[Suggestion] Mini Map

[Im_Noob]

how about mini map going like that u want it

red: enemys
blue: allys
Quest: Quest

i think its rly hard

 

[SaikoDeMoN]

While it is definitely easier to play rpgs with a map pointing out where EVERYTHING is, it is so much more enjoyable to explore every nook and cranny searching for quests. Considering that quests are not required to progress through the game, I feel it is better to leave them as things you discover as you play and done at your whim, rather than have them shoved in my face.

This is, ofcourse, not including the lvl25 advancement quest. I think its actually important that a message be displayed when you reach lvl25 that you cannot level further without advancing your class, and to speak to the colonel (or whoever starts the class quest chain) for further instructions. It's not that I think it is hard to figure it out on your own, I just believe there should be some kind of prompt in any game when your progress is being hard blocked.

 

[Zwiebelchen]

On a map as large as Gaias, markers wouldn't help anyway.

 

[Jumbo]

Personally I would like to see a minimap makeover. A parchment style map with each area on it. Perhaps a picture of full map from bird perspective in editor + picture editing will do the trick. This will increase immersion and make it feel like an integrated part of your characters inventory rather than a "radar" as it is now and in standard Warcraft 3.

I remember seeing maps that completely masked the minimap, so my suggestion should also be a possibility.

 

[Zwiebelchen]

Hmm... I know I won't do it, because it's a pretty minor issue imho (especially when we don't have a custom UI anyway).

But that doesn't mean I wouldn't want to implement it.

So if someone wants to make a cool design, go ahead.

 

[_lycan]

It's such a small thing to have and yet it occupies nearly the same amount as a unit skin that it's a no.

 

[Jumbo]

Is it possible to do something to mask the minimap with ingame textures for no or very small file size use?

 

[Zwiebelchen]

Why would you want that?

 

[Jumbo]

I know it sounds stupid on paper. But I really think it fits an RPG well. It enhances the feeling of an ORPG game even more than Gaias already does. I like it, but I can see why it doesn't add much in some people's eyes.

 

[Zwiebelchen]

I know it sounds stupid on paper. But I really think it fits an RPG well. It enhances the feeling of an ORPG game even more than Gaias already does. I like it, but I can see why it doesn't add much in some people's eyes.

All it does is making it harder to navigate the map, tbh.

 

[Jumbo]

Yeah I suppose the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. However, I think you should mask unexplored map areas with black (i.e. can't see terrain, props and trees) fog of war. This is to encourage new players, who haven't played the map before to explore and discover the areas instead of being able to "look forward" and see where everything is in advance. This way, new players will be more excited when they see the cool new area they advance to like the Mytargas city and forest and, later, the foothills etc.

Of course this will not work with games where high lvl players and low lvl players play separately, but either that can be fixed with no share vision between people who are 5 levels or more apart (and 2nd condition checking whether they are within 1800 range of player hero, in which case share vision is enabled anyway) or just accept it as it is. Also disable See all Visibility and Iseedeadpeople cheat for proper effect.

Following this idea further, quests that focus on exploring certain areas could be added. Like "Find the ogre cave", Water Cave, or whatever. Since you already have such quests in game I suppose it wouldn't be a problem to add.

On another note, sorry for slightly hijacking this thread, but I believe the overall map suggestion fits it.

 

[BoxOfFaith]

^ May as well force first person camera too. Would be great for "immersion".

I think new players would hate this anyway. I think when I start playing a Wc3 RPG I'd rather know what the end game is going to be like, and not feel like I need to play the map for 20 hours to even SEE whats going to go on later. On top of this, players are going to figure out what the map looks like regardless if they really care (Youtube videos, other guides that may pop up if changes are made). Its just making things needlessly more tedious for no gain.

 

[Zwiebelchen]

I absolutely hated forced disabled shared vision in other RPGs.

And I don't really see the point in hiding the terrain from the player. It's not like there's any useful information you can extract from the shades and contures in the fog of war.

 

[Jumbo]

Yeye you are both right. But I just throw about some random ideas ;-)