Gaming News

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!)