[Merged] What kind of World Map do you prefer?

[Ovocean]

I'm quite partial to the Baldur's Gate 1 style: it gave me the feeling of a massive world (contrary to the continuous maps like Skyrim, which scaled down world aspect feel wrong to me), and the feeling of freedom, and the discovery aspect.

 

Oh and I love roaming in the countryside, I hope they'll put in a lot of non-city areas to explore.

Edited September 20, 2012 by Ovocean

[HansKrSG]

As long as I have a local map over the local area and a map over the whole world, I am happy. I voted for all types, as I have played all those games mentioned, and I liked the map system in all of them (although I would have liked a world map in Ultima 8 ingame as well as the rather innacurate cloth map that came with it.) Random encounters between map points is ok, spawnpoints is something I really hate. I like to be able to clean an area out, and if monsters just come pouring out again and again from places, I feel like I am not getting anywhere.

[Andre]

I don't really have any preference but it would be super fun if we wouldn't have a map at all, and would have to construct one ourselves. Or maybe such just a specific area. This would only make sense if map would be a big factor in the gameplay but still, I really loved the old cRPGs like Wizardry where you didn't really have a coherent map.

[septembervirgin]

Actually, what I'd select is not given as an option, I fear.

 

I think there should be a type of map like a modified Arcanum, where a point could be selected on the world map and the characters would journey to it, or they could walk through the wilderness in an open world. There would be random encounters regardless of which method of travel chosen.

[axisAdamWest]

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Edited October 2, 2017 by axisAdamWest

[Krios]

This topic seems made for the Fallout2 kind of maps. I remember every time I traveled there was a sense of anticipation; I practically expect to run into a blind encounter. That brought in a feeling of excitement. It would be great if parts of the story were told during traveling, as part of an encounter, like it was in FO2 and BG2. Although I would like a prettier map, cos really the FO maps were dark. I liked the one in DA:O.

[Terror K]

I liked BG1 maps too. About the only thing I felt BG1 did better than BG2 actually. It made the locations feel more real, meant for more exploring and discovering things yourself rather than entering an area and generally knowing what was there before finding it and that there will always be some major point of interest. Discovery seemed more rewarding with BG1 I found.

[Jozape]

The BG2/PS:T world map with points of interest is my least favorite. All the others are roughly on equal grounds except for the completely continuous world ala U6/U7/TES, which I think makes the world appear artificially small. But I would be very happy with such an over world too. And random encounters are good.

[Piccolo]

I don't like feeling as if i'm in zones or sections. If the map isn't just one big continuous open world, it should at least have the illusion of being one big continuous open world.

[Luckmann]

Always, always preferred Baldur's Gate.

[Huli22]

B I G

[Entropious]

If I may add my opinion on this matter: I very much prefer my map to be artistically pleasant rather than functional. Perhaps this is wrong, but I still view a computer game as a work of art rather than a product to be consumed and thrown out, and as such I wish every elements to be aesthetically delicious.

[Nakia]

I choose BG I style. I also do like the TES type map but that means you have a smaller area to explore than the BG I type. As for random encounters they can get very boring. I would rather have fewer random enounters that have some interest to them and the same thing over and over.

[dlux]

I prefer the 3rd option, but what I really don't want to have are these stupid Bethesda style maps. They take a huge area which is something like (600x600)km large, stuff it into into a game and make the map (3x3)km small. Doesn't make sense.

Edited September 20, 2012 by dlux

[Valorian]

BG 1 style map here as well.

 

A single large area (New Vegas, Skyrim) doesn't allow for much geographical and/or climate variety... if they want to keep it believable. Everything feels too close and contrived.

[Muzrub333]

Ultima/Elder Scrolls style, with non generic random encounters, and please give us "Fog of War".

[incubus9]

My one pet peeve about the random maps from BGT were that they were all basically the same. You encounter everything in the same canyon or clearing. In the city it was even worse. I always fought the same group of slavers in the same alleyway every time I moved between areas. I at the very least want some variety as to random map usage if they do that.

[curryinahurry]

I would enjoy something along the travel options in Darklands. You get a map view of the entire game region and can travel to any city or known point. You get a travel time pop-up based on mode of transportation (boat, walking, horse, etc.). From that point encounters are based on skills, reputation, plot triggers, etc. Skills like lore, quests taken on or local rumors could become ways of fleshing out the map (as well as plot critical areas).

[Ovocean]

My one pet peeve about the random maps from BGT were that they were all basically the same. You encounter everything in the same canyon or clearing. In the city it was even worse. I always fought the same group of slavers in the same alleyway every time I moved between areas. I at the very least want some variety as to random map usage if they do that.

Agreed. The repetitiveness of the random maps killed the immersion.

[grotbag]

Yeah, conditional encounters are something that can help to really bring pleasure to world travel. SoZ's trigger-based system, most recently, wasn't ideal - you ended up mining the map - but something similar really plays to the nature of the party-based RPG with nothing more than a quick skill/trait check, and it provides almost limitless opportunity for invention (your priestly figure's given a tip-off by a fellow of their order, your magic-based fellow senses arcane energies in the air, your tracker spots a potential ambush, your high-strength brute's spotted by a wrestler challenging passers-by, you haven't recruited anyone with good perception skills so it rapidly turns out that your entire party's wandered blindly into the lair of a high-level monster...)

Edited September 20, 2012 by grotbag

[Darji]

Baldur's Gate like.

[ownagefool]

BG1 maps > BG2 maps.

 

I guess walking around the wilderness at high level would be kinda pointless, but alas I always thought the BG1 world was better fleshed out.

[testerius]

I really like random encounters like in Fallout 1/2 game but there is one problem, random encounter should'nt be so generic because it was boring and not nice when you see 10x times this same random encounter. I prefer something like Fallout style, but non-combat encounters is good idea too.

[GhostofAnakin]

I'm partial to the BG1 style, but really any of the options are good. And I like random encounters. Adds flavor to the traveling.

[hideo kuze]

IIRC Obsidian is inclined (already decided?) to use a map mechanic similar to BG.

The problem I see with this is that is removes a nice chunk of exploration and puzzle solving from the game.

With this approach it means that you instantly get access to a new location when you talk with an NPC or get access to a map.

Whereas with a free roaming mechanic like the one in Fallout it adds the possibility of having riddles for the player to solve and if he's lucky find some interesting and secret location. Example:

 

So during your adventure you read a book about some mythical location and you think "wow, really nice lore in this game".

Somewhere latter you read a bit more about it "oh man, this would be a really cool to place to explore. I wish they had this in the game. Well, maybe in a future expansion".

Latter on you're able to get your hands on a parchment, whose author claims he has found that secret area, and he gives its location in the form of a riddle.

Riddle which makes reference to topological features in the world map (rough example: Once embraced by the shadow of the bear's skull, follow the path of his paw for two days, and recite these words... then the door will open to you).

 

So to get access to that secret location you would have to: have the texts that point to the geodesic point of interest, travel there to get new clues (in this case the bear's skull and paw), solve a new riddle (determine where to head next), and finally use the quest item (in the above example: the parchment to recite some words on the target area in the map).

This can make exploration more interesting and also give a greater sense of reward to the player.

 

 

The need for moving to a specific grid on the map adds exploration and puzzle solving, since you're on a quest to find some secret location but have to solve a riddle first.

And the need for having to use a quest item to access the location prevents players from cheesing and combing the entire world map.