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SirFozzie

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Posts posted by SirFozzie

    SOCCER - WINTER 2024

    in SOCCER/FUTBOL

    Posted

    If it's January in an even number year, it must be time for top-level teams around the world (and also scrub teams like, Liverpool.. hah! I kid!), to lose their players for a month to six weeks as it's time for the African Cup of Nations, and every time we do this, we get a reminder about how players are making sacrifices to play for their nation. No, we're not talking about voodoo or anything like that, this time. In this case, it's nearly losing an entire national team in a plane crash because the plane had no fucking working oxygen.

    That's right, far from the glamor jet flights of top level international football, we get tiny propeller based aircraft that have to turn around nine minutes into a flight because there was no fucking oxygen working. Players were already falling unconscious due to lack of oxygen before the plane made an emergency landing.

    Oh, and as an added "FUCK YOU",  The Gambia (you have to say "The Gambia", right?) officials then tried to put them on the very same small propeller-based plane for the trip again, claiming the problem had been fixed.

    Needless to say, the players said "FUCK NO" to that. and I don't blame em


    https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/39285300/gambia-players-staff-say-oxygen-failed-plane-afcon

     


     

    So…whatdja get?!??? (2023 Edition)

    in LAND OF CONFUSION

    Posted

    4 hours ago, Craig H said:

    For real though, I didn’t get much but I didn’t want much. I got the Marvel Multiverse RPG guide and Kang expansion so I’ll be hitting up @SirFozzie for some advice or help on that. I got the complete MCU timeline coffee table book which is cool as fuck since I love the MCU. Some MCU Funkos, a Doctor Who shirt that has EVERY Doctor on it including the Tennant bigeneration Doctor and Gatwa, Adventure Time pajamas, and a Rocketbook which if you don’t know what it is, look it up because it’s cool as hell.

    Most of my fun and my wife’s fun comes from watching the kids open up their stuff. My youngest turned 2 in August and she seemed to really get Christmas this year and had a blast. My oldest is 13 and she got a bunch of cool nerdy shit. I did say this would be the last year we went overboard on everyone just because I think we get them so much stuff and maybe 1/4 of it they remember and the rest is just extra stuff, but my wife and I can’t help but spoil them.

    Just today I’m starting to try and pick up the mess from Christmas to try to reclaim my living room and family room, but when there’s so much stuff for the kids, it’s hard to find a home for it all in the house. For both kids i think we’re going to have to go through and just be like, ok, a ton of this stuff you have that you don’t use needs to be donated or put in storage.

     

    Cool, Craig, let me know what you think, and I'll try to do stuff with it (I was thinking about doing a character creation type thing just for fun).

     

    My christmas is actually tomorrow the 6th, my folks had COVID so didn't want to risk me getting ill with my surpressed immune system, so they're coming down tomorrow for gift exchange (we joke that we're storming the living room for presents, to honor 1/6)

    • Like 1

    The Cricket Thread, Mark 2

    in SPORTS

    Posted

    They shouldn't let the Pakistani top order get on the plane home. they needed a huge rescue job in the first innings, and are currently 67/7 in the second.

     

    Then again, it just may be seasonal allergies, as India and South Africa only needed 4 and a third sessions to lose 33 wickets (India winning by seven wickets).

     

    Watch the head honchos at ICC think this is the best thing ever. TWO DAY TESTS!

     

    Upcoming Video Game Releases (2024 & Beyond)

    in COMPUTERS & GAMES & TECH

    Posted · Edited by SirFozzie

    Strategy Games (PART TWO)

    13) Espiocracy (Release Date:2024)

    It's hard to describe this game. It's like a post-WWII history game, except you play it as a nation's intelligence agency. I'll post from the game's description and then follow it up with my own notes:

    As the world recovers from the devastation of World War 2, new alliances are already being drawn. Relations have begun to deteriorate between the two superpowers, and new political ideologies have taken hold. From the division of Germany to the Italian Referendum and Czechoslovak elections, tensions are building, and your agency fights at the front lines of a silent war.
     

    Quote

     

    Choose one of 74 countries and lead its intelligence agency from the start of the Cold War. Whether your chosen nation loses a war, suffers a coup, or has a change of leadership due to foreign actions, your agency remains resolute, working to further your country’s interests through the twists and turns of the 20th century and beyond.
    Prepare for nuclear brinkmanship, the Space Race, decolonization, and the instability and proxy wars that follow as you navigate a world balanced on a knife edge.

    Deploy foreign and domestic agents to manipulate public opinion, support and establish political factions, stoke the flames of independence, ignite proxy wars, and shatter the status quo with coups. Your country’s leader may request your input on major decisions such as invading a neighbor or forming an alliance, and you can use your influence to trigger wars or turn the tide of diplomatic negotiations.

     

    This sounds great. There's one problem however, it's being done by the Long War team. I loved the idea of their last game, Terra Invicta (a grand strategy game that touches on the same manipulate nations set) but feature creep means that there's a whole space warfare game as well as weekly actions on the local level that just created a huge wall for me to bounce right off. Sometimes, less is more. So, I love the idea again, but they really need to show a sense of what adds to the game and what is busywork. Looking at the Development diaries, I'm not sure they've learned their lesson (Link to diaries: https://steamcommunity.com/app/1670650/discussions/0/3183486955467718303/ )

    https://store.steampowered.com/app/1670650/Espiocracy/

    14) Sovereign Syndicate (January 15th, 2024)

    This is such a weird jumble. I love the setting (Victorian Steampunk London). The game had a demo that was well received back in October. The worries for me are two fold: One, the game has a feel like the Lamplighter's League, and that didn't find a huge audience (causing Harebrained Schemes, the developer to dissolve their relationship with Paradox (which was really one of the things that brought me down in 2023). The other thing is that instead of dice, it uses Tarot Cards for its resolution system. That could be a wall for folks. I'm going to have to watch the video they have of someone playing the demo.

    https://store.steampowered.com/app/1674920/Sovereign_Syndicate/

    15) Solium Infernum (February 14th, 2024)

    Grand Strategy in hell. What's not to like? (well, besides Hell itself). The remake of a beloved strategy game features the Archfiends plotting against each other to seize the vacant throne of hell. This game is probably going to be huge in multiplayer, as orders are done in a simultaneous turn structure. You can play one of 8 archfiends (I do hope they add a create-your-own later, because it seems like each different archfiend will play a certain way). The 2009 release managed to build a world where you had to play to your opponents tendencies just as much as playing your own faction, and it seemed almost Diplomacy-like in amounts of backstabbing, strategies and counter-strategies (as to be expected in Hell).

    https://store.steampowered.com/app/1893810/Solium_Infernum/?curator_clanid=32981460

    16) Capes (EARLY 2024)

    Superhero X-Com. To reuse a phrase.. what's not to like? The demo's been out for quite a while, and it's very interesting to see. The villains conquered a city, and made it illegal to have superpowers. That's not going to stand, of course. Form a team of heroes and take back the city! One nice thing is that while you're limited to four heroes in a mission, each hero gets a unique team-up ability from each of their allies. Again, Superhero Turn Based Tactics are definitely my thing. Now if they only had "Create a hero"... 🙂

    https://store.steampowered.com/app/2081080/Capes/

    17) Menace (2024)

    This is more of the tactical-army game, as you lead a strike force against aliens in this one. From the creator of Battle Brothers, it's going to be very interesting to see how this plays. I'll copy the game description:

    Command a strike force of marines, mercenaries, and criminals in a distant system, cut off from the Core Worlds. At the lawless frontier, the Wayback system is controlled by pirate warlords, questionable corporations, and fractured planetary governments who struggle for a new order. Though you initially lead your strike force of marines from aboard the strike cruiser TCRN Impetus, you'll quickly need to unite the disparate locals under your leadership to defeat an unknown threat. Fielding tanks, mechs, and infantry squads with a massive selection of equipment to choose from, you’ll train your troops, plan out operations, and engage in deadly tactical battles.

    So it sounds more like a TBS game then an RPG, although you'll definitely have to do some tactical decisions that might be considered RPG=ish

    as an aside: The publishers of this game, Hooded Horse, were responsible for two other games on this list (they're also publishing Alliance of the Sacred Suns and Espiocracy. There's other games I'm interested in, but didn't make the list of 24: Manor Lords, which has been in early access forever, Beyond These Stars, where you build a city on the back of a giant space whale (Discworld-ish), Hexxen:Hunters (18th century Hunters vs Hell turn based tactical RPG, and Capital Command (where you take the helm of a warship in a sandbox campaign). Guess as a publisher, they'll be busy (there's a half-dozen other games with a 2024 release date that are nearly all tactical based games)

    https://store.steampowered.com/app/2432860/MENACE/

    18) New Arc Line (2024)

    This game gives me Arcanum vibe. a Game that focuses on the conflict between steampunk and magic. Dwarves, Elves, Monsters and magic meet Steampunk gadgets, zepplins and the like. They're going to be running a closed private playestst soon. Going to be very interesting to see where this goes: This is coming from a Ukranian development team (Dreamate). I might have to try to get in the playtest and see what they've got.

    https://store.steampowered.com/app/2458310/New_Arc_Line/

     

    Odds and ends

    19) THE FINALS (out now)

    Look, I'll be 50 in August. There's no way a fast paced twitch reflex game with destructible environments should be on my list.

    Yet, here we are.

    I've watched this, and the environmental changes are great, they keep maps from feeling same-y, and it is very much a game that rewards aggressive game play (to earn money, you have to take control of a vault, and score it via a time based "cashout" while defending against the other teams, who know where you are. I loved the videos of it I've seen on twitch, but this MAY be a "more fun to watch than actually play game"

    https://store.steampowered.com/app/2073850/THE_FINALS/

    20) Mechwarrior 5: Clans (2024)

    I've played the base game, and it left me.. wanting. It's graphically brilliant, the storyline should be good, but.. there's just something missing. Especially with the waves of vehicles and helicopters/vtols/aerospace, it feels more like a bullet hell shooter at times. But, I managed to grab this, just in time for the Clans to be announced, where you play as one of the Clans invading the inner sphere. Interestingly enough, you play as the Smoke Jaguars, one of the.. harsher clans out there (I won't get into Battletech history, but I could gush all day about the Battletech universe). Be interesting to see how this turns out.

    https://store.steampowered.com/app/2000890/MechWarrior_5_Clans/

    21) Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (out now)

    I have the base game, but not yet the add on. It comes off as really good, and to be fair, Cyberpunk has come a LONG way from the release version. I'm just.. I dunno.. cyberpunk'd out? That's the only reason I haven't purchased it already. But, I have a feeling at some point in 2024 I'll get back into it.

    https://store.steampowered.com/app/2138330/Cyberpunk_2077_Phantom_Liberty/


    22) P3 Persona 3: Reload (Feb 2, 2024)

    Can you believe I've never got into the Persona series? A friend of mine who is big into it told me that 3 was the best of the bunch, and I should play that before I played P5 Royal.

    https://store.steampowered.com/app/2161700/Persona_3_Reload/

     

    23) Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (January 25th, 2024)

    Another series that I should like, but have bounced off in the past. It seems like this is going to be the Like a Dragon/Yakuza cross-universe mash up. Looks, weirdly interesting?

    https://store.steampowered.com/app/2072450/Like_a_Dragon_Infinite_Wealth/


    24) Reduce the Pile of Shame (Ongoing)

    Ok, you got me. This isn't a 2024 game. Instead, it's for all the games that I have on my backlog that I should have played in past years, but haven't.. and my regulars: Xenonauts 2, Cyber Knights: Flashpoint, Victoria 3, Pathway, more Baldur's Gate, More Rogue Trader, Expeditions: Rome, Old World.. plus all the games coming out that I've missed, the WoW update, Overwatch 2.. safe to say I'll be busy and hoping to reduce my backlog, not grow it

     

     

     

    • Like 1

    Upcoming Video Game Releases (2024 & Beyond)

    in COMPUTERS & GAMES & TECH

    Posted · Edited by SirFozzie

    I really should have done this on my defunct blog, but here's my 24 games I'm looking forward to in 2024: (Note: @Death From Above has a lot of the same games as me on the list, but since I go into more detail, I'm probably going to split it up into several posts)

     

    Sports Sequels:
    We're going to start with the usual sports strategy games:


    1) Out Of the Park Baseball (although I'm hitting my saturation point with perfect team getting most of the attention)

    2) Football Manager 25 (very interested in seeing the new engine, and see where they go going forward

    3-6)Draft Day Sports (Pro and College Basketball, Pro and College Football): Not sure why I haven't pulled the trigger yet on the couple available on Steam (At this point, a game has to really grab me to be through the publisher's website, the ease of updating on Steam etcetera is such a value add), but I think once the full lineup of 2024 games are out there, I'll swoop in on the lot once they are on sale

    7) Front Office Football 9: Yeah, another game that I should have bought by now, but I didn't have unlimited gaming time


    2024 Strategy Games (Part 1)

    These are games that at least are scheduled to be released (either a full release or come out in early access) in 2024. Several of these, I'm not sure about, but liked what I saw in previews (from the PC Gamer most anticipated show)


    8 )  Unforetold: Witchstone (Early Access January 25th) This one looks to hit the Baldur's Gate 3 neurons here, as it has the guiding light behind the creation of the Forgotten Realms (Ed Greenwood, Elminster himself). They recently released an update showing off the consequences and faction system. I don't know much about the actual game play, so I'll definitely be looking at people trying the game out when it hits early access (Note: Early Access is just that, a lot of the late game stuff is not created yet, and waiting for player feedback)

    https://store.steampowered.com/app/1064120/Unforetold_Witchstone/

    9) Alliance of the Sacred Suns: Release Date: "2024"  A Grand Strategy game where you play a young Emperor. I would compare it to Crusader Kings, but there's a big catch. When your Emperor dies (be it from assassination, combat, or even old age), your game is done. I'm worried that will cause certain strategies to be overdone, as you try to constantly snowball instead of having that build/consolidate/build/consolidate rythym that most Grand Strategy Games have,  and really misses out on the sweep of history that Grand Strategy Games can bring. But I'm willing to give it a look-see and see how well the interpersonal relations are, and the gameplay.

    https://store.steampowered.com/app/1113400/Alliance_of_the_Sacred_Suns/


    10) Zoria: Age of Shattering (March 7th, 2024, Demo currently Out)   I honestly don't know much about this, but it looks like a BG3-like. From the steam description: [I]A squad-based tactical RPG with fluid turn-based combat, outpost, and followers management, set in the expansive fantasy world of Zoria. Lead a team of four heroes with their unique skills and perks. Every team member contributes to undertaken battles.[/i]

    Well. A bit engrish there at the end, but still, there's a demo out, so people will be able to see how it feels before its March release. The company that's making this also made Gamedec which was a highly praised indie title, so let's see how it goes.

    https://store.steampowered.com/app/1159090/Zoria_Age_of_Shattering/

    11)Revolution: The Spark (COMING SOON)

    A steampunk turn based strategy/Tactical RPG, this looks interesting, as you play a military veteran whose brother is kidnapped by the dictatorial government's men, and you can possibly lead a revolution to free him and overthrow the government. I have concerns about the amount of game play (the game says while there are 25 people you can get as allies, there are "nine hand-crafted steampunk locations to explore", so I'm hoping that it's just not a series of battles over and over again in the same location.

    The designer/publisher of this game doesn't have any track record to go by (they have five games in "To Be Announced or Coming Soon", so this will definitely be a wait to see how the game is received, but hey, tactical RPG's are my thing, so...

    https://store.steampowered.com/app/1334230/Revolution_The_Spark/

    12) Broken Roads (Coming Soon, Listed by publisher as "Early 2024")

    This looks to hit the Fallout/Wasteland style isometrical post-apocalyptic vibes. Set in Australia (god, normal Australia is bad enough with all the poisonous species, what fresh hell is post-apocalyptic Australia?) In development since 2019, this game looks to clock in about 30 hours of game play (the developer recently said there is almost 400,000 words in dialogue)

    It got some recent hype amongst gaming sites I visit. It won't be a purchase sight un-seen, but I'm rather interested to see how that goes.

    https://store.steampowered.com/app/1403440/Broken_Roads/

     

     

     

     

    • Like 1

    AEW - JANUARY 2024

    in ALL ELITE WRESTLING

    Posted · Edited by SirFozzie

    The thing that really sucks is now that when the next "Dark Side" thing happens involving possible sexual predation, it's going to be treated like "Oh, it's just like the Jericho thing", which is the LAST thing we want, and will stop people from coming forward.

     

    No one wins. The "writer" gets blackballed, Kylie Rae gets mud thrown on her she doesn't deserve, and Jericho is (probably) tarred unfairly. Tony Khan had a PPV match partially ruined by this (It wasn't that great technically anyway, but if the allegations weren't made, maybe the match doesn't go off the rails as the fans wouldn't be chanting NDA etcetera)

    • Like 2
    • Thanks 1

    WORLDS END - 12/30/2023

    in ALL ELITE WRESTLING

    Posted

    Oh. that reminds me of something that came up in chat.

     

    When Bryan Danielson retires, they need to give him one hell of a retirement gift. Say, ROH? Let him book that from home, and perhaps do color commentary. He was fucking perfect in a Tony Romo kinda "Calls every play perfectly" way with Mox-Eddie.

    • Like 2
    • Thanks 1

    WORLDS END - 12/30/2023

    in ALL ELITE WRESTLING

    Posted

    2 minutes ago, Andrew POE! said:

    Just read the results of the PPV.

    We're going to see MJF on Monday Night Raw after WrestleMania, won't we?

    (Unless Tony Khan has re-signed him and we're going to have about a year of Babyface / Our Scumbag MJF chasing after the title against Samoa Joe and the faction around him)

    I think MJF needs some time off to heal, and they can use his injuries and his betrayal as a reason to hold him out.. and then when he comes back, he's going to be full on asshole no redeeming qualities MJF. "I had a friend. ONCE. and we all know how that turned out"

    • Like 7

    WORLDS END - 12/30/2023

    in ALL ELITE WRESTLING

    Posted

    So.. two finishes out of nowhere. Everyone in the chat was like "There's no way that the three arm drops will be the finish." Guess what? It was the finish.

     

    The last three (well, four, if you count the cash in) matches was a great PPV. However, on average, that barely made it an average PPV (not an average AEW PPV, an average wrestling PPV). Just too many strange spots and blown moments.

     

    OWs of the night:

     

    Nick Wayne had about FIVE OW moments, including the last one where he was overshot a flaming table. MJF had a 9.0 OW moment with that skin the cat attempt.

    • Like 2

    2023-24 NCAAF - GOIN' BOWLING!

    in FOOTBALL

    Posted

    Biggest drive of the bowl game for Oklahoma:

     

    All receivers covered, thrown away

    All Receivers covered, offensive holding

    All Receivers Covered, offensive holding

    All Receivers Covers, QB sacked, football stripped, other team picks it up

     

    (then they give up an immediate Arizona TD to ice the game)

    NCAAF 2024 OFFSEASON

    in FOOTBALL

    Posted

    Personally? Fuck em. They signed the grant of rights. They can't say "Whoops, we didn't really mean it, we want so much more elsewhere". They had their chance. (In fact, the grant of rights came around because FSU threatened to move to the Big12, and it was needed to reassure teams that people weren't going anywhere.)

     Or, in short: A contract is a contract, even when it's not as good a deal as you thought.


    Honestly, within the decade, I find it likely that the whole conference lineup thing will be deader then disco, and we'll just have a U-23 NFL-style league.

    • Like 1
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