Sparsely haired Húskarl

I'll try to post something about the games I play. My goal is to post at least once every month. (failed) I try to post sometimes (new goal) Let's see how it goes... It took me over a year to even start and come up with a name for this blog.

[sparsely-haired-huskarl]

Happy Midsummer!

Hyvää juhannusta!

[sparsely-haired-huskarl]

[sparsely-haired-huskarl]

I finally caved in and purchased Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord along with the recently released DLC War Sails from Steam when it was on a good sale.

The review rating of the DLC was still only "Mixed" in Steam, but that didn't stop me from getting it. Most people complain about the story related to the DLC, but I'm more into sandbox gameplay anyway.

So far I have been really happy with the game and the DLC.

Visiting the towns takes more time than it's supposed to when I have to stop to admire the sights. The beautiful Nordic landscapes and the Nordic towns are really amazing!

The surroundings during battles look absolutely fantastic especially in the night time.

And what about the sea battles?

Well, I really like them a lot: the ships, the sea, the chaos and how the ship moves.

I haven't yet dared to face any really difficult enemies like big armies or rich war leaders.

There are still dozens of different ships to own and they have their own upgrades and special features which I'm still just learning about.

This will probably be my game of the year this time!

[sparsely-haired-huskarl]

The matriarch of the "Joy" household with her first horse.

I wanted to post about my long-lasting Sims 4 dynasty which I started about a year ago. It started out when I quickly wanted to try the Horse Ranch DLC with a randomly generated Sim.

I think I started it on an empty lot with the sim sharing a small barnhouse with a horse. She had basically no furniture or amenities except a sleeping bag and the new item "nectar press".

I thought I would quickly test the features in that DLC until I start a proper household. Sims had never held my interest for longer playthroughs but this time it was different. This testing lot became a flourishing multi-million ranch business and eventually the gripping story of the Joy family got my interest.

In the save file there has been 8 generations and multiple smaller side dynasties which I started as a separate family line but eventually merged back to the Joy family. There has been around 6 or more households of these families running around simultaneously. I tried to keep them alive but many sims of those households faced untimely deaths and the households eventually ended up extinct.

Anyway I got to try a lot of different kinds of households and I found out there is almost endless possibilities how to play and what to do in the game. I still haven't found out everything and there are so many DLCs to try for more stuff.

Tried to take a screenshot of the family tree, but it doesn't fit the screen very well.

Childhood at the ranch.

One of my favorite sims tragically died to laughter. It really wasn't her time to go yet back then.

One member of the family got mixed up with the aliens making the Joy family line really "blue-blooded" for a long time.

During my playthrough I built dozens of different buildings and decorated dozens and dozens of different rooms and yards.

I think I have now figured out how to play The Sims 4 properly and I might start a new save file next.

[sparsely-haired-huskarl]

It was a very pleasant and unexpected thing to see that a Halloween event had started in the truck simulator (Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator) games today!

They have even created a separate area (Brackenreach) to celebrate Halloween and to deliver some Halloween themed cargo.

Preparing for the journey to Brackenreach with my Halloween-ishly(?) decorated Volvo, hauling some 20 tons of Halloween treats.

"There is a horror story about a mad truck driver who would try to scare other drivers by driving full speed in the middle of the road with high beams on..." (the truth: a very sleepy truck driver)

Arriving at Brackenreach.

Sceneries like these are certainly something I would have never expected to see my Volvo in.

Picking up some cargo from the "Castle Brackenhelm". The trailer has a very appropriate license plate "WITCHES".

When trying to leave Brackenreach one must be prepared to encounter some bumps in the night.

Returning to "normal world". The contrast between these areas is striking but now there's enough light to show off my Halloween themed truck interior too!

Great event, I must say!

Brackenreach was a sight to behold and after my first visit there are still some unmapped roads to travel. A word of warning for anyone who wants to go there: I recommend a truck configuration that packs enough punch to climb some steep hills, but also agile enough as there are plenty of swamps, caves and very narrow paths ahead. I was driving a Volvo FH6 with 500HP engine and I had to use my differential lock to be able to climb a hill while hauling 20+ tons of cargo.

[sparsely-haired-huskarl]

It's October again. It's raining. It's getting darker and colder each day. But at least we can have a splash of (pink) color with Pinktober. (And in the truck sim games there's always July because seasons haven't been implemented yet... sadly)

Here's the official banner from SCS and their post about the topic from Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/227300/view/528732929177683190

Happy Pinktober 2025 everyone!

[sparsely-haired-huskarl]

This time in Euro Truck Simulator 2 I wanted to try some more ecological and sustainable options for hauling cargo. The developer has added some interesting choices and have even tried to simulate a bit how they operate. Of course, this is just a game but I still find this an interesting topic.

First I took a drive with my trusty DAF XD equipped with the weakest engine in the game (299HP) and the amazing electric powered trailer: eTrailer by Krone. Currently this trailer is only available with the Krone Trailer pack DLC and these electric trailers cannot be owned by the player in the game.

I chose a random route and it happened to be from Pescara (I) to Naples (I) and tried to find some cargo around 20 tons or more. The route has some segments with slow speed slopes so it was a pretty good test route.

The trailer pushes the truck forward so it's an excellent choice for trucks with low-end engines. It is a really noticeable effect in the game and I was able to reach the desired speeds with ease without any struggles.

"All the roads lead to Rome", they say, but this one apparently also leads to Napoli. Sorry, Rome, but I chose Napoli.

When I reached my destination my average fuel consumption was 27.9 l/100km and the total fuel consumption was 76 l on a 274 km route.

Then I attached just a regular standard trailer and took a similar weight cargo on the same trip (Pescara to Naples).

My DAF couldn't reach the desired speed limits most of the times and the struggle was real.

Nearing the Molise area where the uphill slopes are coming ahead. Last time when I was here I got a speeding ticket but this time I couldn't even reach 40km/h at the automated speeding camera.

The uphill battle - luckily I wasn't the only one struggling here (my truck is in the middle). At least there's time to admire the views.

When I reached my destination my average fuel consumption was 37.4 l/100km and total fuel consumption was 105 l on a 274 km route. So the consumption was somewhat higher and the trip even took longer time.

Next I tried the Shmitz Cargobull "ECO" trailer which has a very interesting aerodynamic shape. I didn't really expect much effects here, but anyway I took the same Pescara - Naples route and around 20 tons of cargo.

When I reached my destination I was surprised to see that my average fuel consumption was slightly lower than what it would have been with a standard trailer. It was 33.9 l/100km and total consumption was 98 l. So maybe the trailer had a small effect here?

Finally I tried the two fully electric trucks available in the game. The Renault Trucks E-Tech and the Scania Electric truck. They are both amazing additions but sadly they cannot be owned by the player in game just yet.

The problem with the Renault truck is that the dashboard text is so small I can hardly see it. But there's a lot of interesting information available in the infotainment screen which luckily has a bit bigger text.

Both of the trucks have a nice feature where they regenerate electricity with the cruise control when rolling downhill or while using the engine brake. The Renault truck even displays how much energy was regenerated. Nice technology!

[sparsely-haired-huskarl]

I tried the public beta in Euro Truck Simulator 2 to see what kind of changes they are making to the Schmitz Cargobull trailer pack.

I was especially interested in the agile "City" trailer and the new huge HCT (High Capacity Trailer) one.

I'm a big fan of heavy hauling in Euro Truck Simulator 2, so high capacity trailers are my favorites. They can only be used in Sweden and Finland of which only the latter country allows for the heaviest cargoes to be hauled with a high capacity trailer.

However, I started with the small and agile City trailer and attached it into my DAF XD with the smallest engine (299HP) in the game. My DAF struggled a bit when hauling 20 tons of Canned Beef, but the trailer really was agile as advertised.

DAF XD and Schmitz Cargobull "City" trailer.

Next I attached the trailer to my Renault T with a slightly bigger engine (440HP) and had no issues hauling some more Canned Beef. I also snapped some nice photos when travelling from Zadar (HR) to Ancona (I).

Renault T and Schmitz Cargobull "City" trailer.

I also tried a very interesting trailer type from Schmitz Cargobull which was some kind of a longer variant of a single refrigerated trailer. It was an interesting option but there are not many areas in the game where this kind of special trailer is legally allowed. Once again Finland being one of them. This trailer seems to accept the heaviest cooled cargo loads like 26 tons of beverages which I hauled from Helsinki to Kotka. My Volvo FH6 with 500HP engine had no issues whatsoever to haul this one, of course.

Interesting longer refrigerated trailer, but very limited use. Hauled with a Volvo FH6.

Then I went on to try the highly anticipated new Schmitz Cargobull high capacity trailer and also upgraded my Volvo's engine block to the biggest of them all: 780HP. Well, the trailer doesn't disappoint. It's really nice looking and accepts some very heavy cargo like the 48 tons of "Sealed Bearings" (whatever they are) I hauled from Helsinki to Pori. These jobs are only possible to complete in Finland.

This high capacity trailer takes some patience when manoeuvring.

I was really happy with the new kind of trailers in the game, but also wanted to give another go to one of my all-time favorite high capacity trailers available in the base game: the HCT Silo. This is a very unexpected and special kind of trailer and can carry one of the heaviest cargoes in the entire game (excluding a couple of special transports). It's also the only triple trailer in ETS2. American Truck Simulator has some triple trailers and they are more common in there, but they can't carry even close to this amount of cargo.

Is it a snake or a semi?

When hauling 62 tons of "plastic granules" even my Volvo FH6 (780HP) struggles a bit when accelerating, and braking times are noticeable longer.

With this kind of cargo, a trucker must also take care when turning as the truck can easily fall over!

[sparsely-haired-huskarl]

"Pink Panther", trying to decide which starship to fly today.

I tried the newest No Man's Sky update "Voyagers" this weekend. I have to say, this update brings a lot of amazing content to the game!

First of all, I think the corvette customization part is great. It has a lot of similarities with Starfield's ship customization. It's not a bad thing, though, because I liked how ships were customized in Starfield. The NMS version doesn't have all the same features, sadly. It would be great if new parts could be purchased without leaving the ship modify UI.

What I also noticed is that this update comes packed with some unsightly anomalies too (at least the Game Pass version on PC). It feels they rushed a bit and I hope some issues will be fixed in the future.

The worst issue for me happens when I save and quit the game when I'm inside my freighter and my active starship is the corvette.

When I load my save the freighter is badly glitched. Sometimes my traveler spawns outside the freighter in space. If this happens, the only way to get anywhere is to try running away the freighter until the game realizes the character is actually in space and then it's possible to call a recovery starship. In this case it's also impossible to summon the corvette while being inside the freighter as the game claims the dock size is incompatible. So, I guess the only way to avoid this is to not have the corvette as the active starship if I quit the game inside my freighter.

Well, anyway I'm really excited to have a ship like the corvette in the game and it also brings in the possibility to leave the corvette (voluntarily) and hover in space. This allows for taking some nice screenshots!

"Pink Panther" having a spacewalk with the tutorial corvette in the background. The other picture is just random freighters among some space-y mist.

My corvette ended up like this after I got some new parts for it. I named it the "Mischievous Turtonator". On this save file I have tried to name all my ships and other stuff with Pokémon related names.

For scale, in this picture, there are my freighter (or a small part of it), one of my frigates, my corvette and one of the starships from my squadron.

[sparsely-haired-huskarl]

Jarburg, Lands Between

While visiting Jarburg in Elden Ring, I was talking to this nice jar-friend who encouraged me to harvest their flower gardens.

Now I know what the next Elden Ring spin-off game will be: Elden Farming Simulator 26

It would be a perfect game especially now when different farming sims are quite popular. The base game already has a lot of tools for farming: sickles, scythes, hammers, rakes, knives and the sort (maybe there's even a shovel somewhere?).

The player character could choose a patch of land somewhere from Lands Between and establish their farm there. Occasionally some monsters would invade the farm and the player could also raid some loot from nearby catacombs and burial grounds. They could sell their produce to different merchants and form relationships with NPC characters (maybe some romance too?). There's even a work horse ready to be used in farm work (Torrent). Other tarnished could come visit and join as farm hands to help with the chores. Good idea, right?

[sparsely-haired-huskarl]

Here are some random screenshots of my current (and very long-standing) playthrough of Elden Ring on PC. I have only recently started to remember to take screenshots and it's not very easy in this game as there is no photo mode and the camera cannot be controlled as freely as I would like for screenshotting.

I have spent over 250 hours with the same character and on the same save game. It has taken over 1,5 years already and I haven't even finished the game once. The game world is huge and for some reason I have the urge to search every corner and visit every possible NPC while going through their stories.

It's epic and exhausting at the same time. I have had to take long breaks from the game a couple of times. Even so, I recommend this game and it's also a very good starter entry if you are interested in souls-like games. Biggest difference between this and the older games (Dark Souls 1-3 + Bloodborne) is that this one is open-world while the others are more linear.

[sparsely-haired-huskarl]

I don't think that SCS, the developer of the American/Euro Truck Simulator games, has any presence in Tumblr so I decided to post something about their upcoming DLCs to Euro Truck Simulator 2 game. I saw some screenshots of Skyrim in Tumblr and I thought these are somewhat similar sceneries with Nordic landscapes depicted in video games.

These screenies are from Nordic Horizons and Iceland DLCs which are coming to ETS2 maybe this year or the next year. I'm really looking forward to them - they look absolutely stunning!

And here are the sources where I took the screenshots: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/227300/view/547868153311396095 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/227300/view/547866885885001800 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/227300/view/547864348725346552

[sparsely-haired-huskarl]

Here are some screenshots of my current playthrough from No Man's Sky.

The character is actually created by my wife and she tried to make it resemble Pink Panther. I think it was a successful attempt!

It's an amazing game and I have been playing it for many years already. It's astonishing to see the devs still adding new content to it every now and then for free.

[sparsely-haired-huskarl]

I was about to deliver some metal from Birmingham to around the world but Ozzy Osbourne already did it over 50 years ago.

I recommend listening to some Black Sabbath or Ozzy's own solo albums. There are a lot of songs which are topical even today like War Pigs from the album Paranoid (1970).

Many of their songs carry some darker themes and revolve around death. Here are some examples from A National Acrobat (Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, 1973)

... And I know you'll understand when it's time to die Don't believe the life you have will be the only one You have to let your body sleep to let your soul live on ... Just remember love is life And hate is living death Treat your life for what its worth And live for every breath Looking back I've lived and learned But now I'm wondering Here, I wait and only guess What this next life will bring

Ha ha

- Rest in peace, Ozzy!

[sparsely-haired-huskarl]

Ok, so let's start with this one. In the picture is my character from Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord. The character also works as one of the inspiration sources for the current name of my blog: "Sparsely haired Húskarl". I unequipped my highland spear for the screenshot so it would look more like a real "housecarl". Except the horse. I believe real housecarls didn't have horses? Especially not ones with a cataphract armor, but I was too lazy to dismount for the picture here :)

In the game, my horse is amazing. I might create another post just about the horse later. It's a "Royal Destrier".

So far I have enjoyed the game a lot more than I expected.