Happy New Year!!

STO....

Doing the last race today for this years ship prize felt good. One last handin and a ship claim on all my characters.

But in reality all my characters have reached a limit on their ships. Not just levelling up free ships but claimed reward vessels. T5-U and T6. Spoiled for choice and options gallor. I spent some more free zen on a extra 2 ships slots for my "main".

Even the reality for him is he doesn't need that ship, it's just a bit of fun to fit out with what I have spare. More of that fun to faff about with for the next while.....

After spending a lot of baubles at the Winter Wonderland vendor I have banked all my winter weapons except for the "Flurry", I wish I'd picked it up sooner, so much damage so quickly it puts the caramel and snow blower to shame. Stats may look like it is a weaker weapon but the rapid speed of firing/damage has to be experienced....

Hitman....

I'm surprised at how fast I'm going through the Pro content. I thought it would have taken a lot longer. That's not to say that it's been easy or plain sailing. I'm sure that some of what I've experienced would have put other gamers off(Multiple restarts, trying to make a save work or starting from scratch etc). Maybe I shouldn't speak too soon. Marrakesh has three challenges remaining, two of which I've been putting off since I started. (Sniper Assassin & Don't Blow It). Time and luck will tell.

Eve Online....

What he said:

https://mikeazariah.wordpress.com/2017/12/31/ooc-help-text/

Eve Online....

My faffing about in Eve Online with both my old main's and new alpha's has brought about an interesting intersection this Christmas season. Specifically regarding new players. So I'm gonna waffle.

Before I begin let me define a real genuine new player to the Eve Online universe. A brand new player with no friend or previous eve online experience is best seen as the character Hei Hei (the rooster) from the film Moana(great film btw). Therefore a 'newbro' member or ceo starting up a corp acts a lot like this(active, eager, clueless, haplessly lucky at times):

So with that imagery in mind.....

First up I moved my newer PvE Alpha to a new corp. A real 'new' corp, owned and run by brand new players to the game. I like joining corps like this and helping out.

Second I moved an alt of that PvE Alpha into that main's previous PvE alpha's corp(yea I have a lot of alts). Just to keep in touch and again to be an experienced voice to help out as they expanded.

Third an old newbro corp ceo contacted one of my old Omega alts to restart his newbro corp. I'd had that alt in the corp way back in 2015 so was surprised.

So overall this chrimbo season has seen a lot of new and returning players to the game. I've never been involved with so many starter corp's all at once before.

Besides this there is one more overriding coincidence. Ganker and griefer proliferation around these newbro corp's. The pic above may be a good meme for bacon but it's also a good reference for Eve's newbro players. New players that are not getting that chance to "grow up" in game anymore.

Now I'm all for Eve being harsh and painful. I went through it when I started and new players today should do the same(to a degree). For my part with the new corp's I'll offer advice and try and be the old grizzled veteran to help ease it, but it's getting harder.

*** Profanity incoming.....

Fuck is it hard to get a group of newbro's off the ground in hi-sec. Wardec's are the least of your problems. The bigger your recruiting corp becomes, the more you get infiltrated and psi-ops/propaganda/mind fucks are played out in a hardcore way. More so this year than previously. There seems to be a vast web of alts(from large alliances) backstabbing new ceo's and new corp operations.

These alts say that newbro's are better off moving and to abandon this new ceo in favour of experienced big alliances bla bla bla, insert corp add link...
Not to mention that they pounce on any negatives and hammer it all home that a move to a much 'better' corp would be wise etc... rinse and repeat.
All this from inside and outside starter corp's, bounty and war dec harassment adds up; Newbro's are Newbro's (guy's and gal's) and fall for this crap.
With a fake newbro gathering as many players as they can via bad mouthing, they then perform a coup migration saying they were talking to an alliance that will take them.

e.g:

I have no quick fix, players are free to do as they will. This is a greater overall (game design?) community problem. That's CCP's to fix. CCP seem to trip over themselves celebrating the loudest 10% of the game population(size). Celebrating how cool they are while the rest are left as wandering fodder or "content". CCP has to always do a CCP version of common sense that turns out to be the least common sense option. So many game systems can be seen in other games, could be implemented in Eve to help but CCP can't even properly fix the bounty or war dec systems.

Waffle, waffle waffle, rant, rant, rant.

I may be a whingey solo PvE carebearing fitly casual but I'm seeing newbro's leave the game in droves. I dont' get how CCP in their financial lust to milk players of every cent they can, can't see past themselves to make Eve a better experience. More players = more money. Think of an Eve with a WoW population. Eve is a good game but it could be greater. Seeing so many potential players leave is provocative in so many way's(frustration).

Anyway, this all makes the old day's of recruitment seem really quaint by comparison...

Free is free....

The Xbox gold freebies for January are for me more interesting for the included 360 games, than the Xbox one games. Tomb Raider Underworld will hold some interest for me as will Army of Two for that local co-op experience. Free is free and I'll be claiming them all.

Xbox

CCP....

No wonder the company has been hammering Eve players hard and fast for cash as the month has gone on....

http://www.pcgamer.com/ccp-games-is-hiring-for-a-a-new-and-highly-ambitious-mmorpg/

ETS2....

A few more deliveries to some far flung locations has let me complete the second tier to claim all the rewards for the event.

Part of the tier 2 rewards is a paint design I really like. So I applied it and am quite happy at how it looks. I settled for black(bottom), two shades of red and luminous green. I had to work the green in :)

WoT....

I've been having a blast (pun pun) in World of Tanks, another game I've gotten a lot out of playing for free. I do enjoy their Chrimbo events.

What really caught my eye of late is their 2018 info(https://worldoftanks.eu/en/news/general-news/2018-preview/). Tis looking good:

World of Tanks 1.0 - March 2018: Gameplay Trailer

Hitman....

A few false starts combined with a little replanning and a change to the latest silenced sniper rifle finally made the difference. Sniper assassin completed.

So that's the end of the Pro challenges for Sapienza.

Next up Marrakesh....

Aven Colony....

Having a browse of the current Steam sale brought me around to seeing some game suggestions due to other games I own. Guilt by association showed a game I'd not heard of before Aven Colony. The two games that caused it to show up were Planetbase and Banished. That's really what peeked my interest. That and the -40% sale price didn't' hurt.

Seeing Aven Colony I did my usual game research/reviews searching which also lead me onto the two futuristic Anno games (2070/2205). I've no idea why I previously ignored them, they seem the type of game I'd have gone for, maybe in my mind the Anno name is associated with the 1500's esque games. As good as the deals for them were, the down sides were piling up fast. Which all brought me back around to Aven Colony which had a lot more up sides for they type of gameplay I wanted. The true mix of Planetbase/Banished showed that Aven had that style in spades. One quick purchase later and it only took the first tutorial to hook me into the non buyers remorse section.
The Style of Aven Colony also reminds me a lot of another game I liked, Endless Space. Both in look and sound, specifically the music.

So far Aven is proving to be the game I wanted it to be, that crossing of previous games, complex yet not dumbfounding, with true ease of play is relaxing. I can see I'll be happily dipping in and out of this game for some time to come, probably spending what feels like an hour but turns out to be four hours later.

quill18 - Let's Play: Aven Colony - Sci-Fi Base Building! - Part 1

STO....

I've been unlucky with the drops from the gingerbread town defence. No recipes but I did get a few non-combat pets.

Another six day's of the daily race should see enough vouchers to claim the starship reward.

The new post about the Priority One podcast was interesting. Another link to add to the listen to list. I'd not heard of it before. Getting most of my Trek/movie chat from Midnight's Edge / Midnight's Edge After Dark.

South Park:TFBW....

I'm not a fan of the first DLC. The danger pack should have been part of the main game, it would have added to the longevity of the story-line if it was added as in a training kind of way.
It's a good feature to have but since the main story-line is over for me I can't be bothered to get my character to the danger(holo)deck to run those scenarios for the sake of doing something difficult.

The second of the DLC's (whenever they decide to release it) should be 'better'.....
- From Dusk till Casa Bonita DLC: New story where you will team up with The Coon and Mysterion to defeat a demonic presence at Casa Bonita.

ETS2....

I got to clear the first tier rewards. Most of the jobs offered were under the distance needed to count towards the event. But thankfully a bit of free roaming and some spawned contracts in Belgium helped fix that. Plus being entered for the real world product 'draw' doesn't hurt as motivation.
I've done more driving in my starter truck due to this event than any other time. I'll have to see about further building up my own truck empire.

Hitman....

With only two challenges remaining in Professional Sapienza I've reached enough of a mastery level to unlock the Antique Emetic Syringe.

Like Paris on Pro mode and the rest of the game on Normal, once you get used to the changes and additions in security/camera's you start to get comfortable. Being comfortable in a level lets you push the limits further. Having the one save point is still tactical as well as practical. You need that save point when you reach certain plot/assassination arc's that can go multiple way's. Tactical time saver. The one real pain in the mission is that you still need to destroy the virus. Thankfully you can get lazy and shoot it with the silverballer from across the cavern then make a run for the seaplane. Not very Pro but my time is valuable ;-p

Only two more challenges to complete the lot. 'Weeding the garden' is simple enough but the Sniper Assassin challenge is proving a pain. I seem to be spotted no matter how hidden I think I am.
I got the original normal mode sniper assassin by subduing both targets, grabbing a smuggled sniper rifle and shooting them from point blank(poison him with the food, poison her with the drink. subdue both and drag them to her main room, recover the rifle and shoot). The things you end up doing to make it work..... I might have to try the same for the Pro sniper. Unfortunately for me a large sniper rifle is a noticeable item on Pro mode. All part of the challenge work-through. Timing and location, location, location.

That time of year....

Beannachtaí an tSéasúir agus Nollaig Shona Daoibh!!

ETS2....

The Chrimbo event for ETS2 is a nice money earner that looks cool.

While I'm still in a very "starter" truck, it's enjoyable to do this new gift contract. Just for the fun factor. Back to driver only contracts once I've done enough of this.... maybe....

STO....

Time to spend that Dilithium on something other than Zen.....

The Phoenix Prize Pack Returns on All Platforms!

Eve Online....

A good video from delonewolf about mining in an Orca. I'm in agreement with his playstyle and attitudes towards the game/content and the 'boring'. I now need to go refit an Orca or two.... It's been a while since I dusted them off.

EVE Online - why i like mining in the Orca

Stardew Valley....

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

https://twitter.com/ConcernedApe/status/943560065901932544

Free is free....

Kingdom: Classic is free on Steam for 24 hours....

BaerTaffy

STO....

I've been enjoying the Winter events in STO, not aiming for any specific rewards, just enjoying. But I do still need to get some festive foods to feed a tribble.

The daily for the event ship is just over half way. I'm looking forward to getting the ship and trying out a few fits with spare gear on my main.

Eve Online....

It seems that this year CCP wants players to work for Eve Online's usually free winter gifts. Turning a festival into working overtime. It was nice to log in and get the free festive launcher and fireworks to play with. Now you need to mine 100k ore (or go a combat site). The upper end of rewards for the work is the usual cerebral accelerator reward just renamed for 'Yoiul'. No thanks.

At least Star Trek Online has a story and an event area that's worth participating in.
Eve moving items from free to 'work for it' is in some ways iconic of the company. They are so inconsistent (Eve Now hasn't been updated in 5 months). Why do they have the need to always fuck with what works. Fuck that shit. Disappointment does not do my mood justice.
Whats next a 'Yoiul' pack in the store..... Wait a sec; They fucking did it! CCP! NO.... FUCKING.... WAY....!!!!!!!!!!!!

STO....

Spare Zen so may as well splash out....

Hitman....

Free content is good. The Happy Hitman Holiday pack is free on all platforms and allows access to:

ICA Facility Location

• 2 story missions
• 2 Escalation Contracts
• 40+ Challenges
• 17 Xbox achievements / PS Trophies

Paris Location

• ‘Showstopper’ story mission
• ‘Holiday Hoarders’ mission
• 18 Escalation Contracts
• 20 levels of Paris Mastery (including 6 gear/weapon unlocks)
• 100+ Challenges
• 7 Xbox achievements / PS Trophies
• Vampire Magician Challenge Pack
• Secret Santa Challenge Pack (rewards Santa suit unlock)
• Professional Difficulty Level for Paris
• Future Re-activated Elusive Targets in Paris