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Forums - Gaming Discussion - Map towers vs auto map vs no map

 

How do you prefer to explore in games

Map towers (unlock large chunks) 23 27.38%
 
Auto map (reveal as you go) 48 57.14%
 
No map (make it yourself) 10 11.90%
 
Other (please explain) 3 3.57%
 
Total:84
SvennoJ on 26 March 2017
TheLastStarFighter said:

It's the whole experience.  It's a perfectly executed piece of gaming.  Reasons:

 

- The towers themselves are presented as mystical, magical. They are a special object visible from a distance, a goal you want to achieve. 

-Each one is unique and presents a different challenge to reach. At first you think you just need to climb them, but then you find the puzzles are growing.

-The views are stunning giving you a chance to soak up the amazing visuals of the game.

-The views are also done in such a way as to preview the province you are exploring, with special places jumping out at you.

-The pacing of the climbing is just right, and the moment you reach the top handled perfectly with the camera.

-The music for these scenes is absolutely on point, giving a truly magical feel as you stair up at the stars, about to have ancient secrets revealed.

-I wouldn't want a different reward. Items are found elsewhere.  In a game about exploration, few things can top getting a map.

 

All in all, one thing that Breath does exceptionally well is variety and changing of pace. Exploration, combat, shrine puzzles...all done so well and all providing different experiences.  The towers are one of these,  with the pace being slow, methodical and magical.  They remind me a bit of the opening of Game of Thrones: start of a new episode with great music and if you look close a preview of what's to come in that chapter. 

 

The only thing I might change would be the hybrid option suggested earlier, where the map would be revealed by the tower, but maybe in black and white and is only filled in colour as you explore. 

I agree with all of that, up to the point it paints in the places I haven't been yet. I'm leaving the towers until last now so it doesn't feel like a chore to visit the rest of the map. Once it's all revealed half the excitement of exploration is gone. I do like the nice rewarding view and since I've now already explored the whole zone I recognize all the places I've been. Even better.
Instead of revealing the map the tower could reveal a special shrine quest for which you have to locate a specific geographical feature visible from the tower. That shrine could have a special reward in the form of clothing beneficial to that zone.

PS I don't like previews at the start of shows either, spoils half the fun. I don't mind the teaser for next week since I'll have forgotten about it by then, yet don't remind me right before watching. (And I hate that x hours earlier mechanic, just continue there since you already showed what's going to happen)

I'm currently circling Goron mountain / the vulcano, I don't know the name yet :) It has some very nice shrines.



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Puppyroach on 26 March 2017

The Towers are an excellent way to reveal big sections of the map for your efforts. What I would have liked though, is if you had to find a way into the towers, then make your way all the way to the top through mazes and puzzles and then be rewarded.



TheLastStarFighter on 27 March 2017
SvennoJ said:
TheLastStarFighter said:

It's the whole experience.  It's a perfectly executed piece of gaming.  Reasons:

 

- The towers themselves are presented as mystical, magical. They are a special object visible from a distance, a goal you want to achieve. 

-Each one is unique and presents a different challenge to reach. At first you think you just need to climb them, but then you find the puzzles are growing.

-The views are stunning giving you a chance to soak up the amazing visuals of the game.

-The views are also done in such a way as to preview the province you are exploring, with special places jumping out at you.

-The pacing of the climbing is just right, and the moment you reach the top handled perfectly with the camera.

-The music for these scenes is absolutely on point, giving a truly magical feel as you stair up at the stars, about to have ancient secrets revealed.

-I wouldn't want a different reward. Items are found elsewhere.  In a game about exploration, few things can top getting a map.

 

All in all, one thing that Breath does exceptionally well is variety and changing of pace. Exploration, combat, shrine puzzles...all done so well and all providing different experiences.  The towers are one of these,  with the pace being slow, methodical and magical.  They remind me a bit of the opening of Game of Thrones: start of a new episode with great music and if you look close a preview of what's to come in that chapter. 

 

The only thing I might change would be the hybrid option suggested earlier, where the map would be revealed by the tower, but maybe in black and white and is only filled in colour as you explore. 

I agree with all of that, up to the point it paints in the places I haven't been yet. I'm leaving the towers until last now so it doesn't feel like a chore to visit the rest of the map. Once it's all revealed half the excitement of exploration is gone. I do like the nice rewarding view and since I've now already explored the whole zone I recognize all the places I've been. Even better.
Instead of revealing the map the tower could reveal a special shrine quest for which you have to locate a specific geographical feature visible from the tower. That shrine could have a special reward in the form of clothing beneficial to that zone.

PS I don't like previews at the start of shows either, spoils half the fun. I don't mind the teaser for next week since I'll have forgotten about it by then, yet don't remind me right before watching. (And I hate that x hours earlier mechanic, just continue there since you already showed what's going to happen)

I'm currently circling Goron mountain / the vulcano, I don't know the name yet :) It has some very nice shrines.

Yeah, it's funny, I hate previews too.  I even avoid trailers for movies and games I'm pumped for, and almost nothing of Breath has been spoiled for me.  But I don't mind the maps.  I find they have just enough detail to provide a guide, but don't spoil the exploration.  They look like an old map that was hand-drawn, but lack modern details or what may be going on there today.  I don't find them too spoiler-y.



hunter_alien on 27 March 2017

Depending on the game both can work fine. I am not a huge fan of Towers, but if implemented well, it can work. Shadow of Mordor comes to my mind. I actually liked that implementation.



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The Fury on 27 March 2017

I like the idea of maps that reveal as you go. See DA:I or ME:A. The quest marker says "It's over there." but you've no idea how to get there or if you can, so... you go there but on the way there is a giant cliff, so you try and go around but then you see a weird structure on the way and explore the structure, find anenemy, die to it and realise you haven't saved since you started the journey.... good times.



Hmm, pie.

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Kerotan on 27 March 2017

I actually enjoy the towers in assassins creed and far cry 4.

But the way they did it in Horizon is the best. Quality over quantity. 5 awesome towers to scale.

I've actually left the 5th and final tower for now. Don't want to enter that part of the map yet to do the main quest over there until I've done all the side missions and quests available up to that point.

So I've still go a big mysterious patch over to the left. Horizon does it best.



QuestForTires on 27 March 2017
etking said:

In Zelda all the icons that you have to place manually, like unsolved Korok riddles, mini bosses, unopened shrines, great ferries, enemy camps, hidden shops, interesting places and resources should be mapped automatically but only after you discover them for the first time.

If the game automatically marked on your map every Korok location you approached before you actually made the Korok appear, it would 100% defeat the purpose of the Korok's being hidden in the first place.  Also, have you used the zoom feature on the map?  I also thought I had to mark the Great Fairy locations with stamps, but when I pressed the zoom button on the map screen, they were clearly marked.



SvennoJ on 27 March 2017
QuestForTires said:
etking said:

In Zelda all the icons that you have to place manually, like unsolved Korok riddles, mini bosses, unopened shrines, great ferries, enemy camps, hidden shops, interesting places and resources should be mapped automatically but only after you discover them for the first time.

If the game automatically marked on your map every Korok location you approached before you actually made the Korok appear, it would 100% defeat the purpose of the Korok's being hidden in the first place.  Also, have you used the zoom feature on the map?  I also thought I had to mark the Great Fairy locations with stamps, but when I pressed the zoom button on the map screen, they were clearly marked.

Yeah it shouldn't automatically mark Koroks but it would be nice if you could photograph them to sniff out with sensor+. Some are already visible on the map (trees/statues in a line, stone formations on land or water) while others are easy to spot while you walk around yet some are pretty hard to sniff out like stones hidden in a tree. Perhaps a Sensor++ feature for Koroks that unlocks after getting all the shrines would be a nice gesture for completionists. (Perhaps something like that is already there, not there yet)

Great skeletons and fairy fountains are written on the map, but yeah you have to zoom in. It only adds icons for stables, towns and a few important story related places.

Since I don't play with fast travel it would be awesome to see the path I've traveled overlayed on the map. Easy way to see where I've been and would be fun to compare at the end of the game. Color coded by hours played and/or game days if possible (can you see your total in game days anywhere?)