A Compass or Map feature?


Ultimateauthority

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Howdy folks -

I've been playing TLD for about a week now and I enjoy it a great deal.  I've died a lot and then tried not to make the same mistake again.

I know we are dropped off in the middle of the Canadian wilderness in winter....but it sure would be nice if there was a general compass setting, say in the upper right of the hud so we would know which way we were walking.  Does the game have this, and I have just not been using it?

If not, if would be equally nice if there was a map feature showing the places where you have already visited.

Are either of these features being planned?

Thanks -

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A non map based navigation system will appear in story mode. I'm personally thrilled to see what it will be :) It could be birds flying or wolves howling in the east.

 

You need time to find your way into the game, don't worry. You will not need a compass or a map pretty soon. The beauty is finding the way on your own.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Given the premise of the game is that there has been some kind of geomagnetic disaster I don't think compasses would even work anymore, not reliably anyway.  So something more subtle, like an orienteering skill level that involves when you look at the sun, if you can see it, your character says, "Hmmm, North must be to my left."  Or with higher skill levels, "I'm facing north northeast."

Or you could just look at the sun and it pops up a compass rose.

Maps something similar, you have to find a physical map and how precisely it shows your location depends on your skill level?  Points of interest get scribbled in with a pencil, again more or less accurate depending on skill?

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Thanks for the answers and suggestions folks.

I still think a generalized compass-like indicator in the upper right would be nice.  I suppose that an actual map, showing locations of things would take away some of the mystery of the environment, but as this game grows, and new areas become (hopefully) available, an indicator showing true North would be helpful.

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I think it'd be cool if you could mark an area as sort of like a custom map, but you'd have to spend time on it like researching a book. The more times you travel in an area the more detailed your map can become as well. To add some more "realism" or perhaps to make it more difficult, the only way you could do cartography is to find a special notebook or something and make it about as rare as a distress pistol.

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One thing that you can do is write your own maps in your journal. They're pretty rough, but you can put whatever you feel you need in them. And though it might be a little finicky, it can feel like a pretty cool bit of self reliance. 

For example, when I was first exploring FM, I sketched this out to try and find my way around to the key features (this is from memory, so might be inaccurate): 

                                   S                                                                 F               

                                                                         B

 

=============XXX=================================XXXX========

                                                                                                          

                                                                                                        B

                                                                                       T

                                                                                               C                          C

B = hunter's blind; C = cave; T = radio tower; F = forge; S = snow shelter

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Some time ago i also thought that a compass was a good idea. But after an update it was possible to lay down and place things from inventory on the ground.

After that i use always 3 wooden sticks to make guideposts to homebase in the snow. Really useful when fog or a snowstorm arrives, after a cold fishing session in the middle of Mystery Lake :)

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On 1/27/2017 at 4:28 PM, mountainman said:

Some time ago i also thought that a compass was a good idea. But after an update it was possible to lay down and place things from inventory on the ground.

After that i use always 3 wooden sticks to make guideposts to homebase in the snow. Really useful when fog or a snowstorm arrives, after a cold fishing session in the middle of Mystery Lake :)

Someone (sorry I've forgotten who) also pointed out that used flares make good pointers as well.  They were using them in caves.  I've also used ruined snares.  They're fairly noticeable at a distance.

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  • 2 months later...
On 1/24/2017 at 4:12 PM, TwoHedWlf said:

So something more subtle, like an orienteering skill level that involves when you look at the sun, if you can see it, your character says, "Hmmm, North must be to my left."  Or with higher skill levels, "I'm facing north northeast."

I already do this.. there's no "orienteering skill" needed. In-game, the sun tracks across the sky during the day.

Once you know your way around the map(s), all you need to know is the rough time of day (aka hours of daylight remaining), and be able to see the sun (or shadows), and you can easily figure out where North is. That's my standard method of working out what direction I need to move in, any time I don't have any obvious landmarks to go by.

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  • 4 weeks later...

G'day Fluxion, and welcome to the forums!

39 minutes ago, Fluxion said:

Although perhaps a little more functionality (drawing) in the journal would be nice. 

Basically, that's what's coming in the next update.. the ability to use charcoal from your fires to 'draw' a map of the area you've just explored.

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