On maps and mapping

[fartbarter]

The existing in-game mapping system is a really cool concept, but minimap stitching is so much more efficient for large maps, or maps meant to be shared that pretty much anyone* will use it for long exploratory journeys. That said, in the interests of making in-game cartography more competitive, please consider the following:

Do away with the in-game map items

Have cartography be a state like combat, during which every nth minimap drains another parchment and 0.m litres of ink. Build the actual resized (25%, 33% of original?) map server-side and whenever cartography is interrupted or the player runs out of ink just link the latest section as a PNG, and delete it after a few hours. Keep material drain s.t. 2-3 jars of ink and the rest of a backpack inventory full of paper will be enough to map like ~0.5 square SGs or something

Make the cartography state get interrupted by combat (no turning it on as just bonus LP for hunting / make hunting and mapping more distinct than they are now) or interacting with an object (allow prospecting / digging only?) and keep the LP low

Basically just putting the stuff those clients/scripts that spit out a map per session do serverside to avoid some effort and empty patches from lag, and let you map on a per leg-of-your-journey rather than per session basis

Thoughts????

*whose heard of minimap stitching and isn't just being a purist

[sabinati]

i really think some kind of automapping should be implemented. anywhere you go should update your personal knowledge of that area. much like a fog-of-war concept, you would only see the current version of the place where you are and a small radius around it, everything else would be the version you saw last. you should still be able to make maps, of course, but they would be to trade to people in-game to update their own personal knowledge of the world. the exploration skill should play some role.

it would probably be an implementation and operation nightmare, at least with the current system of map data...

[Potjeh]

I like it. One big problem with in-game maps is that they take a long time to display when there's any lag. If maps were cached client-side, it'd be perfect.

[mvgulik]

??? I might just be me. But I completely do not get what it is that is suggested here. And what the problem is that it is suppose to be addressing.

[fartbarter]

??? I might just be me. But I completely do not get what it is that is suggested here. And what the problem is that it is suppose to be addressing.

...thanks for your input

The 'problem' (it isnt really a problem) is that making maps by piecing together in photoshop the actual minimap files the server sends you instead of using the in-game cartography system is waaaay better in that you get a map that you can -freely email/link around -see perfect detail on -never lose or forget -edit to include landmarks, directions, routes, names -change and update. Without having to sit around in game or use items, not that the stuff for mapping is any trouble to get en masse.

An in-game synthesis of the two that just accepts the superiority of out of game, image file maps but forces players to use in-game systems and stuff to get them (also making it more accessible - anyone can get cartography, far fewer players A) use download clients B) know about minimap stitching and C) don't mind spending the time it takes in photoshop) would prolly be the best

[lordgoof]

??? I might just be me. But I completely do not get what it is that is suggested here. And what the problem is that it is suppose to be addressing.

Let em expound

The issue (or the problem as you put it):

The existing in-game mapping system is a really cool concept, but minimap stitching is so much more efficient for large maps, or maps meant to be shared that pretty much anyone* will use it for long exploratory journeys. That said, in the interests of making in-game cartography more competitive, please consider the following:

in other words the ingame mapping system is a good idea but is a bit of a failure


The solution (suggestion to fix said issue):

Do away with the in-game map items

Have cartography be a state like combat, during which every nth minimap drains another parchment and 0.m litres of ink. Build the actual resized (25%, 33% of original?) map server-side and whenever cartography is interrupted or the player runs out of ink just link the latest section as a PNG, and delete it after a few hours. Keep material drain s.t. 2-3 jars of ink and the rest of a backpack inventory full of paper will be enough to map like ~0.5 square SGs or something

Make the cartography state get interrupted by combat (no turning it on as just bonus LP for hunting / make hunting and mapping more distinct than they are now) or interacting with an object (allow prospecting / digging only?) and keep the LP low

Basically just putting the stuff those clients/scripts that spit out a map per session do serverside to avoid some effort and empty patches from lag, and let you map on a per leg-of-your-journey rather than per session basis

his sentence structure in that last paragraph is a bit ambiguous but other than that it seems pretty straight forward to me.

[mvgulik]

Thanks.
I have a clearer picture of the suggested idea now.

[brohammed]

Mapping should be difficult and fiddly, or every jimbobjunior and his alt will have maps. I like the current system.

[sabinati]

maybe you missed the part about the client that automaps. already. people are using it right now.