Operation Austere Thunderbolt is (finally) on

During the summer a big unanticipated DIY project shoved Operation Austere Thunderbolt onto the back burner. Now that project is finally out of the way, and my current rig is literally expiring before my eyes, I know I can’t put off the purchase of a new PC any longer. Later this week I intend to buy everything on one of these pcpartpicker.com component lists…

Read More
An Introduction to Japanese Train Simulators

Empty your bladder, find a buttock-friendly perch, and affix a ‘DO NOT DISTURB’ sign to your person before diving into this fascinating 7000-word essay on Japanese rail sims. Open October contributor LBSC doesn’t just discuss relatively well-known-in-the-West offerings such as BVE and Densha de Go, he shines light on local hits such as Ongakukan’s TS series, and lionises a current Early Access title that may well have passed you by.

Read More
The Lions of Lodowice: Turn 17

Why do all the screenshots in this turn report look they were taken in 1997? A couple of days ago my PC suddenly decided that it detested OpenGL. Titles that had worked flawlessly for years, no longer launched, and hours of driver switching and windows update uninstalling failed to fix the problem. For some reason the OpenGL-reliant Combat Mission: Red Thunder does still run, but now insists on displaying at a nostalgic 1024 x 768 resolution. Assuming an imminent video card switch fixes the problem, normal service will be resumed next turn!

Read More
Where am I?

Using the following clues (the map above is purely decorative) in combination with Street View, work out my location.

Read More
Demo Disc

A minute’s silence in memory of the demo disc, if you please. Coup de grâced by broadband, the wafer of wonders* that once clung limpet-like to the front cover of almost every games mag is no more. Denied these monthly mix tapes, the gamer of today is, I reckon, less inclined to reconnoitre and genre-flit than their predecessor. Because in 2023 you rarely find yourself installing kite flying sims, apian Settlers clones, and puzzle games inspired by Underground Railroad quilts, out of boredom-tinged curiosity, there’s less chance of unlikely love affairs blossoming.

Read More