Game Map.

Hi
Just watched the demo of the game with Richard detailing some of the mechanics within the game. I liked what I saw even for a Alpha build the game is looking very nice.

One thing that I want to ask though is if its possible to travel to other locations without using the zoom out feature in the world map. Do you have to zoom out to leave zones and enter a kind of Final Fantasy world map mechanic?

 

They wanted to break the connection between hexes so yes you have to go to world map to go instance to instance

 

I hope that is not the case. Didn't someone say that SotA will feel like a seamless world? or could it be just my imagination.

 

My understanding was, that you can walk between the instances without zoooming out. Only in the background will be changes like the people you will see and so on.

 

RG said in the High Def vid that the hexes are about a kilometer in size so they are pretty massive, not just a few screens deep. More like a zone

 

You mean a kind of Ultima world map mechanic, right?

 

I believe that we need to zoom out before we can enter another hex. And I had the impression that there were fixed points where we would enter/exit a hex. They were cheating a bit with the RTX demo, in the interests of saving time.

 

They did this because it made it easy to have interesting things happen in each hex. For instance, a rare encounter in the hex could only show up 1 in 100 times. Also, it allows them to make changes to the overall world with ease, not so much with a seamless one large world.

Although it takes away from a seamless one view world the benefits are there.

 

Also I would say it should reduce processor load which is good if you get someone with an older machine who happens to end up hosting your instance

 

I know at one point it was said in a dev chat that they didn't like zones but how that will translate into game play has yet to be seen. It would be nice to not have to zoom out once you hit the border of a hex but I can see where it would make programming encounters harder.

 

What happens if you are in a low-level (detail) hex, and walk up to a boundary -- and there are other players in the next hex over? Do you both share a common instance? Or do you not see each other?

Or will all Mobs be in the center, and not at the boundaries, of each hex?