Hello everyone,
I had a fun idea but I don’t have much to say on this yet, I’d like to ask the forums what they feel. What do you all think about ‘roads’ and ‘paths’ increasing movement speed and mount speed while they are on the road or path?
This could be an interesting way to use terrain and build a sense of the world of man vs the world of nature.
-Todd
I think its a great concept, I usually point in the direction I'm going and press numlock, look up time to time to make sure I'm not stuck on a tree. Would rather make the trip quicker by manually following a pathway / roadway. Speed over ground is isually faster on the beaten path anyhoo.
Fairchild said:I think its a great concept, I usually point in the direction I'm going and press numlock, look up time to time to make sure I'm not stuck on a tree. Would rather make the trip quicker by following a pathway / roadway. Speed over ground is isually faster on the beaten path anyhoo.
Exactly. Rewarding players for running along a path and twisting and turning manually would put them in the world a bit more.
It would also be nice to see paths as the most likely places to run into adventurers between cities.
I wouldn't really want a situation where I pressed a button and the game automatically pathed me to the next city. That doesn't feel challenging or exciting. I'm curious whether you would miss perceptions that may happen along the way perhaps?
I would suggest that if you are on a path for longer than 30 sec or so, you get a relaxation bonus that increases a certain percentage to speed and perhaps mana and health regen too. Also pathways can be a place of safety between cities with guards patrolling and patrol towers up at certain places to protect adventurers if needed.
Dullahan said:As long as your run speed on paths is still slower than the movement of most mobs. I could see a 5% speed bonus being a good thing.
Thats a good point, I can't recall the game, but if you were aggro your mount only moved at run speed, same could be for paths, as long as you are not aggro you get the bonus.
Fairchild said:Dullahan said:As long as your run speed on paths is still slower than the movement of most mobs. I could see a 5% speed bonus being a good thing.
Thats a good point, I can't recall the game, but if you were aggro your mount only moved at run speed, same could be for paths, as long as you are not aggro you get the bonus.
I've never been a fan of artificial constraints including reducing movement speed simply due to combat. I just think its important that players aren't able to trivialize content by increases to run speed. You should need buffs or items (jboots), and even then I believe the speed should only be slightly higher than most mobs (with some remaining faster).
I like this idea, mainly because it would entice (not force) players to use similar paths while passing through an area, which in turn would result in players passing each other and possibly meeting up with other random players, as well as gives the world a more immersive feel as all through history, paths and roads were the safest and most efficient way of travel.
One is always free to wander off the path and take a more direct route, but you do so at your own risk.
Add that small markers or landmarks could be placed along the paths, random traveling NPCs, all adding to the effect. This could really make the world come alive.
Fulton said:I like this idea, mainly because it would entice (not force) players to use similar paths while passing through an area, which in turn would result in players passing each other and possibly meeting up with other random players, as well as gives the world a more immersive feel as all through history, paths and roads were the safest and most efficient way of travel.
One is always free to wander off the path and take a more direct route, but you do so at your own risk.
Add that small markers or landmarks could be placed along the paths, random traveling NPCs, all adding to the effect. This could really make the world come alive.
For lack of a Like button, I'll say great point! That alone could encourage interaction out in the wild.
I like this idea in principle.
But what if there were no paths until people traveled the same way often.
Maybe the paths grow into the terrain along the paths most traveled by the players.
Then as they become more established the speed increased.
If for some reason people stopped using a particular route it would disappear over time.
-Az
azaya said:I like this idea in principle.
But what if there were no paths until people traveled the same way often.
Maybe the paths grow into the terrain along the paths most traveled by the players.
Then as they become more established the speed increased.
If for some reason people stopped using a particular route it would disappear over time.
-Az
Neat idea. I'm reminded of Gfay, running from the newbie lift in Kelethin to crushbone. We all just cut across and underneath the tree city. Would be pretty neat if paths were created organically that way.
I'm not sure how I would feel about this one. During the twitch video I don't really remember seeing much of a road/path except Really close to the city.
I would be a fan of this if close to the city or In the city. Wildstar does this exact thing you speak of. Once directly on the "road/path" you go a little faster.
It's like having Free SoW sorta.
meh. I wouldn't hate it, but I feel like it 'may' steal a little thunder from SoW potion makers and SoW casters. I would actually really like it if I were close to or in a city though.
Fun question, thanks for bringin up the idea !!
I absolutely love this idea.
Like this thread: this is an idea that shows how something totally new and innovative can make this a next generation MMORPG without breaking immersion and without dumbing things down.
I love this idea. Travel speed should be varied depending upon the terrain. Perhaps there could be a few levels:
Now, "penalty" freaks people out, so fine - adjust everything so off-trail is the norm because its most common, then you get:
or some such thing. The devs could code areas to be fast-travel areas or slow travel areas.
And, you could put trade routes and major "roads" between distant places and maybe even give a bigger boost instead of instant click-port-travels
fazool said:I absolutely love this idea.
Like this thread: this is an idea that shows how something totally new and innovative can make this a next generation MMORPG without breaking immersion and without dumbing things down.
I love this idea. Travel speed should be varied depending upon the terrain. Perhaps there could be a few levels:
- flat open roads and well-worn paths = 10% speed boost
- partial walking paths = baseline normal walking speed
- off trail walking = 10% penalty (its slower to walk through the fields and woods)
- difficult terrain = 20% penalty (climbing mountains etc)
Now, "penalty" freaks people out, so fine - adjust everything so off-trail is the norm because its most common, then you get:
- flat open roads and well-worn paths = 20% speed boost
- partial walking paths = 10% speed boost
- off trail walking = baseline normal walking speed
- difficult terrain = 10% penalty (its slower to walk through the fields and woods)
or some such thing. The devs could code areas to be fast-travel areas or slow travel areas.
And, you could put trade routes and major "roads" between distant places and maybe even give a bigger boost instead of instant click-port-travels
Great post. For those that don't want these mechanics to effect the SoW'ers of the world, it's simple. Give those same benefits to mobs. You'll still need that SoW to outrun a mob and get to safety.
Good morning everyone,
Wow! I woke up to more than ten replies. Didn’t expect that. What a healthy forum we have here!
Something that’s a very big concern to me is the price-tag to certain types of technology and the timeframe which the company will allow it to be installed. I’m happy to understand the Dev’s already have in place mechanisms to transform an environment for the sake of gameplay—we saw this on a live-stream when the players tried to enter a zone which depleted their health and slowed them (scary!). This same technology I believe could be used for this fast travel.
I know it may not give you guys a lot of joy, but for me I geek out a lot about this kind of stuff. If they are already invested in the technology, this is an easy application which will cost them very, very little. So should the developers be interested in attempting this, consider it done.
I personally would be happy to see this be done only to main highways and not so much to small pathways. The speed increase would need to be in addition to Spirit of Wolf mechanics or the speed increase would need to be big enough to be important but small enough not to trivialize Spirit of Wolf.
Say …. Spirit of Wolf = 30%
Road travel would be 17% (because **** your rounded numbers)
By no means would I want people to think they get free Spirit of Wolf on the highway.
-Todd
I love this idea.
This could also be an opportunity to add some bandit roadblocks or paytoll (with actual danger if by passed, not à la EQ's Common Lands).
Regarding someone's comment about exploration, I think the dev should encourage exploration by having interesting content off the beaten path, not by making traveling between cities a chore. Some days you'll want to explore, some other times you'll just want to reach your friends/group asap.
if runspeed buffs stacked, they wouldn't be trivialized. if they stacked multiplicatively even less so.
Spirit of Wolf = 30%
Road travel would be 7e% (because **** your rational numbers) =) (about 19% btw)
both would be ~49%
if multiplied ~55%
mind you, i would personally prefer it be separate and close to SoW on major throughways. this way it acts as an alternative to the buff, but the buff would still be preferred for travelling the wilds. kind of dislike the idea of choosing to pay someone a significant amount of coin for a buff or it taking 10 extra minutes to reach the next city. although mounted riding could serve the same effect as an alternative to SoW buffing.
another possibility is having the run speed buff along roads as a compliment/replacement to quick travel. you travel from city a to city b at regular speed and learn the route, then you get the run speed.
fazool said:I absolutely love this idea.
Like this thread: this is an idea that shows how something totally new and innovative can make this a next generation MMORPG without breaking immersion and without dumbing things down.
I love this idea. Travel speed should be varied depending upon the terrain. Perhaps there could be a few levels:
- flat open roads and well-worn paths = 10% speed boost
- partial walking paths = baseline normal walking speed
- off trail walking = 10% penalty (its slower to walk through the fields and woods)
- difficult terrain = 20% penalty (climbing mountains etc)
Now, "penalty" freaks people out, so fine - adjust everything so off-trail is the norm because its most common, then you get:
- flat open roads and well-worn paths = 20% speed boost
- partial walking paths = 10% speed boost
- off trail walking = baseline normal walking speed
- difficult terrain = 10% penalty (its slower to walk through the fields and woods)
or some such thing. The devs could code areas to be fast-travel areas or slow travel areas.
And, you could put trade routes and major "roads" between distant places and maybe even give a bigger boost instead of instant click-port-travels
Like it! and then if this was implemented, maybe snow would be the slowest terrain to walk over... Then using spells like levitate to help lift players out and back to normal run speed. I can imagine a savy enchanter setting up a levitating station at the start of a snowy zone, charging a few gold for a lift...
Man, there are just a ton of great ideas in this thread.
I really like the idea of a movement bonus when you're on a road, and the idea that the bonus scales according to the quality of the road you happen to be on. If it's possible for players to influence where those roads arethat could be cool too. May build them or improve them as a group/raid effort? Not sure if that part is workable...
I'm not fond of artificial constraints either, like in-combat movement penalty. It just feels false. In reality if I'm running for my life and going to run far harder and far faster than I would at any other point. Plus, if you're close to a road the mobs in the vacinity should be a little less dangerous, and a bit less rewarding. The further from the road, the more wild the area, and the greater risk vs reward. This ties in to the perception system as well; If you're galloping down a causeway you're not going to notice diddly. But if you're picking your way thru a wilderness you're more likely to pick up on subtle things.
As long as it is a small increase and nothing that trivializes speed buffs such as SoW then I could get down with it. And as long as mobs gained the bonus too. If a player could aggro a mob but then just jump on a road to gain the speed boost and outrun the mob that wouldn't sit well with me.
I'd also suggest that the 'world design' have to be suggestive too. In EQ and VG you would at times travel off the 'beaten path' to make up less time (quickest was A-B straight line idea) OR you would take routes off the main road to avoid dangerous areas. But the great thing about this was that you would often find new areas to venture too.
If traveling on the main road gives you a speed boost, players might be more inclined to stay on the road than to venture off to areas unknown and explore. But if the world's design was suggestive in that the art team made points of interest stick out so that you could see a castle in the background or a cave entrance or a glowing tree/field it would intrigue players to go investigate. OR they could use the perception system to 'call out' to players as they are traveling on the main road. ie. as a player is running along a main road their perception tells them off to your right you hear the workings of mechanisms and gears which would then lead you to a gnome city or you notice a worn path carved into the tall grass beyond the trees to your left which would lead you to a hard-to-find pathway within a forest that leads to a cave. Basically whatever the dev team can create to get players interested in veering off from the main roadway to explore new areas.
But I don't see any trouble with a small boost in speed for using a main road way.
Intuitively, as a newbie, I loved paths and roads because it was a direction-it was a confidence booster for my knowledge of the world. Also I did not mind the occacional stone marker that had an arrow pointing the - very very general way to another area.
But what if being chased by a wolf or a large rat? the speed boost on the pathway may be - well if everyone got the boost it would be ok.
okok I have to do this, ready... *shouts* "BOAT!".
the times when i heard it and it was right on time- I swear I perked up my step even without a run boost.