So I've heard people talk about in-game maps before, and a lot of the argument against it is that its too unfair. I agree with both arguments, there has to be a way of having a map without making it too overpowered (or entirely useless if you can only see the top layer.) Here's what I suggest:
A map can be an item that, when you right click, opens up a DRAWING dialogue. AKA, the map is NOT pre-generated, but instead you draw on what features you think are important (house walls, cave entrances, cliffs, etc.). In fact, the game won't even show you where you are on the map, but will instead expect you to figure out where you are from what you've drawn. This idea reflects what a real explorer would have to do in the wilderness: pick landmarks, draw out directions, mark down points of interest, etc. Here's a little sketch of the drawing gui:
Currently, I kind of implement the idea myself with paint programs, but that is not only out of game, it just doesn't have as much finesse as an in-game map. To craft it:
[] [] []
[] [] []
[] [] [] Where [] is paper.
The map will also have a few other features built in. The possibility to switch between different maps (you could have one for above ground, one for a mine, one for a region etc.), and the fact that if you lose the map, you don't have to start all over again.
I think this is a great way to figure out where you're going while still providing a challenge (still going to be hard to find your way around if you don't do it properly) and provides really easy user-input, which is great.
This has been suggested, but I really want this to happen. And make custom paintings! I'm tired of using Cartographer every five minutes to update my maps.
I don't really see the advantage of this over using a compass to get back to familiar surroundings. It doesn't help at all if you are truly lost. If you want ingame maps, you need to got the whole hog and have it autogenerated for the areas you've explored, or stick with the tools currently at your disposal.
I mean, if you want hand drawn maps - get a pencil and a sheet of paper. Far quicker and easier. An in game map has to offer you something more than that.
Personally, I think the compass is just about sufficient, especially if you've already built a few tall structures to navigate by.
I do wish the compass had another hand that pointed north though.
I don't really see the advantage of this over using a compass to get back to familiar surroundings. It doesn't help at all if you are truly lost.
I do wish the compass had another hand that pointed north though.
allright mr killjoy, the only thing i agree with is that last bit. compass and map FTW. also, how does a compass not help? is your house 790000 miles from your spawn or somthing?
on topic... too much WIN
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also, how does a compass not help? is your house 790000 miles from your spawn or somthing?
I meant that an in game, hand-drawn map doesn't help, not that the compass doesn't help. If you've got lost somewhere unfamiliar, I'd say the general landscape is too similar to navigate by, if you haven't built anything there that's recognisable. And if you have to build recognisable stuff to navigate by anyway, why do you need a map? Unless you have a truly terrible memory (if you can't remember what is at the end of your minecart track, or that your reed farm is next to your mob-tower, then I guess you're in a bit of trouble already).
I'm saying the compass is pretty much sufficient as it is. I suggested that if Mojang were to go to the trouble of implementing some in game mapping solution, people would want it to be automatic. Otherwise, as I said, how is it different to making a map with a pencil and paper? What does it offer the gamer?
Mapping out areas can be useful if you aren't planning on visiting them for a long time, like exploration. By the time you return to an area you visited a week before you'll likely forget many details. That being said, ingame drawn maps would be pretty much useless since you can take a REAL paper and a REAL pencil and draw it out. I draw maps on paper sometimes, as well as sketches and plans for buildings. Works like a charm.
I totally support custom paintings though. If there can be custom skins, why not paintings? Although maybe a limit on the number of unique paintings per player would be needed, as well as enable only paintings in Minecraft resolution, not high detail.
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"-but, things never go according to plan, do they?"
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Creepers: blowing stuff up since Survival Test.
While I don't think these would be much use as an aid to navigation, it would be fun if you could draw treasure maps and leave them for people to find/interpret/follow/profit from/get trapped by.
While I don't think these would be much use as an aid to navigation, it would be fun if you could draw treasure maps and leave them for people to find/interpret/follow/profit from/get trapped by.
Going to the thing about real pen and real paper, there's 2 disadvantages to this: The consumption of paper and the fact that its harder to erase things when it just smudges up. The thing with digital maps is it would legitimately be more graceful than picking up a pen and paper.
The combo you'd get with the map and compass, as mentioned before, is if you draw out where you spawn, you can map out EXACTLY where you are. It would be a very useful combo.
I like the treasure map idea a lot, for something like smp, just drop the map and have someone find it. The only issue is is I think that it would be beneficial if the map item is really only a viewer, and the maps you draw would be stored on your player file, so that if you lose the map you still have it (aka if someone picks it up they'd see their own map files, although I'm sure there are ways around that.)
I know maps would be useful for cave systems. I've tried using mapping programs, but I haven't gotten one to work to the point that it isolates a tunnel system for multiple depths and blocks out overlapping caves.
Actually, the pencils could be kinda cool - the suggestion of using dye instead of the ink sac I was imagining would give you colored pencils, which could be used to make pictures or maps (there's really no difference if you're the one drawing it). You could make a picture to stick on the wall that would be a whatever you wanted. Different colors to show different things, or it would be an improvement on signs, because you could draw something more complicated than the current typing can manage.
I know maps would be useful for cave systems. I've tried using mapping programs, but I haven't gotten one to work to the point that it isolates a tunnel system for multiple depths and blocks out overlapping caves.
Well, that's where the next/previous map feature comes in. You can make one map for ground level, 1 for a bit below the surface (entrance of a cave), and you can keep making different layers with different maps, just like you see in a multi-levelled floor plan.
Quote from Kira »
I like it...a thread with effort put into it. You don't have to make pencils a requirement or anything, since it's only use would be for maps.
Thanks. I think the pencil/paint idea is cool though, as puzzlemage stated, you could use different colored pencils if you wanted to. You could have a panel underneath the map drawing part where you can choose the color you want out of your inventory, that way you can draw different features in different colors, or you could just choose a cool color you want to draw your map in.
Quote from kingbubolot »
the only thing i dont like about this is that i suck at drawing. otherwise i support it.
Lol. This isn't a drawing competition. You can see that my drawing sucks from the sample image, but I can still understand what I drew, just like you could be able to draw something you'd be able to understand.
I feel like there needs to be a middle ground, between it generating a map for you (too easy) and drawing it yourself (done with an actual pen and paper).
i love the idea, i really do. but you have to realize that Minecraft is a 16bit game thats why it's so great, but it also means the pixels are very very large and it that picture you used for an example has way to great of detail and high graphics to work in Minecraft. I love it but it won't work well
A map can be an item that, when you right click, opens up a DRAWING dialogue. AKA, the map is NOT pre-generated, but instead you draw on what features you think are important (house walls, cave entrances, cliffs, etc.). In fact, the game won't even show you where you are on the map, but will instead expect you to figure out where you are from what you've drawn. This idea reflects what a real explorer would have to do in the wilderness: pick landmarks, draw out directions, mark down points of interest, etc. Here's a little sketch of the drawing gui:
Currently, I kind of implement the idea myself with paint programs, but that is not only out of game, it just doesn't have as much finesse as an in-game map. To craft it:
[] [] []
[] [] []
[] [] [] Where [] is paper.
The map will also have a few other features built in. The possibility to switch between different maps (you could have one for above ground, one for a mine, one for a region etc.), and the fact that if you lose the map, you don't have to start all over again.
I think this is a great way to figure out where you're going while still providing a challenge (still going to be hard to find your way around if you don't do it properly) and provides really easy user-input, which is great.
just because you're correct doesnt mean you're right
I mean, if you want hand drawn maps - get a pencil and a sheet of paper. Far quicker and easier. An in game map has to offer you something more than that.
Personally, I think the compass is just about sufficient, especially if you've already built a few tall structures to navigate by.
I do wish the compass had another hand that pointed north though.
allright mr killjoy, the only thing i agree with is that last bit. compass and map FTW. also, how does a compass not help? is your house 790000 miles from your spawn or somthing?
on topic... too much WIN
I meant that an in game, hand-drawn map doesn't help, not that the compass doesn't help. If you've got lost somewhere unfamiliar, I'd say the general landscape is too similar to navigate by, if you haven't built anything there that's recognisable. And if you have to build recognisable stuff to navigate by anyway, why do you need a map? Unless you have a truly terrible memory (if you can't remember what is at the end of your minecart track, or that your reed farm is next to your mob-tower, then I guess you're in a bit of trouble already).
I'm saying the compass is pretty much sufficient as it is. I suggested that if Mojang were to go to the trouble of implementing some in game mapping solution, people would want it to be automatic. Otherwise, as I said, how is it different to making a map with a pencil and paper? What does it offer the gamer?
I totally support custom paintings though. If there can be custom skins, why not paintings? Although maybe a limit on the number of unique paintings per player would be needed, as well as enable only paintings in Minecraft resolution, not high detail.
"-but, things never go according to plan, do they?"
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Creepers: blowing stuff up since Survival Test.
[] [] []
= book
[] = map
that way it may be somewhat time consuming to make, but not very hard to gather up the materials
However, you would need a pencil of some kind in order to draw on the map.
maybe the map recipie would be this:
[] [] []
[] []
[] [] []
[] = paper
= pencil
Pencil recipie:
= blank
= stick
= ink sack/charcoal/dye
Hell yeah!
Haha that's a dock. My handwriting sucks.
Going to the thing about real pen and real paper, there's 2 disadvantages to this: The consumption of paper and the fact that its harder to erase things when it just smudges up. The thing with digital maps is it would legitimately be more graceful than picking up a pen and paper.
The combo you'd get with the map and compass, as mentioned before, is if you draw out where you spawn, you can map out EXACTLY where you are. It would be a very useful combo.
I like the treasure map idea a lot, for something like smp, just drop the map and have someone find it. The only issue is is I think that it would be beneficial if the map item is really only a viewer, and the maps you draw would be stored on your player file, so that if you lose the map you still have it (aka if someone picks it up they'd see their own map files, although I'm sure there are ways around that.)
Well, that's where the next/previous map feature comes in. You can make one map for ground level, 1 for a bit below the surface (entrance of a cave), and you can keep making different layers with different maps, just like you see in a multi-levelled floor plan.
Thanks. I think the pencil/paint idea is cool though, as puzzlemage stated, you could use different colored pencils if you wanted to. You could have a panel underneath the map drawing part where you can choose the color you want out of your inventory, that way you can draw different features in different colors, or you could just choose a cool color you want to draw your map in.
Lol. This isn't a drawing competition. You can see that my drawing sucks from the sample image, but I can still understand what I drew, just like you could be able to draw something you'd be able to understand.