Talk:Swift Travel

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I have a stylistic question for the editor community about the individual Stable-master tables and Prerequisites for their swift rides, the question is sourced in for example this edit where User:Candlelight added VIP to the prereqs:

While adding VIP to the Prerequisites is technically correct I wonder if that info is not superfluous?

The description of Swift Travel mentions VIP or Premium as a requirement. In my understanding that requirement applies to most swift routes (maybe all?). Then it is not necessary to add VIP to the table as that is inferred from Swift Travel as such. Compare with Cost, we do not mention that travel cost is reduced if being Friend with factions as that is understood by other means; in this case VIP is understood from the definition of Swift Travel. Furthermore, "VIP" is incomplete as it suggest the understanding that Premium is insufficient.

However, if there are swift routes that do not have VIP/Premium as a prereq, then it would make sense to mark those routes as "available-for-F2P" as they are exceptions from the common rule. Since that is not a prereq it must be done by other means, or we edit the header to read "Prerequisites & Notes".

Summary and repeat question: While not technically wrong I think VIP in the prereq column is a bit of information overload, do you agree? -- Zimoon (talk) 07:19, 28 April 2012 (EDT)

I believe that it should at least be listed which routes are open to F2P players, since as a F2P player I'm interested in knowing that. Still, your suggestion of adding a "Available for F2P" might be a better solution. -- Candlelight (talk)
Reading and waiting for more editors to chime in. This is sometimes a slow process ;) -- Zimoon (talk) 07:41, 28 April 2012 (EDT)
I have two subscriptions, a VIP and a F2P, attached to my account. The many restrictions and limitations of F2P and Premium subscripts should be discussed on the account options pages, e.g. Free to Play. The VIP requirement should not be mentioned on every swift travel route nor on every stable-master page. My vote: roll those changes back and treat any such future changes as vandalism! RingTailCat (talk) 09:05, 28 April 2012 (EDT)
I think that saying you need to be VIP isn't a good idea, because its not entirely correct. Swift travel is also open to Premium accounts on characters that had been played while the account was previously VIP. If people in this case read the pages, they might be confused or think that the wiki isn't accurate. I do agree that it would be a good idea to mention if a swift travel route is available for all players though. That's something that is different from the expected behaviour, so it would be worth mentioning. Amphoras (talkTalk to me!) 09:28, 28 April 2012 (EDT)
I'm not fond of the VIP either, because it's not exactly accurate, as the others have said. I'm not VIP but I have quite a few characters who can use swift travel routes. They're also available to anyone who's used a writ of special passage. But it would be too complicated to explain all the intricacies on every stable master page. Maybe instead of the VIP in the prereq column, each stable page could add a line at the top or bottom of the table something like "Swift travel routes are only available to characters who have swift travel unlocked" with a link to the Swift Travel page for more information. That would still be redundant with the Swift column and link in the table, but some redundancy might be useful for visitors who don't know what swift travel is or why they can't use it.
However, I'm noticing that this page is not entirely accurate and clear either. I'm going to do a tentative update and hopefully it will be more useful for people linked here from stable master pages. -- Elinnea (talk) 11:13, 28 April 2012 (EDT)
Thanks Elin, a great improvement which scatters all doubt. This means, except some routes between starter areas all swift routes are VIP-only. Then the "VIP" at stable-master tables is superfluous. Adding a note to the Swift Travel page which starter-area locations are free for F2P would answer such a question.
No wonder why people subscribe just for one month :P
Note, I did not start this discussion to blame you, User:Candlelight, on the contrary. Your edits has strongly improved this page, our understanding (I for one have been VIP from start (almost) and am not aware of all limitations F2P run into), and the need to clarify for F2P what they can expect and what not. So, a bug thanks to Candlelight, you indeed lit a candle :)
-- Zimoon (talk) 05:42, 29 April 2012 (EDT)
Late to the conversation (studying all day yesterday for exams, sigh - need to do more today), but I also endorse noting the few "free" swift-travel routes. As Zimoon goes through the stable-masters and standardizes the tables, though, all swift routes eventually do link here, which now (thanks to Elin and Z) has a summary of the free ones. Combe isn't one of them, though, so I scratched that. Will keep an eye out for others and note them here, I guess.
@RTC: Easy there, tiger. As they say on Wikipedia, assume good faith. Not every contribution needs to be blasted as vandalism. Sethladan 10:31, 29 April 2012 (EDT)
Ya, I was a bit strong there. When I did the F2P beta, I actually started and played many characters through the intro and early stages without using the beta accelerator tavern. I wanted to get a realistic sense of how the game would feel to new f2p players. I still have a f2p subscription attached to my account. I have nothing but sympathy for the folks that play f2p for any length of time. RingTailCat (talk) 11:23, 29 April 2012 (EDT)
Heh, we're all guilty of a little overenthusiasm from time to time. Off-topic, though - how does that work, having more than one subscription on one account? Two different sets of characters but both tied to your account name? Or do you choose at any given login whether to play as VIP or F2P? I remember it was a sticking point for someone's plugin over at Lotrointerface a few weeks ago, but never thought much of it. Sethladan 13:26, 29 April 2012 (EDT)
See my writeup at User talk:RingTailCat#Multiple Subscriptions. RingTailCat (talk) 17:43, 29 April 2012 (EDT)