BobLAN 2018.2

I've finally got round to grabbing the photos from last November from Keith - thanks fella! You can view them on our Photo Gallery

And so another BobLAN draws to a close. It really says something when you look at the distances some people travel to attend - Scotland, South-west England and this time Austria! The most we had in-game at any one time was around 16, which is impressive. Food was top-notch throughout, from Bob's legendary breakfasts through to the equally legendary pulled pork, setup-night curries and the obligatory takeaways. Beer and snacks were in plentiful supply - we never looked like running out, which was impressive.

Tech-wise, Scott set up a local Steam cache. I don't know how many downloads it served over the weekend - performance stats to follow. Also, thanks to Max for donating his spare 980Ti to the BobLAN spare kit appeal - greatly appreciated as it meant Keith could actually play on my old PC at a decent frame rate!

Game-wise, we dropped a few old favourites and tried some new ones:

• Battlefield 1 - this made its proper debut, largely thanks to Dan sorting out a private server. We had some really close games, and as everyone commented, the visuals were stunning. A real hit that will no doubt reappear, although they need to be a bit more realistic on the amount of damage a horse can take!
• CS:GO - the go-to game during breaks from other games. With the local server being always-on, it's an easy choice but still a great game.
• GRID Autosport - lots of time on this one as usual, and it still plays very well.
• DiRT 3 - this game has potential, but was let down by intermittent network issues. Still, the Cat and Mouse mode was really good fun when it worked.
• Rocket League - we played a small tournament which was entertaining. That was about it though, no additional games played.
• Titanfall 2 - this returned after an absence last time. Again, some close games which everyone enjoyed. Hopefully it will return again next time.
• Unreal Tournament - not as much time on this as in the Spring BobLAN, but fun nonetheless.
• Rockband - the usual late night racket to entertain the neighbours!
• Dungeons and Dragons - a newcomer to BobLAN, and was enjoyed by all who played.

Games we didn't play this time:

• Darwin Project - despite this being one of the hit games last time, it just didn't feature this time.
• Day of Defeat - shame, as the objective mode maps are still great when you have decent numbers.
• Jousting Genitals - just, because
• PUBG - we had one very short-lived game, so hardly worth mentioning.
• DOOM - I think UT has taken its spot as deathmatch game of choice.

Finally, a roundup would not be complete without a huge thanks to Bob and Lynda - once again you put hours and hours into preparation and cleanup for which we are all incredibly grateful! (reminder to all those who attended - make sure you have paid up!)

The second LAN of the year begins this Thursday. Please make sure you update all your gaming apps and versions before you pack up:

• Steam - lots of games. Look out for queued updates, and force them through
• Origin - Titanfall and Battlefield games
• Epic - Unreal Tournament
• Bethesda - Quake Champions
• Blizzard/Battle.net - Destiny 2 (it's free)

The latest Nvidia drivers were released on 8th November and seem fine so far (the release notes say they provide optimisations for Battlefield V)

The dates for the autumn BobLAN of 2018 have been agreed. We will be starting after lunch on Thursday 15th November, and wrapping up on Sunday 18th. 100 days to get your kit upgraded, games bought etc :)