Gradual exploration of the map

[BearWrestler]

I was surprised to see that you start the game with a huge area revealed on the map in this game and that chunks incredibly far from you get added to the map as you explore. I think there's a lot of charm in uncovering the map little by little, it bolsters the feeling of exploration. Hope this can be implemented.

The map as it works now also makes ruins and some other types of location super-easy to spot BTW. I find it a lot more interesting to find things by spotting them in the distance when wandering around than having their existence "spoiled" by a map.

[Thalius]

I want to second this, honestly, because I love the challenge of exploring new terrain.  This would make exploration harder, but in a very rewarding way.

But it might be hard to implement though- I mean, if you have your rendering distance set to far and you see a mountain range in the distance but can't see much of anything in between, should the terrain in between show up on the map? You know it is there, but you don't know what is in between you and it. Should nothing in between your position and the mountain show up?  Should the mountains not render on the map even though you know they are there and can see them? How would you envision this feature working along with the rendering settings?

As it is now, I think that the map simply reads chunks that have loaded based on your game settings and gives you the info on your map and mini map.  This includes tree types (based on color and size, one can deduce what is growing), clay deposits, ruins, soil fertility/humidity (based on terrain colors), etc.

It sounds like what you might be suggesting is some form of topographical map setting that simply shows elevation as you actually walk over it, within a certain distance of where you travel, as well as forested areas and such, but not with any color. You would then mark your map accordingly using way-points to make notes of what you wanted to record.

If this is what you had in mind, I'd give a hearty thumbs up to the idea of having this as an option, and I'd likely use it on The Wilderlands server I have up.
Give the option for a cartography map setting, with tools to build and customize our own maps as we go.

And might I suggest you edit your suggestion title to something related to Cartography mechanics- the art of map making.

If we could then copy parts of our topo maps to something we can hang on our walls and make additional markings/colorings on once painting makes it's way into the game.... Dang, that'd be nice.

~TH~

[BearWrestler]

Thanks for your input. What I'm suggesting is pretty much keeping the current map, but covering it with a black shroud that clears in a rather small radius around you. Just like you see in the section I timestamped in the video below. It's pretty much standard Minecraft map behavior.

I'm all for a more complex mapping system one day, having to build your own map by identifying landmarks might be interesting if the right balance between realism and fun is found, but I wouldn't put a high value or priority on it until we have a more fleshed-out world with oceans, and especially, more refined spawning mechanics (my nightmare right now).

 

[Thalius]

Understood.  I feel that is, really, sort of how the map works now, just on a scale of what your render distance is.  It would feel odd to me to be able to look a long way off and see a valley and mountains in the distance, but only have a much smaller area around your exact location show up on your map.  I'm not a big fan of the way the mapping works with Minecraft anyway, but that is just me.

I may make a cartography suggestion soon though. Your post has inspired some ideas I may want to flesh out and share.

~TH~