Istarian transport system

[Vandellia]

To be brutally honest the entire portal system needs to be reviewed and changed its far to hard to difficult to port from a to b as if its not a major town it may require a triple port. what needs to be done is to add a least one "hub" point to some of the portals i tried to make a map of each portal and its destination point and lets just say it is so overly complex its a nightmare. porting is a time sink this is the mechanic of it but multiple portis eventually lead to port caused ctd's.

[Chasing]

Agreed

Example 1
Parsinia which is on the settlements portal list. It now has beginner quests for new players but they have no way to port there (once attuned) because they dont have access to Bristugo (as it needs attuning). There is no other settlement that is accessible from Kion/Sslanis or New Trimus so it makes it pretty pointless for new players to attune there.

Example 2
Blizzards reach is a settlements destination but it is not listed on the settlements portals list (for example in Bristugo). It is actually listed on one of the Guild portals listings (IE Papa). It is not listed in Bristugo at all.

[Frith-Rae]

We have one "Hub" point - Bristugo. But yes, unforutnatelky while Bristugo leads OUT to most, most do not lead IN to Bristugo.

Though I am surprised its missing anything .

And yes porting d/cs are a pain, but since the latest overhaul kept in the current portal mechanics (and made them more difficult for starter players), I think the devs seem to be happy with this. Heh.

[Shian]

Agreed

Example 1
Parsinia which is on the settlements portal list. It now has beginner quests for new players but they have no way to port there (once attuned) because they dont have access to Bristugo (as it needs attuning). There is no other settlement that is accessible from Kion/Sslanis or New Trimus so it makes it pretty pointless for new players to attune there.

Not entirely true. Without using Brist, port to Mahagra. From Mahagra, head to Baker and you can get to Parsinia/Blizzard's Reach.

My beef is how do I get to Genevia, a T1 island without going through T2 nasties on my way to Bris? Got 3 DPs trying to bring an alt to a T1 island to set up the crystalshaper that's needed there >.<

As for a hub, Harro goes to most every place in Istaria.
While I agree that it would be nice to have a hub that just goes everywhere from everywhere, that still requires 3 ports anyways. Also, port feels are the only real way that coin leaves the game. Probably not a good idea to get rid of that.

[Chasing]

Not entirely true. Without using Brist, port to Mahagra. From Mahagra, head to Baker and you can get to Parsinia/Blizzard's Reach.

Fair Point, but how would a new player know that?

Also still illustrates Vand's point of it taking 3 ports to reach a destination when it should really be one.

[Shian]

New players have a much higher chance at figuring out port locations than seasoned players because they do not have access to Bris. Heck, even vet players don't seem to know about Mahagra.

I learned Port workarounds as a new player because Bris caused my computer to crash. If a new player is intent on trying to get somewhere, I'm sure they'll find out sooner or later that Mahagra's list is different than the other main city ports.

[Shinkuu]

The system is a bit bulky and clunky...Considering Parsinia is a Kion Settlement for instance it would make a LOT OF SENSE is Kion Linked to Parsinia.

Also it would make sense if Bristugo was available at the beginning. I know this attunement stuff is another Time Sink but it gets a bit overboard and really only makes things more frustrating the fresher the character is.

The other beef I have is the teleport fees. Older players with lots of money barely notice but new players who are struggling to buy the 1~6 Silver Forms they need to craft have a hard time paying them ESPECIALLY if they own a Plot or Lair and are moving disk loads to work on them. Now considering the game gets more $ when someone owns a Plot or Lair should they not ENCOURAGE people to get them instead of discouraging people to get them or even play the game to begin with?

I do not mean to sound like a corporatist or somesuch but it makes financial sense to sell your product as much as you can and if there are more people and more of them have Plots/Lairs then the Company makes more profit which allows them to better the whole game.

[Lord Shinobai]

We have one "Hub" point - Bristugo. But yes, unforutnatelky while Bristugo leads OUT to most, most do not lead IN to Bristugo.

I think this just about sums the point. With Brist obviously set up to be the portal "hub" of Istaria (verbal proof given every once in a while WHILE porting with one of the "hottips/quotes" saying so) why wouldn't all portals lead to Bristugo?

Time sinks are obviously needed, but CTD's, whether intentional or not, should not be one of them. Adding Bristugo to all portals eliminated almost every single triple port that is currently needed to get from usually resources to plot locations. Less porting also less demand from server.

Just think, if the multi porting is leading to noticable CTD's now, how bad is it going to be when the player population increases?

[Frith-Rae]

The other beef I have is the teleport fees. Older players with lots of money barely notice but new players who are struggling to buy the 1~6 Silver Forms they need to craft have a hard time paying them ESPECIALLY if they own a Plot or Lair and are moving disk loads to work on them.

Whle I'm not in any way arguing that new players have a hard time climbing the silver ladder.

But if they are struggling with port fees and buying basic forms, what are they doing buying plots? If you have the cash to buy plots shouldn't you also have an idea of what you need to do after you spend the gold/silver to keep up with the expenses you had before you spent all that money?

Maybe I'm missing something there though - lol. Just didnt' read right to have someone who has spent hundreds of silver if not several gold on a plot to then worry about the 4 silver for a full-disk portal fee.

[C`gan]

My beef is how do I get to Genevia, a T1 island without going through T2 nasties on my way to Bris? Got 3 DPs trying to bring an alt to a T1 island to set up the crystalshaper that's needed there >.<

I can answer that one. There is a settlement across Dalimond Bay called Tishlar. It is almost due north of Bristugo and only a mild run from one to the other. If you've attuned there before, it's still available and hasn't required a reattunement. A longer run, but still feasible, is from Dryart. Most have this attunement already because of the runs to the Western Deadlands. Also, the run from Heather to Dryart by way of Duskhold also has no monsters along the way. So, that makes for a long run, but it is possible to get to Bristugo safely.

[Kerech]

If you run down the coast from Kion and cross over at Lower Bridgeview... then cut across Istaria's Union (I think it's called - it's a player town) to Bristugo, you very likely won't see a monster. I've run several level 1s out to attune and taken that route with no problems.

Attune at Lower Bridgeview and Sable Shore along the way.

[velveeta]

what kerech sez....derexx was only level 6 when he made the run to brist on order, no probs whatsoever.....

[Vandellia]

Now that the thread is off track lets get back to the issue the transportation system needs to be fixed adjusted so that it makes sense for everyone from new player to ancient player having to go from point a to point z to get to point b is silly. yes its about convience but convience makes people happier not frustrated i hate porting as it is due to the amount of time it takes just to arrive at the inbound pad.

[awdz]

It seems to me the Istarian portal system has a variety of "loops" with random interconnections. A "loop" would be a set of common destinations across each of the destinations; e.g., racial cities, scorpion island and saritova communities are each a "loop".

With areas being revamped by tier, I can see a need for the loops need to be redone, primarily with tier-appropriate destinations. Each higher tier needs to have a link to the lower tier loops; I am not sure if the reverse is important. Because guild properties may be owned by those of any tier, I think they need to be linked in with the tier I loop.

The work involved to revamp it aside, it would require that everyone relearn which portal destinations are associated with which portals (*pauses while head begins to ache*). The simpler the links, the better for everyone.

I'd suggest all tier ports be linked only with the associated racial cities, and racial cities be linked with each other across all tiers. This would simplify trying to figure out which portal you need assuming you know the tier of the area you are trying to reach.

As for it taking up to 3 ports between areas that now require just one, I think there are scrolls (or tokens?) coming that will allow you to get to your intended destination faster if you plan ahead, no?

Just some quick thought on it anyway.

[Demonwing]

Whle I'm not in any way arguing that new players have a hard time climbing the silver ladder.

But if they are struggling with port fees and buying basic forms, what are they doing buying plots? If you have the cash to buy plots shouldn't you also have an idea of what you need to do after you spend the gold/silver to keep up with the expenses you had before you spent all that money?

Maybe I'm missing something there though - lol. Just didnt' read right to have someone who has spent hundreds of silver if not several gold on a plot to then worry about the 4 silver for a full-disk portal fee.

a plot dosnt nessisarally cost hundreds of silver...mine cost 1 silver as it is on guild land and it can be very costly to port back with building supplys

[Shinkuu]

Whle I'm not in any way arguing that new players have a hard time climbing the silver ladder.

But if they are struggling with port fees and buying basic forms, what are they doing buying plots? If you have the cash to buy plots shouldn't you also have an idea of what you need to do after you spend the gold/silver to keep up with the expenses you had before you spent all that money?

Maybe I'm missing something there though - lol. Just didnt' read right to have someone who has spent hundreds of silver if not several gold on a plot to then worry about the 4 silver for a full-disk portal fee.

Like Demon points out not all plots cost and arm and a leg mine only cost 1 silver as well.

The other thing is why should any of them cost so much money?

I am putting this in a business sense so let me expand that example so you get a better idea of the problem here:

Say I sell you cell phone service. Just the basic things. You can make and receive calls and have long distance for a little extra. Fully functional and works fine.

Now let us say that I can ALSO sell you call waiting and voice mail as an add on to your service. This extra service will cost you more money and thus makes me more money.

Now do you think as the seller it is in my BEST interest to:

A) Make it hard to use your Call Waiting & Voice Mail and thus discourage you from buying it

or

B) Try to make this extra service as appealing as possible so you are more likely to purchase it


I know the game is not dying anymore but there is nothing wrong with increasing appeal and selling what they have up on other games (plot building being one of those) and take in a bit more $ in the process rather than scaring folks away and making the extras that people PAY for harder to use. If it was something just given to you I would not point it out so much but it is possible extra profit for the company so I would think they would be TRYING to sell it as much as possible.

[Shian]

I have no idea what you're talking about... the analogy does not work.

I don't know if you've noticed, but plot owning in Istaria is considered endgame content.

Portal feels alone is lots of money whether it takes one port or three period. It will add up no matter what you do.

The time it takes to build one is obscene, especially at low levels. Why a new player would be dragging around a level 20 disk to go place a few components on a piece that requires tens to hundreds of them should give them a clue that it's not meant for low level players and they should wait until they can carry more. Otherwise it really isn't worth the time it takes to drag the disk to it's destination. That alone costs lots of time.

The slower you are, the more time you waste and the longer it takes to do so. Would you rather spend a year trying to build a plot or wait until 100 where you can get it done in a month or two?

[Riaken]

Let's hope those portal scrolls get in game soon.

[Balthizar]

I have never had to much problem with the porting system other then the DC ports that happen or the Memory leeking they cause to happen.

Out side of thoughs two things there not any better or any worse then say World of Warcraft fly paths.

Its just in World of Warcraft you get to pass the time it takes to get from point A to point what ever by watching yourself fly. And thats kind of cool.

Also they added in the auto concet and thats even nicer. I dont think there is a way to add a auto concet into the port system but thats just one more thing that Makes Istaria differnt from other mmo's.

Just fix port DC's and keep working on the Memory leeking and I would say there fine. Porting is like 100 times better now then it use to be how ever I have no ideal if thats from hard work on fixing Memory leeking or just becouse of a much lower genpop making it easyer on the servers.