Treasure Hunting Revisited for the New Year

Happy New Year everyone. As we start a new year I start a topic for those who love treasure hunting or what they think treasure hunting should be.

In my opinion this long awaited and be-loved feature was a wonderful addition to the game.

Now to just make sure it is a wonderful addition to the game I feel it deserves our feedback . I say this because imo as it stands now it is missing features. For those who know about it or hear about it I imagine they are anxious to check it out as I was, but then the experience was frustrating for me in many ways.

Some players may last longer in trying the system but others will find it overwhelmingly difficult to figure it out. One of those reasons being finding the location is difficult and nearly impossible due to the one vague clue given on the map . Then there might be a let down from treasure contents.

Another reason I feel this system is not something that will keep our players interested once they have checked it out is due to the fact that to get these maps is mostly just a grind.

Grind for maps was something I was truly hoping would not happen and then when we do get a map to sell or use then you will need to in the end go to the forums to find out where to find the location your map is in.

This is not something all the player base will want to utilize or even know to utilize.

Plus the system is scene after scene to try to find a needle in a haystack type of system just to end up giving up or going outside the game to find the area.

Now that the system is in and it does have great possibilities to be an interesting system that will be fun for all and not just for a one time try.

Here are some suggestions I heard from a friend's recently and a couple of my own thoughts:

-Randomize the map locations


-Add message in a bottle to fishing that can contain maps or clues

-Clicking on the map will highlight an area on the over world map for a 2 or 3 locations to inspect

-As you get closer to the location of where to dig you might see a comment that gives comments like it seems to be northeast of here, or when digging it might say a comment to lead you in a different direction and more comments hopefully perhaps you're getting warmer or colder to the digging location.

-Improve contents of chest. Perhaps we find a legendary map, unique recipes only gotten from treasure hunting, treasure hunting certificate, special shovel that gives luck or a shovel recipe, special glasses to improve finding treasure, and unique paintings etc.

Please give your thoughts to help treasure hunting to improve in the game. Are there ways to make it more fun and usable for our player base?

I am happy with so many aspects of the design. Such as the look of the maps themselves, the fact we need to talk to someone regarding maps and to get the first shovel and more.

Edited again

 

Well I have done all the maps. Found them and dug them up. There are quite a few unique items in the chests.
As far as finding maps this was intended a bit that it gets folks to go into zones they would not normally go into. By leaving the hunt for the actual map its gets the players out into the world.
Setting specific mobs to drop maps is good because it gets the players...new and old out to fun them down. Now as far as decoding maps that you find ....yes...the clues could do with some work.
A bit more specific to where to find them. But this again gets folks out there again and going into zones they never have or never would of thought to go to.
The only issue i have is the Blood stained maps being in pvp zones. There are folks who WILL NOT go into those zones. One or two would be ok but not a whole slew of them
As for maps in bottles to be found when fishing that is on the road map for more maps coming in soon The issue about talking to the Treasure Hunter npc in Port Harmony is alot of folks do
not have E2 access yet. But with having the dig emote teachable and other areas you can get the Exploration shovel illiminates the non access for folks who do not have E2.
And from all the chatter in game and such the only complaint that i have mainly heard from anyone is the maps are no longer dropping as much as they were. Must be the RNG being stingy for drops
I love this feature and i will not give up on it. I had a blast doing them and helping folks. Yes there is a cheat link for it. But that can be said about any aspect of the game. There are links all over the place that give out spoilers. If you dont want them dont read them. Simple.
Its never going to be like maps in UO. Dont beat that dead horse. This is not UO. I used to make a living in UO doing tmaps.
So hope you continue to give the tmaps a try and take it as it is. And hopefully from the feedback i have seen and heard there will be more to come.

 

There are four new recipes, at least five decorative objects, one relic and one tamed pet that are only obtainable in game by doing these treasure maps or buying them from someone who did. This is in addition to often finding gold or ore mixed in with the filler loot in the treasure chests. Considering that both the maps and treasures so far are in low level maps I think the devs did a great job with treasure chest loot.

I have done all of the decrepit maps myself given the bloodstained ones to Dartan who has found each of those at least once. I have watched multiple twitch streamers search for these treasures and I really like that they captured the feel of what a real treasure hunt would be like. I like that you can challenge yourself to find the treasure without revealing the clue, and that some clues are more helpful than others. I could see it being nice to have a second stronger clue revealed in some other manner, but I think the ones we were given were useful for players that spent time exploring and doing quests in low level zones (or for people inspired to explore them now by the maps!) And for those that don't have the patience or the desire to explore a large number of zones checking rinaldi's forum thread or asking for help in universal chat was always going to be an option. I found it interesting to see how a map that is easy for one person was difficult for another (who in turn may have found a different map easier than that first person).

I agree we should be able to fish up some maps and I believe that is already being worked on for the future. I am also really looking forward to maps and treasures being added to higher level zones since I don't spend a lot of time in the zones that currently drop maps. I believe adding the low level ones first was a great way to inspire us to spend time in those low level zones for a while though.

 

Thank you for your replies. Its very nice to hear perspectives from players who have spent a lot of time on the treasure hunting system. In fact @Rinaldi is a friend who gave some feedback. Hopefully he will give more. I am not asking for UO treasure hunting but for our very own system that gives a lot of rhyme and reason to it and enjoyment for all. As it stands now I still believe it needs improvement. Here are a couple of videos to get ideas from.

 

I like treasure maps and look foreword to further development of the treasure map system.

I had a few ideas that I'll throw out there...not sure if they are do-able, but here they are:

1. Broaden the circumstances in which a treasure map drops - one of the nice things about SOTA is that players can spend their time in-game doing what they enjoy: killing stuff, gathering, harvesting, fishing, farming, etc. I think it would be nice if treasure maps could drop during most (or all) of these activities. If this was the case, then regardless of what you enjoy doing in-game, a treasure map can drop for you. For example:
   • Fishing - catch a "message in a bottle" that contains a treasure map (already mentioned above).
   • Salvaging NPC items - have a small chance to drop a treasure map when you salvage a ceramic container (pitcher, vase, etc), a painting (e.g. lakeside sunrise), clothing (e.g. ragged leather leggings), etc.
   • Opening NPC containers - despite always looking in the dressers, desks, and cabinets in NPC dwellings, I have never found anything interesting. It would be nice to have a rare chance of seeing a treasure map when i open a drawer or cabinet.
   • Gathering (foraging, mining, lumberjacking, farming, skinning) - Although it may seem odd that treasure maps would drop during these activities...I guess if COTOs can drop with these activities, then perhaps treasure maps can drop too?
2. Have some treasure hidden in caves, underground zones, on ships, etc. Maybe also have some hidden treasure on the Jack of Diamonds and Manor of Mystery (which will provide a reason to visit these zones).
3. Have more variety in how the "hidden messages" maps are revealed. And maybe on some maps, the "X" is not visible until it is revealed. For example, maybe choas pollen could be used to reveal the message on PVP treasure maps (since chaos pollen is found mainly in pvp zones). Maybe some maps require vinegar to reveal the X. Maybe some hidden messages can be read only when a special monocle or spectacles are equipped (so you have to get the map and the eye piece to decode the map).
4. Randomize some treasure locations...going back to the same locations over and over is a bit boring.
5. Link the # of treasure hunts completed to titles. For example:
   • 10 completed = Amateur treasure hunter
   • 25 completed = Novice treasure hunter
   • 50 completed = Advanced treasure hunter
   • 75 completed = Master treasure hunter
   • 100 completed = Legendary Treasure Hunter
   • 125 completed = Epic Treasure Hunter

I know that much of this is wishful thinking...but I might as well wish big

 

Have some that are only revealed under the light of a certain moon

 

Done a fair few maps and thought I had got all the rewards, what is the tamed pet?

 

Tameable pet....one map spawns a specific critter you can tame. Not gonna spoil it any further. LOL

 

I totally love and agree with your ideas. And YOU know me. I would love to see things go further for treasure hunting as well. There was some discussion the other day about even putting some maps in areas with Dragons. Get a map for that zone or maybe another zone that leads to a Dragon horde. That would be epic. There are many things that can be done. Just not sure if the 'team' has the time or the man power to work on it all.

 

Also another idea to add that you can get maps from quests from talking to NPCs. For example of a mysterious scenario might be something like the lost treasure of kara tiki with an interesting story to it.