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I am writing a paper on the role of maps within role-playing games, specifically Pathfinder. For this I am gathering the thoughts and opinions of other Pathfinder gamers and I decided to ask for responses on here, to a wider community.
***If you are okay with me using your answers in my paper PLEASE state it. Unless requested otherwise, I will use your avatar name.***
The following questions are to understand player's background with Pathfinder:
1) How long have you been playing Pathfinder?
2) Have you ever been the Game Master/Dungeon Master? Have you ever been a player?
a)How long have you/did you play each role?
i) If you've played both: which did you like better?
3) Have you ever played Pathfinder Society? Homebrew?
a) Which did you like better?
4) Have you ever played a game with maps? Without maps?
a)Did playing with a map make a difference to how you liked the game?
The following questions are concerning the paper's topic:
1) Do you think maps effect how player's play? How Game Master's play?
a) If yes: how do you think they effect the player's/Game Master's play?
b) If no: why do you think they don't effect the player's/Game Master's play?
2) Do you think maps effect the game?
a) If yes: how do you think they affect the game?
b) If no: why do you think maps don't affect the game?
***Please note that I am only taking responses given before December 5, 2016.***
I am writing a paper on the role of maps within role-playing games, specifically Pathfinder. For this I am gathering the thoughts and opinions of other Pathfinder gamers and I decided to ask for responses on here, to a wider community.
***If you are okay with me using your answers in my paper PLEASE state it. Unless requested otherwise, I will use your avatar name.***
You are permitted to use my answers, attached to my avatar name.
First & foremost, I have some comments on your questionaire:
Your questions are not clear. I assumed you were asking about battlemaps -- maps with squares for tracking positions in combat. But you might mean simply regional maps -- much more typical maps that show the world. If so, let me know & I'll give you new answers.
Also, I noticed that you don't ask about our experience with other RPGs, and how that might influence our opinions. As someone who has played games other than D&D/PF for most of her life, I wanted to point it out in case it was unintentionally omitted.
Finally, I can't but help copy-edit. I'm sorry, I really am, to nitpick. Nonetheless, this is for academic work. You really should have the first question of Part II read:
"1) Do you think maps affect how players play? How Game Masters play?"
(I fixed "effect" used as a verb, and an apostrophe-s used as a plural.)
1) I have been playing Pathfinder for maybe 5 years.
2) I started as Game Master this past year. I have been a player the whole time (including now). The roles are different; I like both.
3) I have only played in a homebrew campaign, although I'm running a mostly Golarion-as-published campaign. Never PFS.
4) I have played games with & without maps, but I much prefer with.
Part II
1) I think maps affect how both players & GMs play a lot -- and in the same way. They help you visualize the situation. It's one thing for the GM to say, "Sure, you can get there without triggering an Attack of Opportunity." It's another to see the map and realize the possibilities inherent in the geography. As someone moving characters about, whether my PC or several NPCs, I want to see who's where before I decide what to do. Before I mentally ask myself if I can get there without an AoO, I need to see which "there" would be most advantageous. And as a GM, I definitely appreciate not having to make tough judgement calls like this! The map tells us the answer -- it's easy. My preference is strong enough that I have more than once stopped the game I play in to ask the GM to draw a map, if the situation is complicated. (He normally runs without them.)
I still remember with faint bitterness the time long ago, in a galaxy far, far away (ie, a different game), when my PC got killed by friendly fire. The other player announced firing something like a lightning bolt at the bad guy. But we were playing without maps, and the GM abruptly ruled that my PC was standing inbetween the two. Bad GMing, sure. But a map would likely have helped the other player pick a different tactic!
2) Obviously, I think maps affect the game tactically. But more than that, a verbal description of a room lacks a lot of what the characters are actually seeing. The more color, the more detail, the better! It really aids immersion. I love working with the maps in the published AP I'm using now.
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You may use my comments as you wish. I hope my blather is useful to you, though I agree with bitter lily, some of the questions were a little vague and confusing. Good luck!
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The following questions are to understand player's background with Pathfinder:
1) How long have you been playing Pathfinder?
About 7 years or so.
2) Have you ever been the Game Master/Dungeon Master? Have you ever been a player?
I have played D&D since the original blue box game and have GMed nearly as long. So I’m an old salt on both sides of the screen.
a)How long have you/did you play each role?
Let’s see, the blue box set came out in 1977, or thereabouts. So I’ve been a RPG gamer for nearly 40 years.
i) If you've played both: which did you like better?
I’m a big fan of Pathfinder, and prefer to play rather than GM, but I believe strongly in giving back to the community so I try to always have one game where I’m the GM at any given time.
3) Have you ever played Pathfinder Society? Homebrew?
I played PFS for a few years, and even ran a store for a while. I’ve done homebrew and APs on both sides of the screen, though I DM exclusively in APs these days as I don’t have the time to develop homebrew campaigns anymore.
a) Which did you like better?
Homebrew are richer and often less rail-roady if you have a good DM. But those are hard to find. APs and things like PFS raise the bar, in my opinion, for many. There is still lots of room for creativity on the DM side of things in an AP or PFS Scenario.
4) Have you ever played a game with maps? Without maps?
I have played both ways, though it’s far more frequent to play with maps.
a)Did playing with a map make a difference to how you liked the game?
Absolutely. It helps with immersion. It helps me to root my character in the culture or in the scene. It helps me visualize.
The following questions are concerning the paper's topic:
1) Do you think maps effect how player's play? How Game Master's play?
Oh absolutely.
a) If yes: how do you think they effect the player's/Game Master's play?
b) If no: why do you think they don't effect the player's/Game Master's play?
Playing without maps, say in combat, result in more judgement calls on the part of the DM, and fewer options for the players. Ranged combat becomes more tricky, not less, unless you add a layer of house rules - which can often unbalance things one way or another.
2) Do you think maps effect the game?
Absolutely.
a) If yes: how do you think they affect the game?
b) If no: why do you think maps don't affect the game?
Maps, like the art, enrich the DMs description of the events. They help pull the imagination into the environment
First of all, you can use my real name, which is Michael Tumey, as a kind of additional reveal, I am a professional game cartographer, having created the City of Kasai map for The Empty Throne module of the Jade Regent AP, but I also create maps for the Kaidan setting of Japanese Horror (PFRPG) for Rite Publishing. I've created maps for Kobold Press, Stormbunny Studios, Purple Duck Games, many, many maps for Legendary Games over the past year, Raging Swan Press, Dog House Rules, Iron Crown Enterprises, and many others, so I may be a bit biased.
1. Been playing PF since Beta.
2a-i. Been playing D&D since 1977, though more heavily from 1981 onwards. I've been both a player and DM/GM since, though I prefer to GM versus playing (I am too use to managing multiple NPCs, monsters, the terrain - playing just one character is boring for me.)
3. Never been a PFS player/GM, I far far prefer to homebrew, but then I'm a very creative guy, and have been involved with homebrewers since the 80's, so I'm very comfortable doing that.
4. Of course I've always played games with maps, and even in my home games, I've always been relegated to be the table mapper. I have experienced playing using a whiteboard with a grid for quick melee encounters, especially when the encounter wasn't predetermined, rather occurred through circumstance, out of the storyline. I enjoy mapping so much, that I've never needed to run a game without a map, ever. Notable, I am the creator of the Kaidan setting of Japanese Horror (PFRPG) my published homebrew, and am becoming a small publisher myself with multiple module products in development. I also self-publish many map products.
Topical Questions:
1. Yes; I think maps both make combat easier to play, and improves the level of immersion for players and GMs.
2. I believe those games that are more psychological in circumstance can be played without maps, and anyone with a great imagination could probably do so without maps, but since I enjoy mapping so much, I've never needed to not have them in use.
Does that help?
The following questions are to understand player's background with Pathfinder:
1) How long have you been playing Pathfinder?
I found it in 2012, coming from 3/3.5
2) Have you ever been the Game Master/Dungeon Master? Have you ever been a player?
Both!
a)How long have you/did you play each role?
On and off for about a decade. More as a player than a GM
i) If you've played both: which did you like better?
If I have great players I love GMing, if the GM is fun I want to play with then thats where I want to be.
3) Have you ever played Pathfinder Society? Homebrew?
Yep.
a) Which did you like better?
Society definitely feels like you get a lot more done in a shorter amount of time.
4) Have you ever played a game with maps? Without maps?
Both
a)Did playing with a map make a difference to how you liked the game?
I like maps a lot. Mapless games can feel 'floaty' and inconsequential at times.
The following questions are concerning the paper's topic:
1) Do you think maps effect how player's play? How Game Master's play?
Yep, I as a player often seek cover/highground. As a GM I like maps to entice and inspire my players.
a) If yes: how do you think they effect the player's/Game Master's play?
It makes the game swing more towards rules, I like the crunch. I like there being a 'right and wrong' place to be, location location location.
b) If no: why do you think they don't effect the player's/Game Master's play?
Play with a map you louts.
2) Do you think maps effect the game?
a) If yes: how do you think they affect the game?
Players have less abstract ideas about what is where, less guess work and more tactical arrangements.
b) If no: why do you think maps don't affect the game?
Feel free to use my answers as you like.
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I'll divide maps into two types: Geographical and Strategic.
Geographical
I like to start my sessions with a Geographical map of where the game takes place. I am currently DMing a game that largely takes place in a city. It helps me and my players "get back into" the setting as characters, and I usually add some new background information to help breath life into the game. Perhaps that is choosing a single district and using skill checks to solicit information about that district, largely places of interest, perhaps a little history, and other background information. I find it grounds the session before we get into the main part "so what are your characters doing?"
Strategic
Or "battle maps" either drawn freehand on-the-spot, flipped open from a stash of generic flip maps, or revealed part-by-part through the process of exploration. My players and I like them because we enjoy the "chess" elements of the game. Sometimes I use "abstract" maps that treat distance and time as approximate values to determine the order of things set in motion by player choice and pre-set random tables (which I generate for some scenarios). I'm not opposed to "narrative" combats and situations, but generally prefer the grids to more-or-less denote exact position within a scene.
Dunno if that helps - good luck with your paper!
1) How long have you been playing Pathfinder? I come from 3.5 which is where Pathfinder started. If you want to include my 3.5 time then I have been around since 2004. Otherwise I have been around since Pathfinder has been around. I think that was 2008.
2) Have you ever been the Game Master/Dungeon Master? Have you ever been a player? I do both roles
a)How long have you/did you play each role? I do both roles all the time.
i) If you've played both: which did you like better? I like playing more.
3) Have you ever played Pathfinder Society? Homebrew? I have never played Pathfinder Soceity.
a) Which did you like better?
4) Have you ever played a game with maps? Without maps?
I tried it one once without a battlemap. I will never do it again. It was a terrible experience for me.
a)Did playing with a map make a difference to how you liked the game?
The following questions are concerning the paper's topic:
1) Do you think maps effect how player's play? How Game Master's play?
The game assumes a map will be used and it effects tactics to a very
large degree.
a) If yes: how do you think they effect the player's/Game Master's play?
b) If no: why do you think they don't effect the player's/Game Master's play?
2) Do you think maps effect the game?
How is this question different from the previous question?
a) If yes: how do you think they affect the game?
b) If no: why do you think maps don't affect the game?
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This is going to vary a lot as people have different thinking styles, and should be interesting.
1) How long have you been playing Pathfinder? Since 2013. Played 3.5 and other TTRPGs for another 5 years prior.
2) Have you ever been the Game Master/Dungeon Master? Have you ever been a player? Technically, both.
a)How long have you/did you play each role? 99% of the time, I have been a player. GMed a one-off session, starting a homebrew campaign soon.
i) If you've played both: which did you like better? I prefer playing. Being under the limelight for extended periods of time is exhausting.
3) Have you ever played Pathfinder Society? Homebrew? A couple games of PFS, a lot of homebrew.
a) Which did you like better? I prefer homebrew for sure.
4) Have you ever played a game with maps? Without maps? Yes to both. My early experiences were without maps, but I later found a new gaming group after moving house, which all use maps.
a)Did playing with a map make a difference to how you liked the game? Yes, and no. It changes my mindset towards the game. Maps' impact on my enjoyment of the game depends on my character and the nature of the game I'm playing in. My immersion is much higher without a map, so I enjoy it a lot more from a roleplaying aspect, but my ability to enjoy the combat as a game suffers. I am not yet good enough to engage both at the same time effectively.
The following questions are concerning the paper's topic:
1) Do you think maps effect how player's play? How Game Master's play? Yes, tremendously.
a) If yes: how do you think they effect the player's/Game Master's play? I feel that going without maps inherently skews the game to a narrative style. Plays are encouraged to imagine the scene, think more from the player perspective and treat battles less mechanically. No map leads to people asking more about terrain and thinking more laterally, in my experience, but having a map helps tremendously with positioning and easily aids players visualising allies in trouble and such. Players are more likely to communicate without a map, but better able to plan ahead of time with one.
2) Do you think maps effect the game? Yes.
a) If yes: how do you think they affect the game? Without a map, combat is inevitably going to be much harder. Players won't understand what's going on quite as well and won't be able to plan as effectively. There will be a significant shift away from mechanics and a GM should probably make sure the encounters are not as intense as they would be with a map. Ranged attacks and Area of Effect spells are naturally going to be more complicated to manage, as is reach, flanking and attacks of opportunity. Leniency will be expected of the GM for player enjoyment.
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Personally I liked the campaign I had without a map. But it is a wholly different beast and I wouldn't advise it to anyone who puts a lot of importance behind combat and optimisation (for that reason, I think a lot of these boards will have a similar opinion as that kind of player is heavily represented here).
I would say that because of that, Pathfinder is not a good match for mapless combat - it is a very combat oriented system. But it is definitely workable.
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I'd like to note that you are likely to have a sample bias and that it is non probabilist. People who like maps are in my opinion more likely to view and then reply to this thread.
I too wonder if excluding other games was intentional, many are likely to have played DnD before PF. I also wonder how you would like to treat breaks in playing: I played 3.0 and 3.5 since they came out for many years, then did not play anymore for years to come, and then started PF a few years back. I frequently GMed in 3.x but did not GM in PF until maybe 2 months ago.
Stuff
The quotes are all messed up here because I'm too lazy to attribute properly. Deal with it.
The following questions are to understand player's background with Pathfinder:
1) How long have you been playing Pathfinder?
Since roughly 2010. I've played RPGs in general, including D&D, since 1977.
2) Have you ever been the Game Master/Dungeon Master? Have you ever been a player?
a)How long have you/did you play each role?
i) If you've played both: which did you like better?
Yes to both roles, in both cases since '77 or perhaps '78. I think I like playing better, but GM-ing is rarer in my circles, so I often get tasked with it, and I don't mind, as it's fun, too.
3) Have you ever played Pathfinder Society? Homebrew?
a) Which did you like better?
Yes to both. I vastly prefer homebrew. As a player, homebrew games are generally more imaginative and more adaptable (most of the PFS scenarios are pretty formulaic). I have not GMed PFS and have no intention to do so, as the requirements to play scenarios strictly-as-written is about as fun-destroying a rule (IMHO) as exists.
4) Have you ever played a game with maps? Without maps?
a)Did playing with a map make a difference to how you liked the game?
Yes, again, to both. I prefer map-free.
The following questions are concerning the paper's topic:
1) Do you think maps effect how player's play? How Game Master's play?
a) If yes: how do you think they effect the player's/Game Master's play?
b) If no: why do you think they don't effect the player's/Game Master's play?
Yes, I do. I think the tactical (battle-)maps force a greater focus on rules minutia and tactical precision, at the expense both of immersion and of imagination. For example, without a battlemap, the player asks the GM "how many orcs can I get in the fireball," she thinks and answers "four of the ten, because they're in a skirmish line" and it's done. With a battlemap, everyone argues for four or five minutes about the best placement of the fireball template.
Similarly, attacks of opportunity are much less an issue without a battlemat, which effectively cuts off a whole line of mechanistic play (and associated feats), which in turn can encourage taking more holistically imaginative feats.
2) Do you think maps effect the game?
a) If yes: how do you think they affect the game?
b) If no: why do you think maps don't affect the game?
I think they do affect the game, negatively. I prefer Theater-of-the-Mind style play.
Feel free to use my answers as you see fit.
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1) How long have you been playing Pathfinder?
For 7 years.
2) Have you ever been the Game Master/Dungeon Master? Have you ever been a player?
Yes and yes.
a)How long have you/did you play each role?
I have been the Game Master fairly continuously for one game or another over the 7 years. I have been a player infrequently for the last 3 years.
i) If you've played both: which did you like better?
Game Master.
3) Have you ever played Pathfinder Society? Homebrew?
Yes and yes.
a) Which did you like better?
I like both for different reasons, homebrew for the freedom and PFS for the quality.
4) Have you ever played a game with maps? Without maps?
Both.
a)Did playing with a map make a difference to how you liked the game?
Yes, I prefer to both Game Master and play with maps, to the point that Roll20 and such gaming clients are now my preferred medium of play.
The following questions are concerning the paper's topic:
1) Do you think maps effect how player's play? How Game Master's play?
Yes and yes.
a) If yes: how do you think they effect the player's/Game Master's play?
They affect players by providing tactile and visual information about the game, which "theatre of the mind" play does not. They enable tactile and visual learners to engage with the game easily, and well made maps can increase the enjoyment of encounters.
They affect Game Masters by forcing a certain amount of preparation to go into every encounter. A Game Master must think about factors such as terrain features present for combat encounters, and tactical positioning for monsters. They can also inspire Game Masters - a particularly beautiful map can often inspire whole encounters.
b) If no: why do you think they don't effect the player's/Game Master's play?
N/A
2) Do you think maps effect the game?
Yes.
a) If yes: how do you think they affect the game?
They force the game to have rules to accommodate maps. More specifically, because the most common maps are gridded and game companies sell gridded maps, rules developers are encouraged to accommodate the medium by including rules for squares, threatened areas, movement speeds and the like.
b) If no: why do you think maps don't affect the game?
N/A
I am happy for you to use my name in the paper.
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***If you are okay with me using your answers in my paper PLEASE state it. Unless requested otherwise, I will use your avatar name.***
Your can use my full name, John Paul Stoddard. I am also a self published cartographer. I have accounts on DrivethruRPG, Deviantart and even a Patreon. I publish Original Maps and Also as a Pathfinder Community Service re-creat Pathfinder Maps into usable 1"=5' Digital format for use online. I assume that your asking specifically about 1"=5' Battle Maps. Maps are important to provide a frame work of the essential setting...and to stimulate the Mind. They also serve as "Pin points" in the Game...Your able to pick up Immediately where you left off after the last game seccession.
1) How long have you been playing Pathfinder?
Pathfinder from it's start, I was an Original Playtester. However I have played D&D since 1978. D&D is the only rule set we have used.
2) Have you ever been the Game Master/Dungeon Master? Have you ever been a player?
a)How long have you/did you play each role?
i) If you've played both: which did you like better?
Both,since 1978. I like both roles. I find that switching roles leads to better play. Give your mind a Break from each role.
3) Have you ever played Pathfinder Society? Homebrew?
a) Which did you like better?
Only Play in person with Friends never in an Official Pathfinder Society Leaque. Although I am considering looking into Online playing since it is extremely hard to schedule a set time for Scheduled "time" due to varying Work and Family Schedules and events.
4) Have you ever played a game with maps? Without maps?
a)Did playing with a map make a difference to how you liked the game?
Every Game since 1978 either as a Visual Aide or as a Battle Map to control movement. I personally Can't imagine playing a game without a Map, because I easily forget details describe in a short description.
1) Do you think maps effect how player's play? How Game Master's play?
a) If yes: how do you think they effect the player's/Game Master's play?
b) If no: why do you think they don't effect the player's/Game Master's play?
Of Course they do...They control Movement, they control strategy. They help visualized where everyone is. They Bring reality in a sense to the game. Say for Example is a Character tries to shoot and Arrow at an Opponent, the map will show if they could or not. A Door or Pillar Block the shot. They help eliviate arguements
2) Do you think maps effect the game?
a) If yes: how do you think they affect the game?
b) If no: why do you think maps don't affect the game?
Because people Visualize Obsticles in the Room. The See what effects movement, effect line of sight, They visualize if they can "Flank" or receive Cover, Concelment...No arguement if they are range or not
You have permission to use my responses in your paper, and using the avatar name is fine. You also have permission to use my actual name, Sean C. Henderson, if that is more appropriate for your paper.
1) How long have you been playing Pathfinder?
Since 2006.
2) Have you ever been the Game Master/Dungeon Master? Have you ever been a player?
Yes, and yes.
a)How long have you/did you play each role?
I have been a player since 2006. I have been GM'ing Pathfinder since 2012, though I have experience both GM'ing and playing games other than Pathfinder prior to 2006.
i) If you've played both: which did you like better?
I prefer being a player.
3) Have you ever played Pathfinder Society? Homebrew?
Yes, and yes.
a) Which did you like better?
Pathfinder Society, but specifically because I play it at Gencon and have the opportunity to play with all kinds of different people. The social aspect of gaming with new people is a real attraction for me.
4) Have you ever played a game with maps? Without maps?
Yes, and yes.
a)Did playing with a map make a difference to how you liked the game?
Yes, I preferred playing with a map because it allowed me to "orient my imagination".
1) Do you think maps effect how player's play? How Game Master's play?
Yes, and yes.
a) If yes: how do you think they effect the player's/Game Master's play?
For players, a map is a visual aid that helps them to form their imagination around something more concrete, even if the map is itself an abstraction. For the GM, it makes storytelling easier for the same reason - players often have less reason to interrupt the action or narrative with logistical questions when there is a map at hand.
2) Do you think maps effect the game?
Yes.
a) If yes: how do you think they affect the game?
They are ultimately an improvement. Not every gamer can roleplay within a purely abstract environment, and a map provides a concrete detail that helps to structure the imagination in the same way that rules help structure gameplay.
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Some people have asked some questions which I’m going to attempt to answer here. But first, some of you may have forgotten to include permission for me to use your answers in my paper. You may have purposefully chosen to not include this, which is perfectly fine. But if your intent was to give responses that I could use in my paper, I’d ask that you review your post to double check that you gave your permission.
1. What maps am I talking about? Battle maps. My apologies, this was due to a lack of attention to detail.
2. My choice of Pathfinder and PF only? This paper has a page restriction: 5-7 pages. If I had no page limit or more pages, I would indeed cast my questions wider to include as many RPG systems as possible.
3. There seems to be some misunderstandings around the background questions. This was because I was not clear on these questions. The background questions are simply to gain some insight about the player’s history with PF (and other RPGs if they so chose to write) so that I understand where a player is coming from when he/she answers the topic questions. The answers to these questions will have very, very little impact in my paper. (I do agree, that I should have written ‘role-playing games’ in the first question instead of PF.) The background questions are ultimately a respondents choice of what they wish to share.
4. The difference between the first question of the paper’s topic (Do you think maps affect how players play? How Game Masters play?) and the second (Do you think maps affect the game?) is in the wording. The first asks how it affects the playing style of the players/GM, the second asks about the overall affect. Some might have the same answer for both which is okay. I wrote the first question to help break down the question of ‘does it affect the game and how.’
5. I understand that I’m more likely to get responses stating that maps positively affect the game (I’m open to getting responses about how maps negatively affect the game). Since, this paper is not a survey I’m not required to include everyone's responses. Thank you, though, for your point about sample bias.
6. Last quick note: This paper is not trying to answer the question ‘are RPGs better with or without maps.’ It’s looking at how maps affect PF gaming.
If you want to revise your answers based on these clarifying points, feel free to do so. I will note that after December 9th I will not be checking this discussion for updates.
Thank you to everyone who has responded to my questions thus far. And thank you to those you gave feedback about the questions and the choices I made concerning the questions.
If you have any more questions feel free to ask!
Quick Edit: Should have refreshed before posting. Risen has answered most of them already. But I'll leave my original post as is.
Parroting a little bit of bitter lily. Risengold’s questions aren’t as clear as they can be. Are we talking about strictly battlemaps? Or do town and world maps count?
Also this Binary Map: Yes/No could also be better.
There is Standard Grid map. Which is the tried and true, and my preferred.
Hex maps which many people swear alter the map experience greatly.
There also what I call the “Area Map” System which gives you an overall battle map, but individual areas are treated as- No Map areas. This is lifted from a non-Paizo RPG, that I see a surprising number of people on other RPG boards use.
There is token tracking (which I have little experience with), also lifted from non-Paizo RPGs where you use indicators to track distances but not exactly locations, without the use of a map. Basically Map-less but with some crunch.
Map-less ofcourse, keeping track of things in your head, and more fluid for imagination.
There is also switching between maps or no maps. Some groups only pull out the battle map for “important” fights. Others use the Standard grid, but use Hex when in Ship or 3D combat.
I noticed that you don't ask about our experience with other RPGs, and how that might influence our opinions. As someone who has played games other than D&D/PF for most of her life, I wanted to point it out in case it was unintentionally omitted.
Also this is a very important question. Is you paper going to specifically target Pathfinder, and ignore every other kind of RPG? Some Mech/vehicle related RPGs use movement costs, turn points, facing, elevation limits. Which is something you can not even mimic in Pathfinder without overhauling the movement rules completely. (I am aware Older D&Ds had facing, it's not quite the same.)
I once played this really tripping Sci-fi Indie game that used colours to keep track of positions.Risen, take the answers you have here, but I think you should reevaluate your questionnaire.
I think the OP is limiting questions to Pathfinder used maps only, so concerns for non-PF maps do not apply. As a pro cartographer, I make all types of maps for all types of games, yet I did not include answers to non-PF games, as could tell the OP had no interest in non-PF map answers. All my map products for example only come in square grid or no grid for virtual tabletop use - I never include hex maps, because the maps I sell are targeted to D&D and PF games only. The only time I create a hex map is as a commission for a hex game publisher, such as Iron Crown Enterprises for HARP/Rolemaster games which use hex grid not square grid.
Note my map products are generally battle maps, with the rare city map as well.