I'd say the valid reason is called mood. Those stupid speedier than light walking speed used in modern games have a good reason, a poor exploration scheme and design so better hurry through the boring crap.

But some games put effort to design their exploration and make it interesting, in this case, walk like Flash is weird and pointless. Ha well young players aren't used anymore to know what is a good exploration.

EDIT: Avernum series the last Avernums, here is an awfully fast walking speed, I'm sure the author followed wishes of young kids, for me the result is a large destruction of the exploration mood.

I have to agree with the dismissal of the walking speed as an issue. Really, what's the problem? Are you in that much of a rush during your gaming sessions? I almost never had to walk for more than a two or three minutes in Book I before there was something new to do/fight/explore. If you must run, run, run and have the action be near constant, the E:B games probably aren't for you. Stick to Titan Quest and the like.

Well, for me boredom is an important issue. It's not like Eschalon's locations are full of nifty details which make you about every trek through the woods with the excitement of upcoming adventure. Sometimes you just have to walk, and walk, and walk to a location which is not on the quick travel list. You just keep listening to your footsteps for a few minutes. (At least respawning is minimal.) It made me even fondly recall Anarchy Online's (the only MMORPG I played) autowalk feature. Sadly, it wouldn't work here, with the twisted passages and all.

I'm still satisfied with the game (bought it this morning); I like that it can really be demanding in the hardcore mode, forcing some tough decisions regarding your character build-up and behaviour. Exploration of the unforgiving wilderness at night in a storm is fantastic :D Even if it turns out that the only interesting thing in the location was a chest with hemp gloves behind a tree.

Also, the feats and combat stances make fighting a bit more developed. A step in the right direction.

You fanboys are really hilarious. No one said anything about "walking like Flash" or "action being constant". There's simply no point in your character being so damn slow. When you're going through areas where've you already explored almost everything or run around a town like Kuudad and run from shop to shop trying to sell off the stuff you're carrying then the game gets really tiresome. And quit pretending that the game has interesting places to explore around every corner. Killing a couple of enemies and finding a chest with some random loot isn't exactly a fascinating find. There's certainly some interesting stuff here and there but you make it sound like interesting quests and locations are in abundance. This isn't the case.

The sole reason for which I want the walking speed increased is so that exploring is less of a chore. Cause that's what I like doing in games. Exploring. I don't want more constant combat. If you ask me, Eschalon games have to much combat as it is.

I acctually complained about the walking speed in book I, but I don't have any problem with it in book II since it is faster.

However it would be cool to add running and stamina, maybe in book III ?

As much as I hate being in agreement with someone called Butthurt I do think you guys are being a bit harsh on the guy :) I really enjoyed EB1, and are looking forward to playing EB2 as soon as I get the time, but I also found the walking speed to be fairly slow. I think it's a valid point to criticise, turn-based gameplay or not. In EB1 there was a quest where you had to take something heavy (an anvil?) from one town to another - that *was* fairly boring because of the slow walking speed!

I still love his games - but it doesn't mean that they are flawless…

It's that in ALL games running is the NORMAL kind of movement !

Shall I call it cynicall an "industry standard" ? ;)

That's where you're wrong. It's called "pacing" and "atmosphere". Game design requires a careful balance between pure mechanics (e.g. walking speed) and aesthetics. If the only driving factor is "I must never be bored or asked to walk through any area that doesn't reward me every few minutes with something new and exciting", than developers would only need to be concerned with providing a hot key for "take me to the closest new thing/action now".

I'm not claiming that EB's pacing is perfect for everyone. Different strokes for different folks. My point is that it's not so bad as to be worth making a stink about, and it fits very well into the design approach EB takes to its pacing and atmosphere. Whether EB's pacing and atmosphere choices fit your gaming preferences is another matter.

Status of version 1.04, and the future…
http://basiliskgames.com/forums/view…hp?f=12&t=3818