The other day, I was playing a game, and I kept dying without making any progress. To be fair, I was altered, and my coordination was highly impaired. Apparently to the point where I was unable to play competently. Then I started wondering just how many people play EQ while altered. Do you play sober or altered? No need to name your poison of choice... there are many legal varieties available nowadays.
I am in the super minority I believe, based off of what I read and hear when playing. I do not drink, smoke, or am impaired in any way when I play EQ. Furthermore I am also not watching Netflix or surfing the web or distracted in any way while playing. Feels like the overwhelming majority is either on something or doing something else while also playing EQ. Hence I feel I am in the minority.
This is why I suggested the name confirmation prompt for character delete. Prathun nicely implemented the idea. No longer do we see threads entitled, "My character is gone and I don't remember deleting it."
It is true. The Oracle of AllHigh is known to imbibe strange noxious fumes. They provide visions of things often previously unseen.
For the first 10 years or so of my EQ playing, I was altered just about any time I wasn't at work., so doubtful I was sober at any point in game up until about 2011. For the last 10 years I've been sober, and don't really feel like the experience is much different for me. I would say it felt more immersive back in the non-sober times, but that could also be just the novelty and newness of the game itself. No voicechat, largely unexplored world (for me), all of the little things that made it feel like a wholly separate world to engage in was just "enhanced" by my choice of recreational alterations. Doesn't bother me that I no longer do it, but I wonder what it would be like if I were to partake once more.
I'm never on anything.My original guild leader back in the early 2000s was always drunk and having his *funny ciggies* as he called them (weird funny French guy) But we all know Tenr got soo blotto on alcohol one night , he sold all his Krono, didn't remember it, and petitioned the next day.. never looking at his Plat total which had a HEFTY addition to it. devs were able to see what happened and told him.. much to his chagrin.
I have enough difficulty maintaining grasp on reality since antipsychotics don’t help but I quit doing drugs before I went to college and I am a happier person for it. I’ve noticed that a lot of religious people will have a “high on life,” air but ultimately this is a state of hopeful optimism, almost blindly so, that anyone with interest in dedicating themselves to the good in reality can experience. Combine this mindset with a bit of meditative trance and the hyper-focus you might experience playing a sport like archery and you can find the same gratification without the dependency of drugs, the health hazards, and other nasty side effects such as hangover. It’s like switching from soda to juice. I think Biltene hit the nail on the head when they said that because the game was new and unexplored it was more immersive but do keep in mind that society has changed drastically as well and 22 years ago playing with people on the other side of the world was itself pretty awe-some.
Semi rarely do I play drunk, though at night I always have about three beers. So maybe I'm partially altered but not loaded.
I drank a lot thru PoP, but other than smoking cigs, that was it, until this last year. Now, I rarely play EQ when I'm not high. I've never been one to watch tv or whatever while playing, tho I do often listen to music. I feel much better, tho!
I haven't touched alcohol in over 20 years. I don't use drugs, I'm not even on a prescription. I don't watch TV or movies while playing. I seldom listen to music even, other than the EQ zone music. I just play the game.
VT we used to play drinking games, the clears were so long and boring we had to do something....these days nothing.
When I am alone home and I have a long gameplay session ahead, I try to get drunk as ffff. The first hour I am still ok so I can do quests, progression, try some achievements, etc. The rest of the hours, where I get progressively drunker, I go on autopilot mode and all I can do (and enjoy) is doing mindless grinding of exp or collections. Probably all my chars are max AA because of me being under that state, otherwise there is no way I would endure long mindless grind AA sessions, something that under a sober state I can't do. While doing that, I have some series on TV. Now I am watching Babylon 5!
Buzzed while EQing? Sure, I'll have a couple beers on a raid or in a group, but not too often while boxing. It's no fun drink and zerk alone. I'll often have music, a show, a movie, or something else going while 2-boxing though. I always need to listen to something. SOMETHING has to drown out the voices if I'm going to relax.
Great choice. I don't need substances, my mind was altered from birth so I am always angry! zerker 4 life
If you don't drunk lead Aary raids are you really alive? If my rl vision isn't like I've tanked tofs2 boss a little too long I'm not doing right by my guild. For recruitment purposes this is a joke. mostly
