Euro Truck Sim 2....

A new theme based event. I was only just wondering if there was something coming up like this for the game. I think there's some 'slight' brand placement.

SCS Software

The rewards for your effort is the Goodyear DLC itself. One moment while I do some deliveries!

Full details here: Event: Goodyear Roll-Out!

Games with Gold....

It's not often that the Games with Gold holds an overwhelming number of games I want to play never mind own. I'm always glad to add to the virtual library(FOREVER!!!!) of games and August has all four that I'll try and 2 I'll be really into.

Games this August will see:

      Gears of War 4 - Aug 1-31 (Xbox One, PC)
      Torchlight - Aug 1-15 (Xbox 360)*
      Forza Motorsport 6 - Aug 16-Sept 15 (Xbox One)
      Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Aug 16-31 (Xbox 360)

I'm happy to try then all out but my order of preference will be, Torchlight, Forza Moto 6, Castlevania LoS and then Gears 4. With Torchlight and Forza being the 2 I'll probably do most with.

Interesting bunch of titles and an increase of the bar that I hope will be the new 'par' going forward...

Xbox

Star Trek Online....

Finishing off the PC version of the summer event a few day's ago I've gone all in on the Xbox version and been struck by two things. First, through promotions, offers and special events, my low level character in this free to play game has quiet a lot to her name. Secondly, that the basic floater jet pack for the event is sooooooooooo freaking slow. It's a catch 22. Use it sloooooooooooooowly to gain a faster one or persevere and just get the event done. Even speeding up the footage of the last event is painfully slow. Thinking I'd not spend much time on this version of the game I was all about persevering.

A Casual Carebear

So the event is done, the ship claimed, fit transferred, officers promoted/retrained and given position. I'll say it again, for a free game I've a lot of free stuff that would otherwise have cost a lot. Granted the Xbox character was created as an Agent of Yesterday so there is the promo awards from that and the ongoing claimable rewards as she does anything in game (level/finish missions/faction rep etc) as an agent. There were a few promotions the game has done over time that I claimed(including the Nandi warship/boost). A humble bundle pack and shes only hit level 10. This summer has seen the most activity with STO on Xbox for me. Leveling her now to the low 20's. I've tested out the new ship in a few other TFO's and some missions but doubt I'll do much more. There's a novelty in doing it on console and still claiming a reward that's above par. I might get back to her again for the winter event.

The more I do on the Xbox character the more I think about the lower alts on my main PC account and that I should be spending time on them instead. Novelty(console) vs reason(PC).

I've found the ui/controls of the Xbox version a bit limited and cumbersome in combat. I'm still having problems with using the game with a controller. Mouse and Keyboard win out again.

Another thing I like about STO is that you can't do much without getting lots in your inventory. Some useful items, some trash, most salvageable others sold off for credits. It's a side of the game I miss in other games. Inventory management for low level gains that build over time. Something I've noticed most on my PC characters.

On the PC side I've not gotten to do much with the new ship. Mastery level III is being 'worked on'.

I've gotten the 4 module set, deflector, impulse engines, warp core and shield. With a fair few upgrades. At the very least I want to get the modules to XIV(14).

Weapon wise I've upgraded the ships experimental weapon to XV(15), best way to increase the DPS given it's damage numbers and rate of that fire.
 

I was tempted to try and grind out and get the Discovery weapons as well but I decided to only get the torpedo.

All of this is my take on combining the new ship and the new reputation this summer. Seemed to match up well. Time to potter away with it all till the next event.... The new Halloween 'event' should be interesting....

60 Seconds! Reatomized....

60 Seconds! Reatomized. A great update to a great game. Even better to see it free to owners of the original!

Abzu....

I took another trip into Abzu. For achievements/discoveries, you-know.....  It's a short game after all. Besides, this time round I could actually record the whole thing. Which I did, despite still missing out on some meditation spots. Never say never but I don't think there will be a third time lucky. It was enjoyable second time round and I still took my time as I went. Not much more to say than my original post. Editing and uploading it to Youtube on the other hand has taken a lot longer. All technical fixes in place the only problem left was having to split it into two video's due to Youtubes file size limits.

Part 1:

Part 2:

A Casual Carebear

Battlefield 1....

It's nice to get a change. But I've lost count of how many weeks it's been with the 'Back to Basics' theme.... It's definitely taken the p*ss out of being a weekly! Month 422 of the Back to Basics saga, a long time ago in a weekly far far away I used to be able to use a machine gun. *Bangs head off desk*

A Casual Carebear

Meanwhile in console land 'Back to Basics' is a thing there as well. Oddly enough the same things happen there to 'noob' me as on PC. The more things change the more they stay the same....

STO....

I'll be the first to admit I haven't a clue when it comes to really understanding the Meta of current STO ship fits. I'm a module/weapon scrounging, ad-hoc, fit it together and see what happens kind of STO player. Sometimes it works and other times it works -80% of potential. STO is forgiving. The game is so far along that in groups it's mainly higher end players that know what they are doing and even if only one of 5 in a group is like that; They can bring victory. I've both been a TFO elitist snob and a ship fit ultimate noob of noobness; Usually one right after the other and then repeated. STO isn't a game I feel like I need to be on the bleeding edge of to maximize game expedience and fun. That with the Trek theme is all I need to maintain a presence in the game. It's forgiving and I forgive it it's quirks. This game can be as easy or hard as you want, solo, group, community. Fun, all about fun.

I'm waffling like this because this morning I unlocked the Risa event summer ship 2019. It's a high to have finished and be rewarded with a cooler ship than the cool ship I thought I was already gonna be getting.

The new Risa ship really is FUN! It's a fast manoeuvrable ship. I've slapped on a very ad-hoc(or termed in Eve Online a shít fit) array of spare modules, excess ship consoles from account reclaim; And a few exchange pieces to fill the gaps. All based around a loose phaser, dual beam build. It all works well. I'm not sure if that's due to the new version of experimental weapon that comes with the ship but it kicks áss. It's a fast firing weapon with an animation akin to the Quake 2 gauss rifle. That weapon and the speed of the ship are a super fun combo(as can be seen in the later part of the video below).

I wish there was a way to share all the module info but a screen cap will have to do.

I also added on the 'Bozeman Titans' vanity shield to give it the yellow and black look.

So here's my last 2019 Risa run, ship claim, ship ability faff and first TFO test run with it:

A Casual Carebear

XBox Ultimate....

Since getting the upgraded Xbox live/gold/Ultimate subscription I've been struck by how many games don't interest me. Makes me even happier that the upgrade for the year only cost €1. There are still some things that do interest me. Even then most of those games are ones I've already got on PC. I've looked at a lot in the last week, checked them out. In saying that I've uninstalled most of them. Gotten around to doing Abzu again, to see what I missed, meditation points and achievements..... Video incoming...

First up a bunch of games I've already played on PC. I wanted to see the Xbox version:

Minecraft's Xbox One edition is the same game as on PC. I didn't expect it to be different, and it's really not. There's been a drive to amalgamate the look/UI of all versions of MC in the last year. But still the PC version feels more controllable. More usable in a responsive way. As with most game's with console editions there's a softer feel to the game graphics. PC verses console I suppose just boils down to control input methods and gameplay location. As I stream my Xbox to my PC there is no real benefit to playing the game on XBox when I have the "better" PC version(bias?) in front of me in the same location.

I can say the exact same for Terraria. The game may look and sound like the PC version but it felt 'off' or 'wrong' during play. For me it suffers much more than Minecraft by using a controller. It's a game that really needs a mouse for me to play and be precise with. Hook/grapple with a controller is not nearly fast enough. Speed in combat is key but is hampered here. Saying all this may be because I've only played the PC version before now but there was nothing in the Xbox One version that would make me favour it over the PC edition.

I wonder how long it will be before there's a wider coverage on games using keyboard and mouse on Xbox One. It's a bit of a convoluted system at the moment. In reverse I'm often surprised when I have an Xbox controller on PC and games automatically detect and change their UI correspondingly (keyboard key hints change to Xbox button indicators etc).

I also took a look at Oblivion. A game I'd played hundreds of hours on PC. I didn't recall playing it on Xbox 360 until the Xbox One version started downloading old saves. Loading them up it seems I didn't get too far in the game. I think it was one of the games 'back in the day' that I picked up cheap and then traded in. It's not a bad version of the game. It looks the part but trading in a mouse for a controller means you turn/look slower. Again it's an input preference thing. Glad to see the old saves but with hundreds of hours etc on the PC version, it's the PC version I'll return to with any further gameplay. In saying that I've not had any niggle of nostalgia for it yet.....

Ninja Gaiden Black is a great game. While I have sung it's praises and previously spent time and money on the game and old hardware; NGB on Xbox One is just as good. The game is well worth the experience. The further you go in the game the harder it becomes IMO, and having sunk a lot of hours into it already on an original Xbox....... I'm conflicted on weather to redo gameplay on the Xbox One version. I've a feeling retro nostalgia will win out over Xbox One convenience but there's still a 'but'. That argument will only grow when the old hardware is in storage and the Xbox One version is 'right there'.

------

As you can guess I've honed in on the PC having a better, wider and more accurate range regarding control input/accessibility.  So I'll be even more brief with the other games I tried. Out of curiosity 7 more games that I'd previously played on PC:

Alien Isolation & Farm Simulator 17 both felt like they needed the keyboard and mouse to play "properly". A controller with them was too slow and/or awkward. Very annoying on Farm Sim 17.

Braid and Everspace on the other hand worked just as well as on PC. Braid is still a game I can't get into. I always seem to hit a point where I'm rewinding 20 times and frustration sets in. Story of my platformer life - See Ori Below....

Fallout 3 like Oblivion, I'd a few old saves(in the clooooouuuuuuuud) from the first few levels at the start of the game. I can see now that I abandoned the 360 version probably due to being used to PC FPS's with keyboard and mouse. Going to a controller felt like it wasn't worth it. Still doesn't explain why I never got it on PC..... I think I made up for it with Fallout 4. Maybe I really didn't like the look of Fallout 3. Anyway it was playable but so slow with turning and combat outside of VATS that I'd beg for a keyboard and mouse.

Surviving Mars proved to be glitchy. Unplayably glitchy. I've never seen a game glitch on Xbox before. I would try and enter the tutorial or main game campaign and after a loading screen and a split second of the game screen UI as if it had loaded, it would force quit back to the main game menu. Unplayable every time.

Cities Skylines is the same as the PC version. But with imho an overly complex control/menu system that is proving a steady theme for PC to Xbox editions. So it goes back to personal preference on control methods. PC is better IMO, again back to the keyboard and mouse. Again, again, again.

Like eating icecream with a fork; How to gamers prefer to use controllers/joypads 100% of the time on PC...... Is it doable with UI/turnspeed sliders..... I'm really wafflin now.....

------

Now for games that I've never played but thought looked interesting:

Clustertruck on the face of it is a first person randomised platformer of a sort. Jump from truck to truck in a convoy to get to the end while avoiding trucks, obstacles and more that 'impede' your path. There's no longevity in this game for me. Some tracks don't challenge you, sit on a truck, don't move and you still win. I dont' feel any need to do any prestige maneuvers. There's no motivation for gaining style points. Other tracks are in need of a lot of quick action. Tracks like that have a lot of random elements, trucks don't take the random path's so it's not a game to learning jump patterns/timings. Luck/randomness is a thing that ends up with frustration more than anything else. Fun to try, not a game I stayed with.

Hexic 2 was a game I didn't know existed. I got the original with my first Xbox 360. I was never really into puzzle games but I liked this one, especially marathon mode in an almost relaxing way. Going into the second game I was a little disappointed. The second game lacks the shiny polished look of the original. The music and general sounds are a lot duller. Like a more hardcore but rough version. That's my initial view of it. It's still a good game but something is missing on the fun side.
I played a bit and it didn't hook me(I've already been back to the original).

I've also heard a fair bit about how good My Time at Portia is. No specific details but that it was "good". On loading it up it immediately reminded me of Stardew Valley, only in a pastel 3D way.
It's a game that didn't grab me. I took a wander and checked out a few things but it's not for me. MT@P is a bit too happy for me in it's attitude/style. Gather resources, upgrade buildings/town, attempt to make people happier towards you. I'd rather go back to Stardew.

The game I spent the most time in was Ori and the Blind Forest. It's a gorgeous looking game and it's style of adventure platforming had me interested. But it's a game that does frustrate. It may have set platform tasks that you can time and jump through(in some cases try, try and try again for me #timing), but the respawn rate is almost instantaneous for enemies. Then again if not for that reason it would be uninteresting to go back through a dead world multiple times without any challenge. It also helps to build up your powers/abilities. For me it just felt a bit too drawn out story wise. I do appreciate the way you can get extra powers and then discover/open up area's of the game you have previously been in. Like getting to an area by the new vertical wall climbing/multi-jumping ability you just unlocked etc. A game I got joy out of but not so much that I felt compelled to go back time and again. A few sessions was enough for me. Maybe that will change in the future.

------

In my view of all the games I've mentioned here the PC versions win out via keyboard and mouse, better UI and overall preference options. This is all a very quick general look at these games on Xbox but first impressions do count. The only game I want to go back to is Ninja Gaiden Black and even then I've more progress on the original hardware.... I could fool around with that save to a USB drive and see about transferring files over to Xbox One...... However I've enjoyed the novelty of the Xbox companion on PC more than the majority of games.... Convenience for what does interest me....

Darkest Dungeon....

Getting back into the swig of things I decided to take a run with a merc crew in The Farm endless mode. Long story short I need more practice to reawaken 'skills'.

Still a decent run and nothing lost on it but time.

A Casual Carebear

Hitman 2....

I expected the Shinobi challenge set to be a lot harder then it was. Thankfully not too much brainpower involved, 'just' the usual Hitman savvy and save reloads.

Star Trek Online....

Yesterday I got to finish off the level 6 Discovery reputation. 

Having a closer look down the list of the two Discovery space sets; I found I wasn't in any rush to swap out what I already had for them. Even with a set bonus the module v module comparison wasn't compelling. I'm very much a gut feel kind of fitting player. I use what seems to work best. No min/maxing for me. Upgrading the new modules would be a pain for very little gain. If at all. The Discovery set is not the all singing all dancing set I thought it was going to be. I should have read and taken in the full details when they were released. You have to do and change a lot to get the best form the new kit.

I've not had a chance to really check the traits/abilities etc for my captain but again I doubt I'll change to any of the new rep unlocks. 

The best event ship for me is the Xyfius Escort. But the best event that rewarded a ship was the 8th anniversary. It gave a Bajoran Interceptor and is the best because it also allowed you to earn the Bajor Defense Set to fit on it. Rewarded through missions, the event was great to work on. I got to keep and upgrade the ship and fit over time. I can dream about something like it happening again.

Doing an event to get the ship and then a reputation to get access to new gear that then needs to be mark rep ground out, is a grind on a grind on a grind with no story interactions for motivation. STO can do better!

The only Discovery rep item I did buy was the vanity shield. I wasn't sure what to expect but what I got wasn't expected at all. It's 'not good' IMO. 

It makes a ship look like it has an oil residue film or to be more accurate a mother-of-pearl look.

For reference my go-to shield look is the Reman Prototype:

Here is the discovery vanity shield:

I don't think I'll be putting that on any ship.

Not sure if I mentioned it before but I was glad to pick up the current event vanity shield 'Bozeman Titans'. It's black and yellow design changes with the ship it's on. All in cool ways.

I'm still doing the daily for the summer Risa event ship. On PC and Xbox. The XBox phoenix event ended with me only getting a few more items. Minor stuff, nothing to shout about.

When the event is done and the ship is with my XBox character I'll just swap out the fit from her current ship. My PC character has a large range of spare items but I really dont know what will be best for the ship. I may need to check on that.

The little things make a difference. This game is super playable as a free to play character.
I know a lot of people complain about the game visuals being old but the company and dev's do their best to keep things going..... And not just for the sake of making money(it's a priority but not an overriding one... yet). Visually it can still be a head-turner at times.

Hitman 2....

A video from MrFreeze2244 on a Silent Assassin/Suit Only/Sniper Assassin Walkthrough of The Bank on Master difficulty; Was one I've planned to follow since it came out. Only getting around to doing it now I was happy that all went well first time out. Great guide/methods.

I also took the opportunity to eliminate the latest retro elusive target.

A successful day all round!

STO....

A small change with the recent patch but one I appreciate. During the Risa event if you beam away while using a floater(jetpack) your characters legs now dangle rather than change to acting like beaming from ground level.

Old:

New:

Battlefield 1.....

Another week, another week of Back to Basics. Maybe it's the month long weekly rotation of the mode but I've been more into it this week than last. It might be......growing on me.....

There's been a fair few matches that were balanced, but just as many with 'cheaters'. It happens. People from both sides chat and report them but that doesn't seem to do much good. It's less annoying when the 'cheater' is on your side. Less annoying but still unbalanced, which does take the fun out of it. In the same way as a one sided match, where a well organised, practiced and communicating group kicks a group of randoms into the dust. Either way it's interesting to see how blinkered players can get by iron sight aiming, battlefield awareness goes out the window for a lot of people. 

On the good side, on an up note, I've taken a less assault attitude and embraced a back end support, support role. And it's made a difference. Lay down (mortar)smoke making the enemy shift position, makes a difference. Having my side pinned down in a bottleneck by a gun emplacement, mortars to the rescue. There's more to support than light machine guns and ammo crates. Back to basics removes the light machine guns, so it was well past time to fully embrace the support role and actually support my side tactically.

Supporting a group of randoms can be tough but I've been surprised at the teamwork that can evolve. Support is like the anchor, providing ammo, concealment and supporting fire. It's also satisfying to get a birds eye view of a group of players running in all directions from my last mortar blast as the next shell whistles in. Plus I got some decent rifle kills, but the pistol is still the fallback weapon.

A Casual Carebear

STO....

Sooooo close to finishing that last level of the new reputation.....

GRW....

Nice to see one last update to the game. Given it's more PvP nature I doubt I'll be back to the game for it.... Not even one match to get the reward 'costume'.

Ubisoft North America

Dawn of Man....

Another great patch for the game. V 1.2 may be called the Combat Update, but the other changes and additions it makes are the real game changers. All for the better.

The more high profile changes I checked were the two new tech's for shields and the deep iron mine.

And Combat; Which for me was more or less the same. Defensive structures like the man-able walls are better but the towers still crumble fast with the increase in raider numbers. I found my old town setup just as good without the need for changes never mind the new additions.

Fighting the group above my town only suffered one human and 2 dogs as casualties. That's way better than it has been previously.

It's nice to see your settlers collect the weapons and shields from the raiders. I'm not sure if it's a new animation but I noticed one of my humans pick up a steel sword, brandish it with pride and then sheath it on his belt. It was a nice touch. Previously I recall my people just carrying off the spoils to storage before the patch.

The new music is slightly different than the standard game music. Good but I don't think it quiet fits the same way as the old tracks. That's just a me thing.

Overall I found my main town more manageable, less in need of micromanagement. Before my town was in need of constant if minor tweaks as daily life went on. Now I can just let them work away, letting me enjoy the game a lot more. That can only be a good thing for early game management as well.