Does instant transportation effect game immersion?

[Rhomagus]

I'd rather the developers focus on the real issue rather than find ways around it. They are treating the overworld like a problem that needs to be jumped around and covered up instead of something they should fix.

Or implementing franchise staples until they can introduce more dynamic content i.e. chocobo rentals patch 1.19.

[Gennosuke]

I'd rather the developers focus on the real issue rather than find ways around it. They are treating the overworld like a problem that needs to be jumped around and covered up instead of something they should fix.

Agreed, it's becoming a patch based game. Reality is, all these hot fixes will Exacerbate the overall problem in the future when players come to realize how simple, dull and repetitive the game will be then, warp, grind, repeat. Been there, done that. This is what it currently feels, as tedious as running around is, atleast i'm getting a bit of a feel of the world, which any MMO player should naturally seek. Something out of the rat-race grindfest we live in.

[AlexNiculaie]

I wonder why they bothered with spending the time making the airship cutscenes and everything though. A far more rational aproach would have just to set anima costs for City-City warps to 0 for the time being.

Yeah, because the cut scene could never be used when the full version is instituted.

At any rate, this mountain seems to be in danger of collapsing beneath the weight of the hyperbole being tossed on top of that molehill. Enjoy fretting over what is honestly nothing.

[weeble]

it is all to apease the player base, they obviously were planning on making it just like ffxi. they would of opened city ports at some point and all that. but they went with easy instant. but i agree with this change. hey u get u'r changes others get theres. lol. at least this change don't kill the game. tell them to give us back 15man grind parties, or ffxi caps and crazy pain steakin grinds and u can have 5mins on a boat.

i keep saying it and the more i say it the more i believe it myself, they are just making us happy for starter subs. if they end up secretly giving us a huge expansion at ps3 launch on when p2p starts then my mouth has been shut for me lol.

[Jobeto-Rin]

I now agree with this statement.

You even state it in your post:


We don't need to waste time for wasting time's sake. We are already utilizing time in order to accomplish difficult objectives. Non-instant transportation does not add difficulty unless there is actual content to accompany it.

This fails to take into account being given the freedom to "take the road less traveled", and that makes, "all the difference".

Anything that takes time requires us to be more involved, hence immersion. MMO's thrive off of that. That is the notion I was trying to provide.

I'm not trying to imply that we need to waste time, in order to provide immersion. Nor did I mean to insinuate that non-insta traveling provides difficulty. Those were 3 different variables that effect immersion in a MMO. Goals that don't require time spent to achieve them, more than likely, feel less rewarding than those that do.

A road less traveled and instant shortcut are not interchangeable.

Read my 2nd post, if you have no time....

We are supposed to make time for MMO's. Not the other way around.

[Dargoth_Draconia]

Even though some will hate that I say this, World of Warcraft had the best possible world transportation immersion out of any MMORPG I have played. Ground mounts, flying mounts, ships, airships, boats, tram, gryphons etc. there is more I haven't even named.

[Rhomagus]

The point being made is that the game as an MMO needs to be immersive. I think no one can disagree to that. The issue is how and where are the appropriate places for immersion. No.. I take that back, immersion should be everywhere, the issue is how to tackle the issue of convenience.
This is where i will agree with OP, that the very concept of Airship that sets it apart from Teleporting or anything else for that matter is that your travelling through Air. If nothing will reflect that very fact and there is no experience involved, then why even bother with the Airship or even name it that? Surely you could set up some npc's in every city that warp you to each city for a fee. Airship is just that, it's an Airship, you are supposed to have an Airship experience or by it's very definition it is completely pointless, redundant and in reality is just another disguised form of teleporting. There should be times set for travel, and there should be an Air Travel flight experience.
By the same token, would you be happy if chocobo were insta travels too? Would it make any sense to insta travel through chocobos? Just rent a choco, and your instantly in a new location. No, it doesn't make sense and it completely beats the point of chocobos as a travelling method.

Airships aren't chocobos. A gil fee may be levied for use, replacing Anima costs with gil costs, effectively implementing a deflation strategy alongside the current repair system. No to mention, those who want to appreciate the airship ride can post 1.19 in a future patch update.

The issue is why are we forcing people to stand around when they could be doing something else? I agree with letting an airship ride remain for those who want to watch it but why must we keep it that way for those who don't? The argument is an attempt to manipulate an individual's playstyle to conform to the "immersionist's" ideal. I'll never agree with this, especially when the immersionist has the option whether or not to utilize said content. It's a poor argument with a selfish premise. In an MMO no less.

The very framework of the leve and anima system was to help accommodate casual players so that they too could enjoy playing with their more time wealthy allies. So what's being proposed by the development team is a system that, in later iterations, will provide content for the time wealthy but will also offer respite for those who are low on anima and need to travel to a given area quickly.

If you must keep immersion, why not implement a minigame that completely refunds your gil spent for choosing to take "the road less traveled"? Not only do you have the option for immersion, but you also have actual content. The level of difficulty provided by said mini game could be decided by the developers. Hell, here's an opportunity to introduce legitimate content now, but no, the premise for restricting instant airships is "because I don't want them to make it easy for others."

Change the premise and we can continue.

The other point is, I would agree with the other side that the flight itself should not be a long and/or tedious flight, have it somewhere in the middle, something long enough to enjoy the flight, and not long enough to be tedious/frustrating. it does not have to be a long ride. [You could implement an option for those that want to experience the airship flight along with some content like a mini game that can only be accessed while in mid flight or an airship battle of sorts.] Then ofcourse, content on the airship would definitely add to the immersion as well and make any time spent on the Airship an enjoyable time. Who wouldn't enjoy a garlean airship hijack/battle?
Certainly, i would for sure want to see to improvements over XI airship system, i think there is room for a lot of creativity in an airship flight and the ideas for a fun ride are many.

Fixed that for you. I now completely agree. This gives the content for those who want to experience it and the freedom for those who don't. Win/Win.

Point is, Immersion and convenience do not conflict. Insta travel has it's places and uses, Airship on the other hand has it's own unique place and flavor and is supposed to have an experience to reflect that. You want to instant travel to another city? Anima is there, you dont want to lose your Anima? Request some npc's for warping. Just dont kill the Airship experience for the sake of convenience, let the immersion, experience, fun, lore takes it's place, and let the convenience take it's place.

The problem is that I have yet to see someone advocate that we make sure there is no airship scenario option for those who do want one. One side wants to restrict the other, while the other just wants to be free. That's an oppressive stance to take if you must require that people aren't given the option to skip the ride. It's not hurting you, hell, you might even find yourself, one day, with no anima and be right in town where you could take the airship to it's other destination and maybe there is a live event that's going on but you might miss it if you don't skip the cutscene. Why not have that option there when you need it? You don't have to use it, but you might want to use it every once in awhile. I see no downsides to this except for red herrings and slippery slope logical fallacies. This is a very ample compromise.

This game is starting to feel like it's turning into a grindfest more than anything with all the requests for insta ports and the game will really suffer as a result. What's the matter with you guys? can't be bothered exploring anything this game has to offer? just raids and grinding? There really is much more to an MMO than that.

There's much more to this MMO than that. I suggest you get out and explore. What's the matter with you? Are you the one asking for an instant port? If not, then what's the problem. Does the game force you to insta port others? For those that are fine with getting together with their friends or playing solo, chatting it up, killing mobs, and grinding raptors: Go on ahead. I'm not going to dictate their gaming experience.

I agree it's frustrating to run all over the place due to poor design of the world and travel methods, but don't just kill off the concept of exploration and adventure.

Again, no one is advocating this. Show me a post where they have and I'll gladly adjust or retract my statement. Even if the world was designed well I still don't want to waste my time when I'm beholden by others or have my own goals in mind.

I personally hate Anima for that reason, though again it's understandable in the current poor state and design of the world of Eorzea, it is not feasible otherwise, then we can hopefully see people actually being bothered with exploring the land and enjoying it instead of whine for insta ports and convenience this and convenience that.

Anima has lore surrounding it. Anima was a game mechanic from the outset. That's not going away, I'm pretty confident in those words. Even if the game world was designed "better" it'd still have anima. There will still be people who just don't want to be bothered with tedious activities in between their goals. That is a direct response to the bolded area in your quote. You still had people offering tele taxis in XI. You don't think that would still crop up if we got rid of anima? Not to mention that was another avenue for RMT for awhile. If anything anima's implementation into XIV was more a direct response to complaints about XI's overreaching philosophy falsely obstructed by the term "immersion". In XI, they wasted your time because they didn't have content to back it up. Time spent =/= content and it never will. Why are we so against fixing XI's mistakes? Ridiculous wait times between content was one of it's biggest.

For longevity and overall success of the game, there should be some effort and places that are enforced upon players, or the game will turn boring and die off rather quickly. Just as long as those things are actually fun and challenging, not tedious, boring and frustrating. I do blame the state of the game. I hope time will fix this issue when more interesting content and a more dynamic and interactive world exists.

There is nothing here I disagree with. The immersionist argument is also presupposing that airships will take you everywhere. While we don't have information yet, what is making us believe it's going to take us anywhere other than the city-states?

The proposition still stands, wasting time for wasting time's sake is not good game design. This last paragraph is difficult to argue with, it's only when it's in context of the rest of the post is it misused. It should be fun and challenging. Yes! but AFK sammich is neither fun nor challenging. Well, if it is, it's not game related. It's sammich related.

[Rhomagus]

Anything that takes time requires us to be more involved, hence immersion. MMO's thrive off of that. That is the notion I was trying to provide.

I'm not trying to imply that we need to waste time, in order to provide immersion. Nor did I mean to insinuate that non-insta traveling provides difficulty. Those were 3 different variables that effect immersion in a MMO. Goals that don't require time spent to achieve them, more than likely, feel less rewarding than those that do.

A road less traveled and instant shortcut are not interchangeable.

Read my 2nd post, if you have no time....

We are supposed to make time for MMO's. Not the other way around.

A road less traveled and instant shortcut are not interchangeable.

You read it wrong, the road less traveled is actually the less convenient one. Nature follows the path of least resistance. In essence, the metaphor here applies to the immersionist not the person wanting convenience.

Anything that takes time requires us to be more involved

AFK on an airship involves me how again?

Read my 2nd post, if you have no time....

I've read your second post and agree with you in some aspects, if only a few. I've edited them accordingly in my response to reflect a fair compromise and the philosophies I too would like implemented.

We are supposed to make time for MMO's. Not the other way around.

Absolutely disagree with you on this, and I think the disclaimer that you accept before playing every time would also like a word with you. Forgetting your family, skipping school and work, and creating room in life for the purpose of "making time" in an MMO is not healthy nor condoned by Square Enix. I play an MMO in my "downtime". I don't "make time" for it. That's absolutely ridiculous and is the very crux of our design philosophies here.

If you respond, also take into account I've never played any other MMO besides Final Fantasy XI. I've never even tried WoW. This is not a WoW vs FF argument. Nor is it a churn and burn vs. immersion argument. It's an options vs. no options argument.

[Jobeto-Rin]

You read it wrong, the road less traveled is actually the less convenient one. Nature follows the path of least resistance. In essence, the metaphor here applies to the immersionist not the person wanting convenience.



AFK on an airship involves me how again?



I've read your second post and agree with you in some aspects, if only a few. I've edited them accordingly in my response to reflect a fair compromise and the philosophies I too would like implemented.



Absolutely disagree with you on this, and I think the disclaimer that you accept before playing every time would also like a word with you. Dumping a girlfriend, skipping work, forgetting your schoolwork is "making" time for an MMO. I play an MMO in my "downtime". I don't "make time" for it. That's absolutely ridiculous and is at the very crux of our philosophical argument here.

I'm not sure I understand the ridiculousness of setting aside time to play a game, that should be immersive and involve time in the first place.

I think your forgetting MMO's are supposed to be another world to be involved in, a game in which you can temporarily forget about other issues. Which is the point of the disclaimer, don't forget RL.

Now MMO's are just another game to be played and rushed through.

[Synapse]

Now MMO's are just another game to be played and rushed through.

Yup welcome to the retarded Log in > loading Screen > NPC > Loading Screen > MOB > Loading NPC > Loading Screen > Log out.

Can you feel the enjoyment!!!?