Cleaning up the Swamp

I've been happily tooling away at cleaning up fictional locations from the Shrek cinematic universe in PowerWash Simulator's latest special pack.  It's fun to see the settings from the film spattered with muck and then sparklingly clean.  So far I've only managed to clean one map--they start you off with Duloc and it's a big-un.  I'm looking forward to spending more time spraying away at some other Shrek themed locales and writing up a full review of all the spraying good times I'm having.

In other news:

1.) Red Dead Redemption is making its way to PC!

If you're at all familiar with how Rockstar does things, you know that PC gamers just have to be patient.  Eventually the titles will make their way onto our favorite platform...I mean, someday, right?  The news dropped this week that the OG Red Dead will be releasing October 29th.  The PC version promises all the bells and whistles that certain PC gamers clamor for--fancy-shmancy graphics settings (4k and whatnot) mostly.  For the completely non-2004 price of $49.99 you can grab the base game plus the "undead nightmare" DLC.  Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of my all time favorites, but I think I'll be waiting on this one until we start seeing a great price reduction.  ($50 for a game that came out 20 years ago!  Seems a little nuts, but I'm sure they've thrown in all the great re-mastering)

Here's the trailer--it has some real 2004 vibes, but it is a Rockstar game which means that it's gonna be worth playing:

2.) Remember:  You don't actually own any games.

If you logged into Steam at all this week you were prompted with a pop-up window to agree to a new subscriber agreement.  Did any of us actually read it?  Probably not.  Apparently though, part of the new agreement was none too gently reminding us that we don't actually own the game...just a license to play the game through Steam.  It's when these things start happening that you feel a little itchy and nervous.  Even though I've never experienced it, other distribution platforms have pulled games that people paid for and they've lost the ability to play said game.  Yeah, it's not exactly a consumer-friendly business practice, but they're holding all the cards.  If you want to own your games outright, GOG is your best option (and they were crowing about that fact when this news dropped).

Happy gaming!  Whether you're counting down to the new/old Red Dead or Dragon Age: The Veilguard, there's plenty to look forward to.

Make Singleplayer Games Great Again!

I've got nothing new to report on my own personal gaming front--I'm still just waiting in excited powerwashing anticipation of the Shrek themed special pack that releases on October 10th.  One piece of gaming news/research made me perk up this week--in 2023 a research firm surveyed gamers in many different countries about their gaming habits.  The survey largely revolved around what types of games players preferred--PvP, Co-op, PvE, or singleplayer.  Younger gamers (in the 16-24 range) definitely leaned toward PvP/online games.  Older gamers tended to lean more toward singleplayer (with the percentage drastically increasing as the age range gets higher) games.  It's maybe mildly surprising to me--the percentage of younger gamers who said they preferred singleplayer games was lower, but still about 30%.  The big takeaway is that 53% of gamers say the prefer singleplayer games--this when it seems like so many games are focused on being "live service" or multiplayer.  53% isn't an overwhelming number, but for years we've heard that singleplayer gaming is in its death throes and that doesn't seem to be the case.

Singleplayer games reign!

When I was younger, I definitely preferred multiplayer games.  I was a dedicated World of Warcraft player who leaned toward the more PvE aspects of the game and was heavily invested in raiding.  WoW was always one of those games where I felt like you had to choose a path of dedication--either you let it consume your soul or you were a filthy casual who popped on once in awhile to mess around.  To me, spending $15 a month to just mess around once in awhile didn't seem worth it (I definitely got my $15 worth).  I still have (mostly) fond memories of playing WoW and the people I raided with--they were good people from all around the U.S. (and world!).

The reality of being younger is that you have more free time to spend on gaming--you usually have fewer commitments.  It was easy for me to dedicate 2-3 hours 2 or 3 times a week to raiding (but let's be real...that time was usually greater because if you were going to do raiding RIGHT you also had to make sure you had stocked up on all the potions, food, and other consumables that were needed).  As people mature, life starts getting more complicated--people have families, they start thinking more about their careers, and that amount of seemingly endless time to game just evaporates.  Scheduling time becomes more difficult.

Now that I'm older, I spend almost all of my time gaming playing singleplayer games.  It's nice to be able to start up a game and play as much or as little as I want without inconveniencing anyone else.  I have no desire to play a multiplayer game.

My hope is that some developers or publishers see this information and start thinking more about investing in singleplayer titles.  And no, I'm not necessarily talking about whopping, AAA titles--some of the games that I've enjoyed the most and that have been unique, fun experiences have been smaller or indie titles.  It makes me really sad when I see studios like Tango Gameworks make a great game and then get shuttered (but fortunately saved by another large gaming company...we'll see how that works).  There's definitely a market for singleplayer games (even on mobile!) and I think they're due for a bit of a makeover--I think the days of the ginormous, UbiSoft map marker nightmare games might be waning and that players are looking for shorter, unique and enjoyable titles.  (*I am interested to see how Dragon Age: The Veilguard plays out)  Let the singleplayer renaissance begin!

(Here's a link to the research article)

Doom Spiral

As the spooky October 31st release date of Dragon Age: The Veilguard creeps ever closer I've been keeping my lil' peepers on any prominent news.  It feels like almost every week there's a semi-bi-polar slide between items that fans find "good" and those that are "bad" (but thanks to the general cynicism of the interwebs are painted as downright catastrophic).  I've seen excitement over the character creation options (especially the hair...which if you've ever followed any RPG you'll know is absolutely VITAL) that immediately turned into an absolute doom spiral with this piece of news--apparently, few of your decisions from Origins and Dragon Age 2 will carry over into The Veilguard.  Instead, only 3 choices you made in Inquisition will have an effect on the world state.  (Read the interview with the creative director here)  I am a member of a very well moderated Dragon Age group on social media and I would classify the reaction as a total freak out.  Is that reaction warranted?

There's a part of me that thinks, no, it's just people being overly cynical.  I think BioWare has always done a good job of making your decisions feel like they had weight and part of the fun in carrying over those decisions is seeing the outcome in a subsequent game.  But in reality, how big of an impact did those decisions really have on the world?  You might get a brief reference to someone you saved or have a slightly different character be part of something.  In reality, I think the illusion of choice is what players experience.  The main outcomes generally don't vary much and it's usually a very outcome A vs. outcome B type of scenario (think of Mass Effect 3's controversial red, blue, green ending--I mean, did many of your choices from previous games really matter there?).  It also sounds like they're trying to separate the game world from the tangled web of lore and decisions from the previous games and do something new-ish (which...given Andromeda...I don't know).

On the other hand, I can somewhat empathize with the naysayers.  Part of the fun of making even the small decisions is witnessing their outcomes.  The Keep offered players the chance to experiment with various decisions and make each new playthrough unique.  That has always been a hallmark of BioWare games and given them the ability to be massively replayable.  Are we going to be losing that factor?

I've read several articles about how the ginormous RPG's of the modern era have become so unwieldy that maybe we're due for a change in the size and scope of them.  Maybe this decision is a reflection of those changes coming to fruition?  I'm not someone who is going to be pre-ordering or playing on day 1 and I'm interested to just sit on the sidelines and see how things play out.  I would highly encourage people not to get sucked into the overly negative reactions to every piece of news that comes out and to play it first. 

We've Got Some Dates!

Two of the upcoming titles from my previous post announced their release dates this week!  Here's the lowdown:

Two Point Museum will be released on March 4, 2025.  It's a bit further off than I was hoping--I was pulling for a holiday release--but, oh well.  The announcement also offered up info on the two "editions" of the game.  There's the boring ol' regular edition and the "explorer edition"--there are plenty of goodies to tempt players into the undoubtedly more expensive edition--(see graphic below):

I've never really understood the draw of "you can play x days early," (especially in multiplayer games) but I guess if you ABSOLUTELY cannot wait.  The only part of these additional items that seems good to me is the exclusive map location--I'm assuming this means that there's one bonus museum for you to run.  The rest of it looks like cosmetics and additional items.  What I learned from Two Point Campus is that a lot of these "exclusives" will usually be offered as some kind of bonus later on anyway.  Personally, I will not be forking out the extra cash, but to each his/her/their own.  They're also offering up a bundle of Sonic themed items as a pre-order bonus.

PowerWash Simulator announced that the Shrek themed expansion pack will be releasing on October 10th!  This is great news and I'm very much looking forward to cleaning up the swamp and Duloc.

In completely non-related news, I was a bit bummed to find out that one of my favorite geeky clothing vendors, J!NX clothing, had closed down two years ago (yeah, I'm a bit behind the times).  I was hoping to buy a few new gaming themed t-shirts and I don't buy them too often.  It seems like there aren't a ton of good options out there if you're hoping not to spend a small fortune and go with official merch.  I was eyeballing some stuff on Redbubble but everything I read about the quality of their items was negative (plus, I sort of got the vibe that their stuff is basically graphics that people copy off of the internet and then print onto t-shirts).  FanGamer has some very cool items...but dang if they aren't pricy (like $36 for a t-shirt).  There's also Insert Coin, but it's a similar situation--$$$.  I'll have to keep exploring and see what I can find.

The Interminable Gap

Sadly, I haven't been playing anything new--I'm waiting for the first paycheck of the new school year to materialize before I think about any new purchases.  It always feels like that first paycheck is soooo far off!  While I wait, I've been re-playing Two Point Campus for fun.  They've added a bunch of new items, so even though I've played through it a few times before there's still some new stuff to ogle.  A few pieces of news caught my eye this week, so that's what I'll write about.

Stray is such a great game.  I hope we get another.

1.) The entire staff of Annapurna Interactive (publishers of hit games like Stray and Outer Wilds) resigned this week (source).  It seems like no one really knows why although there seems to be some sort of dispute regarding the film division of the company and the gaming portion.  This is a shame because they've rolled out some great indies.  Apparently, some games that are already in production (like Control 2) won't be impacted.  I'm hoping that these folks make their own studio and continue to roll out more great titles.

2.) The PS5 Pro (the high tech version of the lame-o regular PS5) debuted this week with a $799 price tag and promises of 4k, 60FPS gameplay.  It seemed like people were pretty shocked at the high price.  For console gamers, sure, it's spendy.  As a PC gamer...that price doesn't seem so bad.  I guess if you have the money to spend and you want to stick with consoles...dish out that $799.  I'm not sure the uber-graphics horse race matters much to the vast majority of gamers though--according to this article, the best selling console is the Nintendo Switch (which has graphics equivalent to a PS3).  Many gamers are also perfectly content playing older games (like GTA V).

I'm going to keep it short this week because like System of a Down, I've been down with the sickness--I've managed to absorb enough new school year germs to achieve a nasty cold.  Anyone who works in education knows that it's inevitable that you'll get sick, but it came extra early for me this year.  I'm looking forward to a weekend of relaxation to hopefully get feeling better for work next week.

Tech Repair Wiz

A few weeks ago I encountered an alarming noise coming from my PC.  Although not as soul-shattering as your PC choosing to no longer run, it was still a bummer.  My PC is getting to be a bit on the old side as it has been a little over 5 years since I built it, so having something wear out is likely.  With some light detective work and disassembly I managed to isolate the problem to my GPU--one of the fans was making a grindy noise.  Other than the noise, my GPU was working just fine (although I did notice at one point while I was playing CyberPunk that my case was pretty hot.  To solve this problem I dragged a floor fan over and aimed it toward the air intake on my PC and it did help)--never did I experience it crashing or turning off, so it was mostly still fine.

Obvious option #1 would be to simply replace the GPU.  I didn't want to do this for several reasons--firstly, the cost.  Even if I went with a lower-end GPU it would still cost ~$300 (and no, I wouldn't want to buy a used GPU).  Secondly, if I wanted to get the most out of a newer GPU I would need to upgrade my CPU.  If I upgraded my CPU I would want to upgrade my memory...it's a real If you Give a Mouse a Cookie kind of scenario that could have easily increased my costs to ~$500 - $800+.  My motherboard has an AM4 socket, so it's at the end of its life (sadly).  

Instead, I decided to do some research and find out if it was possible just to replace the fans on the GPU.  Fun fact--it is possible, it's affordable, and it was actually pretty easy.  I thought I would detail the process for anyone who might be facing a similar problem.  First though, a disclaimer.  If your GPU is still under warranty (I think the usual warranty is 2-3 years) you should send it back to the manufacturer and have them fix it.  Yes, it's a pain in the butt because it could potentially take awhile, but the risk to further damaging or breaking it is much lower (if not completely negated).  Just know that if you do attempt repairs or are taking it apart, you could be voiding the warranty and the manufacturer could refuse to repair/replace it.  (*And I know there are all those videos of people saying that it's not true and "right to repair" and so on, but I think I would want to avoid any arguments with the manufacturer.  Best to play it safe.)

Step 1: Try to find out the exact model of your GPU.  You can simply visually check your GPU or look in GeForce Experience (or the AMD equivalent).  Luckily, I had saved all the parts from my build on PC Part Picker, so I was also able to look there for any details.  You want to be as exact as possible because there can be slight variations in fan size between cards that might be SUPER or OC or whatever random variant it is.

Step 2: Order a replacement fan.  If you are only ordering one fan, make sure you note which fan you are ordering--they have different length connectors and you can't just freely swap them around.  I decided to order two fans and just replace them both.  It cost me around $30 (plus shipping, which I think was like $6-7).  I ordered from GPUfanreplacement.com (which is legit) but you could possibly find the replacements on Amazon (be cautious about buying from 3rd party sellers though).  My fans shipped from China but I still received them in about a week.

Possible Optional Step 3: Note the type of screws that are holding the cover onto the fan side of your GPU.  It turned out that mine used a torx type screw and that I would need a special screwdriver head to remove them.  If you do need a special screwdriver, just search for "electronics repair kit" on Amazon and make sure it has the screwdriver head you need.  You can get one pretty cheaply if you get a simple one or you could opt for a fancier one (I got one that had like 142 different tools/attachments which was overkill).  I would also highly recommend a magnetic screwdriver.

Step 3: Once you've received your replacement fans you'll need to remove your GPU from your PC.  Ideally you'll also want a magnetic container to hold your screws, but I would find some sort of small container in which to store them.  I would also do my deconstructing in a place away from any small children or pets.  The screws are tiny and very easy to lose.  They are definitely the kind that you don't want to drop because you'll never find them again (and you have to reuse them all because you don't get any spares with your new fans).  Remove the fan cover case--I think mine was like 6 screws.  Be gentle because there are some tiny cords/cables that can easily be damaged.

A zoomed in view of the tiny connectors.

Once I got the fan case removed I also discovered that I had to remove a small plastic cover on the back of my card that was over the connectors for the fans.  (You can follow the cords on your fans to find where the connector is). Gently unplug the connectors for the fans--they are small and you don't want to yank too hard and damage anything.  I have small hands, but this could be awkward for people with larger hands.

Step 4: Remove the old fans.  My fans each had 3 very tiny screws holding them down.  Be careful with the screws.  I also had to snip some very small plastic zip ties that were holding the fan cords down (even though you are replacing the fans, be careful not to snip the power cords).  Remove the zip ties (this could require some pulling and the use of tweezers).  I had to fish the power cords through a very small metal opening on the side of my card--it might require some twisting of the cords to get the connector through.

Step 5: Install the new fans--use your old screws.  Probably the hardest part for me was finagling the connectors and cords through the metal opening on the side of my card.  You want to make sure that the cables are pushed into the little hooks/holders on the card and not poking up.  The connectors are pretty short, so it can be a bit of a tight fit to connect them.  Make sure they're tightly connected and that the cables aren't kinked and are resting snugly on the card.  

Step 6: Re-install any covers you removed.

Step 7:  Re-install your GPU in your PC.  Remember to push firmly until you hear the click to make sure it is seated properly.

Step 8: Re-connect your PC and give it a go.  If everything is working correctly you should see your fans spin up nice and silently.

I, a person with negligible tech skills was able to accomplish this repair, so it's possible for anyone really.  I would also recommend looking up videos on YouTube to see examples of how to do this--I searched my card model and was able to get a good idea from a pretty mediocre video.  There are some videos that purport that you can re-lube your fans but I would be hesitant to attempt that as some fans aren't able to be separated from their motors and most of the videos involve cutting through a layer of plastic to reach the bearings (and a lot of those kinds of videos seemed to be crypto-mining related).

Upcoming Title Excitement!

As summer starts to transition to fall, there's plenty to look forward to--cooler temperatures, pumpkin spice (not for me, but I do enjoy apple cinnamon vibes), and even some upcoming games to play during those rainy, cool days.  A few titles don't have a release date yet, so maybe not the fall, but soon-ish.  I'll highlight a few titles/DLC's that I'm excited about.

1.) Two Point Museum

We've mastered our medical skills in Two Point Hospital and educated the clueless masses in Two Point Campus and now we get to build fantastic museums!  The Two Point games are a personal favorite of mine and are semi-serious management games.  This summer there were a series of in-game challenges that were clues that led to the eventual announcement of Two Point Museum.  Several short videos have rolled out that show various parts of the gameplay.  You get to run, design, and discover artifacts to display in your new museum.  There's also an aquarium section that you can fill with fish, turtles, and other fun aquatic species.  Personally, I'm very excited for this title and am looking forward to finding out more.  Thus far, no release date has been announced.  I'm hoping for a holiday release (because then I will be off work and have plenty of time to dedicate to my awesome museums).  Here's the announcement trailer:

2.) PowerWash Simulator: Shrek Special Pack

If you're feeling a desire to relax and clean a variety of virtual surfaces, PowerWash Simulator is rolling out the perfect DLC.  The best part--it's themed with one of the best movie franchises of the early 2000's!  (I stan Shrek & Shrek 2--they are amazing.  Fight me!)  That's right, we get to clean up Shrek's swamp and other Shrek-themed locations in the upcoming Shrek Special Pack.  Of all the DLC that has come out for PowerWash Simulator, this is the one that has made me the most excited.  (I just noticed the sword sprayer skin and the armor set!)  Apparently the pack will feature 5 maps that include signature locations from across the film franchise.  There's also no release date on this one, but I would anticipate it anywhere from a few weeks until maybe the holiday season. 

3.) Strange Antiquities

The makers of the plant-themed mystery game Strange Horticulture announced Strange Antiquities awhile back and I've been watching for any news.  The news has been sparse, but I very much enjoyed their quirky, clever first game, so I'm definitely looking forward to another strange group of events and people to analyze.  Oh, and also apparently antiquities--no plants this time.  The announcement trailer doesn't reveal much in terms of gameplay, but it looks like we'll be returning to Undermere AND that there's a cute new shop kitty (named Jupiter) to pet.  There's no release date on this one either and it's actually listed as "to be announced" rather than "coming soon," so I'm assuming that it might be a ways further off.

4.) Dragon Age: The Veilguard

I'm listing this as #4 because it is actually a ways down on my excitement list.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Inquisition but BioWare's recent struggles have put a damper on my...let's say expectations.  Since it's a triple-A title there have been numerous teasers, trailers, and gameplay previews released.  From what I've seen, it does look pretty cool.  Also, shockingly, the requirements on PC seem reasonable.  I would say that the fan reaction has been a bit mixed.  Like me, a lot of BioWare fans have a healthy dose of caution when it comes to their recent titles.  I've seen a lot of negative reaction to the fact that you can't control party members (I think you can still issue commands) and it sounds like combat is going to play like Mass Effect: Andromeda with players primarily focusing on controlling their character.  I'm definitely not pre-ordering (c'mon folks, just don't do it!) and will likely wait on this one.  There has been one VERY GOOD piece of news--if you buy it on Steam you will not need to go through the EA App.  Praise the baby cheeses because the stacking launcher problem is stupid and annoying (not to mention that the EA App is a bit notorious for problems).  I'm not gonna lie though--this most recent trailer is AWESOME!  It's got everything to make a Dragon Age fan feel pumped and a little extra--you've got fan favorite returning characters, dragons, a stunning variety of environments, and some pretty fantastic enemies (oh, and some light romancing).  Dragon Age: The Veilguard releases on October 31st--a Halloween treat (let's hope that BioWare pulls it off and we don't wind up feeling tricked instead).