Goblin Squad Member
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Run Like Hell - Movement Speed
No recent game I've played has yet had the courage to implement varying movement speeds based on race, though they have occasionally implemented slowing effects for encumbrance. The legs of the halflings and gnomes are half as long but pump twice as fast. In Guild Wars 2, the large races seem to have their run animations in slow motion, so they move the same speed as the small race. I hope that speed based on racial type and armour/encumbrance will be implemented for PFO. Of course, dwarves should also get their reduced movement penalty for carried weight or worn armour.
In addition, I'd like to see a 'Run' skill added to the list of movement skills like 'Climb' and 'Swim'. The achievement badges for the skill could provide a boost to movement speeds and a fractional increase in Strength and Constitution. Some levels of Barbarian could require advancement in the Run progression since faster movement is part of what that class trains. Some training in Run could also provide access to upgraded charge effects and a Sprint feat that gives a minor passive bonus to regular movement, but allows a greater boost of speed when activated (but when it wears off and is in cooldown, the passive effect is down as well).
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Goblin Squad Member
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I'll second this. I know the usual MMO argument is a desire not to "gimp" any particular race, but rather to offer racial bonuses. However, racial minuses also add to the unique differences of races. I would like to see this kind of trade off when choosing races. Besides, if you really want to move faster, you'll buy a mount.
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Goblin Squad Member
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Umm, I think there is a very good reason why this is so. If you look at the races in MMOs you see that the mechanical differences are not all that large.
Now movement speed is a very important stat, maybe one of the most important ones. Designing races that start off worse than others would likely make these be considered gimped by most players.
In other words, even me being a big fan of Dwarves I would certainly not play one if they had a movement speed of only 2/3 that of most of the other races.
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Goblin Squad Member
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The problem with MMOs with PvP is that the faster a player is, the safer that player is. They can always run away or kite a player with slower speed and the slower character will not be able to keep up. Now, if any character can compensate for that with readily available tanglefoot bags, then it's less of an issue.
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In other words, even me being a big fan of Dwarves I would certainly not play one if they had a movement speed of only 2/3 that of most of the other races.
But you've got to remember that while Dwarves aren't as fast as say Elves, their increased STA means they can run for longer distances then an Elf, meaning when the Elf has stopped running the Dwarf will keep on trucking for some time, making up the difference in movement speed easily.
I'm in favor of this. Logical racial traits just make sense to me. Not only are Gnomes slower then humans, but their size gives them greater chance to dodge as well as making them a bit harder "to hit". Such racial traits balance out in the long run and add to the uniqueness of each race.
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Goblin Squad Member
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I second a 'run' skill, but with some restrictions.
-running should be a toggled action
-running should make you lose dex/dodge bonuses.
-running should cost endurance, so that you cannot run away from combat unless you have saved up your strength, and so that being jumped while running means you start with lower endurance.
-if running around for extensive periods of time, there could be a 'fatigued' flag (depending on constitution and run skill) that reduces you endurance regen rate in combat until you have a rest.
Saving your strength should sometimes be a safer alternative than running.
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Goblin Squad Member
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Having some character creation choices give a higher walking speed than others with nearly trivial side effects (i.e. the other racial effects/bonuses) would be bad enough in a theme park with ubiquitous fast travel. In a game like PFO where there's relatively huge travel times and more or less open PvP, I guarantee you that the only people who would not choose the race with the fastest movement rate would be complete noobs (who would learn fast and reroll) and die-hard RPers.
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Goblin Squad Member
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No recent game I've played has yet had the courage to implement varying movement speeds based on race...
Vanguard has varying movement speeds based on a Vitality attribute, which varies by race.
The problem with MMOs with PvP is that the faster a player is, the safer that player is.
I think Ryan's plans to have movement provoke Attacks of Opportunity may address this to some degree.
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Goblin Squad Member
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The problem with MMOs with PvP is that the faster a player is, the safer that player is.I think Ryan's plans to have movement provoke Attacks of Opportunity may address this to some degree.
If we are getting AoOs in game, then that will fix both kiting issues and the running around in circles in melee like a decapitated chicken that plagues PvP in other games. Now all we need is charging and reading weapons vs chargers, and we have better combat than any other MMO.
I second a 'run' skill, but with some restrictions.
-running should be a toggled action
-running should make you lose dex/dodge bonuses.
-running should cost endurance, so that you cannot run away from combat unless you have saved up your strength, and so that being jumped while running means you start with lower endurance.
-if running around for extensive periods of time, there could be a 'fatigued' flag (depending on constitution and run skill) that reduces you endurance regen rate in combat until you have a rest.Saving your strength should sometimes be a safer alternative than running.
Keeping endurance tied with movement along with the other things mentioned in this thread will make combat in PFO very different then in other "chicken run" MMOs out now. Especially if it stops the "leaping Gnome" syndrome you encounter all too often in PvP :p
Goblinworks Executive Founder
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Yeah, I think with AoO it should negate a lot of the downsides to having a lower base move speed. Plus it is pretty iconic function of pathfinder to have certain races have a smaller base speed than other races. They get other bonuses to AC and skills to make up for the speed disadvantage.
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Goblin Squad Member
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I absolutely want to see movement speed and reduced speed from encumbrance implemented. Not all races are equal, especially when it comes to melee combat and stealth, where racial differences (Refering to small and medium size weapons) make a big difference. Players should of course me able to equalize overland travel by hitching a ride on a caravan or mounting a steed, but having the movespeed true to the PnP is something I'd really like to see.
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Goblin Squad Member
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... In addition, I'd like to see a 'Run' skill added to the list of movement skills like 'Climb' and 'Swim'....Climb, Yes! Dropping from trees like death from the sky! Timing the stroke with the landing may be a skill in itself, however.
Pros and cons for death from above:
Pro: It looks cool, high likelihood of surprise.
Con: Falling Damage
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Goblin Squad Member
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... In addition, I'd like to see a 'Run' skill added to the list of movement skills like 'Climb' and 'Swim'....Climb, Yes! Dropping from trees like death from the sky! Timing the stroke with the landing may be a skill in itself, however.Pros and cons for death from above:
Pro: It looks cool, high likelihood of surprise.
Con: Falling Damage
One more reason for being a monk. Yoiks and Away indeed.
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Goblin Squad Member
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Some great ideas here. I guess one way to do it, even though many other mmorpgs shy away from this as MicMan points out correctly:
Umm, I think there is a very good reason why this is so. If you look at the races in MMOs you see that the mechanical differences are not all that large.
Now movement speed is a very important stat, maybe one of the most important ones. Designing races that start off worse than others would likely make these be considered gimped by most players.
In other words, even me being a big fan of Dwarves I would certainly not play one if they had a movement speed of only 2/3 that of most of the other races.
Is to define movement speed in more detail:
Eg
1. Encumbrance
2. Acceleration
3. Stamina
4. Max speed
5. Terrain
6. Penalties eg Injuries (to legs?), temp. snares
And as mentioned, AoO and how circle-strafing/movement IN combat should be modified. I'm definitely for movement speed changing according to any of these contexts and possibly that is a good basis for tweaking different reactions to different contexts (timers etc) to each race?
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Goblin Squad Member
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One of the reasons many MMO's consider Speed > Nearly Everything Else is because they feature very simplistic and one dimensional combat systems.
Speed should be one factor and an important one...but it should not and need not rule the battle-field.
For example, if you look in wargames, harrassment units (who are basicaly maximized in speed/kiting) tend to do fairly minimal damage...to the point of usualy no damage at all if the enemy is well dug in, entrenched, fortified or adopting a protective formation.
No reason that similar mechanics could not be implimented in an MMO. Especialy if you can impliment some sort of terrain/cover system.
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Goblin Squad Member
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The solution I'd like to see to this problem would be for movement to take away from attacks. So, the more you move the less frequently you attack. That slow dwarf standing still with his crossbow can continually fire on the hyper-kinetic elf every time he comes within range. Meanwhile the Elf is moving all over the place, but only shooting back half as often. Basically goes back to PnP full attack or move plus single attack.
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Goblinworks Lead Game Designer
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We are looking at doing modifications to speed based on race, encumbrance, and armor, with dwarves moving slower but getting reduced effects for wearing armor and encumbrance (how reduced we won't know until we get in and start tweaking). We want people in plate mail to be slow moving tanks, not sprinting speed machines zipping across the battle field. That is the job of someone in leather or studded leather.
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Goblin Squad Member
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One of the reasons many MMO's consider Speed > Nearly Everything Else is because they feature very simplistic and one dimensional combat systems.
Speed should be one factor and an important one...but it should not and need not rule the battle-field.
For example, if you look in wargames, harrassment units (who are basicaly maximized in speed/kiting) tend to do fairly minimal damage...to the point of usualy no damage at all if the enemy is well dug in, entrenched, fortified or adopting a protective formation.
No reason that similar mechanics could not be implimented in an MMO. Especialy if you can impliment some sort of terrain/cover system.
That would work if PFO was a military or tactical simulator, where more gear meant more firepower, but it's not - it's a fantasy RPG, where the designers need to balance the guy in heavy armour & two-handed sword versus the agile knife fighter in leather versus the mumbo jumbo guy in robes versus the bare-hand martial artist insane, and make sure they are all roughly equivalent in combat terms.
But the primary reason why more speed (without significant reduction in effectiveness) is awesome in MMOs in general and especially PFO in particular is not in-combat speed or the ability to engage and disengage from slower opponents easily (which are pretty nice too!), but simply the ability to get around the map faster: if I can relocate across the map 20% faster than you, and getting from place to place is basically 50% of playing time, I have effectively 10% more playtime per hour played than you do. Anything that increases my "playtime per hour played" without any real tradeoff is a no-brainer.
We are looking at doing modifications to speed based on race, encumbrance, and armor, with dwarves moving slower but getting reduced effects for wearing armor and encumbrance (how reduced we won't know until we get in and start tweaking). We want people in plate mail to be slow moving tanks, not sprinting speed machines zipping across the battle field. That is the job of someone in leather or studded leather.
Sweet! This is exactly what I was hoping for, and judging from what others are saying, it's the direction the majority of us were wanting to move. Very very cool to have realistic racial traits balanced with things like encumbrance and Stamina. I'm seeing some wicked fun combat :D
One of the reasons many MMO's consider Speed > Nearly Everything Else is because they feature very simplistic and one dimensional combat systems.
Speed should be one factor and an important one...but it should not and need not rule the battle-field.
For example, if you look in wargames, harrassment units (who are basicaly maximized in speed/kiting) tend to do fairly minimal damage...to the point of usualy no damage at all if the enemy is well dug in, entrenched, fortified or adopting a protective formation.
No reason that similar mechanics could not be implimented in an MMO. Especialy if you can impliment some sort of terrain/cover system.
That would work if PFO was a military or tactical simulator, where more gear meant more firepower, but it's not - it's a fantasy RPG, where the designers need to balance the guy in heavy armour & two-handed sword versus the agile knife fighter in leather versus the mumbo jumbo guy in robes versus the bare-hand martial artist insane, and make sure they are all roughly equivalent in combat terms.
But the primary reason why more speed (without significant reduction in effectiveness) is awesome in MMOs in general and especially PFO in particular is not in-combat speed or the ability to engage and disengage from slower opponents easily (which are pretty nice too!), but simply the ability to get around the map faster: if I can relocate across the map 20% faster than you, and getting from place to place is basically 50% of playing time, I have effectively 10% more playtime per hour played than you do. Anything that increases my "playtime per hour played" without any real tradeoff is a no-brainer.
Soooo the slower Gnome gets a mount, problem solved.
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Goblin Squad Member
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One of the reasons many MMO's consider Speed > Nearly Everything Else is because they feature very simplistic and one dimensional combat systems.
Speed should be one factor and an important one...but it should not and need not rule the battle-field.
For example, if you look in wargames, harrassment units (who are basicaly maximized in speed/kiting) tend to do fairly minimal damage...to the point of usualy no damage at all if the enemy is well dug in, entrenched, fortified or adopting a protective formation.
No reason that similar mechanics could not be implimented in an MMO. Especialy if you can impliment some sort of terrain/cover system.
That would work if PFO was a military or tactical simulator, where more gear meant more firepower, but it's not - it's a fantasy RPG, where the designers need to balance the guy in heavy armour & two-handed sword versus the agile knife fighter in leather versus the mumbo jumbo guy in robes versus the bare-hand martial artist insane, and make sure they are all roughly equivalent in combat terms.
But the primary reason why more speed (without significant reduction in effectiveness) is awesome in MMOs in general and especially PFO in particular is not in-combat speed or the ability to engage and disengage from slower opponents easily (which are pretty nice too!), but simply the ability to get around the map faster: if I can relocate across the map 20% faster than you, and getting from place to place is basically 50% of playing time, I have effectively 10% more playtime per hour played than you do. Anything that increases my "playtime per hour played" without any real tradeoff is a no-brainer.
Except here it's not just "getting across the map"...it's "getting STUFF from one point on the map to another"....so what if you get across the map with minimal gear and minimal goods...how does that help you? How does that help you if you are not prepared for the hazards you might meet along the way?
Speed is important and should be both tacticaly and strategicaly... but it lets you fulfill ONLY one role...and that role is only important in a certain subset of circumstances.
That's also how the heavy armor guy and the agile knife fighter and the guy in robes can all be important too. That's the key with those wargames too...different types of units aren't worthless...they are just good at DIFFERENT things...ideally you want them ALL (combined arms)... if you have more of one then another, then you try to manipulate the circumstances to match what you have.
Cavalry can be devastating in open terrain where it can manuver easly and charge.....but try to send it into dense woods and it'll get slaughtered. If you are heavy infantry...you sit in dense woods and try to make the cavalry come in there to fight you.
Same thing could work here...the agile knife fighter has got great mobility, great at turning your flank or maybe getting at your healers.
So if you are heavy infantry and your enemy has got alot of those...you try and manipulate the situation to take away his advantage...fight somewhere that has constricted access...up agaist a wall, in a narrow pass, etc...manipulate the situation to emphasize your strengths and minimize your enemies.
That doesn't make the guy in plate overall superior to the agile knife-fighter....it just means there are some things and some situations that one is better at handling then the other.
If one race is slower on foot than another, there will be some problems. PvP balancing is very difficult, and making one race faster than another is difficult to overcome even with a stamina bar. Hit box sizes are also a problem, and many games just avoid that issue completely.
"Burst" is usually king in PvP, whether it is damage, or speed, or control. PvP balancing is a nightmare, I am sure. However, I am confident that GW can balance racial differences against PvP advantages.
If one race is slower on foot than another, there will be some problems. PvP balancing is very difficult, and making one race faster than another is difficult to overcome even with a stamina bar. Hit box sizes are also a problem, and many games just avoid that issue completely.
"Burst" is usually king in PvP, whether it is damage, or speed, or control. PvP balancing is a nightmare, I am sure. However, I am confident that GW can balance racial differences against PvP advantages.
What your seeing as a problem I see as a benefit. Due to their shorter stature, races like Gnomes and Dwarves may not be as fast as other races, but their shorter size makes them harder to hit hence the benefit to their size. :)
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Goblin Squad Member
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Except here it's not just "getting across the map"...it's "getting STUFF from one point on the map to another"....so what if you get across the map with minimal gear and minimal goods...how does that help you? How does that help you if you are not prepared for the hazards you might meet along the way?Speed is important and should be both tacticaly and strategicaly... but it lets you fulfill ONLY one role...and that role is only important in a certain subset of circumstances.
That's also how the heavy armor guy and the agile knife fighter and the guy in robes can all be important too. That's the key with those wargames too...different types of units aren't worthless...they are just good at DIFFERENT things...ideally you want them ALL (combined arms)... if you have more of one then another, then you try to manipulate the circumstances to match what you have.
Cavalry can be devastating in open terrain where it can manuver easly and charge.....but try to send it into dense woods and it'll get slaughtered. If you are heavy infantry...you sit in dense woods and try to make the cavalry come in there to fight you.
Same thing could work here...the agile knife fighter has got great mobility, great at turning your flank or maybe getting at your healers.
So if you are heavy infantry and your enemy has got alot of those...you try and manipulate the situation to take away his advantage...fight somewhere that has constricted access...up agaist a wall, in a narrow pass, etc...manipulate the situation to emphasize your strengths and minimize your enemies.
You're absolutely correct that these things will matter in even a modestly realistic military scenario. A fantasy MMORPG is not at all a realistic military scenario. If you make fighters with heavy armor move slower but make them more effective in face to face combat to balance that, the battlefields may be balanced, but then heavy armor users become the de facto adventuring kings because in PvE situations you don't NEED the movement - the mobs beeline towards you and are happy to slug it out toe to toe to their inevitable deaths. Pretty much everyone else becomes a niche "special teams" character - the token thief for opening chests, the token cleric for healing, the token mage for ... I don't know; maybe you can toss the mage entirely. And in an open skill system, maybe you don't even need those token players - have your fighters pick up a couple of side skills to fill the "opening chests" and "post-combat healing" niches.
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Goblin Squad Member
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@Tuoweit,
Again you are basing this on current MMO combat mechanics...and current PvE mechanics which emphasize that everything must be "soloable" by every class... so neither what the classes do...nor the creatures they face can have much differentiation at all. PFO does not need to be that type of game. The simple fact that they've taken the leap to making group/cooperative based play such an important feature allows for that.
So you walk into a Dungeon and the first creature you encounter is incorporeal with DR 10 to all physical attack forms. Suddenly the mages and the Clerics become pretty critical. You walk into the next room and the critters all have high magic resistance and high crit resistance and the heavy armor guy becomes important. You walk into the next room and the creature all have STUN attacks that require REFLEX saves, etc.
All this is done with just a little varience in monster types...it's not even diving into A.I. or non-combat based challenges or varying the encounter terrain or mixing in multiple-monster types, etc. Really the skies the limit....and it's not really dependant upon resources.... it's dependant upon two basic stances by the developers; 1) We are not affraid to force people into working with each other if they want to get ahead 2) We are not afraid to let people FAIL if they haven't brought the right skill set to the challenge or found some inventive way to overcome the deficiencies they have.
I think PFO's Developers are pretty comfortable with those stances....other MMO's are terrified of them. They are terrified of forcing thier players to have to work with others in order to overcome challenges.....and they are terrified of allowing thier players to fail at anything. Thus characters aren't just equivalent in those games...they are IDENTICAL...save for mostly the graphics...For those reasons, A Wizard casting Magic Missle and a Ranger shooting a bow and a fighter swinging an axe are pretty much the same things mechanicaly in thier combat systems...it's just different graphics applied. If you are having a system based on that...then yeah, letting one guy move faster then the other becomes a pretty huge advantage.
What your seeing as a problem I see as a benefit. Due to their shorter stature, races like Gnomes and Dwarves may not be as fast as other races, but their shorter size makes them harder to hit hence the benefit to their size. :)If one race is slower on foot than another, there will be some problems. PvP balancing is very difficult, and making one race faster than another is difficult to overcome even with a stamina bar. Hit box sizes are also a problem, and many games just avoid that issue completely.
"Burst" is usually king in PvP, whether it is damage, or speed, or control. PvP balancing is a nightmare, I am sure. However, I am confident that GW can balance racial differences against PvP advantages.
I see what your saying, and it is realistic. However, MMO rules will not be as realistic. I do not think they plan to have an aiming reticle, and hit boxes will not matter so much for tab targetting. Combat will not work like PnP, and I doubt GW could clearly balance hit boxes vs. foot speed.
Well said Grumpy!
I think Tuoweit might be stuck in the theme park mode of thinking. It's not surprising given that those games are pretty much all we have had to base our thoughts on for some time, hel even I fall into that trap at times.
It's yet another reason I'm so drawn to PFO, to have a chance to adventure, or to join battles where thought is required instead of just hitting auto-attack and the assist keys.
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Goblin Squad Member
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@Tuoweit,
Again you are basing this on current MMO combat mechanics...and current PvE mechanics which emphasize that everything must be "soloable" by every class... so neither what the classes do...nor the creatures they face can have much differentiation at all. PFO does not need to be that type of game.
Yes, you are correct, but I haven't seen anything yet to lead me to believe otherwise yet. It could be that all those things you suggest regarding true functional differentiation of character archetypes rather than just special effects will come to pass, and I will rejoice in it with you.
My original post on speed, though, really was aimed at racial movement modifiers, not so much encumbrance or class functions (which hadn't even been mentioned at that point in the thread).
I see what your saying, and it is realistic. However, MMO rules will not be as realistic. I do not think they plan to have an aiming reticle, and hit boxes will not matter so much for tab targetting. Combat will not work like PnP, and I doubt GW could clearly balance hit boxes vs. foot speed.What your seeing as a problem I see as a benefit. Due to their shorter stature, races like Gnomes and Dwarves may not be as fast as other races, but their shorter size makes them harder to hit hence the benefit to their size. :)If one race is slower on foot than another, there will be some problems. PvP balancing is very difficult, and making one race faster than another is difficult to overcome even with a stamina bar. Hit box sizes are also a problem, and many games just avoid that issue completely.
"Burst" is usually king in PvP, whether it is damage, or speed, or control. PvP balancing is a nightmare, I am sure. However, I am confident that GW can balance racial differences against PvP advantages.
Although I doubt we can avoid it, they haven't come out and said that tab targeting will be included in PFO. Even if it is, they can achieve the same effects by adjusting the "to hit" score to reflect the different sizes of the various races.
Grumpy's post, although meant for a different topic, applies here as well. The developers are breaking out of the theme park mindset, thank The Lord!
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Goblin Squad Member
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"I guarantee you that the only people who would not choose the race with the fastest movement rate would be complete noobs (who would learn fast and reroll) and die-hard RPers."
- Tuoweit
I'll take that challenge. I would happily take a movement hit to have a more realistic shorter character, but then, I'm one of those odd, die-hard RPers.
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Goblin Squad Member
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@Tuoweit,
Again you are basing this on current MMO combat mechanics...and current PvE mechanics which emphasize that everything must be "soloable" by every class... so neither what the classes do...nor the creatures they face can have much differentiation at all. PFO does not need to be that type of game.
Yes, you are correct, but I haven't seen anything yet to lead me to believe otherwise yet. It could be that all those things you suggest regarding true functional differentiation of character archetypes rather than just special effects will come to pass, and I will rejoice in it with you.
My original post on speed, though, really was aimed at racial movement modifiers, not so much encumbrance or class functions (which hadn't even been mentioned at that point in the thread).
Clearly there would have to be other racial advantages to balance that out, if they were doing it by race. They'd have to figure out what that could mean in PFO terms.
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Goblin Squad Member
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The problem is the Neutral PvP flag
stacking buff for increased encumberance and movement speed.
Say hello to my lil friend the classic DAOC Bard Gank squad of Albion...
Essentially Albion who originally was at a horrible disadvantage against the other factions discovered:
1. Speed rules
2. Speed rules
3. See rules 1 and 2
Basically the concept was small groups of Albion players would grab a bard he'd play his high speed group buff and they would run right into the middle of groups all attack the same poor bastard and run away at high speed. Then rinse and repeat. Sometimes there would be two or three groups of people doing this one after the other coming from different directions. It was fun then we improved on the concept with gank squads of 1 bard and everyone else a caster so we'd run in hit the entire group with fireball equivalent at point blank and then run away.
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Goblin Squad Member
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We sat down one weekend and designed the fastest character we could build by level 20 in 3.5 PnP. You know the sort of thing, combining running + human + light armor + monk feats + haste + expeditious retreat + boots of striding etc etc.
I forget the details but even when you crossed off things that did not stack we ended well over 100 ft per minute.
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Goblin Squad Member
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OK. If the combat is done correctly (and by that I mean, keep racials in, height issues in, terrain and weather issues in) I am good with that. If for some reason a Halfling or Gnome dons plate armor and goes into a swamp to fight someone or something, he/she should be in a large amount of trouble. If an leather wearing bowman is in an open battlefield being charged by a mounted knight (with barding on the mount), the bowman is in a large amount of trouble. If a human wearing plate mail is trying to scale a wall and when he gets to the top a group of enemies is standing there to greet him, he should be in a large amount of trouble.
Lesson: don't be dumb, stay out of large amounts of trouble.
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Goblin Squad Member
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My vote goes for including racial diversity, encumbrance rules and tactical terrain. I believe that the objective is to create a sandbox that is true to the spirit and feel of PnP PF. Racial differences, AoO, encumbrance etc are all a pretty big part of that. Take away the racial penalties and suddenly you cant add the racial characteristics without giving them an undue advantage.
Im excited by the thought of an MMO that requires tactics, planning and playing to strengths instead of just comparing gear stats and declaring a winner.
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Goblin Squad Member
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As said, if you take "a combat situation" out of the "general speed value" variables between eg races, then those variables can be quite interesting.
When I say combat situation, I really think movement should have it's own cat and mouse "dance" ie turning your back to disengage and if hit should be a massive crit?
Anyway, as to movement speed (locomotion), things like sprint, long-distance pace and encumbrance could all have a good difference added between races I think.
I also agree, larger character models eg Norn in GW2 run at the same speed as small Asura looks terrible and detracts from the living world immersion imo. Especially as a Norn stepping on an Asura should probably break some bones. Instead uniform run speed and uniform STR just makes the avatar graphical representation a skin. :(
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Goblin Squad Member
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We sat down one weekend and designed the fastest character we could build by level 20 in 3.5 PnP.
v3.5 had a number of things which would just flat out double movement speed or stack up to the point where you could get up to over 100 mph ('feet per round / 9', gives a pretty good estimate of miles per hour) and/or leap tall buildings in a single bound. Pathfinder has done a better job of capping most of the movement adjustments and making them enhancement bonuses so they don't stack.
Different movement speeds is going to make group travel interesting. Either the party will get split up over long distances or the faster characters will need to slow down to match pace.
As noted, it will also make the faster characters just inherently better at combat unless movement detracts from combat ability in some significant way.