Weekly Report

Weekly Report: August 19th - August 25th 2024

Good Morning Magpie

25 Aug 2024 — 3 min read

The Week in Summary:

Given that I worked last weekend, I had Monday off and I got absolutely absorbed by playing Elden Ring. I likely spent ten hours finishing my second playthrough (I did the Frenzied Flame ending to celebrate Brat Summer). Throughout the rest of the week, I played more Elden Ring, but this time I am working on a holy warrior with colossal weapons like this chunky fella, because I am obsessed with the bonk capabilities.
At work, I ended up helping out with the last week of camps by providing float coverage and running camp one day. I enjoyed being on my feet, but damn, kids can be loud as hell. Regardless, summer camps are done and school programs are right around the corner with a big lead-up to the first day we welcome schools back.
On Thursday, Taylor, Krystal, Alexis, and I went to Cold Beer and Pizza on 17th. In a shock to no one, we got cold beer and pizza. Afterwards, we hung out at our place and watched Ultimatum Queer Love (there was a universal condemnation of Vanessa).
Over the weekend, I mostly relaxed at home listening to my records, playing Elden Ring, and also played a bit of DayZ with Krystal and Dylan. That being said, on Sunday, Krystal and I went to Nose Hill Park to explore the grasslands. You can read more about it here! Afterwards, we went to Nan's Noodles for some vegan food.
Firaxis released a narrative trailer and gameplay footage for their upcoming game, Civilization 7. As someone who has played Civilization since 2004, I was really interested in how this latest installment would iterate on their successful formula for 4X turn-based strategy gaming. For myself, after watching their first glimpses into the new gameplay, I felt conflicted. Ultimately, a lot of their new mechanics seem to be pull from other 4X titles, like Humankind, Old World, and Millennia. Though I am sure Firaxis will be iterating on those mechanics in their own way, some of them, like their weird ages system seems really out-there. Their new game is dividing human history into three ages that seem to largely exist as self-contained (though you can play all three in the same playthrough). You have the Age of Antiquity, Age of Exploration, and the Modern Age, each with their own civilization set to choose from. Their stated purpose was to improve on balancing, but it comes across as immediately dated (if not arcade-like), especially considering the troubles that Humankind had post-launch. This isn't even mentioning how oddly euro-centric these ages are to start with. On a positive note, the game looks stunning visually.

Recommendations:

Doolittle by The Pixies (Album): It is almost cheating to recommend an indie rock album so highly-praised like Doolittle, but for myself, this album represents the foundation of alternative rock's noisier and unstable energy. Personal highlights from the album include songs like: Debaser, Wave of Mutilation, Monkey Gone to Heaven, I Bleed, Mr. Grieves, and Gouge Away.