14 réponses à ce sujet

[jds1bio]

It seems in DA:I that the Inquisiton, once fully formed and rooted in Skyhold, would have enough resources at its disposal to provide better cartography services (couldn't anyone who went scouting with Harding do this?)  So narratively this would be strongly possible, and perhaps more appropriate than the Inquisitor basically forced to sniff out each area as methodically as possible, still leaving black splotches on the map in places where gameplay did not occur.

 

But...in several of the maps (Western Approach and Emprise du Lion in particular) I did have that feeling of seeing towers or structures in the distance and wondered if I would be able to actually reach those areas, vs. them being part of a fancy skybox/horizon.  I was surprised several times when I realized I could reach those areas.  If the whole map was disclosed from the start, I would still wonder what was over there, even if I knew right away that I could reach the location.

 

I also realize that even a map that is fully disclosed may still harbor plenty of things to discover, particularly via traversing vertical axis which is often not well represented on a Cartesian plane video game map.  DA:I did a great job in this regard, notably in the Forbidden Oasis, Emprise du Lion, and the Exalted Plains areas.  So it's not like a fully-disclosed map leaves nothing to discover.

 

So what do you think?

 

 

[JeffZero]

I prefer a map to gradually fill in, regardless of narrative logistics. It is one of the few things about exploration-focused gameplay I genuinely enjoy. I feel like a bonafide explorer... even if, yeah, most places we've gone in DA have been trekked before.

[Dai Grepher]

Both.

 

When you arrive at a map, there should be a part that is revealed indicating where your scouts went. Then there should be an upgrade to your scouts to where their field of discovery is larger and more of the map is uncovered based on the different paths they walk.

 

Still, secret passages should be unmarked on maps. Maybe some more obvious ones can be marked if the scouts have the upgrade.

[Alley Cat]

I actually make use of the 'fog' to know where I have and haven't been, yet... but I also dislike not really knowing where the boundaries of the map are. I'd love to see a sort of in-between where the areas you haven't been are greyed out or noticeably dimmer, but you can still tell that it's somewhere you can go. Or perhaps just better indication of map boundaries; I ran into the issue of suddenly ramming into invisible map edges when seeking out one of the dragons, and it was kind of annoying.

 

 

Both.

 

When you arrive at a map, there should be a part that is revealed indicating where your scouts went. Then there should be an upgrade to your scouts to where their field of discovery is larger and more of the map is uncovered based on the different paths they walk.

 

Still, secret passages should be unmarked on maps. Maybe some more obvious ones can be marked if the scouts have the upgrade.

 

I'm also very fond of an idea like this. It makes the map-greying have a lore-friendly excuse and not just be 'the game doesn't want me to know what's out there yet.' Though I will say, with as big as some of the areas are and how few scouts you'll have when dividing them between areas, it's not terribly unreasonable to think that they haven't charted all the places you can go.

 

But places like The Hinterlands... I just find it hard to believe that there aren't already maps for common areas and well-populated areas; they make less sense being uncharted than areas like the Dalish camps (which probably haven't been charted in any maps they'd hand over to the Inquisition).

[Eelectrica]

I take a fill in the blanks style when exploring. If they gave the whole map just allow me to create a good number of map markers I can label.

Actually customizable map markers should be a thing anyway.

[BansheeOwnage]

I actually make use of the 'fog' to know where I have and haven't been, yet... but I also dislike not really knowing where the boundaries of the map are. I'd love to see a sort of in-between where the areas you haven't been are greyed out or noticeably dimmer, but you can still tell that it's somewhere you can go. Or perhaps just better indication of map boundaries; I ran into the issue of suddenly ramming into invisible map edges when seeking out one of the dragons, and it was kind of annoying.

I agree. The RTS Halo Wars maps are dim until you "uncover" them, but you can still see. I think that is the method they should use for maps that are near populated areas, because it's sort of ridiculous for the Inquisition to forget to buy maps of the areas around Redcliffe, Sahrnia or Crestwood. Naturally, only obvious points of interest would be pointed out in advance, so you can still explore and find secrets.

 

I think that for areas that have barely been explored like the Hissing Wastes, the entire map could be black until you uncover it, like the current system. Knowing the real boundaries of the map would be helpful too.

 

Thoughts?

[Alley Cat]

This brings to mind a map boundary system similar to Mass Effect, actually, where there's red (or some other, less obviously technological colour, for the sake of Dragon Age maps) outside the playable area of the map and a buffer zone where you can start travelling into the red and get told that you're going off the ship's radar. In the case of DA, of course, it'd be where it opens the world map as normal when you travel over the boundaries but you'd have better warning of what's happening before you find yourself in a tight spot where you can't move further.

 

As it is now, you never really know if the boundaries you see are the actual map edges or just the edges of what you've explored so far, meaning there's more to find beyond them.

 

(Also, I love the idea of having whether the map is fogged depend upon how populated an area is and thus how likely it'd be to acquire a map beforehand.)

[BansheeOwnage]

This brings to mind a map boundary system similar to Mass Effect, actually, where there's red (or some other, less obviously technological colour, for the sake of Dragon Age maps) outside the playable area of the map and a buffer zone where you can start travelling into the red and get told that you're going off the ship's radar. In the case of DA, of course, it'd be where it opens the world map as normal when you travel over the boundaries but you'd have better warning of what's happening before you find yourself in a tight spot where you can't move further.

 

As it is now, you never really know if the boundaries you see are the actual map edges or just the edges of what you've explored so far, meaning there's more to find beyond them.

I agree, as it is now, the only warning you have is your character slowing down due to sand in the Hissing Wastes (which is a pain to get out of since it's so slow) or obvious DON'T GO THERE zones like the burning areas in the Western Approach. But it would be a lot nicer to have them shown on the map.

[Sylvius the Mad]

I actually make use of the 'fog' to know where I have and haven't been, yet...

This is important. We need some way to do this.

[Avejajed]

What irritates me about the fog is places in the center of the map that aren't "Uncovered" but yet have no way to get there. 

 

There's a place in the hinterlands I tried for literally like two hours to uncover and never could.

[Sylvius the Mad]

What irritates me about the fog is places in the center of the map that aren't "Uncovered" but yet have no way to get there.

There's a place in the hinterlands I tried for literally like two hours to uncover and never could.

It would be useful in times like that to have access to the dev console so we could just clear it.

[berelinde]

B-but the "fog of war" is a classic RPG feature! It can't go away!

 

It's also a useful way to tell if I've been there or not.

[SpiritMuse]

I would like to have some less fog of war, too. Maybe at first it would be a very basic map with just some general information like "this is about the size of the area", "the village is over here", some basic terrain information indicating where hills, rivers, and known paths are, stuff like that. And then you get a more detailed filling in of the map as you explore it.

[Thumb Fu]

It should remain, simply because i'm used to it and it going away would possibly destroy my sense of exploring.

[jds1bio]

I like that people are keen on wanting to:

 

a ) keep track of where they have been via a map feature

b ) make custom map markers and captions

c) preserve their sense of exploration and discovery by not having the map disclose everything up front

 

When playing games it is stressful for me to have to zig-zag around just to remove the fog in a small area and uncover the map just to see it, even though the "reward" is knowing that I've actually trod on that location. 

 

It is also stressful to have to run around a small block of the map to uncover a very specific spot you know is there but hasn't popped up on the map yet (i.e. the 7th and final side-quest marker in an Assassins Creed city section).

 

I actually enjoy the orienteering , but these are the kinds of stresses I'd like to reduce while playing a game involving large amounts of traversal.

 

(Speaking of rewards, the reward for visiting every stretch of map in the game - the mosaics, or rather the "interpretation" of the mosaics - was a weak reward to those who went out of their way to visit every location the developers had created for this game.  It would have been nice to be able to have gotten a second opinion on the interpretation of the mosaics).