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+title: Why walk when you can ride?
+date: 2021-11-13
+author: Wolfgang Müller
+
+Do you ever find yourself in the middle of nowhere, in the northern Ashlands of
+Vvardenfell, and suddenly think: "Damn, what's my fastest way to Tel Branora
+from here?  I *still* have to deliver Mistress Therana's skirt!"
+
+<figure>
+	<img class="round" width="90%" src="img/morrowind-ashlands.jpg"
+	alt="A screenshot of Morrowind in the dark and dusty Ashlands, with two Netch in the vicinity."/>
+	<figcaption>Somewhere in the Ashlands of Vvardenfell.</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+Depending on the character you play, the answer to this question can vary
+wildly. For one you could try to reach Khuul and rely on regular fast travel
+services like the Silt Strider and the Guild Guide, but maybe you're playing a
+particularly stuck-up Telvanni and would like to avoid interacting with the
+Imperial rats of the Mages Guild.  Valenvaryon or Falasmaryon is close, and
+you have picked up all Propylon indices already, so that is a very good
+alternative. Or maybe you're feeling the need for some fresh sea air and would
+like to sail all around Vvardenfell.
+
+Morrowind's fast travel system is extensive and complex, so figuring out the
+fastest routes from any one location to another is not an easy task. Even worse,
+some of the best travel options (the intervention spells that teleport you to
+the next Temple or Imperial Shrine) are hard to know when to use optimally.
+
+<figure>
+	<img class="round" width="90%" src="img/morrowind-routes.png"
+	alt="A map of all travel routes on Vvardenfell"/>
+	<figcaption>A map of all travel routes on Vvardenfell, courtesy of the
+	<a href="https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:Transport">UESP</a>.
+	</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+Morrowind veterans probably have a very good idea of the intricacies of
+Vvardenfell's travel routes and can figure out the above problem in seconds, but
+maybe you've just started the game and feel a bit overwhelmed, or you just
+installed [Tamriel Rebuilt](https://www.tamriel-rebuilt.org/) and have to
+suddenly juggle a multitude of new routes.
+
+The latter is true for me, so I ended up writing **ywalk**, a command-line tool
+that figures out the fastest route between a set of places in Morrowind. It can
+consider certain limitations (Telvanni disdain for the Mages Guild perhaps, or
+having to escorting yet another lost pilgrim[^1] who can't teleport) and give
+you an optimized route.
+
+Connections between places are parsed from a simple text file with tab-separated
+values. A connection definition is simply the origin, the destination, the mode
+of travel, and how long the journey takes in in-game hours:
+
+```
+Origin     	 Destination 	 Mode         	 Time
+Seyda Neen 	 Balmora     	 Silt Strider 	 3
+Vivec      	 Hla Oad     	 Boat         	 5
+Balmora    	 Seyda Neen  	 Silt Strider 	 3
+Balmora    	 Vivec       	 Guild Guide  	 0
+```
+
+Since a very small number of routes are one-way only[^2], I decided to keep
+things simple and require every route to be specified explicitly. As you can see
+above, the route between Seyda Neen and Balmora is specified twice, once for
+each direction.
+
+To collect these routes, I used the indispensable [Unofficial Elder Scrolls
+Pages](https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Main_Page) and my own copy of the game running
+on [OpenMW](https://openmw.org). I made each catalogued journey myself at least
+once, just to be sure.
+
+**ywalk** ships with definitions for the entire fast-travel network for
+the Game of the Year version of Morrowind (meaning the *Master Index* plugin is
+enabled by default). For Tamriel Rebuilt it includes definitions that are active
+with *TR_Travels*. For now, only places with fast-travel options are considered.
+An exception to this rule are available player homes in Vvardenfell, for use
+with the Recall option. If you are curious, check out
+[goty.tsv](https://git.oriole.systems/ywalk/tree/data/goty.tsv) and
+[tr-travels.tsv](https://git.oriole.systems/ywalk/tree/data/tr-travels.tsv).
+
+## Installation
+
+**ywalk** is written in Python and is supposed to be installed per user. The
+data files and manual need to be installed separately because Python packaging
+is a nightmare. For a full install as a user, get the sources from the
+[git repository](https://git.oriole.systems/ywalk) and run the following
+commands:
+
+```
+$ python setup.py install --user
+$ make install
+```
+
+This will install **ywalk** to `~/.local/bin`, the data files to their canonical
+path `~/.local/share/ywalk`, and the manual to `~/.local/share/man/`.
+
+## Usage
+
+**ywalk** offers a simple command-line interface. Invoke it with the list of
+places you want to travel through or to, and it will print a route if it can. By
+default it allows all modes of travel, but you can allow only specific modes
+with `-m`, or restrict them with `-M`. For detailed usage information, see
+[the manual](https://git.oriole.systems/ywalk/about/ywalk.1).
+
+
+<figure>
+	<img class="round" width="90%" src="img/morrowind-khuul.jpg"
+	alt="A screenshot of Morrowind in the port of Khuul."/>
+	<figcaption>Can't wait to get out of this place.</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+Let's see it in action! Consider a regular character that has no problem with
+land-based transport and can use the Mages Guild relays, but has no way of
+invoking Almsivi or Divine Intervention and never even heard of a Propylon
+chamber. In that case, we'd head over to Khuul and then start our journey:
+
+```
+$ ywalk -M almsivi,divine,propylon Khuul 'Tel Branora'
+Start in Khuul
+ then take the Silt Strider to Ald'ruhn (5 hours)
+ then take the Guild Guide to Vivec
+ then take the Boat to Tel Branora (5 hours)
+Arrive in Tel Branora after 10 hours.
+```
+
+<figure>
+	<img class="round" width="90%" src="img/morrowind-propylon.jpg"
+	alt="A screenshot of Morrowind in Falasmaryon's Propylon chamber."/>
+	<figcaption>The homely hum of crystals.</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+Now for the stuck-up Telvanni that raided every single Dunmer stronghold and
+completed their Propylon Index collection. We start in Falasmaryon in that case
+and avoid Mages Guild relays like the Corprus disease:
+
+```
+$ ywalk -M guide Falasmaryon 'Tel Branora'
+Start in Falasmaryon
+ then travel by Propylon to Caldera
+ then travel by Propylon to Telasero
+ then invoke Almsivi Intervention to Molag Mar
+ then take the Boat to Tel Branora (2 hours)
+Arrive in Tel Branora after 2 hours.
+```
+
+<figure>
+	<img class="round" width="90%" src="img/morrowind-swamp.jpg"
+	alt="A screenshot of Morrowind in the eastern swamp."/>
+	<figcaption>On the way to Hla Oad.</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+And finally for our sailor, again from Khuul:
+
+```
+$ ywalk -m boat Khuul 'Tel Branora'
+Start in Khuul
+ then take the Boat to Gnaar Mok (7 hours)
+ then take the Boat to Hla Oad (4 hours)
+ then take the Boat to Vivec (5 hours)
+ then take the Boat to Tel Branora (5 hours)
+Arrive in Tel Branora after 21 hours.
+```
+
+<figure>
+	<img class="round" width="90%" src="img/morrowind-mora.jpg"
+	alt="A screenshot of Morrowind in the port of Sadrith Mora."/>
+	<figcaption>Arriving in Sadrith Mora.</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+Let's say our character absolutely hates the swamp. We can make sure to avoid
+Gnaar Mok with `-P`. This will lead to a journey around the eastern parts of
+Vvardenfell:
+
+```
+$ ywalk -m boat -P 'Gnaar Mok' Khuul 'Tel Branora'
+Start in Khuul
+ then take the Boat to Dagon Fel (8 hours)
+ then take the Boat to Sadrith Mora (10 hours)
+ then take the Boat to Tel Branora (8 hours)
+Arrive in Tel Branora after 26 hours.
+```
+
+By default, **ywalk** optimizes for least travel time. It recommends using
+teleportation over regular Silt Strider or boat services even though using the
+latter would usually decrease the number of hops needed. If you're interested
+instead in a route with the least number of hops, you can change the weighting
+method for the path-finding algorithm with `-w`.
+
+<figure>
+	<img class="round" width="90%" src="img/morrowind-branora.jpg"
+	alt="A screenshot of Morrowind looking at Tel Branora."/>
+	<figcaption>Our destination, with a slight hint of rotting Kwama Eggs.</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+I hope you'll have fun trying this out. Feel free to send any improvements
+along!
+
+[^1]: Always better than a naked Nord, though. They probably all deserve it.
+[^2]: Vos to Sadrith Mora, for example. Curiously, Tamriel Rebuilt removes this
+  connection entirely.