Riding mounts

[Zexoin]

Well, thanks to Vista, I'm stuck out of game tonight, so I decided to post my thoughts about possible mounts in Istaria.

Many times we've talked about the dragon riding possibility, and we got answered that it was very hard to allow one biped player to ride another dragon player, because of various reasons that I'm to lazy to type here. So I've been thinking, why not regular mounts, flying or not, like we can have in Vanguard ?

Basically, it would work like a cargo disk. Imagine there is an additional slot in your inventory allowing to place a mount in it, with a attach/unattach box like for the cargo disk.
Let's say you buy a horse. you have an icon in your inventory that represent your brand new horse. Once you equip it in that special slot, like a cargo disk, the horse appear, and there's an animation of you climbing on it's back ; then the client consider you and the horse as a single entity (just like when a dragon change from dragon for to Khutit : you start as a dragon entity, then there's a transitional animation of the dragon changing to Khutit, then you appear as a Khutit entity. Horse riding would work the same : you start as a biped and a horse entity, then there's a transitional animation from you mounting on your horse' back, then you appear as a biped mounted on horse entity).
When the mount is "attached", you will be riding your horse (or any other mount), and you will benefit from your mount bonuses. Such bonuses can be increased speed and/or bulk.
When the mount is "unattached", your mount will stay where you grounded it, and a mark on your map will shop it's position (just like a cargo disk).
When you attach/unattach it, you'll see the mount/unmount animation again.
Once equipped, the mount cannot be unequipped and stored in inventory (cause yeah I can't hide a horse in my pocket...). the only way to get rid of it is to sell it back.
The mounts could only be bought or sold to players or specific sellers, a mount breeder, or something like that.
We could have varied mount types, equine, canine, feline, avian, reptilian... with some imagination you can create very nice ones, even flying ones (and that way bipeds would fly and would stop bothering us dragons with that). Mounts could be race specific (I don't think a half-giant can ride a gnome-sized pony...).

I think, if mounts work that way it wouldn't be very hard to code ; indeed, cargo disks work in a very similar manner, and for amations too, we have the Khutit form and ascending dragons in example.
So the hardest work would be the modeling/texturing/animating one, but since Virtrium is hiring, that shouldn't be a problem too.

That's it, what do you think ?

edit : oh and I forgot to say, mounts would be biped only.

[Lunarya]

I'd love to see mounts for bipeds. Just because it would look cool :P

[Romirez]

mounts remind me of WoW way too much for me to take the idea seriously...

[Lunarya]

mounts remind me of WoW way too much for me to take the idea seriously...

well, all games have mounts, FFXI, EQ2, etc.

[Dracana]

I like the idea of bipeds having their own mount minus flying mounts of course. The skies should remain the domain of dragons unless a biped wants to put up money to ride a dragon player.

Anyway in addition to having biped mounts I would also suggest a new building to go with it. Stables for mounts. Sure you could stable your mount inside a racial city but it would cost ya or you could build one on your plot and stable it there for free.

Mounts and stables would definitely at a new dimension and money sink to the game.

[Zexoin]

Nice idea Dracana. I've been thinking that there should be stables in racial towns, but allow players to build them on plots would be great too. But I would suggest not to make them free, but the higher tier the cheaper.

[Colin Stonetooth]

I've often thought the world of Istaria needed mounts and think it would be a grand idea to have them.As a crafter though I'd want to use the mount to haul my crafting stuff to plot im building . We could have carpenters build carts they could be used like cargo discs .

[velveeta]

i am with you, col....why have a mount if they can help haul the heavy stuff? they will have to be able to port too, or i am not interested...
that will the straw, i think....you can run and port or ride and not port......
i am willing to ride from dali ridge to brist, but not dali ridge to middle cliffside.....

[Goriax]

I think pack animals and wagons would be HUGE improvement over cargo disks.

Except I don't know how a dragon could make use of them very well without stretching things. It's a bit of a stretch for someone to put their horse and wagon into their backpack when not in use (although I know MANY other games which let you to do that with your mount).

[KalidoR]

I dont like the idea of putting an horse in your bagpack neither a full cart. And for the dragons, there could be special Dragon Cart that a dragon can harnest on themself and haul larger stack but at a slower rate then those flying disc or cargo disc.

For the human part of cart you can put it in the stables while not using it and you can have a 2 different kind of cart, small cart and large cart, the big cart will need 2 horse to drag it and here's how I see the stables system to be able to use all that:

Beginner Stables: is a small one where you can have 1 horse
Journeyman Stables: is the medium one in size, you can have 2 horses and a place to keep your small cart.
Expert Stables: is the bigger one in size, you can have up to 3 horses and a place to keep your small or large cart.

Horses should always be link with a character, so people can't jump on an horse of someone else and steal it. You need to gain the confidence or your horses also before you'll be able to mount it, we can add some sort of horsebacking level system and horse breeding level also.

[Silenos]

I think it would be cool to have the cargo disk look like a pack mule following you instead of a flying saucer.

[Lunarya]

I dont like the idea of putting an horse in your bagpack neither a full cart. And for the dragons, there could be special Dragon Cart that a dragon can harnest on themself and haul larger stack but at a slower rate then those flying disc or cargo disc.

For the human part of cart you can put it in the stables while not using it and you can have a 2 different kind of cart, small cart and large cart, the big cart will need 2 horse to drag it and here's how I see the stables system to be able to use all that:

Beginner Stables: is a small one where you can have 1 horse
Journeyman Stables: is the medium one in size, you can have 2 horses and a place to keep your small cart.
Expert Stables: is the bigger one in size, you can have up to 3 horses and a place to keep your small or large cart.

Horses should always be link with a character, so people can't jump on an horse of someone else and steal it. You need to gain the confidence or your horses also before you'll be able to mount it, we can add some sort of horsebacking level system and horse breeding level also.

/agrees. I like this idea, but maybe there could be more room in stables.

[Zexoin]

I dont like the idea of putting an horse in your bagpack neither a full cart. And for the dragons, there could be special Dragon Cart that a dragon can harnest on themself and haul larger stack but at a slower rate then those flying disc or cargo disc.

For the human part of cart you can put it in the stables while not using it and you can have a 2 different kind of cart, small cart and large cart, the big cart will need 2 horse to drag it and here's how I see the stables system to be able to use all that:

Beginner Stables: is a small one where you can have 1 horse
Journeyman Stables: is the medium one in size, you can have 2 horses and a place to keep your small cart.
Expert Stables: is the bigger one in size, you can have up to 3 horses and a place to keep your small or large cart.

Horses should always be link with a character, so people can't jump on an horse of someone else and steal it. You need to gain the confidence or your horses also before you'll be able to mount it, we can add some sort of horsebacking level system and horse breeding level also.

Well... Horizons is not Pokemon... >.>
Mounts, if they are ever implemented, should be useful, but that's it...

[Casyle]

well, all games have mounts, FFXI, EQ2, etc.

And if you get could chicken pox in all games would you want it in HZ too?

Err.....

*Slips out*

[Lunarya]

And if you get could chicken pox in all games would you want it in HZ too?

Err.....

*Slips out*

Chicken Pox and Mounts are different things o.O..

And yes I would, it would be like the plaque I missed

EDIT: I was referring to the person who didn't think mounts should be added because it would remind him of WoW.

[pevil2000]

I like this idea, would be good for bipeds, with the increased speed from a mount AND the road bonus, they would easily be able to get places as fast as a flying dragon. I disagree on the flying mounts simply coz in theory a biped could be given one at lvl 1 and fly, whereas a dragon has to wait until AT LEAST lvl 30. Either that or make it so they hav eto be rating 100 and do a big quest to earn the respect of the *insert flying mount type here*

The following isn't an attack on you btw Romirez, just in case you get the wrong idea, it just annoys the hell outta me when people make it sound like WoW invented everything when really WoW is just a clone of games such as EQ2, which are in themselves based strongly on many other games. But I just hav eto say, not everything comes from WoW. UO had mounts long before WoW ever did, and I have no doubt UO was far from the first to have 'em either. I'm still looking for a game with mounts as cool as UO though... they were so simplistic yet so great. Get on horse, ride around, fight from horseback... that was it. And unlike WoW, you couldn't shove your horse in your pocket; you eithe rleft him standing around (and he got attacked or fed up with you not coming back for days and went wild) or put him in a stable where he was effectively 'frozen' losing no loyalty/not being attacked.

[Arzel Rashemi]

Actually to my knowledge UO was the first game to have mounts infact UO was.Unless i am mistaken the first mmorpg. if its not can i wouldn't mind being corrected :P

[Vaz]

I think it would be cool to have the cargo disk look like a pack mule following you instead of a flying saucer.

Then crafting cargo disks wouldn't make any sense, unless cargo disk crafting was reworked into a sort of taming. Unless they'd be Gnomian mechanical mules...that'd be cool...

[pevil2000]

hehe I'm under the impression UO was the first mmo as well, but as I only joined it after it had been going about 5 years already... I'm not certain on that

edit: could be a racial thing, or simply preference? e.g. a gnome may prefer a cargo disk due to the whole "gnomes like to tinker" thing, an elf might prefer a pack mule as they're close to nature (or that could be a reason for them NOT to enslave the mule), and a dragon... well they'd just eat the mule

[tramsan]

Animatronic mules!