Don't show the whole map

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    The map should only be revealed based on the areas we have actually explored. When first join a server/play on a new map you should only be able to see the location of stars. NOT what is around those stars, and not the location or pathway of blackholes/gate ways. You should have to actually enter a star system one time to see whats is in it, and travel thru a gate/blackhole to see where it goes.
     

    NeonSturm

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    Already suggested.

    Even with quests which allow to sell data to the trade guild. TG pays the player for information on which they hold interest.
    • TG developes interest in pirate bases and faction homes when information is old
    • TG collects information about block counts on entities (strong scan required)
    • TG collects information about location and outline on the xy, xz and yz axis of player stations and ships and public ID.

    Also suggested were
    • logbooks for coordinate points and routes through wayspoints/gates, etc.
    • information about sectors/systems/structures tradable between player-maps.
    • computers which store meta-data for maps (you can only carry maps with you that fit into your ship's computer).
    • loot-able maps.
    • … to be continued …
     
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    This would make hunting down players very easy since the map would only show the places people had gone to. Or would it be possible to have individual maps for all players? What about new players? Most people who start out in StarMade. Spawn and allready go Now What? Since there is often just the shop and nothing else. A completely black map would only add to the confusion you need some basic pointers on whats out there.

    The StarMade map is shrouded in a Fog of War. You don't see it but sectors are only generated into real map data once you are near them. That's when stations get there name and shops pop up.

    One of the problem for servers is that this revealing of the map by players as they move through the galaxy. Generates a LOT of map data. Data that is mostly Void Sectors. What you want to avoid is that players start moving about for the very sake of moving about. There is no need for players to seek out every non visited sector in the Galaxy. It would be impossible to host a server with that kind of map generation data.

    Where is the border around a server map! I can lock sectors but not the Galaxy. I want to set a border in sectors x y z from the Galaxy centre.
     

    NeonSturm

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    I would do it like this:
    You can see the star Alpha Centauri from earth as you can see the star from a distant galaxy. Stars don't need to be shrouded.
    But can you see planets in the Alpha Centauri system? They should be a mystery until you get to that system.
    • Although the TG could tell you that there is 1 earth planet 2 ice planets … but you don't know any exact details …
    • A bit like now, isn't it?
    • Stations like gates can pay for or have a number between 1…255 instead of 0. The TG would demand a price for sharing information about 1…255 stations. 1=1 credit, 2=4 credits, 3=16 credits, 10=1024 credits, 20=1 million, 30=1 billion …
    • The player decides how much to pay and how often to pay for updates on his locally saved map.
     
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    This would be fun on a single player universe and introduce some story based gameplay somehow.

    On multi player the technical aspect of it simply might be prohibitive as others have said.

    Scanners should be able to identify undiscovered stations within range of the scanner, in fact this is what I thought they did at first! There would have to be a caveat to that and in the case of pirate stations, the scan should be detectable.

    Again, where this data is kept would dictate whether this could be achieved multiplayer. Maybe a "known" universe file could be built up as players travel through systems and carry out scans. The scan data could be available from the navigation menu and a decay value applied to it so automatically purge it. So if someone travels far from spawn, their trail would be captured by this file, but then as time passes, if nobody travels there again for a fixed amount of time this data is slowly erased from the file until it is gone. Spawn and the 8 systems surrounding it may always be pretty full of data but as you move away, the data will become less. Maybe some financial or artifact based caveat could be applied to the quantity of data that can be displayed to the player.
     
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    What you guys don't seem to realize is that generation happens almost exactly like it does now. The only thing that changes is what the players see. Once a sector/system/station has been visited and identified, it shows up on the player's map. Once modified, that sector is saved. Exactly like now. The only change is that the system merely has to keep a record of what sectors and systems each player can and can't see on their map.
     
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    Suggested many times by many players. Still desperately needed for so many reasons.