Does instant transportation effect game immersion?

[Xianghua]

Time is an essential part of the game, esp. so an MMO, you can't possibly deny that. You're not supposed to be anywhere at anytime, that as a game concept is more flawed than any logic used so far in the whole thread. Too hard to see?

"By your logic" is a very sound base for an argument because it introduces similar examples to what you are proposing and perhaps then you can see the flaw of your logic in the ideas you proposed, yes?

/sigh ok then By YOUR logic everything that makes traveling or anything easier to do is simply turning the game into easy mode. So lets turn the game into hard mode. Get rid of parting make everyone have to solo everything in game. get rid of running and make everyone walk. Only make Linkshell members be able to talk to each other if in the same zone. Make everything in game 1% drop. Do you see how I used your same concept to point out your flaws? that's the reason it is a pointless base concept because it can be taken anyway. Taking 5 mins 1 min 1 sec 20mins to get to a single city does not completely kill the game, dumb it down, makes it easy or makes it hard you still have to run to your destination. Getting somewhere 5 mins faster simply will not change how long you play the game. Lack of content will change that. since you love this concept so much. By YOUR logic i can say that you think chocobo's and airships are already a horrible idea simply because you get to your destination much faster so dumb the game down and turns it into Easy mode.

[Gennosuke]

Yes, surely the other aspects in the game still require the same time, i never argued that. but..

Time is essential for CONTENT not get to 3 places in the game.
So you point again is flawed.

I must disagree with you there. You can't dictate that my point is flawed because you simply disagree to it now, can you?
In my opinion and i'm sure i speak for others arguing for the immersive side, that An Airship ride should reflect the distance between one city and another by involving a time span in the ride itself. To me, it neither makes sense to click a button for an airship ride and instantly get to my destination neither does it add to the immersion or reality of the game. Yes, it's fantasy, yes it's a game, but there needs to be a balance and a line drawn somewhere.

Fair point? or you're gonna say it's flawed again because you disagree?

[Bled]

http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/#/gameplay/guildleves

Click bottom right corner where it says Aetheryte.

It was literally built into the lore before the game was released.

You could apply your logic to Star Trek and their ability to warp or beam people down to a planets surface. That doesn't destroy people's immersion. It might your's but people find that to be a very interesting aspect of the Star Trek universe. Maybe the Enterprise should run on an Internal Combustion Engine instead ya?

You've contributed nothing to your argument.

You have contributed nothing with your star trek analogy what so ever.

I stated that there is no explanation (lore based) on how you can just on a whim travel any where in the world with anima, your link literally says teleportation is only used when guild leves are envoked which is not true at all in the game. these holes in the lore and explanation cause you to have to create your own explanation which breaks immersion. Star Trek and their "Beaming" or teleporting how ever you reference it is not only explained in countless episodes but is deeply explained in any reference book to star trek lore.

Please Rhomagus you get so caught up in your posts that you sometimes miss read and interpret meanings.

[DNO]

Dude.. The point is, and i re-iterate other players concerns, it is dumbing down the game, whether it's 5 mins or not.
I am not confused. There is obviously multiple aspects to this issue, whether it's immersion or game-balance or whatever else the case may be.

What's your big idea?

So first its duming down the game... then soon as i disprove that you change to immersion? Pick a point and focus on it.

It does not dumb down the game so thats wrong.

Does it give less immersion? thats an opinion and can not be disproved and you have a right to feel that way. However thats not what I was debating. Does it dum down the game? answer is no.

[Xianghua]

I guess I should give my stance on the subject since i haven't yet.

I agree with the fact that there should not be a free instance mode of transportation in the game. It should cost something.
Airships should take 5mins or so to get there if your truly are in a rush then that is what anima is for. My main point is not that it shouldn't or should be into the game. but that it really does not change anything so drastically as some of you think it will.

[Bled]

How is waiting on an airship "challening deep immersive content"?

Answer: It's not. It's purely a timesink. You want "challenging deep immersive content" on airships? Then like the OP in the following thread or add some substantial concepts to it.

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...-Content-Ideas.

Liked it, and it had good ideas.... people want to just skip content and have a easy mode insta port. I say that not only should you have to ride the air ships but you have to participate in some dynamic content. You sure are jumping to conclusions a lot tonight clean up your posting.

[davysez]

I don't think that more teleporting or less teleporting is the issue here. AmyRae is right, FFXI had a ton of teleporting, but it was different because you needed strategy, planning and time to travel in Vana'diel. Traveling cheaply, traveling quickly, or traveling afk, there were a multitude of different ways, options and tradeoffs to get to virtually everywhere. Yes, seasoned players would teleport as much and as often as was advantageous, but the choice was not "Should I teleport?" but rather "How will I teleport?" It provided a layer of strategy to travel which is notably lacking in FFXIV. I don't think anyone wants to see instant travel nixed, especially with the current design state of Eorzea, but we would rather see more options, limitations, strategies and tradeoffs when it comes to teleport travel.

The question of "How will I get to where I'm going?" does not even begin to enter my mind when playing FFXIV, but that question was always my first though when doing anything in FFXI. To some, I can understand how they would rather not deal with this, considering it waste of time, however, for me atleast, that's part of the fun of going somewhere and doing something. Different strokes for different folks. To all the people who say "SHUT UP QQer, DON"T USE UR ANIMA AND WALK, MORON!" ignores the fact that I want to find and use teleports from a system that requires a little more thought than Menu>teleport>location. I understand it's the simplest and most convenient way to deliver you to your monster killing instance, but some of us would like a little more variety and strategy.

It's a little like the difference to between a button-mashing strategy-free 30-sec battle system and one which challenges and forces players to fight with planning and strategy. I could always say "You CHOOSE to fight without strategy! Why make me fight in hard mode just so you can be forced to do so? :P" Anyways, I think best solution is different games for different people. Have you tried WoW? I hear there is very little annoying open-world travel required there.

I honestly never once had a problem with waiting on FFXI's airships, and in fact, I enjoyed being able to afk for a few minutes while my character traveled for me. I could check a wiki, go use the bathroom, get something to eat or drink, take my dog out, the list goes on! I'm a casual player and I have a life. I guess unlike some people, I don't feel like I'm wasting my time unless something exciting is flashing on my screen! There is no need for intercity airship rides to be more than three minutes total: 1-2 minutes waiting for arrival and 1-2 minutes travel time. If you can't sit still for 3 minutes, I don't know how you recover from weakness, and honestly, a game like Mortal Kombat is probably more down your alley anyways.

As for the incoming instant-teleport-airship thing-a-ma-bob, it just doesn't make sense because they call it an airship ride... but c'mon, it's a teleport. Nothing wrong with that! Price it appropriately and call it what it is! Save the airship ride for... an airship ride! Problem solved. Even FFXI had these "teleport people", they were called explorer moogles, and they were super convenient (when available :P).

Regarding instant transportation's affect on game immersion, I think it's a wash. There is nothing inherent in teleportation which prevents or stops immersion, although that being said, depending on how it's implemented, it can be detrimental. FFXIV's implementation comes to mind. I feel that the game is designed for players to rely more on selecting locations from a menu than from actually traveling to said locations. Yes, players can self-limit their use of the teleport menu, but then it becomes an exercise in self-restraint, rather than an exercise of "How can I find the best teleport to a location as close as possible to my final destination?" I practice plenty of self-restraint in my real-life, I have no desire to do the same in a virtual world. I think Eorzea could be much more immersive if there were some limitations put on the anima-based teleport system, with alternate means of teleportation/warping to make up for those limitations.

[Gennosuke]

/sigh ok then By YOUR logic everything that makes traveling or anything easier to do is simply turning the game into easy mode. So lets turn the game into hard mode. Get rid of parting make everyone have to solo everything in game. get rid of running and make everyone walk. Only make Linkshell members be able to talk to each other if in the same zone. Make everything in game 1% drop. Do you see how I used your same concept to point out your flaws? that's the reason it is a pointless base concept because it can be taken anyway. Taking 5 mins 1 min 1 sec 20mins to get to a single city does not completely kill the game, dumb it down, makes it easy or makes it hard you still have to run to your destination. Getting somewhere 5 mins faster simply will not change how long you play the game. Lack of content will change that. since you love this concept so much. By YOUR logic i can say that you think chocobo's and airships are already a horrible idea simply because you get to your destination much faster so dumb the game down and turns it into Easy mode.

That is quite a perverse misrepresentation of my view, completely.

And i quote myself:

Yes, i agree to the point that the game should not have mindless time-sinks, and a current example of that i would definitely agree to is current state of the game where:

1) No chocobos to speed up movement around this massive world where you end up traversing the lands at a slow steady speed relentlessly.
2) No Airships, meaning you have to spend 20 mins running through Eorzea from one city to the other.

We are in agreement that game does need to keep convenience as a key factor. I am hardly against that. But requesting to keep a ride as short at 5 mins and having some flight times to simulate a real airship is purely an immersion and balance issue.

I am saying let's meet half-way, so both parties can be happy. It is neither inconvenient, nor does it kill immersion/balance.

Yes? No?

[DNO]

That is quite a perverse misrepresentation of my view, completely.

And i quote myself:



We are in agreement that game does need to keep convenience as a key factor. I am hardly against that. But requesting to keep a ride as short at 5 mins and having some flight times to simulate a real airship is purely an immersion and balance issue.

I am saying let's meet half-way, so both parties can be happy. It is neither inconvenient, nor does it kill immersion/balance.

Yes? No?

and you know SE is doing just that. By giving us the option to wait on the ship (as you request for your immersion) and giving us the option to skip is (by giving us our immersion)So why are you fighting SE and us to take away our option?

[Xianghua]

I guess I should give my stance on the subject since i haven't yet.

I agree with the fact that there should not be a free instance mode of transportation in the game. It should cost something.
Airships should take 5mins or so to get there if your truly are in a rush then that is what anima is for. My main point is not that it shouldn't or should be into the game. but that it really does not change anything so drastically as some of you think it will.

If you didn't see it yet.


But yes I'm not saying 5 mins will hurt or kill anyone. personally I'll do the same thing i do on that pathetic excuse of a ferry they put in the game and afk. 5 minutes seems perfectly fair to me. gives you time to go to bathroom grab something to eat do whatever you need. if you need to hurry use anima. you're out? Then take the 5 min trip or go cry in a corner for all i care.