Warzone: Verdansk Spoilt in Less Than a Month
When the Battle Royale Call of Duty: Warzone launched on March 10th 2020, the Verdansk map was one of the key elements of the game’s success. The subsequent lockdown due to the global pandemic was also a major shot in the arm for the game, with so many gamers being home. The Verdansk map along with the gameplay mechanics of the game at the time were a perfect combination and so Warzone was “just so”. It allowed both skilled and unskilled players to play together, without one group dominating the other. Gunfights could be intense but there were periods of downtime when traversing the map. Players also couldn’t continuously respawn if defeated, so there was a requirement to play with a degree of caution and strategy. I enjoyed the game immensely despite not being the biggest fan of PVP based gaming. It was a broadly equitable experience but sadly it didn’t remain that way.
Yet More Games We Cannot Play
Despite being over 5 years old, there still seems to be an active community playing Battlefield V. Having recently watched some multiplayer videos on YouTube, I decided to buy the game and have a go. Mainly because I had a hankering to fly a BF-109. Mercifully, this enterprise only cost me £5 because as you’ve probably guessed by the title of this post, things didn't go well. Although not as complex as a flight simulator, the controls for flying a plane in Battlefield V are involved. The main obstacle for me is turning the plane, which requires using both thumbsticks on the Xbox controller that I use. I tend to oversteer and lose control of the plane. I’m sure the problem can be overcome with practice but therein lies the rub. It would take a great deal of time and patience. Weeks, maybe months. I’m not going to invest in such an undertaking for something that is just a transient amusement.
LOTRO: Moving on From the Server Migration
The dust appears to have settled for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online, after last month’s server transfer debacle. Despite the technical issues arising and subsequent delays to the migration timetable as well as the procurement of in-game housing, LOTRO seems to be enjoying a minor resurgence. Many former players are returning to the game and moving retired alts to new servers, due to the superior performance. The migration issues have also brought a lot of attention to this 18 year old game and it would appear there are many new players trying this Tolkien themed MMO. I was pleasantly surprised to see that a further two 64-bit servers, Grond (EU) and Sting (US), are to be added to the game to meet demand. As I predicted in my previous posts, LOTRO has a habit of bouncing back due to its unique niche in the gaming ecosystem.
Atomfall: Getting the Ending You Want
Spoiler Alert: The following post discusses the various endings available in Atomfall. About 15 or so hours into Atomfall, the various plot elements started to become a lot clearer to me and I realised that several key characters were all offering differing escape options. Naturally, each outcome came with a quid pro quo requirement. Hence, there was a choice to make as to which ending I wanted to pursue, assuming that some outcomes were narratively or ethically better than others. At this point I had avoided many plot spoilers, so had no clear idea as to what specific endings were available. So I made a decision based purely upon the information that each of these characters gave me and chose to implement Dr. Holder’s solution to the Oberon problem. It seemed the most honest and pragmatic outcome, plus it caused the least amount of collateral damage.
Atomfall
By default, I’m not always drawn to first person games. I see their merits in genres such as shooters but in an RPG, I prefer a third person perspective. So I was somewhat ambivalent towards Atomfall when I first saw promotional videos for the game. However, its uniquely British setting and period ambience piqued my interest. I also enjoy the Sniper Elite series which developers Rebellion also produce. So I recently bought the deluxe version of the game and began my play through. I made sure that I didn’t do too much research beforehand, because it was clear that the complexities of the plot are a major selling point of the game. Twenty two gaming hours later, I had completed two of six possible endings. Despite discovering a wealth of “leads” and diligently scouring the four main zones of Atomfall, I still feel there is much left to find and explore. Hence I have begun a second playthrough.
LOTRO: 64-Bit Server Migration Part 4
It has not been a good week for the MMORPG, The Lord of the Rings Online and its developer Standing Stone Games. The migration from legacy 32-bit servers to 64-bit servers has not gone smoothly. The transfer queue was overwhelmed by the sheer number of accounts and it has taken far longer than expected to process the backlog of requests. Today has been the fifth day of waiting to see if my 3 main characters from Laurelin server have successfully migrated to their new home on Meriadoc. When I checked this morning, the transfer wizard indicated that my characters were back where they originally came from. I therefore considered repeating the entire process. However, around midday, Community Manager Cordovan indicated that SSG had caught up with transfer requests made around 8:00 AM EST on Sunday 9th March. So I decided to be patient and wait a little longer.
LOTRO: 64-Bit Server Migration Part 3
I’ve been busy this weekend, so it wasn’t until late afternoon today that I found time to sit down and attempt to migrate my characters from the old 32-bit server Laurelin, to the new 64-bit server Meriadoc. The “Great Server Migration” has not gone smoothly and the week has been a litany of changing deadlines and unfulfilled expectations. However, developer’s Standing Stone Games, have been “firefighting” issues on a daily basis and communicating regularly with the player base of the MMORPG, The Lord of the Rings Online. Sadly, a lot of players have not responded well to the ongoing technical difficulties and there is subsequently a lot of ill feeling on the official forums. I have chosen to adopt a more pragmatic outlook and to let events run their course.
LOTRO: 64-Bit Server Migration Part 2
Standing Stone Games were scheduled to open their new 64-bit servers for the MMORPG, The Lord of the Rings Online, today. However, when the free transfer service went live yesterday, it was quickly overwhelmed by the sheer number of players trying to migrate their alts from the older 32-bit servers to the new ones. Eventually SSG had to disable the transfer facility so that they could process the backlog. Hence today’s launch of the new servers has been postponed till tomorrow. In the meantime, the official LOTRO forum’s have gone into meltdown with irate players berating the developers for handling the migration poorly. True to form, SSG have been somewhat defensive and prickly in response to what they see as unjust criticism. Let it suffice to say that neither party has covered themselves in glory and there is a good chance that the technical problems will persist a while longer.
LOTRO: 64-Bit Server Migration Part 1
What Massively Overpowered calls LOTRO’s “Great Server Migration” began today. The MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online has opened 4 new 64-bit servers in conjunction with the 2 existing 64-bit legendary servers and the long term plan is to migrate all current players over to them. Eventually, the 32-bit legacy servers will be shut down, however that is a long way off at present. As of today, VIP players can select a new server, log into it and create new characters with their desired names. These placeholder characters cannot be played at present but can be used to reserve names. Tomorrow, if all goes well, the new servers formally open and free transfers begin. Players can then delete placeholder characters and rename alts that they have migrated, thus restoring desired names. It should be noted that none of this is mandatory and players can remain on the old servers for the present.
Disco Elysium
I’m a late convert to the church of Disco Elysium. Over 4 years late, although that can be a good thing in some respects. Pretty much everything that can be said about the game probably has been said already and I’ve missed it all. When purchasing the game, I knew there was a positive buzz around this RPG and it had something to do with its philosophical nature. Beyond that I wasn’t aware of the game's subtleties. I was just looking for something that I could play on my Nintendo Switch that wasn’t Mario. As Disco Elysium is a dialogue driven RPG, based upon choices rather than action, I thought buying the game on this platform was a good choice. So I started playing late on a Thursday night. 10 days later I am still utterly riveted, although this is one of the most emotionally gruelling gaming experiences of my life.
Sniper Elite Resistance: 10 Invasion Tips
I recently wrote 10 tips for Sniper Elite Resistance. Some simple advice and features to be aware of in the game, that hopefully proved beneficial to both old and new players alike. This time, I want to give some further guidance, specifically for Invasion mode. A few pointers to make hunting down other players easier and more fun. Invading someone else’s single player campaign is a very exciting prospect and many players rush headlong into this game mode without giving any prior consideration to who they may be up against, or how to approach the ensuing hunt. Here are 10 tips that will hopefully help Invading players and improve their overall Invasion experience. There is also a bonus tip at the end of the post for campaign players whose games get invaded.
Nintendo Switch: Use It Or Lose It
I bought my Nintendo Switch in April 2021. I initially played a lot of MarioKart 8 as it’s a near perfect game and because my granddaughters liked it. We’d connect the device to the TV in the lounge and it quickly became a mainstay of any visit. I also tried the Switch version of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag but I struggled with the controls, so I bought a PC version instead. After a while the novelty of Mario Kart wore off and my granddaughters became more interested in the MMOs I play on my PC. To cut a long story short, I simply stopped using the Nintendo Switch because I didn’t have sufficient games to hold my interest, compared to the prodigious library I’ve built up on Steam and the Epic Games store. So I moved the device into my office, connected it to a monitor (which has integral speakers) and placed it on the corner of my desk where it is out of the way. I then effectively forgot about it until recently when my grandson spotted it and asked if he could play on it.
Watching Other People Play Video Games
The notion of live streaming or recording video game playthroughs is now a clearly established part of popular culture. It is something you can do while sitting on your sofa, watching TV in your lounge. A decade ago, people were far more sceptical about it and would scratch their head and ask “why would you want to watch someone else play a game”? Yet here we are in 2025 and 15% of YouTube content is about video games. Furthermore 20 out of the top 100 content creators are producing video game related material. As of last year, YouTube videos about games were generating 6 billion monthly views, on average. Where there are views, there’s advertising. Hence there’s the potential to make a lot of money, which only encourages further growth.
Sniper Elite Resistance: 10 Tips
I have played Sniper Elite for over a decade, through all its various iterations. Although the core game mechanics stay broadly the same, over time a lot of additional features have been added to the game (and some removed). As a result, from time to time I will watch someone playing Sniper Elite via a stream or YouTube and see a feature that I didn’t know existed. Often these are small things but I find that it’s these minor embellishments that tend to prove the most beneficial. Hence, I have drawn up a list of 10 tips to share with fellow Sniper Elite players. Some may be well known, others may not. Due to the recent release of Sniper Elite Resistance, there are a lot of new players joining the community and this post is essentially aimed at them. Please note this is not a tactical guide but simply a list of a few “quality of life” tips .
LOTRO: Will Your Kinship Survive the Server Migration?
I have many pleasant memories associated with playing the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online during its first decade. A lot of them are due to the kinship (guild) that I have been a member of since 2009. I started playing LOTRO in December 2008 and it took me a while to find a suitable kinship but once I did, it made logging into the game a real pleasure. I was at a point in my life where I had sufficient time to play the game regularly and take part in kinship organised raids. It was also an added bonus to be able to spend some time and chat with some like minded people. I’m sure such an experience is not unique to me and that many LOTRO players have enjoyed similar periods of time. The lucky ones may still be enjoying a comparable kinship experience today.
Sniper Elite Resistance
Let me start by stating what Sniper Elite Resistance isn’t. It is not the next iteration of the franchise. It is a tangential sequel to Sniper Elite 5 with a story that runs in parallel with the events of that game. While Karl Fairburne is tackling “Operation Kraken” in Sniper Elite 5, Sniper Elite Resistance sees fellow SOE operative Harry Hawker assisting the French Resistance uncover a new German “Wunderwaffe” (wonder weapon). Sniper Elite Resistance shares the same setting, game mechanics and soundtrack with its predecessor. There are seven new missions, set in pre D-Day France, which take place in very expansive maps. There is more to explore, a greater degree of choice with regard to how you tackle each mission and increased scope for long range sniping. The game also benefits from a lot of new weapons along with established favourites.
Today Is a Good Day to Die
Star Trek Online is currently running its yearly Klingon Recruitment Event for PC players. Characters created from January 21st to February 11th gain additional rewards and account wide unlocks while levelling. It is a particularly useful way to orientate new and returning players. I created a Klingon Engineer during the 2021 Klingon Recruitment Event which I previously levelled to the current cap. However, I hadn’t taken this character through all the episodic missions, so I thought the current event would be a good time to resume their progress. Therefore today I resumed playing through the Romulan Mystery story arc. It was during the course of the final part of the episode, “Mine Enemy”, that I encountered a curious bug. It amused me sufficiently to prompt this blog post and make a lazy pop culture reference.
Playing MMOs on a Second Monitor
I have two monitors on my desk. The first (which is the primary monitor as far as my PC is concerned), is on the left and the second is on the right. The primary monitor is a 24 Dell U2412M, which has a resolution of 1920 x 1200. It therefore has an aspect ratio of 16:10 which adds a little extra desktop real estate, which I prefer when writing. The second monitor is a 24 inch Dell S2421H with a screen resolution of 1920 x 1080. It has an aspect ratio of 16:9 which is standard FHD. My chair is adjacent to the middle of my desk and I can turn according to each monitor I’m using. I tend to use the primary, larger monitor on the left for tasks such as writing via Google Docs and emails. The second monitor on the right is used for YouTube and gaming. This is because of its FHD format. I also have a Nintendo Switch connected to the second monitor for the same reason.
Do You Know What You're Doing?
Do you know what you're doing? For clarification, this question is regarding video games and not how you run your life. The latter would make for an interesting discussion but that is not what I am asking. On this occasion the question is to establish whether you are the sort of player who strives to understand the mechanics of a video game? Do you make it your business to become au fait with all the statistics and the formulas behind them? Do you keep a spreadsheet filled with data pertaining to your gear or build? Do you fully comprehend the consequences of swapping out an item and seeing a particular statistic increase or decrease. Does all of this inherently appeal to you and contribute to overall the enjoyment you get from a game? If the answer is yes, then bravo. I kind of admire your dedication to this aspect of gaming. Because I tend to switch off when it comes to min-maxing.
LOTRO: Server Migration Concerns
I always remember the sage wisdom of the great children’s TV character Huxley Pig. “If in panic, if in doubt. Run in circles, scream and shout”. Such was the initial reaction of players of the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online, when it was announced recently that there is to be a new 64-bit server rollout in Q1 of 2025. At first glance, new servers are surely a good thing? The 64-bit legendary servers, which were tested in 2024, have proven to be a success and do much to address the lag issues that plague the existing 32-bit servers. Surely this is what players want? Well, yes it is, in principle but new infrastructure ultimately raises the issue of server migrations. Developer’s Standing Stone Games intend to consolidate the player population in the long term with the addition of 4 new 64-bit servers. The 2 legendary servers will remain but the 32-bit legacy servers will eventually close.