So, recently I loaded up Oblivion again after I got sick of Black Ops. I really and truly believed I'd exhausted Oblivion, but then I thought, "how about no fast travel!". And I did that. I have to say, it's great. I've seen scenery and caves and places I never have before. I've found inns, caves, and waterfalls I'd never thought to check out before. Even a few really creepy ruins. I also went and saw the amazing Imperial City view from this hill near a waterfall, INCREDIBLE. I even went mountain climbing, and found Dive Rock. What a view. Anyone else try it out?

No, I like fast-travel too much, but I do explore and love finding those types of things out in the wilderness.

It took me like 10+ hours gameplay to even find out about fast travel(amazing I know xD). I have to say I love fast travel too much to quit using it. On the other hand, I'm often gathering herbs and exploring for caves, so fast travel is not all I do. Fast travel is essential unless different travel forms are created(other than horses), or you have a lot of time on your hands.

Yup, that's how my current playthrough is going. Fast travel disabled, using http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1141697-relz-map-marker-overhaul/page__hl__map+marker+overhaul, with no quest arrows, and the player position and map position are disabled too (so it doesn't automatically center around the player). It's extremely immersive. I also use http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/942911-relz-cyrodiil-travel-services/page__hl__travel+services.

I also do turn the quest markers on if I have to (MMO allows you to do it right on the map menu), like when I have to find an NPC with a schedule, or when directions aren't given.

I like to walk a route I have not been down before, but I will fast travel on a return trip, because of respawn times. I only break this rule when I escort Martin, or when RL forces me to.

I fast travel sometimes but I love just exploring. My first playthrough I fast traveled way too much, but now I use it as little as possible. You find so many cool ruins and caves and like you said you get some astonishing views of the imperial city.

There are only two points in the game at this point that I allow fast travel:

1: If the game crashed and I'm trying to regain lost progress (which I minimize by heavily practicing the old adage: Save early, Save often)

2: If I wish to summon my horse to my location because I chose to walk somewhere (if this is the case, I always put myself right on top of the map marker so I don't actually go anywhere)

Once I get enough progress in the game, however, I will add a third option:

3: Inter-house teleportation grid (I will simulate paying the Mages Guild a sum of money in exchange for the ability to fast travel from one house to another)

Other than that, it's in-game transportation only. I do have the Frostcrag DLC, so I that also opens up a few teleportation options, but my character has yet to acquire the tower. It really does open up a whole new dimension of immersive gameplay if you don't fast travel all the time, glad to see you are enjoying experiencing Cyrodiil like you've never seen her before.

Me, I have long shunned fast travel. I began my second play-through back in July 2010. In all this time I've fast traveled a grand total of twice. Both times were to test a mod fix. I did not save the game during those tests. Oh yeah, I of course fast-traveled during that one phase of the Fighter's Guild "Blackwood" questline, being offered no choice in the matter.

Unlike many, I didn't even care for the Morrowind Silt Riders. The idea was sound, but its implementation seemed to me nothing more than thinly veiled fast travel. I did, however, avail myself of mage transport when the need arose. Fast travel yes, but in that case function matched execution.

Not only do I not fast-travel in Cyrodiil, but almost always walk rather than run or, when mounted, gallop. Breaking myself of the constant-running habit, which I'd followed all through my first play-through, was a struggle. But once acclimated I find it a great boon to immersion and role-play, and kick myself for not converting sooner.

-Decrepit-

i walk to each town the first time, and i walk to caves the first time i've been out to them. I really don't like doing it over and over tho, glad your having fun with it

My character prefers travel by horse. To optimize this, she does several things, some vanilla, some mods or command console:

Vanilla:
-Fast travel to current location to 'recall' the horse from beyond sight (like TK mentioned); Command creature spell to recall the horse if in sight.
-Walk on water touch spell on the horse x 120 seconds - water is no obstacle.
-360 feet of detect life gear so they never get surprised. VERY helpful.

Mods:
-Portable campsite so they can stop wherever they want for the night.
-Saddlebags so the horse can carry as much as, well, a horse.

Command Console:
-Bring the horse into any town anytime, or recall the horse if not in sight or at a map marker.
-Name the horse.
-Raise the horse's speed. We rarely run the horse, but this makes the walking speed more to our liking so she isn't plodding along like a Legion rider.

My http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1161642-another-one-of-those-annoying-mod-suggestions-threads/page__view__findpost__p__17052946 (the list of mods that affect every character) includes a mod called Running Revised. Running Revised makes all actors in the game walk when their Fatigue hits zero (they begin to run again at 25% Fatigue) so it is strategically important for all of my characters to improve their Athletics. This means that nearly all of them run (and of course walk) practically everywhere at least during their early levels. I consider this to be a form of fitness training.

Some of my characters dislike horses and continue to run/walk their whole lives. Others buy a horse when they have the money for it.

I roleplay that map-based fast travel is a form of magic, and also that it is a form of magic that requires much study and mental discipline. So only my "pure" mages use fast travel and then only when they have reached level 15 to 20.




It was, no doubt about it. But the difference between Morrowind's fast travel and Oblivion's fast travel, for me, was that in Morrowind the fast travel was integrated into the game (however poorly). Oblivion forced us to enter a menu to do the same thing.

I'm probably over-sensitive on the issue of menus. I hate menus in video games. To me menus are yet another reminder that I am playing a video game and I don't need more of those. Menus take me out of my roleplaying the same way overhearing people talk during a movie takes me out of a movie. I don't even like HUDs. I play with my HUD toggled off whenever I can.

I guess I'm lucky about the menus, they don't jar me at all while playing.

My character has no need to run. She's a fragile mystic archer, but when in trouble, either immobilizes her foes (illusion) or simply disappears and quietly slips away. She doesn't run away and she doesn't run backwards with her bow. For traveling, it is always on her horse. So. . . basically her athletics almost never levels up. She did build up her speed attribute, but in retrospect that was a waste. She would have been fine leaving it right where it was when she started the game like she has done with strength and endurance. We've fournd the only attributes that help her are agility, intelligence and willpower in that order.

The way Oblivion's menu is designed as a piece of parchment only adds to the game's sense of immersion, in my opinion. Also, if anyone here has played Fallout 3, you'll know what I'm referring to when I state how intriguingly it's menu is integrated into the gameworld.

Oh, I forgot to say that I'm using DarN Dark User Interface mod, so I'm sure that helps.

Yeah, I'll agree with that. The menus in Oblivion were pretty immersive and cool since it was all designed to look like parchment. The only problem I had with them were the giant text (nothing darn couldn't fix), and some other small things like selling items ("click one item, how many?, are you sure?" I just wanna sell some friggin apples.), no keyring, and not being able to delete spells.

As I love exploring, the main reason I love games at all, I have never fast-travelled other than to try it out to see what happens. To go somewhere and not enjoying the scenery on the way is unthinkable to me. Not to mention, RP imo is impossible when fast-travelling, even though that can be considered teleportation.

Nice to know you have discovered something new about Oblivion. Apart from playing it for the first time, that is the best with games in general :celebration:

I haven't even looked at the minimap for hundreds of hours of play, much less fast traveled.. makes the world feel so much bigger and more 'together'

Currently playing a character who can not use fast travelling, it work for her as she are mainly exploring and does quests if they are close. I also use a movable tent with an interior where I can store things, and have pack saddle on my horse. Also a spell who let you call your horse.

If you are mainly doing quests all the time no fast travel will be a pain as the quests sends you all over the map. Much the same if you have to return loot to you house.

When we have fast traveled, we don't try to incorporate it into the game as some form of teleportation or transportation system. Rather, we view it as an administrative task like saving or exiting the game. It simply simulates an uneventful trip on those ocassions when that suits our purpose. Although we don't use it often, I'm glad it is there.



I agree here. My character doesn't hang on to much or care much about loot, so using the twin saddlebags on her horse is plenty of storage, allowing her to not be in a hurry to get to town. We also do very few quests and when we do, Buffy makes a huge deal of them with elaborate planning and preparations etc.

I very rarely fast travel in oblivion or either fallout game. I like to encounter the world as I go through it. You never know what kind of ruin ir dungeon or encounter you may come across and id hate to miss out on all of that by fast travel.

I rarely Fast travel in Oblivion after I get a horse, to many easily missed areas and such.

The only thing I hate about dungeon crawling with a horse is half the time they walk off when I get off the horse and are gone by the time I get out.

I use fast travel alot but i also explore alot depending on what mood i am in . If im going somewhere ive been before and know i wont see anything new on the way i fast travel.

I'm sorry you are having this problem. I must share that my character's horse, over hundreds of hours, has never wandered off. She might range 20 feet or so in search of better grazing, but the only time she has ever ever started to walk off is if my character mounts another horse. Not sure if playing on PC makes my experience so different from yours. Before 'parking' the horse outside a dungeon, my character does ensure that an area hundreds of feet around the spot is clear of foes.

And if she does wander off out of view, there's always Detect Life.

Speaking of horses, I very often travel by horse myself, and so I really do not tolerate it when enemies decide they would rather kill my Equine companion than attack me. Any enemy that tries that INSTANTLY receives console justice until the battle ends. I then move my horse someplace else, go back on foot, re-enable them, and kill with extreme prejudice.

I HATE it when they do that. It's immersion-breaking and unrealistic. :shakehead: