Suggestions Concerning the Map Notes

[reynjl0]

I submitted the following ideas as a suggestion ticket recently; a GM seemed to think were a good idea and advised me to post them on the forum to see if I could drum up more support from the community concerning them. So if you like what you see or have any ideas of your own on the same line, please contribute to this thread or write in a suggestions ticket. Concerning the map notes I think the following changes would not that hard to implement and would enhance gameplay for everyone without altering game mechanics or rules:

1) The ability to place a mapflag at an exact location. Currently players have to kind of geuss and place the flag on the map manually somewhere in the vicinity of the white cursor arrow; this is ok but rather imprecise. I propose a command to be added to the general right click menu where Free Look is at, a command called Create User Note at Current Location or something similar, which will automatically create a flag at the toons exact location. This will aid in refinding those sources of a very small area.

2) The ability to color code the flags and filter the map so that flags of only one color are shown. A player could be given say 6 categories of flag which they could assign a custom color, like the chat text color color palette. For example, they could make all the marks for source nodes appear in green, stationary NPCs in maroon, boss mobs in lemon yellow, agro zones in blue, nodes that can only be harvested in winter while its raining on Tuesday in chartreuse, whatever they want. A filter key, similar to that for inventory, would let them see only the flags of one of the assigned colors for easy perusal.

3) The ability to zoom the map in further and place a higher density of notes. Currently you can place notes only so close together. There are some areas such as tribe camps where NPCs are in high density so it would be nice to place a flag for each named NPC to track them down for Fed Ex missions.

4) Perhaps the most obvious, the ability to place spaces in the note text so that people arent writing notes like choiceSarinaSeedexcellentMoonResinFallNightClouds. Just a silly minor annoyance.

5) Considering the map data is trivial and does not effect the outcome of the character, this map data should be stored on the users computer and not on the home server. That way a player could access the map using a graphics editing software to share information with guildies and the like. And yes of course they can just take a screenshot. This would also prevent all the notes from being wiped, which does seem to happen periodically to everyones great dismay.

Cheer me or flame me, I just want people to discuss the map/notes system which is far from perfect, but no one seems to be talking about it or the discussion died without any changes made. If we want to see changes we must make a stir, so please post your thoughts here or write a suggestions ticket saying you support the proposed map changes. Thanks in advance-
Berrule, Chief Weirdo, Indefinite Articles

[brackish]

Great Suggestions, but one thing:

Considering the map data is trivial and does not effect the outcome of the character, this map data should be stored on the users computer and not on the home server.

I was under the impression that this was stored on your personal computer. I am formatting soon and wanted to back my map up before doing so. I hope im not being misinformed.

[ahoga]

It's stored in the 'save' directory in ryzom installation folder.
the file is named : interface_<name of character>.icfg

I contains also your interface config.

[perrako]

I agree and would like to add: "Create flag at target."

[angus858]

These changes would certainly make it easier to forage and complete delivery missions. Is that the intent? If #5 makes it easier to transfer map data between players then it largely eliminates the requirement for exploration. Is that a good thing? I suppose at some point the location of everything is going to show up on a map on the internet anyway. But that will be a sad day in my opinion. Atys will become a smaller, more trivial world when locating something of importance is just a matter of following the arrow on our compass to a location we have never visited. Dig at the "x".

Some of these changes would do no harm but in my opinion the devs should be working on fixing bugs and adding the content that was promised on the box.

Indobi

[raynes]

MAp bookmarks are on your local computer. I curse this setup everytime I use a different computer.

[zumwalt]

Yea it was a bad idea, I mean come on, who would want the ability to share bookmark files? Horrible I tell you!!! HORRIBLE!!

Don't do it, don't share!

[marct]

1) The ability to place a mapflag at an exact location. Currently players have to kind of geuss and place the flag on the map manually somewhere in the vicinity of the white cursor arrow; this is ok but rather imprecise. I propose a command to be added to the general right click menu where Free Look is at, a command called Create User Note at Current Location or something similar, which will automatically create a flag at the toons exact location. This will aid in refinding those sources of a very small area.

I see the same need for improvements to the map, I want to be immersed in the game, not have screen shots and hand drawn maps seperate sitting on my desk, etc.

Please add the ability as above to click in the HUD and add a flag. I would also like to see the ability for notes on the flag, not just a name. In addition the "BOMB" would be to be able to see the flags "in-scene" When I placed a flag at that choice Eyota wood, and I am running up to it shouldn't I be able to see my little marker or flag.

In addition if someone is standing within 5m of me, and I am within 5m of my marker, can I transfer my marker to them please, name, notes, and all.

Thanks for taking my feedback, often my ideas are not the best, but they often inspire wonderful thoughts from others.

[lyrah68]

I like all of your suggestions, I would add:

Allow an infinite number of pins, or limit them by category and make a rather high number of categories (I could use up to 100, but not everyone would).

I FULLY agree with the stored in a map file or preferrences file on MY hard drive, and openable with any picture editer, AND allow the edited maps to be viewable in game.


I would also like to ask for the compass to be square, and be marked in five meter grid. This could be an option in game configuration, and does not have to be the default. But when you can't go invisable, and have to sneak past agro mobs with odd agro ranges like 21ms it would be nice to be able to KNOW that mob is 25 ms exactly away from you.

I would like to be able to scroll out on both map and compass to view the whole zone, OR scroll in to a 10 meter circle (the area you exhaust when you are foraging).

The spaces are very needed, I have learned the skill of reading non spaced tags, but it does get cumbersome.

I love the idea of different flags for different purposes, and filterable. Like one for agro mobs, one for herbivore/non agro mobs, one for choice grade mats, one for excellent, one for supreme, one for mission nodes/npcs, one for points of interest like entrances to zonelines, entrances to ramps, trainers, and for the Zorai, entrances and exits to cities and mark the actual cliff sides in the less than acurate Zorai land maps (umm I walk through map walls and find walls that are not on the map. Please fix when you get the spare time. thanks)

Some of these fixes are PLEASE NOW, some are just annoying. I would love the scrollable map, the scrollable square gridded compass very very soon (less than a month). I would like the map saved on my disk ASAP.

As a digger, in my youth I made a VERY detailed map of the Fyros newb land of every node for all of the items I crafted. Since the map pins were limited to a rediculously LOW number of pins I tended to also write down details and give directions...from the pins, the day I logged on to find my map deleted was devastating to say the least. I had spent weeks mapping this area, and freely helped other diggers. Now my best tool was gone.

Rather than redo this map, I left newbie land (well ok, I was level 57 forager, a real GRANNY in newbland, so it was past time to leave, but I had wanted to stay and continue helping newbs).

If the map is storeable and openable, editable by the players, the maps can be sent to friends, guildmates, other players, shared, compared, compiled into a better map, and a hard copy and a back up stored on a floppy disk can be made.

Thank you for coming up with this suggestion and posting this thread. *tosses 2k dappers on table* you have my 2k daps on this subject...your turn.

[lyrah68]

Concidering some materials are only available in certain seasons, at certain times of day, and during certain weather conditions, X marks the spot would never work. (in fact some nodes have a limiter of ALL three limiting conditions like only during the rain in the spring at night, or only during the winter when it is raining during the day. And some nodes are only there for a few minutes...if that.

And some npcs would be a dotted line, since they move around...a lot...within a certain path.

I don't see an Ayts atlas type map system working for this game.

These changes would certainly make it easier to forage and complete delivery missions. Is that the intent? If #5 makes it easier to transfer map data between players then it largely eliminates the requirement for exploration. Is that a good thing? I suppose at some point the location of everything is going to show up on a map on the internet anyway. But that will be a sad day in my opinion. Atys will become a smaller, more trivial world when locating something of importance is just a matter of following the arrow on our compass to a location we have never visited. Dig at the "x".

Some of these changes would do no harm but in my opinion the devs should be working on fixing bugs and adding the content that was promised on the box.

Indobi