November 2025 Update

by Bobby Smith - Written on December 3, 2025

Happy 2025 Holiday Season everyone!

Another month has passed, and it's time for the November update. This time we cover a busy month for this website and myself. Lets get started!

Website Thoughts and Updates

This month has been a great one for this site. I've made some changes to it that are starting to make it feel a bit more like home for me.

First things first, I've moved to a procedural system for displaying what blog posts by date, category, and project. I do want to have it where you can also modify direction of sorting and search, but that is a work in progrss. Posts about the Procedural Blog System and Sorting Display System.

Secondly, I've updated the header and style sheet to improve the overall look and feel of the site, and add a bit more personality to it. I've also added some padding with the "padded-sides" class to allow for things to easily have some extra room added when needed. This was due to the fact that the longer headings in the blogs would scrunch up to the sides of a phone screen. Much better now. Blog post talking about the updated header here.

A screenshot of the old website format. Taken on November 5, 2025.

A screenshot of the new website format with the procedural blog system. Taken on December 2, 2025.

Blog Posts of the Month

This month has been a busy one for the blog. I've uploaded a total of 2,410 words and 20 images over the span of four posts this month. I really enjoyed this month, especially the October update and shorter posts with small updates about changes being made to the site. With the post "Sharpshooter Game - A New Method of Project Management" I experimented with having links to other content included within the images. This allowed for a bit more flexiblity, while still keeping the page quick to load. I'm rather happy with it.

Blog Posts From November

November 5 - October 2025 Update
November 10 - Procedural Blog
November 13 - Updated Header and Blog
November 17 - Sharpshooter Game - A New Method of Project Management

Current Projects

Website

Throughout November I've been also working on several additions to the site. As mentioned earlier, I've been working on getting sorting directing implemented. All of the backend work has been done, but it is still not ready for prime time yet.

Another cool addition that I've been wanting to have, and finally started on, was having an RSS feed for the site. RSS is a standardized format that allow for programs to easily pull updates from websites and blogs without having to visit them directly. The way I'm implementing that is by having an RSS feed page on the site that will be created via a python script. This script I will need to manually run every time I add a blog post to the site. I already have most of the script up and running. Its just polishing and getting it ready to release now.

Small Combat

Over the last few weeks of November, I've been designing a fast-paced, battalion-level wargame. Something that is a bit more complex than the Sharpshooter Game. And I've been having fun planning it. I started with a disconnected python sandbox thinking about how combat might work. Then I followed my system from the last blog post. I've been having fun and started working on the project files, rough designs for how it should look, and gameplay design. Hopefully starting on programming soon, but we'll see. I'll continue on designing it until the end of December probably.

A screenshot of the small combat game mockup. Taken on December 3, 2025.

What I've been Playing

I've enjoyed having the limited selection to choose from the past month. So I'll definitely continue exploring games with the limited options in the coming weeks. One thing I have implemented is if a game carried over from last month, I can drop it in the current month for something new.

When it comes to time played, its changed a lot since last month. Last month I had 18.5 hours at an average of ~4.5 hours a week. This month is a whopping 31.8 hours at an average of ~8 hours a week

Games I Played in October

Battlefield 6
Super Mario Galaxy
Hearts of Iron IV (Dropped 11/24)
Combat Mission: Cold War (New this month)
Lord of the Rings Online (New this month)
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Took the place of Hearts of Iron IV)

Battlefield 6 - 5.4 hours played

Not much to say besides, still a good game! I'm enjoying my time with it and have enjoyed the maps they have come out with so far. I especially love the map set in LA. As a native Californian it is very familiar.

A screenshot of Battlefield 6 Multiplayer. Taken on November 11, 2025.

Super Mario Galaxy - 2 hours played

Super Mario Galaxy is a fun game, but one that just wasn't calling to me that often in November. I've decided to set it aside for right now and figure out something else to take it's spot. The controls are very good and the aesthetic is fun to look at, but I think the camera just continually made it hard for me to want to come back. I look forward to when it calls me again in the future.

A screenshot of Super Mario Galaxy. Found on cnet.

Hearts of Iron IV (Dropped 11/24) - 7.4 hours played

Hearts of Iron IV. It was a very fun game. I ended up ending my playthrough early because I made some poor decisions early on and the mission from El Duce just kept failing. I do want to go back to this game again after some time, but I feel like it needs to rest in my collection for now.

A screenshot of Hearts of Iron IV. Found online.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Took the place of Hearts of Iron IV) - 2.4 hours played

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is an intriguing game that replaced my time with Hearts of Iron IV. It has provided a fresh experience and kept me engaged for a good amount of time this month. It is a French-made RPG following a world where a cataclism has caused humanity to be crippled beyond visible repair. A supernatural force each year is decreasing the population by age. I'm loving the asthetic of it. The gameplay is wonderful. It is a mix of turn based and timed inputs for bonus attack/defense. The story has been good so far. And I look forward to seeing more of this twisted world.

A screenshot of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Found on Xbox.com.

Combat Mission: Cold War (New this month) - 8.4 hours played

Combat Mission: Cold War is a Cold War Era, Platoon-to-Company level, WEGO wargame released in 2021. It has been a fun learning experience. I haven't had much experience company scale cold war combat. Most of mine is on battalion and greater. It ended up with my playing the same mission multiple times, with many pixel men dead, until I got a victory. It was a great learning expeirence, but I'm going to be taking a break from it. Its just a bit too micromanagy for me right now. And mild changes in terrain contours matter a lot.

A screenshot of Combat Mission: Cold War. Taken on November 5, 2025.

Lord of the Rings Online (New this month) - 8.6 hours played

As a Lord of the Rings fan, I'm really enjoying my time with Lord of the Rings Online. It's been a while since I've played an MMORPG, and this one has really captured my interest. The world is beautifully crafted, and the lore is rich and immersive. I've been exploring Middle-earth (Really just Archet, Combe, and the Chetwood so far), completing diverse epic quests(Fighting bandits and gathering stolen stuff), and engaging in epic battles against various epic creatures(Wolves, spiders, and bears). The community has also been friendly and helpful, making the experience even more enjoyable. I'm looking forward to continuing my adventure in this fantastic game.

I also love the asthetic. Here are many screenshots I've taken in it. There are more, but best to leave some mystery.

A screenshot of Lord of the Rings Online. Taken on November 9, 2025.

A screenshot of Lord of the Rings Online. Taken on November 10, 2025.

A screenshot of Lord of the Rings Online. Taken on November 17, 2025.

Looking ahead to December

For December, I'm looking forward to continuing my work on the website, especially getting the RSS feed up and running. I'm also excited to further develop the Small Combat game concept and hopefully start programming it. As for gaming, I'll be continuing my adventures in Lord of the Rings Online, Clair Obscur and more as well.

Games Planned for December

Battlefield 6
Lord of the Rings Online
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Flashpoint Campaigns: Cold War
-Still Empty for Right Now-

That's all for this month! Thank you for reading and happy holidays!