Yeah, Minecraft has served this purpose in the past for me too. A simple mining excursion, with hours spent doing nothing be excavating new mine shafts while collecting resources I already possess in abundance, can be therapeutic. Even that holds no appeal for me at the moment. For the short term I'm hoping Transport Fever will somehow succeed where all else has failed and restore my gaming addiction. If not, may I'll launch Minecraft and hope for the best.

ADDENDUM: Forgot to credit the short YouTube video that cemented my decision to buy Transport Fever. No building sessions here. Just someone showing off what he's (?) created. I suspect a decent amount of modding went on here, but as it isn't an English language channel I can't know for sure. (No vocal commentary, btw.)

I'm thinking of playing Skyrim for Switch sometime today.

Edit: Well played some Skyrim today.

Played not overly long (but not short either) Transport Fever sessions both this morning and yesterday. I'm still in the tutorials learning the ropes. Even those are entertaining. I do what a particular tutorial wants, then opt to play that map longer and plop down more stations, tracks, bus lines and so on. Still have trouble learning the HUD. At least I can pause the game when confused so no harm done (as if that matters at this stage). My most frustration comes from, of all things, the movement controls.

Got in a short Kingdom Come Deliverance session yesterday.

Interesting. Duly noted. I'm not really sure how much I want to help the Railroad yet, but I guess we'll see. I did realize that I completely failed their questline if I did not at least join them prior to entering the Institute (I had forgotten about what Desdemona said when I took the courser chip to their place because it had been a while since I played that part). So I quickly joined them and then got back inside the Institute after reloading. I already got the data for the Minutemen though.

I wanna see if I can get the demo of Chasm: The Rift up and running again on my Millennium computer. Man, it's been ages since I played that!

Played more of the Transport Fever tutorial. Or rather I played tutorial 3 over again...for the third time. Not by choice. At the end of that tutorial I keep misinterpreting its two options, select the wrong one, don't get completion credit, so need to do the tutorial over again. I don't much mind, not at the moment. It's a fun little tutorial, and I'm still not comfortable with some function locations within the interface.

Even this early into the game I've found one thing I think needs improvement. It doesn't offer the nice pannable engine cab view Mashinky provides. Closest it comes is a camera attached to the very front of the locomotive, facing straight ahead, which can't be panned.

Still looking over mods for when I finally finish the tutorials. Doubt I'll bother with a purely vanilla map, not even for my first attempt. We shall see.

Been getting the urge to play Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem again. Only problem is that I'm in the middle of ESO's Anniversary Event and they just extended it by one more week. :v

Maybe if and when I get all the Worm Cult motifs that drop exclusively from the event?

Still learning the ropes in Transport Fever. Watched on YouTube TF signaling video early this morning, but very little of it stuck with me. I did manage to set up a passing lane with proper signals in-game. Anything more elaborate is still beyond me.

I begin to suspect I'm stuck not getting beyond tutorial three because there is no further tutorial. I don't mind, except tutorial three grays out some functions no needed for completion. For instance, I can't establish a passenger line between the tutorial's two towns, because the passenger station option can't be clicked. Either that or I'm to dumb to figure out how it works. Don't think so, but ya never know.

YOU HAVE CHOSEN XEL'LOTATH

THANK YOU FOR PLAYING.

Played Transport Fever off and on much of yesterday, including a quite lengthy evening session. Have created a randomized "free mode" map and am using it to become more comfortable with game functions and controls. Have already installed a few mods. The most drastic is "No Cost." Hadn't intended to use it, but was going broke making and correcting dumb newbie mistakes. At some point I'll jettison it and instead use a few isolated no-cost mods such as "Landscaping No Cost."

With all the time I sunk into the map yesterday youi'd think I got a lot done. Nope. Two towns connected by rail. Intercity "bus" routes for those same towns. A farm to food processing plant to town industrial rail route. One in-progress future three town passenger service route. That's the extent of it. Should have that route up and running today assuming I get in a decent session.

Still slugging away at Transport Fever with my Free Mode learning map. Boy do I suck at it! Industry wise, at any rate. I'm having trouble thinking far enough ahead to establish profitable multi industry production chains. This morning's session ended with me realizing the Still Mill station I'd just placed makes no sense whatsoever. Its tracks doesn't point toward the next plant in the chain. Gonna have to demolish it, do a little backtracking, and start afresh. Thank goodness for the No Cost mod. I'd never have survived as long as I have without it.

Played some more Fallout 4. Looks like it might still be a while before I complete the main quest. Desdemona is trying to get me to join the Railroad completely (even though I'm still doing their quests). Not sure I want to, as my character has been with the Minutemen this whole time.

It also became Christmas during my playthrough yesterday or the day before, so there was the nice touch of Christmas lights around Diamond City. Which reminds me of how much I've been wanting holidays to come back to TES, as we haven't had them since Daggerfall. Hopefully this is a sign that that will happen in TESVI.

Also forgot to mention that I stopped playing Planescape: Torment for the time being. Why? Because I came across the same damn bug TWICE in the Alley of Dangerous Angles. For some reason, I suddenly became unable to pick up items after I did some stuff in there. I reloaded to a save right before entering the area, did some stuff in it again, and the same bug happened. It annoyed me enough that I haven't felt like playing it again for the past week or two. I really don't feel like messing around with it, so I'll just hold off on that game for now.

IDK a moderator on the Bethesda forums had this to say and its not good for the next TES entry.
"Bethesda Game Studios have recently expanded to include studios in Montreal and Austin. The number of employees at BGS has, by most accounts, more than tripled since the development of Skyrim. While this does not necessarily mean that they will crank out games at the rate of one per year, I think it is reasonable to assume that the schedule may speed up a bit. But we will have to wait and see if this is true.

I know how hard it is. But those of us who are mainly Elder Scrolls fans have to keep in mind that there are many, many people out there who do not care about the Elder Scrolls and only want a new Fallout game (some of them are already upset that Fallout 5 has not been announced yet). And there are still others who have given up on both franchises and are just sticking around to see the new IP that is said to be in the works."

It might be awhile before we get another entry in the TES main series.

Not sure what prompted you to post that, all the guy was saying is that he hopes the next TES game has holidays, but since you did...
I think I remember reading a quote by The Todd in an interview where he was basically saying that they don’t have the tech to do TES6 like they want. When you tie that in with the comment saying that they have two full sized projects in the works that are “different from anything [Bethesda] has done before�, then we are probably looking at mid 2020’s until we see TES6.

I probably miss read his post my bad . As for TES VI in 2020---that might be a maybe.

I suspect between 2024-2026.

That would be about right.

Yeah, all I'm saying is I want holidays in TES to come back. We haven't had them since Daggerfall. Online is the closest we have to it, and while that's cool I mean I want it actually coded into the game instead of going by the real-life calendar.



He said something along the lines of, "People would go 'Wow, sounds like you don't even have the technology.'" So he's not quite saying that they don't have the technology, but that people would be shocked about what they're planning. Whether The Todd is just blowing smoke I suppose is up for debate, but I am curious as to what this supposed technology is for.



In any case, I'm not going to bother putting a date on its release. I'll either be disappointed if it doesn't come then (especially if I put it on the next couple of years), or hype myself for too long or draw out the anticipation for an uncomfortably long time. And we have no evidence for anything other than, "Yes, we're working on TESVI," save for two other huge projects supposedly in the works. Besides, I'm getting my Bethesda fix with Fallout 4.

TES VI in 2019. Book it!

IIRC Oblivion was supposed to bring back Holidays as well as seasons but apparently the concept was axed because they didn't think people would play long enough to see them?

When I was just getting into TES I remember reading an article on Oblivion mentioning that certain alchemy reagents would show up and disappear based on different months, and then picking every Summer Bolete I saw when I got back to the game because "I won't see them for a long time!" Took a while for me to learn that it wasn't part of the final game. :v

So hey, maybe they will bring them back in TES VI

Khajiit would love to see these things in TES6!

In unrelated gaming news...
Battletech drops NEXT WEEK!!!!

Yeah, I don't think 11 years would be enough

In my past few sessions of Fallout 4 something has really started to bug me, and it's regarding faction questlines. Doing stuff for the Railroad and the Minutemen has largely become a chore, and it feels like you are just being an errand boy (well, my character is female, so I guess errand girl) repeating the same thing. There is little variety to helping out settlements for the Minutemen, or for stuff like checking out safehouses for the Railroad. It would be nice to have something new thrown into the mix with the same type of quest so it isn't so repetitive, like having some unexpected twist (e.g. somebody with the Railroad betrayed their safehouse to the Institute) or something lore-related thrown in or some truly unique location in some way, etc.

Now I understand some of the criticisms of factions in Fallout 4, such as "another settlement needs your help," and to some extent, I agree. For the Minutemen in particular, if you are the head honcho why are you constantly the one having orders given to by Preston? At least give the feeling that other members of the Minutemen are going around helping out too instead of it feeling like it is just your character doing everything.

Also, regarding the Railroad, I am trying to complete a couple of quests by turning them into Desdemona but she just keeps hassling me to join the Railroad. Problem is I don't want to, and I'm trying to stick with the Minutemen. If I tell her I am sticking with them, does the Railroad questline end? At this point, part of me just wants to just finally take it to the Institute and be through with it, and forget what the Railroad thinks.

I think you are getting only the generic radiant quests because you do have to join the factions to get the real quests. I think you can join the Railroad and still do the entire Minutemen questline. I think they are the only two factions that can co-exist. But I am not sure.

You can destroy the Institute with any faction. After completing Institutionalized, follow it up by planting the signal interceptor for any of the factions you are part of. Each faction has a different named quest for that. Then follow that line through to The Nuclear Option.

While the other guy I posted playing Doom 2016 was incredible, this guy is insane! I can't watch fast enough to even see what he's doing half the time!

Still slaving away at my first Transport Fever free-mode generated map. Getting better at it, but have lots to learn, even some basics. The last of my first-gen steam locos reached their "end of service" point and were replaced by more advanced steam engines. I thought about adding a mod that removes end-of-availability dates for vehicles so they remain purchasable forever, but in truth don't miss those first-gen locos. The locos I run now are another matter. Might well add the mod before too long. I definitely plan to add Time Warp, which terminates "some" technical advancement at a user configured date. It's not perfect. Things like buildings are ignored. I'm thinking 1928 or 1932/5, which keeps me comfortably within the steam era yet allows early electric and very early diesel.

Addendum:
Gah! Was observing a newly purchased loco on its next-to-maiden voyage when a warning message informed me of two trains facing each other nose to nose. What a mess that turned out to be. Took 45+ minutes to straighten it out. The cause was an error of mine in placing a signal at a station entrance. That signal would have been OK where it was, if all trains using that track passed through the station in the same direction. However, this is one of my map's more congested, complicated stations. Most trains pass through it using two tracks, each dedicated to a different direction. One train line converges a bit before the station, so that one track covers BOTH directions for a short distance. I had forgotten this when placing that signal. My error led to BOTH trains being in the same "block" headed straight toward each other.

Getting the two trains untangled was hassle. In the end I realized I could move the one train' line convergence point so that it could switch to its proper track. The convergence point makes more sense where I moved it, so the SNAFU wasn't a complete downer.

To get in the mood for BattleTech, which drops tomorrow, Khajiit has been playing MechWarrior4: Mercenaries. Here’s a couple of sample pics:

Mechs in the hunt.

Gladiator Machine

Are those Kitfoxes? It has been so long since I played a mech game I don't remember.

In the first pic, the mech on the right behind the one front and center is a KitFox! The red one in the foreground is the mech Khajiit is piloting, and it’s called a Puma. The rest of the Star (name for a mech squad of 5 mechs) consists of 2 Cougars and a HellSpawn (way in the back).

Khajiit! I am waiting for more VtM:B updates!



*hires mALX to tap foot*

Lol, well Khajiit has a little bit before he can download BattleTech. This one will play some to kill time.

Oops. Don't wanna force Khajiit to play. I just thought he had done some playing but neglected to update me..

Brigitte is currently telling Abrams the guy didn’t have the film and is about to head to the cemetery.

Found the tape and but it’s incomplete. Now she must ask around to see if she can find a copy.

So Khajiit got BATTLETECH downloaded, but has only gotten to play it for maybe two hours. Well don’t you know the game has a character creator so of course it took this one more than an hour playing around with those settings. The first part of the game acts as a bit of a tutorial that, gets you familiar with the game’s basic functions. It was fun, but either Khajiit didn’t pay enough attention or the intro didn’t do a very good job of explaining how to read things like a weapon’s damage, and the amount of damage mechs and other combat entities are taking. This one is going to spend all morning with it tomorrow so hopefully Khajiit will have a better understanding of the game’s UI.

I got TES: Online re-downloaded to my PC. Time to return to the world of TESO as soon as it downloads.

Reaper, we've missed you!

Thanks. I've would have been on sooner but I was having issues with the TESO sight till I found out my Ad Blocker was causing issues. I'll be on probably tomorrow.

Ugh.. I remember last time I played this game. I just rushed through this part so I could get to Chinatown

I'm baaaaaack!!!



Loot Boxes Invading Tamriel I see.

^Your mount is currently on fire. Also, yeah, mostly cosmetics but that's how they hook ya.

==

Anyways, I'm on my...third play through...of Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem. I love the game okay. It makes me sad that we probably won't see another game like it again, especially since Nintendo copyrighted the sanity bar and the hallucination effects (though I guess there is wiggle room?).

Also the game gives me a sort of...computer adventure game feel? But in third person.
Both the gameplay and the general aesthetic remind me of that and it's really great.

My other mount is a giant spider .

Currently playing BATTLETECH and Khajiit is finding it very enjoyable. It’s a turn based tactical strategy game set in, yep you guessed it, the BATTLETECH universe. You create a Mechwarrior (via background choices which reflect the experience you’ve had, and a simple portrait editor where you can pick a first and last name, call sign, and define what your Mechwarrior looks like), and after a couple of introductory missions, you take full command of your very own mech mercenary company (it does start off with a preset name which you can keep or completely rename and choose new unit insignias and colors). Being in full command means you get to call the shots on how your mechs are outfitted and how your Mechwarriors progress skill wise. This also means that you are responsible for financial decisions for your company (such as paying and hiring your Mechwarriors and paying for repairs and refits for mechs) as well as choosing what contracts to take and deciding the cash to salvage ratio for your payment from said contracts. This one is not many contracts into the game but Khajiit can already tell that it’s going to be a game he plays for years to come. Definitely worth a try for anyone who likes extremely detail oriented strategy video games.

Some screens:

My Mechwarrior, Djinn “Red Crow� Kormac

Her company’s dropship (which is fully upgradable), with company name and insignia in the upper left of the pic.

Bought a space flight sim on the Switch called Manticore. So far I like it.

Great company name!

It sounds a lot like Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries. Can you salvage enemy mechs?

Thanks! Since BATTLETECH shares our real world history (to a point), the old mythologies are often referenced in the cultures of the Inner Sphere, and by extension, the Clans. So Khajiit felt safe using this name for Djinn’s merc co.

On salvaged mechs, well, Khajiit hasn’t been able to salvage a *whole* mech yet, honestly not sure that is possible, but this one has put a couple of chassis together from salvaged parts from defeated mechs. See, at the end of a mission, you get a screen listing every piece of salvage the outcome of the mission created. Mech parts, weapons and components. You get some of it (unless you opted to take no salvage and more cash), but your employer gets the rest. Now, you get first pick of the loot and can pick one item of the salvage that you really want (I pick from any mech parts here; it also tells you if you already have some matching parts for a piece of mech salvage in your ship’s storage hold), and then you are automatically assigned a certain number of random goodies from the list (maybe even more mech parts). When you collect 3 units of salvaged mech parts that belong to the same chassis variant, your mechtech will put them together into a whole mech for you and you can then fit it with weapons and field it or sell it off. You can also buy salvaged mech parts from “the store� (market).

You also have to pay attention to mech variants because different variants use different hardpoints which allow for diffrent weapon loadouts (so they aren’t interchangeable with other salvaged parts from a mech’s other variants). You can freely change the weapons on any mech variant as long as the hardpoints (and of course, current weight) allow for it. For example, you can’t put missle weapons on a mech that only has beam and ballistic weapon hardpoints, but you may find a variant of that mech that carries missle hardpoints (Omni hardpoints which allow for any type of weapon to be put there were invented by the Clans which haven’t revealed themselves to the Inner Sphere by the point in the BATTLETECH timeline that this game takes place).

In Transport Fever, what had been my favorite locomotive reached its obsolescence date some time ago. No more can be purchased. All of those in my fleet eventually wore out and had to be replaced, the last during this morning's session. Thankfully, I'm very fond of a number of the newer steam locos. Gads to I love steam locos!!!!!

I installed Time Warp, set to 1932, so that vehicles (and a few other things) do not progress beyond that date. I'm still a game year shy of that date, so we'll see how it goes. Also added a mod that brings back old road types. Have something like 115 mods installed, most of which are steam locos and passenger railcars.

The game has a performance patch due out fairly soon. Perfect timing. Just today I noticed my first stutters and non-game-save pauses.

A know enough now to realize how bad some of my track laying was/is. Some of that will be corrected. Some I don't dare tinker with for fear of messing up my train routing beyond repair.

I keep getting warnings that my Construction Material industrial site needs to ship out more goods. Problem is, the tracks between between the site and three of my major towns are already so congested I don't know that I dare put more trains on 'em. Spent hours trying to come up with a workable solution. Not giving up yet, but it's looking bleak. When I start a new map, I now know to "think big" and allow room for multi-track lines from the get-go.

Khajiit is about to be on strategy game overload. This one forgot that Total War: Thrones of Britannia drops this week.

Rule Britannia...Britannia rule the waves! Britons never-never will be slaves....

Yeah, exactly. The idea is that you take control of either an Anglo-Saxon faction, Vikings, or a Gaelic Clan (supposedly there are options within these groups) and lead them on the warpath to conquest, eventually taking over all of Britannia.

In today’s BATTLETECH session, Khajiit spent the last 2 hrs of play time cruising the stars and taking relatively easy contracts, trying to build up The Spears of Cernunnos’s warchest and salvage inventory. The story missions (we are currently facing only the second one of these) take a sharp curve upwards in difficulty so this one is making sure Djinn and co are as ready as they can be.

I'm playing Manticore: Galaxy on Fire for the Switch and its a fun space shooter and the graphics are quite nice.