Games with Gold....

June's Games with Gold are looking to be on the upper end of things. At least in my view.

Aven Colony: Available June 1 to 30; A game I got some years ago on PC. A game I liked at the time but never really been back to in recent years(unlike my wife). It'll be interesting to see it's Xbox implementation.

Project Highrise: Architect’s Edition: Available June 16 to July 15; A tower-building simulation I've seen in the past but had never sparked interest to play. Free is free so one to install and try for sure, if it sticks it sticks.

Super Meat Boy: Available June 1 to 15; Is a great platform, puzzler, a true classic. It's fun(gameplay and 'story') and frustrating all in one. A game that was free with Gold a while ago(June 2016). Glad to see it being given away again. Worth a try for anyone who hasn't.

Raskulls: Available June 16 to 30; A fun platformer by the looks of things, not sure it's a game for me but as it's a free to try.....

Euro Truck Simulator 2....

The eternal gaming problem... Too many games and not enough time to play them all. ETS 2 is another game I've played long-term but haven't played much of recently. I've missed more than one in game event. 

Another game with more good ongoing updates and changes. Not to mention a great community. 

Of the times I was able to dip back into the game it was not for driving but back room management faffing. Truck, trailer and driver management. 

That said it was good to get the Christmas event rewards. I still hope that the next one will see a return to the bright lights and reflective wrapping of massive trailer gifts and candy canes.

Besides the updates and content they have been putting out; SCS gave a response to the future of content they were working on. The statement makes perfect sense.

Kingdoms and Castles....

 

A game I've not been back to in a while(2017-ish was my heyday in it). Even then it's a game that's gotten many, many updates and patches since. Most recently a massive update and DLC to buy. Given the update was so massive I'd no problem buying the €1.59 DLC(the only DLC that game has).

That big update has a lot to it. Another game I need to get back to, relearn with it's changes and enjoy once more.

Lion Shield

ARMA Reforged....

I've waffled on and off over the years about my original Flashpoint days(PC and Xbox but mainly PC).

After it I never got into Arma at all. I've a friend who has and who has in as big a way as a player can. Clan(s) and all.

So when I saw Arma Reforged this last week I was hit with nostalgia(& I read about it here). The models, the updated textures and 'modern' take on an old games aesthetic which I was massively into .... Nostalgia. That feeling was strong.

That said and as much as the nostalgia is flowing I didn't get the immediate 'take my money' urge! I wanted to know more.

It's early days yet, it's in alpha and it costs €29.99; Those two facts stalled my 'interest' dead. That's not to say it's in bad shape(from those that have seen it, say whats there is 'good') as is but I'll wait for development and a sale in the future. A game to keep an eye on.

Darkest Dungeon....

 

Returning to the end end game of Darkest Dungeon's DLC Color of Madness brings a lot of baggage with it. The good, the bad and the ugly of all the games content. This time round I was surprised, as my third run of The Farm was so good that I ended up killing The Sleeper. Awkwardly enough I'd not reread my old posts or anything online; So no reminders of the mechanics. That said I'm happy with what I've relearned. Even moreso that any fear of the task at hand was a more self inflicted apprehension.

Not that the boss mechanics are hard; The journey to get to the bosses is the real test. Defeating the boss relies heavily on the team. Falling back into the best team to take in didn't take long and felt natural. In my case a Vestal at the back healing, a jester to apply buff and bleeds as well as offer stress relief, and up front two Shieldbreakers as a DPS tag team(mainly to apply blight to multiple targets or the the reverse order and 'just' to apply damage to a specific target.

Here's that boss fight(with some lead in/out footage).

A Casual Carebear Gamer

So between a really great run downing the boss's and working out/recalling how to do it in the first place(the crystals were the most unknown); But all in all the experience gave confidence in a ' what was I worried about ' kind of way. Which seems to happen a lot..... Then again maybe I was 'lucky'. 

So the grind is getting really real for me. I've not touched the buildings, but have gotten several of the trinkets. A lot more to be done to get those shards.

That's not to say that it's all gone well. I've 'lost' a good few heroes along the way. The journey to get and keep a hero at their peak takes time, training, gearing, upgrading, even more gold and luck. Thankfully they're not dead and return from limbo after another dungeon run or two. It's hard to shake the pre CoM DLC content of the gut wrenching feeling of loss when a hero goes down. It's something that feeds into the apprehension(for me, in this game at least). I know I can't help it. A failed run is still a setback.

Once a hero is 'lost' getting their trinkets back is another task, The Shrieker hoards them. Not a hard fight but another hoop to jump through.

As much of a grind as the DLC is; It has the best of the 'loss' mechanics when compared to any other parts of the games content. Loss of heroes and items that you get back.... I'm a lot more appreciative of those facts. In retrospect it makes any fear of loss unjustified; On the other hand it legitimizes the weariness of the grind. Endless mode isn't called Endless mode for no reason.

Breathedge....

It's a game I've seen around for a while through its promotions and trailers. Liking what I saw I thought it worth a try(better late than never).

The humour isn't for everyone, but it's some that I find funny, from patronizing computer voice-overs to the chicken in space. The games opening and it's initial scenario sets the course of the survival shenanigans.  Like trying to seal an air leak with a chicken! Only the chicken isn't air tight.... So bubble gum has to do the job... It's that type of game!

The basic gameplay is akin to a lot of games I've been really into in the past and present(survival and crafting).

A game I have free access to via Xbox Gamepass. A game I've installed and yet have not played more than a few minutes on 4 or 5 occasions.

On a lot of levels it's a game I really should be all over; But I'm not and I really don't know why. I don't know why I can't handle more than a few minutes before bailing on it. Till today when I went to click on it's icon, stopped and went for the uninstall instead. Another game where I find I've a lot to like about it but can't get into. Seems to be happening more often. Maybe my tastes in gaming are changing. Maybe there's just too much choice these days. Bit of both probably.

Darkest Dungeon....

The ebb and flow of gaming goes on....Darkest Dungeon, I'm back at it. The mood and motivation was there last weekend. A dungeon run or two later and I felt like I'd never left(in a good way). I started to reassess where I'd left off and what needed to be done. While my last two posts(here and here) from last year do detail a lot there's noting like being in the game to see for myself. That said my last paragraph of the last post is correct.

If(When) I do defeat The Sleeper I'll consider the save complete. That'll be two saves and two full runs completed, 'normal'(Stygian) and 'hard'(NG+, Bloodmoon; NG+ is technically completed). After that there's just easy mode.... 'Radiant'. That is along way off.... I see a break if I get back to the game and a further longer break before I do return for Radiant.... Trying not to apply pressure to gameplay.... Fun in accomplishment from a long journey needs to be savored.

Getting back to the game now and having looked at the remaining Ancestors trinkets (from the long campaign dungeon rewards), there were 3 left to 'complete' the collection. Thankfully in doing them the second run had a drop from a mini boss of one of the trinkets so on completion I got 2 for the price of one on that dungeon run.

I'd more trinkets from the Crimson Court than I'd thought so only needed about 4 runs of the garden guardian to get the rest. Which all left me with no other unique or sets of trinkets to chase down. My last (subconscious?) stalling tactic, trinkets, was gone!

A Casual Carebear Gamer

The last few days have really seen me tidy up the NG+ save. No better position to go on from.

So back to the plan....The only boss that needs to be 'cleared' is The Sleeper from The Color of Madness DLC. That Farm grind next on the agenda will be no easy feat(least not for me). I still have some minor apprehension at the thought of what RNG could hammer my progress but not in a no-play debilitating way. I'll have to wait for the RNG hammer blows to actually hit for that to set in.

All the remaining Trinkets from that DLC are on the cards as a self imposed objective. Not that I 'need' them but for completions sake(seeing as I have all the rest). As well as the  DLC's 4 town buildings. All in due course.

One boss, 3 buildings, 15 trinkets and a shed load of DLC currencies. It can be done with luck.

So in other words I need to 'do' the DLC; There's nowhere else to hide.

What could go wrong! 

At least the heroes that fall there are refracted and not dead. So a degree of roster and filler dungeon flexibility may need to be added to the grind till they 'normalize'....

Eve Online....

Before I waffle on, let me say that there's a site to 'educate' Eve online players about in game 'awareness'. New Eden Situational Awareness 101. Well worth a read for anyone so inclined.

Two alts, both Alphas, are characters I've got parked up in a low-sec pocket. Not to PvP but for mining and hauling. Not that they do much of either but when time allows it can be a distraction. 

Both alts are SP maxed out Alphas in clean clones(about 7 million SP). They mine in T1/meta fit Ventures and haul in T1/meta haulers. Nothing fancy, nothing strange, then again it's not meant to be.

The longer your even casually around an area of space you'll get to know it's comings and goings. Times of low and high player frequency. Times of the day and week when camps on the bottlenecks can and will happen. That said, lowsec is lowsec. A free for all royal rumble. Random is random and does happen, from solo players to gangs and more, all there for PvP no matter what ships they find.

Some of the shizz that goes down can get crazy. One group chasing a second runs in to a third and they all end up at another group doing a gate camp.

For my alts point of view, some players are doing the same things as me and so ignore me and I ignore them(scouts honour, once bitten twice shy). Still looking over my shoulders and growing eyes in the back of my head... But ignoring keeping my distance all the same. Others cause concern but in systems that are along a well trodden path you get used to solo players and again eyes on the swivel with DScan etc. Which usually allows ease as much peace of mind as can be possible. Keeping aligned to some safe spots to bounce off helps etc.

Most Corps in such areas keep to themselves(sometimes by being aggressive); So no surprise that they don't recruit locally. Corp Paranoia is real and justified. A snippet of the meme, is real.

It's not casual.

So I've not spent a lot of time to find a corp that would allow more safety in any lowsec region, never mind a more committed null corp/region(alas poor provi), never mind an even more committed wormhole corp. Casual is casual and I can do this all by by self, with no commitments. For fun, minimal profits, but mainly for dangerous fun. Dangerous but safe(safe as can be with a hold my popcorn caveat) fun.

One of my currently unsubbed and out of the game real world friends(that I've mentioned in the past) had a similar alt in a different region than me. He got used to the locals and they him.... But when he showed up trying to get something in system with a hint of cost to it they blew him out of existence, as they would with anyone else. Eve is Eve.

So why all this waffle about alts and low sec? Well I've been looking to setup and get an alt into another lowsec area. So I do keep an eye on dotlan and the loss ratio's(Ships and pods in Eve parlance). There was a massive blip that caught my eye over the last few days.

612 ships and 195 pods in the previous 24 hours(Friday) in one low sec, hi-sec border system..... That's a lot.

Some of the other nearby systems have high(for them) ratios. If Tama had even 20/8 I'd say it was high but 612/195..... 

It has to have been due to the current event? Players after the in system sites that give 'the gud lootz'? 

Looking over the kills there are a lot of players that do not seem connected with each other; Some small groups, but kills, separate over a long time period. That's a lot of solo random traffic going though an easy to setup gate camp, bottleneck. 

So yea my main question is why so many player kills; No matter the ship or fit, to still go through an obvious deathtrap....?

Speaking of which, here's another that popped up.....

It has to be the event right?

Not so much lambs to the slaughter as lemmings..... 

Everyone special and everyone with a chance of success in their own way. Happy participation award to them I guess.

The odds of getting in, running sites and getting out, with the loot.... 

Maybe I'm risk averse but my luck is never that good;  Then again I'm not 'desperate' for said 'gud lootz' content.

Am I missing something? It has to be the event right? Right?

Even contemplating going into low-sec to mine I'm running alts as scouts, getting to know the area and doing as much 'home-work' as possible.... Maybe I'm acting over the top? Maybe, maybe not.... This is Eve and it is internet spreadsheets.... Right? 

Even just looking at Dotlan map info to see the ship/pod kills in the last 24 hours seems too much for those internet warriors, common sense be damned. Nah I'm not that risk averse but seeing those numbers seems idiotic. Lemmings for sure. That's not fun for me in this game and if it is for you then great and good for you. But I like to have the information odds in my favour first before undocking, never mind jump into a lowsec system with no guess to whats on the other side. The warning is there for a reason.

The Planet Crafter....

The latest update/patch to Planet Crafter brings more quality, quality of life updates, achievements and new areas. Another great update from (relatively) small things like title music and planet change on save game hover; To the large things like the inclusion of an instant transporter!

Every patch I catch myself, second guessing, what I'm seeing..... Is the water looking better? Reflections? Is the grass greener?

The view distance longer?

Needless to say I'm liking the changes and updates. Getting a place to mine Zeolite is fantastic; But the removal of the Pulsar crystals is a massive blow.... But it's work in progress so fingers crossed that will change sooner rather than later.

The new Super Alloy Rod is the new big thing to make in order to construct the top tier items. Easy for me to say that as I've got lockers on lockers of resources to use.

The transporter is the biggest and best quality of life item that could have been given. Better than any plan for a vehicle.

The new mapping updates are very welcome with resources and beacons showing on a zoom-able map.

With the crystal no longer craftable atm I've only come across 4 or 5 lootable crystals. That's not a good thing considering what I've created pre patch; And that wasn't me 'going overboard' with items. 

I can see the crystals decision being reversed, has to be. Or their creation having a need for more materials..... Or for them to be mined(with luck not that option). Crystals are grown in labs..... right!

Some changes are more obvious than others.... Vines are climbable, so why I kept passing this one and not climbing it I've no idea. Nice to find another new area.

So I've added a lot of transporters, bringing my limited supply of crystals down to 1. Besides the transporters I had to create one more fusion generator. Any further power generation will all have to be the highest tier of nuclear(for now, this patch).

I've placed 9 transporter pads. Cos I'm both lazy and wanted them as a time saver for my mines.

Main base....

Iridium cave....

Aluminium field....

Radium cave....

Super Alloy cave....

Osmium Cave....

Zeolite Cave....

Another at the first 'old' base of the previous Planeteer(that feels like a more natural title). Why there?Because I always have a backup base.... It's just how I play these types of games.

And one at the stargate for future handiness....

I've used the materials of that last transporter in inventory for several of the new locations, as a temporary pad (new crash site and at the crater base). If I'd had more crystals, transporter materials would be the new goto items to take on any exploration. Transporter pad up, pop back to main base, eat, drink, breath air, pop back, deconstruct and move on.

The journey goes on.

Speaking of the previous 'crafter'... His logs and messages are furthering his and my journey. So 'spoilers' of a kind.....