Gaming News

If you are interested in watching some pro CS:GO, head over to Twitch for the live stream and follow the results, draw and schedules via @IEM on Twitter for this year's IEM Dallas event. The group stages finish tomorrow, the quarter finals start on the main stage on Friday, rounding off with the grand final on Sunday 5th June. Utility FTW!!1

Jayz has done a talking head video detailing rumours of the next generation of Nvidia graphics card - the 4000 series. The video talks about the architecture alongside comparisons with the current 3000 series. Given the last generation's release issues, buyers wanting a graphics card today are not advised to wait - board manufacturers will likely cut production of previous generations to concentrate on 4000 series and end up reversing the recent improvements in availability. Therefore right now may be the best time to buy, albeit at slightly above MSRP.

Watch what I'm sure will be the first of many 4000 series videos over on JayzTwoCents

For those of us who grew up gaming on the home computers of the 1980's, Ocean Software will bring back memories of hammering your keyboard to destruction in Daley Thompson's Decathlon, or trying to jump across the battlements in Hunchback. They produced a raft of great games covering many varied genres. Sadly it was announced yesterday that Ocean`s co-founder David Ward passed away.

You can read a bit more about the history of Ocean over on Shacknews

In an astonishing display of forward planning and decision making, the next two BobLAN dates have been confirmed. They are:

• 10th-13th November 2022
• 27th-30th April 2023

It was generally agreed that the Mayday bank holiday weekend was a good one due to the extra day afterwards, and the November date fits nicely after all half term breaks around the country.

Only 188 days to go until the next one!!

Another brilliant weekend comes to an end, but we will always have the memories. Here are a few of the standout moments from the event:

• Pup's floppy nipple
• Bob's bad back :(
• Trebz's keyboard woes - wired FTW
• Themy and the PUBG emergency pickup
• Postman Tap?!
• Daz's egg count fail
• Voltsa only lasting half an hour in CS:GO on his first day
• The intense Splitgate match
• Playing Codenames on the PC because it was "quicker" than setting up the board game
• Themy's pot of money at the side of his bed
• Ordering techniques in the Pup Quiz
• Themy booting the front panel off his PC
• Mesmer leaving the hot glue gun to cool - in the sun
• Bob, Pup and Bean playing Sam Fox Strip Poker
• Pizza and Pi
• Quatoria running off in Back4Blood. Again
• Questionable stocks of Vocation beer
• Unquestionable quality breakfasts

For a reminder of the gaming schedule and a link to some photos, head to the BobLAN 2022.2 page

No roundup would be complete without thanks to the hosts - amazing effort once again Bob and Lynda, all despite you buggering up your back a week before. Also thanks to Braddy and Max for bringing the Scottish food and the crispy buns!

It's BobLAN week - make sure you fire up all your game managers before setting off to avoid killing Bob's network. There will be some big downloads if you haven't played those games in a while.

The first physical LAN of the year is fast approaching, with just over 3 weeks to go. Bob is doing his usual early prep with food, gaming rigs and accommodation. Can't wait...

CS:GO's Operation Riptide ended yesterday, alongside a few map changes in the official pool. Basalt, Ravine, Extraction, Insertion II and County are out, to be replaced by Iris, Climb, Crete, Hive, Vineyard and Ember. These new maps span the various game types, so not all are suitable for the DFC map rotation.

Read full details on the CS:GO Blog

For those who follow pro e-sports, the Intel Extreme Masters event at Katowice starts today. This is one of the biggest CS:GO events on the calendar and you can watch how it should be done on the ESL CS:GO Twitch stream

Feeling a bit annoyed? Maybe even a little cross? Then you've come to the right place - our WANgry WAN party starts this afternoon. Meet up on Discord, follow the schedule on the WANgry page and vent your anger!

Voting has concluded for the dates for the first full BobLAN of the year. The selected weekend is the one starting Thursday 28th April, by far the most popular choice. The usual BobLAN Page is up ready for the occasion, with more to follow on game options as the date draws nearer.

Steam have started their latest sale to mark the lunar new year. You can get games like Cyberpunk 2077, Metro Exodus, Doom Eternal and Vermintide 2 for half-price or less, although half of a lot is still quite a lot. Head over to the Steam Store to find out more.

The first remote gaming weekend of 2022 has been arranged for 10th-12th February. As usual, follow the schedule and view screenshots from the dedicated WANgry page

Microsoft have announced that Forza Horizon 5 is now available on Xbox Game Pass for both console and PC: Forza Horizon 5

They have also added both Java and Bedrock editions of Minecraft to Game Pass for PC at last - previously you could only get Minecraft Dungeons. This should allow RTX-enabled PCs to play the enhanced version of Minecraft, demos of which look amazing: Minecraft for PC

Yet another drive-filler from Activision in the Call of Duty franchise - Vanguard Zombies. It looks utterly ridiculous but I'm sure fans of CoD will enjoy it. The game is available on 5th November 2021 and you can watch the trailer on Youtube

The latest instalment of Age of Empires will be available from day one for Game Pass for PC (included with Ultimate) account holders. The game is due for release on 28th October - view details and the official trailer at Microsoft

When we pencilled in the date for this BobLAN, it was more in hope than expectation. As the day drew nearer we dared to dream, but excellent planning and a strict vaccination/testing regime meant the event went ahead with no issues whatsoever.

And what an event it was! Gaming aside, it was just great to see everyone again for the first time in nearly two years - hopefully it won't be as long to the next one!

Here are a few highlights of the weekend:

• Wednesday night as a sleep over night
• Mass testing of attendees
• Setup night curries and Friday pulled pork sandwiches
• Finding out that Bob had a crochet lawn. Who knew?!
• Trebz breaking crockery with his arse powers from 2 metres away and blaming Themy
• Themy deciding to check if the Quooker tap really did produce boiling water
• Scenes when Trebz got his first chicken dinner
• Mesmer's addiction to tea
• Quatoria discovering he wasn't Russcky's favourite victim
• Pup bringing 20+ bottles of DFC branded hand sanitiser
• Daz awarding Pup his very own Dobby the House Elf crochet set
• Shenanigans with crisps and keyboards
• First Pup Quiz physical award
• Revelation that Lynda runs the BobLAN from a spreadsheet
• Themy calculating that if you spend the same amount on petrol but at a higher price per litre, you get...less petrol
• The inception of BobLan Premium, which may or may not include ladies
• Finally playing CoD Warzone - on about our 4th attempt, only for it to last around 15 minutes
• Themy's DayZ disaster
• The takeaway deliveries actually being accurate
• Bob's internet and electrical circuits holding up the entire weekend

Of course none of this would have happened without Bob and Lynda - huge thanks from all of us for a special weekend! Don't forget - £25 per day to Bob to cover costs please!!!

BobLAN 2021.4 setup day starts today. Well, for some it started yesterday :) First breakfast done, now onto the beer and gaming...

A 30 minute gameplay demo of FarCry 6, due for release next month, is available on Shacknews. The demo shows the early parts of the game and some of the NPC interactions, including an alligator that's thankfully on your side! Needless to say, the game looks stunning, and is all the better for returning to its usual island setting with plenty of foliage and water effects.

View the demo over on Shacknews

With a month to go until BobLAN gets underway, the rules regarding entry have been agreed:

• Only those double-jabbed are allowed
• Take a lateral flow test before setting off
• Further LFTs will be taken during the weekend
• Undervoltage your RTX30xx to avoid excessive power draw :)