Topic: The Chit Chat Thread

I’m getting well into cycling lately, just came back from a 20 mile run with my other half, nice and steady - windy, rainy, wet and dark. My satnav lead us along a canal, it was scarier than Resident Evil 😂

I tell you though, just going out on your bike and messing about makes you feel like a kid again!

Anyone else riding?

Just had to put down our 20 year old cat. I found her in a dumpster when she was a few weeks old. Not sure if someone threw her there or she fell/climb in herself but there she was. When I first moved out of my parents place back in 2000 she stayed behind cause she grew attached to my father who called her Duchess. After we lost my dad in 2002 she then became my mom's where she lived the last 18 years.

It was hard letting her go tonight as she was my parents last cat, having lost my dad in 2002 and then my mom two months ago but also because of how old she was.

Goodnight sweet Duchess you will be missed.

@Tasuki Sorry to hear about having to let your cat go. It sounds like Duchess was a member of the family. I know it must be tough. Hang in there.

@Th3solution Thank you. In truth all our pets are. She was really special as she was the last cat of ours that had a connection to my dad. I guess that sounds a bit odd but I dont know how else to put it. But she was special in her own way of course. She loved everyone and was a very people oriented cat.

Yeah i remember these, you i kind of miss those days when you didn't have every answer at your finger tips, it made you a better gamer

7 things we used to do to beat games before the Internet

@FullbringIchigo Back in the day, if you couldn't look up the answer on the internet, you bought magazines, guide books etc. If these, or your friends didn't know, then these games would often go unfinished until someone found a cheat code or the solution. I had quite a few 'unfinished' games as a result - mostly because these games weren't featured in a cheat or code book that I had free with magazines. There was only so much perseverance I would be willing to put in - especially as I could and was buying new games every week. During the 80's, most of my games were costing £2-£3 each and every week, there were new releases to buy. By the time I got back into consoles (PS1/N64) era, I was in my mid-20's and working. I never collected 'every' gold star in Mario 64 but still beat the game. Some of the games I bought came with free guide books as a bonus from buying with Pink Planet, Game or whatever store I happened to visit and of course I still bought magazines with free cheat/guide books too.

Even today, I consider a game finished when I decide its finished - not when some trophy/achievement list tells me its finished. Whether that's just at the end of the story, before (if its not good enough to keep me playing) or after I have cleared every 'point of interest', side quest, activity etc, collected every collectible, beaten the game on the hardest difficulty and got every single trophy/achievement available. A game can be finished if I lose interest because I can't find the answer to progress and fed up persevering. I almost gave up on a Tomb Raider game because I couldn't find how to progress. Turns out I wasn't on the exact pixel I needed to be to interact with a torch on a wall but a month or two later, I found the answer and so returned to it and ended up finishing the story but that nearly stopped me. Nowadays, I do tend to finish more games because its easier to find the answers and also the devs want you to at least reach the end of the story don't have that 'difficulty' spike that 'new' levels had.

@BAMozzy i remember when i brought Final Fantasy XII from GAME back in the day (the original PS2 version) and they was giving people a free copy of the official strategy guide for a bit, which i got and i'll tell you i needed it for that game, the gambit system was so confusing and sometimes the game would tell you to go somewhere but give you no clue at all on how to get there

i miss strategy guides, they would always looks so colourful and well made plus it made you look like a gaming guru to your mates because you would know everything

@FullbringIchigo I wouldn’t have finished Bloodborne without the internet. No way. Would have never made it past Father Gascoigne. Or Darkbeast Paarl. Heck, Shadow of Yharnam took me like 15 tries even after watching several YouTube video strategies.
In fact, in retrospect, it’s why I quit Dark Souls, since I was too stupid to use the internet.
So now I don’t shy away from using the internet, because honestly many games are developed with that in mind. They know we’re going to be referring to the web for help.

@Th3solution How anyone could find those areas behind hidden walls you have to hit with your sword without online guides (or those rare helpful in game messages), I don't know.

@Kidfried Good to hear your doing well and hopefully the training is coming along. We all have times and seasons in our lives. My time has been more fragmented since the holidays as well and although there is rarely a day I don’t at least check Push Square for a passing moment, I’m not always able to formulate discussion. Everyday is different. It’s crazy how life can be sometimes. The only constant is change.

@Kidfried Hahahah social life. Hahahaha.

By the way, you spelt miss/missed horrifically. I normally wouldn't point out bad spelling, as mine is awful, but I can't let that one slide :')

Glad you're good!

I've been strucken down with flu over the last couple of days. Headache, sore throat, fever, aches and pains. I feel like an (even) old(er) man lol. The worst thing is the lack of sleep, for the past two nights I've been waking up every 2 hours or so to drink water/blow my nose/go to toilet etc. I've bought some better drugs which seem to do the trick, but I really hope to get a good nights sleep tonight.

And I've not played any video games either, it hurts my head too much. Which could be worse than getting not much sleep.

@JohnnyShoulder night nurse. Ibuprofen. Co-codomol. Never read the labels. Go nuts.

@JohnnyShoulder Here’s hoping for a quick recovery. I found it rather annoying that when I was sick a couple months ago, I got to stay home from work, but like you I felt too poorly to actually get much gaming time in. It was such a waste of a few days off. All this extra time and I couldn’t get my nose to stop running, my eyes to stop watering, and my head to stop pounding long enough to get very much gaming done. Oh I’d try, alright. But after 15 minutes of misery I’d think to myself, “Isn’t gaming supposed to be fun? Why does it feel like I’m torturing myself? I’d much rather be asleep in bed.”

@kyleforrester87 Beecham's all in one cold and flue tablets seem to do the trick, got rid of the aches fever by last night and my head wasn't thumping when I woke up. Had a better night's sleep (although still woke up a few times). So I'm off to work today, although feel a bit moist earlier.

@Th3solution I've been there before so didn't even try this time. I think the level of concentration that is required. Plus I kept drifting off to sleep so would be pretty pointless. The best I managed was watching Netflix and YouTube on my PS4.

@JohnnyShoulder Did you take a flu shot? Is that a thing in the UK?

@Th3solution It is, but being preventative, I don't think you're allowed one if you're already flu'd up.

@JohnnyShoulder Glad it helps - remember to keep an eye on paracetamol content for cold & flu stuff.

@KALofKRYPTON the golden rule when it comes to paracetamol content is “the more, the better.” Actually that doesn’t sound right. Worth checking.

@JohnnyShoulder That sucks - I hope you get better.

I pay for a flu shot every year because I have kids and they are bigger germ factories then that monkey in Outbreak. Isn't guaranteed as effective though since it just targets what they think will be the majo strain.

Being too ill for gaming or even movies is the worst.

I get a free shot due to the meds I take messing with my immune system. But I’ve only bothered once, and actually I’ve not had a cold/illness for years, at least not one that’s put me out of operation.

Ya’ll need to man up I reckon.