An old idea that isn't mine that I just really like... and a weird, impractical idea for fun.
The old idea? Trash Mountain: http://www.glitchthegame.com/forum/ideas/368/
And the weird, impractical one: Flyover. You could embark in one of a few ports on some sort of aerial craft- a balloon, a pedal-powered autogyro, a ship with a blimp instead of sails pulled by blue-footed boobies- and set a destination or a set of waypoints. Then the fun but impractical part- you would fly over a globe-projected version of Ur, not so detailed that you can see how many barnacles there are, more like the map laid out over the topographical part of the map from a different angle. You'd have to be able to go slowly enough for it to be scenic, otherwise you might as well just teleport. You could maybe pull a banner or emit smoke in a message behind the craft, and as you pass over parts of the map, you could be visible on the streets you're passing. Maybe there could be a chat channel devoted to people communicating with whoever is in the craft. You could use the banner/skywriting/bird-flocks/whatever to advertise your shop, announce parties and contests, and tell people Happy Birthday. I realize that just letting anybody fly over anything with whatever they want trailing behind them might not be the best idea, so there might have to be a vetting process (a General Permit to the right office with the message and a 24-hour lead time?). I realize too that the task of drawing and animating the flyover process (basically the whole map from multiple angles near the surface) would be a gargantuan task... but it would look really cool.
And the weird, impractical one: Flyover. You could embark in one of a few ports on some sort of aerial craft- a balloon, a pedal-powered autogyro, a ship with a blimp instead of sails pulled by blue-footed boobies- and set a destination or a set of waypoints. Then the fun but impractical part- you would fly over a globe-projected version of Ur, not so detailed that you can see how many barnacles there are, more like the map laid out over the topographical part of the map from a different angle. You'd have to be able to go slowly enough for it to be scenic, otherwise you might as well just teleport. You could maybe pull a banner or emit smoke in a message behind the craft, and as you pass over parts of the map, you could be visible on the streets you're passing. Maybe there could be a chat channel devoted to people communicating with whoever is in the craft. You could use the banner/skywriting/bird-flocks/whatever to advertise your shop, announce parties and contests, and tell people Happy Birthday. I realize that just letting anybody fly over anything with whatever they want trailing behind them might not be the best idea, so there might have to be a vetting process (a General Permit to the right office with the message and a 24-hour lead time?). I realize too that the task of drawing and animating the flyover process (basically the whole map from multiple angles near the surface) would be a gargantuan task... but it would look really cool.
Comments
Imagine seeing a Rook attack from afar or above! Maybe you could drop potion/bombs on it!
I figure you could probably cut down on the sheer amount of animation for the actual flyover by having preassigned routes (same angles of approach every time)... that's probably not as fun as just plotting your own course and seeing whatever you see. It'd be a cool way to highlight the artwork, though.
Basically, the Train of Thought is a magical mental flying train that makes no stops. Ever. It's technically a "region," meaning that each of its cars is a single street, perhaps with resources, but it's accessible only via its corresponding ticket. (Think in the same set as the minigame tickets and the Get Out of Hell Free Card. That's how you get it!)
When you use the ticket, you're whisked away to the Train of Thought. There's no real limit on how long you can stay up here, and unlike most ticket locations, it's not sharded; if other Glitchen are there, you'll see them.
But the Train of Thought makes no stops. There's only one way to get off; you have to jump. (Or teleport I guess, but why would you pass up jumping off a train? Okay, don't answer that question.) As the Train of Thought flies through the metapsychophysical mentologies of Ur, the background will undergo changes as it enters different areas. In usual cases, you'll see the Mental Space style, but in others, you'll see skies of different regions with the ground looking rather small below. If you see a region you'd like to explore, then it's time to jump! (If you jump off in the Mental Space, you get sent somewhere random. You'd think you'd land in the Vortex of Random, but the airspace in the Vortex of Random is random, silly! That's why the Seams run through it!)
Glitch is a 2D game, however, so it's hard to make any good places to jump off. To alleviate this, I suggest that every "car" has a ladder at both sides of it that you can climb down to reach an open platform for easy descent. It should be sufficiently lowered under the car's platform, because it's more fun to jump off than to walk off. (This is basic scientific theory, and is strongly supported as fact by the scientific studies of great Glitchen minds such as Percival G. Vanderbelt and Grimilda Tootherton.)
Finally, what happens when you jump off the Train of Thought? You're very high up, you know. It's gonna take awhile to get down.
Simple: It's time for a falling minigame. Move left! Move right! Grab quoins! Pass through hoops! Perhaps the minigame even takes on different styles depending on the type of region you're falling into!
(Suggested Street/Car Names: Loco Motif, Chugga Durugga, Dingum Boon, Biddlesbooth)