dan-likes-trees

YESSS!!!! So very chuffed when I saw that earlier. Love this.. Guardian review is particularly great - https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/dec/05/the-last-guardian-review-fumito-ueda-playstation Yeah, absoloutely. Completely expected the frustrations based on SotC and early impressions, so it's sounding as good as I could possibly have hoped. Haven't been this pumped for a game probably since the Last of Us. Caamaan!!

One of the all time great posts! 'Even the Wii U userbase has more users than out league' slayed me. And we cannot even beat a thread about Donald Trump! Roger's responce on facebook messenger 'Phenomenal Work of art #betterthanjourney' I'd forgotten about the cup draws et all of yore. Xpert had quite the peak back in the day! We'll get back... maybe Edit: Why even come back if you are going to leave once you lose??

7 years after Retro Link's first post... this is out next week! Read a few bits to temper my expectations.. review embargos lift on monday morning too. Regardless, preordered the nice launch edition one from shopto. Bring it on!

The Gamespot review mentioned finding a bunch of huge locked doors that the reviewer assumed were post-game content but hadn't figured out how to open yet - and the videogamer review video mentioned post-game stuff, so I think there are things to do. Picked up a copy tomorrow, looking forward to getting stuck in!

Coming to regret Preecey's missed penalty and Directo's surprise power shot when we last met! Nonetheless, however fast that Angry Greek steamroller keeps rolling... Winston ain't dropping no points!! Mad four way dash to the finish line from here on out! Outrageous game-changer of a win for @drahkon - thank you my man! Shame you're not sticking out for another season, seems you're just getting to grips with things and getting some big results! And Happy Birthday by the way!

Somre pretty good stuff on the psn digital flash sale - https://store.playstation.com/#!/en-gb/digital-flash/cid=STORE-MSF75508-DIGIFS16 Picked up Inside, Abzu, Soma, Vanishing of Ethan Carter, The Unfinished Swan and Flower myself, all for £30. Not a bad haul!

Cheers for that boyo!!!! Any of the top 5 could easily win it at this point. Didn't think I'd claw my way back top after going 5 points off the beat a couple weeks back. Looking forward to blowing it against Zell on Tuesday, gradually pulling my way back top, then losing it once and for all against you on penultimate game of the season!

Yeah I thought it was pretty uneven. Or rather, the actual character animation and designs were all excellent and a bit of a pleasure to watch, but it was like a lot of it was rendered really poorly or something. All looked a bit like a high res pokemon go or something. Weird. Maybe they predicted the film wouldn't make enough money to spend too much on the effects! I enjoyed it well enough though. A solid 3 or 4 stars.

Godo thread. The thing that I find weird about news in the UK is how few decent right wing news sources there are online. I sometimes feel compelled to balance out my diet of Guardian, Slate, and the i with discourse from the other side; but it's practically nowhere to be found, The Times being behind a paywall and the telegraph, sun etc being obsessed with clickbait or 'entertainment' news. I totally get the idea of the echo chamber on social media - but what sites are people reading on the right? It's like with Brexit - how was anyone that gets their news online coming to the conclusion that it was a good idea? The rise of the far right in the US makes more sense to me given the presence of fox news, Breitbart, and such. Although the Guardian colomnists are sometimes a little too left leaning for my tastes, generally I find their views to be centrist enough (came out in support of Lib Dems in '10, their journalists are constantly critical of Corbyn, etc) to not feel flagrantly biased. Lastly, in regards to people talking about poor reporting - having worked in the news, a lot of this I think is because so much news is outsourced. When multiple sites are reporting incorrect news it's probably when they've bought the stories from agencies, Associated Press, Reuters, etc. I tend to get a lot of my political news from podcasts these days. The New Statesman Podcast, Keepin' it 1600, Guardian politics. Again - any centrist / right wing suggestions appreciated.

Yeah, really enjoying it too. It actually seems like a better fit as a miniseries - I can't see how the present story threads can be dragged out over multiple seasons. Then again, apparently s2 won't be out until 2018 so I guess they've got a while to mull it over! I'm totally sick of this kind of lazy headline writing from US websites

Yeah true enough. Would be good to get Ell or Peepsy back to liven up the chitchat. Who was the Tinker Tailor returnee btw? Winston's season In terminal decline, with another bad injury this week to cap it off. DuDs on could be unchaseable by anyone if Winston don't get a result on Friday! And - at least you got some shooting practice against Bob this week! Definitely in reach of a medal

Watched the latter at the weekend. Absolutely brilliantly crafted film.

Quite happy about this. Was kind of hoping Star Wars would be their next one (no idea if that's feasible license-wise) so I guess this is the next best thing. Slightly odd one as Tales of the Borderlands has a kinda similar tone, and sits within the same broad genre. Best outcome from the Marvel partnership for me though though tbh, as someone with zero interest in comic book movies. Kind of bums me out that they keep adding franchises rather than progressing with the ones that they have. I'd love another Thrones / Borderlands season. Has anyone been playing Batman? Bought it last week off the strength of the other Telltale games I've played, looking forward to diving in.

MADDOG LEAGUE - HALFWAY POINT DuDs goalkeeping takes the Mick DuDs Mick Partridge has a strong claim of being player of the season. With 8 clean sheets off 11 matches, and an astonishing 89% save rate, he is perhaps the player of the league. Compare this to, say, Haden’s Bonello, who has a mere 69% save rate, and one begins to gather a sense of DuDs key to success. The headline result this week was DuD’s victory over Winston. This was to be expected, and though for a while it looked like Winston, rudderless with a suspended Wimmer, might sneak a draw, Aranzubia fired home toward the end of the match. The manager has addressed the loss of Danielsson during Friday’s match as potentially decisive. The coming fortnight will be a big one for DuDs date with destiny - they could put some serious distance between the rest of the pack and wrap up the race early. Nuclear Sub cling to contention with strong week Perhaps the shift in this week’s political landscape has proved the impetus for the renaissance of the Nuclear Sub; their services will surely be in demand sooner rather than later. A hard fought home victory against Hull-Federer in a close-fought battle of the 451s puts Nuclear Sub well in the mix of the top 5. A thrashing of BoB, meanwhile, has sent Rory Slater top of the table for goals and assists. The manager has stayed unusually silent in the forums. The return leg, away at Hull on Tuesday, will make or break their season. Worry for the warriors After a demolition job away at Hull, Winston looked the favorites to top the league. In what the manager flagged up as a desciive fortnight, they have completely failed the test. Wimmer’s absence was felt strongly in points dropped to DuDs, and whilst a draw against the Greeks is not a bad point, it is not enough for a league champ. ‘In truth some of players are just not up to task. Any injuries and we are without a hope of landing a top 3 spot.' Haden drop out of race with unexpected draw with Drahkon Home at Drahkon was a must-win for Haden. In a tensely fought battle that only began to bubble over at the last, Mena broke away to score for Haden before, minutes later, Klockner, contributing his only effort of note of the entire season, slotted in an almost identical breakway goal. A thrashing of Bob was just what was needed after a dreadful run of games - the upcoming return fixtures against Greeks and DuD could be their last gasp of the season if results go badly. In truth it has been an uncharceristically poor campaign for Haden; Curmi exemplifies this; top scorer in the squad with only 4 goals, in a season totally devoid of any results of note. ‘can't believe how badly my team is playing!’ bemoaned the manager. Perhaps he has suffered from trying to mix in too many youths too early. Even in victory at Bob, team ratings were poor. Look for a reaciton in the second half of the season... The ones we lost and an uncertain future for the league As we hit the halfway point in season one, this pundit thought Moria and Eights would be in contention for top spot. Instead, after a couple of awful staring fortnights, both have given up on the league completely. This pundit hopes they will return next season; they are strong managers in a league crying out for competition. With the news of two planned resignations in BoB and Drahkon, the former predictably leaking goals, but the later competing impressively, the foundations of the league are looking shakey. Managers across the league are understood to be unsure of how to proceed - sell off the youth prospects and focus on immediate glory, or plan for the long game? This pundit suggests a solid commitment of three seasons including this one, with the potential to expand if interest is still present by the end of the three. How do you guys feel?

Leonard Cohen has died, aged 82. Yet more sad news in an endlessly depressing year..! I highly recommend a listen to his latest album, You Want it Darker, which is an incredible record, even more potent in it's existential content in hindsight of this news. Reminds me of Bowie's Blackstar from earlier this year in tone. To my mind, his music only got better and deeper as his voice got lower, lower and more gravely. A true legend.

No way man!! There's still 8 people playing regularly from what I can see. Shame @Tales and @Moria bottled it after poor starts (are you guys coming back for a fresh start season 2?) Definitely a shame there aren't so many posts on here, but the league is feeling quite competitive to me. Me and Roger Federer used to have a league with friends that only had about 6 of us tops, and it was still a total blast. More so, even, as fewer games makes for no margin for error, and unexpected champs. I think 8 is more enough than to keep the league going, especially as everyone in it would be big hitters - would be nice and competitive. Also, who was the secret returnee for next year? Peepsy? Ell? Add that to MOT, should be enough for a couple seasons more at least. I don't know about United, but The Warriors are just getting started!

Quite enjoyed it myself, in part because with Arsenal's and our recent form, at the emirates and with no alli, toby, lamela or Sissoko I wasn't expecting us to (just about) come out the better side. Couple of good chances missed by both sides too. Some interesting stuff recently about declining viewing figures in the PL. I was wondering how people on here reflect that - has BT sport splitting the games, easy pirate streams, and social media highlights etc changed how often you watch games? Also, question for @Phube after another loss.. what would constitute a good season at this point? Would you be happy with the foxes reaching quarter finals or so of the champions league and avoiding relegation? Are you worried about the threat of relegation?

Bluddy hell, didn't realise everyone on here was so successful! Thought you were all a bunch of twenty-something chancers like me! 1) What's your dream job? It was always to make it into a full time animation position. I'm now pretty much there! Need to get some new goals. Having made it to where I wanted to be, whilst it's a great job, varied in work and I get on well with my colleagues.. I don't know. Maybe I need some new goals, or something. Audio I have an eye on starting opening a studio further along the line, or aiming for more specific clients or styles. I've also always wanted to try my hand at fiction one day. I notice many others on here saying the same.. maybe because it's the easiest thing to dream big about, given all you need is a laptop and no further skills! 2) What are you actually doing? Recently started working as an animator and video editor full time, following a few freelance stints, and a few years of graphic design and more admin-y roles. 3) Did you ever envision yourself in what you're doing now? When I was in early secondary school I used to make videos, short films, animations for fun. In hindsight I got sidetracked for about 7 years doing an english degree that led nowhere that I wanted to go. About 2 years ago I dropped my then job to part time with a laser focus on becoming an animator, which now I am professionally. I do wonder how much further along the career path I'd now if I hadn't given in to pressure from teachers / parents to do a 'more academic' english degree that ultimately led nowhere that I wanted to go though.. I had no idea you were doing that! What is whiteboard animation? Literally animation in the aesthetic of a whiteboard? What software is it made in? Sounds great. Feeling in quite a similar position to what you describe in your last paragraph. Really like having producers take care of most of the client related stuff and not having to worry about getting enough money in. On the flip side, seeing how much money clients pay for animation and how little gets back to the animators makes me think I've got to make the leap of faith at some point!

Would be interested if you could give us an update once you've had a chance to use it a bit. Like Ike I'm thinking about picking up the dot at some point soon but not sure I'd use it enough aside from voice controlling spotify, though maybe that's enough to justify a buy

Winston where they belong!! For three days

Gotta be the Peeps..? That addiction is strong. Whoever it is, Winston look forward to crushing them. That said, DuD are top having bought the most players (11! Mental). This pundit suspects you just spent big on the wrong position - I feel like in the early seasons a great goalie and free kick taker might be the most important thing, where forwards are least important... Good win for you yesterday in any case - I look forward to our game next week! Pretty much finished up with my transactions for the season - reasonably happy with the squad, though don't think it's a title winning team as is

Me and Happenstance both have one and have rather enjoyed them, in fact! The S6 screen is actually higher res than the PSVR moniter, so it's not entirely inferior - the cinematic mode on it is, as Happenstance said, great, for example. For whatever reason, though, after a month or two of being utterly blown away by it (though obviously the games were much lower graphic quality, the video content and the concept games were amazing in places) I found it collecting dust in recent months. One thing that would really sell PSVR for me is it was added to Plus - ie if there were a free PSVR game added to plus each month. The Gear stuff, though a real mixed bag, had the advantage of all the apps and games being sub-7 quid. The PSVR content looks like it could really add up, ontop of the hardware outlay - particularly with the bit hitters being games people already own and have to pay for again (Rez, Driveclub). Nonetheless, and considering I rather thought Sony had blown it by hyping up the PS4 Pro right before PSVR launch - I'm glad to see it's getting interest regardless. I'd be keen to pick one up a few months down the line if there's a steady stream of fairly priced games released.. will keep an eye on impressions in here!

Stunning buys! Thought your form might dip through lack of training with all the money spent but you can't argue with those clean sheets! Think one of the squads with big-buy keepers is going to win the league this season... Games 2 & 3 Muddled Moria busted by Bob Given Bob’s leaky defence, one would be forgiven for thinking that a home game against Bob would be cause for a guaranteed 3 points in the bag. Not so - Bob provided an onslaught away at Moria, dominating a game where they could have scored 4 or 5 but for a disallowed goal and a missed penalty. Moria squad, looking so strong in pre-season, are not jelling as a squad. Managers will be far more wary of The Bob-Train now. Moria will be desperate for a win at home against DuD after getting off to such a shocker... Baggies stay top after tense rally with Roger In a game only marginally less uneventful than Winston Silverdale, but about as eventful as a Pulis West Brom match, the two league leaders pussyfooted around the court nary daring to go to the net, hit a risky passing shot, or even attempt a cheeky drop shot. A fairly uninspiring performance by both, but both managers will be chuffed as chips to remain in spitting distance of the top of the league, Roger earning a vital point, and Baggies retaining their team’s season clean sheet. DuD has been spending like there’s no tomorrow - it looks to be paying off. Old title rivals on the floor of the table The league standings right now looks like they’ve been flipped upside down. The once-mighty Submarine and Eights prop up the table, with both sides having only a goal to their name each whilst leaking goals at an alarming rate. Zell has put this down to an overspend on a ‘star player’ (yet to score) - Tales has remained silent throughout his abysmal season opening. One would imagine that both are out of the title - these are managers who know the value of the Long Game, so perhaps they will cut their losses early and turn to development.. Bookies spooked as Drahkon goes unbeaten This pundit rated Drahkon’s title odds at 300/1 before the season kicked off. They have since embarked on an unbeaten streak that most impressively has seen them come away from Eights arena with a point, experimenting with three up top, and dominating the game. He has bought intelligently this weekend in Drejs and Fermskog, further boosting what was already a strong squad - if they can settle without disrupting team harmony. Dark horses for the season? Angry Greeks Rising with a monster keeper καλή εβδομάδα! Top of the form table this week, the Greeks keep exit the week with two clean sheets and 6 points. Th team is jelling well and the relatively uneventful transfer proceedings have led to a settled, balanced squad. Haraszti looks an excellent acquisition - the Greeks have yet to concede with him in between the sticks, and he has been the Xpert11 keeper twice. A thin squad means limited formations, and time will tell how far this team can go with 442. For now, they look a match for any.

And what a game it was!! Made the total rookie error of forgetting to set substitutions / auto subs. Heart sunk when I realised my error and you started piling in the shots at the end, ha. Peepsy made a really good beginners guide a couple years back which is worth a read - http://n-europe.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1671816&postcount=376 (I'd add to watch out for compatibility when you buy players - 'fair' or 'poor' will play real badly.) His tips are broadly about setting up and developing your team - you should be able to find out more about tactics on a game-to-game basis, which formations suit what style and players etc, on the xpert site Yeah for sure! Definitely a good way of doing it. I think once a week might be a bit too often for me though - I think we used to do once rather than twice a week? So maybe if you did this weekend, I did next weekend, and alternate like that?

Ashley made a thread about this which is worth looking through. Very sad news - and a great presence in the xpert league through the years. http://www.n-europe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=58365 Season One - It Begins Angry Greeks The Greeks rise! Nikos cracks the whip! A streamlined team remain, with 5 players sacked since Nikos took over. Pantalis Ostrovski could end up dominating early seasons - a 22 / 7 is a very tasty prospect at this stage. An extremely impressive pre-season could hint at things to come, though this punter is doubtful over the strength in depth in what is set to be a long season.. Title odds: 4 / 1 Drahkon The league’s new boy could be in for a serious ring of fire, having yet to enter the transfer market, and more worringly, having not logged in for 12 days. The squad is a comprised of a bunch of Germans who frankly fail to live up to their nationalities footballing rep, though the strong keeper could prove useful at the inevitable onslaught they will face. Nonetheless, Drahkon is known on the forums for being an extremely talented gamers and a smart guy to boot. There could be hope for them yet... 300 / 1 Eights ReUnited How is an Eights team born? Was Tales ever a good manager or was he merely a beneficiary of a long standing squad? His reputation will be on the line in these early seasons, after a long dry spell before the end of the previous league. He’ll be Pointon to his new captain to cover up the otherwise flimsy defence. Surprisingly thin on youth prospects. 9 / 1 Haden Haden’s team is valued at 11 million - comfortably the highest in the league. Haden is the league’s head honcho. FA corruption? The comments section of the Xpert Echo are filled with screeching conspiracy theorists. Haden has been a busy boy, recruiting a host of players early doors, not least the excellent Benito Mena, and sacking 8 right off the bat. Stuart Preece and Serge Katenin look like an excellent partnership in an otherwise weak back line. Yet there is strength, depth, youth... making probably the standout favourites at this early stage. 3 / 1 Hull-Federer Alliance Imagine Pep and Jose leading the same team. Or more accurately, given the level of previous managerial success, Hodgson and Brucie. This is a team made of such depths of combined history; the simulacrum of everything the men have worked towards. Joe and Roger have knocked their heads together and recruited beautifully - a couple of 20 / 6’s, a couple of golden oldees. This punter suspects the midfield is too lightweight for a title challenge but look out for them in season 3 or 4... Bigsby will surely be in with a shot of the golden boot. 10 / 1 Yellow Sub Submerge, Yellow Sub. Rise, Nuclear Sub. The start of Zell’s first managerial career took off faster than any in the history of the game. Here he has placed his confidence - and the club’s savings in a 26 year old forward, Roray Slater - an unusual choice in a game traditionally dominated by midfield strength.. The squad look light, but then again, Zell has always exceeded the expectations of his squad. The defence looks solid, but a lack of talent between the sticks could be a real issue. One to watch. 8 / 1 Return of the Bob Notwithstanding the revelation that’s Bob’s name is not in fact Bob.. Bob is back. Bob brings boundless goals, bounties of balls blasted in the net - it makes for blatently beautiful entertainment But where will these goals come from? Not from Owono, Etonge or Bouli, that’s for sure. This punter wants Bob to put his money where his mouth is and splash the cash on some mega goal talent. 50 / 1 Seahawks Who are Seahawks? The kind of team that, like Burnley or Cardiff, skirt around the upper eshelons of the game without ever drawing enough interest to really be noticed. Perhaps this will be the season they emerge a force - the front three are a match for any. This punter is not too Keen on the back line though. 30 / 1 Winston Warriors Winston have returned from Russia with an entire roster of players, who he hopes will march into battle with the valour a Bolkonski and the fiendishness of a Rostov. Word is that Winston’s head of recruitment hasn’t slept for a week, so desperate is he to address the goalkeeping vacancy. Ispravnikov and Wimmer bulk up an otherwise average midfield - Winston urgently need to address their lack of keeper if they want in on a shout of glory. 10 / 1 Silverdale I always admired Silverdale; a beacon of consistency not unlike David Moyes’ Everton of yore. The squad boasts the best defence in the league, though once again a lightweight midfield might be their undoing. Silverdale had gone nearly a decade without the biggest trophy - this could be their best shot. 20 / 1 DuD DuD are a team that are practically screaming ‘GIVE ME THAT TROPHY RIGHT NOW’. He has spent big and spent well, going in hard on a first season title push, whilst recruiting some decent youths to build. The team as it is now is an OCD’s dream, reading like a well polished tax return, everything in order thank you very much. His past history as a manager is uninspiring, but this could be a big big chance for DuD to prove his doubters wrong 5 / 1 Moria United Wasn’t Charlie’s team constantly bogged down in the middle league in recent years? Could a talented leader truely be festering in a league like that? For my money his recruitment has been the finest in the league. There are no weak spots, he is equipped for the medium term future, and has clearly seen a vision of his immediate glory. Expect Bolukbasi and Healy to be in the fight come December. 7 / 1 -- -- Guys - on the final week of pre-season I must say that having drawn up this report - I am so ready to get back in the game!!! What do you guys think? Who’s going to win the league? Are you trying or focusing on the medium-long game?