An actual map.
SnailsAttack
Join Date: 2017-02-09 Member: 227749Members
Join Date: 2017-02-09 Member: 227749Members
I think that subnautica needs some sort of map of the surface. This map would only show the areas you've explored, but would also show you where wrecks, thermal vents and cave entrances are.
This is because the current process of trying to pinpoint my location requires me screenshotting my beacon locations and diggin out mah compass to try and triangulate my damn coords. In a game like this, with few landmarks save for the occasional wreck or lifepod, it's really hard how to tell where the fuck you are.
This is because the current process of trying to pinpoint my location requires me screenshotting my beacon locations and diggin out mah compass to try and triangulate my damn coords. In a game like this, with few landmarks save for the occasional wreck or lifepod, it's really hard how to tell where the fuck you are.
Comments
I totally agree that it is far too easy to get lost and that the game really needs a proper map. Plus, it's immersion breaking that with all the advanced technology available, the player doesn't have access to any real mapping feature and can't even save a scanner room map to their PDA.
There is some hope that maps might be added in at some point, on the Subnautica Roadmap there's a card for maybe adding a map after 1.0: https://trello.com/c/ItRcAU50/252-mapping-feature-ala-journey-map-for-minecraft
Maybe they could add a mapping feature to the scanner room, that produced a simple bathymetric map where you could manually add points of interest.
It would allow for a crude map without breaking too much the immersion. To position the character in this map I would want, as requirement, an array of hydrophones to detect and triangulate your position.
And maybe you could press a button and send a ping. After a few seconds your position would be updated on the map as 'last know position'.
I used to use player-created maps, but they've long ago become useless due to changes and I've stopped looking at them other than very brief ideas of "What changed here, anyway?"
My immersion of the game is broken without a map. Even Ark has a crappy map in its game. At least we can draw on it to manually mark stuff. The beacons don't help when traveling vertically down. Plus having 30 beacons on screen sucks after a while. I have to mark everything. Wrecks etc. so I know I've been to it before. But I have to turn on the marker to see if I emptied it. It's tedious. I also have beacons surrounding the spawn radius of Leviathans. If I can see my current position on a world map. I can divert copper to other stuff. If I had to use the 100 pieces of copper on a map. Instead of the countless beacons I place. I'd do it. We can't even edit beacon names from the PDA.
For me it's the opposite. I guess it's all personal preference anyway, but they could make it a matter of difficulty selection.
I like the game, but maybe I'm not totally the target audience. I like the exploring, the finding stuff etc. What I don't like is exploring areas you've been before many times, not knowing whether you've been there before or not, not knowing how to get somewhere without writing down directions, not knowing whether you've already been to this or that wreck..it takes me out of the game because it's just plain boring for me.
I would really like, maybe as an upgrade, a map you can consult which shows you the the area you've visited, the wrecks and other interesting stuff you've discovered etc...would really increase my enjoyment..
also placing beacons everywhere would get annoying after a while, having so many...
Fortunately, but you can turn pings on and off, or move things as needed.
I understand how you might feel different about maps and immersion.
Immersion derives from the life experiences and knowledge of oneself. People with distinctive backgrounds might display distinct requirements for an immersive experience.
Nowadays we tend to minimize how hard it is to produce a proper map because they are everywhere. Our smartphones have them, with accurate positioning. We use apps everyday to aid us getting anywhere, so we no longer memorize street names and such, just as we stopped memorizing phone numbers like two decades ago.
And most games give us maps as a way to get around their world.
However...
When you have to use a game to sustain your immersion argument, that's when you should start thinking about playing a little less. Immersive experiences should be anchored in real life.
Ark is a very different game. It is an action packed game with pvp. Subnautica doesn't even have multiplayer, it's action is limited to avoiding few predators. Also, Ark is huge while SN is small. SN tries to be more realistic. And so on...
The only focus in this game is exploring and that's it.
@Samaya86 has the right idea. I know I fit right into the target audience.
This game is trying something new and new things hardly appeals to all. If they made an action packed game with multiplayer and pvp they probably wouldn't have gotten so much attention, there are too many of those on the market.
I don't use Ark for PVP. I play with a friend in PVE mode. All we primarily do in ARK, is build. That's all. We raise the dinosaurs and just to build fun stuff on the island. So yes, I use Ark the same way I use Subnautica. While Sub has a story. I play it also to build stuff. That is what I like to do in Survival games. The survival aspect is not really my drive. That's why I mainly play in freedom mode. Let me ask you this. Why do you care if a map is added to the game or not. You aren't going to use it. So why is my want inherently wrong? If I could pull up the fan maps, in my PDA, place makers and draw on it. I'd be happy with that too.
The Beacon system, good as a starting point, not good for the whole time we play. What I wanted is that system to improve. Like how we upgrade stuff. The Scanner room should have 2 upgrades. The final being a full 3D system map you scout and build the map from. "we tend to minimize how hard it is to produce a proper map because they are everywhere". Your player has tech and we go everywhere. I just want to put what's already available in the game, on my HUD/PDA. Literately, get rid of the map on the Seaglide and stick it in our googles. With the ability to zoom in/out, look at other areas. Mark points of interests. Use the Beacons as permanent points. The Seaglide should have a upgrade that switches it to scanner mode. Which is what builds the virtual map. I'm suggesting more game play ideas, options, and features. Plus ways to encourage exploring the entire map. You want to know where all the deposits are. You have to go near every inch of the map. Deal with the Leviathans, go into the green brine water, take damage. Just to get those missing areas of the map. The Cyclops' Sonar could also be apart of that upgrade.
And just because you intend to use it, it doesn't mean it should be added to the game.
You said it yourself, you play multiplayer. And you like to build, in a game that has way more options to do so.
Building in SN is very limited. Right now, all the game really has to offer is exploration.
Maybe if the building system was reworked, and tons of building recipes added, more people would play it. Same if multiplayer was implemented. The same would be true if we had a bigger map. And why not a flying vehicle? Maybe just a hovering one, standing right above the water surface?
Shush that. I want to ride Reapers the same way I can ride dinos on Ark. And I want my Reaper to be armored and shoot laser beams. They should definitely implement that.
Why should anyone care if those things are to be added to the game?
A map might, probably, be implemented to appease the vast majority of players which got used to always having a map in a sandbox game. Even if the devs agree that a map would hurt their design.
Even if they don't implement a map (and you're playing on a pc), it will certainly be one of the first mods developed for the game.
It does. If you pass by one, you get indicated that it should be scanned. When you scan it, you get the following information:
"Assessment: Edible - Aerogel construction applications"
So far I haven't encountered this problem in any game I played.
And I don't think Metroid and SN are really comparable.
Huge Metroid fan btw. Grew up with that shit.
Anyway, my point is that if you really take your time in the game, you can pretty much make a mental map.
I definitely agree that there should be a map that doesn't give away every location but instead allows players to see only those areas in which they have been to before so that they can return to them. Logically, this is something that the player would be able to do and very likely would try to do in order to make sense of his surroundings and survive more efficiently. On the other hand, I have noticed that whenever this subject comes up here or on the wiki there are always two fair opinions; that there should be a discoverable (see only what you've found) map, and that there should be no map at all because Subnautica is best explored without one. I think the best middle ground for this debate would be to have a discoverable map that is implemented with a toggle on/off option to satisfy both the player who feels they need a better sense of direction to survive more efficiently and the player who believes that mystery is more fun than knowing where you are. I find that the people arguing for having a discoverable map primarily enjoy the game for its survival aspects and those who argue against having an in game map enjoy the game more for its horror and mystery aspects. This issue is only natural for a game that is a perfect mix of both the survival and the horror genres in its gameplay. So while I understand that many people (including myself) believe that the experience of Subnautica benefits mainly or in part by not having an in game map, there should at least be an option to use one since people tend to play the game differently and the people who feel they enjoy it more having a map should be able to toggle it on while those who want to be left in mystery can toggle it off (the map itself remains a discoverable map that doesn't serve as a full map and thus keeping a sense of mystery regardless).
Maybe there could be a map that actually uses your placed beacons to generate the map display. That way, it would be a map that doesn't give an unfair advantage to the player because it only shows locations they have been to before (if you can place a beacon there then you've been there). Once you have placed all your beacons, you would be able to see those areas on your map and then remove the beacons after they've served their purpose of updating the player map (or just leave them if you wish), that way getting rid of the mess of beacons and still providing a map that gives the player a fair advantage by displaying only what he/she has seen before. Just an idea. I think that naturally the player would probably do this if they were in a survival situation. People who don't feel the game plays as well with a map can just not update the map or consult it.
It would have to record land as you uncover it though. It wouldn't make sense to have it all uncovered right away.
Talking about futuristic settings is hard because they quickly stop being realistic and go all the way into the realm of fantasy fiction. Using the excuse that tech level alone should account for perfect mapping and positioning, then it should also solve a lot of other problems automatically.
Immersion does not derive exclusively from the game background/story. Gameplay also plays a huge factor in it. In a game that was designed from ground up without a map suddenly adding one would radically change the game experience, which is very well received at this point.
Maybe with a map the game would not have been so well reviewed before officially launching. And it is hard to account for this. One could make a crude estimative, but the only way to truly evaluate this would be with a time machine and comparing how the same game would've been received from scratch with a map included.
I don't know how this saying goes in english, but I think it is "you don't mess with a winning formula"
It should be a toggle option. Winning formula or not, there are more and more players who want a map because everyone has a different playstyle and a different idea about what is enjoyable about the game. Those who appreciate the game for its horror aspects tend to think that there should not be a map and the game is better off without it while those who appreciate the game more for its survival aspects tend to want a map because there is no reason why the player character wouldn't create a way to survive better (the only argument being the "winning formula" argument that you mentioned which is based on one type of Subnautica player when there are many types of players who enjoy this game. This of course does not mean that the game should cater to every single request just because people have different opinions, however, this would be a feature that would make sense to everyone who is new to the game. The newer players who were not playing it from the start and therefore did not have to accept the lack of an in game map. That demographic is one that is increasing every day. So to clarify my statement in the beginning of this reply, I believe that there should be a map. It should not include every location from the start and should only exist as an option that can be toggled on or off and should update based only on places that the player has actually been to. This could be done by having the map make use of the player's placed beacons to plot out the observable areas on their map (rather than having the game lag due to the need to constantly update the map whenever the player goes somewhere new). I see no reason why having a map would drastically change the "formula", nor do I see any reason why there could not be simply the option to have a manually updated map that can be toggled off to satisfy those who do not prefer to have it activated, such as yourself. I highly doubt, for instance, that the game would descend into a spiral of video game obscurity simply because the controversial option to use a map was added. I do understand why there are people that would prefer to play without one, and personally I myself probably might not use it if the option were added one day. I have played the game for long enough to know my way around without one, I am also certain that there are plenty who would prefer one. While I agree that it is true that one should not mess with a winning formula, I am of the opinion that it is also true that one should not refuse to adapt if one wishes to survive. Especially based on the purely nostalgic reasoning that something should not have a map because it never had one previously. Under that logic nothing new should have been added to the game at any point and the game would have been better off without the cyclops or its various upgrades since you should not mess with a winning formula like that. Subnautica is still a work in progress after all, and its formula is subject to changes for the better.
I don't need biomes, topography, details, or anything else. But I'd at least like to know where I am, relative to the array of POI.