To Be Or Not To Be: The Map

My solution involve using the Ultima 4 map as a starting point both.

 

You've forgot the biggest one
"the map is just used for travel" and
"there is no functionality".

I am also adding:
"it feels cludgy"
"it is no way reminiscent of any classic ultima"
etc..

 

Well, here is a question that I have not seen addressed. Let's say you are standing around in Owl's Head with 4 other people. You decide to team up and go exploring. The group head down the path to the hex exit point and each person chooses the Liche dungeon as the travel destination after entering the cloth map. When these people appear at the dungeon, will they still be in the same instance? Will groups endure the traveling around the hex map as a unit? Or will they be arbitrarily split up according to the instancing rules when changing hex locations?

 

This was addressed somewhere. It had something to do with forming parties. I believe the intention is "yes, you'll stay together," but it wasn't at the top of my list, so my memories of it are vague.

 

For my part, I formed a party with my son and tried to enter one of the wooded hexes with him. We both entered the same hex but could not see one another. My only guess though as to why this happened is because I was using a Linux client and he was using a Windows client. Again this is just a guess.

I did see others playing together in other areas though so I would think this is not an issue for everyone.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

For those who are saying that certain topics have been covered before, I'd like to share a word from our devs.

Code:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=WtPp22hCY8I#t=360

(Copy and paste the above in your browser to queue to exact spot in video...)

06:11 B says: "If people are new, don't fear repeating the same question again, we're here to give answers to whatever people have, so it's been exciting seeing all the new people on board."

Moments later, RG goes on to say: "Yea that's actually a great point, and on that front too, I've been trying to make sure we post back into the forum threads so that people know, first of all, that we are listening, long before we can actually execute on any of those ideas, but just to both acknowledge it and even respond with yes, here is what you've already influenced and what we're thinking."

Further, he says:

"Now I have exact stories to tell them, look, here is a design we changed, you can see the art literally has changed, completely, based on player feedback."

I've not seen one post in one forum thread from one dev on this whole overland map issue.

Thus, our dear devs, can we please get some kind of confirmation that you are indeed listening on this contentious issue, and mayhap can we get some idea of what you are thinking on this topic, please?

Maybe even a 'yea we hear you, and will plan for a Q & A session on this topic in the near future'. I think that would go a huge ways towards ameliorating people's concerns, and diffuse this whole situation considerably.

 

If you look at the map thread in the r4 feedback forum (archive), you'll see that Darkstarr commented early and I think Lum might have said something too (I can't remember for sure, but Lum posts quite a bit). So there has been some feedback, just not much since the discussion evolved. Let's give some credit where it's due.

Also, I imagine they're quite busy picking apart data from R5 still, so we might have a wait on our hands.

 

If something was said by the devs, then indeed I missed it, and I apologize if that's the case. In my defense, our forum's search function sucketh mimic droppings.

But either way, I'd like to see this situation diffused.

 

It wasn't much and it was very early on. Right at the beginning of R4. The discussion has evolved a great deal since then. So you're not wrong to want some new info from the devs. They responded, but there is still a dearth of useful information (at least for some of us).

 

If you check the dev tracker and the postmortems you'll see that the world map topic is absent. Even Lum is as vocal and defensive as ever over the conversation system but not a peep. Disconcerting considering the flux of the discourse on the world map over the last five weeks.

If I've missed something, my bad.

 

This is also a good spot in the same video:
Give us your feedback - by LB

 

There was a discussion in one overland map thread about using the 3D overland map animation for the town/dungeon minimap instead. The cloth map would then remain as the overland map. It looks like all map threads are going to be rolled up under this one from now on.

 

The maps...cannot be the opposite?

One thread is better.

 

I'm a bit upset that they haven't commented on any of this so far...it's been allowed to build up a lot of steam.

 

Such uncertainty is breeding grounds for speculation. My thoughts right now are: Do they try to somehow avoid a shitstorm?

My fears are that the concept for the new map is that it is really only a means to move from hex to hex.

Now that we know from the interview with Richard Garriott and the anniversary video that there was functionality like in Ultima 4 or 5 planned for the old map, they have to find a way to sell us the completely different direction of the new map. And by different direction I do not mean the different graphical style only, but the removal of the functionality from the initial plan.
But hopefully I am wrong. But such thoughts come up when you don't get answers to a pressing matter.

 

Thank heavens!

 

Lots of players let them know during R4 they didn't like the new map style & still they decided to continue wasting resources, stop it

 

Eh, I don't like the sounds of that. A mini-map should be simple with a top down view that is clear, concise and non-descript. Perhaps partially transparent, so it blends in a bit. IMO anyway...

Also, if they're going to converge all of the map discussions into one big thread, why didn't they do it with PvP threads? By the gods, if any topic should be condensed down on these forums, its PvP - not maps!! lol....

 

You make a good point, but I don't care how may PvP threads there are, let 'em argue about something that's pretty well already decided. I kind of like having all the map stuff in one place. It was hard to find the right info in the slew of threads we had before. So, in the end, it's mostly better.

A strange decision given precedent: yes. A bad decision: absolutely not.

 

I thought I would throw this here in this thread...

I agree it should look more like a map true map, and maybe even open up like a scroll so new players get the picture it is a map. However I like having a pointer on the map. Also if they show encounters roaming around on the map, and gypsy wagons etc., personally I'm fine with that, but let them make those encounters appear as some kind of highlighted symbol that we could recognize as something we physically see.

That also means we probably shouldn't see encounters WAY off into the mountains. We should only see encounters one or two hexes away from us. If we are on a road maybe 3 hexes down the unobstructed roadways, but in a forest how can we see an encounter way off in the mountains when we can't even see the forest through the trees? Maybe encounters in such obstructed areas should not be seen in advance at all???

However if we are able to see something in the next hex that's like a kilometer away. We shouldn't be able to make out if it's good guys or bad guys. In fact I wouldn't even want to know if it's an NPC group or a PvP group. From a kilometer away we should just be lucky to notice it at all.

EDIT: if we do notice something, then we should be able to notice if it's a lot of people or just one wagon. There's no way to miss a crowd of 100 people marching your way.