In game compass?

[Lorune]

Why even call it a skill if your the one drawing the map.
Heck just provide a sketch pad and forget a mapping skill at that point. ?(

I think you could sufficiently limit an auto-mapping skill by range, detail and time penalty, to make it work without ruining game play.
Yet, it would still be a useful enough skill to players to warrent it\'s use.

I could take or leave copying of maps.
But it seems that a the ability to copy maps is some thing a real map maker would do.
So it seems silly to leave it out.
Once again Detail and Time would be a factor in the copying process.

[explorer]

That sounds kinda ok. As you level with your paint skills, you\'d get more icons (dragon, RR, water etc), and the ability to copy maps...

[kyp14]

I vote for skill+experience+\'Seal\'s

I voting for this one

[dimaq]

I think a proper item for this would be a quadrant (a.k.a. atrolabe)

it would only work on the \"surface\", and would only show elevation angle (a.k.a. declination) of the Big Shining Crystal (that according to the Legend is what we have instead of the sun in alywhateveryoucalltheworldinplaneshift). It would not help with asymuth at all.

it would be sufficiently medieval

it would not require magic, as in it would have a sensible explanation behind it\'s functionality.

a reasonably correct map could be a separate item, which shows the city divided in concentric circles - corresponding to certain step in the elevation angle.


so, in the end all you get is which of the concentric bands you\'re in, when it\'s day and you\'re on the surface - helps reasonably, but not too much - doesn\'t remove exploring fun bit.



Sometime later in the game one might be able to train a dog (or a pig or a dragon or whatever-magical-animal) to guide the player to known locations. It would work like this: you get yourself to some place and tell your \"dog\" how you call it, you do so for some number of places - there could be an artificial limit, then when you are somewhere the dog knows you can \"ask\" it to guide you to another known place.

It would be helpful because you don\'t need to stare at the screen while you\'re being walked to a location you\'ve been to hundred times already, and it would look natural too :)

[explorer]

I like that idea better than maps, an animal that you teach to go a certain way, then that animal would go that way, everytime asked to.

[Jalix Amundus]

How about if we just do it like normal people and do an automap system like morrowind...

[hook]

Originally posted by Jalix Amundus
How about if we just do it like normal people and do an automap system like morrowind...

i dunno ...i don\'t like that auto-map sissy stuff

[Dolch]

I am not for auto-mappiong either but.....


********** An arguement for automapping************

If it is decided to implement it, one method of difficulty would be to only have it list what is in a certain area / dungeon.


 IE, if I find the BIG GLOWING GREEN SWORD OF SNAKE VENOM in a cave in the right hand passage four junctions on the left and two levels down, why not just have a map goto the dungeon door and say, inside lies death on wings and a sword of green light.


It would be general enough to spark the interest of people, yet vague enough not to tell exactly where or what is in there.

**********An arguement against automapping***********

ONE thing to remember though is that in ANY game system, OR EVEN REAL LIFE, cartographers were the explorers who went out and made the maps.  When they came back to their respective countries, they were either ordered to give their maps to the reigning king, or they kept a tight lid on their maps jealously guarding their masterpieces.  If I were one of these said cartographers, I would never let my work out of my sight, not even a copy of it.  This would make my services as a guide more valuable, and my maps more respected.


Just my two rubies...


Dolch

[Thynett]

I think discussing about this creating map is useless.

First, although it is written on http://www.planeshift.it (I can\'t find the page...) that we mustn\'t create a site where quests and so are listed, but do you really believe that everyone will respect this ? I don\'t. And even though the idea of creating your own maps seems fun, it will be a waste of time once you know you can have a detailed maps on another site, just by printing it. I don\'t wanna look pessimistic, just realistic : this happened il all other RPGs, it will happen in Planeshift.

Second, this skill would allow anyone to create personnal maps, which means there would be THOUSANDS of maps spreading everywhere. And reasonably we cannot but think the server will suffer from this.

Third, the advantages of such a mapping wouldn\'t be cost effective enough : detailed maps would rapidly spread and would become readily available at a low price.

Forth, making maps would be VERY long : can you realise how huge a whole world is ? Only hardcore gamers could REALY use this ability. And guess what ? Those hardcore gamers are already the ones who create sites listing quests and with printable maps...



Let\'s sum all this up :
- A sloooooow skill, that would only be useful to big players who already did mapping without this new tool (which is useless for them)
- A VERY complicated thing to program...


The conclusion comes naturally : although it looks fun, this creating map skill must reasonably not be put in.


Then the only reasonable solution is :
- a basic region mini map with main paths, lakes, forests and towns (but no details, and your location not shown)
- buyable compasses, more or less accurate (why not 2 kinds of compasses : ont that indicates north, and one that indicates the direction of the crystal)

[kariloy]

Originally posted by Gronomist
How about only having a compass, and then you draw your own maps ?

I completly agree with that, I also read another thread about a compass and I just think a simple horizontal one will be enough! It would be an item we could buy, and once in our inventory we could toggle on/off the on-screen direction pointer! There\'s no need to think about magnetic or such, this is fantasy we just have to choose a arbitrary point as being the north and an easy story about why and how the compass works can be easily made up!
About maps i\'m not much into in-game maps, we should map the world in our head or write it down on paper in RL, i\'m always taking notes when I\'m playing RPGs

I know it has been a long time since the last post, but hey I\'m new here and I wanted to say something about this too!

[Cobrec]

Originally posted by Moraudin
A compass or some sort of map (I\'m thinking something like the automap feature from Doom) would be very handy.

Moraudin

Something similar would be extremely useful, especially because PS is growing rapidly, and unless one plays daily then it will be impossible to remember your way around.

I don\'t know about you guys but I have a busy life and I don\'t always find myself on to remember my way around....

[derwoodly]

Auto map???


The map is made on real life paper, not in game paper.    Then it is drawn as a graphic on you favorite drawing program and emailed to your guild.  I am sure guilds like the Arcane Order have already done this.

An in game compass would be nice, but the Devs might not want such a thing considering lore of the PS world.

[Rogerborg]

So, I guess this is the most recent thread about compasses that hasn\'t been locked by that editor with the black pussy.

I understand the \"game physics\" argument for not having a compass.  Fine. then don\'t have all the NPCs in town tell you that the tavern is to the \"West of the main road\".

Pick a consistent story on this, and stick with it, please, but don\'t deny players a tool that the scripters seems to assume that we have.  It gives a dreadful first impression.

[Karyuu]

Ahahah, hi :D

If you know where the main road is, and you know where the tavern is, figuring out where \"west\" is becomes a piece of cake. Is this really a bother for you? I think it adds a sense of immersion in the world.

[Bereror]

There is nothing wrong telling that something is in \"west\". Words like \"west\", \"east\", \"north\" and \"south\" existed way before the first compass was invented and people used different methods like sun and stars to figure out where they were. The same is valid in Yliakum and people have simply agreed where \"west\" is.