8 replies to this topic

[wangmauler]

Seeing how the searching feature on these forums is poor, I can not tell if this has already been suggested.

Most Games(100% that I've seen) that have a minimap, have an option, to lock the rotation, so north on the minimap is always pointing...well....north.

This would help immensely, and I suggest it be implemented into the game. eh?

just my 3.14 cents.

[Nathan Foxbane]

Minimap on you HUD rotates so that North always faces North even when you are not (relative to your legs I believe). The map that you can call up by pressing the "b" key is locked and really not that hard to check every so often. You can either have a minimap that spins or a personal marker that spins (many games have this latter). Maybe that is what you are asking for. Personally I like the rotating map, but maybe that is because I actually rotate physical maps so they always face North if I need to face a direction other than North. How often do you walk backwards just the map your are holding faces North? Ever look a GPS guide in a car? I have yet to see one that does not rotate the map so it always faces North no matter the direction of travel of the car.

[Sephlock]

They already have that option, you just can't control when it happens.

[wangmauler]

Nathan Foxbane, to answer your question, yes that is what I was asking basically - to have a 'marker' that spins instead of the entire map.

Also, every GPS I've tested/fixed/sold(I work in retail) has an option to turn roation of the map on/off, but most of them allow it only in 2D mode. 90% of people for some reason use 3D instead of 2D. I use 2D, as I grew up using maps to guide me rather than a GPS(28 years old).

As a competitive gamer, It would be extremely beneficial to have this option: When calling out enemy positions to your teammates, with a minimap in locked rotation, it is very easy to know that the, for example, top left grid location is A1, and one grid below and to the right is B2, etc.

Especially when calling out key sections of a grid, for example, "C3, key 7." This means in the top left of grid C3 (using 'KEY' as a reference to the keyboard number pad locations). All of my clans in the games I've played with a minimap grid have used this tactic, as it is very simple to spot and enemy and say "Atlas in C6, key 1," and your teammates will know exactly where they are(bottom left of C6).

If you have minimap rotation ON, like it is now, let's say your are traveling southwest, so the minimap was turned about 135° to the right. you spot an enemy and look down at your minimap to spat out the location,low and behold it is a mess and very hard to say exactly where he is. SO you either spend a few to several extra seconds figuring out exactly what 'key' grid location the enemy is in, or you press B to get the full screen map, and loose all visual sights.

Anyways, it would be AWESOME if they added a simple checkbox option to turn it on/off. most games that do competitive play have it, or have it as a fixed(non-rotating) minimap.

Edited by wangmauler, 28 April 2013 - 04:56 PM.

[Nathan Foxbane]

Fair enough. Of course being able to seen the whole map or at least most of it on your minimap instead of just part of it would probably help more than a rotating icon because you have better reference and will likely actually see the grid referenced instead of having to extrapolate it from memory and the current small visible section of your map. Locking the map just makes that extrapolation slightly faster, it does not actually solve the problem. Half the time you have to stop and check the normal map in this game just to give grid locations of 'Mechs you have spotted in this game.

And yeah I am used to traditional maps too.

[wangmauler]

I don't think I'm getting my point across.
Let's take this picture as an example. Notice the red dot where the (black)arrow is pointing:



Lets say you glance down and see the emeny's radar icon for a split second and it disappears(as such that happens fairly often in MWO).

You hit B to get an exact reference, but the blip is gone, so you hit B again to see what location he was actually in, and you try to call it out to your teamates. What location would it be?

It looks like it might be G5 key 7, but that is ONLY relative to YOUR position. If one of your teamates was not facing the exact same direction as you, that would be a different location in G5. In reality, that mech is in G5 key 3.

My whole point, is if the minimap were a stactic map just like the 'B' fullscreen map(but the same size as the minimap is now), it would be about 1-5 seconds faster to pinpoint its location.

Also, in that small space the minimap has now, it would NOT at all be helpful to see the whole map, as the grid size would be insanely small, as shown in this picture:




I know that is not the correct map for the picture, but it's just an example.

So in essence, having AN OPTION to turn rotation on/off for the minimap would be very beneficial, and the majority of people in MWO would benefit from a more functional minimap. If you like it how it is, good, you don't have to do anything. If you want more control and better teamwork and a more competitive gameplay, click a checkbox to disable rotation.

Again, just my opinion, but coming from someone playing games competitively since quake1, this is a needed option.

Edited by wangmauler, 29 April 2013 - 04:54 AM.

[wangmauler]

while we are at it, how about a zoom option for the minimap!?

[Neolisk]

wangmauler, on 29 April 2013 - 04:57 AM, said:

while we are at it, how about a zoom option for the minimap!?

Was going to say Yes to your suggestion after reading the discussion going on here, and also to add zoom feature suggestion, but you just said that.
I always have a fixed north on google maps or my GPS, and not getting others who have it rotated for them.
Please add a poll with Yes/No/Abstain.

[Quakemazer]

I can only hope they add the option to lock the minimap. Everything you've said about speeding up grid references is spot on with my thinking. It can't be hard, and more options for players can't be a bad thing. An additional point that you didn't touch on is that it makes calling compass directions nearly instant from your position, which, when moving in a tight group, would be invaluable.

I would also welcome a zoom for the minimap but if we could only have one feature, give me the locked orientation.

Edited by Quakemazer, 06 May 2013 - 06:26 PM.