Hi Everyone, first and foremost, apologies for not getting a post out as promised on Christmas eve, the tech difficulties thrown up by the PS5, and lack of time just meant it wasn’t possible, but I hope you all had a safe and enjoyable Christmas, as best as you can given the rules in whichever area you’re in.
So, PS5, FIFA 21, Career mode is on, thanks to everyone for voting in the league and team polls, and the resounding winner was Luton Town in the Championship, so that’s what we will be going with.
Not played too much FIFA 21, and the games I have played I’ve enjoyed, but I will admit to feeling slightly underwhelmed by the next-gen graphics of the game, I know its really only a token effort, and that the true PS5 power consuming version will be FIFA 22, but even for this PS5 update, the turf feels like playing on a rock hard snooker table, there’s no texture to the grass at all, and also, despite the turf colour vibrancy option in game, the pitch still looks dull and washed out, and in their wisdom (!??!) EA have disabled the turf vibrancy selector in career mode, why!?!?!?
Anyway our first venture into FIFA 21 Luton Town CM is presented in an intro video below, taking you through the setup process, and basic set up of my team, formations, tactics etc.
I will say now, the video is a little crude, I simply did not have time to edit it as thoroughly as I would have liked, and please excuse the echoey commentary on the match footage, the PS5 controller contains a mic which is set to on as default, so recorded the sound through the mic, as well as in game, I have turned it off now.
I just wanted to get a post up ASAP, will follow up with a more polished post soon as we get deeper into affairs with the Hatters.
FIFAFX.com 
Let’s hope no one in Luton is intrigued by the opportunity to buy a caravan in Sunderland, furnished or not. Although I can’t place any in roker, they’re more up the coast a mile or so in South Shields!
See what you mean about the graphics. No way I’d peg that as a nextgen game, the stadium looks amazing but the players seem to lack something and the ball looks like it’s moving like a well soaked Xmas pudding? I haven’t been on in the last few days as mini turf nicked the disc – and I’ve wanted to try out a few recent trades. Far cry new dawn is even worse than 5. Effectively a continuation on a smaller map with the same ridiculous ai and spawning. Far cry has never been high culture but they just drained all the fun out of the series. Revisiting sniper elite as it reminds me of the old medal of honour years, and the wiiU of course as it’s Xmas. Except our tree, etc is down already – we all hate having a busy house and are usually ready to start work again by now.
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Good luck with Luton Town.
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aha, nice to see Hatters legend Mick Harford is still in gainful employment, beats running a pub I guess! Thanks for the nice video Paul, good to see a number of little enhancements to career mode even if the action on the pitch is not yet a major step forward on last-gen. Impressed that you have customised formation and tactics for all 5 attack/defense settings, I only bother with 2. What was happening in the second half versus Grenoble though? Looked like you had literally dropped the controller, comatose after Christmas dinner, Willy Semedo running riot unchallenged
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wow Lloyd, how many top quality strikers have you accumulated? The Mbappe/Mbepa combination is the obvious starting point, but Farfelli and Melluso also look quality. And where did Felix come from, the curl he puts on those long distance bangers is immense. Then Bennett at the end in the snow at Watford, maybe the best of the lot. Really need to up my FIFA20 game to compete with this
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Abbeyhill – Mbepa, Farelli and Melluso were all youths nurtured from an early age lol. Wish I’d got Felix when he was younger, got him at 29 yo. He’s the one from athletico. And Bennett is also a youth player. 99 rated CB. BOOM!!
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Ol’ Micky Harford has to put food on the table Abbeyhill 🙂
Yeah, I always utilise all 5 available tactics slots, not always using every one during a match butchers come in handy being able to instantly switch formations and tactics.
I need to start using the ultra defence site one more as I’m shipping way too many goals, as you saw against Grenoble.
The difficulty levels have definitely been reasoned in FIFA21, I’m playing on world class and its very hard, AI teams are much more clever and varies with their attack and with then pretty poor team I Have at Luton, holding them off is a challenge.
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that’s good to hear Paul, I’m finding World Class a bit easy on FIFA20 – promoted from League 1 first season, building a strong Championship team in season 2 with the defence already very solid, would expect to be promoted next season. Might put it up to the next difficulty level as I recall you did
have a good Hogmanay everyone. Just bought a few fireworks from Asda to keep the kids entertained, might also get the fire pit going in the garden to toast some marshmallows and dough balls if it stops snowing
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Snow? Mud has been our main issue on our daily walks. We’ve just had our family New Year’s Eve meal at the local pub cancelled.
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Happy end of 2020 to everyone for later too, think we’ve all had enough of it and hopefully 2021 will bring better things.
Mud mainly here too, no snow, had an hour long walk around a local lake yesterday, ruined my white and grey adidas trainers.
WC is definitely harder this year Abbeyhill. I ended up playing on legendary last year but already considering a move down to professional, as board objective is to finish mud table, I’m firmly rooted to the foot of the table currently and we all know fifa isn’t as forgiving if you don’t meet the set criteria.
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Merry new tier everyone. Playing sniper elite through the headphones is a fairly draining experience I’m finding. You can just blast it but I’m trying stealth and for an old gamer like me it’s a bit tough on the nerve endings. Played the first round of the carabao with Bolton and strolled it. I’m on world class but no intention of going up as Bolton is a hard enough club building exercise.
Anyone got any solar lights that work? I have an outside power source but like a fool
got some that supposedly worked after a few hours of daylight only to find they don’t last ten mins with what is likely a two year old warehouse soiled battery. Not just Christmas but things that show up the path/decking etc – or do only mains powered ones do the job?
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Hey guys, Happy new year and hope you all had a good and safe xmas.
Turf – Our garden is like heathrow landing strip, the Mrs loves solar lights, we have a fair few.
At this time of year, with there being very little sun, our lights come on maybe for 10 mins, at dusk, then all go off, some days when its heavy rain and cloud they don’t come on at all.
During the summer though its like a Coney Island Fairground!
We also have several outdoor power sources, some in the garage, and some at back of the house that i had put in for the Hot tub installation a few months back, I put a gazebo up over the hot tub during winter and bought some outdoor fairy lights, and weaved these through the gazebo frame, and plugged them into the mains, we have them on when using the hot tub and makes so much of a difference.
Outdoor mains lights all the way, solar are only decent with long days of bright light.
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Ah right,thanks Paul, that’s really helpful as I was all for heading back to the shop full of fury. That’s exactly what they are doing – ten mins at dusk then gone. I’ll put it down to the crappy weather then. Might look into some plugged in efforts but from where the socket is I’d be trailing wires way down the garden.
Played a couple more fifa matches and got shafted by a 92 minute goal then taken to the cleaners. Bolton aren’t a bad side so I suspect I need to tinker with tactics and give it time.
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I’m also keen to get some solar lights for my new woodland pond area, keep us updated Turf. Always been awful in the past but I was hoping given advances in LED lighting and battery technologies they would be much better these days
trudged 2 miles in the ice to our little office this morning only to find it was shut, kind of them to tell me. Back to WFH once more
any of you guys still playing/enjoying Cyberpunk? Got a pile of Steam vouchers for Christmas and keen to get another big open world game to follow Death Stranding. Trying to choose between Cyberpunk, Assassins Creed Valhalla, Immortals Fenyx and Horizon Zero Dawn
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I thought cyberpunk was withdrawn from sale but saw a huge pile of them in Game when I bought civ vi the other day. (On PS4, surely if anything would finish NG off it’s that concept).
Woodland pond? Bloody hell, how much of the Scottish lowlands do you own abbeyhill? The ones I bought were from the range following the entirely non scientific Philip schofield programme that rated Xmas purchases. I’d get another set of them as when they light up they’re ok – 200 warm glow lights. For nearer the house and the socket though I think something more hardy and reliable would be better. I did have some of those stick things you get for a quid but they flooded with water pretty quickly, so you get what you pay for I guess. I’ll research it, while supposedly meant to be looking at more academic things. Home schooling again is going to be a nightmare.
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TURF – Cuberpunk was only withdrawn from sale on the PS store by Sony, not from.shops.
There’s been a huge patch since, nearly 20gb worth, haven’t played it since that came out though.
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Outdoor powered light are definitely your friend Turf, much brighter and longer life.
Have some powered lights around the hot tub gazebo, and a mains powered uplighting coloured floodlight which can be changed brightness and colour with an app on my phone:
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wow, spectacular Paul. How do you post photos on here? Need to reassure Turf that my woodland pond area is 3 tiny trees plus 2 square metres of water at the end of the garden rather than a swathe of Jedburgh forest and wetlands
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Blimey Paul, do you grow pampas grass in your garden as well? Lockdown 3.0 has finally made me look at office chairs on t’internet. Still haven’t started a FIFA career, just not grabbing me at the moment.
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Abbeyhill – use imgur.com to upload your pics, then right click on the pic once it has uploaded and choose ‘copy picture link’ and then just post that in the comments here.
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Chris99 – No because I’ve just laid all new artificial turf in the garden, much less hassle!! 😉
I need to either nip into the office and grab a spare monitor or buy one, probably buy one as i can then double it up as a gaming monitor on the PC.
Staring at a 15″ laptop screen all day has forced me into getting some glasses for up-close work.
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don’t worry Chris, I got your pampas grass reference
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Never heard of Pampas grass, obviously went over my head!!
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I’ve heard about pampas too – I had some in the back garden, loved the flower heads but it can be razor sharp and dug it out in case the neighbours knew the suggestion as well.
Tried zooming in to see what that sign near the hot tub says, think it’s instructions to guests to leave clothes on the decking before trying out the water. Impressive lights though, I took mine down today so I don’t accidentally prune them. Going to go for permanent ones now.
Chris99 – if you spot any nice small oak coloured desks let me know. Been round the houses looking for a little one – I only need space for a laptop and mug yet most seem big enough to seat a team. Plenty of the usual white/black efforts but this is just to nestle in the corner of the living room now we are all squatting on the WiFi.
Finished sniper elite 3. With 68%, so I’ve obviously missed a few collectibles. I’ve found the game quite enjoyable, a bit repetitive but what it’s really done is resurrect an interest in world war 2. I covered it a bit at uni years ago but really don’t know much about the timeline/progression – world at war which seems to be endlessly repeated might be the thing.
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Don’t Google it on your work laptop Paul 😉
Definitely go for the external monitor, two if the laptop’s graphics card can support it.
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Turf – Been working from home since March, just need a better chair. Having said that, I’m using a small wood effect desk we got years ago from IKEA. Have you tried their website as the furniture is often compact. Oh my god, this site has turned into mumsnet…
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Well…. blow me (pardon the pun).. some Googling of pampas grass, down past the usual first page revealed that if I had planted some, it would signal that I enjoyed ‘the lifestyle’ …… swinging!!! Never knew that. Have ordered some now.
Used to having 2 x 24″ monitors at work, so straining on a single laptop has really taken an effect on my eyes over the last 9 months.
I went for an eye test and checked out with a £200 pair of glasses, only need them for reading up close and pc work.
I thought I’d get a cheap pair too for when in fishing, fiddly bits like knot tying and threading tiny almost invisible lines through tiny hooks etc, so found a pair of jack duckworth style specs in the pound shop. Wasn’t my exact prescription but close to it, and they’re just the same as my 200 quid pair. I feel had.
Just had a delivery if wood and metal today from wickes, my next project is to build an outdoor wood fired pizza oven. Need to keep myself amused. Little projects like this are the way forward.
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