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So a video came up on my YouTube feed about this game Satisfactory, and it was intriguing. It's not a secret that I love chilling on games and building out things, so this type of game seemed like a great fit. We still had an old 7 Days server running, and with the new alpha coming out would have to nuke it anyway, so in the meantime, I've repurposed it for a dedicated Satisfactory one. @Tar-Eruntalion and I plan on enjoying some sessions soon, and all (10) are welcome to join. I'll post an event when we log in; as of yesterday, I've "landed," and that's about it. The server is below @GazzaGarratt will have to update the server list to reflect the other 7 days is no longer there. Cheers. 194.163.156.129:28715 (not sure if there is a password yet will keep you posted.)

It was a great night and going into the game on 4 pints of Thatcher's Cloudy Lemon cider really helped too😎

Here you go James…. Liam Manning: Lowly Oxford United's crucial win over Cheltenham 'a terrific night' - BBC Sport WWW.BBC.CO.UK Oxford United head coach Liam Manning says their crucial win over Cheltenham was a "terrific night for the club".

I am not overly keen on racing games so for me 2 of them just look crap. The third however I have played on the xbox and is actually quite good fun, think fps styled sword combat and definately one some of us on here could have fun with I reckon.

Oh God! Well I didn't want to have a life anyway 😄 I'd be up for joining this. Last time I played was Update 5 (maybe 4?) but I know there's been some more since so it would be good to check out the new updates.

Doh! Thanks James! Amended now. Ahh, you see thats why i'm happy Ihaven't played Forbidden West yet so hopefully I can pick it up and play throguh it and just continue easily into the DLC as I thought it might take a while to remember certain moves and ways combat works lol. Yeah, it is interesting but usually Sony don't push stuff that has been out for a while and the DLC is similar to the game. That way it gets more plaudits as you effectively over-deliver on something people weren't really expecting. Apparently very good reviews and they say it is worth it for the new area and story parts.

If it makes Bobby poorer then I won't shed a tear. I wonder how much money etc Sony promised in bribes, because the reason is complete bullshit 😅

Not happening.

Yep, I have it installed on PC and PS5. Maybe tomorrow if you fancy? A few others have it as well, so maybe we can squad up.

Challenge rewards with some pretty cool items! All free as long as you complete all the challenges. Will definitely have to try and get the Redline car!

I'd agree on that front. Its similar to Destiny in that way, as sometimes it helps having someone experienced that just knows what certain items or missions are supposed to be next. I got totally lost last time I played. It would be good to know from anyone experienced if you should try this new bit out or do the main campaign instead. I think i'll try and install later tonight when I get chance.

Yea, I'm excited to waste hundreds of hours 😆.

I don't really use camo's so have little interest in chasing them but recently thought I'd try to get them just for the challenge. I've levelled up most guns in the beginning to unlock all the guns / attachments and found I'd golded quite a few without knowing. I'll have to check later to see exactly where I'm up to but think all AR's and Marksman rifles are done with only 1 SMG and Shotgun to gold. Battle rifles and LMG's are much less used so these aren't even close. I almost exclusively use Overkill so pistols and launchers are even less.

I went to put it on download earlier after Lee messaged me about maybe doing an FG event and it turns out I have already downloaded it 🙂 So yeah let me know when you are about one of the evenings and we can jump on. @phil bottleare you on pc or ps (from memory it was given away free on the latter recently wasn't it).

I would've thought by default some would've turned Gold by now?! Platinum is the killer of the camo grind for sure.

Still haven't got Gold or Platinum on any weapons. Going strong hahaha 💪

I suppose you have to applaud the audacity. The gaming industry, much like the energy industry has been raking in money into the billions, profit-wise, in recent times but its people at the bottom asking to be paid a little more that cause inflation. Lol.

Until middle school I was listening to what the radio played, Greek pop and other styles we have and "international" pop etc, that's what my parents liked, so I had no choice or exposure to any other genre since we only had a cassette player, but during my teenage years in middle school I started hearing on the radio and from classmates sometimes evanescence and Linkin Park and when I bought my first computer soon after I started downloading everything from them using emule and limewire, it's a wonder I didn't get a million viruses. Then came System of a Down, I got into a bit of a hip-hop/rap phase cause of fast and furious and the need for speed games back then, but ultimately through friends and classmates I settled into rock/metal as my main genre. I still listen to all the aforementioned bands, but I also like arch enemy, blind guardian, bullet for my valentine, disturbed, epica, iron maiden, lacuna coil, machine head, nightwish, sabaton, slipknot and within temptation, I also like various pop songs, some rap/hip-hop, many Japanese songs from anime I have watched, some electronic, and I am always searching for new stuff but Linkin Park and evanescence will always have a special place in my heart

The Many-Headed Hydra: The Hidden History of the Revolutionary Atlantic by Marcus Rediker A very interesting read from a couple bottom up type historians, the ones who write history from the perspective of the common people. I've just started, so we'll see if I find anything to critique. The dangers of working in a bookshop on Sundays means I get access to a lot of sci fi, politics, history and more, and from academics rather than some loudmouth on YouTube. It's great. Particularly when we live in a world where some supposedly civilised nations like to ban books these days. It's easier to ban books than guns I suppose 🫡

It's a good game and I quite enjoy it solo, the combat and movement, for me, are far superior to Density but totally agree that it seems very, indeed overly, complicated to the new player.

How many players can Chilavry 2 have online, Matt? I may loopk at the others but we have Gran Turismo, Wreckfest and then even GTA Races which are all great racing games we can already play.

There is every possibility considering we don't live a million miles from one another, though my teenage years are a bit of a blur now from too many rather rough mosh pits (I am not sure why but every Tuesday I think? I went to Rock Cafe, Stourbridge if you know it and the mosh pits tended to be half the group just throwing punches at one another) 😅 I still enjoy a lot of the music, just have a broader taste now.

@Luseth It makes me wonder whether I bumped in to you at some point before FG but never knew about it. My teenage years were very similar to you, including listening to Nightwish. Though unlike you my tastes haven't wandered too far from the rock / metal genre in the 20+ years since given the next songs my current spotify playlist is Devil Driver, Metallica, Within Temptation, Slipknot, System of a Down, Offspring, Nightwish and Disturbed. Though overall I'd say my tastes have moved more in the symphonic and power metal sub-genres over recent years. Some of us haven't listened to what was in the charts since more like 13 than 33 😄 It makes sense though as, probably easily in to your 20's, you're still developing your sense of self and by your 30's you'll probably have a good idea of what you like and don't. I don't think my general tastes will change much for the rest of my life but still enjoy finding new bands to listen to in the metal genres as well as the odd one here and there so completely different too like acapella groups or Post modern jukebox.

Good deal on Inside and Limbo Save 90% on INSIDE on Steam STORE.STEAMPOWERED.COM Hunted and alone, a boy finds himself drawn into the center of a dark project. INSIDE is a dark, narrative-driven platformer combining intense action with challenging puzzles. It has been critically acclaimed for its...

Hundreds of millions but hey ho, I guess they want to distance themselves from this third party venture but if it proves a monumental success, that wont stop them taking the lion share of the profits and plastering their logo all over the box. What they make in an hour could easily fund this to production so it's just ridiculous really.

And to put the icing on the cake... Mauricio Pochettino: Chelsea in talks with ex-Tottenham boss to become new manager - BBC Sport WWW.BBC.CO.UK Chelsea are in talks with former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino, who is keen to take... 🤣🤣🤣🤣

The Signal Sniper is gold, also got the Dual Kodachi Swords gold then platinum, polyatomic then orion. ⚔️

Yeah, with Stellini gone now too we're left with Mason running the team. We'll probably end up with that English geezer coaching a French team cos he's good at Football Manager 😭😅

I hate it when I hear people saying Poch deserved to be sacked because he has getting irritated with Levy and creating a bad dressing room environment, because you'd get annoyed if you weren't given a budget to get the players you needed after over performing with players that should've been replaced. If only Levy had invested in Poch before burning through all of these managers and failed players, Spurs might of actually won something by now. We can only hope Levy brings in a Nagelsmann or something and gives them time to create something. In my opinion Spurs have got so many signings made by so many managers that a real clean-cut start is required. Get rid of all the rubbish in the Club and try to build something. I think Spurs need at least 3 seasons with one manger to be near something again.

This one releases next week on all platforms and man, does this look friggin good. It's a metroidvania with a beautiful hand-drawn art style and it really looks like it flows fairly well. I can't wait to check this one out.

I picked it up, (Released on my Birthday! YAY!) and @Rumelyladystarted playing it the other day. It's funny when you haven't played something in a while and forget how to do certain things. I had a good laugh at her expense. Lol!

That's me got the orion mastery camo. 😎

I've tried this a few times but never really got into it as it gets boring playing on your own.

I will play it eventually, but no rush.

The Finals had similar issues and something like that could prove so pivotal, it could literally kill the game right from the off. Players are less tolerant against this nowadays because of the competitive edge these games have plus there are several other smoother and responsive titles which are far more satisfying and fair to play. Even after Siege, Ubisoft don't really have a competent and/or proven engine that can support arcade-based FPS titles so I hope they can address any netcode woes before launch. Hopefully it's not tied heavily to the engine or users frame rates else it will be a disaster for the game.

It was actually extended by 2 weeks. Season 1 started on 15th November and was set to run for 77 days scheduled to end on 1st February, instead it ran to the 15th February lasting for 91 days in total. Season 2 started on 15th February and was set to run for 56 days and is ending on 12th April. Making Season 2 less than two thirds of the length of Season 1, had it not have been delayed I suspect it would have ran for 70 days and kept the same end date.

Added and signed up for Alpha so we'll see when it arrives 🙂

There is no money to be made in selling gaming platforms. XBOX sales at a loss. The margins are shit. With regards to the devs, once they are part of MS they become part of the bigger picture and $.13 cuts is not an issue for the MS group. They will be recognized based on gaming revenue. Just like I get recognized for datacenter revenues at Intel but work on probably less than 5% of the product offering and have absolutely zero to do with the CPU business. That's how these massive companies work. Intel is $78 Billion. My paycheck is based on Intel achieving better than $78 Billion this year. People don't count each of our products and brake it down, I suspect MS will do the same. They won't care how much Skyrim or COD puts into the business. They will care on how profitable the gaming business is. If a game isn't they likely will more people around and put them on the next project. The job market is extremely competitive these days. I don't for a minute believe that the developers won't end up ahead with this deal

I was speaking in terms of the broader pass concept and not the actual acquisition. Microsoft snapping more and more studios and then planting them on a cloud-based structure would likely see revenues heavily squeezed for developers and morale depleted among studios. Imagine spending 3 years to make a game and then receiving a 13 cent cut just because someone installed your game and you can't measure if it was curiosity or an 'intended purchase'. We've already seen a few of their Indie studios disappear with staff being moved around where needed whilst other developers are left in limbo. I do think the the Activision acquisition will boost the publisher no-end especially under improved ethics and a new direction - it can't get much worse after all but this aggressive stance Microsoft are taking in the industry which mimics that of Tencent may have knock-on affects in other areas that aren't apparent yet. The Game Pass has been very successful for gamers but for devs, not so a bit like how Spotify is to musicians and this could worsen the more Microsoft aim to grow their Cloud and subscription services. It may help them sell more Xbox units now but the long-term consequences may be worse for the industry especially with independent developers.

"Centralizing game like this could reduce output Quality"? , How do you see the quality being any worse than it already is? BF/COD are amongst the largest franchises and have completely screwed the pooch and have been ridiculed for their quality (lack their of). People love to hate MS, but they do have quality standards as well as employment guidelines. I am hoping to see some improvement

The thing with the gamepass is that it is a really good mix of games. Some old but also some new. I've played Forza Horizon 5, Halo Infinite campaign and a few others that in the past i might have bought. Stalker 2 is going to be on gamepass, that's right up my street. The only PS5 game I'm willing to spend full price on is GT7 and I don't see myself spending £70 on any other game unless it is exclusively Sony, and decent.

On top of this their cross play and cross saving features between PC and Xbox make it a huge seller.

I just can't understand the logic of this

Well it looks like fat bastard Bobby will get a fat payday and still run the show for the time being. His contract is up soon though apparently. Thankfully there is one person above his head now. I think this is pretty risky from Microsoft - $70bn invested could have built a Goliath studio with a clean slate reputation. Activision may have a few stale IP's but the studio is covered in controversy and is a shadow of its former self in regards of innovation and quality games. Maybe Microsoft will be able to swing it but a lot needs to change. I'm pretty sure it was only a couple of months back Phil Spencer was slating the studio. Maybe he got himself a discount🤣

Is this is all going ahead this seems pretty big. After aquiring Bethesda, getting Activision is another huge get for Xbox since the COD games are still so huge. I can't see them doing what they did with Skyrim though and making the next one an Xbox only game

In theory, Bobby Kotick will continue to be CEO of Activision, so lol at that 🙃