Roads increase movement speed

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21

No, you obviously don’t.

It’s not apples to oranges at all because the purpose and function of the roads would still be very similar. It would guide people around. Only, as it’s been discussed so far, they will actually be MORE useful in Boundless because players will create them. Since we’re talking about potentially using a type of limited resource block for them, then it would follow that roads would only continue to exist if they were actually useful in boundless rather than simply existing from some prior civilization like you’re saying happens in WoW. Also, if the constructed roads also increase speed (whether there are mounts or not) then you get an added bonus that also doesn’t exist in WoW.[quote=“UmbraVictus, post:20, topic:6418”]
reason roads exist is because not everyone has access in the games world to those super fast transportation methods such as flying, zeppelins, boats, or even portals
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Actually, they do. Just like in boundless, it simply takes playing for a while to collect enough resources and then it’s very easy to access all of these things. Also, Zepplins are free, and you just walk onto them. I’m beginning to wonder if you’ve even played WoW…[quote=“UmbraVictus, post:20, topic:6418”]
hey are more there for the whole RP value of the world than for the players benefit.
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No, again. They serve to travel from point A to point B WAY faster than other transportation. Just like, I don’t know, warps and portals in Boundless. [quote=“UmbraVictus, post:20, topic:6418”]
If people are really going to follow the way devs want and turn cities/towns into the largest hubs and those hubs getting the beacon status the devs want, then anyone on the planet will know, “hey we are here.”
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Did one of the devs explain their desire for this exact type of play to you? Please, point me to that thread.[quote=“UmbraVictus, post:20, topic:6418”]
just roads I think defeat the purpose of having this instant teleportation feature through a magical wall
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This is the exact reason that I mentioned the many forms of transportation from WoW as an example. The roads are still functional, especially every time you roll a new character. It’s already been clearly stated by the devs that we will be able to roll several toons in Boundless with different skills. Even if we have warps, when we first start out we won’t have the resources to immediately make the warps and use them. Thus, another example of why roads would be nice.

As for your several statements about roads and beauty of the worlds, etc. I simply disagree. People build ugly buildings too, and we’ll never be able to limit them from doing that. Roads don’t have to detract from the worlds at all. Just like you mentioned somebody building a “under water bridge” (which, let’s be honest, any bridge is just a short section of road), the roads could all be built as far above or far below the surface level as people wanted to build them. I’d be all for subterranean roads. That’s first on my priority if we get the chance to make special road blocks.

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22

Some interesting points in this thread, many of which I both agree and disagree with. As for the original proposal of roads providing a speed boost when walked on, I say… meh. On the surface, it’s a great idea, but as with most any movement enhancing mechanic, overuse is a bit of a concern. In the case of roads, I can see them quickly used to speed up movement everywhere, even where roads would typically not be used such as indoors. As such, roads lose their niche as a road and pave pretty much everywhere players have the resources to place them. Not only would that lead to vast swaths of developed space being covered in the same uninspiring “road” block, it vastly detracts from the possible creativity of those areas. I’ve always been a fan of beautified roads with patterns and colors and a variety of building material. A road block would in most cases replace form with function.

So if movement speed increasing road blocks are so likely to cover basically everything, why not just make movement enhancements a passive effect of something else? Running shoes or mounts come to mind as a solution. These things can be further “balanced” by other effects like a lack of defence in the case of shoes, or a lack of maneuverability on mounts. Both of these things could still utilize (standard, non-enhanced) roads as a clear and unobstructed avenue of travel, much as they do irl. Simple roads with standard beacon protection can provide everything needed to connect settlements and a well engineered road can provide all of the safety a traveler needs with the reasonable investment of plots (remember, 1.0 plot acquisition will be different than at present). Vertical plot reservation concerns could be addressed by beacon control options, which is a totally different topic I’ve discussed elsewhere before.

I don’t believe boundless roads need any more features than what can be achieved by beacon controls and protection, and some simple engineering by the players. This provides the widest range of creativity, and allows other sandbox features to enhance it naturally rather than forcefully.

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23

This is the last thing I will say on the topic since it is just going to get more argumentative from here. YOu either missed or ignored the entire point I was making about the roads in WoW or really ANY MMO with a pre-existing universe(which is essentially every MMO made that isn’t a sandbox MMO). It is what I tried to say in these quotes [quote=“CunningCelt, post:21, topic:6418”]
reason roads exist is because not everyone has access in the games world to those super fast transportation methods such as flying, zeppelins, boats, or even portals
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and [quote=“CunningCelt, post:21, topic:6418”]
They are more there for the whole RP value of the world than for the players benefit.
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What I meant is the roads exist because the universe already existed and they exist for the game, not the player. Meaning, players are not the only ones that use these roads, NPCs use them too, NPCs that can’t use zeppelins, portals, or gryphons. They exist because you are referenced in the game (and lore) that there is a trade route from Goldshire to Sentinel Hill and all the farms in the area. Sure you rarely actually see NPCs using them, but they exist because NPCs used them. They exist solely for the purpose that the universe was created long before the player actually arrived. There are megathreads in WoW forums about why roads exist in the game, cause there are roads that literally lead nowhere that the player actually uses (more so now since a lot of the world was changed, there are roads that exist to places that are no longer used and you can actually tell the road has been altered to look like it has not been traveled in a long time). But said roads are NOT the quickest way from any point to any point, even if you are just running. The roads wind around rivers, houses, farm lands, and a bunch of other environmental and RP things that existed long before the player arrived. They exist for the RP aspect of you walking in an already civilized area. Don’t forget, the universe existed long before the player, and the universe created trade between towns and cities. Roads are the indication of that, yes players can use them to move from point A to point B while enjoying a scenery, but they also exist to exemplify the fact that this is a living world where these placers are connected so the people within them (the NPCs) can communicate and work together.

As for this, there is a thread that actually talks about the future of beacons and warping to worlds for the first time. There is also a video(edit: it’s a gif) if I am not mistaken of a dev using the feature they want where you can see city beacons, and friend beacons when you are first trying to warp pick to a planet. Not sure right now where the thread is, but that was an actual thing. They also talk about the whole city and major city features that they hope to bring to the game. Here is the link to where they talk about this: Weekly Dev Update: 2017 February 10th - Less suicidal Creatures, More devious Creatures!

But yeah, with that I am done. I really don’t want to continue a pointless argument about why roads exist in a game. I do think the idea of speed up blocks would be cool, but again I just think roads between cities will detract from the game. Roads are just such a permanent thing that are going to be used to connect things that are not necessarily going to be permanent.

24

The arguement about WoW roads is an odd one. I don’t really see why they are relevant to Boundless. In WoW, players invest exactly zero time or resources into development of roads. Roads are little more than a way to connect quest hubs throughout the world, and provide no transportation benefits what so ever. The only feature of roads in WoW is that hostile mobs typically don’t wander into aggro range of a road (except in cases where they patrol the road, but that’s usually a fluff thing).

In boundless, a road would 100% be planned and placed by players and communities. The motivation for, expenses of, and benefits of the road would be completely in the players hands. I’m 100% in favor of empowering the player to make any decisions they want. For me, it’s not a matter of “are roads needed” but a matter of “how do we help players fulfill their imagination”.

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25

Well Said, @Havok40k.

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26

More speed or not roads will exist to the extent of players’ desire to build them. Beauty of truly sandbox game is that players can do things not relevant to survival and/or competitiveness within game’s world - as long as they have some spare time and resources. So, they will build roads the same way they build houses they imagine to live in (even though there’s no “home” feature providing faster healing or anything else) or arrange a garden.

The point is we will see roads in the game, no matter what, even if the only reason to build them is to have a nice looking path from one’s house to one’s shop or else.
I’m not too bothered whether them roads get speed buff or not and I think we can all be relaxed about it.

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