The Ancient Gaming Noob

Brief for specific definitions of the word I suppose.  Blog posts, even long blog posts, are brief in relation to The Stand or the works of Robert Jordan.  The problem here is that I wrote that title at the top of an empty blog post, so I cannot really tell how deep this is going to get.  But I am going there. Blaugust 2026 And I want to go there because Blaugust has been a thing for a baker’s…

A few weeks back over on Reddit, in the EVE Online subreddit, the whole place spent about ten days ranting about the evils of multiboxing and how it was ruining the game and that CCP/Fenris needed to DO SOMETHING about it NOW! That is always the way.  If nothing else, Reddit carries with it a sense of urgency and demands for action, usually coupled with bad or unworkable solutions.  The wisdom of…

As I wrote in my previous Planet Crafter post, it is difficult to find a break point at which to sit down and write an update because new things come at you all the time changing the game and advancing your goal of terraforming the world you’ve landed on. Certainly A Planet Crafter It feels like you get a few technology unlocks every hour or so, and a big one often enough to change the dynamics a…

EverQuest Legends launched at the end of July.  I stayed clear of the beta and the pre-order stuff.  I didn’t want to help test, I just wanted to see the end result. EverQuest Legends I was, however, committed to the final product.  I have been on about Daybreak serving this particular non-hardcore slice of potential fans who maybe don’t want the full Norrath experience of old.  Even with…

I like to have a plan.  One might suggest that I NEED to have a plan.  A plan, a goal, a destination.  Screw the journey, I want to know where we are going and how we’re getting there. I am like this in real life as well.  It is probably why I have ended up as a project manager.  I’ll listen to ideas and possibilities for hours, but I am always the guy who needs to bring the conversation around…

I don’t think we set a record.  Just looking at Steam Charts, No Man’s Sky checked in pretty far behind even the recent peak of the Voyagers expansion. No Man’s Sky – Celebrating 10 Years That said, I didn’t think we were going to get there.   A few posts on social media and Reddit were not going to get to enough people for that to happen.   Even the last minute boost from Hello Games on their…

We are looking at the last big week of releases until September in week thirty-two. We had four titles slated to launch. Fantasy Critic League – Like Fantasy Football, but for Video Games Before we dig into that however, we need to check the scoreboard and where everybody stood last time around. Week 31 scores The groundwork laid down, we can get on with the scoring and releases, which kicked off…

The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference –Elie Wiesel Last week the site Aftermath, had what they called Hater Week, where the staff opened up on things they did not like.  There were some interesting takes. Aftermath Hater Week – I totally stole this image Some of them I felt in my bones, like the one about how awful Adobe is.  I remember having a beta copy of Photoshop 2.0 back in…

No Man’s Sky turns ten years old tomorrow.  I will not review the cycle of hype, disappointment, then eventual revival around the game.  I’ve been there a few times before.  It is enough for this moment to say that game is very different than it was back at launch in 2016. Still, it has been a pretty amazing and occasionally unlikely journey, these last ten years. No Man’s Sky – Celebrating 10…

It is Friday and, as foretold by prophecy, it is time for another look at how things are going over at Microsoft’s XBox Games division. Sad Xbox Games logo generated by Co-Pilot, because AI is what is killing them After the announcement of the great layoff, have Asha and Satya solved the problems they set out to tackle?  Do they even have a clue what they are on about?  Well, read on and judge…

I guess you do not technically die in Stardew Valley… but the fact that combat and loss are part of the game remains an aspect I did not expect.  But more on that in a bit. Stardew Valley Splash Screen Having passed through spring of year two we were on to summer and a new set of crops.  That was an opportunity for my daughter to expand our growing area, adding in a couple more quality sprinklers…

The deal is done.  Capital management, unfettered capitalism, and political corruption has won again.  Electronic Arts has been acquired by the Saudis in a completely economically non-viable deal that saddles the company with huge amount of debt that will be used as a boat anchor to sink the remains of the organization once the vultures pick off the best bits. Electronic Arts – Early Days Logo It…

I will say this; Planet Crafter moves along at a brisk pace.  It is also good about laying out the next objective for you and giving you a way to see how fast you are progressing. Certainly A Planet Crafter Unlike Valheim, which I will use for comparison as it represents such a staple of the survival crafter genre, with rather broad objective of slaying the current biome boss, Planet Crafter…

In one of those Repo Man lattice of coincidence moment, I was suddenly hit with a couple of unrelated posts about Monopoly the other day, which is the sort of thing that makes you think… at least think about Monopoly.  So I did.  Or tried. The first was from Bhagpuss, who brought up the apparent reveal of a RuneScape edition of Monopoly. RuneScape Monopoly – Image stolen directly from…

But they didn’t actually announce the expansion itself, which seems odd.  They have two posts up covering features of the upcoming Wolves of Mordor expansion, as well as having given MMORPG.com an exclusive interview about the features, but didn’t actually make any sort of fuss about “Oh, by the way, we’re going back to Mordor with the Wolves of Mordor” thing. Lord of the Rings Online Sure, they…

We’re now past week thirty-one, where we had just a single title ship.  But it was a pick AND a counter pick, so at least it had double the impact. Fantasy Critic League – Like Fantasy Football, but for Video Games But before we get to how that played out, we will start off with how the scoreboard looked before the events of the week hit. Week 30 Scores Things were already in motion as the one…

Here it is, Blaugust.  And of course I remember how to Blaugust!  I have been living the Blaugust lifestyle year round since 2020. Blaugust 2026 “What does the ‘Blaugust lifestyle’ even mean?” the voices in my head ask, attempting to stand in for you, the reader, since I cannot hear you… and it is likely you’ve already skipped down the page because there is another image to look at.  Kids these…