feature.

I still say that the trailer does do justice to the game. The trailer, with the music pumping is exactly what they offer in the game.  

Star Trek Online.... Timeline....

STO recently released the games timeline and it's interaction with the rest of the Star Trek lore/Universe. Worth it for gamers and Trek fans alike.

Star Citizen.... Impressive Technology....

The latest 10 for the Chairman has taken a new(ish) format that I like.
The technology on show is impressive. This game really will blow the head and shoulders off other games.

Eve Online.... Autumn Summit.

It was interesting to read how well things went with the CSM autumn summit.
http://evenews24.com/2016/09/20/csm-xi-autumn-summit-review-week-18-19-summary/
I hope that Eve Vegas will have lots more good news for the game.

I've been looking up more info on Alpha Clone viability and am watching a lot of the current "old" 21 day trail uses. One good video even if it is a little out of date is still good and worth sharing.
delonewolf's EVE Online - How to get a plex on a trial account?

Wow.... Meh....

I'm still very "Meh" about wow. I've only taken two more characters to get their weapons and class halls. The latest two are my mage and shamen. I'm surprised at how well my shammy has done considering she was the last character to be levelled up. So I've been down thinking about how poorly my Over geared hunter has been doing and super surprised at the under geared Shamen.

Frost Mage:

Elemental Shamen

The more I think about wow and all my characters the more I think that I'll have to concentrate on only one or two characters at most. That will be hard for an altaholic like me. If I don't I know I'll hit a burnout wall very quickly. I might hit that wall faster with two charecters given all the talk of grinding artifact weapon power. Never mind gearing up and alt spec weapons etc.

The X-Files Game....

While I haven't had an itch to try and play the game again I was reminded of it when reading about a newer FMV game that just came out. The Bunker.

What is prompting me to post about the X-Files game is one aspect of the gameplay. Listening to your characters music. When your character gets home to his apartment after a day of investigation you can interact with a lot of things. One being his stereo. There were three tracks if I recall correctly from a band called Moon. I was able to find two of those tracks on YouTube and they bring back more nostalgia for the game than seeing gameplay footage.

Command and Conquer....

I've been a fan of the Command and Conquer franchise since it started. It was one of the first games I bought when I was getting my first PC back in the 90's.
Though I've purchased most of the games over the years the older the game the more trouble there is in getting it to run again on more modern operating systems. Not wanting to really setup virtual machines etc. I went ahead and bought the full C&C collection. I've installed all but the Renegade game... I refuse the fact that it exists.
I'm happy to have the games in a playable state and that the majority of my old saves are now reloadable.
The franchise has had it's up's and down's in gamplay and in graphic engines, but it's good to be able to dip my toe back in that universe. 

No Man's Sky.... Stop, Start, Stop, Start....

I'm glad that I'm not the only person to question the silence of No Man's Sky creators Hello Games. PC Gamer did a very good article:
http://www.pcgamer.com/the-makers-of-no-mans-sky-need-to-start-talking-again/

I did two more big  pushes within the game that seem to have gotten me no closer to the center than when I started.

It was by chance that I switched my steam game list view into it's detailed mode. I was shocked to see that I've spent 65 hours in the game! 65...... That is far too long.

I haven't played the game in a few days now but I may try another "session" and see if that works for me. I dont' see myself playing much more at all.