Arnulf,Apr 17 2006, 05:18 AM Wrote:I feel I should defend Blizzard on this account. Players want a vast world. And then they complain that it takes so long getting from point A to point B. You cannot have the cake and eat it too.[right][snapback]107406[/snapback][/right]
Actually, in this matter of having both a vast world and easy travel, you can. Guild wars has one solution. Map between cities and outposts instantly, explore the wilderness in between. Oblivion has another: Fast travel between any landmark you've explored (although admittedly that's purely suited for a single player game, it can still be adapted).
There's nothing stopping blizzard from creating the ability to go directly into instances, say through the battlegrounds NPC method, or the "pug" stone method, to allow pre existing groups to enter instances, or to allow flight times to be near instant. Clearly it is possible to be done. Certain quests even launch you from winterspring to eastern plaguelands within seconds.
The old business model however, does not want you to. It wants you to spend additional time in aggregate on their servers, because every extra moment you spend playing is supposedly revenue for them. Honestly, that model is flawed, but such mmorpgs are built on them.
Quote: I find it interesting that many MMO players want big spaces but only a small percentage of them is actually exploring it.
I don't. Much irony fails once you understand the context and motivation. They're not the same player goals. See the "What kind of WoW player are you" threads (hint: they types are not always mutually exclusive either). Explorer's one. Achiever's another. Your goals shift, and what seemed like a good idea at the time suddenly gets waylaid by other priorities.