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Note taking within the game

Unstructured ideas, requests and suggestions for the development of the game.
DamienCassou
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Sep 29, 2020 4:20 pm
android_version: 10 - Android 10

Re: Note taking within the game

Post by DamienCassou »

My idea about marking on the map (as opposed to marking the field) is that I can quickly find out where I want to go next: I just look at the world map and search for flags indicating places I failed to visit completely in the past. Nevertheless, I really like the idea that flags could be part of the game instead of being a construct above the game's reality.

What about making the flags planted in the field visible in the map?
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Osho
Posts: 565
Joined: Wed Aug 12, 2020 4:45 am
android_version: 9.0 - Pie
Location: India

Re: Note taking within the game

Post by Osho »

As already mentioned about using rocks as an indicator, a quick solution would be to simply make the rocks visible on the map as a permanent marker, similar to the ' x ' mark on the map.

The permanent marker disappears the moment player picks the rock and puts it in the inventory!

This shouldn't be difficult to implement.
DamienCassou
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Sep 29, 2020 4:20 pm
android_version: 10 - Android 10

Re: Note taking within the game

Post by DamienCassou »

As already mentioned about using rocks as an indicator, a quick solution would be to simply make the rocks visible on the map as a permanent marker, similar to the ' x ' mark on the map.
Using rocks to fill this goal makes a lot of sense because of the famous Hop-o'-My-Thumb story. If we go that route, I think we should make the feature discoverable though. I'm not sure many players will think of dropping rocks: I never dropped any item nor even thought about dropping one. This can be done in the description of the item. This can also be done through an early quest.

The problem with rocks (beyond the fact that they are not an obvious way to mark a spot on a map) is that they can't receive a textual note. They also can't have different colors to mean different things (e.g., "completed area", "dangerous zone", "has item I want to buy"). An item that might solve these problems a bit more is a notepad. Clicking the notepad in the items would trigger this workflow:
  1. the user is asked for a message and/or color (can be implemented later)
  2. a message appears saying the note was dropped on the ground and a mark added to the map
  3. the notepad is still in the item list so the user can drop more notes
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Osho
Posts: 565
Joined: Wed Aug 12, 2020 4:45 am
android_version: 9.0 - Pie
Location: India

Re: Note taking within the game

Post by Osho »

DamienCassou wrote: Mon Nov 09, 2020 2:06 pm Using rocks to fill this goal makes a lot of sense because of the famous Hop-o'-My-Thumb story. If we go that route, I think we should make the feature discoverable though. I'm not sure many players will think of dropping rocks: I never dropped any item nor even thought about dropping one. This can be done in the description of the item. This can also be done through an early quest.
Why would you need a description? It's simple to drop a rock in any place you want. Yes, the rocks should certainly be visible on map to know their locations.
The problem with rocks (beyond the fact that they are not an obvious way to mark a spot on a map) is that they can't receive a textual note. They also can't have different colors to mean different things (e.g., "completed area", "dangerous zone", "has item I want to buy").
The rocks automatically become a spot marked on the map. It only needs to be linked with the map. The mark to represent their locations could be anything, like a thumb/push pin instead of a ' x ' mark, etc..

In any case, I don't expect to have any additional feature like a textual note, etc. anytime soon. It completely depends on the priorities set by the developers.
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