Weekly Poll 3/2/20 - Fast Travel and Other Things.

[Sardukhar]

Well, we're going to take a break from Welcome Home V, as V has survived the first job and is going to set up for the next one.

The Month Of Spring is here - at least, Spring starts in the North in March. So yeah. It's Spring! Ish!

And that means going outside. But how? And where?

THREE choices!

Other polls here: https://forums.cdprojektred.com/index.php?threads/collected-weekly-polls-thread.10984601/

 

[Suhiira]

#2 - NCART, AV-4, taxi, bus, i.e. any "public" transport should allow for fast travel. MAYBE a handful of "hub" locations around Night City you can travel to via the characters car/bike once you've discovered them (ah la the signposts in W3).

#5 - I'll definitely wander Night City on foot (given the option) before I start driving from A to B. I want to see/experience the city. And if I go someplace I don't belong (after all I plan my 'V" to be city born and bred) there's always "Reload Game" ... 'V' knows the city, I the player don't.

 

[Garrison72]

I think the signpost system in TW3 was perfect. Do the Cyberpunk version of that and I'm good. No doubt a travel from anywhere mod will be available in days anyway.

Edit: Also, there should be taxis.

 

[CyberBrett]

As always with Sard`s damn polls to many great options to pick

I picked 2 , 5 and 8 with a special mention for 9
As others have posted " W3 sign posts " would work very well in NC , along with the public transport system .

 

[Draconifors]

2 and 3. Easy choice because I am firmly against using fast travel when it's not necessary. In Witcher 3 I only ever use it when it's the only option (travelling to/from anywhere except Velen/Novigrad).

Fast travelling kills a lot of my immersion, and yeah I also care about its reducing the time it takes to play the game. Efficiency can be a negative thing.

 

[BabalKabak]

I chose 5. (edited)
I use fast travel only when : there is nothing particular to see or discover in the worldmap ; when I finished the game and I start over once more (+ there are no interest in wandering in the map).

According to my gaming experience, I'm aware that FT is useful for various reasons but I choose the games I want to play, and I prefer to take my time. If the game is good, then I don't feel like I should use FT.

One example of game where I used FT early is Dragon's Dogma : Beautiful game, but the map is short and there isn't much things to do besides quests and exploration. Someone gave me a rare FT item through the pawn's presents, so as soon as I got bored travelling by foot from East to West, I used FT very often.

 

[Rawls]

I voted for 2 and 3. 3 is my default ... but I'm not married to it depending on the mechanics used. 2 is the fallback position.

2 and 3. Easy choice because I am firmly against using fast travel when it's not necessary. In Witcher 3 I only ever use it when it's the only option (travelling to/from anywhere except Velen/Novigrad).

A dragon after my own heart.

 

[kofeiiniturpa]

2, 7, 8.

Checkpoint-teleport fasttravel like TES or Witcher 3 is just lazy and mechanically uninteresting and it undermines the world around which it is built by promoting the easy skipping of it.

Nevertheless, I expect the game to have nothing less than exactly that.

It would be nice if CDPR got a bit more creative and organic with it than that, even if it would repell some people who are in a hurry and absolutely ”require” teleportation at will, but I’m not holding my breath.

 

[BabalKabak]

An organic way of placing FT around the Night City map is to make V "teleport" to one subway/bus/public transport station to another. Ironically, one thing I note if we had the power of teleporting to places is that --> it kills a substantial portion of the narration that could happen "naturally" at the public transport : meeting NPCs for quests and whatnot ; bad people look for you but you try to escape or fight back ; and feeling the life of the city during these mundane (yet necessary) moments.

 

[MauricioMM]

5, 8, and 9, but sorta, I'll explain.

I use fast travel when the game world is no longer engaging explorationwise or simply if I don't have enough real-life time to wander in the game (e.g. if I need to leave my character near an important place before I fall asleep in front of my computer and forget what I was supossed to do next ). I prefer to travel by foot/vehicle because I enjoy both satisfying roleplaying and admiring the locations and the art direction but, if I were a game designer, I would allow easy FT, roleplay FT, and easy "freeroaming". Options for every taste.

The Witcher 3's fast travel system works very well, a good balance between freedom to the player and roleplaying restrictions Although I would've liked that, for instance, when traveling between the continent and Skellige an option were there to show Geralt getting on the ship and enjoying the ocean views, at least as short cutscene. Kinda like the metro rides in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, which by the way I liked a lot because of the way they implemented worldbuilding in them.

FT in The Elder Scroll works the best from an user experience standpoint because it didn't put arbitrary restrictions on the players in the name of roleplaying, but it risked making certain locations unnecessary (or more unnecessary) gameplaywise... if that makes sense.

 

[LordSerion]

2, 7 and 8. A low-profile nobody can hardly afford regular travel but later on when we are better off it can be used as old ones did, like Baldur's Gate.

 

[Restlessdingo32]

5 and 7 because other options don't quite describe the desired design.

5 or, "Probably start out wandering, but use Fast Travel later when I've seen more of the city.", is a personal preference/behavior type of deal. When this type of game is new the preference is to take the scenic route. Once I've played a game to death it may shift to taking the fast route, or fast travel. There are too many variables to list going into when this decision is made, where it's made and when the arbitrary "played the game to death" threshold is crossed.

7 because I've seen other games implement the interruptable fast travel extremely well. It can make the player question whether they should risk taking the convenient option. Likewise, it can lead to interesting results along the way. Results you may not experience in a streamlined system or when taking the scenic route.

In regards to start and end points, anywhere to anywhere. Instead of a sign post system where each start and end point is static and pre-defined.

I'd prefer it if the type of transportation and game state influenced #7 above. If you use a train station it consumes less time but events can happen when boarding, riding or disembarking. If you walk it takes more game time and different events can occur. With these events factoring in the start/end points and various other variables in the game world. As an example, if you FT on foot through territory owned by a gang you pissed off then bad things are likely to interrupt the trip. Sadly, this is probably wishful thinking.

 

[BabalKabak]

What is an interruptible fast travel ? Can someone give me an example please ? Thanks
(got it, I've read Restless' message it explains it very well)

OK, if Cyberpunk 77's fast travel works this way, then I'd approve it certainly.

 

[MauricioMM]

7 because I've seen other games implement the interruptable fast travel extremely well. It can make the player question whether they should risk taking the convenient option. Likewise, it can lead to interesting results along the way. Results you may not experience in a streamlined system or when taking the scenic route.

[...] I'd prefer it if the type of transportation and game state influenced #7 above. If you use a train station it consumes less time but events can happen when boarding, riding or disembarking. If you walk it takes more game time and different events can occur.

Now I understand what interruptable FT means, thanks I wish I could add #7 to my picks now (as the "roleplay FT" option), personally I'd love to see something like that in the game.

[Edit: You know what? To hell with option #9 I still believe #9 is the best option usabilitywise but we're talking personal preferences down here.]

I think two recent games that feature IFT are Pillars of Eternity and Kingdom Come: Deliverance. Not sure how well implemented it is in those games, though, but if it's good then there's some inspiration for CDPR.

 

[kofeiiniturpa]

I'd prefer it if the type of transportation and game state influenced #7 above. If you use a train station it consumes less time but events can happen when boarding, riding or disembarking. If you walk it takes more game time and different events can occur. With these events factoring in the start/end points and various other variables in the game world. As an example, if you FT on foot through territory owned by a gang you pissed off then bad things are likely to interrupt the trip. Sadly, this is probably wishful thinking.

This is pretty much what I've been promoting for fast travel for...heck, years.

But yeah, as you say, it is just wishful thinking for such to exist - at least as a larger scale feature - here.

 

[Restlessdingo32]

I think two recent games that feature IFT are Pillars of Eternity and Kingdom Come: Deliverance. Not sure how well implemented it is in those games, though, but if it's good then there's some inspiration for CDPR.

KCD was one of the games I was thinking of when saying it's implemented well in certain games. I remember using FT there and getting jumped by bandits, finding bandits fighting Cumans, guards fighting Cumans, merchant caravans getting stomped, spotting ambushes and avoiding or dealing with them.... None of it was incredibly robust but it was far superior to clicking a sign post and materializing next to another sign post.

 

[MauricioMM]

I just watched a couple of videos on YouTube to see how FT works in KC: D and... it seems to be a bit of a trainwreck sometimes What I’d do in CP2077 is to make IFT only available at the “sign posts”, otherwise it could be prone to many bugs if freely available. Also, avoid having the annoying “You can’t fast travel there” notifications, the FT map should make that obvious at first glance (e.g. greyed out icons for currently non-travelable locations.)

 

[LordSerion]

I'd say the public transport can serve very well as FT points.

 

[KakitaTatsumaru]

1 6 7

 

[AlexiaRevan]

I like fast travel, choose 1.

Cose, depand on tha mood. Sometimes I'm walking, driving and it's fun. Sometimes I'm feeling lazy, so zap! Let's go there as fast as I can.

I didn't like how fast travel was done in the Witcher 3. Had to walk all the way to a Lampost, and go from there.

Skyrim and fallout 4 was good. Unlock new area, zap back there. Very useful if you wanna drop by to buy upgrade and go back to butt kicking.