Mr_tumnus

Hi there, long time lurker, first time poster As I'm dubious about having literal magic portals (at least initially; perhaps they could be saved for late game long distance travel) the portals disguised as ships idea sounds most appealing; and since reading it a while ago I've had a few ideas whirring around my head, which I'll try to break down, and I hope bioxx might glean something useful from: 1) One coastal hex on every island will be a "trading post" hex. Initially, it's indistinguishable from any other coastal hex, but it can switch to a number of predetermined schematics depending on certain game conditions. The changes can only happen once the player is a certain distance away from this hex, in order that they cannot see it and thus break immersion. 2) The blank hex after a predetermined or somewhat randomised period of time will be replaced with a "trader's/smugglers landing"; a small boat or raft pulled up onto the beach, probably with an NPC trader. Through interacting with the trader, you can upgrade the trading post, and thus gain access to other islands; with better upgrades allowing further travel, more regular visits (I'm thinking the post may revert to an "empty" version after you leave the area, and come back at various intervals) and allow you to bring more "cargo" with you. 3) So, for example you might have to give the smuggler a set amount of materials in order to build a Jetty, which unlocks travel to another island. Perhaps these islands have settlements already (if that is something you want to include) or not, and just have a jetty hex like on your home island. Fulling more 'quests' (or trading) enables the ship schematic to upgrade, and thus have more options. 4) Limited cargo space is something that I thought might make for interesting challenges- when you "sail" (teleport) you can only take a certain number/weight of items with you, depending on the ship size, and the trader might not wait for you on the other island ("I'll come back in 4 days" or something). So you will have to find a way to survive on this other island, which might be a desert or icy wastes- it might not have trees or fresh water for example, so you'll have to carefully choose what you bring, and forage for the rest. (eg. wood logs might be too bulky, so you'd have to use something else to make a shelter) This might provide a use for 'survival tools' beyond the early game (tents for example) and maybe some food items (I'm thinking dried meats). We assume there may however be a valuable resource on this island to make the trouble worth it. 5) Over time there becomes ways to make this travel less annoying- the NPC has a larger ship and can basically take whatever you need. They may be "hired/befriended" somehow so that they will hang around permanently until needed (could be by taking some kind of extra payment, or taking a 'cut' of the resources you pick up on your travels, or just by completing set 'quests')