Bravo!

Instead of simply fetching a dull sword of dullness, a few well written lines could make the whole endeavor seem as if you were really setting out on a QUEST, not a CHORE.
Something that could well be dangerous, going somewhere that you're not even truly sure exists. To find an item that is of mythical importance.

Fast travel is entirely optional though, and it is fully functional whether you choose to use it or not. When I fast travel I miss some interesting content and I am aware of that and I accept it. When I don't, I get more to do and more interesting encounters so I'd say that this is an optional feature that they got pretty right.

The feature functions perfectly.
The problem lays within the fact, that after a certain point ( and that point is different for everyone I'm sure) you find yourself asking yourself;
"Why should I walk?"
"What will I see that I haven't seen five hundred times before?"

"...Oh look, some more justicars..."

There is allot in this game, just not allot that is different.

They make the world seem like a living place. Along with the farms and mines that people actually work in.

Fast travel... just another `feature` no one asked for and no one would`ve missed if it had never been invented.

They go along way towards that goal, but to me still falls a little short (massive step up from Oblivion, but only on par with Morrowind.)

Unlike Morrowind, they're not static (which makes little to no difference to me) but like morrowind, they're just there. If I murder them all, the game world wouldn't so much flinch.
Its like having some M&M's, but biting into them and finding its only the outer chocolate shell.

You can compromise. If you are heading out exploring just run . You can also hold down the Alt key to run even faster if its too slow.

But when returning to town from a dungeon to offload gear just fast travel since you are just back-tracking.

Well at least they did something Oblivion didn't do. The stage coaches that are outside of each city to take you to another. Oblivion basically forced your hand to fast travel as they continually put quests on the other side of the map from you with no guild teleport or stage coaches.

I just wish there was a stage coach from Winterhold.

This is what I try to do.
But when I've run from Solitude to whiterun and I'm given a quest to go back to Solitude, It grinds my gears a touch.

Why can't quests in a hold be set WITH IN the hold?
The idea that it encourages exploration is bunk, as the game its self is supposed to be about exploration. So what is with the completely unnecissary treks from one side of the country to the other?

Admittedly, at least there isn't a questline like the Oblivion mages guild.
"Lets get recommendations from each chapter!"
Bravil
"Go talk to derp in Anvil and come back"
Anvil
"Go find x in Leyawiin and come back"

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU.

Was essentially my reaction.
Padding in RPG's like TES is bad. Its bad design and not entertaining.

One thing I would like in the Journal is a limit to how many active quest markers you can have at one time, this would slow the player down completing everyting on the way from A to B. As well as allowing them to concentrate on the job at hand.

At first I thought fast travel was one of the best aspects of the game, I thought I wouldn't play the game unless I fast traveled than the longer I played I started just walking outside and found so much interesting things that you would otherwise miss, by fast traveling. I still fast travel when there is a need but I find that I don't need to as much as I did when I first started. When I finish with my main character I'm going to create an adventurer, a character that's not interest in staying in the big cities, just wanders the world exploring.

Fast travelling is a useful feature for shortening long trips or if you're generally lazy. But it does take away the beauty and adventure of trekking across the open plains and seeing the sights.
I tend to juggle them both, If I'm going to a city I will fast travel but if I need to venture to a cave or small village I tend to walk - if I die on the way I usually just fast travel 2nd time round depending on how annoying/stupid my death was, usually I just fall off a hill thats too high though.

I agree the quests should be more than just go to the other side of the map, do something, and come back.

So say most quests were as the OP described: portions of the quest to do along the way. Why exactly would that necessitate removing fast travel?

It seems to me the problem here isn't fast travel, it's that quests are too simple.

I'd be happy to give up fast travel though if teleport spells and scrolls were added. In fact, I'd much prefer that. Casting a spell to teleport across the world (or reading a scroll for those characters that don't use magic) makes far more sense than the arbitrary outside-game ability to basically skip travel.

I usually fus roh dah a random bucket into a cliff face and then directly into my face. Only to find my last save was about 2hrs ago...

Excuse for a rage quit if ever I heard one...


I find it hard to not imagine an NPC's reaction to me fast travelling.

"Spare a coin -"
POP!
"wtf!?"

What? of course i am going to complete all objectives i can on the way (provided it isnt to much of a detour) . Why is this a bad thing?

i walk, i sometimes use fast travel if its quite late in the evening and i wish to simply finish a quest, however to do this i will either A) mount a horse or find a carriage.

if i choose A i will think of how far it is and how far i have ridden all ready, if i think it will be too far for my trusty steed then i will walk / Ride as far as i possibly can then turn off the game.

P.S. i seem to be at the moment for the TG and DB quest lines using fast travel more as i wish to minimise the bugs i may get as im petrified of ruining any quest lines with exploring properly, which is a real shame however streight after i've done the DB quest line my RP ends in the sense of guilds so i will explore and increase my skills etc while deciding if i want to Rid Skyrim of the imperial scum (yeh i hate them) or defend it to keep the empire together (hey. keep your enimies close!)


Edit:

i see alot of

''i would be fine removing fast travel''
''i would like an option to fast travel in a different way''
''i hate fast travel, remove it''
'Fast travel ruins the game experience.''

all i have to say to those lines or around that is fast travel is optional and has been in TES since i can remember in some form or another (silt striders in morrwind) so it has and will always be your choice IF you want to use it,


dont like it? dont use it!

That's not really how fast travel works though. You are actually travelling, all fast travel does is allow you to skip the details as a player. Your character is still making the run. In fact, the name "Fast Travel" is not really very accurate, since it's not really any faster (in game time) than controlling your character to travel. It's more "Game Controlled Travel", really.

Yeah I know. It should be called "auto travel" I guess.
But the fact isn't illustrated, and your character doesn't actually make the trip (only time elapses you don't loose or gain items).

I know what you're getting at, I was just making (attempting) a funny quip.

This month's "I hate fast travel!" thread.

I have no idea why some waste the effort fussing about an optional feature.

I like the system as is; you have FT for those that don't care, walking horse back for RP that want to get the most out of the game and carting for when they want to finish something now.

It's not neccesarily a bad thing. Personally I like my game to last, doing everything ~or~ as much as you can all at once lessens the game experience for me. I like to remember my adventures as events in my characters life, not an endless stream of violence as I mash my way through absolutely everything there is to do all at once.

I've used the Whirlwind Sprint sometimes and flew straight off cliff, unintensionally of course.
There a was a series of waterfalls somewhere I was running down, well flowing down, and one the last one I got stuck on a ledge so I jump up so I dislodged from whatever it was....Yeah bad idea, the waterfall must have been like a 50foot drop. Done the same thing while riding shadowmere too, who has since vanished

Fast Travel's a Double Edge sword, it's great in that in can save you a lot of time traveling but it can also put laziness on development for quests. I only need to bring up the later Fighter Guild quests from Oblivion up where your traveling halfway across the map every time you do a quest. I like Fast Travel but would have no problem if it wasn't in the game.

It was in Daggerfall. It is pretty much impossible to travel in Daggerfall without the use of Fast Travel. Fast Travel itself does tnot "ruin" the game. You can still explore AND Fast Travel. You are not missing out on anything except for the same monotonous "random encounters" on the road or being attacked by wolves, bears, or sabre tooth cats. Sometimes, you will be attacked by a Troll!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously, without Fast Travel the game would be painful.

Well, for New Vegas I decided to try something different, if it's too [censored] far away then I fast-travel to a nearby location and walk from there.
If it's near enough then I'll walk.
I try to check through my quests to see which one is closest so I don't have to walk as far though.
But yeah, try walking most of the time "unless" it's too gosh darn far away.

(And walking from Camp Forlorn Hope to Foxtrot Ranger Station was absolutetly dreadful, at the last road prior to the opening to Jacobstowns' little valley I /rage and fast traveled. But New Vegas also has long stretches of nothing that can make it rather boring to walk)