Open world maps

[OlavDeng2]

So i was thinking, people want to have maps in the game but i thought of a possibly great way(feel free to disagree) of implementing a map system.

 

I was thinking that while we have maps in the game, it wont be a map of the entire world and rather than having it free we have to buy it in the shops and just like real world it would be small sections of the entire map, so for example there would be a map for the dutch antilies which you can buy which has all the data(ports, sea depths etc.) or you could also buy one of the virgin islands with all the data as well, but there is a catch, as to not make exploring worthless since you can get all the maps in every port i thought it would also be a good idea to limit where you can buy the maps of a region, so say virgin islands map can only be bought in the virgin islands etc. i think this would be a great way of implementing things and you would have to do some navigation on your own and it would allow exploring, so what do you guys think of the idea?

[ThePandanator2]

I think a map you buy is a good idea, but I think, for the purpose of preserving exploration, there should be one single map, but one that gets edited in real time as explorers find new destinations.

Edited May 26, 2015 by ThePandanator2

[OlavDeng2]

I think a map you buy is a good idea, but I think, for the purpose of preserving exploration, there should be one single map, but one that gets edited in real time as explorers find new destinations.

i dislike this idea personally, it just doesn't sit right with me for various reasons

 

1. this means that if 1 player goes exploring, there is no reason for others to explore really

 

2. I find that this makes it too easy to get a map

 

3. that it is edited in real time is stupid in my opinion and doesnt make sense in a historic view point and doesnt really make sense in a realism stand point, now i know this isnt the most realistic game but neither was war thunder, and i know you played war thunder and i dont want this game to go the way of war thunder.

[SeamanStaines]

The map purchase is an interesting discussion. However, the primary purpose (my opinion) is to know approximately where you are in order not to get lost on long ocean transits so it must be interactive. As the world is based on real geography the role of exploration appears limited unless its simply finding new trading ports and what they have to sell. In this instance buying maps is probably a good idea or maybe we have a different map for each nation therebye keeping their trade secrets.

[William the Drake]

I have suggested something similar in the discussion in my Case Against a Live Open World Map, where a player can acquire different charts and maps that show different information.

I envision being able to access a sort of map table in the captains cabin, where the player has their own chart which they fill in with the information they have found, and then can look at other charts in their possession, with some charts showing only geographical features, and others showing things such as political boundaries or trade routes.

 

Purchasing other charts should be available, however extremely expensive, as charts were very very valuable, as noted in my post.

[OlavDeng2]

I have suggested something similar in the discussion in my Case Against a Live Open World Map, where a player can acquire different charts and maps that show different information.

I envision being able to access a sort of map table in the captains cabin, where the player has their own chart which they fill in with the information they have found, and then can look at other charts in their possession, with some charts showing only geographical features, and others showing things such as political boundaries or trade routes.

 

Purchasing other charts should be available, however extremely expensive, as charts were very very valuable, as noted in my post.

i guess this would work well.

[DesertRat]

I think it would be nice if maps worked something like this.

 

- first, I really like the feeling to first discovery, so I am not sure I would like having maps for sail.  So far I have not been really lost and was able to find my location within an hour or so.

- second, we can all use google maps but it would be nice if in game your personal map would be slowly generated as you discover an area.  only adding to your map the area that you be see.  This would make it so that if I sail south and run into a large island just north of South America, my map might only show a small coastline until I sail around it,   If I don't sail around it then I will not know for sure if it is an island or the Coast Venezuela.

- third, navigators of the time could get a fairly accurate Latitude, and would have an idea of there longitude.  I would like to see the ability to check for Latitude at night and have it be accurate to within say 1 or 2 deg.  For longitude I think we could have something like this.  when you leave a known port you have an accurate Longitude and for each day of in game at sea sailing you loose maybe one degree of accuracy so the number you get after 12 days at sea could be up to 12 degrees off.  you could max this as something like 15 degrees or something.  In real life they would try to log there speed and direction to keep a somewhat accurate number.

 

These are just a few of my thoughts on maps and navigation.

Edited May 26, 2015 by DesertRat

[Taigo]

Me personally I would prefer instead of generating maps, maps that you can draw by yourself.

Turning Cartography into an active profession instead passive.

With ability sell maps or lose them.

With the system working something like this (JUST AN IDEA)

Cartography LVL 1-10

There would be activities like measure depth, discover city, measure time to travel to.. , Some could be done by just going somewhere or buying information from people that did that or buying equipment to measure or draw.

-on level 3 you can draw 1/3 of the map.

-on level 6 you can draw 2/3 of the map.

-on level 10 you can draw full world.

On completing the map lv 10 you go back to lv1 or if you sell lv 3 or lv 6 map just like regional maps you go back to lvl 1.

Turning maps into commodity and economy.

 

Maps should have bonuses to prevent using google maps.

-Maps show you where you are.

-Commodity prices of last visited city

-Ability to make notes.

-If you accept the contract.

-The ships could sail with AI if you are Offline.

-atd.

[SeamanStaines]

Its going to be tough manually updating maps with the time compression. And if you have to slow the time compression down to allow for time to update charts manually its going to get very slow and dull. So my vote is for auto-update of charts incorporating the uncertainties.

[ThePandanator2]

i dislike this idea personally, it just doesn't sit right with me for various reasons

 

1. this means that if 1 player goes exploring, there is no reason for others to explore really

 

2. I find that this makes it too easy to get a map

 

3. that it is edited in real time is stupid in my opinion and doesnt make sense in a historic view point and doesnt really make sense in a realism stand point, now i know this isnt the most realistic game but neither was war thunder, and i know you played war thunder and i dont want this game to go the way of war thunder.

Fair points. 

 

For your first point, the world is going to be huge (I assume). I see this in a similar way as Elite Dangerous, although E:D is probably infinitely bigger than Naval Action will ever be. I envision that there will be so much to explore that just one guy wouldn't be able to explore it all. 

 

Also, answering to the last 2 points, I have a new idea. How about there are different levels of maps, basic to detailed, and less expensive to more expensive (based on detail). These maps would be provided by the adventurous explorers, and if an explorer took the time to draw up detailed maps, the reward would grow accordingly. In this way we get a sort of interdependence and such.

[Doria]

I would like to add a merchant feature in your discussion ( or send me a link to the right post if someone has already talked about it). The chance for explorer to sell the information of good prices in towns updated to their last visit. It would be an income for adventurers and a valid instrument for merchants.