Don't look at the maps!

[Sito]

My advice for new players:

Try to avoid looking at the Whiteberry and other maps. Go in to a region blind. It is absolutely the best experience. Use the charcoal mapping feature to get an idea of where you are but since you already travelled there you already have a mental picture of your surroundings. Build the map in your mind using the landmarks and features that identify where you are. Travel back and forth on the same path and soon you can do it in a blizzard and still find your way home.

Recently I looked up a map of ML because I wanted the name of a burnt out cabin but the map looked nothing like my mental picture. In my mind the train tracks are east-west, the trappers cabin is north and the camp office and the lake is south. Nothing can dispel that from my mind and I can land anywhere in ML and know exactly where I am. Whiteberries trail markers did not match at all my way of getting from one place to another.

Unfortunately I did look at the maps for the first few regions but since HRV I stopped doing that. HRV,  BI, AC, and BRM were the absolute best experiences. I know every tree, pathway, structure, and dead body with crows above. It is like coming home when I enter a region to camp out there for a while. 

TLDR; Don't look at the maps.

[peteloud]

The most suspense-filled, exciting days when playing TLD are when you don't know the region, don't know where you are, when the mist comes down, you are tired & cold and don't where you can shelter.  Use of maps, mods and loot tables take away those days.

Edited April 4, 2022 by peteloud

[Catlover]

2 hours ago, peteloud said:

The most suspense-filled, exciting days when playing TLD are when you don't know the region, don't know where you are, when the mist comes down, you are tired & cold and don't where you can shelter.  Use of maps, mods and loot tables take away those days.

Agreed! Though I have one question, how would mods take it away? They add a bunch of stuff to the game that arguably make the game easier in some cases, though I haven't found it to take away the anxiety-fueled enjoyment that tld gives when I'm lost. Some mods, if anything, seem to enhance the experience (such as placing anywhere, ambient lighting)

I agree with everything else said, I was just a bit curious to know your opinion as personally, I'm not sure how using mods can take away the experience.

[Leeanda]

I have to agree to some extent but maps have their uses!  When I first started playing I had no access to the internet so I had no chance of help! 

I got totally lost in hrv and got so frustrated that I nearly stopped playing the game altogether!  Eventually I found the exit ,by sheer luck and it's left me never wanting to go there again! Even after three years I don't like it and it's a shame that it left that mark .  I might've grown to love it if I'd had a map in the first place..

[peteloud]

9 hours ago, Catlover said:

. . .  how would mods take it away? . . .

With the help of mods it is possible to start an Interloper game like this,

Mods can change the nature of the chanllenge, and game.

Not all mods are cheats, some are primarily decorative.

 

[Catlover]

6 minutes ago, peteloud said:

With the help of mods it is possible to start an Interloper game like this,

Mods can change the nature of the chanllenge, and game.

Not all mods are cheats, some are primarily decorative.

 

Ah, you mean you just load into the game with bearskin items? I have to agree with you then, with those kinds of mods. It would take the experience away if you could just start with them, or something. After all, isn't half of the game just freezing to death  

[stmSantana]

I don't want people who play TLDs for the first time to look at the spoiler map for suspense and excitement if possible.
However, each person has their own way of enjoying the game. So I don't call looking at a map a cheat.
Some people like to play while looking at the map and should tolerate it. Some even enjoy relaxing play while looking at the map on the easiest difficulty level.
Someone said, " Stop the 'survival not camping'. "

[odizzido]

Yup, people should enjoy the game however they enjoy it.

edit------

I wish to elaborate a little. I don't feel the OP is shaming anyone. They're sharing how they could have enjoyed the game more when they first started.

Edited April 5, 2022 by odizzido

[Catlover]

8 hours ago, stmSantana said:

I don't want people who play TLDs for the first time to look at the spoiler map for suspense and excitement if possible.
However, each person has their own way of enjoying the game. So I don't call looking at a map a cheat.
Some people like to play while looking at the map and should tolerate it. Some even enjoy relaxing play while looking at the map on the easiest difficulty level.
Someone said, " Stop the 'survival not camping'. "

Well said. The game is there for you to enjoy however you want. 

I personally try not to use maps but I often do when I'm lost, it lets me know where to go and I find most of the way through memory. 

I do agree with @Leeanda, maps certainly have their uses. Well the op is right about maps somewhat tainting the experience of a new run, they are there to be used or not to be, whatever suits your playstyle

 

Edited April 5, 2022 by Catlover

[acada]

I do enjoy the thrill exploring new areas without maps. But I do like playing with offline maps as well. I do come from country where whole country is covered by 1:50.000 detailed maps which are available for public (former military maps, now released and yearly updated). Some areas are covered by 1:25.000 maps. I cannot imagine to go to any trip without map.

BTW if you want to enjoy the most dense and elaborate tourist tracks, come to Czech Republic. Our tourist club started 1888 and is working on the tracks till today. It kinda spoiled me. You can go to the nature and be sure, that from one sign you can see the second one.

[hozz1235]

As others have pointed out, the OP has suggested not to use maps and given good arguments in favor of that viewpoint.  That said, I also agree with others, that each person should do what they want to maximize their enjoyment of the game.

I'm not afraid to admit that I used maps pretty heavily when starting out.  I event went to the effort of printing them (full size) on 8x11 paper then taping them together at overlaps to make a nice, big paper map.  I mainly used them to plot routes or annotate things for various purposes.  Doing that did not take away my enjoyment of the game; in fact, I'd like to think it kept me interested to keep playing...2,000 steam hours and counting!

[UpUpAway95]

Shrug... I just have to point out that not looking at any available map for any game is also an option for any player... and the game experience is affected by it (for better or for worse).  Do whatever suits your play style... and don't feel guilty or sad about it whatever you do.

I think it's great that some members of the community have gone to the notable and commendable effort to produce such detailed maps and put them on the Wiki for those players who want to be able to access them.  To them, please keep up the great work!

I still think it would be a cool (and alien) experience for many players if they gave the player an option to activate and receive aeronautical charts of GBI (which is what Will would have had, mostly likely, in his plane).  Being able to read different types of maps isn't a bad skill to learn at any time.

Edited April 7, 2022 by UpUpAway95

[Stone]

Not having a map, finding you're way - its a unique experience and it feels like, in this game especially, it should be enjoyed. But a map is just information, like the burn time on the fire or the wind shelter icon. It can all help and enrich without breaking the game. It is a player choice and community provided maps have unique charm and affection. As @UpUpAway95 notes, map reading and navigation is a skill and challenge. As @Leeanda says, finding your way can be incredibly infuriating. So much so you might not bother with a region. Learning all the maps from scratch takes a long long time, particularly if on harder difficulties where you are always at risk. Plus, I'm pretty sure there is a very detailed map up in the camp office. If we could only focus our eyes upon it ;O) 

[James Hickok]

Knowing the terrain is a matter of life and death in TLD especially on higher difficulty modes. When i started my survival mode in TLD (at first i played only story) i wanted to start a looper run and died on day one. Then i saw Zaknafeim's YT channel where he said something like dont go looper until you know the maps so i started a Voyager run and played it till day 250. I used map a few times to know where points of interest are but after 250 days i knew all regions more or less. After that i started a looper run and have been successful till now, day 559 and know the terain very very well. 

I guess looking at map if ur in a bad situation is ok. Never used loot tables tho and never will.

[turtle777]

On 4/4/2022 at 8:29 PM, odizzido said:

Yup, people should enjoy the game however they enjoy it.

Generally, yes,  but what's the point with requests that are like "I want it really hard, but also very convenient and forgiving" ?

Not saying the OP said that.

-t