I think the only real way to actually make a map skill that would "stick" is to make it more interactive. If it's just a static map system, then people will simply find what they want on the web, etc. You could even piggyback the static map cartography system.
Ex. --------------- Cartographer A makes maps, and everyone who owns a "Made by Cartographer A" map gets "live"(quotes because literal live updates would be a nightmare) updates on their map(think basic enemy/node info, weather report, etc.)
Updates to the map could happen based on someone being physically present and "spotting" in that area. So, whichever map maker had the best "Scout" network would have the most interactive, up-to-date maps.
Maps showing that a boss is up in a distant zone or a rare named is up, locations of current rare ore nodes, etc. would certainly give people a reason to prefer an in-game map. Obviously, a system like that would have great economic and business impact as well. -------------------- I realize Pantheon isn't going to do anything that complex and involved, but the point is that the only way in-game maps would be preferred, overall, is if they actually had some in-game advantage over what you'd find on the web.
If the in-game map were the same as the web map, it'd certainly be more convenient to hit a button and view the in-game map without having to open a browser or whatever, but I have to agree with some folks that it might not be worth development time in the long run to bother with cartography skills, etc..
Good points..
I think the easiest way to handle this for all parties is a map like many games in Morrowind's age had. Either blacked out or generic overall land mass shape that fills in the details as you move along.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
All I know is 3rd party sites will love the money no maps will make them. There will be lots of clicks to be fought over. I'm sure people have plans on how to capitalize on this.
I think the easiest way to handle this for all parties is a map like many games in Morrowind's age had. Either blacked out or generic overall land mass shape that fills in the details as you move along.
Or, they could have an artist create numerous variants of each map ranging from crude to precise detail. A player's map would start like other maps with fog of war, then instead of merely uncovering an area and it becoming a perfect finished map, it "levels up" becoming more accurate the more often you visit.
If they were to include maps, I still think having a cartographer skill involved is better. There are a lot of people who would enjoy scouring zones and mapping as a trade. Trades are a great way for interaction and creating a living world, and it's a shame to neglect those opportunities.
I think the easiest way to handle this for all parties is a map like many games in Morrowind's age had. Either blacked out or generic overall land mass shape that fills in the details as you move along.
Or, they could have an artist create numerous variants of each map ranging from crude to precise detail. A player's map would start like other maps with fog of war, then instead of merely uncovering an area and it becoming a perfect finished map, it "levels up" becoming more accurate the more often you visit.
If they were to include maps, I still think having a cartographer skill involved is better. There are a lot of people who would enjoy scouring zones and mapping as a trade. Trades are a great way for interaction and creating a living world, and it's a shame to neglect those opportunities.
A heck of a lot of work for a trivial amount of benefit.
I think the easiest way to handle this for all parties is a map like many games in Morrowind's age had. Either blacked out or generic overall land mass shape that fills in the details as you move along.
Or, they could have an artist create numerous variants of each map ranging from crude to precise detail. A player's map would start like other maps with fog of war, then instead of merely uncovering an area and it becoming a perfect finished map, it "levels up" becoming more accurate the more often you visit.
If they were to include maps, I still think having a cartographer skill involved is better. There are a lot of people who would enjoy scouring zones and mapping as a trade. Trades are a great way for interaction and creating a living world, and it's a shame to neglect those opportunities.
My only real concern about that is many players overvalue the worth of their "work". Which is fine for things like gear, but I'd rather not see greed get in the way of QOL features like maps. Which in my experience from SWG it most likely would.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
I think the easiest way to handle this for all parties is a map like many games in Morrowind's age had. Either blacked out or generic overall land mass shape that fills in the details as you move along.
Or, they could have an artist create numerous variants of each map ranging from crude to precise detail. A player's map would start like other maps with fog of war, then instead of merely uncovering an area and it becoming a perfect finished map, it "levels up" becoming more accurate the more often you visit.
If they were to include maps, I still think having a cartographer skill involved is better. There are a lot of people who would enjoy scouring zones and mapping as a trade. Trades are a great way for interaction and creating a living world, and it's a shame to neglect those opportunities.
A heck of a lot of work for a trivial amount of benefit.
It's really not a lot of work at all. Such a system could be coded in a matter of days, if not in a single day. The art side could be the artist using original sketches of maps for the first map, then a couple more detailed version for the leveled up versions.
The whole thing with maps and spoiler sites is that dynamic generation of world content is necessary to combat the spoiler sites. No game in the immediate future is exploring the possibility of dynamic content generation. Developers are going to continue to rely on their art teams to build those photo-realistic areas for everyone to roam through.
Logic, my dear, merely enables one to be wrong with great authority.
Spoiler sites are necessary to eq1 because so many quests are buggy or ridiculously illogical. Some of those quests would never be figured out except that some beta testers got the code phrases to /say to the npc and then passed the info on - to the spoiler site. Now hopefully this game wont be like that. Im certainly wishing in one hand.
Comments
I think the easiest way to handle this for all parties is a map like many games in Morrowind's age had. Either blacked out or generic overall land mass shape that fills in the details as you move along.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
If they were to include maps, I still think having a cartographer skill involved is better. There are a lot of people who would enjoy scouring zones and mapping as a trade. Trades are a great way for interaction and creating a living world, and it's a shame to neglect those opportunities.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
For those who never played EQ, sense heading was a kind of compass system that wasn't always right but added that realism to the game.
You could get lost and find yourself waking up with no corspe if not careful, ah what fun.
The thing in EQ was you could drop items on the ground and they would stay in the world just like elder scrolls games.
So if you were not sure you could leave a trail using rusty items to help ya.
Great fun.
Logic, my dear, merely enables one to be wrong with great authority.
The killer of immersion.
The scourge of virtual worlds.
"Be water my friend" - Bruce Lee