The Wreck of the Edmund Fitz-Friday

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

Then there's PBEM Wing Leader with SDR.... his CV's are in for some more bashing ... if I can survive the flak!


Then maybe I can start trying to paint a new set on minis I just received.... haven't painted minis in about 25 years.....

Well, you'll be untroubled by any interference from Wildcats if nothing else.

Good luck on the painting.  I broke out the paints and had a go at painting my fighter squadrons for Star Wars: Armada.  It was my first painting foray in about 20 years.  Although it didn't go anywhere near as well as I'd hoped it still wasn't all that bad considering.  Odd that the eyes and hands don't seem as steady as they did when I was in my 20s...On the plus side, thanks to the deteriorating eyesight, the paint job doesn't look all that bad to me!

I just picked up Rise of the Tomb Raider and I'm hoping to get some time in on that but it's a working weekend unfortunately.  Damned coordinator has dumped about a week's worth of rather unpleasant work on us and we're short staffed so it should be a delightful weekend.

[Toonces]

I just got Madden NFL 25 for my son's old Xbox 360.  If I can get the damn thing to work without selling my soul to Micro$oft, I'll be throwing that into the mix.  I never could figure out how to get NFL2k5 to work on the 360.  Wasn't helped much by the utter incomprehensibility of most of the threads Google turned up.  Communicating articulately is a lost art, or else kids are speaking a different version of English these days.   ::)

[Huw the Poo]

Sit back down on your rocking chair, grandpa, you're making a scene!

[Wolfe1759]

Just picked up Valkyria Chronicles cheap on Steam so I'm giving that a go though I'm not that keen on the anime style of it.

Probably also some more Warlock 2 and I've just started watching Isabel (Spanish historical drama about Isabella I) so maybe some EUIV as Castile if the font mods for the new patch are done over the weekend.

[Kushan]

With the Elite servers down last night I took my Embriar Phenom 300 for another flight in Prepar3D. Went much better, mostly, then my last one. Managed to fly from Port Angeles International to Seattle Tacoma with no major incidents. Not used to flying jets so I had some issues bleeding off speed on my landing approach. Came in too high and fast and instead of going around for another pass I tried forcing it down and cratered myself into runway 34R. A minor crosswind didn't help me any either.

This morning I'm going to be playing more looking at houses with the it will probably get bought by someone else right after I look at it DLC. Rest of the weekend will be spent with some mix of Aurora, Elite, and more Prepar3D.

[KyzBP]

I've also been to the Shipwreck Museum on Whitefish Bay in the U.P.  This song plays on an endless loop at the museum.  I'm not complaining. 

This weekend will be WiTP:AE vs. Geek.  I'm mobilizing my Kangaroo Corps to try and stop his advance through Australia.  They're named that because, well, Kangaroos are about all I have left.  I'm sure I'll be visiting XCom: Long War off and on.  I was cruising along until 3 of my 3 Snipers got killed in consecutive missions.  No Snipers=No Love.  I just fired up Draft Day Sports: College Basketball 3.  I'll give that a run until some random bug crashes the game.  That tends to happen with this title, which is too bad because this could be a very good game.

Lastly, my wife is making me brew beer this weekend.  She's a slave driver I tell you.

[Martok]

Pretty much out of nowhere, I've been playing Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes and Distant Worlds: Universe the last couple days, so will probably continue that. 

[Toonces]

Man alive, I have been completely seduced by Madden25 on the Xbox.  I have only been playing Madden08 on my PC since...2008, so the new versions of Madden have completely passed me by.  So it was with trepidation and anticipation that I booted up Madden25 on the Xbox.  I am simply blown away by how completely awesome the experience is! 

I'm sure this is old news to you guys, but I honestly feel like I'm watching a real football game on TV.  I'm playing it on my 55" TV down in my man cave and Bison is right, it is so liberating to be sitting on the couch with a controller in my hand playing games on the big screen! 

So after goofing off with it a bit yesterday I started a season in as a custom coach (Toonces Cat) heading up the New England Patriots on their run for the Super Bowl.

Totally awesome stuff....I can't believe I'm a console gamer now.

It also has a mode where you play only as a player, and I goofed off with that a bit, too.  It's pretty neat.

[MetalDog]

Madden rocks!

[BanzaiCat]

So Madden 25 lets you call plays and watch the results, or do you have to get in there and play them? Or is it optional to run plays, as I figure it is?

There was a game called Head Coach back in the day that I really, really wanted to like, but it was kind of boring unfortunately. I enjoyed the role-playing elements it had, though it wasn't enough for me.

Madden 06 had a 'Superstar' mode which was kind of cool too, where you played a rookie NFL player trying to make it big.

I wish there was a good NFL game that combined all of those modes and let you choose a path, picking any year you want to play in, and maybe lets you play as a player, perhaps becoming a legend, then maybe you move on to coaching on a team. Some kind of mega-dynasty football game.

Is M25 anything like any of that?

[MetalDog]

Except for passing the ball, any play you call is played out by the ai unless you take control of a player.  As for the rest, I don't know.

[JasonPratt]

And passing the ball is just a button press to indicate how you want the quarterback to operate and when (sort of).

(I forget how far back the Bro was playing Madden on the PC -- maybe 08 -- but I watched quite a bit of it. And we played NCAA on the PS3 against each other. I honestly don't know what the Head Coach game was supposed to bring that the main football franchises didn't already. Maybe it was meant as a paid beta demo for a few possible additions...? Bro looked into it and spat past it as superfluous.)

[Anguille]

Played some:

- Birth of the Federation
- Tortuga (kids had lots of fun watching me fighting Pirates in this old game from Ascaron).
- Grand Ages Rome
- Civilization 5

[MetalDog]

Played some more of my HOI 2 as Italy.  Was going to take Yugoslavia in 1941, but, the Germans beat me to it.  The Japanese finally hit Pearl in February '42.  The U.S. jumped in with the Allies and the Soviets declared on Japan later in '42.  It's May 5, 1942 and I am going to take out Turkey.  Greece and Spain are already my puppets.  I plan to position myself to close off the Med if I throw in with the Germans or strike the underbelly if the Allies and/or Soviets break in to Fortress Europe.

Had an itch to play some Civ after listening to the Founders Grogcast.  Chose the Rhyse and Fall of Civilization mod.  I am Babylon.  The Arabs burst on the scene and destabilized the area.  Greece and Egypt have both been destroyed (Alexander by Augustus and Egypt by the Barbarians).  The Russians are encroaching from the north and Persia has me hemmed in to my east.  I have Iron (and Wine) and Copper, but, I don't have a powerhouse Production city and I am afraid I am going to get swallowed up by Saladin.  We shall see.

[Bison]

Star Wars Lego, Ratchet and Clank, and Far Cry 3.