COMPASS for navigation (necessity)


SonoftheThrone

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Posted

Kindly allow a compass to found in game so that a person can know the cardinal direction they are traveling. Either find a compass or craft a natural one using a leaf and stick in water (as shown in nature shows). You NEED to know the direction you are heading so that you don't literally "walk in circles" the entire game.

This is an absolute necessity in this game. Either that or the character begins to "draw" a map or where they've been in order to track their discovered areas as they progress. A compass would be easier still.

Fog and blizzards do their job at getting a person lost in the environment. There should be a minor countermeasure to counteract that.

Sincerely,

SonoftheThrone

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Posted

Can't use a compass in a geomagnetic disaster as a compass works with magnetic fields.

Using landmarks and the sun is a good way to figure navigation out, though. :)

Posted
Can't use a compass in a geomagnetic disaster as a compass works with magnetic fields.

Using landmarks and the sun is a good way to figure navigation out, though. :)

Great point and rebuttal. Yet, my question would be did the "geomagnetic event" happen and then dissipate or is it still ongoing during your being lost. As in asking, (an anology), "did an EMP go off an hour ago or are EMPs STILL going off as we speak?"

Good point though. I still wish for a compass. In a zero-visibility blizzard and/or fog (often suddenly occurring, without warning) a compass would more-than-likely save a life.

Here's to hoping for a compass! :arrow:

Posted
There probaly won't add a compass in because it was never stated how long the storm has lasted. And this topic has been discussed a lot of times.

Good point! I'm debating on whether or not I show go to youtube.com to find out how to get to the other map area locations that are currently greyed out. Rumor is that you have to "find them" to unlock them for play. However, I've been "practically everywhere" on the playable map and have yet to find the HIGHWAY map and/or the other one feature. I'm currently exploring Mystery Lake on Xbox One.

Posted

Mystery Lake is a tricky map to master. The hills and valleys obscure vision towards familiar landmarks and the trees can look so similar. I still don't recognise parts of it from screenshots,and I can be so sure of where I need to go in a blizzard only to stumble into a completely different landmark to what I expected.

The pathways to the other locations were revealed when they were added, but I'll leave it to you to decide if you want to google it or discover for yourself. I raced into the other locations and only know then so well, I need to go back and learn mystery lake better.

Making a mental map from one place to the next it's extremely important - almost every open world game gives you a mini map, compass and larger map to help navigate, so you completely lose those basic navigation skills. Even GPS navigation is ubiquitous nowadays, so it's a skill you can get by without in real life. Start noticing the contours of rocks, the positions of trees, the layout of the land between destinations. Explore around the paths and enter them at different points until you're confident that in a blizzard, you'll see regular markers that assure you that you are on the right path.

Do that between as many hideouts as you can, the ones you want to have supplies in,and all the places in between. Then you will know the map in a way that doesn't leave you.

Posted
Mystery Lake is a tricky map to master. The hills and valleys obscure vision towards familiar landmarks and the trees can look so similar. I still don't recognise parts of it from screenshots,and I can be so sure of where I need to go in a blizzard only to stumble into a completely different landmark to what I expected.

The pathways to the other locations were revealed when they were added, but I'll leave it to you to decide if you want to google it or discover for yourself. I raced into the other locations and only know then so well, I need to go back and learn mystery lake better.

Making a mental map from one place to the next it's extremely important - almost every open world game gives you a mini map, compass and larger map to help navigate, so you completely lose those basic navigation skills. Even GPS navigation is ubiquitous nowadays, so it's a skill you can get by without in real life. Start noticing the contours of rocks, the positions of trees, the layout of the land between destinations. Explore around the paths and enter them at different points until you're confident that in a blizzard, you'll see regular markers that assure you that you are on the right path.

Do that between as many hideouts as you can, the ones you want to have supplies in,and all the places in between. Then you will know the map in a way that doesn't leave you.

I agree with this. I can get around coastal highway half decent in a fog, I don't even bother at Mystery lake.

You'll have your own tricks soon enough. :)

Posted

This is an absolute necessity in this game. Either that or the character begins to "draw" a map or where they've been in order to track their discovered areas as they progress. A compass would be easier still.

You've solved your own problem-- The player (not the character) CAN draw a map. I recommend pencil and paper :) You may be surprised how rewarding this is. There are of course maps available online, but exploring for yourself is part of the survival experience.

Posted

This is an absolute necessity in this game. Either that or the character begins to "draw" a map or where they've been in order to track their discovered areas as they progress. A compass would be easier still.

You've solved your own problem-- The player (not the character) CAN draw a map. I recommend pencil and paper :) You may be surprised how rewarding this is. There are of course maps available online, but exploring for yourself is part of the survival experience.

Yesterday I found my way to the Coastal Highway map area by returning to Ravine. It all started w/ crossing a chasm via a tree bridge. Now....I'm on the search for Hidden Valley or whatever it's name is. Following the railroad tracks is ALWAYS a way to lead to civilization (even if it's 200 miles away)! :)

Posted

I believe this would be extremely useful in this survival based game. Furthermore with the navigation that is required of the players in this open world it would give a better understanding of your surroundings and overall direction of travel.

Posted

I always thought the opposite: "Shouldn't it be more difficult to walk a straight line in a blizzard than just holding down the "W" key?"

Wish they could add some sideways pull or wander (or warp the entire map to pull slightly left :mrgreen: ) to walking that would require occasional bearing checks with landmarks and "A" or "D" to maintain course (and realism).

Posted
I always thought the opposite: "Shouldn't it be more difficult to walk a straight line in a blizzard than just holding down the "W" key?"

Wish they could add some sideways pull or wander (or warp the entire map to pull slightly left :mrgreen: ) to walking that would require occasional bearing checks with landmarks and "A" or "D" to maintain course (and realism).

Unfortunately console players don't have such luxuries as the W key.

Posted
Unfortunately console players don't have such luxuries as the W key.

'W' key is the same as pushing forward on the left stick of the controller [it's the 'move forward' key on keyboards]

Posted

Personally, I'm totally against the compass. Especially if they add a map of any sort. It would kill the exploration aspect of the game. Using the sun, time of day, and/or known landmarks you should be able to figure out your cardinal directions. Also, as its been pointed out, geomagnetic disturbances mess with compasses.

Posted
Unfortunately console players don't have such luxuries as the W key.

'W' key is the same as pushing forward on the left stick of the controller [it's the 'move forward' key on keyboards]

Im aware of the movement controls however there is sensitivity to an analog stick on an xbox controller, where as a W key is simply an action.

Posted
Unfortunately console players don't have such luxuries as the W key.

'W' key is the same as pushing forward on the left stick of the controller [it's the 'move forward' key on keyboards]

Im aware of the movement controls however there is sensitivity to an analog stick on an xbox controller, where as a W key is simply an action.

True, but do you really have much problems keeping it in the forward position then? I don't play much on consoles but I've never had much problem traveling in a straight line when I did.

Posted
Personally, I'm totally against the compass. Especially if they add a map of any sort. It would kill the exploration aspect of the game. Using the sun, time of day, and/or known landmarks you should be able to figure out your cardinal directions. Also, as its been pointed out, geomagnetic disturbances mess with compasses.

Les Stroud (Survivor Man) stated that writing "how many paces" to something on a napkin is a good way to judge distance traveled. You can do that on toilet paper that should oddly enough be present in these cabins or at the least outhouses. Yet in this magical, fantasy world of "realistic" survival, no one has to remove bodily waist.... :lol:

"SCIENCE!" (in a sarcastic, Bill-Nye-the-Science-Guy-voice)

Posted
Yet in this magical, fantasy world of "realistic" survival, no one has to remove bodily waist.... :lol:

"SCIENCE!" (in a sarcastic, Bill-Nye-the-Science-Guy-voice)

And I'm fine with this. It's a survival game, not an outhouse simulator.

Posted

From the very start it made sense to me that there was no compass, as the title screen said there was a geomagnetic disaster, which would render a compass useless. They never said it was an EMP or any other man-made event. The logical conclusion is that the planet is undergoing pole reversal or a complete destabilization of the magnetic field. This has been known to happen every 500,000 years or so. This could cause a compass to change constantly. It could also cause severe disruption to any electronic device that was not shielded, as the magnetic field protects them from the sun's radiation, which would explain the lack of electricity.

Another factor of geomagnetic reversal is a weakening of the field strength. During one event, the field dropped to 5% of present day levels. Low enough, and a compass wouldn't be able to overcome the tiny amount of friction imposed on it.

Personally, I applaud the developers for taking away this crutch (along with the auto-map). I remember PC games where you had to draw your own stone-age map on actual paper while you were playing. As one person noted, it's a very rewarding experience and really pulls you into the game.

Posted
I agree. compass in a basic tool for a exploration game.

I'm at day 85 and spent half of time walking random in blizzard :geek:

Every time that I mention waste removal someone has a complaint about it being in the game. No game has it that I've seen, so I'd like it. An opinion is an opinion; a preference is likewise. If I had a $1,000,000 to make a game and the technical know-how, I'd do it, but I don't. However, I can easily take what a programmer has given in a sandbox/forge/firefight (Reach) setting and create wonderful, realistic gaming missions/scenarios. That being said, I enjoy realism. I don't want to be caught in a real-life survival situation, but I'd go for the same on a game any day with no complaints. Gaming separates from actual danger to self. It's a safe barrier to experience an otherwise harrowing, life-threatening scenario.

No one has to agree w/ my preferences and/or point of view. It is my own. In a perfect world, which this Earth is not, only persons who felt likewise in support of an idea would take time to comment on it.

My hopes are not so high as to have anything I post in this game forum taken as a serious proposal, although, I wish it would be (by the developers).

I post ideas because Jesus Christ said that if you do not ask, you do not receive. Since, He, the Son of God, presented that logic, I listen. I ask in the forums to developers for something I would personally enjoy.

If you like it, YAY!, for the support. If not, everything I say still belongs to myself. I am rather happy that I took the time to post my ideas.

I enjoy the freedom of speech confirmed in the U.S. Constitution. I enjoy the Long Dark. I look forward to the next update. God bless you all! :)

Posted

You have access to a massive, ever-present and always available solar compass... just look at the shadows cast by the trees, then see what time of day it is; the sun rises from the eastern horizon and sets behind the western one.

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