Monthly Summary VS
THAT backlog...
IntroI tried to make this template and blog post earlier in the month , however , I went from forgetting to publish, to , oops it's a bit late now, to , let's just do something next month. Which pretty sum's me up with getting plats too. Overall I'd say it was an uneventful month in terms of progress , making excellent progress in the wrong direction. More on that later!
ChallengesNew : 3
Nexomon "VS" Ludvera (12% VS 39%)
FF:CC "VS" Ludvera (11.1% VS 11.1%)
Sleeping Dogs "VS" Ludvera ( 25% vs 6.7%)
Existing : 0
First month , so none existing, although technically Sleeping Dogs was the previous month , but shhhhhh.
Completed : 0
Total # of Challenges : 3
Progress Summary :Made some progress on Sleeping Dogs, although it has been benched for the moment , Ludvera is going all in on Nexomon and FF:CC will be a co-op thing.
Short Term Games :
With an idea from Ludvera, I decided to 'focus' on 1-4 games , this way it gives a decent selection if one gets a bit stale or if i get burned out.
Nexomon , as it is probably the first challenge that will be completed , i will list this one first. Fun pokemon style game with a slightly warped sense of humour. Enjoying playing through and will continue the hunt for a shiny or two after writing this. Also noticed that Gc-Skinny has picked this up and is progressing through, Will post a challenge after or if I forget and they read this they can post one to me.
FF:CC, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, The actual co-op challenge that will be done probably after I'm done with Nexomon (probably will be after Ludvera) , as it is a remaster it has a nostalgic feel , although not playing the original not as much as it is for those that have.
Sleeping Dogs , the final of the current challenges , I want to progress through it a bit as I am soon at the point i was at when i played it on steam. I want to push further and at least see the story through.
Challenges aside I haven't fully decided on which game/s to focus on in the short run. More info later on though regarding why. So with no clue what to focus on besides challenges , i'll just make those my Short term games , although in future I'll try and add games that i feel I want to progress / complete between blog posts ( 1 month summary posts)
Long term Grind / Go-to games:
*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***
Rocket League, although pretty much done with the game I still end up getting dragged back in for one more match. Which is annoying because I've long since hit my skill wall (Champion 2) and have little motivation to push past it.
World of Warships , just finished another campaign and I feel it may well be my last one , while they aren't overly difficult or even time consuming , there are paywalls involved to finish them. You're welcome to complete the 100 stages of the campaign giving rewards aplenty , however, the true goal is the ship usually on offer , which you'll need to complete all the weekly objectives plus pay some premium currency to unlock. Wargaming has since tried to throw in more MTX and throwing in ships in a rushed manner to get people to buy crates ( they appear as early access in lotto crates for a month)
Clicker Heroes, I'll probably start trying to do a prestige a day maybe or something , honestly without quick tabbing to a 'small' game like this it becomes a chore to 'play' this game
Forgotten Realms, like CH, I may try doing a run a day or something, also like CH it falls because of the same reason.
Gems of War I want to play more but with so many other games to play I can't find a reason to focus it for very long, may start doing a quest or two a day at least though until that is complete.
Trials & Trackmania, Trials rising and Trackmania turbo will have to wait a little or maybe will play them a bit at a time due to PS crying. Trials Fusion I think I will progress first and may chip away at AK's times a bit and move to Rising later on. TM:T I want to progress towards the plat before trying to get better times on each track. These 3 games though I imagine will be returned to often in regards to beating each others times.
Roguelites - The other day Najincell mentioned this genre, I have a literal folder on the PS for these games. Risk of rain , Slay the spire , dead cells , moonlighter etc.. Are amongst a small collection I have , love the genre , hate ending runs to being a dumbass and often will call it a day afterwards. Hope to make some progress, although with the many many other game's to play it could be a while.
Fall Guys - Such a crazy game , I doubt I'll ever get the plat , but with quite a few progression trophies , i'll probably play it now and then until I get quite a few of them. It had a weird shaky start however things seem better, just really tough to get a win , let alone 5 in a row.
Summary : Without a plat on GoW and CH , I feel less inclined to play them , also having the plat on RL and 98% stonewalled on Warships , there is little gain from spending copious amounts of time on these games. Will probably lower or completely stop playing RL and WoWs , focusing on 'easier' to gain plats over a long duration , the Roguelite list I'll chip away at every now and then.
Recommendations Rather than writing "Recommended by AK" on each of them , I'll just say here , the following are all recommended by AtsumaKarin -
*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***
Guacamelee 1 / 2 - Upon checking I have access to the 1st one on PSNow , So will give that a go at some point. If it's good and I see it through I can always pick the second one up in a sale.
La Mulana 1 / 2 - It appears I don't own these games , looking at them though they look like they could be fun little platformers, If i see them on sale I will pick up the first at least to see how it plays. EDIT : This is currently on sale , I will look into getting it.
Rabi-Ribi - Mixed reactions about this after watching the trailer on the store. I don't have access to this , probably will pick up in a sale ( nothing against the game , just prefer picking things up sales) and work through it. Looking at it though reminds me of Lapis x Labyrinth , just not as crazy in a way. Not sure how good i'd be at it , but will give it a try if I get access to it.
Shantae - I could have sworn this was on PSNow .. will look again tomorrow as games randomly drop in and out sometimes for some reason. Maybe it vanished after the remaster thing came out ? A similar thing kinda happened with older GRIDs
Sly - I assume you meant Sly Cooper ? If so Thieves in Time is on PSNow , So will give it a try.
Snake Pass - Don't own this one either, looking at the video on the store has just crashed the OS or something , so will have to get up and reset it in a moment. Didn't get to see much in terms of what the game is , but the description had me at "puzzle" , so will look more into it when a sale swings by with it in.
Thumper - Pictures for this looked a fair bit like something I would play, if you recommend the music I could probably get into it. As for the style , looks pretty good too , hard to really tell from screenshots though , will have to YT it and see some footage.
Velocity Ultra / 2X - As i thought , both of these are on PSNow , So will try them in the next week or so , at least to add them to list 'officially' . Not looking forward to this "God Tier level design imo" though, especially coming from someone that lives and breathes Trials tracks.
Summary-
In terms of game selection here, seems to heavily be biased to platformers , are you really into them AK ? Or is it just what usually comes your way? I guess Trials is a platformer too.. As mentioned the ones I don't own i'll keep an eye out for in sales, although I'm guessing I may have to go through the effort at some point to put these games on my PS store wishlist ( web store) to be able to quickly glance if/when games i want go on sale. Sometimes they have price drops that aren't promoted in banners so some things fly under the radar.
The Summary of backlog and goals :
Challenges Started - 3
Challenges In Progress - 3
Challenges Finished - 0
Total # of Challenges - 3
*Active WiP Games - 1~4
Additional Games from last blog -+32 (3 recommendations, 2 from PS+)
Total Games added since blog start - 5
Finished Games Removed - 0
Total Finished Games Removed - 0
Dropped Games from list - 0
Total Dropped Games - 0
Change from previous blog - +5
Backlog Total Games - Approx 300-400 ( hard to put an exact number on it due to games not yet started etc.)
*Active refers to progressing through and not long term games , although technically I am 'working' on them even if at a small pace, i'd like to consider an active game one I spend most of my time on.
More about the challenges , the games added/removed etc below.
*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***
Challenges Started - 3
This started off to being just Sleeping dogs, however, as i didn't post and the month went on , Nexomon and FF:CC came out and got added to the list, hopefully will get those two done soon, as there are many more to get added soon, once i decide on which I want to progress.
Challenges In Progress - 3
Made some good progress, although quite honestly been slacking a fair bit, so will try and least get these done to start putting more challenges out there.
Challenges Finished - 0
Unfortunately none to write about , but in the future hoping to get a few done per month. Hopefully.
Total # of Challenges - 3
Just to keep track of how many "community" challenges i've been part of. Assuming I keep up with this blogging business and actually ditch RL and WoWs and start getting good progress in trophies, this number will hopefully rise to good amounts.
*Active WiP Games - 1~4
Currently will work on the challenges at first, there are many more to go , so this number should rise in future when I decide what to focus on for the month , with that in mind I estimate this number should be at least 4 per month , will rise when I start paying attention to progress more.
Additional Games from last blog - +32
So... it was my birthday, there was a summer sale , then another sale, I picked up quite many. Don't judge me. STOP IT.
Nexomon - Yup.
FF:CC - Had to. It's FF.
Fall Guys - Free from PS+ , great little game , will progress it slowly.
The Alto collection - Fun little timewaster, although the trophy seems quite grindy.
Arc of Alchemist - Impulse buy , a little clunky , but will try seeing it through.
Lonely Downhill - Fun game , although controls weird sometimes, also no friends leaderboards.
Hellpoint - Because I can't face I suck at ALL souls games.
Totally Reliable Delivery Service - Fart on your friends and KO them while they try and deliver explosives.
Gleamlight - Thought it was like Hollow Knight, was mistaken.
MGS Survive - Thought it was a survival tower defence , mistaken. Need more time to play it.
Metal Max Xeno - RPG in a tank , kinda. Want to play it more.
Sparklite - This should be in my short term games, want to plat it.
Punch Club - Not sure how much of this I'll play but I may try to get better at it.
Gris - Also should be in my short term games, too lazy to add them now.
Manifold Garden - Thought it was like antichamber but this one is weirder. Need time to get into it more.
Othercide - Apparently not as brutal as i thought it was, will try it soon.
Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout - Ludvera said it has boob physics.
Skyrim / Fallout 4
Medievil - Loved this game on PS1 , hoping I can enjoy and progress it.
Dragon Star Varnir - Curious how this will play out.
Bee Simulator - Actually have a bit of a phobia of wasps, may actually end up avoiding :(
Lichdom Battlemage - Was pretty cheap, looks like something that should become VR
Shadow Warrior 1/2/tactics - These i've wanted to play since steam days.
Puyo Puyo Tetris - I like tetris stuff
Rune Lord - I also like bejeweled stuff
Technomancer - Another title i wanted to play on steam
Dreamfall Chapters - Looked great from the trailer and also had a friend recommend it before.
South Park bundle - Will try both of these , haven't watched the series in years though.
Clustertruck - Was disappointed at lack of friend leaderboards
Finished Games Removed - 0
A big fat zero here , looking to get at least 4 by next month.
Total Finished Games Removed - 0
Again a big fat zero here , although I could include games from month's past the idea is to show progress based on blog to blog , so seeming since this month I got 0 , the total is 0. For now at least.
Dropped Games from list - 0
The dropped games are ones i've tried to play and just can't. Technically could also be in the 'finished' pile , but some games don't even warrant that level of acknowledgement and need a pile of their own.
Change from previous blog - +32
Adding all additional games and removing all the completions and dropped games. This should be a - , however this month. Nope. Lots added to the pile. Enough to make LiquidCode cry. +32 Is somewhat crazy , however because I picked up that much stuff on sale and there aren't many big titles I think coming out soon , unless another sale hits I don't think I'll be buying more this month. Hopefully.
Backlog Total Games - Approx 300-400
This number actually terrifies me slightly , although i'm certain is a massive over estimation , until i go through and work it out , it'll be that absurd number, when i get an actual number it'll be better to see at a glance how the list is going up or down too , so may go through the pain of counting those.
Overall I'm just trying to find a suitable sort of format and such , I enjoy stats and assume most on the site do , so having some to glance at could be good, finding the right ones though is sort of tough. Will see how it goes using the information the site gives along with some interpretations of them to come up with a summary or something.
Goals & Monthly Summary :
(Awful) August Summary :
Plats / Completions : 0
Streak: 7
TT vs Ludvera : -9001 ( was over 9000.. too lazy to calc it properly)
AGC% / Rank : 23.42% (-0.24%) , Rank 63,332 (-993)
Ratio : 1.4605 (+0.01)
Blog Posts : 0
Trophies Gained : 139
Goals :
Plats / Completions: 2/4/6
Streak: 30+
TT vs Ludvera : +/- 0
AGC% / Rank : 24%
Ratio : 1.47
Blog Posts : +4
Trophies Gained : 250+
Further in-depth blurb below.
*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***
Additional Info :
Number of Plats / Completions :
Easy : 2
Modest : 4
Hard : 6
Why so low ? As mentioned a lot of my games are RPG's or decently high required hours to finish. With that in mind , I made the mistake before of setting the bar too high thinking I could do what i've seen many of you do on the site and get 10+ plats in a single month, while i could follow suit , especially given the region / vita options , I neither have Vita , nor reason to do regional currently. Also the easy goal is set around double of what I got last month , the modest is set around getting 1 , 100 hour game done per week @ 15 hrs / day game time and hard is roughly 6 , 70 hr games @ 15 hrs / day.
With that in mind it give's plenty time spare to do other things or take a day off , whilst still keeping the difficulty in check. I could probably add a semi unreasonable goal and try to reach it , but for now I want to play the games listed above and ones that appeal or stand out to me , especially with trying to keep the PS tame.
Going to experiment with these numbers this month , if I get over 6 I'll raise the bar a bit and see how it goes.
Although looking back onto this , I *only* have 20 platinums, so with that in mind getting 6 in a month is almost a +25% jump. I really want to start getting more though , even if it is just a few a month or at least completing the story etc on some games like the old tomb raider which has online mode that I won't dare try again.
"Current streak - 7 days, starting 25 Aug 2020" -
Broke my streak when Eve echoes came out on mobile , was a pretty big distraction and actually played it almost non stop for a week or so. Since then I've calmed down a bit and should be back to getting at least a trophy a day. Aiming for 30+ by end of the month. Ideally have a flawless month.
VS Ludvera - -/+0
Was a poor month by me , so i've fallen just over 9k behind this month alone. I will try and at least keep up with Ludvera but at this point will be glad if i don't slip any more than I already have.
Blog posts - +4
Have made a small template of a more regular updated blog post , possibly aiming at weekly updates , so with this summary and 4 x weekly , will be hoping for 5 blog posts by Oct.
AGC% / Rank - 24% / 60000
I actually dropped 0.2% which was 1,000 places between my unpublished post I wrote earlier in the month. No clue about how high the rank is , just made up a target based on what I currently am , in theory though I should get that rank easily if i get the AGC.
Ratio - 1.47
Actually one of the few things i've improved on , somehow. 1.4511 , was on the unwritten post. So progress! YAY! Something worth writing about. Hard to gauge progress though, but will just say I'll try and get that 0.01 again at least. See how that goes.
Trophies Gained - +250
Scrolling through my summaries I've come to the conclusion that I'm a slacker. As such I should get more trophies, unfortunately not a priority due to getting 'easy' trophies aren't really something I really want to get into , at least for now , unless I need to or I won't beat Ludvera :(
250 is a reasonable target, perhaps a bit high in terms of completing actual games etc, but lets see how I fare.
Outro If there are errors , it is because I'm writing this on my PC and don't have access to my PS4 currently to check library etc for accurate numbers for games added etc, also because I wrote this around Aug 5th , then edited, made a template , used some of the older relevant text , some of it may seem out of place or missing. Sorry.
Overall a pretty weak month except in the spending money on games to play "soon" department. Will do better next month , although , won't hold my breath seeming I just ordered a Vita , more on that soon.
Hoping to get at least a few plats and completions next month otherwise I may just admit defeat. Nay-saying aside, will for sure get a few plats done by the end of Sept.
If anyone reading has recommendations , suggestions to formatting or want to set up some friendly challenges, leave a comment below and I'll see what I can do
As always , Good luck with your own grinds and goals.