A ramble that involves talking about video gaming

 So. Been a while, hasn't it? My silence has mostly been a lack of being able to report anything fruitful happening. So I've been playing my tabletop games and, when I'm not doing that, escaping through video games.

Which brings me to what I have been playing these past couple of months.

The time has mostly been spent on guilty pleasures. I was not familiar with My Time at Portia before discovering My Time at Sandrock. Both play out in the same world and has the same basic concept so I'll talk about them together. 

In short, these two games are Stardew Valley on drugs, but you're not a farmer, but rather a builder. You're given different commissions that you need to complete that increase in difficulty as you research better equipment. You have the same relationship dynamics with the people of the town as you do in Stardew. 

You can eventually win over some of the folk, make friends, get married and whatnot. I haven't really explored the relationship dynamics much as that's frankly not something I'm interested in. 

So, if that's not why I play, what is it that compels me to give these two games so much of my time? I think it's the sense of accomplishment. Like you're building things and the town begins to improve around you and you feel like you've had a hand in it. That and it's kinda cutesy... which I am not always drawn to but sometimes you just find these things that kinda suck in my attention.

While your character is a builder and not a farmer, there's quite a bit of farming options available in the games. You end up being very much a Jack-of-all-Trades. I dare say it has a little something for everyone be it combat, farming, building, relationships, etc.

My Time at Sandrock is still in Early Access. I finished the content available for it in thirty hours. It still has quite a ways to go before we're looking at a release date, I think. They say 2023, but I'm a little doubtful about that. Not because the game is poor or anything. Simply because its current content doesn't scratch the surface of My Time at Portia. They still have a long, long way to go to get the two on par in amount of content, IF that is what they're aiming for.

I've spent almost three-hundred hours on Medieval Dynasty and only recently felt like I've had my fill even though I'm not actually finished yet. I've babbled about it before, I believe. You start off with the clothes on your back and some food in your pocket. The castellan gives you permission to build a home anywhere and so you start off your journey to become a village elder. 

This game is a first/third-person village builder and manager. I would say the AI is still a little iffy. So if you're in it for the combat aspect it sometimes offers or want to really interact with the town folk, you might be disappointed. However, the managing aspect is rather solid.

There's a lot of 'make work' in this game, which is probably why I have so many hours invested into it. At the same time, it's one I can sit and play while idly watching a tv show or try to catch up with Critical Role (don't ask how that's going).

For the longest time, The Elder Scrolls: Online didn't work on my computer. It was an internet issue, that much I knew. And so I've been very annoyed at it and railing at it because technically it is supposed to work with the internet speed I have. It just didn't want to.

Until it suddenly did. I don't know why, but suddenly I can play this game. It wasn't because of the new PC (because it was giving me this issue with the old AND new PC). But for whatever reason, it is working now and so I've started playing it. I've heard that it's great fun to play ESO on multiplayer and I'm awaiting the opportunity to try it out. For now, I'm just happy the bloody thing works. 

As to gameplay, it's interesting. I'm still trying to figure it out. The world is big and I'm confused as to what I'm doing within it. But the game still deserves an honourable mention given that I have spent a couple of hours running around in it.

I've also tried a bit of Starwars: The Old Republic. I have done the tutorial homeworld bit and am now hitting level 14... and I'm not all that impressed yet. There's much about it that is impressive, don't get me wrong. The areas are pretty, Corusant is insanely impressive, but as quests go, it's very fetch quest centred. Not quite my bag. Combat is okay it's an Old Republic combat system, so there's not much to do but hit a button, wait, hit a button, wait. 

Then comes the "of course I played it" and some other honourable mentions. Grounded is a game I play at least two hours a week, sometimes more. I'm very excited to see what the story release will be. I'm not necessarily very good at the game, but it has all the elements of a survival game that I love so how can I not be rooting for it? 

I attempted Starbound. One would think that it would click with me but it hasn't. I'm still waiting to try it on multiplayer. Maybe with the guidance of a fan I'll be able to get it. But at the moment my character dies. A lot. And I don't see the point of it.

Then there is Raft which I started playing last night. Still trying to figure it out, so I don't have a lot to say about it yet. Looks pretty. The concept seems simple enough. The seagulls are annoying. As is the shark chomping on the boat (and me). But I need to play it a lot more before I can form an opinion on it.