There was a QnA that talked about how long it would take to travel. I could probably find it and link it but so could you. :D

To be fair 48 hours to walk across the continent in a straight line and without terrain sounds long, but if you think about it, it probably isn't that bad.

First off we'll have vehicles, I assume a wagon wouldn't be that fast but something like a horse could probably cut that time down to a third or a fourth. On top of that it seems pretty well established that travel will be one of the things your character can do offline.

Also we have to take into account that is travel across the ENTIRE continent, most people would probably only be travelling a few hours apart at best. Technology could also be a thing. Boats could be faster than horses maybe, and Caspian made it quite clear that how technologically advanced the game gets depends on how the characters research. That could be anything from balloons to trains given a decade.

On the flip side it is still pretty far to travel, so who knows.

@Sarharis

Pretty much, unless you're an explorer your travel will be somewhat limited to your kingdom at first, you do not need to run all the way to the other end of a map because there are some monsters you need to farm, and if the armies are marching it will take time for other kingdoms to mobilize and prepare defenses.

The thing with EQ1 (and subsequent games) was that gameplay was tied to fixed locations. As you got higher level those locations got more remote and more scattered, which meant there was more travel required.

I think the key differences with CoE is that a lot of the game will centre around player settlements and we won't outgrow them in the same way. You can have a lasting attachment to a particular place and always have things to do there.

With that said there is a fair chance of the PvE game being underdeveloped and/or (online) players being much too spread out to get much done in the wild.

It's about the journey, not the destination! ;)

In fact I like this traveling setup. Taking required time in consideration, I may often travel to neighbor county, few times a year I may go to kingdom capital but making a trip to another kingdom may be one time per life event.

Unlike other games, travel in CoE will take some thought and preparation. Will I have enough clothes? Will I have the right clothes? Enough Food and Water? What protections will I have? All these and more come to mind when planning a short trip. Nothing like visiting the relatives a week away and getting jumped by bandits and then freezing to death with the freak cold spell (and no I am not talking about magic).

I am really looking forward to the slow paced travel of CoE. Too many games have allowed people to become lazy about it and made travel unimportant in their games and CoE making travel mean something again adds another level of realism that I am really looking forward to.

Another thing to consider....

CoE doesn't feature Zone Progression. It's not like your character will outlevel the zone they are in and have to travel to a different zone.

If you're an Adventurer, you're probably going to head to the frontier and then stay there your entire life...moving only when the frontier itself does. And you'll have your children along the Frontier...so they'll already be there when you need to take one over.

If you're a Craftsman, odds are you're going to set up shop in a particular town/city/whatever and just stay there.

Then you factor in kingdoms and allegiances....

Most likely, the only players who will be traveling 'across the continent' are people who are specifically dedicated to it, because they want to make that journey. Even an army on the march is only likely to cross a single Kingdom (and that's if the battle is taking place on the far side of the Kingdom from you, and your King has called you to come fight anyway).

I'll for sure have an alt that I just explore the world with just to see the map that gets created. Maybe a travel blog, who knows but that in and of itself will be it's own adventure.

Please no fast travel mechanisms ala wow, etc. This game is more about creating a life-like experience in-game. Instant travel (magic, coach stops, etc) ruin that life-like atmosphere.

I would think opc travel at normal speeds (walking or riding a horse) would have you still under threat from the dangers of traveling the wilds/roads. If you opc travel than you should be prepared to be ambushed by bandits (npc/pc) or attacked by wild animals. Could opc scripts that include fighting or running away should be used. Also guards hired for protection. Or you're more than likely to log back in and be in spirit walk mode or standing there naked and looted.