Hey guys,
My friend and I have tested the new multiplayer yesterday, and man was it a blast. Thank you so very much !
I had the opportunity to try out the new mapping tool too, and one thing that struck me is the contrast between its ease of use and the usually unforgiving nature of PZ. In order to make the map more realistic, or at least less easy to use, here are a few suggestions, which could be turned on and off just like the cars ease of use option.
First and most important : Remove the red dot that indicates your position perfectly. Instead, let the player place it according to their approximation, and have the dot move according to the player's movement, instead of according to their actual position. That way, a small offset won't mean much, while a big mistake can mean taking the wrong road and ending up in a closed alleyway, with a horde on your ass.
Second : The red dot idea means that the player should have a completly filled map, or a map that fills itself when he uses a certain item type (See charcoal from the long dark), and let the map have an infinite "scrolling" instead of being stuck in place. That way, I won't be able to know in which city I am just by looking at which portion of the map draws itself when I use the "charchoal" or a pen for that matter. (eg : If i use the charcoal and it's the north-center part of the map that gets drawn, I know i'm likely in Riverside.)
Third : Have different levels of definition / drawing skill according to a new mapping / exploration skill, that would tie in with the new foraging system. For example, at a low mapping skill, the places you map out are rough drawings with terribly defined roads etc, while having a high mapping skill would be the current mapping tool. Coming back to a place already map at a lower mapping skill would then update it.
TLDR : The map shouldn't be this easy to use, and has litteraly no room for error. The main idea is that the red dot is player placed, instead of being a perfect and automatic placement.
(Below is what a The Long Dark map looks like when fully drawn with charcoal. The other embed is a map drawn by some player with actual software. Notice the drawn map doesn't have the same rotation, which could be another factor to implement. (Compass item ?) )
