Coordinate mapping

[Tangela]

It would be extremely helpful, particularly for new players, if your In-game OOC coordinates could always be accessed. This would provide a great way for new players to learn the map. Ideally, it would be helpful if the general direction of main landmarks and cities, and/or their coordinates, could also be accessed at any time.

If this is not something you want all players to have access to, maybe create it as a feature for the first week or so of in-game time to give new characters a chance to learn their way around.

Alternatively, create a text version of the map purchasable in major shops with some general directions in place of the visual symbol layout. This would be very useful for visually impaired players and new players alike.

[Jirato]

Have you tried the MAP command while holding one of those lost lands maps yet?

[Tangela]

I have, but unless you are at a specific landmark, you don't really get any information. For new players, it would be helpful to know how to get back to civilization from the forest, for example, or to another city. Coordinates even within the wilderness would make that much easier.

[jilliana]

There was some discussion initiated by a player earlier this year that was an attempt to get feedback from visually impaired players so a map could be created by said player but it didn't go really anywhere.
It'll be interesting to see what compromise is struck.

As a VI player, I seem to be in the minority that the current mapping system is fine. It encourages exploring and roleplay.

[blindndangerous]

I see where everyone is coming from, and while I know the lay of the land (well to a point) I can definitly see where knowing where you are could help at least get back to a town. Especially now with new players coming on, and everyhwere being cold.

[baerden]

Idea: This is not a coordinate idea, but more of a you can figure out your general area based on proximity to something.

Originally, people used to navigate based on landmarks or stars. For our purpose, we wont use stars, since those are generally only viewable in the night cycle.

So, the idea would be something like putting up a light house or a very tall tower that can be seen from very far a way at the crossroads at Valeria or wherever is closest to the center of the map and makes sense. That you can view from a distance, and based on your proximity and its general direction from you, you can figure out where you are generally on the map.

I could pseudo code it but I mostly know ruby and i'm rusty as hell. So, i'll just explain it.

You would have a hash of coordinate ranges, you determine the distance to the tower by having a range of coordinates that correspond to adjectives such as:

Extremely far in the distance
Very far in the distance
Far in the distance
A journey into the distance
A short journey into the distance
Just over the tree line into the distance

You would also have a hash of coordinate ranges that correspond to general direction such as:
North of you.
Northeast of you.
Northwest of you.
West of you
Southwest of you
South of you.
ETC...

Once you determine these values through the hash tables you simply peice them together and display it to the character:

>landmark
You scan the horizon for any recognizable landmarks. You see a tower with a great fire burning atop it Extremely far in the distance to the South of you.

And based on that you should have a rough idea of where you are in the map if the tower is fairly center of the map.

[Zoiya]

I like the basis of this idea. One of the projects that our building team will be taking on in the future is making certain areas that tend to be repetitive get some distinctive touching up. My personal to-do list is kind of full, so I can't really give you an ETA as it will be a gradual change. More ideas on different landmarks that we could use and that you all would like to see would be pretty awesome.

=D