» Thu May 19, 2011 12:42 am I'm not against Fast Travel . . . ALL Morrowind's travel other than walking or swimming was Fast Travel. I'm against a TES RPG including free-fast-travel-from-anywhere (Oblivion's clickable map) . . . because it will likely mean that will will not end up with a FULL travel network (like what existed in Morrowind).
The entire northern border of Skyrim is on the Sea of Ghosts . . . so it makes no sense at all not to include transport by ship to the settlements that are near the coast.
And what about the Mages Guild Teleports . . . were they just a fad in Morrowind?
The only reason not to have ship transportation and Mage Teleports in Skyrim is that Beth doesn't have to provide a FULL transportation network (like what we had in Morrowind) . . . they can just appease us with carriages, and then use free-fast-travel-from-anywhere to fill in the gaps. If free-fast-travel-from-anywhere was removed from the game, they would likely put in a FULL transportation network, instead of a MW/OB hybrid (which is only going to make players who use free-fast-travel-from-anywhere completely happy). Again, I'm pleased that we well at least have carriages . . . but I'm still holding out for a more complete transportation network in Skyrim.
Oblivion was the ONLY TES game that included free-fast-travel-from-anywhere. Free-fast-travel-from-anywhere weakens the game, but removing any consequence from traveling. It removes the main reason to purchase a horse. It makes it way too easy to clean out a dungeon (and pretty much negates having a carrying capacity, when you can just beam back and forth). It makes the size of the map inconsequential (why have an open game world if you just want to beam across the map?). It makes the game's economy less balanced (why pay for carriage transport when you can just click on a map for free? Along with being able to easily clean out dungeons and cash in on all the loot.)
This is not just about having self-control . . . it alters the game's mechanics and balance. It becomes a crutch and lessens the need for the developer to fully flesh out other parts of the game. If Free-fast-travel-from-anywhere is in Skyrim, people will use it and expect it to be in the next TES RPG (just like the it-was-in-Oblivion argument . . . and even though it is a cheat), because "it wouldn't be in the game if we weren't suppose to use it."
The entire northern border of Skyrim is on the Sea of Ghosts . . . so it makes no sense at all not to include transport by ship to the settlements that are near the coast.
And what about the Mages Guild Teleports . . . were they just a fad in Morrowind?
The only reason not to have ship transportation and Mage Teleports in Skyrim is that Beth doesn't have to provide a FULL transportation network (like what we had in Morrowind) . . . they can just appease us with carriages, and then use free-fast-travel-from-anywhere to fill in the gaps. If free-fast-travel-from-anywhere was removed from the game, they would likely put in a FULL transportation network, instead of a MW/OB hybrid (which is only going to make players who use free-fast-travel-from-anywhere completely happy). Again, I'm pleased that we well at least have carriages . . . but I'm still holding out for a more complete transportation network in Skyrim.
Oblivion was the ONLY TES game that included free-fast-travel-from-anywhere. Free-fast-travel-from-anywhere weakens the game, but removing any consequence from traveling. It removes the main reason to purchase a horse. It makes it way too easy to clean out a dungeon (and pretty much negates having a carrying capacity, when you can just beam back and forth). It makes the size of the map inconsequential (why have an open game world if you just want to beam across the map?). It makes the game's economy less balanced (why pay for carriage transport when you can just click on a map for free? Along with being able to easily clean out dungeons and cash in on all the loot.)
This is not just about having self-control . . . it alters the game's mechanics and balance. It becomes a crutch and lessens the need for the developer to fully flesh out other parts of the game. If Free-fast-travel-from-anywhere is in Skyrim, people will use it and expect it to be in the next TES RPG (just like the it-was-in-Oblivion argument . . . and even though it is a cheat), because "it wouldn't be in the game if we weren't suppose to use it."
I have to agree with this.
Morrowind had a logical explanation on how you got from one point to another. It made sense in the context of the game world, and had a cost associated with it, even if the cost was negligible. More than that, it provided an additional layer of challenge.
I'm glad that Beth is making an attempt to please fans on either side of the fast travel debate, but I can't help but to feel that we're going to end up with two half-assed methods rather than one, comprehensible method. I would rather see a travel network similar to Morrowind's, but expanded to include a lot more destinations in order to make it less of a chore to get around. If not that, then fast travelling by 'walking' needs to include random encounters / events in order to make the carriage system a viable alternative, and to simulate some of the dangers one might face by walking to their destination. Otherwise, having a FO3-Morrowind hybrid seems redundant. After all, if players are able to 'walk' anywhere without any costs or negative consequences, then what is their motivation to use a carriage system that costs money for anything other than finding the major cities early in the game?
