the general idea is not new - the pets should be usable for riding/transport
all the transport besides cars could copy what is historically present: riding the reindeers in taiga, using the sledge or riding them, horses in the steppes and mountains and camels in the desert.
pets should be region-dependent - reindeer's health starts dropping the faster the warmer is the region, and camel starts feeling bad in the snow. also, all pets should get weary after passing long distances, and will need long time to eat and rest - the heavier was their load the faster they run down and the longer time they need for recovery. pack animals are no match for the mechanical transportation on the long distances and for the heavy loads.
the principle of region-dependency is usable for other things too, not only for the transport. there could be some tools, clothes, weapons and even buildings (if they will be constructable)that require a little different skills in each region.
on top of that, there might be some special mobs with unique damage types in each region - to gain avoidances against this you have to live there, and hunt with the local community.
the result will be - you can't ride into a new region on your brand new shiny car and feel like a king there - the natives will be far better than you in the mountains, you can't even follow with the car where they can go riding their pets, and trying to chase them on foot will be just a waste of time..
the ASP's of the region-specific stuff should be extremely hard to get for the outsiders (rare drops) - you either buy the stuff from the locals, or you buy the ASP's from them, if you can become friends with them - or if you can afford to pay enough.. ;)
the plains and long roads belong to the cars, but cars can't pass upsurges, thick forests, rivers and swamps - these areas belong to the pets... will be much harder to code, but the result will be much more realistic than riding the mountains in the car at the full speed.
if you put it all together, the outlines of the new world will take shape..
you can no longer be an "uber-hunter-jack-of-all-trades" at once - you can only be the best hunter in one region. if you move over to another region, you have to start it all over again(well, not all of it, but still..)
if you choose the career of the ultimate adventurer/mercenary who feels at home everywhere he goes, you have to live in all regions, get to know all the local people, learn their trade, skill their tools and weapons and get to know the local wildlife and landscape.. all these secret paths and fords on the mountain rivers of this huge territory, hundreds of square miles..
imagine the "natives" (read: noobs of the local region) defending their turf against heavily armored and highly skilled societies who run the global transportation and secure the trade routes... on the plains the local tribes will be annihilated very fast, but the heavily armored vechicles of the global corporations can't follow the natives into the mountains, if they try that, the roles will be reversed, and even if the natives will lose the battle, they can always withdraw to the safety of their mountain villages and caves, disappearing on their pet-rides so fast that you can't catch them... the gangs of the "local bandits" on horses and camels riding the secret mountain paths, setting up ambushes in the remote mountain passes, causing a lot of headache for the caravans passing by... in the end of the day it could be cheaper for the Corporations to pay a small toll to the locals than hire mercenaries to defend against them..
as i see it - the regional transportation is the last missing piece for the developers vision of the future AW.
well, for now it's just an idea, for the future.. long live AfterWorld!
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* 1st published in the restricted section of the AW Tech Forum
