Talk to the Team: Teleporters and Gates

[Alythara]

I'd prefer if nothing were taken away from the current portal system, but only added to it, such as Parsinia being made available on Kion gate, and more landing pads where they're needed (Summit, for example). I know Bristugo is supposed to be the main hub of the game, but options to avoid it at times are necessary, as I know many players that hate the load time they encounter there. The proposed system sounds like you would have to go to Bristugo to go nearly anywhere at all.

[Chasing]

I'd prefer if nothing were taken away from the current portal system, but only added to it, such as Parsinia being made available on Kion gate, and more landing pads where they're needed (Summit, for example). I know Bristugo is supposed to be the main hub of the game, but options to avoid it at times are necessary, as I know many players that hate the load time they encounter there. The proposed system sounds like you would have to go to Bristugo to go nearly anywhere at all.

Ahh I forgot about Summit, Summit is a good illustration of the need for at least an inpad. Its distance and location from an existing pad/gate means that no one uses the plots there (and they are nice sizes of plots as well). Summit on Chaos has been empty since plot reclaims got turned back on.

[Raptress]

As I've stated in the past, I'm fine with the current portal system except for a few issues that do not need a total overhaul to be solved (Parsinia and Genevia being not available to T1 players are the only ones I can even think of right now), and I'm resistant to a change that will erase all the shortcuts that exist in the game to make some trips take only a single port, rather than two as the new portal system would require of a trip from, say, a Settlement to a Guild town.

It would also seem that this proposed overhaul would make it impossible for a T1 character to get anywhere besides racial cities and New Trismus without running all the way to Bristugo... which still doesn't solve the issues I have with the current system with Parsinia and Genevia.

I don't really have any ideas other than "leave the system the way it is" though. The way the system works right now, while it has a bit of a learning curve, I think is more fun than a strictly regulated system. Figuring out portal shortcuts and the logistics of getting from point A to point B in the most efficient possible way are actually kind of fun to me.

The proposed system would basically turn porting into "Port to Bristugo, go elsewhere, enjoy your double port." I don't think I'd really enjoy that.

[Steelclaw]

I haven't looked at the proposed grouping in detail yet, as I'd need to make a "before" and "after" picture to understand what's going on.

However, I think the single biggest improvment to the portal system would be to add to the set of destinations at each portal (and make new portals in places where only pads exist) such that this rule were satisfied:

"If I can get to A from B, then I must be able to get to B from A" (Special locations exempt)

[Knossos]

I haven't looked at the proposed grouping in detail yet, as I'd need to make a "before" and "after" picture to understand what's going on.

However, I think the single biggest improvment to the portal system would be to add to the set of destinations at each portal (and make new portals in places where only pads exist) such that this rule were satisfied:

"If I can get to A from B, then I must be able to get to B from A" (Special locations exempt)

Ooh wow!

The answer to many a town's prayer...

Knossos

[Shian]

I haven't looked at the proposed grouping in detail yet, as I'd need to make a "before" and "after" picture to understand what's going on.

However, I think the single biggest improvment to the portal system would be to add to the set of destinations at each portal (and make new portals in places where only pads exist) such that this rule were satisfied:

"If I can get to A from B, then I must be able to get to B from A" (Special locations exempt)

Agreed. Many frustrations stem from porting to a town or many a guild land with a full disk and no way to get back :(

[Chasing]

I haven't looked at the proposed grouping in detail yet, as I'd need to make a "before" and "after" picture to understand what's going on.

However, I think the single biggest improvment to the portal system would be to add to the set of destinations at each portal (and make new portals in places where only pads exist) such that this rule were satisfied:

"If I can get to A from B, then I must be able to get to B from A" (Special locations exempt)

Ooh interesting idea, certainly a simpler way to address portal routes. But like you say Ranq a before/after picture would make it easier to understand.

Would the A -> B , B -> A, satisfy what the playerbase is asking for? Might be links that would be useful to have that don't currently exist. (Parsinia -> New Trismus, New Trismus -> Parsinia for example).

Something that hasn't been mentioned yet but has been a design decision in the past, is that the eastern part of the map (Aradoth Frontier, T5/T6 areas) are/were intended to have less portals as its considered more remote and the main battle lines against the WA.

[awdz]

While we're at it, a note on the portal destination listing whether there is any portal from the same town/location would be lovely: e.g., Dalimond (portal); Jambi (no portal).

[joemarra052075]

How about this...instead of a huge hub at brustigo, or all this what leads to where craziness (sorry, I think the portal system was written by the IRS), I have an alternate idea.

4 teleporters:
1: leads to racial towns
2: leads to guild towns
3: leads to settlements
4: leads to anything else not catagorized, (example Abandoned Isle, the random pads throughout the land)

Next anywhere that there is currently a teleporter we replace it with those 4 (the exception being the skalkar island one, though that should have spirit isle added to it)

Finally, standardize the pricing....I never know how much it is going to cost to travel depending on what place I am leaving from.

Last if a destination is unavailable and it is possible for a character to attune to it (dragons can't attune to spirit isle for instance and humans can't attune to skalkar) the portal will actually give you a quest to talk to the person who can attune you to that location, with some basic directions on how to get there.

[Celestril]

'Special' portals aside, for all my suggestions.

I agree that if you can port to a place and that place has a portal, it should port you back again.

I think all portals should have brist or a hub.

Settlements should be accessable at their closest and most obviously linked teired racial cities but not necessarily to each other unless they are part of the same group (*Major change*).

I think guild communites should allow you to to port to other communities or back to brist (or a hub), but not to a racial city or settlement (*Major change - for some*)

I think all destinations should be achievable in 2 ports (and if every port goes to brist (or a hub) then this will obviously be possible.


'Hubs'
Another alternative is for each teir make a hub then make each group of communties and settlements belong to a teir (and possibly add resources to them for that tier....)

[Thicklesip]

As Steelclaw said, "A <-> B" would be pretty much perfect. Under the current system there's an unfortunate number of "whoops, well to go backwards I need to hop another 3 portals" which strikes me as unnecessarily aggravating.

And I am sympathetic to the oldschool "I know the current system, I don't want to have to learn some newfangled system" viewpoint, as well as the arcane technical limitations the devs have to work with. But in my estimation? The current system is only ok. It's not awful, it doesn't need to be thrown out, but it has its share of arbitrary stupid. No Delgarath from Bristugo? No racial cities from Last Stand without at least 3 ports? No Parsinia from Kion? And I do not go to guild towns primarily because, with a couple years of playtime under my belt and fast load times, I'd be wasting half an hour playing portal peekaboo. I'm vaguely aware there's a bunch of nifty guild towns out there I could visit, but I sure as heck don't want to visit when the portal system is so haphazard that I either need hand-written directions or a surplus of patience to find my way there and back.

(My selfish comment: making the racial cities more available would be wonderful as I have a lair in Dralk and under the current system I might as well walk my disk there from Last Stand, it takes so dang many portals to get home. Annoying!)

I would like comment on the specific proposed changes; unfortunately I'm all but incapable of visualizing portal routes in written form.

[jerk-o]

I like the "A <-> B" idea Steelclaw suggested, and having the racial cities letting you port to all the pads in the same area, such as being able to port to Parsinia and Lower Bridge view from Sslanis and Kion.