Speeding Around The Land

So, you've been playing for a while and are starting to know your way around. You know roughly where you are, but see people whizzing past you all the time, getting from one side of The Land to the other in no time at all.

How do they go so fast? Where are they going? Can you do it too? Yes! It's not too hard, read on ...

Maps

The first thing you have to do is learn The Land. This may sound obvious to you, but there's more to it than that.

Perhaps you've made a map? That's a good start, but it's better to be able to get from A to B without looking at the map at all. If the map is in your head, you'll go faster than if it's on paper.

Maps don't have to be accurate. It's nice if they are, but it'll take a very long time to make a complete map of The Land. Knowing that the swamp is roughly south of the narrow road between lands is good enough, really.

Of course, the less detail there is on the map, then the easier it is to remember - so don't spend all your time mapping The Land exactly.

Know the layout of The Land, key places

Now you've got a rough map of The Land in your mind, you should be able to spot some key places you go to again and again. Places like the narrow road between lands, the jetty, the ford, the entrance to the monastery, etc.

You really need to know these places well. As you get more experienced, you'll be able to add more places to the list, but for now concentrate on the ones you think are the most important.

Put these key points on your mental map. The routes between these places will be the backbone of your map - like the motorways on your personal road-map of The Land.

Know your way around

Now you have your mental map of The Land, learn to move between these key points with ease. It doesn't matter whether you've got the fastest route right now, you can always change your route later, but make sure you can follow your route without thinking.

Practice running between one end of The Land and the other by following your route. Where you're slow, practice going that way some more, or find an easier route ...

Find the fastest or easiest routes

Sometimes the most direct route between two points isn't the easiest to remember or type. Does it matter? I don't think so - if you've got to think about the directions (or worse, look them up!) then it's going to slow you down more than going one or two moves more to get to your destination.

See if you can get from A to B with repeated directions (e.g. w,w,w,w,w,w,n,n,n is going to be easier to remember than nw,nw,n,n,nw,w,n,w.) Also remember that you have out (o) and swamp (zw) to play with - quite often you can quickly get somewhere by going out a lot.

Watch out for obstacles

Another reason not to go the quickest route between two points is because it may make life harder for you. For example, if there's a tree root which may trip you along your route, you'd do better taking a different one.

If there's a dangerous mobile which often hangs around on your route, again - it may be worth changing your route. You may not be able to do anything with mobiles as they move, but you may find a safer route.

Expanding your reach

By now, you should have a good set of routes to take you between your key points. Hopefully you've got enough key points so that every room in The Land (which you want to get to) is only a few moves away from one of your key points.

What you must now do is to explore around your key points. Learn how to get to less important rooms around your key points - and which rooms are nearest to which key points.

If you're finding this too hard, it may be that you've not got enough key points yet. Consider adding a few more to help you extend your reach and try again.

Going faster

Soon, you'll be able to get around The Land with ease, and get to just about any room without even thinking about it. All you need to do now is improve your speed.

Go back and look at your key points. Would it help you if you had a few more? Are there routes between two keypoints you've missed? For example, do you normally go A->C->B when you could go A->B directly?

Be careful! Don't go too fast

Lastly, be careful not to go too fast. If you type without thinking, you may miss something which will slow you down by forcing you to go back for.

Worse still, you may get blocked by a mobile along your route. This could cause you to end up somewhere you didn't mean to - or, if you're at sea, possibly drown.

Conclusion

Hopefully, having read this you'll now be equipped to find your way around The Land with ease, faster than ever before.

But remember - speed isn't everything. Don't try to go too fast - keep yourself in control and you'll make less mistakes.

All you need now is experience!

Good luck ...