NAVIGATION DIFFICULTY

[mrcalhou]

I agree that we need something to help with navigation, but I disagree with your view of what is and what is not sandbox.

[pupurun]

So which way would be "sandbox appropriate" for navigation in this game in your opinion?

[mrcalhou]

To me, a sandbox is a game that gives the players options with the way they "progress" in the game. Not realism, not FFA PvP, just options. So, to make navigation "sandbox appropirate," in my opinion, the devs would give us options with how we want to navigate. This could take the form of them giving us compasses and maps from the get-go, or give us the means to create compasses and maps that have in-game functionality.

[Brutix]

having a sun that rises in the east and sets in the west could help navigating, or maybe not with all the mountains in-game. In Roma Victor we never had maps or compasses, we had a sense of direction skill. It was tell us which direction we are facing but at lower levels it wasn't accurate but got more accurate as the skill leveled. Also the ability to make maps in-game would be awesome.

[mrcalhou]

I'd just prefer a map or compass. In real life I almost always know which direction I'm facing, even when inside of buildings.

[Cunk]

The coordinates are only there for beta testing so just think how much harder it will be once they're removed. I agree that the terrain is lacking in features that can help with navigation. Just imagine trying to give new tribe recruits written directions on how to get to your village from the local spawn point. What can you tell them that will help? "You'll cross some garbage piles and see 27 waterfalls"?

I hate to constantly refer back to Wurm on these forums but since the comparison is pretty obvious I have to. Anyway, despite Wurm's fairly coarse (an unrealistic -- desert and tundra within walking distance of each other?) terrain structure it definitely has something that enables you to locate yourself fairly quickly based solely on your surroundings. All sorts of natural features play a role in this, from prominent mountain profiles, to distinctive cliff faces, to swaths of specific terrain types (tundra, moss, swamp, steppe, desert), and valleys and passes that players naturally wind up funneling through when the surrounding terrain is impassable. It wasn't impossible for an observant newbie to follow directions on how to cross most of the map (sans compass) to find our village site using nothing more than distinctive landmarks.