GPS and Mapping System
Norf
England Join Date: 2016-12-28 Member: 225640Members
England Join Date: 2016-12-28 Member: 225640Members
So I had an idea that might make the in-game experience of this game better, nearly everyone that plays this game has used Goggle to find a map at some point, and there are many on this website. However I think the game would be better if there was an in-game feature of a map or GPS so you can set personal way points or to find out where you are and where to go. The idea is to craft a GPS which tracks your movement, the more you explore the more of the map which is revealed, just like in other games like World of Warcraft or Rust. It is a small thing that could be added easily and in no time, I think that if this was implemented into the game then it would make the experience much better, especially in VR and it also would encourage more exploration of places which might or could be ignored. Just an idea I though would make the game better, hope you feel the same way and want it to be added as well. 
Comments
So maps aren't really my thing, but I understand why people would like having them. I suppose the Kelp Forest and Blood Kelp would look kind of cool on a Skyrim-style map, but how would you do the underground biomes? There's so many little things that just make me not like the idea.
I like the idea of it filling in, like in World of Warcraft, but if it were like that it still would be rather boring as maps go. A lot of the biomes would just be sand coloured or rock coloured, and I just don't see it happening. If it did happen though, I wouldn't have any objections
Underwater biomes could be done the same way maps done in any other RPG game (you just choose levels/depths). But then again, for GPS-like mapping to work, there needs to be a satellite on the planet's orbit (lore-wise). Scanner Room + drones and scanner modules for your vehicles might be used for this, tho.
Currently this game gives you no hints as to where to find things, nor does it let you keep track of places you've been to before, save for beacons, which give you a rather limited reception.
While this aids to the curiosity of exploration, it somewhat hinders progression of the game, as the things you need to craft, like the Mobile Vehicle Bay, Moonpool, and even the Habitat module are not given to you at the start, but instead are scattered as fragments in hard to reach wrecks.
It wouldn't hurt to either:
A. Implement a top down map as the fandom has already created for the Wiki
B. Implement PDA callouts to loot, such as marking where important pieces (wrecks) of the Aurora are.
Triangulate by placing 3 special drones in corners of the world to create a accessible map. Could be holographic - showing your current location and beacons you have placed.
I agree both that a map would be useful and that it should make sense in game context too. For instance, there's no reason not to get distance readouts to a beacon in-game because we can get distance readouts to "coordinates" via the Signals - the PDA therefore must have that power. Strictly speaking, we already have enough information in game to map things as a player. Specifically, as long as you have two signals and a compass then you can always know:
A The distance between the two signal points
B The angle-from-north relating the two
C The distance and angles between any other point and the two Signals.
At that point, it's trivial (albeit dull) to map by hand a whole continent by simple triangulation. If a human can do it with a protractor, a pen and a ruler, then your PDA should be able to do it too.
For a map, I'd suggest simply adding distance readouts to beacons (because frankly they should be there anyway, it's not as if you don't know the "coordinates" since your PDA clearly does.) Secondly, have the map be empty except for signal locations and beacon locations (showing Beacon names toggle-able). That way your map expands as you explore. For instance, you start with nothing but a distance and direction between you and the pod. Then you place a beacon. Voila! Your map now has scale. You place another, and it scales again. Each beacon either fills in features or expands the borders of the known world. This makes beacons nice and useful, requires player input to label biomes and wrecks and gives a sense of achievement each time the borders expand.
Now, the drawback is that this would mean lots of beacon-waypoints, cluttering the horizon, but that's not too awful either and easily fixed. Just allow toggling Beacons between active and map waypoints. That way you can select a destination and point at it easily.
Try experimentals, you'll like the new Ping Manager. Distances to beacons, visibility control, color changes.
That does sound promising.
Yes it does! But actually it's no replacement for a missing mapping function this game needs.