# Do you consider yourself addicted to the internet?



## love is like a dream (Jan 7, 2011)

?


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## tehuti88 (Jun 19, 2005)

Yes...I don't have any real life for it to distract me from, though. It's either stay online almost all the time, or be utterly isolated. The Internet is my only connection to other people (besides my parents). :stu

The only thing that really bothers me about it is that my ability to focus has deteriorated and my OCD has reached the point where I can barely read and write anymore...I really, really wish I could have that back. :sigh


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## truant (Jul 4, 2014)

No. I consider myself addicted to books. I do spend a lot of time on the Internet. But a lot of that time is spent trying to get my hands on books. (Many of which are really obscure and hard to find.) I do depend on the Internet for social interaction, but it's the social interaction I'm looking for, not random surfing.


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## SamanthaStrange (Jan 13, 2015)

Yes, unfortunately.


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## harrison (Apr 14, 2012)

Most likely. I spend far too much time on this forum - plus other things like ebay and book sites, Twitter occasionally (for books and related material), plus of course Youtube.

Plus I like to look at lots of hotels online. If I can't go and stay in them at the moment I can at least look. :roll

also @truant - do you use a site called abebooks.com or http://used.addall.com


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## aqwsderf (Aug 16, 2013)

Definitely


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## burgerchuckie (May 31, 2012)

Yes but I can control it.


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## Raies (Nov 3, 2016)

Yes, definitely.


I'm intending to spend the summer without a computer due to that :/

Kind of in the process of figuring out things to replace it with.
(I've picked a bunch of books, and have set up projects & hobbies thus far. Hobbies have never been an issue as I've never skipped them, but I'm a bit concerned of the rest of the time)

Never used much on phone, so that is not an issue - and I want to be able to stay in contact with friendos


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## Shawn81 (Jul 9, 2014)

No. I used to be. It was the only place I had friends. But I began to realize how lost I got into it, and the dark place it put me in. I took a long break from it. I still use it daily, but not like before. I still don't have any friends, but I am much more restless than before, and spend a bit more time outside now. Usually just sitting in my car somewhere sipping tea and playing a phone game, or going for a drive, but even always alone, I don't feel quite as dark as when I was agoraphobic and never left and lived online.


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## funnynihilist (Jul 29, 2014)

Absolutely


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## truant (Jul 4, 2014)

@harrison I've been on Abebooks, but never ordered from them. Shipping to Canada is usually pricey. I didn't know about addall. That's really handy, thanks. 

I spend a lot of time looking for books, but I don't very often buy them because I don't have any money. If something's really cheap and I need it for some reason I will. But that rarely happens. I usually get them on Amazon. The library can sometimes get them for me through interlibrary loan. Sometimes I find them on Internet Archive, but only if they're fairly old. I scrounge others up &#8230; other ways. But reading a book on my computer gives me a headache, so prefer to get my hands on hard copies, if I can.


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## Blue Dino (Aug 17, 2013)

Probably hard not to, considering how most of our lives and societal functions are increasingly revolving around the internet now. 

In terms of web surfing, probably nowhere like I use to due to ease of online streaming as a superior form of distraction and entertainment. Also more freedom to do more various kinds of things now and more responsibilities from being older cutting into spare time. I do remember for a while I was web surfing a lot in the months following my first exposure to this thing called Wikipedia.


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## Velorrei (Jan 30, 2011)

Yes, according to society's definitions.

But to be honest, it's more like the Internet is a part of me. And I am a part of it. We will be forever intertwined.


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## zonebox (Oct 22, 2012)

Addicted makes it sound like a bad thing. I wouldn't say I'm addicted to social activities on the Internet, I spend more of my time playing games on my computer than I do anything else. When I am browsing the web, it is usually regarding acquiring information. The news is easy to get absorbed in, so I usually avoid that.

I think it is in general, the computer itself that I enjoy the most. If the Internet were to be disconnected I would still be happily playing around on my computer, using it for listening and creating music, I would probably program a little more to make my own games, I would play games still, I would always be tinkering around on it trying to make it do pointless, yet amusing things. I would miss the plethora of information and ease of sorting through it though.

When it comes to social platforms, I barely participate in them. I might make a comment on a video that I enjoyed, thanking the person who made it - but I don't engage in very much dialogue as I find it as pointless and often just frustrating. I don't like socializing on larger sites, I haven't had many encouraging encounters when doing so, it is like having some stranger walk past you on the street acting like a mad man and screaming obscenities. Almost nothing of value is learned in the process, and time that I could be spending enjoying what I am doing is wasted.

What I like doing, and has long been part of my life is living in my imagination. Even before computers could connect to the Internet, I would spend hours every day playing Dungeons and Dragons, along with other pen and paper games. I imagine if it were not for computers I would be still doing that. Computers make it easier, a lot easier, to escape reality and sink yourself into a very comforting world. People do the exact opposite, they pull you out of your dream, and try to force you into theirs :lol 

This sounds like a negative thing, it is what I have always been told. Spending one's life escaping reality is said to be horrific, but I disagree with that. I would be miserable if I did not have my imagination to escape to, I would think of it no more addicting than breathing air. I don't like my place in society, and there is nothing I can do to change that, I don't want to shift myself in uncomfortable ways to be accommodated by it either, nor would I want to force everyone to change in order to feel as though I am a better fit. I would much rather just avoid it and go to my happy place where I don't have to be part of it all. I can do my own thing, and computers make that possible, I am incredibly appreciative of that, as well as the people who make constant innovations toward technology.


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## Harveykinkle (Apr 26, 2019)

Addiction implies negativity, like a waste of time, and sometimes it might be... but I've had a lot of benefit from using the internet too, much like I have from reading books.


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## harrison (Apr 14, 2012)

truant said:


> @harrison I've been on Abebooks, but never ordered from them. *Shipping to Canada is usually pricey.* I didn't know about addall. That's really handy, thanks.
> 
> I spend a lot of time looking for books, but I don't very often buy them because I don't have any money. If something's really cheap and I need it for some reason I will. But that rarely happens. I usually get them on Amazon. The library can sometimes get them for me through interlibrary loan. Sometimes I find them on Internet Archive, but only if they're fairly old. I scrounge others up &#8230; other ways. But reading a book on my computer gives me a headache, so prefer to get my hands on hard copies, if I can.


Yeah, shipping can be quite expensive sometimes. I've bought (and sold) a lot on abebooks - if I really want a book nowadays to read I get it from there, many can be found for a dollar, but then you have to always check the postage price. Some sellers make up for it by increasing the postage price. (but not all - some are very cheap for postage too, I don't actually know how they afford to do it tbh)

Addall is something I used to use a long time ago. I don't normally use them because I don't like their interface. Abebooks is easily the nicest and easiest to use. Very professional.

There are a couple of other good ones but you probably already know about them. Plus of course ebay - amazing the deals you can get on there. (unless of course you're buying from someone like me) :O


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## Cool Ice Dude55 (Jan 7, 2014)

Yes definitely. But...so does the majority of the human race to be fair. Not using that as an excuse, because it's not good. But yeah.


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## ShotInTheDark (Nov 4, 2017)

Yes... But it's a lot better place than reality...


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## scarpia (Nov 23, 2009)

Nope. Just porn.


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## twitchy666 (Apr 21, 2013)

consider every human resident of planet earth

severely addicted to the word "*YOU*" only :O
of every language. as no person knows any other expression.

or.. any micron of intellect... scope of *the* .. & *it* !!!

a person in same room. or bed..

or MAJIK fairy electronic ear on shoulder leprechaun whose voice really is actually there..?

what anyone say?? U!! & YOU!! wow! & all YOU & all YOURRR... thingz...

been born yet??? suck & stuck in the YOU MAtrix and rininggg belly?


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## Canadian Brotha (Jan 23, 2009)

I am, too my phone as well


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## asittingducky (Apr 23, 2013)

I've become addicted to propaganda. Out of sheer boredom I spend a lot of time analyzing how media and industry manipulate and gaslight. I then observe how it affects people's behavior in real life. I try to predict schemes conjured up by people in power. Right now I predict a lot of non-conventional people are going to lose protections from harassers. And people will embrace the changes because postmodern conservatives want to corrupt the capacity for logic among Gen Z.


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## Lohikaarme (Aug 28, 2013)

I'll often scroll through Reddit and Youtube while I'm supposed to be sleeping or doing important work so yes I fear I might be a tad addicted.  Actually I'm more addicted to the process of collecting various information that might be helpful or useful for my self-improvement in some way.


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## Karsten (Apr 3, 2007)

Lohikaarme said:


> I'll often scroll through Reddit and Youtube while I'm supposed to be sleeping or doing important work so yes I fear I might be a tad addicted.  Actually I'm more addicted to the process of collecting various information that might be helpful or useful for my self-improvement in some way.


What type of information? Do you collect dirt so you can blackmail various Redditors?


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## Lohikaarme (Aug 28, 2013)

Karsten said:


> What type of information? Do you collect dirt so you can blackmail various Redditors?


I'm afraid this one knows too much. *leans head to the side to speak to comm* You know what to do


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## nubly (Nov 2, 2006)

I guess so but the internet has made life so much simpler. You can book appointments/flights, watch tv/movies, listen to music, talk with friends/family, plan a road trip, read maps, play games, order meals/taxi service, shop, turn off/on your electrical equipment, view your surveillance camera.


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## Cletis (Oct 10, 2011)

Yes, especially now that I have 5G at the house.


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## ABurnedPrince (Dec 2, 2019)

I am married to the internet since 2002 😄


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## Persephone The Dread (Aug 28, 2010)

I miss being addicted to Oblivion






Also Skyrim somewhat:






What is physics?


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## Canadian Brotha (Jan 23, 2009)

Yes, & my phone


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

I wouldn't say I am addicted, it is just without it I wouldn't have much to occupy my time with. My life would be quite boring without it.


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## Steve Foster (Jun 17, 2020)

Yep. I was in rehab at the start of the year and had little access to internet and that was almost as powerful as giving up booze.


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## twitchy666 (Apr 21, 2013)

*Human Beings are all Addicted to TV*

because they love seeing all human faces!! Bodies!? always! NEWS! ONE THING ALL Human glued to one thing, all the time!!! sports?? celebrities?? 
I care for science! energy, what the planet is made of. periodic table. inventions. machines. no politics or human-related stuff for me. BUT: everything of out world is discerned by humans, made by them. they define the science, they build homes, cars, boats. i sick of seeing human faces talking on TV!!! BORING!!! i want aTV camera aimed at animals, safari, landscape, mountains. no church full of humans! Movies are OK! but all created by humans, dependant on actors, being humans! :crying: Adverts! All things shown on TV, too often, Presented! by humans! No Need! don't want people's hands waving hands about, rain or sun! out-the-way! just show stuff with no face, hands or fingers or voice! Just numbers! Reality!! no need a human reading a book to me! when age 3, 4... no humans in the way. no chat show! No person saying hello to camera.. here is this celebrity.. just point camera at stage. celebrity walks on, introducing themselves! WHY extra layers kneedeep wallowing thru smothereens of humans to see the target matter? why sport commentators? just adding more & more deeper boredom!!
Just show the play happening! maybe a cartoon can be a relief from humans! but all is including actors' voices! why? I Hate human voice more than anything. any cartoon any animals or fantasy creatures, machines or unreal stuff, But: all represented as the human 4 limbs, eyes.. standard template.. fish, tails, eyes, everything. all talking human voices! robots!


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## Arbre (Mar 9, 2014)

No. I mostly just use the Internet for talking to friends, learning about things I'm interested in, and discovering new music, books, and movies. I would also spend less time on it if I had other things to do.


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## Scrub-Zero (Feb 9, 2004)

Pretty much since the day we had access to it.


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## Arbre (Mar 9, 2014)

Persephone The Dread said:


> I miss being addicted to Oblivion
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Skyrim and Obliviion were amazing games, but I liked Fallout: New Vegas most even though I probably prefer The Elder Scrolls series slightly over Fallout (which is a bit surprising because I have little interest in medieval fantasy stuff and post-apocalyptic/dystopian is a genre I like). The world, story, characters, and different factions in New Vegas had me so immersed in the game. I just put over 100 hours into Skyrim and New Vegas though, was never addicted.


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## Persephone The Dread (Aug 28, 2010)

Arbre said:


> Skyrim and Obliviion were amazing games, but I liked Fallout: New Vegas most even though I probably prefer The Elder Scrolls series slightly over Fallout (which is a bit surprising because I have little interest in medieval fantasy stuff and post-apocalyptic/dystopian is a genre I like). The world, story, characters, and different factions in New Vegas had me so immersed in the game. I just put over 100 hours into Skyrim and New Vegas though, was never addicted.


I really loved both those games. I also got very into Fallout 3 a couple of times though it was very bleak. I started playing New Vegas but then for some reason didn't continue with it I only played it for a few hours I don't know why since I liked Fallout 3. It's pretty random what manages to capture my focus since I have attention and motivation issues, often when I start something I won't return to it.


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## Fever Dream (Aug 18, 2015)

Persephone The Dread said:


> I miss being addicted to Oblivion


I miss being addicted to the grand champion.


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## blue2 (May 20, 2013)

Persephone The Dread said:


> I really loved both those games. I also got very into Fallout 3 a couple of times though it was very bleak.


I liked fallout 3 the best I played through a couple times to do both the good & evil storylines, as they went along to the next instalments I felt they were moving away from RPG elements of the original games which I didn't like.


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## Arbre (Mar 9, 2014)

Persephone The Dread said:


> I really loved both those games. I also got very into Fallout 3 a couple of times though it was very bleak. I started playing New Vegas but then for some reason didn't continue with it I only played it for a few hours I don't know why since I liked Fallout 3. It's pretty random what manages to capture my focus since I have attention and motivation issues, often when I start something I won't return to it.


 I thought Fallout 3 was a good game and put dozens of hours into it but I like the gameplay, world, and writing in New Vegas more. It was also a little annoying that I was always running out of ammo in Fallout 3 even when I was experienced with Fallout games and I didn't think I was doing anything wrong or missing anything. Ammo being scarce could make the game more realistic for some people, at least.

Are you still interested in The Elder Scrolls 6 even if you might have trouble sticking with games? I lost interest in games years ago (I prefer books and movies now which makes me even less interested in them) and didn't think I would ever get another console, but The Elder Scrolls 6 is one of the few games that would make me consider getting a PS5.


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## Persephone The Dread (Aug 28, 2010)

Fever Dream said:


> I miss being addicted to the grand champion.


lol yeah everyone hated him and was trying to kill him poor guy.








blue2 said:


> I liked fallout 3 the best I played through a couple times to do both the good & evil storylines, as they went along to the next instalments I felt they were moving away from RPG elements of the original games which I didn't like.


I don't think I played enough of New Vegas to really say I planned on playing Fallout 4 eventually (when the price was down, since I wasn't in a rush) but then I heard a lot of people complaining about it and then Fallout 76 had an even worse reception.



Arbre said:


> I thought Fallout 3 was a good game and put dozens of hours into it but I like the gameplay, world, and writing in New Vegas more. It was also a little annoying that I was always running out of ammo in Fallout 3 even when I was experienced with Fallout games and I didn't think I was doing anything wrong or missing anything. Ammo being scarce could make the game more realistic for some people, at least.
> 
> Are you still interested in The Elder Scrolls 6 even if you might have trouble sticking with games? I lost interest in games years ago (I prefer books and movies now which makes me even less interested in them) and didn't think I would ever get another console, but The Elder Scrolls 6 is one of the few games that would make me consider getting a PS5.


Oh yeah it's one of the few games I'm excited for (if it ever comes out lol seems a way off yet.) I'm hoping it's good if it does come out since like I say recent Fallout games were apparently disappointing to a lot of people and I feel like Bethesda is kind of suffering from a lot of problems large video game companies are these days where it's just milking pre-existing content and prioritising making money, but it's my favourite game series so ._. I want to explore the other continents of Tamriel eventually I think Valenwood and Elsweyr could be very interesting with the walking trees and jungles and deserts and stuff. I also kind of want them to go back to Morrowind because I really liked the Dragonborn expansion and the aesthetics but not as a priority since it's taking them too long in between games.

I'll probably check Bethesda's new IP out (Starfield,) although I heard that's had some problems with development :/ the next games I plan on buying will be cyberpunk 2077, and paralives whenever that eventually comes out (and the Final Fantasy VII remake if they release it on PC.)

Atm Paralives is the only game I'm really excited about that's in development because I think it could be a decent competitor to the Sims and I'm very disenchanted with big companies and hate what EA have done to The Sims over the years so it's kind of nice since they're an indie company too that started with one guy (expanded to a few people now.) Plus The Sims has had no competitors in the genre for two decades which is weird.

I don't even have a PS4 the last Sony console I bought was a ps3. I mostly prefer PC gaming. Although I own the previous Elder Scrolls titles on multiple platforms lol since I think my PC was having issues I needed to fix around the time Skyrim came out but I still wanted to play it on launch and I ended up with several copies of Oblivion over the years too.


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## Arbre (Mar 9, 2014)

Persephone The Dread said:


> Oh yeah it's one of the few games I'm excited for (if it ever comes out lol seems a way off yet.) I'm hoping it's good if it does come out since like I say recent Fallout games were apparently disappointing to a lot of people and I feel like Bethesda is kind of suffering from a lot of problems large video game companies are these days where it's just milking pre-existing content and prioritising making money, but it's my favourite game series so ._. I want to explore the other continents of Tamriel eventually I think Valenwood and Elsweyr could be very interesting with the walking trees and jungles and deserts and stuff. I also kind of want them to go back to Morrowind because I really liked the Dragonborn expansion and the aesthetics but not as a priority since it's taking them too long in between games.
> 
> I'll probably check Bethesda's new IP out (Starfield,) although I heard that's had some problems with development :/ the next games I plan on buying will be cyberpunk 2077, and paralives whenever that eventually comes out (and the Final Fantasy VII remake if they release it on PC.)
> 
> ...


Did you see someone from Bethesda said there won't be any news on TES 6 until they've finished Starfield? So I guess it won't be out for quite a while. I was hoping they'd surprise us and say it was coming out in 2021. I'm still staying optimistic about it even though Fallout 4 was disappointing. I haven't played Fallout 4 since I don't have anything to play it on, so I watched videos instead and I could see how dissappointing it was. I don't know how much you know about Fallout 4 so I don't want to spoil anything, but at the beginning of the game I and a few people I watched predicted what would happen in the game and it was right, which I think is a sign of bad writing.

Have you seen any videos and articles speculating where TES 6 takes place? A lot of people think the area in the announcement trailer looks like High Rock or Hammerfell. They say High Rock is too small of an area for a game to take place in so it could either be in Hammerfell or it takes place in both Hammerfell and High Rock. That seems to be the most popular theory I've seen in videos and articles but who really knows where it will be? Valenwood could be interesting for me since I like to play as a stealth archer Wood Elf.

I haven't paid much attention to video games news for a long time so I don't really know what's coming out. I know TES 6 and Persona 6 are eventually coming and I'm sure I'd like to play them. A new Fallout and Mass Effect would be nice too although Fallout 4 and Andromeda were disappointing. And Portal 3 but I don't expect that. I'm going to watch a video to see what Paralives is like. I was never into The SIms but my siblings were.

I skipped the PS4 too even though I like PlayStation consoles. The last console I got was the Wii U back in 2012. There aren't many games on the PS4 that I'm interested in, although I do want to play Nier: Automata and The Last of Us Part 2. I also liked the first Gravity Rush and Gravity Rush 2 on the PS4 looks even better. Since the PS5 will be backwards compatible with the PS4 I could just play them on it. I've had Steam for a long time but I always preferred playing on consoles more. But on Linux you can now play Windows only games on Steam which has made me more interested in PC gaming. Now I kind of regret getting my current laptop because despite it being fast it doesn't have a dedicated graphics card so I can't play many modern 3D games.


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## Post_Punk_Proclivity (Oct 12, 2008)

Moreso to Netflix these days but I do still feel a compulsion to fill in time with frequent cursory glances at my phone. I know that the way to a better life is to change small habits that you repeat every day since these seemingly mundane things constitute the majority of day to day activity. 

And one of the first things on my list is to really start delving into some of the more amazing books on my shelf. They surely deserve the attention.


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## lil_tails (Aug 13, 2018)

tf to do without internet? only offline stuff on your pc. without internet it would be boring and like old times also only socialising which is disgusting **** because im handicapped of it i need something fun by all means and that thing is pc


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## 10k (Aug 19, 2015)

Yes, and I don't care. I feel good, I need it to work and study. lol


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## Persephone The Dread (Aug 28, 2010)

Arbre said:


> Did you see someone from Bethesda said there won't be any news on TES 6 until they've finished Starfield? So I guess it won't be out for quite a while. I was hoping they'd surprise us and say it was coming out in 2021. I'm still staying optimistic about it even though Fallout 4 was disappointing. I haven't played Fallout 4 since I don't have anything to play it on, so I watched videos instead and I could see how dissappointing it was. I don't know how much you know about Fallout 4 so I don't want to spoil anything, but at the beginning of the game I and a few people I watched predicted what would happen in the game and it was right, which I think is a sign of bad writing.
> 
> Have you seen any videos and articles speculating where TES 6 takes place? A lot of people think the area in the announcement trailer looks like High Rock or Hammerfell. They say High Rock is too small of an area for a game to take place in so it could either be in Hammerfell or it takes place in both Hammerfell and High Rock. That seems to be the most popular theory I've seen in videos and articles but who really knows where it will be? Valenwood could be interesting for me since I like to play as a stealth archer Wood Elf.
> 
> ...


Oh yeah that was last e3 or maybe the one before? I remember watching that. Yeah it's going to be a long time before it comes out which kind of sucks. Perhaps Starfield will be good though.

I'm not sure how similar the game will be to the announcement trailer there's a possibility it will change a lot. They did already cover Hammerfell in a previous game (The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard,) but that was a while ago and it wasn't an rpg but an action adventure game with a much smaller world I think (haven't played it though.) It apparently did badly so led to the direction they took with Morrowind and later games. So I guess they might want to revisit it. (Also Daggerfell was set in Hammerfell as well as Highrock I think.)

High Rock might be interesting since Bretons are my favourite Human race due to the magic/Manmeri lore although geographically less interesting area I think. I thought The Forsworn were very interesting in Skyrim although that's a different group culturally.

There isn't any gameplay from Paralives really yet, just some character creation footage and building stuff and the visuals have been updated a few times. The building options seem better though.

Yeah there are usually only a few exclusives that seem appealing to me and since I have a PC that can play many games I began to move away from consoles many years ago, I played more as a child when I played the ps1 and ps2.


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## Scrub-Zero (Feb 9, 2004)

Fever Dream said:


> I miss being addicted to the grand champion.


 haha! God that guy... almost as annoying as cliff racers.


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## ABurnedPrince (Dec 2, 2019)

Yes ! I have been since 2001 ! Cannot live without it.


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