Fast travel has been a feature of all the bethesda titles. It is a useful tool but i hate using it. I feel that im in some way cheating myself out of the experience and also feel that it pokes a finger in the eye of the game makers. The level of detail that they have gone to across the entire world makes me feel bad just skipping over it so i can get to 80 in smithing a bit quicker.
How do you feel about fast travel? do you use it? Or are you a purist and earn the blisters in the right way walking through the game?
Hahaha!! you know what's funny, when I first played Oblivion I had no idea you could fast travel!! I played for hours and hours not knowing that. It was brutal, but at the same time rewarding. I leveled up much quicker. Damn I would get upset when I had to cross the map. ha! I swear, I probably put in 130hrs before I realized I could fast travel. Felt like an ass when my buddy told me I could!
Anyway, as of now (180hrs in) I tend to fast travel. In the beginning, hardly at all. But I've discovered almost every location. Alot of times I'll fast travel near a location and walk the rest. Depends on my mood. If I want to bang some shit out (misc quests) fast travel. If I feel like just strollin around hunting to fill soul gems, I just keep it on the ground.
I use fast travel - but only if I have a bunch of stuff and need to get rid of it and back into playing a quest. I find that just traveling around Skyrim and looking at all the wonderful detail is breath taking. Also, it can lead to some very interesting battles with unexpected "things".
I do a very similar thing to you tygravius within skyrim. At first i didnt use it at all but now it would literally take an age to get everything done i tend to only really use it to get home or back from the middle of no where. I didnt even have a horse until about 120 hrs in i just did it on foot. But theres only some many times i can take out the female bandit inbetween whiterun and windhelm lol i just feel tight on her now lol
I tend to fast travel when I am specifically doing a quest. I get very little time to play, so when I want to find more of the story I like to move through the "down" sections as quickly as I can. However, some play sessions I pick a direction and start walking. If you look at my map you can clearly see my path through the wilderness as it will be a jagged line of markers from one destination to another.
I never use fast travel. The best thing in Skyrim (and in Oblivion) is riding and enjoy the scenery. How many hours spent on riding from one spot to another! Love to start a day at 6.30 am, then get on my horse woohoo! just to arrive late at night to my home in Solitude to rest (or sleep in a freshly cleared bandit camp, wow). One thing I miss is the coffee at early morning. lol Lovely roleplaying!
I think thats one of the best features of Skyrim. Choosing an unfound locations and setting off early in the morning. Just the other day i was doing just that for an misc objective and ended up finding a completely new road through the mountains ive never walked down. After 190 hrs i thought id walked all the roads it obviously led to a run in with bandits, bears, a new nordic ruin, draugr and two dragon encounters. Im def a advacate of walking the realm rather than fast travelling.
I defend fast travel. It's not cheating you out of an experience; it is choosing a different experience. Understood, you give up the random encounters on the road, but if you are not in the mood for a long slog down the road from place to place, and you want to get on with the story, then fast travel is for you. I will choose one or the other, depending. I tend to fast travel past roads I have been on in the past, but walk the long way if there is a new route I have never seen before.
I use fast travel all the time, or at least when it's pretty far. I too feel a bit guilty but if I had to walk such long distances every time I would throw Skyrim out of my window after playing for two hours and only having been able to run to Windhelm from Solitude, do an errand and run back.
I fast travel when its necessary, like I'm at 299/300 and I'm in the middle of nowhere. But I will always fast travel back to where I was and continue down the road.
I've completed the Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood quest lines and I'm working through the main quest right now. I've made a rule for myself with the main quest, that I won't fast travel at all. I'm more likely to encounter dragons and it's really making the whole experience more immersive.
Another reason I tend to fast travel is that I've killed so many dragons that they're kinda like pesky flies to me now. I know, thats lame and sucks, but when I'm in the total expoloring mode it's like "fuuuuuck, not now! I don't want to deal with you!" You know, that feeling when you're sneakin in the woods and then the drums kick in "dum dum!" uuuughhhh!! But what I do then is have the dragon follow me to the nearest town/city/camp and let them at it. haha!! Pretty pussy of me, but I'm a little tired of them. Plus I like the idea of a bunch of people slaying one. It's a good way to get everyone in town together to watch you absorb the soul. Then you can pick up quests from them. ha! Another cool bonus with the Blades that they all come with ya. Sorry, went off on a tangent there.
I have got to agree with you, the best thing about this game is getting stuck into the atmosphere of it. I only ever use the fast travel when I'm pressed for time and want to see a bit of action in a dungeon or camp of some sort and then carry on with my day after having stuck some foes to the furnature with an arrow.
I do a lot of exploring but do use fast travel. If I get lost I use it to get re-oriented. I also use it at and end of a quest to get back to the quest giver if needed. In Skyrim you need to explore on foot to get to your objectivesor you can take the carriages between major towns but you can't just fat travel to a town you have not previously visited.