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Overland Map Changes

Discussion in 'Release 5 Feedback' started by Browncoat Jayson, Apr 23, 2014.

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  1. Bubonic

    Bubonic Avatar

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    This map is certainly not a spiritual successor to Ultima.
     
  2. mike11

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    Totally I agree, and this is a area that requires some hard line and truthful evaluation.

    Right now, I see the whole map system being improperly designed. I see it as viewed from behind rose-tinted glasses by the dev's. Sure they have prettied it up since R4 but that is quite irrelevant.

    Nobody seems to be thinking about why it even exists!

    Lots of people will say "OH! It looks so much better now." and "They just need to add more tweaks and polish!" and each time they do a tiny improvement there will be those that sing their praise but the truth is it will still suck because it is just a afterthought and a cheap means of giving the players a illusion of exploration.

    Richard does not seem to not be that critical about the whole overland system and appears intent on pushing it as a pimp pushes his services. Too wrapped up in getting the game done quickly and shipped - just exactly the kind of thing that EA would have done if they were publishing this game.
     
  3. rune_74

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    The map we have now is only a small part of the world(as far as I know.)

    There is no reason they have to use the same trees/mountains/cities etc in the final full versionof the map...it can be varied as well.

    Would love to see a bit of elevation areas in the map...wouldn't take much to do either.

    Your number 5 should be easy to do as well.
     
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  4. Mishri

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    They could have changed the 4 buildings = a city into more of an icon look. I'd be fine with the current indicators for towns, art style adjusted a bit to fit, put into the more realistic style map.

    or even this:

    [​IMG]


    The lack of functionality of the current map is my huge gripe, I wish they had focused on adding functionality to the old map instead of stripping everything down to barebones travel system. It's boring and there is nothing fun about the current map. We need chats, inventory, skills, all of our things we can do in a hex should be available in the overland map too.

    Leaving a Hex feels like- Your adventure stops now. Now look at this map and move your icon around, double click and- now your adventure resumes. Don't let the adventure stop. Keep the adventuring rolling in the overland map.
     
  5. Lord_Darkmoon

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    I would really like to know if there will be animals roaming around on the map and what they will look like (paper wolves and paper dragons?) and if there will still be gypsy wagons driving around and what they look like (paper wagons or symbols) and what about monsters roaming around (paper orcs or symbols)?
     
  6. docdoom77

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    ^ This. All of it.
     
  7. Sir Frank

    Sir Frank Master of the Mint

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    I don't think we agree on why the map exists.
    It's not a cheap means of giving the players an illusion of exploration.
    It's a tool to get you from one place to another.
    Also, it's a way to disconnect the underlying world so you can make changes without taking down the world.
    It's also a way to tie together all of the instances that make up the world.

    It seems to me it is not meant to be a zoomed out live view of the underlying world of instances.
    If you want to see what's in the swamp down the road, you have to enter the swamp. You can't explore it from above as you walk down a road.
     
  8. rune_74

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    Hmm they really could do some neat animated animals and dragons...paper style....
     
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  9. Bubonic

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    but that's not what we were sold. We were sold an overhead view of said swamp which you can explore as you walk down the road. That's what we were shown, and that's a HUGE part of the reason why I (and many others, apparently) donated money to this project.
     
  10. Borg

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    Definitely I don't like feeling like a frog jumping from hex to hex.......
    Jumps into hex, loading scene...............................
    Jumps out to map , loading scene..............
    Jumps into next hex , loading scene...........

    Inmersion???? where????
     
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  11. docdoom77

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    That is what it has BECOME. If you watch some of the early videos with the original map, they were pretty committed to it being more than a fast travel system.
     
  12. Margard

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    Ditto!
     
  13. Sir Frank

    Sir Frank Master of the Mint

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    Really? The overland map view was a HUGE part of your decision? My turn to be speechless.


    It was NEVER going to be any different. And Immersion doesn't mean what you apparently think it means.


    I have seen the early videos. Please point out to me what features it was supposed to offer, other than fast travel. Are you talking about the fog? Are you talking about monsters that could drag you into an encounter?
     
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  14. Bubonic

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    Be as speechless as you like.

    The original "map", as we were originally shown and sold during the kickstarter pitch, was incredibly evocative of the original Ultima series. Running around on the overland dual scale map was a HUGE part of the original series, especially ultima 5.

    When I saw that, and the other indicators that this would indeed be a spiritual successor to Ultima, I plunked down a large chunk of change and said "YES!"
     
  15. Mishri

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    I know this wasn't directed at me, but the features of an overland map were supposed to be exploration, that was the reason for the fog of war. The ability for them to change hexes out as events occured, so that we could get a visual cue to re-explore there (could mean the fog of war returns to certain areas of the map that have been changed). There looked like we could have encounters and things happening on the world map.

    I never thought it would just be for fast travel, That is incredibly boring. It currently lacks any basic functionality that the game proper has, chat, inventory management, skill management. I should be able to leave a hex, walk over to a new area, switch out my skills and gear and enter that area. It shouldn't be a move the marker from A to B and double click, that leave little purpose to the map, and we might as well get a big view of the whole world and just click on where we want to be.

    I was expecting to spend 50% of my time in the overland map, and 50% in the hexes, and both experiences should offer exploration, encounters, excitement. The encounters could pull you in a hex, they don't have to occur (and likely shouldn't) outside of one. There are huge possibilities for an overland map expanding gameplay, not just making it a fast travel method. We might as well get wind riders ala WoW.
     
  16. Floors

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    No. I really don't want to be playing JPRGs anymore. I have a dozen games that look like the above if I want to play that.

    I like the map.


    I agree with lack of functionality - but we're still in Alpha and I also have experience from playing R1 to R5

    we've come a long way, we're not done yet either.

    Patience ! Remember Courage to wait to see something through is a virtue !

    We need the over world map to be fun tho. That should be a priority over the next 2 releases
     
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  17. Bubonic

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    I believe he is referring to the same thing the rest of us are referring to, which is the fact that the original map we were shown was much more than just a travel system - it was a living, breathing, bird's eye view of the world. He didn't mention any extra "features".
     
  18. Mishri

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    That was a reference for how towns and cities could be distinguished and fit onto a hex without being 4 buildings. hehe I absolutely don't want the map to look like that :) (That would be worse than the current map)
     
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  19. Lord_Darkmoon

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    That is where some of us disagree. For some - and it seems even for the devs - the overland travel is just a means to go from point A to point B. For others - including me - it was a substitution for exploring the world in its entirety. Not just exploring the scenes but getting the illusion of roaming around in a big lush living world. The old overworld view made me feel as if I was able to walk around in the world and not just hop from scene to scene and move a flag around. It was as if you zoomed out and would zoom in to explore some areas more closely. It was like in Ultimas 1 to 5. A zoomed out view of the world, with the graphical style staying consistent with the rest of the game.
    I think it would have been really fun, just roaming around in the 3D world, just like in the old days of Ultima when I just spent some time walking around in the world. I am truly disappointed that this feeling and the illusion of exploring an entire world has been ripped out of the game when it would have been a free bonus feature with the old overworld view.
     
  20. Floors

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    Here's the problem. The game is a online shared client instance hex based system.

    So it fundamentally doesn't work the way you want it to, or be what you seem to want it to be, which is more like how Ultima Lazarus plays with Dungeon Siege, i.e., mono scale.

    What was shown at R4 would have been weird.

    At this point devs should put it back in so all you old map lovers can see it wasn't what you are thinking and hoping it would be.
     
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