Battlefield 1....

Battlefield 1 has been seeing a lot more one sided matches in the last week and then some. I'm not sure what kind of matchmaking metrics are in action in the game but it feels like there aren't any. Years of game-play experience tells me that it takes a good 4 or 5 of such matches for players to be randomized enough to make things 'fair'. Some Clans are 'good sports', others are in it for K/D ratio regardless of how they got them.

Since last time I've been gaining so much footage that the happy editing medium has passed me by so I've decided to not compile and edit it at all. Easy way out. So just gonna post one of the latest matches with some of it's more memorable clips.

So yea, lots of matches where you end up 'loosing' before you've taken the first capture point. But as I've said before, that doesn't mean that you can't have 'good games'. I've had fun being the underdog and can make a bit of a nuisance of myself to make my time worth it.

Video with added music.....

Video with no added music.....

A Casual Carebear Gamer

Eve Online....

I'm concerned already. I see nothing on the fanfest schedule to enhance my awe of Eve Online. I'm sure it will be a great experience for those going; But the 'great things' to be announced at fanfest aren't looking so great, not to mention imminent or meaningful. There's nothing listed that's 'great' in what I want for the game.... Quality of life improvements have always been a constant but there's nothing new or 'amazballs'.

Anything 'announced' is going to 'take time' to reach the game so why bother to sub...... Maybe they should have put more money into EVE rather than Eve Echoes! CCP Business eh....

 

As for fanfest out of general interest for the game I'd like to see whats said in the opening ceremony and the keynote speech on day one... https://www.twitch.tv/ccp

Day 2, nothing really, again out of interest maybe whatever is said in 'longevity', and about the new UI, but nothing is screaming 'look at me', and then lastly the closing ceremony, again just out of interest. 

Is fanfest really going to turn out to be a damp squib? I fear so.

Anyway.....

As for the thing that's still in my mind, CCP money grubbing business!

Poor CCP, I mean a 30% increase on the base subscription, otherwise how are they supposed to make ends meet enjoy more profits??

If only the subscription wasn't their only means of income....

Let me see.....

Odd! Seems like they're already milking everything from Beluga to Blue Whale....

Add your own incentive to taste..

Broken Sword 5 - The Serpent's Curse....

With Broken Sword 5 'free' on games with gold; I was nostalgia motivated to take a look. It tickled all the appropriate 90's member-berries of the original game I'd played way back when.

In looking up information about the 5th game I came across a review of it's recent release on the switch. The end result of the review had a/the CON of the animations being stiff. I had to laugh at that as it's the iconic art style, it's that 'stiff animation' that brings the most nostalgia. An art style and aesthetic that is the franchise. I wouldn't have listed it as a 'Con'.

This 5th game is all I expected in look, feel, animation, narration and story. Some things are 'bad but good' in an acquired taste kind of way. As I'm coming from the first game and have missed the rest(zeitgeist notwithstanding) I'm not sure that's all a good or bad thing for any other gamers when reading this. My nostalgic rose tinted glasses are strong. It's an 'old skool' game to take your time in, you'll need it.

Given a more non nostalgic devils advocate view, the dialogue is drawn out, the puzzles swing wildly from easy to wft hard(as in, how does that make sense) and the point and click 90's aesthetic is a bit thread bare this time round when viewed with a more modern eye. That said they are all exactly the same points I'd use as nostalgic positives that make the game and the franchise 'work'. 

Besides what are mysteries without brainpower application. These types of game are somewhat quirky. There are certain things that happen in a certain order. View or do X allows a conversation about Y, but miss something and you can leave a room wondering what next. But you'll not be left without a way forward, just frustration that you've not done something to click on something to talk about something to then move on.

Being an adult and not being pig headed I've turned to a guide twice so far(I've 'only' scratched the surface of the game late in the Paris 'act'). Good or bad it is what it is.

 

Once to figure out the neon sign rejig.

And the next time to figure out the shredder puzzle.

It was an item in the drawer in the previous room I'd missed; So I'd not gotten the Q-Tip collectible to make all the rest fall into place.

AH HAH! It was the Q-Tip in the drawer with the oil splash!! Of course of course!!

Nostalgia is nostalgia and very subjective. If I'd not gotten the game 'free' then I'd not have played it now. I recall having some good memories with the original in '96; then again that was a special time in PC's and gaming(from classroom logo to C64's, Spectrum ZX's, Atari ST's, Amiga's and all the game consoles in between, not to mention the PC technology boom). It all feeds into the nostalgia, subjective to say the least.

As near to the start of the game as I am it seems a large % of players don't make it that far.

It seems that 40-ish % drop off quick enough.

If you've played any of the previous games and liked it then you'll 'get' what this game is. It's a franchise crowd-pleaser. Maybe not the best in the franchise but it is what it is.

As a nostalgic gamer coming back to the fold I'm happy with what I've seen. Curiosity may make me play a lot or some more or it. Time will tell. There's an element of wanting to know how things pan out. The art seems to suggest a grater adventure and broader story ahead which could prove interesting...

Hasbro Family Fun Pack - Super Edition....

About the time I was messing about with the PS3 I'd had a look at modern/current/available Monopoly options on the Xbox. All were a bit pricey. I wasn't looking to break the bank on just a monopoly game. Yet I wanted a game that was worth getting. Monopoly Plus from the 360 era was still €9.99 and it's modern iteration €14.99. While I was set to buy it I never did. That was until last week when there was a sale on and I saw it included as part of a pack. The Hasbro Family Fun Pack Super Edition. That's a mouthful. But better to buy a pack with 6 games than just the one for the same price. €14.99 is a much better price than the usual €59.99 for the pack!!!

Ubisoft

Sometimes these 'smaller' games can be quick fun. Except Monopoly which I find always takes an age(hours), fun but not fast fun; And I usually lose(to my wife). It's all fun and there's nothing like healthy competition.

After some gameplay I can group the games into pairs in increasing interest to me.

The two games at the 'bottom' of my list. Not 'bad' games, just not for me.

Boggle still isn't a game I'd play. Classic as it is, there are better word games elsewhere.

Trivial Pursuit is definitely more of a group party game, so not a solo v's a.i. game for me.

The middle pair are the two Risk games(Risk and Risk Urban Assault). While I thought I'd me more into them, they're good, but a bit too time consuming. They just take to long to play out. Fun if you have the time but the pack has two better options for time invested(in my view).

My top two games of the pack are Battleship for quick fun and Monopoly Plus(surprise surprise) for long-term fun gamplay. 

Monopoly Plus is done well with a bit of humor. I'd have been peeved if this version of Monopoly had turned out to be a lesser game in person than I'd seen. Then again I'd have been happy that Battleship saved the day. It was a pleasant surprise of a game. Granted it's been a while since I last played battleship; So long that it was probably played on a real board(I do have a memory of a folding carry case travel version)..... But this Xbox version is really enjoyable. The extra abilities of your fleet are apt and really add to the fun.

Nothing like starting a game and sinking your opponents Carrier.

A Casual Carebear Gamer

Diablo Immortal....

Speak of the devil...... Diablo Immortal is going to be on Mobile and PC..... June 2nd

Eve Online....

So that latest announcement. PLEX and Omega price changes | EVE Online

It's all too easy to jump up an down in a rage at what CCP does to it's playerbase. I'm tired of being peeved at CCP due to their business acumen. For one reason or another. Still CCP is CCP. 

As for me I've waffled for years on the Love of the game and hate dislike of CCP(such as my other recent waffling here and here). TLDR; CCP is CCP and I'm done being jerked around.

But I'm here to waffle so waffle I shall!

The price increases are a jerk around for the player base. To big a jump for no 'real' player based reason. You'd think they hadn't introduced a single micro-transaction or PLEX to the game!! 

Apparently paying more as an investment in EVE or according to some to keep Eve profitable when it's already profitable.... So to make CCP more profitable. It's a pity CCP doesn't do the same sentiment for players time. I'd like a game to be an investment of my time. 

Paying for the game does nothing but give you access to the game. There are no perks or benefits to your gameplay. Not even for a mystery code older with two mystery codes!

Pssst; Eve as a game isn't all that good; Not as good as CCP thinks it is. It has it's own niche, that's a different thing. At least till Star Citizen comes out, if ever. If it was epic on all fronts it'd be all I ever play! The main reasons I play Eve Online are because of the friends I know and my quirk for asset management/micromanagement in a PvE sci-fi setting.

If CCP really knew what the secret Eve sauce was they'd have more than one sacred cow to milk!

Going forward you'll pay more for no other reason than CCP wants more cash to waste on other games they 'develop'. What are they on now, their 3rd or 4th version/attempt at another FPS?

Global economy aside, even if it's 'not that much' it's still more. Yea yea the longer you sub the cheaper it will be ..... But it's still under the new price plans and still more expensive. 

Odd how CCP were so 'into' short term profits in the last two years but are not 'really into' getting players to go longterm with the new cheap but increased price plan. It's all like their phrasing on skill training times.... Omega gets double training speed!!!! No it's just normal training speed that was cut in half for Alphas but now they get to say it's double the half of the new 'class' created!

It's not the cash that annoys me. Yes it's above the MMO average by a lot(monthly). I used to sub yearly on two accounts. The thing that ticked me off from doing that and got me refunding it was CCP being CCP, inconsistent. A yearly sub on my main one week with skins and extras and the following week the offer was gone without warning and there was 'just pay for access'. It's what CCP is, inconsistent. About everything!

This all brings me back to my gripes with the mystery code.  This all brings me back to my last few posts. CCP Does Not Do GOOD WILL WELL!!!!!!  It's the only thing they are consistent with!

I know I harp on about the mystery code but god damn it; It was sold as a benefit, a companion for the next decade.... Here we are a decade later and I'm still waiting! Just because CCP drove on from it doesn't mean I have. And I'm an f n customer. It's like going to a restaurant for a 10 course experience, getting there being given two nibbles, sitting there for ages wondering where the rest is when the lights go out and as the staff are leaving their saying 'are you still here', 'didn't you enjoy it'.

Star Trek Online is a free to play game, a real free to play game. I've posted about it many, many, many times; It's version of the Mystery code is the 'lifetime sub'. A once off payment to gain real tangible benefits in game for life! I have it, my wife has just got it on her account and we both gain from those benefits daily in our gameplay. STO has never made me regret paying for it. Eve makes me regret paying after every CCP announcement.

A price increase with no good news carrot and no new content announcement till fanfest is such a bad optic. Well that upped the ante on fanfest bigtime! It better be the best thing they've ever done.... For all players and play styles. CCP better be shítting out player benefits for playing.... 

Like CCP have ever been able to keep everyone happy or know what those would be.

I've often said that a fanfest is like CCP preaching to the choir. It's as friendly a crowd as they can get(as the fans pay through he nose to be there), so I hope that those going do voice more than concern; Because CCP doesn't give a damn about concern. To CCP prices going up is just business and if you want to enjoy the game then your going to have to pay for it. Well no, no I don't. I'm an above average player of Eve(or so Eve says); The amount of time, money and passion that I've put into the game over the last 20 years has nothing to do with 'just doing business'. 

BUT still CCP is CCP. 

The talk of multiple account discounts, in my view, NEEDs to be substantial. if you have a second account to sub it better be at 50% off. And I'm so peeved it better include a second skill q 'free' per account. Anything else is just a massive crap on players. Then again CCP Does Not Do GOOD WILL WELL!!!!!! 

The 'It's business' excuse/reasoning is a load of bollox not a good one. All CCP projects(Echoes) are funded via Eve profits.... So the increase in Eve sub is a reinvestment for all CCP projects? 

If CCP wants investments then how about each sub gets a share of CCP stock and yearly dividends. Door swings both ways. BUT that's worthless to me because I don't give a crap bout CCP. Besides it was said, the price increase is to increase CCP profits. What a joke! My hyperbole aside it's still a joke.

It's time for CCP to provide real incentive to sub for their flagship game. If they want to charge an extra third of the current price; If I am to pay for CCP investment into CCP then CCP needs to make it worth my while to PAY for, never mind play Eve Online. As I said above. It better be the best fanfest ever and the rewards for subbing better be excessively tangible for my gameplay. CCP can keep it's shill's, can even pay them to play the game but it's actual paying CUSTOMERS that make the wheels turn!

So am I more inclined or less inclined to pay more for the same thing. I'm less inclined.

Am I more inclined or less inclined that Fanfest will change my mind. Less inclined as Fanfest 'announcements' never have before(Dust 514 Red Wedding anyone!).

As we all know, games companies always know how to read what the crowd wants (interesting)!

(also of interest is that Diablo mobile is being done by NetEase(same as Eve Echoes)and due out soon...)

Business, yea, were're all here to play business!

Fanfest will be telling in a lot of ways.

So if you don't think it's any problem for you with the increase then be wary of a company that sets a precedent and follows money making trends; CCP do. It'll come back to bite you sooner than later and there won't be much you can do about it by that time. CCP is consistent in that. 

With regard to player interactions CCP never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.

I'm not an Eve Online youtuber. I'm not part of a partner program so I'd say take what those that are with a pinch of salt. Some are bought and paid for some are not. A lot are trustworthy imho, like delonewolf and HateLesS_Gaming .... Just saying to be wary.  Shills do exist. No financial investment does skew opinions and views.

Some good links:

delonewolf's latest EVE Talk - 23/04/2022 - YouTube

HateLesS_Gaming's latest Eve Plex and Omega Price Update

Rushlock Media latest CCP Increases Price of EVE Online Subs & PLEX ?! - EVE Online

https://evehermit.wordpress.com/2022/04/24/money/

Stream CCP Paragon Talk About Price Increase by hypr1 | Listen online for free on SoundCloud

Reddit - Eve Online

Forums - [Discussion] PLEX and Omega price changes feedback thread - EVE Information Portal / Dev Blogs - EVE Online Forums

Another Sight....

April's games with gold gave Another Sight. In playing it(yes I did get to), it's got a lot of vibes from other games I've played(Alpha Planet). So it's no wonder it appeals to me in person more than I thought it would. The platforming, puzzle solving genre is the genre so similarity isn't a bad thing. Games like that either click with me or don't.... Same'ol same'ol with me. But I like what this game does to make it it's own. 

The team of the blind girl and the 'mysterious' cat works well as a game mechanic. With the steampunk fantasy setting, the levels themselves are just as interesting. 

That's not to say I'm all in on the game but I've found myself going back to it every now and then to progress on. 

A Casual Carebear Gamer

The Planet Crafter....

Progress. It's a game about progress and the process of that progress. A game to enjoy in doing, to see your efforts change your surroundings. I'm covering old ground again in saying that(here, here, here and here) but I get a lot of enjoyment out of Planet Crafter. If your rushing to get to the end then your missing the journey.

The games future looks bright! New updates bring new items and discoveries to be made. 

Golden chests

Water where water wasn't before in newer areas.

New goodies to collect.

New asteroid storms to both avoid and collect from.

One or two more floating ores about.

Sites to be seen in different lights.

Or unable to see the planet for the tree('s spreaders I've put down). 

Or the green hue of a biomass rocket.

I do like the look of these trees on a water front.

I've been happy to see a lot more green on the planet. New single room 'survival pods' for my extended walks.

And a lot more markers on the HUD to pinpoint them as well as special areas/mines.

So I've taken my time and even then gotten to unlock the fusion cell. Unlocked the wrecks 'secret' parts. There are other locked doors; I'm sure more secrets and goodies will be placed as the game develops.

The only new thing I've missed was the other crafters his final place. The game and watching players discover the new parts has had an air of excitement and in watching a stream there was talk of the grave site. So of course I had to see it for myself. This other crafters time on the planet I'm sure made my time and my survival possible.

Starting a new game to see if there was access from the start, there is. Probably best to leave visiting it till your mid to late game as the chest contents spawn at your tech level.

Another 'hidden' element noticed on a stream was that the DNA Manipulator can produce a 200% tree if you use one of the rare Golden Flowers. While not listed in the database it does work.

The journey goes on....

A Casual Carebear Gamer

HITMAN 3....

Hitman 3 has been a marketing mess in my view from start till now. My previous waffle here and here and here and here!

The news of bugs since launch have persisted and were one of the main reasons I stayed clear of it. The Epic exclusive time didn't help either. The polish on the game that's there shows more clearly the lack of polish in other areas. The always on internet access is still a problem even after so much chopping and changing with it. 

It was all off-putting to me, no wonder I didn't really care about the game. Never mind 'having' to redo all the first and second game content in the third game to 'mark it as complete'. It's a game for completionists after all. Granted there was a one time item conversion/import but useless for me; I still haven't bought the third game. I don't intend to. But I did get to play it 'free' via xbox game-pass for pc. So there was no worry over items for me in the here and now.

Did I encounter bugs. Yes. I've come across weird NPC with physics defying pathing issues. Weird floating npc's. Strange item behaviors such as doors not opening if there's an item that even hints at clipping it. Weird physics when killing an NPC where their body does a death fling or fly's off into space. 

I've come across the non moving NPC's with their arms out as it they were still on a design drawing board. I've loaded save games that reach 75% load and then crash to desktop. I've come across bad laggy gameplay that hangs for 10+ second. Which isn't great when your trying to line up a headshot; I presume that's the game trying to do something online with it's connectivity check. All that said I can tolerate it because in playing it now I didn't take it seriously.

I'm a completionist but the third game to me is a lesser son of greater sires. The first game was great back in the day. The second showed great improvements over the first and so was worth redoing 1st game content in 2; But the third for all the good points it has(and it has a few) just has no motivation for me to 'get into it'; And that's even with 'free' access to it! I think I'll go back to the second game and start doing some stuff I missed!

Playing the third game was interesting. Not like the previous games but just as a casual one run on each map and done kind of way. I played it on Pro as a casual experience and got what felt like a 'casual' experience. Maybe I'm too used to playing Hitman, maybe I should have done it on Master mode, but anyway I found this Pro mode a very forgiving run of Hitman. Too many options and not enough harshness in other elements. Guess they just can't please some people.

A Casual Carebear Gamer

For me it was a guns out do it to get it done and there was practically no pushback from the game, no retribution from alerts, no 'real' difficulty in overcoming. It felt underwhelming when being so blatantly ballsy on maps. So yea, a single run on each map to both collect, see and do as much as possible felt like enough. I usually do such runs to both learn the map and get a feel for things. Learn the stories. Then go back and start the process of unlocking things, doing feats and claiming the suits and silent assassin ratings. But not in this game, not now. Three as I said is a lesser game when compared to the previous 2. At least for me.

Hitman 3, is big, is beautiful and has some interesting new mechanics. Shortcuts being the best and camera being the worst(imho). Shortcuts aid in gameplay return and retention; reward efforts to seed up your play and reduce grind. Camera is useless and does not do anything a screwdriver couldn't have done previously. It's and addition rather than an necessity. There are maybe two occasions where it 'is' needed as there is no other choice. Nice try IOI to make 47 a mission impossible agent but it doesn't work for me in this franchise, in this game. In a lot of area's where the camera could be used I just used a screwdriver etc to unlock stuff. The camera is a novelty, it wasn't special enough.

The story is interesting, it has elements that are good and bad but that's a 'suspension' or disbelief thing. 47 was for the most part 'in character' in my view. I just found him a shade and I mean a sliver of a shade too trusting in some situations. In that regard the Diana stuff is forgivable, it's believable; But on the 'other' side of the story(Grey) I'm not convinced. Maybe it was a bit of a let down that all that preamble and suspicion wasn't justified when I think it should have been and would have made a more interesting story..... Maybe that's just me in the moment overthinking it.

It's the ending that's the epitome of what this game is. Take the good with the bad. 

The last mission is possibly the best forced linear Hitman moments that made me feel like I was 47. I was engrossed in it. Felt emotion in sneaking about and getting to the end. The end being the end for both gamplay and narrative. It's the only map I've repeated/reloaded to clear feats etc.

Fun is fun.

Ultimately as a Hitman completionist(of these new iterations) I'd like to get the game, preferably an all singing, all dancing version on Steam. I think I'll be waiting a good bit longer for a decent knock down price..... On sale. Me thinks they shall milk it for all it's worth, for a lot longer!