Let's talk about the world map!

It's likely a bit too late into development to produce any of these suggestions not already planned, but I'd like to present them on the off chance they catch a developer's keen eye.
Anyway, forgive the wall of words! I tried to keep it concise because I know how annoying it can be to slog through these posts. Not sure how good I did, though...

In any case, let's start with the things I'd most like to see on the world map:

Regional borders
    Think Total War map on a smaller scale

• I know a map that isn't all carved up with imaginary lines has its charms, but seeing your borders, perhaps optionally,
  adds a much greater sense of scale to the map, as well as giving individual regions their own charm and history without any
  exposition. It'd also open itself up to more diplomatic options and quests.

Seasons
    The creeping march of General Winter

• Having seen the new tools added for scene-building I imagine it wouldn't be hard to bring a city from one season into
  the next; a few puddles in the spring and fall, a coat of white snow in the winter, and so on. As time can move rather slowly
  in Mount & Blade, however, this poses problems for players less interested in dragging their wagons through thick snow and
  mud from one enemy castle to the next. I should hope there are domestic issues that can be resolved in this time instead, but
  I haven't got any better solutions. Please leave comments with your ideas!

Layout & Landmarks
    Battles and cultures are both informed most directly from their surroundings

• Again, think of how Total War maps are laid out with regard to forests, mountains, rivers and their bridges, other
  narrow passageways, etc. This makes encounters more strategic, more memorable,  and hopefully less monotonous - a hump
  over which Warband struggles at after a while. Pre-built scenes connected to over-world fixtures - e.g. a bridge, a cabin, a
  shrine - outside of the villages, castles, and towns would also add to this experience immensely. This is only seen in Warband
  to some small extent with the bandit lairs.
• Memorable, named landmarks such as lakes, forests, marshes, mountain ranges, etc. also provide free but expansive
  exposition. They provide an immediately communicable lore to the surrounding region that isn't strapped to a page of a history
  book. The world is a bit small to your average villager and nearby environmental fixtures greatly inform their way of life and
  help define what is most important to them.

Scale
    Hitting the map size sweet spot is a real challenge

• I often feel that the map in Warband is too small for the number of diverse cultures and environments it hosts, but
  this could simply be a matter of proportions. Jutting out into the water and leading in only to endless deserts and tundra
  makes the map's true scale and relative earth-equivalent location difficult to surmise. I recall someone comparing it to a
  section of Lebanon. This is difficult to reconcile with the fact that Calradia was once a formidable, unified empire. In short
  I believe the map needs to be larger than Warband's but smaller than, say, the map we see in the 1257 mod.

Unaligned parties
    Connecting the number of bandits and deserters to prosperity

• Not much to say. The prosperity of your kingdom and the times, whether they be peaceful or violent, should affect
  how many bandits you should see pop up beyond the fog of war. It wouldn't be too bad to see non-violent parties roaming
  around either, with whom you could interact peacefully if you choose.

Aside from these major points, smaller things I'd like to see such as hunting (though I disagree on having to chase down sprites of deer or boar on the over-world map), more visible trade paths, and more quests with an emphasis on exploration rather than combat would all be welcomed as well.

Tell me what you think! Do these ideas sound good to you? Anything you'd like to add or anything you strongly disagree with?

I know it's disingenuous to bump your own thread but no one has anything to add? No one approves or disapproves of my proposals? Quite sad to see this sink to the bottom of the forums as I believe I've made some good suggestions.

Posting here just not to make you feel alone in this thread.



I pretty much like your suggestions. Regarding seasons, I'm absolutely sure that it is possible to make a revolution in the mechanics by using shaders. It was already achieved by La Grandmaster in his OSP. This is not only a map change; the scenes themselves are influenced by the constantly changing seasons. It would be a shame if TaleWorlds didn't take this detail in account.

I think your suggestions were wonderful. I'd only add that the location of fortifications should be of relevance on the world map as well (like Total War). If a castle or town/city is located in the center of the only passable mountain path between two kingdoms it should be, at least I think, impossible to just march your army past it if it in fact belongs to an enemy faction. Taking and holding certain fortifications should have extreme strategic importance I think. As should any other viable paths into enemy territory. And with such a system I think other immersion based details can be added as well.
I was really intrigued by your suggestion about seasons. I like the idea of being stuck in the middle of a campaign during winter or waiting the winter out to launch a campaign in the spring. The only problem with it is time. The way most people play, myself included, it takes maybe a few hundred days to complete a play through, which means each season may only be of relevance once before you complete the game...which sucks to me. Perhaps they can speed up time (or at least make it an option to do so) so that each tracking marker dictates a day past instead of an hour sort of like CK II.

I've finally said it. I've always wanted to make that suggestion. I've been lurking for quite some time and though this thread may not receive the views it deserves I feel...never mind. I'm talking too much.

Great ideas 

muffinman3712 said:

I think your suggestions were wonderful. I'd only add that the location of fortifications should be of relevance on the world map as well (like Total War). If a castle or town/city is located in the center of the only passable mountain path between two kingdoms it should be, at least I think, impossible to just march your army past it if it in fact belongs to an enemy faction. Taking and holding certain fortifications should have extreme strategic importance I think. As should any other viable paths into enemy territory. And with such a system I think other immersion based details can be added as well.

Click to expand...

This is a great suggestion. I've always felt like Nelag, Sungetche, and Jameyyed castle, just to name a few, should be more important than they are currently. As is, they're just a liability on the outskirts of each warring kingdom. Checkpoints like these offer a great range of diverse interactions for story and lore purposes; e.g. fight-or-retreat scenarios if you are at war, toll booths you have to enter and exit just to force some atmosphere into the gameplay, or even tolls for parties large enough that aren't allied with the owner. But that might be getting ahead of the developer's potential at the moment.

muffinman3712 said:

I was really intrigued by your suggestion about seasons. I like the idea of being stuck in the middle of a campaign during winter or waiting the winter out to launch a campaign in the spring. The only problem with it is time. The way most people play, myself included, it takes maybe a few hundred days to complete a play through, which means each season may only be of relevance once before you complete the game...which sucks to me. Perhaps they can speed up time (or at least make it an option to do so) so that each tracking marker dictates a day past instead of an hour sort of like CK II.

Click to expand...

To increase the game's pace they'd also have to increase the map's representational size I imagine, which is an interesting prospect. Otherwise you'd get from village to village much too quickly. This could make the environment changes much more understandable and the fact that Calradia was once an actual empire more believable. Two birds with one stone, perhaps?

ToyBoat said:

muffinman3712 said:

I was really intrigued by your suggestion about seasons. I like the idea of being stuck in the middle of a campaign during winter or waiting the winter out to launch a campaign in the spring. The only problem with it is time. The way most people play, myself included, it takes maybe a few hundred days to complete a play through, which means each season may only be of relevance once before you complete the game...which sucks to me. Perhaps they can speed up time (or at least make it an option to do so) so that each tracking marker dictates a day past instead of an hour sort of like CK II.

Click to expand...

To increase the game's pace they'd also have to increase the map's representational size I imagine, which is an interesting prospect. Otherwise you'd get from village to village much too quickly. This could make the environment changes much more understandable and the fact that Calradia was once an actual empire more believable. Two birds with one stone, perhaps?

Click to expand...

I had thought it a given, maybe a misguided thought I admit, that they would automatically increase the size of the map quite a bit. At least I had hoped so. And I didn't mean increasing the distance traveled, on the map at least, I meant simply adjusting the amount of time, not making it so you travel a day's worth of distance. What I mean is if it takes five hours to reach a certain village from your castle (in Warband) where ever it may be, the time should be converted so that the same trip (distance wise) becomes a five day trip instead. If you select the aforementioned time adjustment option.

I'm not sure if I see that happening the way they've already talked about factions/cultures... I'm very hopefully wrong but it sounds like we're getting a very similar, small, and distinct group of analogous tribes, kingdoms, etc.; not enough small factions to cover the nooks and crannies of an empire - at least without getting a lot less unique from place to place. And those distinct shifts in gameplay style are a big part of M&B for me and a lot of players, I would imagine. It's for this reason I singled out the 1257 mod in the OP. It's nice to have a big map but too big and it just becomes noise that you can't tune out easily. The whole world seems like your responsibility but your borders never quite feel defined. It creates as many problems as it solves. Perhaps my visible borders suggestion would mitigate that feeling somewhat but I probably won't be sure any time soon.

We won't know anything until they release more information about the world map of course. This topic was made with the hope that the developers might realise the player-base is eager to hear more on that topic, in fact.

Hello, just wanted to say I approve of the "Seasons" and "Layout and Landmarks" suggestions.

Sounds like a good idea to take care of domestic issues during winter time.

But it could also open up opportunities for, let's say, "risk and reward" quests or missions.

Like if you assume a merchant role during winter time, it could give you extra coin if you were to deliver extra supplies to those cities that need it.
But you could also be at risk of being ambushed by seasoned bandits (at this point modders could perhaps add in things like warm and cold temperatures affecting the agents bodies, if it is not already in the base game, so experienced bandits could have an edge while fighting in the cold winter and snow).

So good suggestions, keep it up.