Suggestion: Mapping skill

[Ethnod]

So I am just getting my feet with this game and loving it so far by the way. But if this has been talked to death or suggested already please just close.

One of the things that I like and yet dislike in a way also is the inability to tell where I am on a large scale map. I like the fact that the game is hard and that its easy to get lost and what not means you have to pay attention to where you are going or all the stuff you have collected is wasted which is nice but the reality is that if you were living out there you would get to know the areas and be able to map them so....

What if, high up now nothing that would be available to noobies like me, there was an ability or skill that gave you the ability to map an area. It would not work retrospectively but simply from the point you get the skill you can then map areas as you explore then. You can also place markers on the maps to make notes of good areas for certain things and so on. This would be something you could open during game and that if you had another ability and a compass you would be able to also tell your location on the map. It should not be something you can open and walk around with but something that you can open, look at and then close and move on.
Maybe also should be an item, your map I mean, but that never drops so that while you can then open it and look at it and as you move off it will close (would mean no new game mechanics) but also it would be a thing from memory rather than a physical map. So the worry of the ramifications of a droppable map would not come into the game and possibly affect balances that are there.

[Dallane]

its been talked about before. but if you want to make a map then user ender. it saves all the map tiles for u.

[_Gunnar]

There was a cartography skill in h&h which to my shame i never used, not even once, since the player-built maps that used enders map saves were so much more convenient. I'd love to have a decent cartography skill here though, but it would have to offer some in game advantage over using the online maps - for example saving location markers to your account somehow and thus always having a pointer towards "home", "lime", "boston", "enemy camp". Sadly, this is a nice thing so it probably isn't possible.

[Ethnod]

I dunno, I think if it was high enough level and if it was done right it could be useful but not too much which would add to the game and yet not make it too easy. The reality is that you would be able to make markers, remember locations and remember areas so why you cant stop, "think" about the area and bring up a "mental" map of the area with where you remember things to be.
Could be that you can mark a quadrant but no specific co-ordinates so you would remember, "Oh, its over that hill and I remember that stone and ditch so must be around here come place...." and you go looking for it after you are in the vacinity

[Elcohen]

One related skill which should be fairly easy to implement based on already existing mechanics is "homing". It would unlock a mode similar to prospecting and tracking so when activated the arrow above the head would point in the direction of the homestead. The stability of the arrow can be a function of a distance from homestead and a related profficiency, say F&W. Then the requirements to unlock the skill can be low, but then with low F&W the "homing" arrow would go nuts after, say, 15 min walk from homestead, but once F&W is trained to high levels one could get a reliable pointing even half across the whole map...

[TheChief]

It would be nice too if the so called mapping skill unlocked the ability to create/use a compass. If it was a detailed compass that saved your settings between sessions you can set your bearings based off of North and never be lost again! I think it would add alot to the game and add a survival aspect that would fit the period.

[nomad505]

I like the idea of the homing skill to find your way home. A higher level mapping skill that requires some effort to record could work too. The bottom line is that without something of this nature the game will lose players at the mid-level point where they need to travel further to find the ingredients they need, but can't find their way back to their crafting stations.

[Whiskybob]

I was thinking bout mapping skill alot and thats how i think it could be done:

1st skill Pathfinding:
-You can create a map
-Map is able to cover X-Y-Z squares around your home, land/rivers only

2nd skill Cartography
-X-Y-Z covered is doubled
-Can mark one or two locations on the map

3rd skill Astronomy
-X-Y-Z is doubled again
-You can see your position on the map
-You can mark additional location on the map

4th skill Navigation
- You can create compass, that when held in hand will create an arrow overhead leading you to selected location
- Map covers sea now
- Additional location
- X-Y-Z doubled
- You can leave 150char notes at waypoints

[artfulshrapnel]

Alternate suggestion on navigation:

Hiking or the skill above it also gains you the ability to notch trees. Any tree can become a signpost, that points an arrow in a particular direction. Higher levels also allow you to attach notes or symbols to your notches so you can make directions for multiple things. They'll show up on your minimap when you approach. You'll be able to investigate a tree and see other players' notches, but they wouldn't show up on your minimap. It also creates the possibility that someone can mess with you by chopping down the tree where your notch was, or with the proper skills perhaps backtrack you using your notches.

Also folks with some sort of Carpentry skill should be able to make signs, so they can set up notes for other players or themselves. You might not want to trust every sign you see, because the one that says "boston" might be pointing towards the badlands where some thieves are waiting for you, but having the option would be nice.

This gives you a way to create a trail back home, and to find your way around a larger area, without making it a super easy navigation hud.

Thoughts on this as a solution?

[Steelhawk]

I use the Ender Client, but it not help me find way to home after I log out. How I may find path? Excuse for my language!