Landmark Map Feedback

Now that the dust has settled, it’s time to start cranking out the feedback and ways I would go about improving Landmark.

Landmark Zones
I want the map sizes expanded. Already looks like it’s utilizing a small visible portion.

Bigger Maps

I don’t know if they are zones, island, or continents.  When you go to the wizard spires in each zone and go to teleport, they are the options available for each server.  Anyway, they are too small.  Looking at the screenshot on the right you’ll see that the playable area is only a small portion of the surrounding area.  Can that be expanded?  I’d love to see the map expand out even further.  I want to run for 20 minutes in a direction and find a nice open area to build.  I don’t like the small confined areas forcing us all too build so close — even with the obnoxious buffer sizes.

Connect the Maps

Right now the only way to travel between these maps are the wizard spires.  I’d like to see them connected.  Think about it like traveling from North Karana Wizard Spires to the Desert of Ro.  You can run the distance or teleport between them.  I think this would give the world a much greater sense of contiguity.

Place Resources Underground

I read in numerous places that the devs have already stated resource placement is temporary, but I can’t find an official source.  Right now all of the ores, gems, and metals are available on the surface and one need only smack the ground 4-5 times to gather it all up.  I know that underground biomes are coming, and I assume that means more additional ore.  I would like people to have to dig and ‘discover’ the ore rather than open the map and see it all lit up like someone spilled a bag of skittles.

Every Map Should Be Every Tier

I think marking some of the zones are Tier 1 and some as Tier 3 creates a sense of progression through maps.  I don’t like this feeling.  I think every map should have ever tier of ore.  Think of it like Minecraft.  I’d like to dig down and find Iron Ore, then dig a little deeper and see a massive cave with Sapphires.  Dig a little further and find Mithril.  There will be an unnatural urge for players to eventually all wish they were on a Tier 5 zone rather than a Tier 1 since the higher up you go the better the resources.

If any of what I have posted here has already been addressed, share the links in a comment!

  • In the Alpha FAQ they state that the tiers are only temporary and eventually the islands will have them mixed, here is the quote:

    NOTE: At the start of Alpha, there will be three types of islands. Starting continents are Tiers 1 & 2 only. Mid Islands are Tiers 2 & 3. High Islands are 3 & 4. (Tier 5 islands will show up later during Alpha.)
    This is only for initial testing purposes. Eventually, we’ll roll out islands that have all resources intermixed.

    Also from the Alpha FAQ is the answer to needing to dig:

    Rare: These are harder to find resources like Silver, Cobalt, Mithril and more. These exist ONLY underground. Some of them very deep underground.
    NOTE: Initially during Alpha, resources will not be deeper than 100 meters below ground. That’ll change soon.

  • Well, who reads FAQs? Psh.

    I will say though, I find silver right on the surface all the time. It’s usually right next to Iron.

  • I have found it on the surface as well lol. And I only read it because I was bored waiting for it to install last night.

    I am hoping they eventually have different underground biomes and actual cavern entranced and such on the surface to get down to them.

    They also did mention they are working on the map with major improvements. I am hoping this means expanding them and possibly connecting them. Honestly it would be cool if they could have them procedurally generated and every time a new ‘area’ is generated have them be like the current map size and just have a spire in the center. I don’t necessarily think it is possible at the moment due to how much trouble they are having but I can hope.

    Lastly not sure if you saw, but they are also at least adding a new server tonight.

  • Yeah there are a few reasons ore is almost all at the surface right now. First is that we need to get our cavern tech complete so that we can have proper biomes underground. Then we can have things like underground jungles and ice caves and all that.

    Secondly we need to have the ability to guide you toward veins. Initially I set up the continents with lots of veins going deep underground. Cool, but trouble was that, mathematically speaking, it was practically impossible to randomly run across one as you dug. It was literally like winning the lottery. We want to be able to create items that can point you in a direction to dig.

    Anyway, once we can do these and other things, resources on the surface will be much more scarce. We want you going to specific biomes to find certain materials, or dig down for them, and all that kind of stuff.

  • @Steve I do have to say so far I am loving it, even with what you have and I am looking forward to seeing it as it evolved. Especially the underground biomes.

  • The zones are a big issue for me, they make it a lot less ‘MMO’
    Part of what everquest was, was the large world you could explore. I would love it if they just linked all the maps togeather properly and made it an actual world.

    Lets just hope the current design is temp. until they add water so they can do oceans between islands..

  • @Steve: Music to my ears! 😀

    @Evalissa: I’ve been trying to put a size on these zones and I feel like they are about the size of West Karana. When I logged off last night I think I counted 50 of these “continents” or zones. If they connected them, we would have quite a massive world — especially if it was connected by water. I do hope we have the water bridging the continents.

  • At this stage and even for the duration of alpha I think using the small maps linked with the jump points is fine since the point is to be sampling out as much of the game as possible… just like ore veins being on the surface at the moment. It allows us to speed up a time consuming process that already can be difficult during alpha due to server issues.

    Now once stability gets worked out and things are more persistent I am 100% for placing the zones together in a large grid and making things more involved in terms of travel and gathering. I would definitely like to see several grids of snowy terrain slowly merge into boreal forests and then down into fields before an large desert style area with canyons and such.

    “Fast travel” is an issue for me. Right now skipping from zone to zone makes sense just to gather and build stations and try new things but I really would prefer very few of these jump stations in a final build.

  • I do agree that I hope they end up making it so either the islands are bigger or that they are interconnected in the final build so you can run from one to the other or have large continents instead of these small islands or something.

    I also think maybe a few spires like there are now (less of them but with the same design as now) but also at the very highest end let players build teleports that connect to a spire from their claim, or in between claims if they have multiple ones.

  • @Drathmar I was thinking something along the line of one spire per climate zone or continent. I also was thinking of a way that would involve players to maintain a system of fast travel in the form of waypoints or portals if you will. Something along the line of a player crafts a portal station and then sets a toll to port to/from that location. Of course my ideas tie in directly with my views on a player run economy with almost no NPC vendors and only player store fronts so who knows.

  • I’m by no means certain but I was under the impression that the current “island” system is an alpha thing. I was expecting a transition at some point to a more contiguous configuration. They keep talking about “continents” and I don’t see an archipelago of sky islands (If they are in the sky. If they are islands) as much of a continent.