Goblin Squad Member
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For instance, instead of seeing a bright red dot on a mini-map, telegraphing a node's location far before my character can perceive it's location using my camera perspective, I would rather have to become adept at looking for the node...spotting tell-tale signs of it among the other terrain features.
I have the complete opposite opinion; I want my Character to be adept at locating nodes.
[Edit] I would also point out that you can accomplish your stated goal by the simple expedient of turning off node-tracking. I suspect that would not be sufficient for your desires, though.
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RPG Superstar 2012 Top 16
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For instance, instead of seeing a bright red dot on a mini-map, telegraphing a node's location far before my character can perceive it's location using my camera perspective, I would rather have to become adept at looking for the node...spotting tell-tale signs of it among the other terrain features.I have the complete opposite opinion; I want my Character to be adept at locating nodes.
Yes, that's something on my mind too - I am not my character. I don't have to be good at everything that my character is good at. I should be able to have a character who is a great archer without becoming personally good at FPS-style games. I should be able to have a great crafter without becoming skilled at a hammer-swinging minigame.
And none of this damages my immersion. Because the immersion comes from the shared world with persistent effects, and the stories I tell with and about my character in that world.
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Goblin Squad Member
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You know, something I noticed about a lot of the minimap complaints is that they aren't so much about the minimap as they are about system-generated waypoints. The "follow the arrow to the XPZ!" and the "X Marks the Mine".
True, and even though I am an avid supporter of a minimap, I wouldn't care at all if it didn't have way-points on it, at least without upgrading your skills.
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Goblin Squad Member
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Heck they could do something where the mini map is just a map, and you can pen in your own waypoints and landmarks. Using knowledge checks or some sort of skill could allow you to possibly see NPC, or notable landmarks, or even maybe let you view landmarks penned in by other players. Just a thought
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Goblin Squad Member
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You know, something I noticed about a lot of the minimap complaints is that they aren't so much about the minimap as they are about system-generated waypoints. The "follow the arrow to the XPZ!" and the "X Marks the Mine".True, and even though I am an avid supporter of a minimap, I wouldn't care at all if it didn't have way-points on it, at least without upgrading your skills.
I think you're both on to something.
Seeing that there's a building behind your character
Is not the same as:
Seeing the building behind you labeled with an icon that means "Weapon Store", or an icon that means "Bring your quest item to an NPC here".
Seeing that the hill you're currently facing is north of you
Is not the same as:
Seeing that a patch of bushes in a valley north of the hill is a Berry Gathering Node that you haven't harvested yet.
Seeing that the party member fighting beside you, but just out of your line of sight, is southeast of you
Is not the same as:
Seeing a glowing dot on the edge of the mini-map that tells you that a party member is somewhere southeast of you, even if they're 10 miles away.
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Goblin Squad Member
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From memory (been a long time now), the Guildwars 1 mini-map just contained a wireframe view of the area around your (contours and geographical features), your party members and visible mobs. NPCs may have been on there also, but there wasn't much else.
Simple map, but maybe something people could appreciate without having a billion features giving every little detail away.
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Goblin Squad Member
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Just a thought, but why not a compromise of sorts. Instead of an actual "mini-map" with all of the features such as: NPC points, Nodes, Enemies. You instead have a little compass in the upper corner of your UI with your "detection radius". An in-depth explanation follows.
Your "detection radius thingy"
1. Would display pertinent information based off a perception skill. Such as the ability to "hear" something running up behind you, thus warning you to turn around. This mixed with some kind of on screen "in your view" displays could alert you to other things such as a foul smell coming from a cave. (I've seen this achieved with a slight off color variation of the air mixed with flies buzzing around)
2. It would contain a "fog of war" based on such a perception skill. This would allow for adverse conditions to effect your active "detection radius" Either narrowing or expanding it to have your heads up in situations.
3. Would only display the map your character understands. It would act similar to a "mini-map" showing the area around you as you perceive it. Thus as you increase certain skills your "detection radius map" becomes more accurate and could include additional information.
Just food for thought, I've seen something similar in a few solo-play RPGs and it was really effective at keeping me immersed within the game, yet allowed me the convenience of realizing that I was not actually there in the game.
I also think that having an actual "Map" would be useful. But I don't believe it should be displayed at all times. If my character believes he is lost he would pull the map out of his backpack. An interactive map would be great so that I could jot down notes and points of interest, the same as if you had a paper map sitting next to you (or in my case pinned up on my wall).
Goblinworks Executive Founder
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Keep in mind that complexity added to minimap only affects legit players; anyone who chooses to cheat will still have the full display available.
That said, I like the idea of some complexity based off of character skills and player UI settings. It just can't reliably be used to conceal information from the payer.
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Goblin Squad Member
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So if I have two monitors should I be able to move and maximize my minimap on my second screen showing me where everyone and everything is from Fort Riverwatch to Thornkeep?
Where do you want to draw the line on this minimap's capabilities?
I don't see why changing the size of the minimap should change its displayed area. And I haven't seen anyone suggesting it should. Most suggestions I've seen involve tying the displayed area to a skill. At best, dedicating your second monitor to it would give you better resolution over that area.
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Goblin Squad Member
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Multi-monitor support would be a great idea whether or not there is a mini-map. Some people will want to keep all the GUI elements out of their field of view on the second monitor, as Being suggests, above. Others will be more interested in having a very wide field of view, with GUI elements blocking parts of both monitors.
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Goblin Squad Member
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From my experience with Unity, the default GUI objects are a pain in the butt to work with. Easier to create a custom object in the environment that is parented to the players camera. Regardless either object can then include a hitbox area (that can be toggled off and on from another menu or button) that can be clicked and dragged around the view area to move the GUI element. The trick is having it properly scale it's size and position with different window/fullscreen resolutions. It will definitely require some programming, but I don't think it'll be anything an experienced professional can't handle.