Limit Theory....

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/joshparnell/limit-theory-an-infinite-procedural-space-game/posts/2270873

1/3 Limit Theory is no more; Such a pity.https://t.co/voBQiShs63

— A Casual Carebear (@ACasualCarebear) September 28, 2018

3/3
.... who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat."-Teddy Roosevelt

— A Casual Carebear (@ACasualCarebear) September 28, 2018

STO...

Save a third on a Lifetime Subscription on all three platforms this weekend, and unlock exclusive ships, playable races, and more!https://t.co/XNcCTjvQTz pic.twitter.com/beJOZybndY

— Star Trek Online (@trekonlinegame) September 28, 2018

BF1....

The new theme(challenge?) of the week is all about horses. It's not incredibly noticeable in matches. It's not like every vehicle is replaced with a horse. But I have taken down riders(along with a horse or two). Anyway I've stayed mainly as Assault in my recent matches, I've been enjoying the class a lot more; With a splash of Medic and support when needed.

A Casual Carebear

BF1 is still on a low low price and the premium pass is free for another few weeks if not all of October (Store link). Never a better time to hop into the game and get all the content for €4.99.

NMS....

DEVELOPMENT UPDATE – 1.61

Interesting updates for fans of the game.

https://www.nomanssky.com/2018/09/development-update-1-61/

WoW....

A classic WoW demo. That will add to the questions asked and the answers not given.....

World of Warcraft Classic is coming to #BlizzCon! Try it at home or at BlizzCon when you buy the Virtual Ticket.

🎫➡️ https://t.co/aeTbOgqZRM pic.twitter.com/lZXBUBtGf9

— World of Warcraft (@Warcraft) September 26, 2018

GoG

An interesting way to promote their vacancies....

#WednesdayWisdom

up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A on https://t.co/TiMFdAcy7Z is a treat. pic.twitter.com/xm6Q9uoauR

— GOG.COM (@GOGcom) September 26, 2018

October's Games With Gold....

October's Games With Gold are looking better quality than previously, I think that's a trend but maybe there's just more interesting to me overall than before. That's not to say I'll be all over these games. It's a case with Games with Gold, that if I was into them I'd probably have already gotten them. But as "freebies" they're worth taking a quick look. Seeing if there is any enjoyment to be had. No harm in looking and there might be a surprise.

Overcooked! For Xbox One is out the whole month of October 1 - 31 and does look to be a good co-op party game. 'Meh'.

Victor Vran  for Xbox One is out between October 16th to November 15th. I wish games with gold would stick to having less cross month stuff... That's the ocd in me. The game does look good and probably the one I'll play. Unless if sucks in which case I'd go back to Torchlight 2 or actually get around to Divinity:OS2.

Stuntman: Ignition for both Xbox 360 (and One) is available between October 1st - 15th. And is what it is, a stunt car driving game. Another game I'll take a look at but prob not spend much time on.

Hitman: Blood Money  Another Xbox 360 game for both 360 and Xbox One is available between October 16th - 31st. One of the 'better' Hitman titles but given the broad range of what franchise fans call good is really dependent on your personal playstyle. Given that I got the game on PC years ago and never "got into it" says it all for me. I do love the new Hitman game but I doubt I'll do more than take a quick look a this version. 

BF1....

I've become that which I had disliked in BF1 the most. A fast paced, high speed bullet hose, PITA.

I used to curse the assault class for their assaultyness(from my medic ivory tower)....

But how can I be salty now that it's me playing as assault....

I'm having so much 'fun'....

Add that to my newfound love of gas grenades....

A Casual Carebear

Battletech....

There's nothing like a good mech, tactical, lucky (head-shots), underdog survival bust up.

A Casual Carebear

GRW....

Another chance to check out Ghost Recon Wildlands this weekend on Xbox One.

https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2018/09/19/ghost-recon-wildlands-xbox-one-free-weekend/

Rebel Galaxy Outlaw....

Did I mention Rebel Galaxy Outlaw. A great game, really looking forward to it's release!https://t.co/kRKvmZ24lU

— A Casual Carebear (@ACasualCarebear) September 21, 2018

STO....

Today saw the final Breach run; That run rewarded the last rep token to complete the event reputation project. Step after step. Thankfully the news about the next patch says the rep system should streamline the process.

A Casual Carebear

The increase in reputation levels from 5 to 6 means an increase in order of magnitude. I can't see myself doing much of that rep grind on any character other than my main.

I do like the cosmetic look of the level 6 ship shields that it will bring. This could be the deciding factor on which rep I choose first. 

ETS 2....

It happened again!

The price of free roaming discovery....

BF1....

I've gotten more of a taste for the assault class recently. It's a class that I see as getting enough enough of a K/D ratio to make a steamrollered defeat or two feel acceptable.

A Casual Carebear

STO....

With the large number of characters I have, I've been all but ignoring them of late. After leveling each to the new level cap (65) of the latest expansion. It's a process that can feel like a slog.
Repeating the same new content has made me ignore my new Jem'Hadar character even more then the rest. Until today when I found myself sorting out a few of his things (inventory, ship etc).
Seeing how long it's been since I did more than admiralty maintenance, it was nice to get him back on track, clearing a few missions. Nice to visit but a lot of work to stay and make 'current'. If I continue and return to complete the rest of the mission chain, upgrade his ships and gear, well that's another story.

A Casual Carebear

Stardew Valley....

I'm a dealer, supplier, trader, yea I'm a trader.

The first ones always free.....

GRW....

With the new patch out and the updated co-op matchmaking system for PvE content now in game, I tried it out. My co-op character getting back to his co-op roots as it were.

I chose the Main Story Missions search option. I didn't get any groups, but was added into a group doing Rebel Ops & Convoys. Which would've been my next choice, so I ran with it. In retrospect I'm not surprised as getting a group of players, all with the same story mission, at the same checkpoint etc is a tall order. It may be better with the Free weekend or "peek" times but to be honest I'll be re-revert my co-op char back to solo fun.

I did stay with the group for over an hour and a half.  Probably the best co-op I've had in the game. Not that I've done that much.

Even better when you consider that there were two or three people that left and were replaced.
It was fun, we cleared base's, collected items and upgrades. Took down convoys, did one story mission by accident and over all it worked out really, really well. I was surprised.

A Casual Carebear

ETS 2....

With Steam currently having a sale on Euro Truck Sim 2 and all it's content I took the opportunity to buy the Italia DLC. More content to mark off the list.

The DLC does add a lot.

Before:

After:

A good review of that content was done by Squirrel in his review here:

After having a look and setting up some assets in the extended France map DLC; I've just started to scratch the surface of this latest expansion. 

Never mind the new trailers system for my trucking empire! Busy, busy, busy....

BF1....

A few more matches from the week of Elite Elitists that wound up as positives. Noting like a night of winning games!

First was a longer, hard fought match in the Achi Baba map.
Very enjoyable overall:

Up next a much shorter match. It was nice for once to be on the side of the steamroller.
Another map I enjoy in general, Caporetto:

And lastly for the true madness of close combat the tight quarters of Fort De Vaux.
Another fun match:

GRW....

Ghost Recon is getting another big patch tomorrow, Operations & Maintenance.

While I'm happy to see the quality of life and bug fixes/improvements, I've no interest in the PvP or to a lesser extent the additions to visual customisation.

Of the PvE I think that the updating of Ubisoft club rewards could be good depending on what they actually give. 

The addition of Mood Matchmaking for PvE content will hopefully kill off the dreaded content repeating with groups. And new weekly challenges (at last!), with luck they will cater to all....

So all in all for me this patch will put Ghost Recon back on my "watch" list.... Just as I'd taken it off lol.

ETS 2....

Have trailer, will truck....

I've added a flatbed and a curtainsider to each of my garages. Time will tell how they enhance the performance/profits.

Unleash the trailers!

Free is Free....

#MondayMotivation

If you click this, you get free stuff. https://t.co/KZ4xuM5JU5https://t.co/NEKhDsUuu4https://t.co/nQ30SO3SHrhttps://t.co/yPRCHwn4uF pic.twitter.com/kRyT5JbrA1

— GOG.COM (@GOGcom) September 17, 2018

ETS 2....

There's a lot of changes and additions to the game with the latest patch (Update 1.32); The biggest of which are the enhancement of the Germany map and the addition of Trailers! Looking forward to loads more in the future.

There may be some trucking tonight!

BF1....

Some more action from the Elite Elitists week. No wins today.

This time around saw me caught under a true steamroller of a match:

And again against a very coordinated side:

STO....

Another 4 dailies to go....

BF1....

BF1 has a new challenge/event this week Elite Elitists. Usually the "special" event has the most players and so is in turn it's easy to get into a match. The problem this time round is that there are mostly larger teams with a whole lot of skilled players. Elitists being elitist. A real meat grinder.

Lead your squad into the most furious battles of the Great War and fight alongside the best of the best in this week's #Battlefield 1 map rotation "Elite Elitists":

💥 Verdun Heights
💥 Tsaritsyn
💥 Fort de Vaux
💥 Caporetto
💥 Achi Baba
💥 River Somme pic.twitter.com/eN8QYUrIPI

— #Battlefield V (@Battlefield) September 12, 2018

Maybe I should have read all that before I went into it.

In saying that the matches weren't all that bad for me. It's wasn't all steamroller matches. I gave as good as I got. 

GRW....

Speaking of the crates, I might as well put the video of them up.....

A Casual Carebear

BF1....

A Casual Carebear

Assassins everywhere....

Hmmmmm an aptly timed sale of Origins just before Odyssey comes out....
I know I should wait....

The sale has the gold edition price lower than the normal edition full price....

Sounds like a deal.....

....Must resist! pic.twitter.com/fB0wUdxyKT

— A Casual Carebear (@ACasualCarebear) September 13, 2018

NMS....

Having gotten the freighter and done some more research and testing on how to use and run it, I'm not as excited as I was when I got it. It's more awkward to setup as a mobile base. At least in my view. It also turns out to be a freighter on the lower end of the scale. I feel less happy to have one now. That feeling gets worse when it turns out that pretty much everyone gets a version. Nothing special about it. Add all that on top of the running cost grind and it's very off-putting. Recruiting frigates is also costly, they cost even more than a freighter itself.

Previously I'd said that my potential interest in the game was with a mobile base. Seeing the reality of that now leaves nothing.
I feel my worth in the game, like my interest in it, has crashed through the floor. Freighter ownership feels like a burden. It's a lot more grind for more of a longer-term payoff but that's not gonna keep my interest going.

I've no interest in the new challenges system or player interaction. But I did take a look at the portal's, and activated the local 'stargate' in system and popped through.

Yes there were other players to interact with but having them to interact with, felt strange.

I got too used to the game being solo. So I turned network play off. Back to solo play for this solo carebear.

I had my journey, it was taken from me. All the hard work/adventure/grind for nothing. Being plucked from my old base and randomly placed into the universe with the NEXT patch and starting again hasn't done anything for me. Getting the freighter, considering the mobile base options and the work it needs is a motivational downer.

Whats left.... Get the the center of the universe, joke that it is and start all over again.. Again.... And again(again)...

If only this version had been the launch version....

.....Fade to black.

STO....

I really dislike the new Star Trek TV series (Discovery). I don't want it to have anything to do with the online game. Unfortunately the game can draw from everything that is cannon and develop on it. As much as it pains me to say, STD is indeed considered cannon. One moment while I violently vomit....

I had hoped there would be only limited crossover with Discovery and the game; Ships, uniforms and other cosmetic things. But to see that the next "expansion" of the game will be Discovery based is a constant stomach churning thought. Time will tell if that churning stops and/or can be reversed.

What really gets me is the recent news that the first of the new Operations will be from an episode of STD. The destruction of Starbase One. I find it hard to see how this will be available for all factions yet be only seen and done from the Federation perspective. As it's a Klingon vs Federation engagement it would have been nice to have it seen from both sides depending on your own faction. They have done that before. So if your sided with the Klingons you can do this event from the Federation side fighting Klingons. STD nonsense is infecting the game.

I'm so full of negativity about all this, that I'm not "giving it a chance", kind of the same way as the TV show and look how that turned out.

https://www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online/news/detail/11001373

BF V....

 LevelCapGaming has done a good overview of the recent Beta and the ensuing changes:

I've not yet tried the Beta yet I still have a dislike for the game. I'll stick with BF 1 and see how that fairs.

Stardew Valley....

A casual day in the life, less the chest item management.

A Casual Carebear

GRW....

While I might randomly potter about with a character for the fun of it. I think I'm finally calling Ghost Recon "done, done". For sure this time The game isn't getting much more PvE content and the special challenges that are in game are being recycled more than an old sitcom on it's 54th rerun.  

I also saw that I had a crate to open. I've no idea where I earned that from but I did get two epic items and an in game voice line to use as an emote. Pity they are wasted on me at this stage.

After seeing those I went and checked how many prestige credits I had and saw I had enough for 39 box's.... So I got them!

Opening them gave a lot of items I already had, as well as 6 or 7 doubles from the box's. Heaps of clothing from across the spectrum. From items earned in game and from store packs. There were some items I was pleased to get. Like these vehicles:

After opening 20 box's you can claim a free one. I got these items from it:

So that's that.....

Battletech....

Battletech, Battletech, Battletech.... I'm a bit obsessed with the game. It's still got my attention even after Two Point Hospital's release. I thought I'd have played enough Battletech by the time that came out. So I may be biased when I say it's a great game. I wasn't thinking I'd get the expansion but now I've done a total reversal.

I've not seen many problems as listed by the greater playerbase. Some load times are long, but not so long as to be annoying. The auto-action camera angles can be awkwardly random and block your view rather than enhance the action. The only 'real' problem I've seen was when my lance of mech's once loaded into a mission without textures. They appeared as a semi translucent bright pink. It looked odd but gameplay was unaffected. It may have been caused when my nvidia drivers updated and I hadn't restarted the pc....

I'm currently running a lance of Stalkers for fun. The mech and tech salvage they get goes towards upgrading the rest of the company. They(Stalker lance) are very effective. Especially against larger enemies. The number of KO head-shots I can get with a Stalker against an Atlas is bordering on comical. More on that later. 

My Stalker lance setup:

With the loadaout on each being:

With an overall tactic of "all in" alpha strikes on single targets.  Which does lead to a lot of overheated mech's. But they can take the punishment.

Terrain can both work for and against you. With luck and some maneuvering even a canyon filled layout can be made to work for you. Sometimes it's a case of hammering through with brute force. I've been pushing the limits on that front a little too much.

I could say again that the game is great but I'd rather show some of my game-play.
Proof is in the pudding etc.

Unleash the video's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

First video is a snowy map victory, subsequent mech repair, pilot training, end of month report, travel to the next mission and that next mission in full, a loss of a win.

That last mission shown above was a victory in name only.
Here's that last mission on it's own, a true defeat of a win:

And just to hone in on that defeated win point, here's the last few maneuvers of that mission:

Well I did say I was unleashing the video's. Idle hands and long upload times....

Needless to say that last mission sucked. So I reloaded the pre mission save and replayed it. Thankfully it went a lot better, with a full 'proper' win second time around. 

As I mentioned earlier about head-shots; This mission gained me two full Atlas's's's's's's's. Nice.

A Casual Carebear

CCP....

A launcher from the launcher, of course.....

CCP being CCP again....https://t.co/muyUIh5ICC pic.twitter.com/kCPh4dY4lR

— A Casual Carebear (@ACasualCarebear) September 10, 2018

BF1...

I've been getting some good matches in the last few nights. I think the overview of BF5's flaws in it's recent Beta are moving players to return to BF1 goodness.... Maybe I'm just waffling. Either way I've been seeing large groups of coordinated players returning to the game. Coordinated because when you kill a dude and his mate you suddenly get killed by a plane that couldn't have possibly seen you behind a bunker..... 'That old chestnut'. 

So I've pieced together three matches in one, some good action.

A Casual Carebear

Sociable Soccer....

Sociable Soccer is a game that's been in development from a small team for a long time.
The Steam comments and 'reviews' sway wildly from nostalgic godsend to horrific "dumpster fire".
I side on the nostalgic godsend side, but still I've not bought it. I like what I see but I'm tempered in my excitement by the not so blatantly downside comments.

It's a "one to watch" for me. So I do. I cast an eye every so often to see whats changed, whats new and in some cases I general search on the interwebs. Such a search last night brought me to a video of an interview. Nice to see the game is still kicking :)

Blast Process

Rebel Galaxy Outlaw....

Nice stab at Star Citizen; Worth keeping an eye on:

https://www.rebel-galaxy.com

STO....

There has always been a massive amount of content in Star Trek Online. Being an MMO, accessing a large portion of that content has naturally needed other players/player groups. So the likes of older group content are hard to do because the player base has moved on. Even if your in a large fleet or have many friends, there is the "is it worth doing" mentality. Like all MMO's that mentality for players means time vs rewards for the efforts. Relevant rewards. The news of a new feature that will cull years of clutter, combine and streamline content (solo and group), as well as provide rewards and content in an accessible way is more than refreshing.

Full details are here:

https://www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online/news/detail/10994033

It's all work in progress but I like the direction and the changes they mention.

Battletech....

There's always some time to peacefully ponder choices in Battletech....

Followed with an expletive or two....

Kingdoms and Castles....

Looking good indeedy....

https://steamcommunity.com/games/569480/announcements/detail/1681421059099837613

BF1....

A Casual Carebear

STO....

So it begins....

STO....

I knew I should have waited....

Captains on PC can get bonuses to their R&D Projects throughout the game this weekend!https://t.co/70FSeC2E2w pic.twitter.com/ow75MplD11

— Star Trek Online (@trekonlinegame) September 5, 2018

ETS 2....

I've been adding to my garage network as I drive in France. I've been getting to enjoy more of my latest DLC purchase recently(France).

Taking my eye's off the French roads has landed my daily profits in the bin.

It's a management game without what I'd call micromanagement aspects. 

Garage, driver and truck management are simple but with enough interaction to be interesting. 

I'm looking forward to see how the new trailers system will work out.

CCP....

A non-thought-out waffling rant, you have been warned....

I was a little shocked to see that CCP is being taken over by the company that also does Black Desert Online.

https://www.eveonline.com/article/pemjmb/black-desert-online-makers-pearl-abyss-to-acquire-ccp

Only yesterday I watched a video about Black Desert and it's no surprise that the reviewer with long extensive game-time in that world, says exactly what I think about Eve Online today. Great game with so much potential, pity it's ruined by decisions for profits. 

The combination of both these companies and their "shared DNA"(games based on PvP griefing as well) can only mean players are gonna be truly fcked over for profits in the future. As if CCP wasn't doing that with players and PLEX/SKINS today.

I was miffed that there were no free presents last Christmas in Eve.... Let alone the Mystery Code debacle, I see that trend increasing. Nothing for free.... 

Like Black Desert, Eve looks graphically amazing at times. But both share a need for profit above all else and I don't believe anything said about the positive welfare of the playerbase. Not at all.

I think all the SKIN sales and cosmetics today are only the tip of the iceberg to come. It will get unashamedly pay to win in a massive way. As gamplay devolves into more long-term grinding. 

I am 100% taking this all in a bad light. I only hope I'm proved wrong and CCP as a "wholly owned subsidiary" can at the very least remain themselves as they are today; Better the devil you know etc...

Hitman....

With the news that the unlocks from Season 1 will need to be re-earned to unlock them for season two. I've decided I'm done with Hitman, a sad end to season 1, I've loved it and put a lot of time into it but I'm so disappointed in that item manoeuvre. The hassle it was to do some of those tricks the first time round. I get that they are reinventing the game with the additions and changes but a bit of loyalty to Season 1 fans/owners would have been nice. Peeved off at that. 

I wonder if the Requiem pack will be available in Hitman 2 or do I need to buy that again.

Why bother with my final two Pro maps. 

20 Challenges to unlock the Advanced Sieger 300.

And another 20 get a bat and loadout slots....

Only to have to redo them(and everything else) in the new game! F**k that! It's a good game but I'm not Sisyphus.

Of the reintroduced elusive targets there are only three I've not killed. My original attempt at the Bookeeper failed so I couldn't redo the contract when he was re-released. I'm only missing the original Pharmacist and Wild Card targets. As I don't know when those two will be on the re-release list I feel now that I can't be bothered. Why wait when I already have all the unlocks for the elusive target reward suits. No point other than saying I got the targets. Nah I'll move on.

I think I'll be delaying getting Hitman 2. Probably till it's got all it's expansion DLC and on a big sale.