Charcoal - Am I missing something?

[Deseoso]

So in survival you can take charcoal out of fires but the description isn't very specific on how to use it. Great so it is useful for sketching. Sketching what and how? I am hoping someone is going to say maps because I don't like that there is no map in survival mode. I would love it if you could use charcoal to create your own maps for each region. Is that what charcoal is for or is there another use for it?

[Hilayla]

This is exactly what it's for. You can the Faithful Cartographer achievement if you fully map all the regions.

[Deseoso]

Okay, that is the "What", now I need the "How". How do you map an area? I haven't figured that part out.

[Guest kristaok]

33 minutes ago, Deseoso said:

Okay, that is the "What", now I need the "How". How do you map an area? I haven't figured that part out.

You take out the Charcoal, Equip it and click your Mouse to start Mapping, once you do that you will expand your Map. Sadly it won't show where you are exactly on the Map if you are on Survival Mode, it will only show where you are at if you are playing Wintermute.

[Deseoso]

Oh that is fine. I actually didn't like that aspect of Wintermute. It is like you're lost in the Canadian wilderness and somehow you have gotten hold of Harry Potter's Marauder's Map.

Edited October 30, 2019 by Deseoso

[Guest kristaok]

5 minutes ago, Deseoso said:

Oh that is fine. I actually didn't like that aspect of Wintermute.

Oh I love that aspect myself, I hate the feeling of being lost. I would at least like the option to have a Map Marker in the Custom Settings.  

[Hilayla]

2 hours ago, Deseoso said:

Okay, that is the "What", now I need the "How". How do you map an area? I haven't figured that part out.

Sorry, I dropped the ball on that one, didn't I?

[ajb1978]

So to expound on the mapping mechanic, there are a few things to keep in mind.  The charcoal essentially reveals the terrain within a certain radius of your position.  I don't know exactly how far, but I think it's something like 50m in all directions of you.  In MOST regions, the terrain can obstruct your view.  So if you are at the bottom of a valley, you won't get much revealed, but if you are perched at the highest point of a rock with nothing in the immediate area being higher than you, you can map everything in the radius successfully.  There are some regions that ignore this mechanic, notably Timberwolf Mountain.  But the old-school ones, like Mystery Lake, Coastal Highway, and Pleasant Valley, the higher you are the better you are.  The radius you can map doesn't change, but depending on the size of the region, a single use of charcoal can have drastically different results in how much of the total map is revealed.  For example, compare the effects of charcoal in Pleasant Valley to the effects of charcoal in the Crumbling Highway.  Night and day.

And then there's the Raven Falls Ravine, which for whatever reason doesn't map a circle, but a weird oval.  I dunno.  I don't make the rules, I just shoot wolves for fun and profit.

Also, sometimes an icon on the map won't properly trigger unless you're at a specific elevation.  So say you're trying to map a mine entrance, you're right next to it, and nothing appears on your map.  Maybe if you get slightly above it, then re-map the area, the icon will appear.

You'll get the hang of it.

[FluffyComeHome]

There are also limitations on when you can map. You cannot map in poor visibility, indoors, at night, etc. I also like the fact that it only shows the area where you are and not your position in relation to what is mapped. After all, its a hand drawn map, not a gps. There is a star looking symbol in that quick menu which brings up the mapping option or you can access it from the full menu (like opening back pack and stats and stuff).

Edited October 31, 2019 by FluffyComeHome

[ajb1978]

33 minutes ago, FluffyComeHome said:

 I also like the fact that it only shows the area where you are and not your position in relation to what is mapped. 

Actually the map comes up centered on your position.  In Survivor mode it doesn't have an icon indicating where exactly you are, but you know it's smack dab in the middle of the screen (at least until you scroll the map or zoom all the way out) so you have a pretty good idea of where you are.

[FluffyComeHome]

3 minutes ago, ajb1978 said:

Actually the map comes up centered on your position.  In Survivor mode it doesn't have an icon indicating where exactly you are, but you know it's smack dab in the middle of the screen (at least until you scroll the map or zoom all the way out) so you have a pretty good idea of where you are.

I dont think I ever noticed that.  😄 Good to know, thanks!

[Deseoso]

@ajb1978 & @FluffyComeHome thanks for the detailed info. This will help my survival mode game.

[TROY]

On 10/30/2019 at 3:55 PM, Deseoso said:

Oh that is fine. I actually didn't like that aspect of Wintermute. It is like you're lost in the Canadian wilderness and somehow you have gotten hold of Harry Potter's Marauder's Map.

A person skilled at using a map would be able to at least roughly estimate their position  and direction of travel based on their surroundings and the position of the sun- even without an operable compass. The premise of this game has always been that the character is/was a bush pilot. (until the very recent addition of playing as Dr. Astrid)

I’ve always felt that a bush pilot would certainly need to be fairly skilled in map use. Furthermore, since the game itself allows the player/character to CREATE our own map, the game itself is assuming the character is skilled enough with maps to be able to make their own. 

Magical artifacts are extremely rare in today’s world, we must learn skills to make up for it. If muggles can do it, so can you.

[Hotzn]

On 10/31/2019 at 1:39 AM, ajb1978 said:

So to expound on the mapping mechanic, there are a few things to keep in mind.  The charcoal essentially reveals the terrain within a certain radius of your position.  I don't know exactly how far, but I think it's something like 50m in all directions of you.  In MOST regions, the terrain can obstruct your view.  So if you are at the bottom of a valley, you won't get much revealed, but if you are perched at the highest point of a rock with nothing in the immediate area being higher than you, you can map everything in the radius successfully.  There are some regions that ignore this mechanic, notably Timberwolf Mountain.  But the old-school ones, like Mystery Lake, Coastal Highway, and Pleasant Valley, the higher you are the better you are.  The radius you can map doesn't change, but depending on the size of the region, a single use of charcoal can have drastically different results in how much of the total map is revealed.  For example, compare the effects of charcoal in Pleasant Valley to the effects of charcoal in the Crumbling Highway.  Night and day.

And then there's the Raven Falls Ravine, which for whatever reason doesn't map a circle, but a weird oval.  I dunno.  I don't make the rules, I just shoot wolves for fun and profit.

Also, sometimes an icon on the map won't properly trigger unless you're at a specific elevation.  So say you're trying to map a mine entrance, you're right next to it, and nothing appears on your map.  Maybe if you get slightly above it, then re-map the area, the icon will appear.

You'll get the hang of it.

+1. If you know as much about RL as about TLD, you must be a wise man.  

[wizard03]

Sadly the map creation was really lost on me.....Yeah, I could figure out where Im at and so forth if given an already completed map, but as for cooking one up on the fly? Im hard wired memory, I know how to get where I have already been.

[Muestereate]

need a mapping skill, more skill, larger radius and shorter mapping time.

[ManicManiac]

1 hour ago, Muestereate said:

larger radius and shorter mapping time

I think that might suck the challenge out of committing the time and resources to do it.

...to me, that would be a mistake.

[Muestereate]

I don't even map because it is too challenging to beat the tedium.

[ManicManiac]

On 3/10/2020 at 8:07 AM, Muestereate said:

I don't even map because it is too challenging to beat the tedium.

Yeah, I guess it's not for everyone then I suppose.

But I quite like it the way it is. 

[Muestereate]

I saw you took on faithful cartograpgher lol.  Not for me I guess,  maybe someday. I never have been one to go after game challenges though.

 

[ManicManiac]

@Muestereate

In general I don't really go after achievements either, however when I noticed that I only had 5 left (the rest I'd just gotten in the course of playing) I figured I would just bundle up the last 5 into my own personal challenge (with several additional provisos/rules to make it a bit more interesting than just hunting the achievements themselves - to me it's just more fun this way)...

On 10/20/2019 at 12:20 AM, ManicManiac said:

I've never really focused on achievements, any that I got were just incidental while playing.  The one notable exception was Stone Age Sniper... that one I did actively seek out because I wanted to make sure I earned it before that one update that made rabbit hunting so much easier.  I wanted to earn it while the mechanic was more "difficult" (and I did, so I was really happy about that).  When I noticed there were only six left, that's when I decided I'd actively seek the last ones out and complete them.

 

 

Edited March 17, 2020 by ManicManiac