Will travelling be a FUN part of the gameplay loop?

Ashes is going to have a very large map, with long travel times and very limited fast travel options. Apart from resource gathering, mob killing, pvping, and running caravans, a player may spend a large part of their "played time" actually just running. After someone has been somewhere a few times and knows the place, the "discovery" feeling wears off and its just holding W down for 10 minutes straight while adjusting the mouse a little.

Is the travelling going to be fun at all? Any kind of cool mechanics?

Watching the Ranger jump across a canyon with their ability definitely looks like a fun way to travel around the map. But as a primary ability, its purpose is more strategic than a mobility mechanic based around regular travel. And who knows what level we get this.

Are we going to see things like gliders, or mount abilities that are fun to use and help get around difficult terrain? Maybe sliding down a hill and gaining speed like Apex legends. OR a grappling hook with rope that you can shoot across the canyon, or pull you to a location.

The recent discussion around "Utility" skills might have a good crossover with fun travel.

Are the fun ways of travelling only going to be allowed for higher levels or can there be some fun starting at level 1?

I understand that speed and distance are part of the game strategy and core mechanics. We want it to take some time to get from point A to point B, I'm just hoping that the character control part during this time is fun even if we aren't PVPing or engaging with the other mechanics.

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Aszkalon

I dare'say it will be "kinda neutral" later on, but always being somewhat exciting because you can always meet friendly or Enemy Caravans on your Roads and Journey,

and it will be a HELLA LOT Fun in your first Time playing and when you discover and explore the Area's for the very first Time.

Plus -> " Warp(?)Gates ", am i right ?

You will be able to use Teleporters later on in the Game. Presumably after reaching them first with your first Character - or you need to do this at least once with every single of your Characters.

Plus you will be able to use Ships to sail from Continent to Continent and from Island to Island ... ...

Xeeg

Aszkalon wrote: »

and it will be a HELLA LOT Fun in your first Time playing and when you discover and explore the Area's for the very first Time.

Yeah but the thing about aiming for "discovery/exploration" is that it is a one time experience. If we are going to make this game our home, then things that we are going to spend a lot of time doing should be fun. Getting around the map, itself, should be a fun experience.

akabear

Xeeg wrote: »

Yeah but the thing about aiming for "discovery/exploration" is that it is a one time experience. If we are going to make this game our home, then things that we are going to spend a lot of time doing should be fun. Getting around the map, itself, should be a fun experience.

I imagine that exploring close areas regularly, there will be little change but visiting areas intermittently and distant, there is the possibility of change due to the rise and fall of nodes.

Couple in day night cycles, dynamic seasons and changing mobs, hopefully there is a bit of variety.

Thokan

You will have to keep in mind that the vision for how players experience and get access to the content in the game is different from other MMOs.

In a typical MMO you quest at point A until the next quest tells you to go to point B. In Ashes, the vision is a bit more you group up, roam around and see what events *might* spawn. It sounds like a more organic experience and thus the traveling something you naturally do while just playing the game with your friends roaming around. The specified traveling might very well be more reserved for bigger events like your guild wanting to do a dungeon, or a node siege is about to happen next town over.

But who knows how it will play out in game.

CROW3

Xeeg wrote: »

If we are going to make this game our home, then things that we are going to spend a lot of time doing should be fun. Getting around the map, itself, should be a fun experience.

If you choose to stake a claim in Verra, the lands surrounding your chosen node are going to become familiar and banal. The same as r/l.

Travel from your neighboring node to your node for the 861st time doesn’t have to be fun, but it’s necessary, because the same travel from your node to the complete unknown of the horizon IS a fun experience.

Diamaht

Even if the movement abilities are fun, that will wear off after a bit. You will eventually just want to get where you are going.

Fun travel will he more about what happens along the way. If world events and engaging spawns are encountered along the way, and there is a feeling of not knowing what to expect as you travel, then yes it can be fun long term.

Tyranthraxus

Aszkalon wrote: »

....Plus -> " Warp(?)Gates ", am i right ?

You will be able to use Teleporters later on in the Game. Presumably after reaching them first with your first Character - or you need to do this at least once with every single of your Characters....

Where did you get/read/hear/see this?

To my understanding, this is the *opposite* of what AoC will feature; There are presently only 2 forms of quick-travel planned, for the game:

1) Family-Summons

2) The "airship" that a server that has 2+ Scientific Metropolis Nodes will feature.

The second one's really only "kind of" quick-travel, when you consider that you'll still have to ride the airship, and it's only to go directly between the 2 Scientific Metro's.

TheDarkSorcerer

I believe I read somewhere that gliding will be thing for people who won't own air mounts? But i'm also afraid that would turn into GW2 and wings and other weird skins would later be introduced....

But traveling will mainly be done on mounts. But I do hope that certain mounts has benefits like in GW2. The rabbit with extreme high jumps, the raptor for long distance jumps, the griffon for gliding, the roller beatle for fast travel etc.

Nerror

Scientific metros will also have a teleportation system within its vassal network. It might be limited to its citizens. I assume it's not going to work with any materials that otherwise have to be transported on the player, or by mule or caravan, just like the family summons.

As for traveling being fun, probably sometimes? Exploring new things, random events, caravan PvP, etc. Other times it might suck a bit, but that's the thing about good games and good developers: They know players must also experience the suck in games, in order to appreciate the fun. Everything can't just be "fun". That doesn't make for a good MMORPG.

Tyranthraxus

Nerror wrote: »

Scientific metros will also have a teleportation system within it's vassal network. It might be limited to its citizens. I assume it's not going to work with any materials that otherwise have to be transported on the player, or by mule or caravan, just like the family summons.

As for traveling being fun, probably sometimes? Exploring new things, random events, caravan PvP, etc. Other times it might suck a bit, but that's the thing about good games and good developers: They know players must also experience the suck in games, in order to appreciate the fun. Everything can't just be "fun". That doesn't make for a good MMORPG.

Have we seen something that would indicate teleportation? Yours truly was under the impression it's just to be the airships.

Diamaht

Tyranthraxus wrote: »

Nerror wrote: »

Scientific metros will also have a teleportation system within it's vassal network. It might be limited to its citizens. I assume it's not going to work with any materials that otherwise have to be transported on the player, or by mule or caravan, just like the family summons.

As for traveling being fun, probably sometimes? Exploring new things, random events, caravan PvP, etc. Other times it might suck a bit, but that's the thing about good games and good developers: They know players must also experience the suck in games, in order to appreciate the fun. Everything can't just be "fun". That doesn't make for a good MMORPG.

Have we seen something that would indicate teleportation? Yours truly was under the impression it's just to be the airships.

Yeah, here:

https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Scientific_nodes

It talks about Teleportation being the Scientific node's superpower.

Dygz

Diversity of Mounts and Caravans indicates travel should be quite fun.

Enigmatic Sage

@Tyranthraxus scientific nodes be like...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4Ox2t5c4As

arsnn

https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Gliding_mounts

Orym

Some things that makes traveling fun imo:

•The mount looks neat and has good animation.
•You have a place to go/you have a reason to travel (example, In the process of forging a better sword)
•It can happen something on the way over there.
•The mount levels up and get better the more you use it.

Steven have said they gonna have all of these. For me it's just up to them to actually make it happen.

Atm there are a few mounts that look trash with bad animation, for example the long-nosed, stiff, lanky, ant eater looking mount. Imagine traveling on that thing lol

I have not played gw2 much but it sounds fun as @TheDarkSorcerer said that different mount can be used for different situations. Hopefully they can make that happen aswell.

Sevariel

My money is on it being fun because few trips are likely to be the same between events, pvp, gathering and such but then we have different tiers of mounts that are gloriously modeled with fantastic animations and gliding etc.. sometimes trips will be caravan worthy which will sometimes include water and pvp, it’ll be a hoot.

Thecatslock

I imagine getting babies first horse probably wont be too long into the game and will be introduced as lvl 1 animal farm/husbandry skill to get players feet wet kinda like in BDO when it first launched didn't take long to get your first donkey but you still had to learn how to transport goods manually.

Ehrgeiz

Travelling starts to be fun when distance actually matters like in EVE or Archeage.

Aszkalon

CROW3 wrote: »

If you choose to stake a claim in Verra, the lands surrounding your chosen node are going to become familiar and banal. The same as r/l.

Travel from your neighboring node to your node for the 861st time doesn’t have to be fun, but it’s necessary, because the same travel from your node to the complete unknown of the horizon IS a fun experience.

Best Comment here, hands down.

Yes. It has to become a Necessity. We will have the Advantage of Familarity with the Terrain - but we will of Course know the nearer Environments around our Node, like the back of our very Hands. 😁

* sigh * I miss You, dear Port-City of Khorinis ... ...

Tyranthraxus wrote: »

Where did you get/read/hear/see this?

To my understanding, this is the *opposite* of what AoC will feature; There are presently only 2 forms of quick-travel planned, for the game:

1) Family-Summons

2) The "airship" that a server that has 2+ Scientific Metropolis Nodes will feature.

The second one's really only "kind of" quick-travel, when you consider that you'll still have to ride the airship, and it's only to go directly between the 2 Scientific Metro's.

Thanks for mentioning this, in Case i got it all wrong. Also Thanks for listing the Travel-Possibilities here.

I mean the - well " Gates " (?) - that we will arrive at, in the World of Verra.

Maybe i have misunderstood it all since September 2023 (lol), but i got Wind of the Existence of these Gates,

when i read about the "Desert-People with Djinn-Heritage inside their Blood" -> and that they look very awesome for a Moment,

"when they step through these Gates or so" -> because it makes them look very magical, mysterious - and, well, "Djinn(?)-like". Glowy Eyes and silvery to blue'ish Skin.

Maybe i just misunderstand all the time -> but can we not use these few "Gates" to travel to ... ... ... well, the other Gates ? At least when we travelled to several of them manually ?

If this doesn't exist in the Game, i have nothing against that, either. It will give more Weight to the meaning of Travelling in general.

Veeshan

The chanced of open world pvp happening when traveling for me is a win, keeps things interesting atleast for me

I do beleive people will be travelling much less than they think they will besince node system tend to promote people staying in one area that they choose to call home and maybe venturing out to other neaby nodes will be typically game play i think for most players with the occasionally expetition to new part of the map for a week before heading home again.
unless ur heavily into the merchant/caravan life i dont see people travelling to far from there homebase very often.

People think the game gonna be like all the other games going from quest hub to quest hub from what ive seen which just wont be the case with AoC

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