Guild Wars 2

The current WP system is very convenient for traveling but it has the most game-breaker mechanic called “the loading screens” In a persistent world with races of advanced technologies, its is really non-appealing to see a loading screen when teleporting to a WP.

How can this system be made more enjoyable without altering the core mechanic?

I will suggest the Transporters

Transporters = a sort of device/machine/mount/etc. that will “fly” your character to the WP you selected from anywhere in the world, just like the WP system.

Instead of having a loading screen, we can enjoy and automatic flight to the selected WP on a route calculated and generated by the game so it will be the shortest one.

Every character will have a basic “transporter” equipped from the starter level as the underwater breather is and it will activate only when the WP system is used.

I posted a clip below from AION, but the difference I suggest for GW2 will be that you can “fly” from your current location – anywhere in the world – to a selected WP.

For teleporting from one zone to another, the “transporter” will take your character really up in the sky above the clouds that you will basically see the full zoomed out map of Tyria and them pan over the new zone where the destination WP is and close up until you see the land and reach the WP.

As the WP system works now, characters just pop up in WPs, but with this “transporter” system you will “SEE” players coming and from what direction they come
Once they land, the “transporter” will disappear

There can be different skins for them and people may even call them “automated flying mounts” even they will go underwater too.

Advantages:

- the WP system is not taken out but it is redesigned visually to make it more enjoyable
- the content is not skipped in a worse way than it already is using the current WP system, at contrary, it will offer a different perspective of the world.
- the transporters can be considered by many a non-intrusive mount system
- the WP costs will find a reason in itself being able to “see” how to travel"
- the visuals of the game will be improved seeing characters “flying around in the sky” showing that the zone is actually full.
- the flight will be done at different altitudes depending on the equipped “transporter” so different transporters will offer different views: there can be land transporters too

Disadvantages

- the flight time can vary depending on the distance and on the equipped “transporter”

To solve this issue, the slot where the “transporter” is equipped in Hero window, will have a check box like those for “helmet” and “shoulders” which will allow players to have the option to use or not to use this “flying system” if they prefer “the loading screens systems”
The box will be unchecked by default

NOTE:

The WPs will have a radius zone of 150 m and if a player will choose to teleport to the WP from this close range, the “transporter” will transform from a “flying machine” into a “land machine” which will “run” to the WP instead of flying

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Eeuuuuugghhhh….. I know you mean well, but I don’t see this making anyone happy.

Ronah.2869:

- the WP system is not taken out but it is redesigned visually to make it more enjoyable

Your definition of “enjoyable” puzzles me. Are players actually doing anything during their flight time? What’s to enjoy? This is essentially the same thing as the Waypoints we have now, but adapted to be more like World of Warcraft’s flight points so that now travel takes actual time.

Ronah.2869:

- the content is not skipped in a worse way than it already is using the current WP system, at contrary, it will offer a different perspective of the world.

Really? One of your “advantages” is that it’s not “in a worse way than it already is”?
The landscape of Tyria has been designed to be experienced on the ground. It’s not guaranteed to have the same visual impact from fifteen storeys in the air, and there are probably a lot of graphical problems ArenaNet would face by allowing flying (especially if the flight routes are not predetermined). Furthermore, have you not noticed that each zone loads separately? There’s not going to be a seamless transition between zone boundaries, and there will still be a loading screen for every time the player enters a new zone along their flight path. Will load times be taken into account with regards to the “fastest route”?

Ronah.2869:

- the transporters can be considered by many a non-intrusive mount system

None of the people who want mounts will be satisfied by this system. You can’t even control your character while flying (and why the heck can a character fly now, anyway?). When people ask for mounts, they want some cool or exotic animal that they can run around on and speed them through the environments of their own accord. They don’t want a vaguely magical or animal-themed taxi.

Ronah.2869:

- the WP costs will find a reason in itself being able to “see” how to travel"

I don’t even know what this means. If I’ve earned the Waypoint, doesn’t that mean I’ve already been to that destination before, and therefore already know “how to travel”?

Ronah.2869:

- the visuals of the game will be improved seeing characters “flying around in the sky” showing that the zone is actually full.

I don’t look up at the skies of Tyria and think to myself: “Gee, I wish there were a bunch of bodies floating around up there.”
Who cares if the zones are “full” of people just flying by, on the way to somewhere else? If my graphics card and internet lag have to deal with more players in the immediate area, those players had darn well better be there to take part in events and such. I don’t need my system chugging along at 15 FPS like I’m in Lion’s Arch on a holiday, just so I can try and defend a point against a dozen centaurs alone while countless idiots laugh from above the clouds.
We need more people participating, if anything — not just temporarily “there” while they fly past.

Ronah.2869:

- the flight time can vary depending on the distance and on the equipped “transporter”

You’re effin’ right! Who on earth would actually use this for their regular transportation? It could be a nice novelty once or twice for a short trip, but it will take forever to get to any distant location. For example, to get from Lion’s Arch to Blazeridge Steppes, you’ll have to fly across six whole zones, and face a loading screen for each one! And since so many zones are bordered by mountains or other obstacles, you’ll have to either detour to find the traditional map gate or just flying extra high over barren rock and not see much of anything.

Ronah.2869:

the slot where the “transporter” is equipped in Hero window, will have a check box like those for “helmet” and “shoulders” which will allow players to have the option to use or not to use this “flying system” if they prefer “the loading screens systems”
The box will be unchecked by default

So, not only are we now cluttering up the Hero panel for this feature, but you’re actually admitting that it’s:
1) A feature players may not want, and therefore should be able to deactivate
2) A feature that should be toggled off by default

I find it odd that you call the current system “the loading screens system”; believe me, your flying taxi idea will have plenty of loading screens. ArenaNet is not going to re-do huge chunks of their landscapes and reprogram the game to be constantly and seamlessly loading adjascent zones, just to accomodate an on-rails WoW-esque flight point system that gets toggled off by default.

Sorry for being harsh, but I really don’t think this would work.

I think what would make waypoints more enjoyable would be for people to get better computers, or for ANET to better optimize their loading times so that loading screens are lightning fast.

Fyrebrand said it all, it would be a terribly bad idea. In addition to costing money travel would become slow and boring.

I bet you guys even skip watching the vistas too, right? The WP systems has been made not for your convenience, but because it is in GW1. They did it because those players were not used to walking around.

Why the characters fly? Did you guys notice the helicopters and flying ships? I bet they are not invented to walk on the ground

I haven’t ever played WoW. I didn’t even know this system is there. But I played more MMOs which have the same system implemented either by land or aerial auto travel and , yes, it is more enjoyable to see a flying sequence and rotate the camera while doing it, then seeing a loading screen picture. There are way to many loading screens in the No1 MOO of 2012 .
If you knew how many things GW2 copied from other games you will be amazed to realizes it is a mutant instead of just a clone.

Yes, it is toggle off by default because the suggestion fits the cosmetic description not a game-play mechanic. it is just an implementation of a vista flying camera with a mount on your screen. What’s so hard to implement?

Fyrebrand.4859:

You’re effin’ right! Who on earth would actually use this for their regular transportation? It could be a nice novelty once or twice for a short trip, but it will take forever to get to any distant location. For example, to get from Lion’s Arch to Blazeridge Steppes, you’ll have to fly across six whole zones, and face a loading screen for each one! And since so many zones are bordered by mountains or other obstacles, you’ll have to either detour to find the traditional map gate or just flying extra high over barren rock and not see much of anything.

the answer was in the post

“For teleporting from one zone to another, the “transporter” will take your character really up in the sky above the clouds that you will basically see the full zoomed out map of Tyria and them pan over the new zone where the destination WP is and close up until you see the land and reach the WP.”

It wont take longer than a teleporting inside a zone

Most people do skip vistas, btw, unless it’s their first time.
A simpler solution would just to have the fractal’s loading effect engulf a character when they waypoint (the blue dematerialization effect).
That shows that they’re being transported somewhere, but doesn’t require extra gear or wasted time making the world zoom in and out