Cyberpunk 2077 and other notes

Hi everyone,

Work today was another abbreviated session with an assignment that is very tough due to language barriers and very specific requirements for people to take part in the research effort. Needless I didn't get any interviews done and was growing frustrated.

Tonight's stream of Cyberpunk 2077 ran longer than intended because we did actually advanced the plot, focusing on the plot a bit which got fairly interesting as we went and rescued Evelyn after tracking her down to Clouds, then to a Ripperdoc and then to an underground XBD studio, which sets up a few things plot wise. We also cleared out everything in Westbrook. If the remaining areas have as few side quests to do, I could see myself 100% the remaining portions.

Cyberpunk 2077 Achievements

• Little Tokyo: Complete all gigs and NCPD Scanner Hustles in Westbrook.
• Stanislavski's Method: Use a dialogue option related to V's life path 10 times.

Our next stream (assuming there is work) is scheduled for 9:30 PM Eastern and we'll be stepping away from Cyberpunk 2077 to resume The Last of Us Part II. We left off in the middle of Abby's Seattle Day 2, having to go into the depths of the hospital, which should just be... awful lol.

For the raid we went over to twitch.tv/pradoxgamerau who was featuring the next DLC content for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge. 

Got one one WWE short story commission request done, and wouldn't you know it? The next commission request I get is for another WWE related one. I really do feel like I'm pigeonholed at times. Still I started that second story so I should be able to rip through it in short order hopefully.

Volition , the stuido behind Saints Row is shutting down, the whiny cry babies that voted for Trump and wear MAGA Hats went out of their way to sink the Saints Row reboot (which I played earlier this year) and it basically hurt the studio. There was nothing woke about Saints Row '22, but if these fuckers want to whine, then they better go look at the original game in the franchise because that was 'woke' as hell.

Anyway, on that note, I'm heading off to bed, good night everyone!

New Tales From The Borderlands Is Charming

 Good morning everyone,

Yesterday was productive on several levels, as I got a bunch of boxes broken down and ready to go out to the trash this week... so it'll be another Wednesday when I'm taking two bag of garbage around to the back of my house.

Last night's stream featured episodes one, two and three of New Tales From The Borderlands, and there is a lot of charm to it, which is the case with many games in the Borderlands franchise. The three main characters of Fran, Anu and Octavio have a nice mix of personalities, even if Octavio can be a bit grating. Visually, it does make me interested in wanting to play Borderlands 3 at some point to really understanding a lot of the back story. 

The plot is a little paper thin, in that the trio are three nobodies who find themselves in a position to make things better for the world, and by episode three, they get funding for their healing ray. There are some similarities to plot of the original Tales from the Borderlands developed by Tell Tale Games.

I will say, much like Saints Row '22, New Tales From The Borderlands certainly is inclusive, and I bet that pissed off a lot of MAGA, Right-Wing, Conservatives... in fact I should look up the reviews and comments from when NTFTB to see what the reaction was.

Of course we'll be looking to finish New Tales From The Borderlands tonight with episodes 4 and 5. Depending on how that 

New Tales from the Borderlands Achievements

• Who Needs Keys?: Perform a Super Science Slap.
• Each Sold Separately: Obtain a Vaultlander figure.
• You're Not Naked: Obtain a cosmetic item.
• We're In: Complete a hack.
• From Zeroes...: Complete Episode 1.
• Don't Get Cocky: Win a Vaultlanders battle.
• Shard Snatchers: Complete Episode 2.
• You Rich Now!: Get the money from Sink or Swim.
• Our Lucky Winner: Complete Episode 3.

Oh and for the raid we dropped in on PowerThumbz during their stream of Daymare 1998 over at twitch.tv/powerthumbz

Apparently the company that owns UFC has purchased WWE... and well, safe to say the WWE is now dead as company. 

Will be interesting to see what's on the agenda for work today, I didn't look to see what everyone was on yesterday.

Looking into a more efficient way of connecting the PS1 and PS2 to the capture card and to eliminate the need of composite cables. Not sure when I'll be able to test that

I continue to unwisely chip away at the achievements and in-game goes at Hades before going to bed... what can I say? I have a very good idea of what combination of boons work in that game.

Hades Achievements

• Haste of Hermes: Get 20% dodge chance with the Lambent Plume

Added World's End to the Nintendo Switch collection of games that I have. Really thinking about making Thursdays the Nintendo Switch night of the week.

So on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden

The Googly Eyes Of Overwatch

Good morning everyone,

Last night's stream of Overwatch 2 was a lot of fun, with only a handful of matches making me question the intelligence of the teammates I got grouped with. Big thanks to PandaSweet for being apart of the fun. I picked up a few Plays of the Game as Orissa, Reinhardt and Bastion during tonight's matches. Other characters used were Junker Queen, Moira, Ana, Widowmaker, Ashe, Wrecking Ball and others.

With it being the weekend for April Fools, I totally forgot about the googly eyes being on every character in the game... which made for some disturbing visuals depending on the skin. To my surprise, there voice lines for ultimates were also changed, and it was hilarious to hear Moira yell 'Kamehameha!' when doing her ult!

To my surprised, I did end up getting one of Widowmaker's achievement's done last night completely at random. Keeping in mind, and it was an off-chances that I was able to pull it off... because the requirements for the achievement indicates that it should be done at the same time, but I know I didn't get four eliminations with her venom mine. Oh well.

Overwatch 2 Achievements

• Did That Sting?: Kill 4 enemies using Widowmaker's Venom Mine during a single Quick or Competitive Play game.

For the raid we dropped in on TracyDoll during their stream of Resident Evil 4 Remake over at twitch.tv/tracydoll

For tonight's stream we're starting up New Tales From The Borderlands, and I figure we should be able to finish it in two nights, based on my history with other episodic games of a similar nature

Got mom's portrait hanging on the wall by the entrance to the kitchen. It's kind of straight... more or less

Did a fair amount of writing done yesterday afternoon for the latest Mass Effect short story commission, with luck it will not take a week to finish writing it. Wait didn't I say that last week regarding the last story story?!

Played some more Hades last night and knocked out two more achievements.

Hades Achievements

• Grown Close: Forge a bond with any character
• Well Versed: Fully Unlock the Olympians' Codex entries

People mocking the DLC road map for Saints Row '22 clearly didn't play it, because as I recently proved, it's not a bad game and I was doing every single thing in it that I considered possible on stream! 

So on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden

Spider-Man for the PS4 Is Pretty Fun

Good morning everyone,

Work yesterday was another solid day, but they called shift early because not enough people want to work the final hour on a Friday afternoon. Still it was a productive day and I like that

Did some light grocery shopping to supplement some things, adding a couple to provide some variety to what I've been eating. 

Last night's stream of Marvel's Spider-Man was a lot of fun, we're playing it on Friendly difficulty, and I could take it or leave it with the combat, while trying to keep track with a lot of enemies. I do struggle with larger enemies, to the point the Kalenal pointed out that I should try not getting hit (good advice by the way). Still, I did enjoy a lot of the game mechanics when it came to web slinging and went about getting all of the Backpacks collected and fixing all of the towers. 

Basically I'm taking the same approach I had with Saints Row '22, in doing every new task first before advancing the main story. It's how I get the most out of open world games, plus it keeps me from having to think to much in regards to keeping various game gimmicks in mind.

I did run into one notable issue with Spider-Man, and that's the lack of foresight when it came to quips he says after finishing off a group of villains around the city. In fact I could swear I heard the same line three times in less than five minutes,

Marvel's Spider-Man Trophies

• Knocking Down Kingpin: Defeat Fisk
• Lost and Found: Collect 5 Backpacks
• Spider-Sensible: Perfect Dodge 10 attacks
• Amazing Coverage: All Surveillance Towers activated
• And Stay Down!: Complete a level 1 Combat Benchmark
• King of Swing: Complete a level 1 Traversal Benchmark
• Wing It: Traverse across the city rooftops
• Backpacker: Collect all Backpacks
• The Scientific Method: Craft your first Upgrade

For the raid we dropped in on maximilian_dood as their stream was getting started, they took a look at the King trailer for Tekken 8 and tried out a randomizer for Resident Evil 2 Remake. You can check them out at twitch.tv/maximilian_dood

The plan for tonight's stream is to play Elder Scrolls Online, if things fall through we got several alternatives that we can play instead

I will not be surprised if Square Enix ends up being bought out by Sony within the next two years. Not because Sony wants to keep it out of Microsoft's hands, but because Square Enix has been and is making some of the stupidest decisions possible

On Monday, my brother and I are going to try and get a few things out of the basement through the rear doors. For sure an exercise bike and the old couch that used to be featured on my streams is getting tossed. But I need to literally clear a path to get this huge TV out of here as well. Safe to say tonight's stream will look different as a result.

Here is this weeks stats for Fitness Boxing: Fist of the North Star

• Punches Thrown: 8224
• Estimated Calorie Burn: 3296 kcal
• Fitness Age: 18
• 41% of Achievements Unlocked
  

Didn't do any writing last night due to the moving of furniture and stuff , but I intend to work on the Daria commission request this afternoon.

And on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden

Saints Row '22 is finished!

Good morning everyone,

Last night we finished Saints Row, and I have to say, in certainly went in a direction I wasn't expecting. Obviously the big betrayal angle was well telegraphed, but the reason for it was certainly unexpected The Nahualli wanting to take Kev, Neenah and Eli to be his own friends after seeing how they made The Boss better. Then there was the entire 'Life is Strange' style segment that really got weird, before the epic show down and wrapping up of the story. I really did like it ended with just an old fashion duel, but I feel I had the wrong weapon equipped considering the animation indicated it was supposed to be a revolver.

We did go on to do everything reasonably possible in a single play through, completing every single district, placing every venture.. and the big pay off being the Saints singing Love Shack was pretty sweet. We also went after some 'easy' achievements that I didn't do, so I ended up with 44 out of 50 achievements... and I really have no interest in the remaining six, two of which involve multiplayer. 

In terms of what's the Next Monday-Tuesday game, it's going to be WWE 2K22, and I've already went ahead and knock out a bunch of achievements right off the bat. Now there are two story modes in it, we'll probably do just the female one first obviously, and depending how long it takes we'll do the one for a male superstar. On a side note, not sure if I like the control scheme this game has in comparison to what was sort of the standard for nearly 20 years

For the raid, we dropped in on PowerThumbZ as they were playing Prey over at twitch.tv/powerthumbz

Saints Row Achievements

• Quality Time: Completed all loyalty missions.
• Chaos Tamer: Defeated all members of the Idols Collective.
• It's a Bird!: Completed all wingsuit challenges.
• Et tu?: Betrayed by a friend.
• Showdown: Completed Showdown.
• The Spins: Performed a barrel roll.
• We could go home, or…: Sang karaoke with the Saints.
• A Golden Age: Unlocked Criminal Empire Tier 5.
• The Mechanic: Fully upgraded a vehicle.
• Statement Pieces: Customized a weapon, a vehicle, clothing item, and your skin with a Cutting Edge material.
• Free Refills: Refilled the boost bar 3 times in a row with Infinite Boost.
• Fiesta Time: Hit a launched piñata with the Piñata Stick.
• All Mine: Completed all 15 districts in Santo Ileso.

WWE 2K22 Achievements

• Gulak Academy Graduate: Finish the Tutorial (Play Mode).
• CANNONBALL!: Perform a top rope dive as a Super Heavyweight (Play Mode vs AI).
• C-C-C-Combo Breaker: Counter an Opponent's Combo Using Breaker (Play Mode vs AI).
• Getting Creative: Hit your opponent with 5 different objects in one match (Play Mode vs AI).
• First of Many: Win a match (Play Mode vs AI).
• Acknowledge Me!: Win a 1v1 match against Roman Reigns on Legend difficulty (Play Mode VS. AI).

Had a nice conversation with my Uncle Abraham who is getting checked out for different things al this week, glad he's taking the precautions to stay on top of his health.

The job hunt is... going... not sure if I would say 'well' at this point

Finally finished the Mass Effect short story commission, and it's up at all the usual places. Next commission request is for a WWE one based on things that happened at the recent Royal Rumble event.

All recorded another VHS box tapes... finding one movie where Chuck Norris plays the villain... yeah crazy I know! That video will premier next Wednesday on my YouTube channel.

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Intermediate Combo #1, Triple Combo #2 and Defensive Combo #1

"I don't trust those trees. They seem kind of shady."

Song of the Day: Smile by Vitamin C.

For tonight's stream, we shall lead off with Fall Guys, will we get lucky with a surprise win like last week? Who knows, then if Iceman is able to join us, Fallout 76 or Gears of War 2... or maybe something else entirely, we shall see

So on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden

We're 89% done with Saints Row

Good morning everyone,

Woke up with a damn Charley horse in my right calf this morning.... yeah that was a rude wake up call

Last night's stream of Saints Row saw a big focus on the remaining side activities, dealing with the final two ventures and their side activities, plus the final eleven Wanted side quests, which meant doing the Donut Run main quest to open up the final six of those. So a good portion of tonight was spent traveling back and forth all over the map to get all this stuff done.We closed out then night by doing the main story mission 'Corporate Retreat', which was certainly a surreal way of closing out the stream.

That said, the obvious incoming betrayal by The Nahaulli is pretty obvious and not well hidden considering he wants to do the Train Heist, and didn't like the idea of a Team Building exercise. Still this does tie things together with the beginning of the game and the opening cut scenes.

Now as the title says, we're 89% done with Saints Row, so tonight's stream means we'll have a good shot at finishing the main story, and I'll probably end up doing some achievement hunting for some basic things as well, because the real goal is to get the Saints Skyscraper built to give the game it's true ending 

On a side note, I increased the gamma on how OBS displays things via my capture card, because as last Saturday night proved, it was showing things way to dark.

For the raid we dropped in on PrincessPashley while they were playing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt over at twitch.tv/princesspashley

Saints Row Achievements

• Bonus Round: Destroyed a car with Pugnus Sanctus Dei.
• The Professional: Completed all jobs on the Wanted app.

Received the storage bags for my DVD collection... and I needed 22 of them... so I was right in my estimate over how many DVDs I have. I'll worry about my physical video game collection down the line. The reason why I want to get my entire DVD collection in order is  mostly due to thinking about eventually moving things up out of the basement, and having the DVDs ready for moving around and setting up something for when family comes over to watch movies and such seems like a good idea.

Big thank you to Mr. Ward at PSE&G in helping with retaining all existing services and making the transition of things from my mom's account to my new account incredibly smooth. Here's hoping things with American Water work out.

Spoke with my Aunt Hilary yesterday, and if there is one thing I can say for sure is that I cannot think to far ahead in terms of any trips or stuff, with everything so in-flux and my own constant worries about whatever can go wrong (as the recent Water Heater incident proved, things will always go wrong when you least want them to). 

Recorded a new tier list video based on Saturday morning Cartoons... but the tier list I found had so many duplicates! UGH!

Got some writing done as it relates to the Mass Effect short story, and I'm still not back to where I could write a 2000+ word story in under 4 hours. Hope to finish it today actually

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Block Combo, Difficult CHallenge Combo #1 and Defensive Combo #2

"Where do boats go when they're sick?" "To the boat doc."

Song of the Day: Because of You by Ne-Yo.

For tonight's stream, the plan is actually to finish Saints Row, will we be able to do it? With how I adjusted the difficulty last week, we certainly have a shot!

So on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden

 

Overwatch, Super Bowl and other things

Good morning everyone,

We had a little bit of work yesterday morning just to help close out one of the assignments that came in, so hey, I got to feel productive.

Last night's stream of Overwatch 2 was a lot of fun, picking up two plays of the game as Symmetra and Moira. Big thank you to PandaSweet (who had three Plays of the Game as Moira!) for being apart of the fun as well, as we carried as many people to wins as possible but we ran into some bad luck in regards to people just intentionally preventing progress.

Did finally see the new Antarctica map, with is a best of three capture points, and there is certainly a lot of ground to cover to keep the opposing team from overwhelming you if you're defending the capture area.  My biggest gripe with it is the blue'ish tint it has, which does make it hard to see things

For the raid we dropped in on PowerThumbz while he was playing Prey over on twitch.tv/powerthumbz

Started writing a new Mass Effect short story commission, getting a fair bit done. I'll tell you, writing two characters is a lot more fun than writing three or more.

Went to a little store yesterday afternoon to pick up a few things, and man I was lucky to find a half-gallon of milk, a loaf of bread and the last pack of Chips Ahoy cookies they had (it's been a few weeks since I had any cookies). I was also looking to see if they had any eggs, and they were fresh out. Oh well.

Did have the Super Bowl on during the stream, and I was wearing my mom's Eagles jersey... now despite them losing, I know my mom would've loved the game. It's a shame the game came down to basically a referee making a call they should've just let slide because of how the game has gone. Sure the result of the game may have still been the same with the Chiefs getting a field goal, but at least the Eagles would've had a chance.

Cousin Frances got every single Trophy in Stray over the weekend, and just knowing that makes me want to put it on the line up of things to revisit during this years gaming tour.

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Difficulty Challenge Combo #2, Straight Combo #2 Biceps Shape Focus Combo.

"I got carded at a liquor store, and my Blockbuster card accidentally fell out. The cashier said never mind."

Song of the Day:Lost on You by LP.

For tonight's stream, we're back to Saints Row with the big focus being on the remaining Ventures to the placed, I believe I have two to go along with their respective tasks and clearing out of threats in the areas where they are located at.

So on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden

The Three Amigos In Saints Row, We're Being Sponsored By Raid: Shadow Legends!

Good morning everyone,

Considering the day prior, I really slept in yesterday, but a big highlight was talking to my Aunt Grace and Cousin Frances, as I wasn't sure what would be the best time to reach them. It was a real fun chat, and I'm so incredibly happy just to be able to chat with them. Also found two heart shape clocks that I think belong to Aunt Grace, but I'm not 100% sure. This did lead to a series of hilarious text messages regarding a photo of the clocks I sent to Frances, who thought something looked like Buddha. 

Got an invitation this morning to have my Twitch broadcasts being sponsored by Raid: Shadow Legends, and well that certainly is giving me an excuse to try the game out on the PC side of things, since I don't play any mobile games In fact we'll do that during tonight's stream during the 2nd half. If you want, you can download Raid: Shadow Legends for free using my affiliate link: https://strms.net/raid_fredcasden on either PC or Mobile, and use PromoCode RondaSESP for more perks! https://strms.net/raid_fredcasdenhttps://strms.net/raid_fredcasden

Last night's stream of Saints Row was really focused on completing business ventures and finding all the remaining discoveries, so again there was no story progress. But at this point, only two more ventures need to be placed, then the grind for the skyscraper. After that there would be just the main story missions to do.

On a side note, The Planet Saints missions to obtain trucks was a pain, but I used the helicopter to do it... because I was not going to bother with the wing suit approach the game intended!

That said, I was quite surprised to see a little tribute to the Three Amigos in the game. Now going back to at least Saints Row The Third, the Amigo Salute was a selected emote / taunt, but to see basically a diorama of the Aimgos encountering the Singing Bush in this game caught be by surprise! I know for a fact I still have the VHS tape of the movie in my home, and I watched it a lot as a kid, so this put a smile on my face.

For the raid, we dropped in on PowerThumbz while he was playing Prey over at twitch.tv/powerthumbz. 

Saints Row Achievements

• Community Outreach: Completed 10 districts in Santo Ileso.
• Masters of Santo Ileso: Unlocked Criminal Empire Tier 4.
• Challenge Accepted: Completed 25 challenges.

Made a good impact on the Mass Effect short story commission, it's relying on what I can think of regarding Diana Allers and her role in Mass Effect 3, but I think it's coming together nicely.

With the Overwatch 2 Season 3 update, I see they brought back being able to commentate players on the opposing team, because quite frankly as some have seen on stream, if I feel no one was worth of getting a commendation, then I'm not giving one. Not completely sold on a number of the changes on various characters, but the developers are always trying to make changes to break existing 'pro approved' teams.

Had a job 'interview' this morning, and it was more of the company trying to sell me on paying for a training course to work for them, and it raised more questions than answers.

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Weaving Combo #1, Body Hook Combo and Beginner Combo #1

"What does a sprinter eat before a race?" "Nothing, they fast!" 

Song of the Day: Want to Want Me by Jason Derulo.

On tonight's stream, we'll be playing Fall Guys for sure, but Fallout 76 will not be on the agenda, as Iceman will not be able to join us this week.So for the second half of the stream, we'll be featuring Raid: Shadow Legends! 

So on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden.

New Water Heater and More Saints Row

Good afternoon everyone,

We begin by saying thank you to my brother Leo, his friend Macho and Macho's father for all their help in getting a new water heater installed with little to no trouble, and for half the cost PSE&G wanted. It's one less stressful thing to worry about in what has been a dramatic few weeks. For the record, it turns out the previous water heater was installed in 2003, so it did its job and then some. I recall mom wanted to replace it a few years ago, but then COVID hit and other things too priority around the house.

Last night's stream of Saints Row was entirely focused on finding Discoveries and expanding the Saints Empire, as I refuse to fully advance the main story until I do everything that is considered side content. This meant a lot of roaming around, flying, gliding, getting into scraps and actually having to try things multiple times because of critical mission failures (aka I fought, I died, I respawned). The biggest main in the ass is calling out Marshall and it's 'mini-boss' being an enemy that is invulnerable unless you let it overheat, then shoot its tanks and then wear it down, rinse and repeat until it's defeated. Ended up reducing all the difficulty settings to the lowest possible just to get through it!

That saint tonight's stream will be more of the same, looking to continue expanding The Saints empire and finding all the goodies across the map.

Thank you to Kalenal for the raid following their stream of Pokemon Scarlett over on twitch.tv/kalenal

For the raid we dropped in on PradoxGamerAU, during their stream they were playing World of Warcraft and RimWorld over at twitch.tv/pradoxgamerau

Saints Row Achievements

• Tourist: Completed the photo scavenger hunt.
• Picking Fights: Defeated a miniboss from each faction.

I didn't get any writing done on the 20th Mass Effect story commission request I've received, so I hope to put a dent into that today if certain things aren't an option for the afternoon.

I still have a hard time going to the living room of my home unless I have to do something... I miss mom more and more each day.

Recorded another Box with VHS Tapes video, which will go live on my YouTube Channel on Friday.

Going forward with Overwatch 2, I'm going to focus on just the first 80 levels of the battle pass and forego the titles. Mostly because I want to write more.

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily work out featured Advanced Combo #2, Hook Combo #2 and Left-Right Step Combo.

"What's the best thing about Switzerland?" "I don't know, but the flag is a big plus."

Song of the Day: Tenerife Sea by Ed Sheeran

For tonight's stream, well you know it's Saints Row... muhahahha! So on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden!

Getting the ball rolling on a new week

Good afternoon everyone,

Yesterday was a good day, spoke to Bianca, who is my mom's niece, and had a nice chat about different things. Also spoke with my brother regarding the water heater situation, so we have a few options, we'll see what's its like through PSE&G before making a final decision in that regard.

Also something that came up in conversation with my brother were the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, as he was playing the Cowabunga Collection with his family the other night... and it reminded me of the nearly forgotten games based on the 2003 series. Now despite one PS2 refusing to send a signal (as seen on Saturday night), I hooked up the other PS2 (the slim one), so on Saturday we'll take a look at one of the TMNT games from the PS2 era, in addition to doing other things.

Did get some positive news this morning, granted I had to wake up at 7 AM to place request for a call back just see what the hold up was on some things!

Last night's stream of Overwatch 2 was a lot of fun, we were joined by PandaSweet for nearly never single match, and we had a pretty good balance of wins and losses. I picked up one Play of the Game as Junkrat, also used characters like Junker Queen, Orisa, Ana, Mei, Solider 76, Torbjourn, and several others.

I did realize that I did not put together the video collecting all of January's Plays of the Games, so I took care of that straight away following the stream. That's in addition to the highlight reel that goes onto the Facebook page

For the raid we dropped in on MissCammi316 as they were playing Dead By Daylight over at twitch.tv/misscammi316. Cammi also shared her condolences regarding mom's recent passing, as she just found out.

Finished writing a new Mass Effect commission request this morning, because I woke up unusually early, and got another request to continue. I can safely say writing the Mass Effect short stories are a lot more fun than writing anything based on WWE.

FNDanteSavage was streaming this morning playing Dead Space, and its always awesome to see him broadcasting when he can over on twitch.tv/fndantesavage

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Double Combo #1, Body Uppercut Combo and Body Straight Combo.

"What did Baby Corn say to Mama Corn?" "Where's Pop Corn?"

Song of the Day: Me Rehuso by Danny Ocean

I did make up my mind that following Saints Row, WWE 2K22 will be the next Monday and Tuesday game. It does have a story mode, but we'll see about getting a number of basic achievements as well. Kind of fitting since WWE 2K23 is about to be released next month, so giving the older game the spotlight seems fitting. 

And speaking of Saints Row, For tonight's stream, we're getting back to it as we'll focus on expanding the Saints control over the town. 

So on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden

Today is mom's funeral...

 Good morning everyone,

This afternoon we're heading to mom's favorite church for her funeral... and to be honest with you all, part of me doesn't want to say goodbye. I know that sounds selfish, but can anyone blame me? I have been mulling over what I want to say... and a good portion of my thoughts result in song lyrics. But I'll do what I've done over the past several weeks and just speak from the heart. Either way, it's going to be a very tough afternoon.

On a funny note, I have lost a bit of weight around my waist line over the years and needed to find a belt, and my mom had one hanging on a coat stand in the living room. Once again, mom came through for me.

I do want to give special thanks to Mr. Theo Stanley Jr and the staff at Stanley's Memorial Chapel (stanleysmemorialchapel.com) for their kindness, compassion and professionalism in preparing mom's body for today on such notice. They've gone above and beyond what I would have anticipated, preparing gorgeous cards and even a beautiful sign in book.

A big plus from yesterday was that I heard from Elissa, and I haven't seen her since her wedding I want to say nearly 10 years ago. It's been a long while. It's great to touch base with family even under these circumstances.

Last night's stream of Saints Row mostly focused on side ventures, as completing all the areas within the in-game city is a big part of the fun when it comes to any Saints Row game. The big problem with the side ventures is that for each expansion, only certain types of missions are added, such as towing objects to a repo impound lot, racing against the clock to get vehicles to certain destinations or testing in-game gadgets to get access to them for normal use. That said, the casual approach I'm taking does work, as I can kind of space out the main story missions a lot more to avoid running out of things to do in-game in order to get the most content out of the game

For the raid we dropped in on TokuShoutSu while it was airing a marathon of Ultraman Ace over at twitch.tv/tokushoutsu

Saints Row Achievements

• Neighborly: Completed 5 districts in Santo Ileso.
• Optimized: Customized a weapon.
• Smooth Moves: Bought 2 Emotes.
• Power Players: Unlocked Criminal Empire Tier 3.

Did some writing on an exclusive story for my Subcribstar page yesterday based around Dragon Ball. Once that's finished, I'll be starting work on the next WWE commission request. 

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout was done before I went to bed last night, because I feared I wouldn't have time this morning. The exercises were Uppercut COmbo #1, Advanced Combo #1 and Hip Shape Focus Combo for 21 minutes.

"What did one wall say to the other?" "I'll meet you at the corner."

Song of the Day: Joy To The World by Three Dog Night

For tonight's stream... and I will be streaming, we're going to open with Fall Guys and also play Fallout 76... because after this afternoon, I'm going to need some silly things happening. We might even toss in some Ghostbusters Spirits Unleashed since that had a big update yesterday as well... or save that for Saturday's stream.

On that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden!

The Casual Approach To Saints Row is what works best

Good morning everyone,

Yesterday was an okay day overall my brother came over to get some things for mom's funeral, going through pictures I found with her in it. Today's going to be a little rough as I have to sign off of somethings pertaining to the funeral.

My cousin Frances pointed out that Lisa Loring who played Wednesday Addams in the 1960s Addams Family series passed away. Instantly remember the 1977 TV Pilot for a sequel series called The New Addams Family, which most people tend to forget about... despite that some of its plot was used for the first of the two Raul Julia films in the 90s!

Last night's stream of Saints Row saw me completing all the of Side Hustles, and having those off the board is huge, because it's one less thing to distract me. We found over 80 of the packets, and I think we have a good chunk of all the discoverable things covered, but there are still a lot to find. We also progressed the story to where we add additional ventures and to open up some smaller side-stories to grow the Saints empire. Also managed to unlock 100 different costume items, but I'm still struggling to find things to give The Boss a defined look as I did with Saints Row The Third and Saints Row IV

On tonight's stream I think I'll start with going after discoverable items that are on the map already and places a few ventures to start the overall cleanup of the game before doing the next story chapters. It's a plan right? Kind of... sorta...

Big thank you to Kalenal for the raid following their stream of Pokemon Scarlet over at twitch.tv/kalenal! I believe they said they were up to 354 on their PokeDex!

For our own raid, we dropped everyone off at PowerThumbZ while they were doing the Mooncrash DLC for Prey over at twitch.tv/powerthumbz! 

Saints Row Achievements

• Untouchable: Completed 10 Crimes of Opportunity.
• Always Be Hustling: Completed all Side Hustles.
• Took It to The Limit: Reach the maximum level.
• Closet Space: Own 100 different pieces of clothing.
• A Young Empire: Unlocked Criminal Empire Tier 2.

At this point I have 4250 Xbox Achieements for a Gamer Score of 98,687

Finally finished that one WWE / NHL short story commission request that I got before mom passed, and got a request for another WWE one based on the Royal Rumble this passed weekend which I did not watch. Also started writing a short story to be exclusives to my SubcribeStar page based on Dragon Ball. 

I did speak brief with my dad to get some clarification on some stories... and leads me to ask my Unlce Abraham about his mighty spoon, or probably not, if I forget about asking.

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Waist Shape Focus Combo, Intermediate Combo #2 and Beginner Combo #2 for 21 minutes. You know... ever since last Friday I haven't really been motivated to workout.

"How does the moon cut his hair?" "Eclipse it."

Song of the Day: Everywhere – 2017 Remaster by Fleetwood Mac.

As detailed earlier, the plan for tonight's stream is more Saints Row! So we'll see you all over at twitch.tv/fredcasden this evening!

A Fun Sunday

Good afternoon everyone,

Yesterday started with me starting my vow of trying to speak one family member per day, and first up was my Aunt Maria up in Reading, and I was curious about a building I have a very vague memory of that I swear had RCA on it. Obviously this would've been from like 35 years ago, probably a little longer, but if it was anywhere it was probably in downtown reading.

Last night's stream was a lot of fun, as it was the usual with Overwatch 2... but then again... not so usual, as we were joined by the amazing BestiBunni for the first time ever! Now I've seen then play Overwatch 2 and they are super good in the Team Deathmatch Arcade mode, so when PandaSweet and BangBangBang joined, we ended up with a team of four, and we won the a lot more than we lost as a quartet. Later on in the night LvlStkr joined for a few matches in Quick Play, which was a blast.

As far as my own exploits go, I picked up three Plays of the Game, two as Junker Queen and one as Orisa, and used characters like Junkrat, Ana and Moira throughout the night... and as I type that sentence I realized I had a fourth play of the game as Moira that I didn't mark to save so that I could download it! DARN IT!

For the raid, we dropped in on PowerThumbZ just as they were finishing Prey, it took him 14 different broadcasts to accomplish that. He's a cool dude, check him out over on twitch.tv/powerthumbz!

Anyway, I got most of that commissioned NHL/WWE story done yesterday, just have a few details to add in to wrap it up.

The Eagles beat the Giants yesterday, and I didn't put the game on until my Uncle Abraham DM'ed me through Facebook... and once I saw the score, I instantly thought of mom and how she would stomp her foot up in the living room when the eagles would score... or screw up somehow. So I know she would've been elated! 

Did try to call my Aunt Rosa this morning to see how they were doing, got their voice mail. I'll see 'em Wednesday for sure.

I did get some clothes sorted for mom's funeral on Wednesday... going to wear a long sleeved black shirt she got me for my first a couple of years ago I never had an opportunity to wear.

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Double Combo #2, Triple Combo #1, Weaving Combo #2 and Hook Combo #1 for 26 minutes

"I only know 25 letters of the alphabet. I don't know y."

Song of the Day: Trumpets by Jason Derulo.

For tonight's stream, we are continuing Saints Row, with my usual casual approach by doing side quests and exploration to try and find things before advancing too much of the story. It's the best way to get the most out of some games.

On that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden!

Still Taking The Casual Approach To Saints Row

Good morning everyone,

Last night's stream of Saints Row was a lot of fun as I really focused on the ventures and side jobs for a good portion, with the big realization being that the ones for acquiring the cars was a lot more obvious than they were in other games. We did advance the plot a little in terms of quests associated with Eli, Kev and Neenah that advanced their sub stories and get to know more of what their characters are like in various situations.

Perhaps the highlight was the final mission we did that introduced the LARP aspect Saints Row, and it's a big reminder as to why I prefer Saints Row over Grand Theft Auto, which is how the series is not afraid to be silly and over the top in various ways. 

Something very apparent is that I'll hit Level 20, which is I think max level sometime during the next stream where I feature Saints Row (Monday), because of my focus on avoiding the main story. I just really like being able to take a casual approach to it, getting the most out of the game where I can set my own pace.

Big thanks to TheInsanityInc for resubscribing to my Twitch Channel for a 19th month! It's greatly appreciated! 

For the raid, we dropped in on TokuSHOUTsu, a channel that is always on and features things like Kamen Rider, Super Sentai, Ultraman and many other Japanese shows and movies courtesy of Shout! Factory TV! You can check the channel out at twitch.tv/TokuSHOUTsu!   

Saints Row Achievements

• Kitted Out: Fully upgraded a weapon.
• Shopping Spree: Bought 1 item from every store.
• Wrecking Ball: Killed an enemy with a towed object.

Stream Clip Links

• Coming Down!
• "Mess" 'Em Up! 
• Pew Pew Pew!
  

I couldn't reach my mom at all yesterday via her cell phone... and I had a pretty bad blow up as well with a lot of hits coming my way. I know I'm not alone, but I'm not the best at expressing myself. Doesn't help that the longer things go on, the more the fact that I'm failing on so many fronts is coming to light.

As a result, I didn't get any writing done at all yesterday in terms of the commission requests that I do have that helped cover some expenses and odds are that won't be the case today either. 

For anyone wanting to try Hello Fresh, use code POGHF64483 when you sign up at HelloFresh.com for a discount on 21 meals plus free shipping, or sign up via my affiliate link at https://strms.net/hellofresh_fredcasden!  

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Biceps Shape Focus Combo, Triple Combo #2, Intermediate Combo #1 and Defensive Combo #2 for 32 minutes

Also Fitness Boxing 2 had a surprised update, with a new instructor named Leo being added, which is funny to me because that's my brother's named. Other features added was the option to remove Blocking from the daily workout settings, the ability to customize the order of songs on the Song List and check the courses played on the Exercises Results Screen 

Also stepped on the scale, and my weight seems to be down around 238 to 240 pounds, so lets split the difference and call it 239

"Dear Math, grow up and solve your own problems."

Song of the Day: Bury A Friend by Billie Eilish

For tonight's stream the plan is to play Fall Guys and Fallout 76 as part of the usual Wednesday night double header. 

So on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden!

Finding More Stuff To Do In Saints Row '22

Good afternoon everyone,

Last night's stream of Saints Row certainly opened with my in a rough place, as I have some great fears concerning my mom's medical condition and how the hospital staff at Cooper Hospital is handling her, in particular with her having food, because she needs to be deemed strong enough for chemotherapy. If anyone would be kind enough to donate to her GoFundMe in her fight against Lung Cancer and other medical expenses, please visit: https://gofund.me/6adf8354

As far as the game play of Saints Row goes, we mostly stuck to exploring and finding side quests and things to through out the game, and it's amazing how much is actually locked behind game progression on different fronts. The Ventures portion in particular, because doing those was always things I try to knock out as quickly as possible on a Saints Row The Third or IV play-through. Still, it does seem like there is a ton that have to be unlocked. Didn't really advance the plot, but did a couple of missions associated with members of the Saints, the chasing after a retro fast food kid's meal toy was rather cute, and the one involving Neema's car certainly makes things more personal.  

We did end up going til close to midnight because of how side track I got whenever I see a collectable item or location on the in-game map. Tonight will be more of the same I bet.

Speaking of tonight's stream... it as well as last night's stream is / was sponsored by Hello Fresh! Use code POGHF64483 for 21 free meals plus free shipping at https://strms.net/hellofresh_fredcasden! 

For the raid we dropped in on Mystery Science Theater 3000 when the episode covering the movie 'Tormented'. The MST3K channel is on 24/7 over at twitch.tv/mst3k! 

Saints Row Achievements

• Finders Keepers: Obtained 5 items in the Collectibles app.
• Landlord: Placed a criminal venture.
• Hijacked: Pulled out of a car by a pedestrian.
• Work Ethic: Completed a criminal venture.

Stream Clip Links

• Wait what? We died?
• Threat Eliminated 
• When The Rag Dolling Is Done RIght
  

Yesterday's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout was shorter than intended, but it still felt good all the same. Today's workout featured Block Combo #1, Straight Combo #2, Difficult Challenge Combo #1 and Difficulty Challenge Combo #3 for 32 minutes

Despite all the stuff on my mind I managed to write one commission request yesterday afternoon based on title matches on WWE programming, and I have another commission request for another one. Can't complain, because these little stories have helped covered some bills.

"What do you call a factory that makes okay products?" "A satisfactory."

Song of the Day: Fix You by Coldplay.

For tonight's stream, well, we're continuing Saints Row obviously, we'll probably knock out a set of quests associated with a Venture and find some more discoverable collectables before doing a story mission or two.

On that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden!

So Saints Row '22's origin for The Saints actually makes sense in context

Good morning everyone,

Last night's stream of Saints Row '22 saw us start with off roaming around, doing the side hustles, finding stores and any landmarks we could find before making some headway when it came to the main story, which saw the unlocking of the JimRob's Garage, and the advancement to where The Boss gets canned by Marshall because of the other factions crashed a museum. This lead to mission where the two companion characters who had affiliation with the those other factions basically quitting and which leads to the creation of the Saints. 

Now that may seem convoluted, but one has to remember in the original Saints Row, the Saints were already established, and because of the events of Saints Row: Gat Out Of Hell, Johnny Gat basically has an option to reboot the universe, which means the Saints don't come into existence until much later on. So with that in mind, the story actually works.

One thing that was cool was that folks realized that I made The Boss character apart of the LGTBQ community, which just makes sense because of the 'Romance' scenes in Saints Row IV. Regardless of the gender, the Boss has relations with all members of the Saints in that game. 

On a side note: I found an Indiana Jones style hat, jacket and pants with a whip in one of the in-game stores, which was pretty awesome!

For the raid we dropped in on PowerThumbz while they were playing Prey over on twitch.tv/powerthumbz! 

Congratulations to Monicaneo who is getting married in October! Hope they and their partner have a long and happy marriage!

 Saints Row Achievements

• Tune Up: Customized a vehicle.
• Food for Thought: Staggered an enemy with a vending machine.
• Performance Review: Got fired.
• Making a Name: Named your criminal empire.

Stream Clip Links

• Sorry Marshall
• Achievement: Food For Thought 
• That screen effect going wonky
  

There was some miscommunication regarding what was going on with mom, but it was discovered that she has some fluid around her left lung that may be causing some shortness of breath. Had a long talk with my brother and one of the doctors who are taking care of mom, and the subject of how weak she has gotten because she's basically been bed ridden since initially going to the Emergency Room back on December 28. If anyone would like to help my mom in her fight against Lung Cancer, please donate to her gofundme at https://gofund.me/6adf8354!

Continued my string of daily commission writings with another Dragon Ball tale, and I have another one in line.as well that is apart of the established series of stories featuring Videl... even if she won't be featured in the next one that was requested. 

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Advanced Combo #2, Left-Right Step Combo and Hook Combo #2

"Singing in the shower is fun until you get soap in your mouth. Then it's a soap opera."

Song of the Day: Bad Liar by Imagine Dragons

For tonight's stream, Fall Guys will lead thing off then after the 9 PM break, we'll switch over to Fallout 76 as I work my way to level 100!

So on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden! 

Mom's back in the hospital; The Saints Row '22 Game Isn't Bad

Good morning everyone,

First off, an update on my mom, apparently she had an appointment at MD Anderson that no one knew about, and she wasn't feeling well while over there. She was admitted to the Emergency Room at Cooper Hospital in the late morning, early afternoon. I went over to check on her in the late afternoon, but wasn't able to speak to a nurse or doctor, but mom seemed a little loopy, which I guess was from whatever medication they gave. I do know she was moved to the medical / surgical floor of the hospital, and she may have gotten an infection on top of everything else, there was an increase of white blood cells. I spoke to her this morning, and she was in a lot of pain, and according to the nurses station, they'll be doing tests and other evaluations of her today.

With everything going on, if anyone can donate to her gofundme to help, please visit: https://gofund.me/6adf8354

As for last night's stream, we started playing Saints Row, the reboot of the series released last year, and we're playing it with the licensed music turned off, which probably dings the experience, but I've done that with several other games in the series. I'm not particularly sure where exactly people said this game was bad, but then again I'm fairly early into it, only done two missions and spent a lot of time exploring and doing side quests because that's how I played other Saints Row games.

When it comes to visuals and the audio, Saints Row '22 looks and sounds great, and funny enough I managed to find a character voice that is fairly similar to Laura Bailey's performance in Saints Row The Third and Saints Row IV. There are enough customization options to tweak things to how I want them when it comes to combat and just wanting to get things done. It's clear that the flight suit is in the game because of the glide mechanics in Saints Row: Gat Out Of Hell. 

If there is one draw back, it's that Saints Row '22's character creation suite seems more limited than the ones in Saints Row The Third and Saints Row IV, as I do like making the Boss look a certain way. I wonder if some things are unlockable. 

Big thanks to BangBangBang for resubscribing to my Twitch Channel for a second month! It's greatly appreciated!

For the raid, we just dropped everyone off over at Mystery Science Theater 3000, the movie that was playing was Invasion of the Neptune Men! You can check out old MST3K episodes at twitch.tv/mst3k! 

Saints Row Achievements

• First F#@!ing Day: Completed First F#@!ing Day.
• To The Nines: Opened the Style app for the first time.
• The Side Job: Completed a Side Hustle.
• Wet Work: Completed a job on the Wanted app.

Stream Clip Links

• We Got Some Air Time
• That Redemption Of The Price Is Right Horn 
• Another one for the win column
  

Despite everything that happened yesterday, I did manage to finished two Dragon Ball commission requests featuring Future Trunks. I have another commission request to work on that is still based in the world of Dragon Ball, but with the focus being on Videl.

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Double Combo #1, Body Straight Combo, Body & Body Uppercut Combo for 28 minutes

"Why do fathers take an extra pair of socks when they go golfing?" "In case they get a hole in one!"

Song of the Day: Fortune Son by Creedence Clearwater Revival

For tonight's stream, we shall continue Saints Row '22, I'll probably resumes exploring and doing what side stuff I come across before we dive into the next mission.

So on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden

A Good Night Of Overwatch 2

Good morning everyone,

Last night's stream of Overwatch 2 was a lot of fun, first big thanks to BangBangBang and PandaSweet for joining on matches, as it's always great to be playing with friends. We all ended up getting plays of the game at different points which was really cool. For myself, I picked up four POTGs, two as Junkrat and two as Torbjorn. Other character sued during the night included Moira, Ana, Mei, Junker Queen, Orisa, Reinhardt and several others.

It was funny that I was able to get up to 8 of the weeklies done considering wins were really tough to come by during the course of the week, since I often play Overwatch 2 following the Monday to Saturday streams. Then again, I can almost instantly tell when a match is won or loss pretty quick, so often times I end up just looking to finish the match!

For the raid we dropped in on PowerThumbZ while they were playing Prey over on twitch.tv/powerthumbz!  

Stream Clip Links

• En-Tire-ly Unavoidable!
• One By One By One 
• Molten Core For The Win!
  

Been having a little trouble reaching mom yesterday, but I do know my Aunt Grace and Cousin Frances were visiting her, and mom said she was doing okay. We are raising funds for her fight against Lung Cancer, if you'd like to help please visit: https://gofund.me/6adf8354

Finished another 2 Dragon Ball short story commissions based around Future Trunks and was given the go ahead to continue this unexpected series of stories. I really should consider starting that Subscribstar account.

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Uppercut Combo #2, Front-Back Step Combo and Defensive Combo #1 for 28 minutes.

"My wife said I should do lunges to stay in shape. That would be a big step forward."

Song of the Day: I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor

For tonight's stream we're going to start up Saints Row, which was released last year. Now it launched with a ton of bugs and issues, so I waited several months after it go various patch updates. Now I heard it was a mixed bag... but as long as its as fun as Saints Row The Third, Saints Row IV, Saints Row Gat Out of Hell and Agents of Mayhem, I'll be pleased.

So on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden!