Magical non-magic

I see the devs putting much effort into aspects of realism. For example, the delay to show when one has been pick-pocketed so players do not necessarily know it has happened 'like in real life'. And the breaking of potion flasks after being drank to explain why the flask disappears. Experience is spent on skills and the skill improves even if the task for the skill fails (learn from mistakes). Bandits have a chest of loot they are guarding (they are not meaninglessly meandering around with the sole purpose of accidentally ambushing outlanders). And the world itself is visually fantastic; looking very much like the earth I live on, not like a land of fairies and unicorns. Of course their are fantasy creatures, but Dragons, for example, nest in giant bones and perch on mesas instead of clouds and floating castles made of pixie dust.

So when I want to sprint, I hear my avatar quickly do breathing exercises and see jogger's warm-ups, stretches or jogging in place, something like that; like runner do before they run. Hold on, s/he doesn't! I hear a magical *shwoosh* and see a straining gesture of magical concentration then swirls of pixie dust are conjured out of thin air. I'm sprinting not casting. The sprint skill is not in the magical tree, so why does it look and sound magical. Why do _any_ of the skills outside the magic trees look and sound like magic?

I was waiting for "polish" to start improving this issue but it is actually getting worse with each release. Gosh, before I could click on a boat to (apparently) sail to a new place. Now when I click a boat, I magically dematerialize and then rematerialize. Why even have the boat if transport is magical? Have a magic portal instead, or let my avatar climb into the boat, please.

Please apply some realism to non-magical events, or at least remove the magic from them.

 

Good point. I'd love to see the "casting" animations for physical skills look more like physical exertion.