Luseth

Minidiscs? I remember our music teacher saying the above back in secondary school? Then I never saw them again 😄

So despite never having a vastly powerful computer when I was younger, our house saw a few windows computers pass through it. I remember there being a windows 98 machine and it being my first forray into pc gaming. When I say my first forray my parents never really bought us any games and I made do with some dodgy copies mostly that a friend used to give me at school. This thread is just to discuss some of those experiences and moments and seeing if anyone else here was gaming in the 90s / early 2000s. So to start this off I am going to look at one of the games that came with the computer and led to one of my first experiences of football manager games - Ultimate Soccer Manager 98/99 - Now I have opted for this one because I have been going through the abandonware website looking at old games with the hope of getting a few running. This one worked straight away with no faff and the screenshot above is from my machine this evening 😄 The things I always remember about this game was that it wasn't just the coaching side of things but you used to be able to upgrade the ground, look at sponsorship deals and such. We won't forget some of the incredible players back then as well -

I very briefly played the original, regrettably never really got very far but it seemed my sort of thing. What probably has not helped is the stupid Swansong game and such being released and not doing well. I will watch this trailer in a bit and let you know what I think 🙂

Two words for you, scalpers paradise. I would love one at launch but if the availability is similar to recent console releases I won't even bother to pick it up right away. I have enough to play on the current one that I could wait a little while.

Noooo not correct. The Switch 2 is going to have a direct on 2nd April which presumably will announce release date, pricing and show the launch titles 🙂 Controllers were always an issue, I would be interested to know if they have gone down the route of hall effect sticks like a lot of the more premium controllers are pursuing now. I love the Switch and excited for a new version, my only concern is finding the time to play the games! If it could really incorporate crossplay and bring discord to it then it could have a shot at being the mainstay console in the lounge ^_^

So my other hobby which has slackened off in recent years has always been reading. The past few weeks I have been nosing back through some of my books and realise I have a few now all related to video games. So I just thought I would start a conversation about them and see if anyone else has any recommendations? So the first one I am going to talk about is 'A guide to Japanese Role-Playing Games', this is probably my go to book at the moment for a few reasons, the artwork is brilliant in there as well as the game screenshots but it really goes into depth with a lot of mainstream series but also some unknown or more obscure titles. It is also where I am getting my influence from currently for my video game collection 🙂 When I say it goes in depth it literally goes back to discussing how a video game was first conceived in some instances, the writing can be a little mixed as it is a combination of lots of writers putting together their thoughts, history and experience on each series and such. This leads to some cool little memories and such being talked about. So yeah, if you enjoy JRPG's and enjoy reading this is probably the definitive guide for it.

Ah thanks, I will use the above, I don't want to really change how the stats are done as it make's it easier for more than 1 person to jump in and help say if I am on holiday for example. There will be a few stats missing then i.e. I think I had 1 or 2 yellow cards with the randoms and such but I didn't make a note of them. @James Tom now has more AFK's (there was an issue with the spreadsheet, it wasn't adding up the right cells btu all sorted now). Like I mentioned last week I may have missed some 😄 But I don't want to make it to harsh else he would have won the medal by the end of week 3! The number of clean sheets is now 2, which 1 of those was the game where the other team were dicking about 😄 But yeah we don't tend to get many clean sheet's on this game!

The past few games on this have been a little frustrating, partially because I can't work out where we are going wrong. Even when we have good games as a group we still seem to lose so I have opted to have a break from it the past few evenings. As for my go to characters, they differ from the suggestions above and that's because they much more suit how I play - Tank - My go to tank is Peni everytime, she is such an aggressive tank and if you have a good healer behind you, you can really wreck teams. I also have a few clips where I have used the Ult and held off or even killed the whole opposition team after the rest of my side has been taken out. You just sometimes have to be clever about where you position your auto mine device. DPS - I seem to be struggling a little bit with DPS at the moment. I had a good game with Scarlett Witch the other night, the first time she has really clicked for me but as good as her attack is the range is quite limited which means you have to keep darting in and out and timing it so you don't suddenly get pulverized as she is a little squishy. I enjoy playing squirrel girl as her explosive shots can cause some damage even from some distance away though I don't think I am getting the best out of her yet. Then playing as Mr Fantastic is like having an extra tank which is absurd. It's great for holding a point a little while longer after your team has been killed off but he is so frustrating to play against. Healer - I think Cloak and dagger is great, being able to switch to attack when required too otherwise Luna Snow is probably my other choice. Her speed can help you get into the fray as and when required but healing is quite easy to play with as well.

I am going to check my spreadsheet is adding the correct columns together. I don't think I have 6 clean sheets, thought I had 2 and I'm fairly sure Tom had 4 AFK's the Monday just gone.... I was doing it after we had finished playing the other night so was fairly tired and could easily have cocked something up. As for stats for any, I have been recording them based on the any's pro rather than player's the any is controlling. So back to clean sheet's I think I have 2 as I only had my pro as centre back for 3 games I think. Always open to suggestions though to incorporate going forwards but my thinking with any's is that if I put a goal down for every player I controlled as 'any' there could be some weeks I could be playing 2 or 3 more attacking players when you factor in CM's giving me greater chance to score or assist so if I'm having a good evening Macca or I could easily run away with the stats. The other thought I just had, I have not put any clean sheet's down for anyone playing CM (CDM?) Should I be? @GazzaGarratt how have you done the above historically?

Stats have been updated above for week 2 of 2025 ^_^

I have started doing this with blu rays for the same reason, I dont have to worry about them disappearing on me. I have a little collection should the internet ever go down n such and generally the quality is better along with extra features n such

The last few times playing it I must admit are getting a little frustrating. The game, when it's great is really great. However we are finding more and more we come up against teams where it seems really easy for opponents to either get out of an almost certain death or for there to seemingly be 3 tanks on a team (if you include Mr Fantastic) all of whom can buff up their defense to the point they are almost invincible. I think there was a moment last night Lee, you asked how I was still alive fighting their whole team and it was purely because with Mr Fantastic you can buff yourself and then if you are close to death literally make yourself invincible for a short spell. That seem's absurd to me that I could even get away with that as a DPS character. Susan Storm is another frustrating character to play against, I came close to killing her a number of times the other day only for her to just turn invisible and run away. It's not like say Scarlett Witch n such where there is an indicator so you can still pursue, she just disappeared.

Its all I spotted while playing, sorry if I missed a few 😂its one of those stats I cant take from the stats at the end of each match so I have to write it down as I see it happen!

It is ideal for the steamdeck, we play on a big screen generally but it's quite a relaxing game. You can potter about and not do much. We are contemplating going for the plat trophy but there is a mini game in there which is meant to be quite difficult. I probably need to do that when I am on it on my own maybe.

First post will keep the running total and then each week I will put up the weeks stats in a new post 🙂 Hopefully get a few of us back on here keeping an eye on it, see who comes top and maybe get us chatting on here a little more. It also gives us a little more to clubs again as we have a decent regular group! So here are the running totals (which is essentially game week 5) -

This was meant to be for people's suggestions, those 3 are only my opinion and could very well be wrong!! 😄 I could also have sub consciously answered myself as usually no one is on here to reply! 🤣

When typing up one of my posts yesterday it got me thinking about the potential of games being released this year. One frustrating thing with today's long dev times is that big titles tend to all hit in the same time frame and then we have years of smaller indie titles and such. So this thread is just to discuss what you are excited for in the gaming world this year and why?

Sadly it's like everything people need to use it or lose it so to speak! It's the same story with high streets, pubs, Shops, local authority facilities. I have gone a bit backwards on everything recently, you need to take care of the things you have or one day it won't be there anymore. (Heck it's the same with the planet). But for some reason people do not seem to understand it and only moan once things are gone!

I couldn't see a thread for this which surprises me. It seem's to be our surprise new game recently, 6v6, fluid combat in the Overwatch style. There seem's to be a few of us giving this a go so come this year I can see it getting some use! This thread is to ask about people's favourite characters, any tips and tricks for anyone struggling to find their feet and also to talk competitive nights. I think it might be good to create some events and get a full squad of 6 on the go as co-ordination on these game's can really send things your way! So to kick this off I am going to make a suggestion for new players for each class - Tank - Hulk - Easy to get to grips with, has a great deal of health and his Ult just allows you to charge in and attack like mad (Click the sticks in for an entertaining move on enemies if they are close enough). Don't forget when you die as Hulk you turn into Banner, if you keep your distance he can deal a fair amount of damage with his Gun DPS - Punisher - For anyone who has played a shooter before he is the character to use. Simple, has the choice of machine gun or Shotgun and can deal a fair amount of damage. His ult can clear out a whole team with it's rockets and using positioning his turret cleverly can allow you to deal huge amounts of damage. Healer - I think this is a tricky one, there are definately some good one's but I think for a new player I would suggest Jeff the land shark. He can spray and pray so to speak to heal and launch out little water bubbles that players can run through to heal.

Giving this thread a nudge as I have been playing this over the Christmas break with my wife. She love's games like this and generally the only sort she will play but I have been enjoying using it to wind down after hectic day's with the kids! The multiplayer works well albeit there seem's to be a glitch in the mines for player 1 where it all freezes up and you have to leave the mine and re-enter which can be a bit rubbish! I just got our first bit of Irridium which was a pain the first time, I imagine next time will be a bit easier as I have a few Crystalarium's producing Jade for staircases now! We completed the Community Centre, now I am just getting the boat done to head off to Ginger Island and then converting the old Jo-Jo mart which I believe become's a Cinema? Anyway yeah this game is as great as ever. Another note is that it also exceed 41 million purchases last year I believe which is a phenmonal achievement considering where it started!