Games with Gold....

Calico a game about a cat café, a sim in all aspects from café(furniture/decor/food) to townsfolk relationships. For me this game isn't appealing; one to claim but can't see myself playing.

ScourgeBringer a fast-paced 'roguelite' platformer. Despite my liking of games like this, they either sink or swim on actually getting to play them; So the proof is in the pudding as they say. One to claim and try. Plus the soundtrack is good.

Saint’s Row 2. I've never been fully into a Saint's Row game since the first one(while waiting for the next GTA at the time). There's been a lot of off the wall versions since. SR2 seems to still bridge the gap of serious GTA action and fun without being too far out there. All that said it's a game I've already claimed(July 2020) and still not played so, I guess I was right.

Monaco: What’s Yours is Mine. Another game that was given away years ago. Another one I've previously claimed and not played(Sept 2014).... Best described as a 2d sarcastic comedy version of payday 2; Best in co-op...... Just not a game for me.

Between games being given away for free and games claimable like these it's becoming harder to sink time and effort into games I don't choose. The choice of too many is a real problem. Way more extreme today than a magazine disk crammed with demos which I'd spend time on back in the day. Too much of a good thing now perhaps; And one making me choose and discard full and free games more casually without playing them. Then again if I spent time on every free game I'd do nothing else.....

There was some info going around the interwebs that the 360 games were leaving the Games with Gold as freebies; I can only hope that this both improves the quality of games that are given for free as well as their playability. As much as I may say I'll claim and not play the variety offered is wide and surprise titles/game-play is nice when it happens.

Star Trek Online....

My last post about my PC STO game-play came hot on the heels of being a 'bit' peeved at some random TFO interactions. It can't be helped(both random interactions and 'some players', never mind reacting to it all; It happens and sometimes it boils over(I guess that's what a blog is for...) This last week has seen a lot of AFK players in TFO's and it kills the game experience for me. Not to harp on a point but players who do are the bad name epitome of 'randoms'; It used to be so much better. I don't get why there's been such an increase in players who don't want to know TFO tactics. Playing a game by not playing a game...  I've seen groups fall apart if it's more than just doing DPS. Then again I'm a mainly a solo player in an MMO so go figure.....

Not much has changed on the PC score but the latest event ship has proven to me that bigger ships can be fun to fly. The Jarok Alliance Carrier handles well, much better than any other larger ship around the same size. I may have to set it up properly and test some things out.

Other than that it's the same'ol, same'ol..... 

Not even a gravity well will stop me from looting....

I've spent some more time than usual on the Xbox version and thought an update on that would be 'interesting'.....

Playing STO on Xbox is a much more casual experience for me than on PC... As if that wasn't casual either. So I suppose I'm super causal on the Xbox version.

Not that I spend much time on the game. 90% of the time I log in, click a few bits, do the event daily standing at the bank.... 

Ships; In order from less used to most.... On my main. All still 'works in progress'.

With a really slapdash fit of whatever was leftover handy in the inventory of the moment; The Alliance Temer. A fun decent ship that's grown on me on all platforms. That said, on my Xbox main it's fit gets the last look in on any items not used on the ships before it. If I had more inventory space I'd probably have discharged it so it keeps it's fit out of my inventory and so becomes more useful....

Next on the list the Ferengi Nandi. A free ship that started me on STO on the Xbox. I wasn't going to pass up a free ship and I'm glad it was this ship. A bit long in the tooth these day's(for handling) but still a lot of fun. Kept for both practical gameplay fun and nostalgia. Like the Temer it gets the leftovers from ships above it(not all bad). 

Next up the Andorean Kyzon. I picked it from my PC experiences with the ship. Fast, fun with good dps and survivability. A true favorite for me, just under the Bajoran Interceptor overall. I love it's wing cannons. When they proc and you get and almost endless stream of fire... Thing to behold. Not that I can explain the series of events to proc or the stat chances but it happens and I like it!

Top of the list for my main is the Risian Corvette. Everything I said about the previous ship but morose(but no wing cannons). An event ship that was my goto on PC for a long time. One the just pipped the Bajoran Interceptor(again) and the upgraded Kyzon. Like the cannon of the Kyzon when the voice of the prophets experimental weapon 'procs' and there's a stream of fire form it... again with the thing to behold. Plus the DPS numbers in space do look good.

With the recent Phoenix prize pack 'event' ongoing I took advantage of it for more upgrade tokens. Being casual or super casual has lead to a large build up of refined Dilithium to really take advantage of such 'purchase power'. Not that I'm counting it all.

In trading between characters I was hammered however by a lack of account bank space.... Just one account bank slot. In looking to convert Dil to Zen to 'buy' an account bank slot pack I noticed that I'd already got 3500 Zen from previous conversions... I surprised myself that I'd forgotten about having that amount and bought one of the bank slot 'extenders' for 1000. Expensive even when spending 'free' Zen but worth it for the ease of trading between characters. 

I've no clue what I might have been trying to build it up for but I generally don't convert on either platform.... Still it's worth it on Xbox.

Even the max Dil to Zen on the Xbox version is so much lower then on PC... I've complained about that before, getting all nostalgic for those days on PC; But what can a PC player do.

So yea, otherwise as with the PC version I'm 'just' doing event dailies and the usual character upkeep(R&D, Admiralty, Doff, Dil 'grind'); Mainly on two characters but a third is 'getting there' and is about 80% a main.

As for those details on my main......

Currencies/marks:

Doff's:

R&D:

Admiralty:

All very work in progress.

Given my cat in a cat carrier distraction all but done on PC(more here and here on that) I really need to 'focus'(as much as a casual can) instead of such faffing, fun tho it may be. With all my 'recruit' characters on PC done with their unlocks; I've been toying with the idea of really getting into the Xbox character versions. My main on Xbox is a Temporal Recruit and still needs a good few bits completed. 

The current Red Alert Event is ongoing... 

As for plans, there are none. Fun and the need for a change from PC is what will drive Xbox STO gameplay for me..... Whims of a gamer.

Halo and The Master Chief Collection....

I've waffled about my retro, back in the day Halo, OG Xbox times.... I've gotten all re-retro nostalgic in a 2019 post; Getting and playing games I'd not had back then(like here). While I still stand behind my previous posts(for the most part); I can say I was wrong in the Xbox platform having a fade away effect on me. Since 2019 if anything the platform and PC have been even more joined at the hip by the Ultimate subscription. As such I've been 'more into' the Xbox platform(Star Trek Online, Darkest Dungeon, Battlefield 1, all games I play on PC as well). The lists of games go on ..... Cross-platform games the big winner. 

So why an I waffling about all this... The Master Chief Collection. I've taken another look. Last time I was nonplussed about the new v old textures(very 1st world problem). This time round I'm more appreciative of the new and of the switch new to old and back texture option. I still think some of the older stuff is better..... But each to their own.

Old frozen waterfall:

New frozen waterfall:

Pluses and minuses to each but to the eye of the beholder it's each to their own.

Which has all driven me to play more but mainly for achievements. Being in a non said achi point competition can lead to a person doing things that they wouldn't normally do... This is mine.

Anyway this all lead to an interesting moment. The location of that frozen waterfall is a large area filled with enemies, small to large, with plenty of enemies in vehicles, including a tank. When the combat was all said and done one grunt decided to take a post combat time out; Must've been all that running about he did.

A Casual Carebear Gamer

Battlefield 1(Xbox)....

Sorting out the Xbox clip backlog highlighted two things to me for Battlefield 1. I'm not that bad at the game and editing can still be 'fun' rather than 'work'. 

So another mashup is born....

A Casual Carebear Gamer

Minecraft(Xbox)....

It's been a while since I last looked at Minecraft on Xbox. In retrospect my blog post last time was more dismissive then the game deserved. So I've recently restarted playing it and continued on from that old 'save'. What I said in that post is still true. After playing it again now it's still a lot like other cross platform titles; The same but that bit different. I say that a lot about games I see across PC and Xbox. Hard to explain but the 'little' differences make it a familiar new experience and not in a Déjà vu kind of way. Besides that, moods change as do perspectives. I appreciate it more now. 

My PC save and restarting there would feel more like work due to having done so much there already(years of building on a save since the games early day's when it was 'free'). Doing it on a new platform feels refreshing. So a new start on a new platform with no pre-existing baggage at all is appealing. A distraction that has sunk hours of time. Gaming, it's all personal perspective.

It's odd to me to see the monetization/market space and it's 'currency'. Maybe that's me and my Java edition superiority complex. I'd known things were like that on Xbox but seeing it myself ....... I didn't think it was so extensive. Given it's not a 'main' version of a game for me I'll not be doing anything with that side of it.

What has proved to be a strong motivator to gameplay is getting achievements. It's 'nice' to 'just' play and get the achi popup...... Sense of achievement for the achievement...... Aiming for some that are 'out of the way' also add to the mix. Others are too much work and not even aimed for.

The stats on achievements like in other games, have me pondering the playerbase.

Some are explainable. People love bunny rabbits so they aren't going to go out of their way find never mind kill, cook and eat one in game. There are plenty of other 'options' for that. 8.6% have had bunny, I get it.

Farming and breeding animals is a more 'specialist' activity, 17.2% have bred cows. I get it.

Visit 17 Biomes. 38%. Not everyone can visit everywhere... I get it. 

Stopping starvation with Rotten Flesh. Just like the bunnies but in reverse.7.9%. I get it(I only did it for the achievement).

I even get the 4.9% making charcoal and 6.1% crafting and using a flower pot. Not everyone is going to want those things.

What I don't get are some of these....

Make a crafting bench..55.9%. Who plays Minecraft and not make a workbench!

Make a cobble furnace... 46% ........................?

Made a wooden pickaxe... 54.5 % ........................? Really ?

Make a wooden sword... 52.5%  ........................?

Only 63% have punched a tree to get a wooden block....  that IS Minecraft.!!?!?!??!?

BUT 

Only 67% opened the inventory...............Sixty Seven Percent.................. What ?!?!?!?

Given the range of versions and modes I'm sure the stats are skewed. Playing Multiplayer only and/or creative mode. Still it's 'interesting' to see and mull/comprehend the stats.

My save on Xbox is a good lil'adventure. Yes I've been burned by lava, blown up by creepers, slapped about by Slenderman, speared by drowned, looted villages and gotten lost. Noting like the motivation of creating a new compass in the wilderness as motivation(and all the tools needed to do so). Survival mode at it's best. But getting back to home sweet home where things are plentiful and safe is always a good feeling......... Then gearing up for a new expedition.

Things have changed a bit since I captured these screenies but they give a good snapshot of my save..... 

A Netherbrick eternal flame.... That I use for waste disposal.....

Bit'o'farmin....

Decent all in one house....

House come animal shed at the back....

In retrospect, is it odd to have a potential bbq area next to the animals....

Horse and donkey stabled on the opposite side....

While I did craft a Golem he has since wandered off or been destroyed.....MIA

Fencing off a portal I created helps with 'interacting' with any Pigmen that wander through.

Behind that is an early build, observation platform. Nothing like a birds eye view to see whats about.

A ladder up and down is good but a trapdoor down to water is handier.

As for inside the house, all mod cons.... Nothing fancy but all practical. The only thing I need to try and get is a bit of an enchanting addition.

The blacksmiths table is hidden in the corner. A lot of things like that around.