News, questions and answers, Any suggestion? Write it down here!

Alright then just a quick question regarding Bosses. Do you only list the location of bosses with Elite skills or any boss with a known spawning location? (I realize some bosses have multiple spawn points.)

With the updated I got yesterday I found that you added the collectors I was going to send you. However I also noticed very few bosses were included. I've been double-checking with Guild Wiki but noticed that some of their Tyria info is out of date / incomplete regarding bosses. Since I'm not sure what "should be included" I'll wait with the info.

By the way, completely off topic, I've sent you an email with what I hope you will think of as a fond memory / funny story about game characters. Since it was kind of long and not on-topic, I felt email was better. Enjoy.

I have three suggestions for the program.

Show Legend
I've got a large screen monitor and I realize not everyone is so lucky. Yet I find the floating legend window in my way no matter where I put it. Would it be possible to create a couple of radio buttons to control legend position? Choices would be: floating window (current functionality) or docked. Docked would allow the legend to be docked inside of the map window along any of the four sides. [If you include this function and allow for positioning, no one will ask you to move it. ]

Variable Note Icons
While I know you include Personal Notes already, perhaps you could include the ability to change the icon used by a specific note? I'm assuming notes are either straight text or in a database. You would be adding an extra field for the icon name or id. Users would be able to choose from a pre-defined set of choices when they create a new note. Add a drop down list box to the new note dialog with all of the icon choices, with standard note as the default. Some possible icons are:

1. Point of Interest: For named locations in the game that are referred to in quests but not specifically named on the map. Many of these locations have "street signs" within the game but are not outposts. For instance on Shing Jae Island, Panjiang Peninsula, there is Kaitan Village, Raiyan Cave and Port Kaimu. After awhile, especially if you go back to help other lower-level characters you forget these things. A simple dot / pin icon will work.


2. Battleground: A way to designate a mob spawn location. Can be used to highlight which monsters are located there and how / why you think you died the last time. (Yeah, I have issues.) Crossed swords or something similar for icon.


3. NPC: Annoying when you realize that you've forgotten where someone is located. Use this to place NPC locations that are important to you. Generic for any NPC (not a boss or collector, but everything else ok). Use the standard yellowish green triangle.

City Maps
Perhaps because I don't often get the chance to play, I find that I am getting lost in some of the cities. They're too big and I can never find the Xunlai Agents. (I'm starting to think they move around on me!) Perhaps offer a new campaign called "Cities" with blown up maps of all of the towns, outposts, and cities. (Used in conjunction with the NPC note icon them Xunlai Agents won't get away from me again!) Note that these would have to be blown up map images for best use, but might appear a little pixelated due to being increased in size. Another possible graphic element is to kind of blur out or mask the non-walkable map areas.

Sabardeyn,
I haven't read your mail yet, but I will
About your suggestions, I will add them to my todos list. In details:

Variable Note Icons
I LOVE THIS HINT! TOTALLY... I think no other comments are dued

Legend
I have to admit I didn't take too much care on legend, because I thought it would have been a "one time usage" thing: launc the program, have a look around, look at the legend... close it uahha...
Now I realize it isn't so... Anyway, I totally have to do something to manage it better

City Maps
Here we are. This is a bigger matter. Not for the idea itself, but for what it causes in my MIND! I have planned to release a little update (most of all centered on the Real of Torment new map) and then start working on a major feature: change MappingOut into a multilanguage software. This would affect loooots of thing. I shall clean maps of all texts and draw them in the correct language. this will include city and outpost. So that I thought: "well, while I'm doing this, why can't I draw also the city/outpost marker? It could be nice to see which city I have reached and which not. Or see the growing of my protector titles... Finally, it comes your idea... With all the things said before, I could hide city markers and you could see their real map, not hidden by the marker anymore ...
Finally, the idea of adding a multilanguage feature opened ocean of chaining waves on the breaken door of my brain!! I should have cut this flow off, as soon as I started thinking about it... now it's too late! ghghghhghg

I understand. I've been working on an instruction manual for GWFreaks and I just recommended that he add the ability to do pretty much where you might be going. (The manual should be ready for release in a couple of days.)

I suggested Layers for his application. One would be for text & notes, another for borders & city/outpost markers, third for walkable areas (not routes to / from locations, something a bit different). Anyway, you are kind of heading in that direction as well it seems. Have you seen the program GW Manager? He created a really interesting program, was working with layers and, unfortunately, real life events have made him abandon the project. It's a shame.

As far as the city maps the only real problem is trying to get something that is usable. I just tried to create a sample of what I meant and the effect was not that great. You kind of need to resize, blur and sharpen and then do layers on top of the image to get any other wanted effect. Save the original file (with layers) and then again without layers as a png/jpg/whatever. Then the program would add all of the other stuff on top (icons, text, routes, walkable areas, etc) via layers.

BTW, redoing the in-game maps are tough now that the Cartography track exists. I've only got 79.8% of Tyria done and far, far less than that of the other locations.

i think a cool feature to have would be to be able to print either the skills you have captured or the ones you still have left to cap, that way then you can share a list of the ones you have with a friend so that if you are planning on capping some skills at the weekend for example you can give your friend a list of what you still need, also it gives you some thing to look at when you are thinking about what skill to get next etc...

Ouortoth,
that could be done and, for sure, It would be done! You're not the first to ask such a thing so I HAVE to it heheheh

Here are some more layer ideas...

Best Route Layer: Kind of a walking route from one zone to another. Similar to what you would see normally on the Area Map (hotkey: U) while playing. It would have a series of dots showing the best path to follow to get through a zone.

However, it would be different in that it would include different colored dots. Instead of red, the route dots would be some other color. Then use green, yellow and red dots for time delay lengths for places where you wait for mobs to move / pass by. Perhaps adding the battlefied icon for places where you must fight in order to continue. Lastly, some means of indicating conditional movement - places where you must complete a task in order to continue. (This last one is mostly for Missions.)

Boss Layer: Instead of just listing the location of elite bosses, this would provide the locations of all of the bosses that can appear in the zone. This might be a big help to lower level players. They will not round a bend and bump into a boss mob unexpectedly.

Shrine Layer: Use a small icon (not the current GW one, it's too big) to indicate the resurrection shrine locations. The icon could be a tiny ankh, a hand, gravestone (?), whatever.

Edited by Sabardeyn - 9/4/2007, 21:38

Sabardeyn,
even if your idea sounds pretty cool, I've sadly to say it is quite difficult to be done.
Dotted path could be useful, but it would involve an ENORMOUS effort to carry it out. As for the shrines... I chacked them and they're really a lot... about a thounsand of shrines are spread all over elona. At least for the moment I won't include them. I have to fix some issues for first and think about a multilanguage release of MappingOut...
But, after I will have completed the rest, I will consider your ideas (actually I like them )

Aylee,

Pre-Searing Error: I believe I've found an error using my W/Mo. The collector Varis (found inside Fort Ranik & in Regent Valley near Ivor Trueshot) collects ... [original post edited for correction]

CORRECTION: The information on the Fort Ranik collector is correct as shown. However, Pre-Searing Fort Ranik has two collectors: Hatcher and Varis. Both collectors are found in two locations: Regent Valley (separately) and inside Fort Ranik. Mapping Out needs another collector icon added to Fort Ranik for Varis, do not edit/change Hatcher. Sorry about the mistaken info. :: blush ::

Layers: I understand. I've posted to give you the suggestion, I'm not really expecting it to be in the next update. What you include in the program is up to you. However, I know that if I don't post a suggestion I will forget the idea.

Best Route = Enormous Work: I don't understand why the dots would be an enormous task. I'm only talking about an image overlay. Basically a picture with 95% of the image invisible and some colored dots & icons. I was not expecting dots to appear in relation to your actual in-game location. GW might consider this to be hacking and get accounts banned. (BTW, I'm assuming most of these Layer suggestions are either icons drawn directly to the screen, or are 95% invisible images, laid on top of the terrain image.)

Legend: I was thinking about the legend again. Besides the previous suggestion, perhaps just show the icon without text. Holding the mouse over the icon would cause a tooltip explanation. This would make the legend much smaller in size.

If tooltips are not possible, you might want to use a "status bar". Combine the legend icons and a text area into one line at the top of the map including the window minimize, etc buttons. When a user mouses over an icon, the text area provides a name & short description. A lot of art programs use this idea.

Edited by Sabardeyn - 20/4/2007, 00:53

Add :



Change:

314:928 Bezzr Wingstorm



All chests I tested can be opened twice.

I find a boss called “Deep Root” in 832:1238, a monk I believe, but I don’t know the skill

The core monk elite Word of Healing is not listed for Nightfall.


Hahan, Faithful Protector

Hello, I would have a demanded suggestion/from porle, or my radiosa Aylee.
You could implement the functionality that, when clikki on the icona of an Elite in the map, automatically in the list of the abilities on the left comes selected the corresponding voice? In this way I can endured to see which are the other zones in which I can take that elite, at least I see which he is that simplest one to catch up. If you have problems translate the translation of google it makes me a blast that I call to you, or my feracious vichingo!!

lol ivano, cambia traduttore

Stone,
thanks for the information. It will be added as soon as possible!

Gatzu,
OH MY GOD! It took me quite long to understand what you have been trying to tell me!! But finally I got it... and it seems a pretty good idea.
I will add that feature, maybe this weekend, if I will able to find some time to spend on MappingOut!

Bye to everyone
Aylee

Hi, I've been using mapping out for a while now and I seem to have a noticed a mistake with a Necromancer Green Weapon information:

Weapon: Modti's Depravation
Mistake: "Halves casting time of curses spells (chance 20%)" Is shown twice on the information which pops up when you hover the mouse over it.

I don't know if this was intended, but it looks like I mistake to me so I just thought I'd let you know.