How can I find where I am?

[GahRii]

Is there any mod, or anything like that that'll show me where exactly I am in the world when I spawn?

 

I don't know how to find myself on the map (http://pzmap.crash-override.net/) unless I wander around a lot, and then I just end up losing my original starting point which may have had a lot of good stuff around it. All of the suburbs generally look identical, so until I find some huge landmark I'm just wandering around blind.

 

I'd really like to know where I am so I can set some goals as to where to go, where to build a base, and stuff like that.

 

 

[Rikashey]

Is there any mod, or anything like that that'll show me where exactly I am in the world when I spawn?

 

I don't know how to find myself on the map (http://pzmap.crash-override.net/) unless I wander around a lot, and then I just end up losing my original starting point which may have had a lot of good stuff around it. All of the suburbs generally look identical, so until I find some huge landmark I'm just wandering around blind.

 

I'd really like to know where I am so I can set some goals as to where to go, where to build a base, and stuff like that.

 

There isn't. Some people use paint to mark where they've been though.

[GahRii]

 

-snip-

 

There isn't. Some people use paint to mark where they've been though.

 

 

That's unfortunate. I really wish there was some in-game map or something like that. Surely if I'm spawning in an area it'd be somewhere my character would have known, thus I should have some general idea of where I'm heading.

 

I wouldn't be lost in real life if zombies randomly appeared in my city. 

[Aenye Deithven]

Well, you do have a point, however, simply adding a map would interfere with the "urban exploration" aspect of the game. Let us consider real life for a moment of inspiration.

 

We know our surroundings well and, most people here could describe the next house over in good detail. Now, what about the houses further down the street ? Sure, we know where they are in general, but details are a problem - "were those gardenias or petunias in the front lawn ?" and questions like that. Driving to the store to pick up some food ? No problem. Pointing to the exact direction and giving a distance ? Not so easy.

 

In line with the above, we could imagine a point of interest system, to give the player directions around town. These should not be very accurate, but something more of an arrow to the east (almost wrote "knee" there) and a caption like "Shop (nearby)". Subtle would be the key term here, along with vague.

 

This bit may be just me going wild, but why stop at this ? If our character is going to feel real, we could throw in some "personal points of interest", like 'that spot in the woods we went to with Sally', maybe even something made up as we go - even "my safehouse" would be cool.

[GahRii]

-snip-

 

Well, anything would be better than my current blundering around praying to find something of importance so I know where I am, and can start storing stuff without being terrified I'm going to lose my bearings and end up with all my stuff lost in some house I'll never find again xD

[unsaved_progress]

Well, you do have a point, however, simply adding a map would interfere with the "urban exploration" aspect of the game. Let us consider real life for a moment of inspiration.

 

We know our surroundings well and, most people here could describe the next house over in good detail. Now, what about the houses further down the street ? Sure, we know where they are in general, but details are a problem - "were those gardenias or petunias in the front lawn ?" and questions like that. Driving to the store to pick up some food ? No problem. Pointing to the exact direction and giving a distance ? Not so easy.

 

In line with the above, we could imagine a point of interest system, to give the player directions around town. These should not be very accurate, but something more of an arrow to the east (almost wrote "knee" there) and a caption like "Shop (nearby)". Subtle would be the key term here, along with vague.

 

This bit may be just me going wild, but why stop at this ? If our character is going to feel real, we could throw in some "personal points of interest", like 'that spot in the woods we went to with Sally', maybe even something made up as we go - even "my safehouse" would be cool.

 

I think this is a cool idea for sure, and I like the personal spots. Maybe they could be dictated by starting professions? Or yeah, some other G.O.A.T like test

 

Arrow to the knee +1 

[ApolloDiaspora]

Leaving brightly coloured pieces of clothing at intersections, or any other kind of item you wouldn't see on the floor, works well for marking the route back to a safehouse. As for using the crashoverride map, just keep practising. Look for landmarks when wandering about, and compare it to the map.

[thiosk]

After my third day or so playing, I got a pretty good lay of the land.

Once you look at a couple houses and find any kind of landmark, narrowing it down on the map gets pretty fast.

[unsaved_progress]

I use Spiffo as marking places at crossroads so I always know where to turn on long trips home. 

 

I'm allowed to leave Spiffo behind in the rain right? For all of Zeke County to see...

 

...don't ban me. 

[Aenye Deithven]

I think this is a cool idea for sure, and I like the personal spots. Maybe they could be dictated by starting professions? Or yeah, some other G.O.A.T like test

 

Arrow to the knee +1 

 

 

It would add a nice touch and make the character and professions more believable. This could involve some mini-quests along the lines of item retrieval (who is to say that a security guard doesn't keep a spare weapon in a semi-hidden place at work ?) or be simply done for flavour (without messing with game balance). Yay for G.O.A.T.s and standard goats as well !

 

Leaving brightly coloured pieces of clothing at intersections, or any other kind of item you wouldn't see on the floor, works well for marking the route back to a safehouse. As for using the crashoverride map, just keep practising. Look for landmarks when wandering about, and compare it to the map.

 

After my third day or so playing, I got a pretty good lay of the land.

Once you look at a couple houses and find any kind of landmark, narrowing it down on the map gets pretty fast.

 

Good advice, especially for newer players - after a few (well, tens of, actually) games you know the lay of the land so well that it is hard to get lost on the map (not counting the forests of course (BTW. Give me oaks, birches, ash and yew !)). Nevertheless, such knowledge should be the domain of the character, not the player - personally I find it takes some of the fun out of exploring.

 

What I would love is a humongous map, where one could just wander for days between the various locations - ideally a PZ worldmap, but that is neither technically nor realistically possible (well, maybe procedurally generated maps, but these would lack the polish and love the current map is boasting). Oh well, you can't always get what you want - the new maps, currently in development will be a scrumptious dish for my appetite, though.

[Swagger]

I always thought the map problem could be solved by an in-game sketch map.  Using a sheet of paper and a pen/pencil you could make a really basic in game map/sketch.  You would only be able to update it when you discover somewhere new and it takes x time to update etc.  That way you still get the feeling of having to discover it each play through,  May be a bit challenging to implement on anything other than the standard map though.

[GahRii]

I'd just like street signs or something that you could click for info (like with farming) and get a general idea of where you are.

[Jinja]

I would love to see maybe a map item that you could find. Wouldn't tell you were you were, but it's something.

 

Also I would LOVE it if the streets had names. And then we could have sign posts at all the intersections with the names of the streets. Combined with a findable map item that also had street names and I think that could alleviate the completely lost feeling in a realistic way.

 

Also road signs to important locations (the hospital, museums and anything remotely touristy) are a thing so those could be put in as well without losing realism. Which is to say, I've seen them IRL but they are usually not terribly far away from the location. Like you will find them on main roads if the location is on a road just off it.

[syfy]

well, if you caught this weeks video Mondoid, you will know that future map additions are in the works.

 

not gonna tell you where, you have to watch/listen to it to find out about the map additions, and a whole lot of other stuff.

 

well worth the 43 minutes. http://theindiestone.com/forums/index.php/topic/3-mondoid-reposts/page-5#entry87579

[GahRii]

well, if you caught this weeks video Mondoid, you will know that future map additions are in the works.

 

not gonna tell you where, you have to watch/listen to it to find out about the map additions, and a whole lot of other stuff.

 

well worth the 43 minutes. http://theindiestone.com/forums/index.php/topic/3-mondoid-reposts/page-5#entry87579

 

Cool, thanks, I'll give it a watch. It'll be interesting to see how map navigation will eventually be developed.

[Try4Ce]

In games like PZ there shouldnt be an auto minimap or a classic videogame map in general. That would kind of kill the immersion and the aspect of survival and urban exploration.

 

But to be honest - In real life, People would try to get around this thing by maybe following methods:

 

- Simple drawing (Sheet of Paper + Pen) - This could slowly reveal a pre-saved and cached map part by part with a certain efford (time-consuming maybe). Maybe even include a needed skill to even be able to reveal certain map areas.

- What about GPS enabled devices? In the real world, everyone could use a cheap smartphone and/or gps device. You could even add POI of some sorts to certain areas of interest or the home base. This service wouldnt last that long tho due to the lack of electricity in the later game.
- Even tho you could draw your own map, there could still be real city maps in different stores or gas stations you could take with you.
- Come to think of it, what about a "local knowledge" skill? Logically a person starts to learn about his/her surrounding after some time of exploring. That could maybe lead to a "guessing circle" appearing on drawn maps or the ones you could take with you (generally maps on paper) - as a rough indicator where you are right now.
- With a pen you could draw markers and/or little notes on paper maps.

Thats just my 2 cents - and IMO, it wouldnt hurt the immersion and exploration much if implemented. Actually, for my own taste, it would / could add realism and immersion instead.

[Kurruk]

That whole thread would be best kept in designated "suggestions" subforum. Now there were already couple of ids as to what ppl would like to see and what will be available.

 

Now what we'll have would be something like a section of the map kind of hand-drawn, so it won't use the map itself and won't show you where you are on the map. You would still have to get your bearings based on your location, which gets easier as you get more accustomed with the game and trying to find your way around using your own memory, instead of constantly alt-tabbing to brilliant work of blindcoder. Now if you'd get lost because of something extraordinary, you might look at the map itself - but I do suggest trying to stay close and know your surroundings before moving further down the road. After couple of characters you might be able to get through half of the city, without even looking at the map.

 

As for my suggestion, that I already presented somewhere  would be a cartography (with skill) from Eschalon, where depending on the skill you were drawing minimap with more details. But I would like to see that more in the mod than vanilla.