Flying/Hovering Mount?

Veinblood1965

Just a thought, why not introduce a flying mount? I don't mean one that actually flies around way up high as I have heard ESO cannot handle that kind of coding but one that just stays a few feet off the ground and has animated wings with feet that do not touch the ground. Like a Griffin for example. Just seems like all mounts are ones that run on the ground in one way or an other, why not add a little sauce to the mix?

Arunei

Because even that requires the same coding to allow for "3D" movement like you'd see in flying and underwater swimming. If they did anything like this, the mount's hitbox would still be moving along the ground. That means that you'd get hung up on terrain that looks like you should just be able to fly over.

There's not actual flight in this game. Flying enemies move on set paths through the game space, they don't have free movement through the X, Y, and X asixes (axes? axisis?) that the game needs to track and all.

Credible_Joe

Arunei wrote: »

Because even that requires the same coding to allow for "3D" movement like you'd see in flying and underwater swimming. If they did anything like this, the mount's hitbox would still be moving along the ground. That means that you'd get hung up on terrain that looks like you should just be able to fly over.

There's not actual flight in this game. Flying enemies move on set paths through the game space, they don't have free movement through the X, Y, and X asixes (axes? axisis?) that the game needs to track and all.

I don't think that's as much of a constraint as it looks like. Terrain collision should be relatively simple to make exception for; it already works with jumping. Something like

if ( player NOT jump state ) { block horizontal traversal }

Sure the position marker is flush with the ground, but conditions that block horizontal movement can definitely be dynamic.

I think the real issue is vertical content. Flying mounts have the same problem a climbing system would have (which I'm also very thirsty for, btw)-- it would require a landslide of new content for vertical areas that players previously couldn't reach. There's a lot of geometry that just doesn't have a close-up LOD because there isn't a scenario where the player would ever need it. Then there's the gameplay aspect; as fun as climbing and flying might be as a novelty, how would they make it part of the game in a meaningful way?

Look at a game like Breath of the Wild. The gameplay is almost central to the climbing mechanic. Go up, survey the surroundings, decide where to go, glide down to your destination. The *** of that system is, there N E E D S to be content all the places the player would decide to go from their vantage point. There cannot be red herrings. Something that looks interesting in the distance CANNOT be empty or arbitrarily unreachable.

Funnily enough, an Elder Scrolls game demonstrated this exact problem: Morrowind. Flying was for sure a thing. Except, they didn't anticipate that players would use it to get everywhere, not just the dozen or so set pieces they had designed for flying. And every spot a player would land that was just some mountain top or rooftop was a tiny disappointment.

The scope of content that would need to be produced to make flying or climbing more than a novelty is huge. Much more than a chapter's worth of updates as they inject as many secrets and rewards as they can into the vertical space that players suddenly have access to in every zone so far. Every new zone they make that doesn't already have this content is more work on top.

Don't get me wrong, I would LOVE that update. Barriers are not something I'm a fan of in open world games. And that one time in the thieves guild quest line when Quen scaled a wall, all I could think was 'boo, don't show me things my character can't do themselves from gameplay constraints.' And then the Gryphon Riders in Cloudrest-- So cool! But unattainable for us lowly players.

More traversal freedom == more fun.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

Veinblood1965

Thanks everyone, good points and input. I'm sure being able to go places our toons cannot go at this time would require a vast rework of the coding. Currently a mount runs up and down the hills and valleys following the terrain. I'd be happy with what "looks" like a flying mount but still follows the ups and downs of the terrain but just has wings instead of feet. While I'll admit it would take something away from the look and feel when the mount could not simply "fly" across let's say a small dip in the terrain it would still be a neat visual.

ixthUA

What about a stealthy burrowing mount?

DMuehlhausen

Because flying mounts destroy the world and community even more than it already is

KilianDermoth

Now is the best opportunity ever to introduce flying mounts with the Necrom expansion.

Who doesnt want to ride a giant flying ball with plenty tentacles!?

Just think about how fun this would be!!!

Bo0137

I am here to share my disapproval of flying monts. It will kill the game exploration completely, just like it did with WoW (and others). IMO horses and characters should be even slower and the wayshrine should be less exploitable. But it's too late for that. NO to flying mounts! Let people bump and interact with each other and feel some sense of vastness.

Zurixadai

I don't think the game needs classic flying mounts, in the sense of actual flight--moving around freely through the air. (Although, I wouldn't fight it if they decided to release actual flying mounts. I am filled with envy every time I see Olorime at the start of Cloudrest, riding an entire gryphon.) I'd prefer water mounts first, if I'm being totally honest.

That said, I'd like to point out (as I think OP said in the initial post): when you sprint, the baby gryphon pets will spread their wings and "glide" across the ground at top speed to keep up with you. I'd gladly settle for a mount that did that for us, when sprinting.

Carcamongus

Flying mounts aren't happening, but what OP suggested was more like a hovering mount. Basically, it might work just like a legless horse, with the same collision as the legful one. Yes, with the same collision would come weird situations like a seemingly passable obstacle being impassable without jumping. Nevertheless, a Dwemer hovercraft would be very cool.

Veinblood1965

Zurixadai wrote: »

I don't think the game needs classic flying mounts, in the sense of actual flight--moving around freely through the air. (Although, I wouldn't fight it if they decided to release actual flying mounts. I am filled with envy every time I see Olorime at the start of Cloudrest, riding an entire gryphon.) I'd prefer water mounts first, if I'm being totally honest.

That said, I'd like to point out (as I think OP said in the initial post): when you sprint, the baby gryphon pets will spread their wings and "glide" across the ground at top speed to keep up with you. I'd gladly settle for a mount that did that for us, when sprinting.

Exactly that, pretty much a glide or hover. Same path as a legged mount except just wings and no feet. As another poster said a dwemer hover mount would be cool!

Finedaible

People really overestimate ESO's engine capability, lol. The game doesn't even have legit physics.

Thee_Cheshire_Cat

KilianDermoth wrote: »

Now is the best opportunity ever to introduce flying mounts with the Necrom expansion.

Who doesnt want to ride a giant flying ball with plenty tentacles!?

Just think about how fun this would be!!!

There is a game you can do that! lol This is not the one however.

MrGarlic

There have been many a cliff-fall where I have thought, 'Gee, I wish I had a glider of some sort.'

Some people say the game engine does not support flying, but I've never heard that from a developer.

I'd love a griffin mount. I would call her Lois.

phaneub17_ESO

The skybox in this game is a lot lower than you think it is, they would really have to change the ceiling quite literally in every zone to work this out.

ArchangelIsraphel

Bo0137 wrote: »

I am here to share my disapproval of flying monts. It will kill the game exploration completely, just like it did with WoW (and others). IMO horses and characters should be even slower and the wayshrine should be less exploitable. But it's too late for that. NO to flying mounts! Let people bump and interact with each other and feel some sense of vastness.

The logic of this statement doesn't hold up.

Game exploration is not dead, for those who want to explore, they do. All one has to do is:

1. Make the conscious decision not to use wayshrines, if that is the way you enjoy playing.

2. Make the choice to toggle "walk" on both the character and the horse.

3. Explore.

The thing about exploration is, it is more fun when it is something you choose to do, not something you are forced to do. Others do not have to be forced into "exploration" 24/7, when you can choose to slow down and play the game the way you like without interrupting the experience of others or slowing them down. ESO enables exploration, all you have to do is choose to do it.

When I feel like exploring, I'll slow ride my horse around tamriel. But I like that I have the choice to do that, a choice that doesn't stop others from playing as they wish.

Flying mounts won't ruin this. All you need to do is not purchase one. Or maybe see them as a new means of exploration instead.

LalMirchi

While truly flying mounts seem to be technically hard to implement in the game I would like to see hovering mounts.

For example a flying (hovering) magic carpet for my cat would be rather awesome.

Elsonso

My thought is that they could easily make a faux flying mount by just making the feet invisible...

robpr

Aside technical limitations, there are lore implications as well. In Elder Scrolls universe, realistically only Gryphons or Dunmer Giant Wasps are capable of holding a humanoid in flight. Current era Cliff Racers are too small. Dragons are out of question. So there is little to no variety here, unless they made some up like with Atronach mounts.

Shihp00

weeeee

Luth7

Flying mounts would quickly devalue regular ones to a point that you could basically remove the regular ones, as de facto they wouldn't exist anymore in the game.
The vast majority won't spend any resources on getting a regular mount when there are flying ones; even new players would save until they could afford one of the flying ones instead of wasting resources to move around like a filthy peasant.
The only thing i can imagine to prevent the inevitable downward spiral would be that the animations on the flying mounts would have to be so bad that a large percentage of the playerbase would not use them just because of that, but i guess it had to be way worse than the difference in quality between the felines and the equines/heavyweights.

JKorr

ArchangelIsraphel wrote: »

Bo0137 wrote: »

I am here to share my disapproval of flying monts. It will kill the game exploration completely, just like it did with WoW (and others). IMO horses and characters should be even slower and the wayshrine should be less exploitable. But it's too late for that. NO to flying mounts! Let people bump and interact with each other and feel some sense of vastness.

The logic of this statement doesn't hold up.

Game exploration is not dead, for those who want to explore, they do. All one has to do is:

1. Make the conscious decision not to use wayshrines, if that is the way you enjoy playing.

2. Make the choice to toggle "walk" on both the character and the horse.

3. Explore.

The thing about exploration is, it is more fun when it is something you choose to do, not something you are forced to do. Others do not have to be forced into "exploration" 24/7, when you can choose to slow down and play the game the way you like without interrupting the experience of others or slowing them down. ESO enables exploration, all you have to do is choose to do it.

When I feel like exploring, I'll slow ride my horse around tamriel. But I like that I have the choice to do that, a choice that doesn't stop others from playing as they wish.

Flying mounts won't ruin this. All you need to do is not purchase one. Or maybe see them as a new means of exploration instead.

Hmmm.... Gee, what could go wrong with allowing people to fly everywhere.... I'm sure loading screens wouldn't be an issue. Flying wouldn't move you across a zone fast enough to trigger multiple loading screens or anything. All the scenery would load in perfectly with the increased los from flying. All the quest markers and triggers would work even though characters aren't on the ground to set them off. No one would exploit or abuse the ability to skip mob encounters by flying over them. No one would complain about wonky controls or how clunky and unsatisfying flying is, and there wouldn't be any complaints about limited versions of flying mounts either. No one would be unhappy with dozens of identical flying taxis clogging the sky. [yes, this is sarcastic. simply sarcasm because past experience has shown we are why we can't have nice things. Anything exploitable will be, any exploits shut down will cause rants/whining. Not worth it, my own personal opinion.]

Ei8htba11

The land mass is not contiguous, it's an illusion. Instanced areas that are supposed to be next to each other aren't. Solitude interior isn't within the Solitude walls, for example (if you've ever been OOB, you'll know). The map (all of it) would have to be reworked..

I_killed_Vivec

Rocket boots! I want rocket boots!

Or maybe Rabbit boots...

Amottica

Arunei wrote: »

Because even that requires the same coding to allow for "3D" movement like you'd see in flying and underwater swimming. If they did anything like this, the mount's hitbox would still be moving along the ground. That means that you'd get hung up on terrain that looks like you should just be able to fly over.

There's not actual flight in this game. Flying enemies move on set paths through the game space, they don't have free movement through the X, Y, and X asixes (axes? axisis?) that the game needs to track and all.

and while what OP is talking about would be doable, @Arunei points out a great reason why such a mount should not occur. Not only would it be weird to have a mount that seems to be floating above the ground get hung up on a pebble, as mounts in ESO do, but it would also drive threads complaining about such a mount and make for a poor showing by content creators.

Probably something Zenimax should avoid.

ArchangelIsraphel

JKorr wrote: »

ArchangelIsraphel wrote: »

Bo0137 wrote: »

I am here to share my disapproval of flying monts. It will kill the game exploration completely, just like it did with WoW (and others). IMO horses and characters should be even slower and the wayshrine should be less exploitable. But it's too late for that. NO to flying mounts! Let people bump and interact with each other and feel some sense of vastness.

The logic of this statement doesn't hold up.

Game exploration is not dead, for those who want to explore, they do. All one has to do is:

1. Make the conscious decision not to use wayshrines, if that is the way you enjoy playing.

2. Make the choice to toggle "walk" on both the character and the horse.

3. Explore.

The thing about exploration is, it is more fun when it is something you choose to do, not something you are forced to do. Others do not have to be forced into "exploration" 24/7, when you can choose to slow down and play the game the way you like without interrupting the experience of others or slowing them down. ESO enables exploration, all you have to do is choose to do it.

When I feel like exploring, I'll slow ride my horse around tamriel. But I like that I have the choice to do that, a choice that doesn't stop others from playing as they wish.

Flying mounts won't ruin this. All you need to do is not purchase one. Or maybe see them as a new means of exploration instead.

Hmmm.... Gee, what could go wrong with allowing people to fly everywhere.... I'm sure loading screens wouldn't be an issue. Flying wouldn't move you across a zone fast enough to trigger multiple loading screens or anything. All the scenery would load in perfectly with the increased los from flying. All the quest markers and triggers would work even though characters aren't on the ground to set them off. No one would exploit or abuse the ability to skip mob encounters by flying over them. No one would complain about wonky controls or how clunky and unsatisfying flying is, and there wouldn't be any complaints about limited versions of flying mounts either. No one would be unhappy with dozens of identical flying taxis clogging the sky. [yes, this is sarcastic. simply sarcasm because past experience has shown we are why we can't have nice things. Anything exploitable will be, any exploits shut down will cause rants/whining. Not worth it, my own personal opinion.]

Your post has absolutely no relation to mine, as I was saying that flying mounts will not ruin the fact that exploring in ESO is still a thing available to do, and that the option is open to a person. The post I was replying to was stating that exploration would be dead. My post states reasons why it would not be dead in its traditional form as one can still choose to do it.

I was not arguing that there wouldn't be technical issues with flying mounts, or that they couldn't cause problems totally unrelated to a players willingness to explore or not. You seem to be reading something into my post that isn't there.

Op isn't even requesting actual flying mounts. Just mounts that float slightly.

BlackKnight556

Too many people are reading the title of this thread and not the actual first post. Yes, I would love a floating mount.

Luth7

Well, the title says "flying mount" and "I don't mean one that actually flies around way up high" is not very precise (no offense). I guess to not annoy everyone because of flapping wings etc the mounts would have to fly at least 20 meter high and even then, don't forget the many moving shadows those would cause on the ground because of the sun/moon.
As much as this seems nice to have from a single player perspective, i think it doesn't really fit into an MMO.
Griffins and similar mounts that hover close to the ground would also not look very good.

LunaFlora

a floating mount would be awesome yes.

cyclonus11

Magic carpets!

Luth7

Khajiit demands human mounts