I'm pleased to have made a decision about how travel will work. Since this is very important to both game-play and immersion factor, I wanted to extend enough time to the community for discussion, which has exceeded my expectations in hashing out some of the more challenging implementations such as Travel time.

3rd World Map Mode (Compressed-time movement)

1. Travel routes are seen by all who know about them (in most cases) excluding special cards and special places.

2. In this mode, Travel is not under the conditions of in-game real-time. Therefore traversing large portions of landscape can occur more quickly.

3. The map will reflect visual indications (perhaps days old) of news about incidents and where they have occurred.

4. There will be a ticker that prevents "encountering-players" from jumping aboard any compressed-time method of travel.

Travel using this method will implement one or more of the following:

A. Stage Coach
B. Horseback Riding Relay
C. Ferry Rafting
D. Rail-Road (to be implemented after release, coordinated by GMs, and built by players).

However, there are some stipulations that can occur. Traversing along any known Frontier Trail can be interrupted by Encounters. Encounters can be player-organized, and/or NPC manifested. So don't think that you will always get through any long distance travel un-scathed.

"First-person" Map Mode (Real-time movement)

1. Travel by this method is authentic and exploratory, and may contribute to your map and map-making (which is exclusive information to each individual player-character) as well as skills involving endurance, tracking, and so on. It also requires a realistic amount of time for travel, but affords new opportunities for scouting, prospecting, squatting, discovering resources, creating and building new trade routes, and etc.

2. Any encounter stopping compressed movement defaults back to this mode. For example, as in the case of a stage-coach hold-up. Player/s fleeing into the surrounding wilderness might be aided with Stealth skills, and/or other opportunities to get away. (I.e. fresh horses, canoes, wagon, etc.) but they must do so in real-time.

3. Typically, people have a tendency to build communities in close proximity to one another in order to provide goods and services anyways, and therefore 'Mountain Men, Trappers, and Prospectors" or typically hard-core soloist players will more likely prefer FP Mode in favor of realism factor.

Group Vs. Group Campaign Map Mode (Coordinated Strategic movement)

1. Travel by this method can be reserved by Groups wishing to re-enact land skirmishes.

2. Travel by this method is plotted along a course by each individual Group lead, and falls under conditions for deployment, terrain, formations, and the kinds of skills and resources being committed.

3. Plotted Traverse Points that cross one-another's path will be treated as "encounters" and interrupt travel in order to resolve the situation.

3. When the mission begins, engagements may be flagged either "Final Outcome" PvP, or "Odds Outcome" PvP. The difference is that when playing "Final Outcome," the actual world-map boundaries and territories may translate to reflect the outcome of the skirmish as well as potential for "staged-permadeath" to occur. "Odds Outcome" is like practice, but in some cases may be used decisively (TBA).

4. Players who bail on their group receive a penalty "Deserter" Repercussion. Players who "CTD" (crash to desktop) will remain in the group when returning so long as the Mission Authors keep it Greenlight.

5. Active/Passive Templates may be set-up for this kind of mission, in order to effectively manage and initiate Rank and File, and thereby also activate a player-run reward system. In this way, a diverse player-base across global time-zones may be coordinated to make moves at designated times and locations.

Yes, this means that the outcome may take a week worth of effort, but will help enable players to make a difference in the world around them. Updates can be broadcast to Mobile phones, PDA's and email.

Discuss the Travel System here