I voted for oblivion style AND morrowind style, because it IS 100% optional, and if we are given morrowind style traveling those of us who don't want to use ob fast travel will have our own options.

Morrowind and Oblivion style together is our best chance, the devs might actually give us this.

Tell me what you think. How about this:

you only get morrowinds style but with a little extra. you can set 5 markers anywhere on the map that you can fast-travel to, but, to move these markers, you need to be at a mages guild.

Why five?

I prefer Oblivions Fast Travel System as I don't want to pay to fast travel like you did in Morrowind. That was a complete joke paying to go someplace where you already discovered the location.

the first week i played oblivion didnt know how to use fast travel. I spent my time walking everywhere before finding out about fast travel and smashing my head on my keyboard haha. I wouldn't mind a minor fast travel, maybe similar to morrowind but improved.

Yeah I know right? Like if I get a cab and tell them to take me to my hotel room it's free because I know where it is, right? Oh wait...

It would be nice if the game had both styles of fast travel. But, if it offers both, I would like the Oblivion-style travel to have random encounters so that there would be a reason to pay for travel.

I Voted for a system of both MO ond OB style fast travel.

I have been playing RPG's since Ultima III, and possibly the best system I think, was the one the Might & Magic series used, You could NOT go to undiscovered locations, and when you did fast travel the correct amount of game time passed, and there was a good chance that you were accosted by bandits or monsters (from memory about 30% - 60%), this also happend when you rested in the wilderness (Another thing that should be included).
I think that a similar system could be implemented in Skyrim quite simply, and would increase the immersion greatly. There should also be the option to travel by a local transport operator (Stlytstrider, Caravan, Boat etc) between major locations, the service should be charged on the distance covered and the dangerousness (Real Word?) of the journey. Guild teleport as well, between the guild halls, assuming they are still in a position to offer such services, the ability to cast mark\recall, but scaled the your character level, with very high magika cost\high intelligence. And lastly a map based point to point FT system like OB, but game time should pass accordingly, for those that want to use it.

Just my two cents.

+5 Win

Well if you mean Oblivion type fast travel there could be a couple of reasons for spending money. You might have to stop at inns, buy food, get robbed, or loose money on the way. There are plenty of reasons for loosing money while traveling.

There are also reasons to gain money. Or at least equipment (gathering plants on the wayside?) and experience (Athletics skill, at least).

I say they need to have a reason for us to use paid travel methods instead of walking fast travel. What is the benefit to the player to use those fast travel methods?

I'm gonna say Morrowind's style (not much choice in the poll, and it's the best, imo)

But I know TESV aint just gonna be tailor made for me. Been over things in the old TES General a million times over. Here's a couple of my favourite theories I've pooped out over the years/stole from others:

1. Teleportation

There should be a spell, harder to cast than Mark/Recall, that would enable the character to use fast travel Oblivion style. I could also buy it, from a large respawning stock in most towns in potion/scroll form. It wouldn't be so much as to make the player poor, but it would sway me away from it (at lower levels, at least). Perhaps 200g a pop. Perhaps the price levels with the pc.

2. Horse/Road travel

If I'm mounted on a horse, in a safe place, and on a road, I could open up a fast travel menu, ala Oblivion. Pretty simple. Though, Horses should be harder to obtain than in Oblivion. There needs to also be a better show of travel in the game. Some kind of simple animation, or a "hardcoe mode" that would make me hungry/thirsty/tired after travelling.

Oh, and, btw:

MAKING IT OPTIONAL ISN'T A SOLUTION. Please, have the common curteousy to hear out other people.

Provided they include both, the paid travel method could be safer and faster (in-game travel time), while walking could cost the player health/fatigue and be slower.

I want to see more in-game options. Teleportation, mark/recall, taxi-like services. Barring that, though, I'd like to see the following:

1. There are random-chance encounters where there is always the possibility your fast travel will be interrupted and you will stop prematurely being attacked by enemies

2. Fast Travel takes into consideration things like feather. If your spell would normally wear off before you reach your destination, you get stopped prematurely.

3. a relatively small chance of dropping a random item somewhere along the path.

None of the above would be an issue with teleportation, mark/recall, or the taxi-like service.

In game logic, yes, it should probably cost more. The other forms of travel require time to pass (not player time, but in game time) where as the mages guild was instant. However, it's also quite possible they could make more money simply lowering the price to treat more people. It isn't like a boatman or a silt strider where they have to spend hours for the service of one person or one party. The mage guild teleporter just sat around all day spiriting people off when they showed up.

Either way, I would imagine it was more balanced for the players perspective than the world's.

I liked Morrowind's system. I missed mark spells in Oblivion. The fast travel was occasionally convenient, but not to my taste. I mostly used it to test mods before putting them in my main game.

Yea its easily said that its optional but if its in the game you just need to use it atleast for me. But I don't want to. But just because that system you get lazy. What isn't fun about if you have to walk back and you find all kind of new monsters caves etc. Its much more fun to walk. Get the morrowind system back!

As in.. Oblivion's system? Or am I missing something?
By the way, I don't see a reason at all to take away fast travel. Add the 'immersive option', sure, but don't take away fast travel. There's no point.

How would you gain money exactly? Doing quests? Are we just going to have the game play itself for us now?

I could possibly see gaining plants happening, but that is a complete player/character choice. Not every player/character collects plants.

Athletics being gained would be a must though.

Ideally, Morrowind's system would be the best for me out of the three. I don't agree with the "don't like it, don't use it" argument. For one, I don't always want to walk everywhere either. That's what in-world transportation is for, to give a believable and immersive form of transport that actually costs money and has limitations, while still allowing me the luxury of not walking everywhere. For two, I don't believe any such critical mechanic should be described as 'optional' in that way. Asserting that instant fast travel is completely optional is like asserting that combat is completely optional. Both are true, but the optionality that is present there is more of a gimmicky option than anything. It's like asserting, "Playing this game is optional."

A Morrowind system that offers mark/recall/intervention with sufficient combat limitations (or not, depending on your cup of tea) along with mark/recall/intervention scrolls for magical novices would cut out all complaining that I often see. Don't want to walk all the way back home from that fortress of doom? Use some foresight and purchase some scrolls or spells beforehand. Actually think about your journey. Same for loot trips or whatever-else-have-you. Vast majority of typical "I don't wanna walk there and back" problems solved.

Having to discover a location before you can fast travel to it works well for me. Force us to walk everywhere at least once, then let us loose with the option to fast travel.

It is inevitable that there will be fast travelling in Skyrim. It is also very unlikely that the system will be much different that the systems we got in Oblivion and Fallout 3. I have accepted this, though I do still have some thoughts and wishes on the matter.

Firstly, I hope that Bethesda adds some alternative methods of travel. Boats, rafts, ships, new mounts, carriages, wagons, etc. Each of these should have its own unique system, and each should offer something for the player as incentive to use them over fast travel. Secondly, I hope that Bethesda adds a consequence system for fast travelling. Something like a small chance of being attacked/robbed on your travels, or of catching a disease from cold/exhaustion. Also, I hope that they do something to restrict fast travel just a bit, like only allowing fast travel to major landmarks, and requiring players to take a carriage or ride a mount from those waypoints to their final destination, if it happens to be off the well-beaten path.

tl;dr:
? Put a slight restriction on fast travel
? Add a small risk for negative effects as a result of fast travel
? Create viable alternative methods of transport
? Have rewards/benefits associated with using these alternative methods.

Yeah, I wasn't much bothered by it, but I was trying to be thorough going through MW fast travel.

One thing that I hope for with Skyrim, in general, is that while the set-up and plot are unique to the player, the world is not bent around your existence. It was nice with shops closing in OB, people moving about. And in MW there were plenty of places I didn't head because that trader with 50 gold, who only takes misc items, and has nothing to sell of their own can sit there until I play through the game with a pickpocket or common thief.

They've nothing to do with me just yet.

I want as is. I walk/run 99% of the time. But sometimes I just cant bother, and when I cant bother I just cant bother.
Buuuut, if there where some transportation systems as well, that would be sweet.