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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Noaani

Ehrgeiz wrote: »

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

Distance only mattered in Archeage for trade packs.

When you can spend an hour or so running trade packs, deliver them and then instantly teleport back to where you were an hour before, I would argue that distance matters.

Yenn0war

Thats why I think they should add carriage type of caravan to carry you from one node to another. Assuming you found that other node and its not hostile to you.
Something like carriages in Skyrim. Maybe not even run by players, but NPC's.
That would give players a breather or a pause to get some snacks, use bathroom etc.

Xeeg

All I really mean

Yenn0war wrote: »

Thats why I think they should add carriage type of caravan to carry you from one node to another. Assuming you found that other node and its not hostile to you.
Something like carriages in Skyrim. Maybe not even run by players, but NPC's.
That would give players a breather or a pause to get some snacks, use bathroom etc.

I could see something like this. It still fits into the "risk vs reward" if you have to pay for different tiers of protection. You want an NPC entourage that can defend a group of 4 max level chars while u afk? Gotta pay up. But if you get rolled up on by a group of 8 you are out of luck.

Yenn0war

Xeeg wrote: »

All I really mean

Yenn0war wrote: »

Thats why I think they should add carriage type of caravan to carry you from one node to another. Assuming you found that other node and its not hostile to you.
Something like carriages in Skyrim. Maybe not even run by players, but NPC's.
That would give players a breather or a pause to get some snacks, use bathroom etc.

I could see something like this. It still fits into the "risk vs reward" if you have to pay for different tiers of protection. You want an NPC entourage that can defend a group of 4 max level chars while u afk? Gotta pay up. But if you get rolled up on by a group of 8 you are out of luck.

Thats even better. Yes, you can leave your PC and grab a snack or something, but are you willing to risk it?
Meeting random travelers from distant biomes during those travels would be interesting.

Aszkalon

As i always play the Game at least perma-passively as a "Roleplayer", i wonder if for me the travelling will be a bit less repetitive. Meaning i might not care as much as Others.

Azherae

In the end, I feel this will come down to the mechanics of mounts and character-specific 'mounted utility skills'.

The overworld map/level designers would have to spend a lot of time on special traversal mechanics that require or interact with mounts in a way beyond basic geometry.

I still don't know if it's 'summon anywhere' style for mounts, in the long term, but right now, it's implied that our mount exists in the world, so if you want to go to a mountaintop and jump off it with your gliding mount, it might not be a matter of mantling up there yourself the whole way first and then suddenly calling it.

If the Animal Husbandry and mount systems are deep, I assume traveling will be at least somewhat fun, but admittedly I've mostly only seen the Riverlands which doesn't feel that 'good' yet, for travel, personally.

Depraved

Azherae wrote: »

The overworld map/level designers would have to spend a lot of time on special traversal mechanics that require or interact with mounts in a way beyond basic geometry.

what do you mean by this? T_T

Azherae

Depraved wrote: »

Azherae wrote: »

The overworld map/level designers would have to spend a lot of time on special traversal mechanics that require or interact with mounts in a way beyond basic geometry.

what do you mean by this? T_T

You know how MMO characters can go up smaller slopes but eventually there's a vertical angle where they can't actually manage to go 'up' any more, and the character doesn't even actually try?

That's the 'basic geometry' type. So is 'this gap is too wide to jump across'.

Other stuff would be like Thermals, special handholds or climbable surfaces, etc.

Myosotys

Xeeg wrote: »

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.

I'd love it if Clerics could have a skill that could save the coordinates of a location and then open a teleportation portal.

Aszkalon

Azherae wrote: »

I assume traveling will be at least somewhat fun, but admittedly I've mostly only seen the Riverlands which doesn't feel that 'good' yet, for travel, personally.

To flat or so, possibly ? But i think we have seen high Hills or even Mountain-Range like Places.

I personally like it, when You can visit high-up Places,
look into the Distance - into Valleys,

go through those Valleys and/or alongside Rivers - at least i liked it very much in Skyrim.

Quite exciting to think, what for enormous, "ginormous" and mysterious Landscapes full of Beauty and Secrets Sir Steven and his mighty Crew will cast for us, to enjoy and spend our time in.

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