Author: Padraig Fahy

  • My time with Ghost is at an end…for now!

    My time with Ghost is at an end…for now!

    I have to be very clear from the outset, that I am not referencing the Ghost devices that were seized as part of a multinational raid, but rather the Ghost blogging software.

    I switched to Ghost for a 2nd time back in March 2021 after they released Version 4 and I have been using it quite a bit between then and now.
    I just wanted a simple way to blog without having to deal with plugins. The editor was quite powerful and it was a great experience,

    So why did I change?

    In the more recent updates, Ghost has been adding features to the editor that would help with linking posts to old post and edit images directly on the website. But I couldn’t. The linking of old posts feature was breaking with no helpful warning, so I hoped that the next versions would help [They didn’t] and their image editing tools were made available for free for Ghost Pro subscribers but not for people that are self-hosting.

    And that is another thing… Ghost really don’t want you self-hosting the software for Production. They do not provide support for self-hosting installs, and that is a disappointing factor that I had to deal with, and was the ultimate reason for changing.

    So here I am. Back on WordPress.

    I did ask on Mastodon if there were alternatives to try out.

    I really wanted to try WriteFreely, but no matter what I did… I couldn’t get it to work at all. I probably didn’t have any patience to troubleshoot it. I will revisit this one day and try and get it working.

    I was advised to check out ClassicPress. While it is cool in theory and would probably work for certain setups, it was not for me. Thankfully, I was able to convert the work that I did on ClassicPress to WordPress via a Manual Update and everything has been working great.

    I am not a fan of Gutenberg, but I put some time and effort in and managed to re-create the home page and the posts pages to be very similar to my Ghost site.

    padraig.blog on Ghost
    padraig.blog on WordPress

    You may see references to “signing up for a newsletter”. No one signed up. And that’s OK.
    This blog is a hobby and I do not rely on it to pay my bills at the end of the day!

    I am using 8 plugins on this WordPress site, and at the moment, I wouldn’t need any more to (mostly) re-create the experience that I had in Ghost.

    • ActivityPub – This one was given. While Ghost are actively working on ActivityPub, (which I appreciate), I have my fears that it would only be available to their Pro users and will provide Zero support to people on self-hosting.
      • You can now follow this blog, either put the URL for this site, or @padraig@padraig.blog into the search of your Fediverse client, and you can see when I release a new blog post!
    • Connect Matomo – This is for website analytics. I switched from Google Analytics to a self-hosted Matomo install in 2022. This was done when I no longer wanted to be shackled into Google’s ecosystem.
    • Instant Images – I love Unsplash and I have used them quite extensively on this blog over the years and I do not plan on changing this. It also has support for Openverse, Pixabay and Pexels.
    • Shortcorder – I used ‘Snippets’ in Ghost which was like canned text. It is used for the footer of my posts.
    • Spectra – This is a plugin that gives you access to more blocks for Gutenberg. It is mainly used on the home page for the posts layout. I try to use WordPress’ own blocks where possible.
    • WP Dark Mode – If users want it, there is a 🌙moon at the bottom of the page that will switch it to a Dark Mode.
    • Redis Object Cache & WP Super Cache – For object and page caching, respectively.

    The new WordPress site is only a few days old, and I am still tweaking it to my liking!

    If you have suggestions on how I can improve the look, feel, functionality of the site, please let me know on the Fediverse.

  • Gaming News – 20th September 2024

    Gaming News – 20th September 2024

    • It was reported on a PlayStation podcast that Concord costed $400 million to make. Internally, the game was referred to as “The future of PlayStation”. Additionally, it was claimed that any negativity about the game was shutdown.
    • Separately, it has been reported that the director of Concord, Ryan Ellis, has stepped down and will be transitioning to a support role.
    • A new trailer was released for Silent Hill 2 remake noting that the game will be a timed exclusive on PS5 for one year, with the game releasing on other platforms on 8th October 2025. Trailer
    • Xbox will be holding a Toyko Game Show event on Thursday, 26 September 2024 11:00 (UK/Ireland Time)
    • Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii was revealed today by RGG Studios featuring Goro Majima as the protagonist – The game will release on February 28th 2025 for PS4, PS5, Xbox Series S|X, Xbox One and PC.- Trailer
    • As part of Netflix’s Geeked Week, they have released trailers for upcoming TV shows for some video game franchises including:

  • Gaming News – 18th September 2024

    Gaming News – 18th September 2024

    • Horizon: Zero Dawn Remastered has been rated by the ERSB for the PS5 and PC which would be an improved version compared to the version that was released in 2020. It would bring the game in line with the PS5 version of Horizon Forbidden West
    • Freedom Wars Remastered has been announced by Bandai Namco. Originally released on the Vita in 2014, this remaster will be releasing on January 10th for the PS4, PS5, Switch and PC. – Trailer
    • Co-op PvE shooter set in the Dead By Daylight universe, Project T has been cancelled.
    • skate will launch in Early Access next year
    • A new Battlefield is in the works, with a major testing programme being held early next year.
    • Darksiders 2: Deathinitive Edition is coming to PS5 and Xbox Series S|X on October 15th with free upgrades for PS4 and Xbox One users.
    • New games are coming to Game Pass soon:
      • Wargroove 2 – Cloud, Console and PC from tomorrow (September 19th)
        • Frostpunk 2 – PC on Friday, September 20th
        • ARA: History Untold – PC on September 24th
        • Overwatch 2 – Launch before October 21st and get 6 hero skins and 30 Mythic Prisms.
    • Producer for Final Fantasy XVI Naoki Yoshida has discouraged PC players from making ‘offensive or inappropriate’ mods for the game, since is now available for PC.
    • Square Enix has revealed that Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and Final Fantasy XVI have underperformed according to a new results briefing. They have stated that they will ‘shift to a multiplatform strategy’
    • The following games are now available on Nintendo Switch Online – Battletoads Double Dragon, Kunio-kun no Dodgeball da yo Zen’in Shūgō, COSMO GANG THE PUZZLE, Big Run

  • Gaming News – 9th September 2024

    Gaming News – 9th September 2024

    • A 9-minute presentation introducing the new Playstation 5 Pro is to be held tomorrow at 16:00
    • Embracer Group support studio Lost Boys Interactive who has worked on supporting games such as WWE 2K, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, Diablo IV and New World are set to have a round of layoffs. The number of people who have lost their jobs is unknown.
    • Aimbots and homing ammo are 2 cheats that are available for Valve’s new game Deadlock which is still in early beta.
    • Hironobu Sakaguchi (Creator of Final Fantasy) was set to retire after the release of Fantasian, but has decided not to and is excited for the future.
    • Apple Arcade is to get 8 new games this month, including Balatro
    • It has been claimed by an industry insider that the new Nintendo Switch console will be backwards compatible with the original Nintendo Switch games. To what extent, we do not know.
    • The first 90 minutes of Silent Hill 2 remake is now live on YouTube. Japanese audio/text though – Video
    • Fallout TV show has won 2 Emmys for Outstanding Music Supervision and Outstanding Emerging Media Program
    • John Garvin (Director for Days Gone) has spoken out about an image of a bot from Astro Bot dressed as Deek relaxing on a beach: “Kinda sad that Deek has been reduced to promoting other games … well done Bend Studio! Way to protect your legacy!”
    • Netease has said the feedback for the new season of Once Human has been “quite demoralising” – They say that they “values players opinions” and hopes to “fulfil all requests in future updates” – No other information was provided.
    • Bungie has announced that they are switching their release model for Destiny 2 expansions titled: Codename Frontiers
      • 2 ‘medium-size’ expansions will be released per year – Starting next summer, a new expansion, codenamed “Apollo” will contain 2 major ‘Season’ updates in Summer (Codename: “Arsenal”) and Autumn (Codename: “Surge”). In Winter 2025 (going into 2026), will be another expansion, codenamed “Behemoth”. This expansion contains 2 more ‘Season’ major updates in Winter 2025 and Spring 2026 (no codename for these)

  • Gaming News – 3rd September 2024

    Gaming News – 3rd September 2024

    • Xbox Game Pass additions include: Star Trucker (Cloud, Console and PC) from today!
        • Age of Mythology: Retold (Xbox Series S|X, Console and PC) tomorrow (September 4th)
        • Expeditions: A MudRunner Game (Cloud, Console and PC) available Thursday September 5th.
        • Riders Republic (Cloud, Console and PC) from September 11th.
        • Train Sim World 5 (Cloud, Console and PC) from September 17th
        • Leaving Xbox Game Pass on September 15th are a handful of game including FIFA 23, Payday 3, Slime Rancher 2 and *You suck at parking
    • AimJunkies (Cheats for Destiny 2) have lost their appeal in court for a new trial after they lost their last one. In addition, they appealed the $4.3 million settlement, which was also denied.
    • Numerous employees at Rocksteady have been made redundant over the past month citing poor sales of Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League – Since January, there has been over 11,500 lay-offs in the video game industry.
    • EA Sports FC and eFootball competitor, UFL that was supposed to be released this month has been delayed by 3 months. The game will release on December 5th.
    • Stephan Bole has stepped down as president of Nintendo of Europe. He has been replaced by Luciano Pereña, their current CFO.
    • According to an IGN report, it is possible that Concord may have only sold approx 25,000 copies of the game. 10,000 appear to be sold on Steam and the other 15,000 on PlayStation. According to SteamDB, Concord hit a peak of 607 players on launch day. In the last week, it has peaked at 240 players. At the time of writing, there are currently 45 people playing the game.
    • Nintendo has ended repair support for the ‘new’ Nintendo 3DS. Only the 2DS and 2DS XL can still be repaired by Nintendo.
    • A PS5 Pro could be announced this month. According to a leaker, an image was released of what the console may look like. It is not clear if this is the only version of the PS5 Pro that will be available, or if there would be a disc-based version as well.
    • Hopoo Games (Risk of Rain) has stopped development of their new upcoming title called, Snail to join Valve Software to work on game development. It is not clear if they are going to be working on Deadlock or perhaps an entirely new IP or an existing IP.
    • Sony is taking Concord offline on Friday, September 6th to “explore options, including those that will better reach our players” after the “initial launch didn’t land the way we’d intended”. New sales of the games are being ceased and refunds are being issued.
  • WWE Bash in Berlin & NXT No Mercy 2024 Predictions

    WWE Bash in Berlin & NXT No Mercy 2024 Predictions

    WWE are holding their first Premium Live Event in Berlin, Germany this evening, titled Bash in Berlin.

    This will be the ‘homecoming’ for an Austrian-born champion in GUNTHER who made his name in Germany in wXw.

    5 matches on this card, including 3 title matches.

    And then the next day, we go back to the US for NXT No Mercy as TNA star Joe Hendry looks to defeat the NXT Champion Ethan Page.

    6 matches on that card, with 5 of them being title matches.

    Bash in Berlin

    Non-Title Matches

    • Damian Priest & Rhea Ripley vs Dominik Mysterio & Live Morgan in a mixed tag team match.
      • PREDICTION: Damian and Rhea are going to run roughshod on Dom and Liv. There is no way that Damian and Rhea can lose. Damian and Rhea to win.
    • CM Punk vs Drew McIntyre in a strap match
      • PREDICTION: This may be the match of the night. A lot of personal animosity between these two. Drew winning would make sense but you cannot count out CM Punk. CM Punk to win.

    Title Matches

    • The Unholy Union (C) vs Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill in a tag team match for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship
      • PREDICTION: Alba and Isla are really hot right now, so pairing them up with Bianca and Jade won’t be a complete squash that we have seen previously. But given it is Bianca and Jade, they probably will put the titles on them. Bianca and Jade to win and become champions.
    • GUNTHER (C) vs Randy Orton in a singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship
      • PREDICTION: This is going to be brutal. Chops and welts are going to be aplenty in this match. And Randy is not going to win in Germany over the biggest star from the German wrestling scene in GUNTHER. GUNTHER to win and retain the title.
    • Cody Rhodes (C) vs Kevin Owens in a singles match for the Undisputed WWE Championship
      • PREDICTION: Kevin didn’t deserve this match and he knows it, but he is going to take every opportunity that he can get. As noted on SmackDown, he has not held a title in 8 years. And I predict that they want to rest Cody for a while before coming back at Rumble or perhaps Survivor Series, so let’s have some fun. Kevin to win and become champion.

    NXT No Mercy

    Non-Title Matches

    • Wes Lee vs Zach Wentz in a singles match
      • PREDICTION: This is going to be a Match of the Night contender. Wes and Zach are going to work very hard and both will go over. But you cannot have a TNA star win over a WWE star, so Wes to win.

    Title Matches

    • Chase U (C) vs Nathan Frazer & Axiom in a tag team match for the NXT Tag Team Championship
      • PREDICTION: I think this is going to be the end of Axiom and Nathan Frazer. They are not going to hot potato the titles any more, and one of them (Probably Nathan) is going to turn on the other. Chase U, are pretty hot right now and they need someone new to feud with. Probably Gallas. Chase U to win and retain the titles.
    • Kelani Jordan (C) vs Wendy Choo in a singles match for the NXT Women’s North American Championship
      • PREDICTION: I have a bad feeling that Kelani is going to lose this with thanks to shenanigans from TNA’s Rosemary. Rosemary has sided with Wendy, and I feel that is going to be enough for the titles to switch. Wendy to win and become champion.
    • Oba Femi (C) vs Tony D’Angelo in a singles match for the NXT North American Championship
      • PREDICTION: No one can beat Oba. It’s just not possible. Not unless Stacks or Luca can get involved and cost him the title, but if there were no outside distractions, then Oba would destroy Oba. He is still going to do it anyway. Oba to win and retain the title.
    • Roxanne Perez (C) vs Jaida Parker in a singles match for the NXT Women’s Champion
      • PREDICTION: Rocket strap Jaida to the moon. She has become a face for the women’s division on NXT, and it really shows after her NXT Battleground match when she was in the 6-woman ladder match for the Women’s North American Championship. Jaida to win and become champion.
    • Ethan Page (C) vs Joe Hendry with Trick Williams as Special Guess Referee in a singles match for the NXT Championship
      • PREDICTION: Just like the Wes/Zach match, a TNA star ain’t winning the title. Trick is probably going to be screwing both men, like what Seth did with Punk/McIntyre at Summerslam. Should be a good match and should make Joe look strong regardless. Ethan Page to win and retain the title.