Cubbage

It was ugly then and it's ugly now.

@Basman I'm not a boomer by any means, but I can happily jump on and enjoy Morrowind & the classic Fallout games without any mods. I prefer their aesthetic ofc, but that's not what makes them so amazing to experience, the gameplay is just so much more in-depth and nuanced than anything being made today imo. The level of ingenuity in terms of choice making, combat, writing, world building atmosphere and the various gameplay systems struck a chord with me after allowing myself to get lost in the games. I think maybe people today can't get into Morrowind and other CRPG's of that calibre and era is because most gamers have been trained to expect dopamine surging gameplay mechanics within the first few minutes of play, whereas Morrowind and Fallout 1 & 2 require way more patience to reap some form of long term deeper pleasure out of the experience. I didn't even play these games when they came out either, I just delved into them in my teens out of curiosity and fell in love with everything they were doing. Modded Morrowind is cool and all but the base game has never gotten old for me. Every minute of Oblivion Remastered that I play right now just makes me appreciate Morrowind's intricacies more and more. Honestly the only reason I'm still playing Oblivion is because I like to shatter my rose tinted glasses with these nostalgia trip type rereleases to sort of prove to myself that they really are as middling as I remember them being.

Bro I'd eat that up like mad hahaha please do

Happy birthday mate!

No remake of the Lost Spires for this remastered edition then? 😉 @Leo Gura

Despite all my gripes with Oblivion being a Morrowind fan boi, the artistic vision on display here from the devs is refreshing to see, especially in contrast to modern game development.

@Leo Gura Fully agreed that Bethesda has lost their spark. I'm playing the Oblivion remastered right now for a nostalgia trip, but I'm very cognizant of how utterly flat and lifeless most of the world building is. I didn't know that as a kid of course, but now it's blatantly obvious how shallow the game is. In fact, playing this remake only makes me appreciate the magic of Morrowind even more. I know there will never be a remake of that game, because gamers today would have to have Morrowind's gameplay systems, quest design etc. tailor fitted to the modern gamer brain, a brain that has no idea how to interface with a game world that isn't littered with objective markers and other hand holding bs, which morrowind was the antithesis of. I don't think Bethesda is callous enough to step on Morrowind and remake it in that fashion, they know that it was a thinking man's video game and that is not their target audience anymore and hasn't been for a very long time. Oblivion was the beginning of the end for Bethesda.

@Leo Gura Duly noted mate!

Big thanks to @Leo Gura for featuring one of my salvia trip report narrations on his blog. I love sharing these profound experiences and helping them reach a wider audience. Also thank you for guiding me towards awakening, it changed my life :-)

@Leo Gura I'm very much in agreement regarding your perspective on the consequences of weed legislation. This is a very pressing issue that could impede many people's life purpose. If smoking weed becomes as normalised as drinking in a bar every weekend with people treating this cultural shift as just how "things should be", it will neuter an enormous amount of people's potential to carve out meaningful life purposes and contributions to humanity. The bottom line is that many people will abuse cannabis recreationally once it becomes fully integrated into our society and the price to pay for that is that individuals will be content with doing nothing with their lives or potential for global contribution and shall instead find comfort in using the high from weed to give their low effort lives a chemically induced state of meaning, which will distract them from aiming higher and contributing to our species as a whole. The drug decriminalisation/legalisation problem is far more nuanced than progressives make it out to be, so I applaud you for pointing out the ramifications of what this could mean for society.

As a ketamine addict in recovery, I can say that while it definitely did help me mitigate my overactive mind when using it wisely, it also led me down the path to addiction due to how effective it was in the moment. It can be a very useful tool for exploring consciousness and relaxing an overactive mind if used sparingly, but the effects of the drug will not bleed into your sober life. It should be appreciated in the moment as a glimpse towards what it's like to have a quiet mind. Consistent meditation practice and engaging in creative pursuits that put you into a flow state are much better for ironing out your overthinking. I empathise with you though, my mind is firing on all cylinders most of the time, it can be exhausting, hence why I got addicted to ketamine lol

@Princess Arabia they sound good, I'll check out that thread. Cheers mate!

I really enjoy mixing turmeric, spearmint and green tea (the Pukka brand) together. I find that it soothes my stomach and tastes pretty nice to boot. One of my favourite hobbies I've found is discovering different types of tea at various cafes both locally and globally that I've never heard of before and also exploring a range of concoctions like the one mentioned above. Just wondered if there's anyone else who enjoys partaking in tea sampling as much as me! I also enjoy a classic English brew with milk as an occasional treat.

@aracid Thank you for sharing your experience. Wishing you all the best in your journey!

@Leo Gura Glad I'm not the only other psychonaut who doesn't get King Gizzard