» Sun Aug 08, 2010 7:36 pm In Oblivion the issue was you usually didn't explore as you went to your goal. If you had been there before you could just appear there. Thats partly to blame for our old friend "magic arrow." Why should I bother exploring when I can get the exact direction. More importantly the landscape enabled such behavior, nothing got in your way, making roads obsolete. The generic locations didn't help either. How could we get directions when every place looks exactly the same? Walking to your destination was usually a crosscountry trip in a straight direction.
Why would you ever explore when you're searching for something? Exploring is something you do when you do not have a specific goal, other than to uncover the land.
If you need to get somewhere specific, why would I ever try to go anywhere that did not fit the description.
Let me ask you something else, Why do you have to be forced to explore when you're not interested?
Morrowinds system worked because locations were distinct, there were actual regions that divided the land, and these regions were seperated from one another. There was no magic arrow to give you the exact heading. So you had to do a little exploring, which is generally more fun. In most cases going in a straight direction wasn't an option, because there was always something to stop you. You may have had to get to know the environment a little bit more, but it was typically that much more enjoyable.
First of Oblivion have distinct regions as well, the fact that Morrowind had the regions be so separated you could stand with your foot in one environment and the other in another, is not a tribute, but a flaw.
Secondly, you don't have to do a little exploring when you don't know exactly where to go, you have to do a little searching, which is not the same, and even if you knew where to go, you could do some exploring if you valued exploring, I do it all the time, you're right it can be fun, which is why I don't need to be forced to do it. I value the fact that I don't have to watch my character retread the same ground twice though.
Fast travel is and isn't optional.
Sure you could technically walk. That was boring, for a lot of reasons but mostly IMO because the environment was the same. Horses weren't an option, they were useless. How many characters out there outran or kept at pace with all horses in game? I had a few.
Sure you could technically walk. That was boring, for a lot of reasons but mostly IMO because the environment was the same. Horses weren't an option, they were useless. How many characters out there outran or kept at pace with all horses in game? I had a few.
The environment in OB wasn't the same. If walking is boring, why is forcing everyone to do that the solution?
This is a myth. Horses were not useless, you have to specialize in speed to be faster than them, and you have to have a very high speed stat to match a black horse, I have never had a character faster than a horse. Horses are useless to characters specifically designed for speed, as they should be. Because it's a specific case, you can't use it like a generalization.
So for travelling in Oblivion you had three options, walk, ride horse, fast travel. Walking and horses were useless, making fast travel the only real option. Where I live you, no public transit and its a small rural city, have to own a car, sure you could walk or call a cab, but those aren't acceptable options all the time. That is not optional, and fast travel was not really optional either.
Neither of the those were useless as pointed out above, and your solution is still to limit fast travel, which will maximize the need for the other ways of travel, which you find useless.
