My whole criticism is that there's nothing interesting about how the mounts move about the world. There's no depth to the mechanics. It's just moving about a 3d space at 280/310% velocity in the forward, left, & right directions. And nothing that you've suggested is even passingly enjoyable.
Let's say you removed the turn-rate limit of the ToC jousting nonsense. Well, "jousting" in WoW would still be dull. The way you could make jousting enjoyable is if you went something more along the lines of giving horses fairly realistic movement characteristics, and added an aiming mechanic for the lance, and a timed shield block mechanic. And for a dragon's mechanics, for it to be enjoyable, have it fly as you'd expect in "real"life, and spit fire as you'd expect it to work (kinda like a flame thrower attached to an A-10(DCS: DROGON)). Not some half-assed targeting reticule on a mount that flys at a constant 310% movement speed in some x,y,z, direction.
Mario Kart wouldn't be a fun game (not that I've played it since N64...) if its driving model was just WoW's movement model.
(I'm not suggesting this is what 'should' happen in WoW, just what would make those individual mechanics actually enjoyable on their own.)
WoW really isn't fun for its questing/world "content", and I don't see how any "simple" implementation of mechanics for mounts would make it any less joyless. It's fun because of raiding, and other players(used to be fun for dueling... rip WotLK). Even the story is pretty consistently boring in presentation.
Last edited by Lumicide; 2017-11-10 at 11:43 PM.
Speak for yourself. If flying blinds you, stay grounded.
You're imaginative, aren't you?
Indeed, if people never saw what good looks like, they'd be much easier to satisfy with any crap whatsoever.
Getting to see Storm Peaks properly. Netherstorm. Jade Forest and VoEB before and after sha hit the fan. Uldum. Proper view of kypari trees.
Here. He corrected it for you.
You wanted an example of a simple solution. I gave you simple. It sounds more like you're describing what you personally find unenjoyable with the game instead of what's actually wrong with flying.
For the record, I don't believe that flying in WoW is a simple problem that can be fixed with a simple solution. I think it will require a complete and total overhaul of the game mechanics for mounts, level design, and monster AI.
What I find interesting is that supposedly in BfA Blizzard is finally updating monster AI and pathing to be more intelligent. Perhaps we'll see enemies with more ranged attacks, leaps, harpoons, or other ways of engaging flying players. If they're willing to also design open world content that's not just a mostly two-dimensional maze of terrain, and change how mounts work to be a little more realistic(momentum, turn radius, acceleration/deceleration, fatigue bar, whatever), we might be able to have both exploration and gameplay that involves flight.
However, as long as Hazzicostas is at the wheel, I seriously doubt we'll see anything beyond the same old fixation on flat world design.
Quote for truth.
I swear there are people out there who have NEVER played anything other than WoW. There are so many better designs and game mechanics out there, but it's as though the people defending No-Flying haven't ever seen anything besides what Blizzard feeds them. And while it's true that WoW is limited by it's aging game engine, there are LOTS of things that Blizzard could be doing better.
But apparently it's easier to shovel out simpler world design and tell the super-fans that it's good for them. /disgust
The further the game has progressed, the more cliffs, huge trees and other strange blockades they have implemented into new zones that has made actually playing in the world more annoying. If you look at say Vanilla or TBC and take those zones, the only zone I can think of that actually was making getting from point A to point B difficult was Blades Edge Mountains. You'd pretty much have paths that would take you anywhere.
But I never asked for an example of a "simple solution"...
What's actually wrong with flying as it is in the game: The world is flat*, the atmosphere is just a matte painting. And because of this, when you get above the ground it all falls apart. The game is in no way suited to flight. It just looks silly. So, I'm not a fan of it. It's not the worst thing to happen to WoW, as OP suggested, but it's not a good thing either. It's nothing. Just a camera arbitrarily moving in 3d space faster than a ground mount, and transporting the player character faster than they would on the ground.
Maybe making flying, itself, interesting mechanically 'would' be a good change. Even with the game otherwise as-is. But, I don't know, it feels like the game would really need an overhaul to see anything so significant.
I'd love the idea of a complete overhaul, by the way. A ground-up rethinking of the core gameplay, specs, armor, mounts, world, questing, storytelling, engine... everything. Just not what I'm suggesting, as I'm doubtful that it'll happen any time soon (or ever). Though, I'm not sure about player flight even in my ideal of a complete overhaul.
There are larger issues in the game that are already unlikely enough to change.
*I don't mean this in regards to the game's lack of verticality, but that it's actually a flat object, whereas it would need to be spherical for flight in an open space.
Last edited by Lumicide; 2017-11-11 at 10:24 AM.
Blizzard has already stated they wish they had never added flying to the game, and would remove it if they could. But so many zones were created with the ability to fly, it would be way to much work to change them. Thus we have flying how it is now.
If what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. Then I should be a god by now.
People who hate on LFR must not like raiding at all. Because LFR is the reason they can dump so many resources into raid creation. As for flight, it's fine. Cuts down on some of the tedium once you unlock it.
Unlocking it is fine, because otherwise they're going to remove it. Time to face that fact and get over it.
If I had to take a ballpark stab at the worst thing ever introduced in the game it would probably be PvP servers.
The amount of tears over the years based on "--x-- killed world PvP" has been enough for a biblical flood. And that does not even count things like ganking complaints, unbalanced realm complaints, and unbalanced class complaints.
And now, we have a WHOLE NEW thing for them to cry about. It really is amazing.
Last edited by Wingspan; 2017-11-11 at 02:51 AM.
We could start by going back to an open world design like we've seen in Icecrown and Stormpeaks, or possibly Deepholme. Better use of vertical space, with more mixture of caves, castles, catacombs, and other indoor areas.
Add smarter mob AI with the tools to engage flying players via long range debuffs that slow or force players to glide downwards, grapple them into range, or simply blast them from afar. With enough damage to be a credible threat. Dismounting attacks should be a last resort, but still usable considering how many anti-falling tools players have. (Say what you want about how annoying kaliri birds were, they we're an effective deterrent to careless players flying through Skettis)
Add in some minor changes to flying itself, such as setting its speed to the same as ground mounts, and I firmly believe the game would be in a better place than it is now.