Gaming – Page 6 – Ms. Bella's World

3–4 minutes

As a gamer, I’m always watching Steam, looking for titles that have the potential to be fun and interesting. If it appears to have a good story, an open world to explore, or interesting characters, it goes on my list. Bonus points if it’s an RPG or survival game.

And while there are a number of titles inhabiting my wishlist at this point, some of which I’m definitely looking forward to, the one title I’m looking forward to the most isn’t a game – it’s a mod for a game that’s been around for 18 years. This game had it all – a fun story told through quests and lore found around the world, a wide world to explore and discover, and fun gameplay with both melee and magic. It also had its share of bugs, glitches, mediocre graphics and more, mostly mitigated by the modding community.

That game I refer to is Oblivion. And the mod, scheduled to release in 2025 for free, is Skyblivion.

Created by a team of volunteers under the group ‘The Elder Scrolls Renewal‘, this project to port Oblivion into the Skyrim engine began in 2012. The lead developer, Zilav had created what the team refers to now as version 0.1, nothing more than a tech demo. It was missing most of the content and very buggy, but the promise was there.

The introduction of a new member of the team, Monocleus, saw the flicker of life grow into a small flame as he began fleshing out the technical end of the mod. And by 2014, they’d managed to provide for others a stable base game to develop.

Over the years, the group has grown to 85 volunteers, all working on various aspects of the mod. Everything has been meticulously recreated and, in some cases, improved by the passionate team of fans.

Among the things a player can expect are –

The quests from Oblivion (obviously)
All of the big and small DLC for Oblivion
Settings, including landscapes and towns, re-rendered in 3D. All of it has been recreated from the ground up to match the appearance of Skyrim
Custom content courtesy of the Skyblivion Dev team
Combat, including underwater combat
And so much more

Now, one must note that while the mod is free, there are still requirements. You must own a legitimate copy of Oblivion and Skyrim SE in order for the mod to work. And the FAQ states that if you can run Skyrim on medium settings then you should be able to handle Skyblivion too.

This has been a passion project 13 years in the making and the progress of it can be seen on both the Skyblivion website as well as their Project Lead’s YouTube channel – Rebelzize.

I stumbled across the mod in late 2022, after looking for mods to improve the appearance and gameplay of Oblivion. Once I saw what they were doing, I was determined that I’d wait to finish playing the game until I could get my hands on this mod. To date, I have yet to complete Oblivion, despite finding the story fascinating.

The suspense is killing me!

And this isn’t the only project in works by the ‘The Elder Scrolls Renewal’. There are also two versions of Morrowind mods being developed –

Morrowblivion – Morrowind in the Oblivion engine
Skywind – Morrowind in the Skyrim engine

You can imagine which of those I’m looking forward to!

2025 looks to be a great year for fans of Oblivion and, I for one, will be counting down the days until Skyblivion is released and I can once again enter the world of Tamriel to stop the Daedra from taking over Cyrodiil.

What do you think? Have you played Oblivion and will you play Skyblivion when it releases? Leave a comment.

And, until next time, bye for now!

2–3 minutes

Typically, when I browse Steam, I’m on the lookout for games. With a vast selection from various developers and publishers, my wishlist almost rivals the list of games I own.

But games aren’t the only offerings on Steam; there are apps too. Yesterday, a delightful productivity app was released, and it’s almost perfect in its simplicity, functionality, and aesthetic. Best of all, it’s free.

The app is called “On Track“, developed and published by GIGATANK 3000. While they’ve previously published “Wyvia” by Blast Programming, this seems to be their first self-developed title and their inaugural productivity app.

On its Steam page, “On Track” is described as “a cozy productivity tracker to help you rejuvenate, relax, and focus on tasks you want to accomplish.” After trying it out for just over an hour, I can confirm that they’ve nailed the “relaxed” aspect!

Upon opening the app, you’re greeted with a screen displaying a train ticket. You fill in your “destination” (goal) and set the ride length. Then, hit play to board the train.

You’re then seated as a passenger in a window seat of a charming little train, watching the scenery roll by. The graphics are stunning, with intricate pixel art in vibrant colors that are easy on the eyes.

The app features customizable ambient audio, including train noises, background chatter, and other ambient sounds. Each sound has its own volume slider, allowing you to create your ideal auditory environment. There’s also some soothing, wordless music, also adjustable via its own slider. I appreciate this flexibility, as it lets you tailor the atmosphere to your preference.

You can also adjust the train’s speed and the time of day, from bright daylight to a deep, serene night.

As for productivity, the app keeps things simple. You have a timer set before boarding the train and a to-do list function where you can jot down tasks. This minimalist approach means there’s nothing extra to distract you—no pets to collect, no rooms to decorate. It’s just you, on a train, watching the world go by as you tackle your tasks.

Alternatively, you can simply set the timer, adjust the sounds, and enjoy the passing scenery as a form of relaxation.

When asked on the forums why they chose to make the app free, the developers responded:

“We wanted to release a free game because being productive is something everyone should have access to. We’ll be releasing some cosmetic and additional stages as DLC if you feel like supporting the game in the future. Enjoy!”

I think that’s a very generous and fair pricing structure. It offers everyone full functionality for free while providing future opportunities for those who want to support the app.

If you’re looking for a basic yet charming productivity app, I highly recommend heading over to Steam and picking this up.

And to the developers, thank you for creating this and making it free. I’m sure many will enjoy using it, myself included!

Until next time, bye for now.