Finding new Regions / Maps use signs


nicko

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Who finds it hard to find how to get to new regions / map still?

I presume new players have no idea at the start? I still get lost if I have not played for a while.(over 400 hours)

Sure some of will say no problem it's easy, or I just use a cheat sheet/map. Others might say I get lost every time trying to go to Pleasant Valley or find Timber Wolf Mountain region.

I suggest Hinterland add some simple but subtle direction signs into the world. This would surely make us explore more and find all these wonderful new regions of this amazing game?

Rough example of a sign.

old-sign.jpg

 

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39 minutes ago, Pillock said:

Most transitions between maps involve walking along railway lines or through caves, which aren't exactly the types of routes you'd expect to see signposted.

huh, how about long roads to get to a map?

a nice old sign of some sort would be great and this is what i meant.

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But... if you follow the roads, you end up at a rockfall blocking the way.

If you want to get in or out of Pleasant Valley, to use your example, the roads aren't a lot of help. It's not a bad idea for adding a bit of atmosphere to the environment, but it's not a viable way of helping players navigate the realities of the game world.

Also, the names of the map sections as we know them are not very convincing as 'real' place names - they sound more like nicknames that someone unfamiliar with the area would give them. I wouldn't expect to see "Forlorn Muskeg" written on a roadsign!

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Am I playing a different game from you guys? Where are these public footpaths?

Down a cliff face? Or through a dangerous collapsing cave system and a river gorge that would be impassable if it wasn't frozen? Maybe a public right of way through a coal mine, or a train tunnel? I've never been to Canada, but those aren't the kind of footpaths I'm used to.

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Some signage may be a good idea. For instance, while the crumbling highway is not navigable (you need to use the mines to) a sign indicating "Desolation Point historic lighthouse" for instance will at least let players know that there may be a way through. Pleasant Valley and Timberwolf mountain would both be harder to include signage for though. As @Pillock points out they're not on any road or rail lines so signs wouldn't really exist. Then again a rusty "Cinder Hills Coal Mine" with a faded "closed" sticker on it will again indicate to players that there is something up in them thar hills that they may wish to investigate.

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5 hours ago, Pillock said:

Am I playing a different game from you guys? Where are these public footpaths?

Down a cliff face? Or through a dangerous collapsing cave system and a river gorge that would be impassable if it wasn't frozen? Maybe a public right of way through a coal mine, or a train tunnel? I've never been to Canada, but those aren't the kind of footpaths I'm used to.

Haha, the paths/routes in this game are actually pretty tame compared to some of the footpaths I've ran/hiked/scrambled on IRL... Maybe apart from the collapsing cave system though.

EDIT - Also it's worth pointing out that 'Public right of way' doesn't have to equate to a clear, marked out footpath. Just a way to cross a bit of land without trespassing. Having said that, that's the case in my country, not sure what the rules are in Canada.

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I hate to pick holes in people's ideas, and I really like the wooden signpost picture that @nicko mocked up!

But... (yes, I'm afraid so)...

it just doesn't make sense. For a start, what is going to be written on these signposts? The region names aren't proper place names, they're just 'what the character calls them'. Who would choose to live somewhere that was actually called "Crumbling Highway" or "Desolation Point"? That's not their real name! And don't get me started about Forlorn Muskeg... whoever thought that up wants shooting!

And then there's the problem with routes between maps. Think about the realities of the layouts and the transition points. They just are not the types of places that would ever be officially recognised and designated as signed rights of way. You could have roadsigns, perhaps, but that isn't going to help players navigate because the roads are out of use and we have to find alternative ways around.

Simply, the connection between pre-disaster infrastructure (like signposts) and the navigable post-disaster routes doesn't really exist in the game's environment. In fact, that's the whole point: you can't use pre-disaster obvious routes any more, and have to instead resort to searching for an alternative off-piste way.

But fundamentally, the very concept of telling players which way to go in order to find things in the game is just...wrong. it's not my idea of what TLD is about. When we are new to the game, or to a new map, we stumble about randomly, lost, until we come across something. That sense of relief when you find a safe shelter, or the sense of anticipation when you discover the entrance to a new location - that's important to the game. I feel that signposting things all over the place would detract from that: it's too much of a spoiler, too much hand-holding for my liking.

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