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Phase I of Alpha Two testing will occur on weekends. Each weekend is scheduled to start on Fridays at 10 AM PT and end on Sundays at 10 PM PT. Find out more here.
Check out Alpha Two Announcements here to see the latest Alpha Two news and update notes.
Our quickest Alpha Two updates are in Discord. Testers with Alpha Two access can chat in Alpha Two channels by connecting your Discord and Intrepid accounts here.
Maps and Cartography
I couldn't find any existing info on how maps will be handled in Ashes, so I thought of an idea.
What if rather than exposing the full map (as traditional MMOs often do) or exposing an outline that players will gradually explore to "expose" more of the map, players are not given a map of most areas at all. Instead, players will by default only be given rudimentary maps of the starting areas and areas immediately surrounding a node.
In order to unlock the rest of the map, players can become "cartographers" or "explorers" and visit vista points around the world to draw out more of the map. Exploring the full map of a specific region would create a map item that could be traded/sold to other players or shared with guildmates and other followers. Players could also sell maps with added benefits like enchantments that notify when a rare monster spawns or when treasure appears.
I think this approach would add to the sense of exploration in the game. It could be pretty exciting having to navigate using landmarks and a sense of direction instead of just pressing 'M' every 10 seconds like in every other game.
Thoughts?
What if rather than exposing the full map (as traditional MMOs often do) or exposing an outline that players will gradually explore to "expose" more of the map, players are not given a map of most areas at all. Instead, players will by default only be given rudimentary maps of the starting areas and areas immediately surrounding a node.
In order to unlock the rest of the map, players can become "cartographers" or "explorers" and visit vista points around the world to draw out more of the map. Exploring the full map of a specific region would create a map item that could be traded/sold to other players or shared with guildmates and other followers. Players could also sell maps with added benefits like enchantments that notify when a rare monster spawns or when treasure appears.
I think this approach would add to the sense of exploration in the game. It could be pretty exciting having to navigate using landmarks and a sense of direction instead of just pressing 'M' every 10 seconds like in every other game.
Thoughts?
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Comments
https://forums.ashesofcreation.com/discussion/7324/cartography/p1
And, for many people navigating by landmarks in the real world is challenging - especially in the era of GPS rather than static paper maps.
It might be interesting to have some form of cartography ability that allows us to share/sell a map of a location we've visited that someone else hasn't visited yet.
The problem we'll run into, though, is that the world of Ashes is dynamic. Probably too dynamic to keep up with the changes to the world.
The devs did mention treasure maps.
I don't think the devs want easy access to notifications of rare monster spawns.
I love spending time just running around random places and having a cartography ability that you can level up to show more features on a map would be awesome! I can only imagine having maps that are extremely basic and basically showing only main paths / trails around compared to running around with an greatly detailed map.
With the fact that Ashes id dynamic it means that the cartography ability would always be wanted since things will be changing non-stop! Just imagine driving around with a map made in the 80's and trying to get around now.
You could also hold onto old maps as a piece of MMO server history. Imagine several years from now finding an original launch day map on sale at a market? It could be worthless junk to someone but to someone else it could be considered a rare treasure and collectible piece of history.
It would certainly encourage players to explorer.