Amazing game all around but HORRIBLE map system

[Niwashi]

Say you are fairly new to the game, you are in Old Grandia, you pick a quest that says you need to go to the steps of Ul'dah. You've never been there. You click the map, it shows Thanalan with a quest marker, ok, that doesn't help much.

Sure it does. It tells you where you need to go, with directional markers of how to get there. Even if you've never set foot in any of the Thanalan regions, or even the South Shroud, the maps will already tell you that the Central Shroud connects to the South Shroud, the South Shroud connects to Eastern Thanalan, Eastern Thanalan connects to Central Thanalan, which in turn connects to Ul'dah. All you have to do is look at where the maps connect and trace through the routes. You'll see which regions you need to pass through and which direction to take through each of them. Just how much easier do you think any map could possibly make it?

True, you won't know what the landscape looks like until you get there, and there are a few cases (like Upper La Noscea, for instance) where not all region boundaries are connected to each other overland (though there's a ferry to get you across).

And you won't know what mobs are there, though it rarely matters if you stick to the roads, which are generally pretty clear of aggressive mobs. Sure there are level 30 mobs between Gridania and Thanalan, but it's easy to travel past them even at level 1. Just avoid the aggroing mobs and don't engage them if they're significantly higher level than you are. It's not until around level 45 that mobs start to get aggressive enough that they get hard to pass without fighting, and at that point it's intended that you're not supposed to pass those areas until you're ready.

[Dagger_32]

*Snip*

BWHAHAHAHA! I cannot take you seriously. I grew up in the 80's & 90's I remember how gaming was back then. What that has to do with THIS game, I have NO IDEA. No one is disrespecting the game by pointing out that the map COULD be better. It could. It's cluncky and the controls do not well work on the PS3. I don't know how well it works or does not work on the PC but on the PS3 it is a mess.

It doesn't mean people are not playing the game to your high standards. It doesn't mean they do not respect the game and it's makers. Holy over-exaggeration Batman! IT'S A MAP!

[Dagger_32]

*snip*

I don't think the OP is stating that the map is not a map. (I know that is not what I am saying) I think it is more along the lines of the mechanics behind navigating the map are a mess.

[Eltaire]

It doesn't mean people are not playing the game to your high standards.

I fail to see where I stated that I am an elitist, or have high standards. However, if that is what you wish, this would be akin to a Monatarist and a refugee with you obviously being the refugee.

I'll crush you beneath my golden foot. *squish*

[The_Last_Dragoon]

No one is disrespecting the game by pointing out that the map COULD be better. It could. It's cluncky and the controls do not well work on the PS3. I don't know how well it works or does not work on the PC but on the PS3 it is a mess.

The map itself is literally LEAGUES better than the 1.0 version though, and while there are still a few cities that are confusing your first time around, for the most part it was a big improvement when ARR came out.

In terms of the PS3 though, I have to say that the controls are also extremely fluent and natural to someone who knows their way around the Dualshock controller scheme. The only real downfall on the PS3 is having to try and type out a custom conversation that you wouldn't be able to create via the international word data bank, but that's mainly a PS3 UI problem and isn't something that square-enix would be able to fix (Using a USB keyboard fixes this issue).

[Dagger_32]

I fail to see where I stated that I am an elitist, or have high standards. However, if that is what you wish, this would be akin to a Monatarist and a refugee with you obviously being the refugee.

I'll crush you beneath my golden foot. *squish*

Way to lose all credibility with a single post!

Also, it's "Monetarist."

[Dagger_32]

*snip*.

I have trouble with the zoom in and out (L1 and R Analog). My instinct is to use the L Analog to look around the map, which causes my character to to move. Then I have to "select" my way to the map. I am not used to using the "select" button for everything, but it is becoming more natural. I am sure over time I will forget how much I stumbled in the beginning but it has taken some time for the controls to "click."

Side note: Your little Lightning bard is awesome looking! Hahahaha!

[Grenwal]

I fail to see where I stated that I am an elitist, or have high standards.

Are you guys serious? You want to be spoon fed every part of the game?

This post starts off as pretentious and snarky, you are generalizing everyone who posted in this thread, even though the majority are here to help. You don't seem like a troll or flamer, so it may not have been intentional but sarcasm has a hard time translating through writing. The attitude portrayed in the opening lines has a feeling of elitism: the fact that we are beneath you because we want to be led or told where to go. When in fact, the op was just trying to express his/her concerns with the map from a beginner's perspective.

I'll reiterate myself, I enjoy the feeling of discovery. It's one of the things that holds my interest in a game. When there are darkened or missing areas on a map, I want to unlock what's there; to see what I'm missing. To each their own.

Whether or not you intended to belittle others, your words came across that way.

[RygaenYuui]

Lol coming from a game where you used to have to either quest or buy the map to have it available, this is pretty cake. at least you get to piece it together as you travel into undiscovered territory.

[Sethb78]

If people choose to skip cutscenes, click through text without reading it, or ignore what the NPCs say, it doesn't make the mapping system horrible. It makes the person playing not respectful of the time placed into creating the dialogue for the diegesis of the world of Eorzea.
If you grew up in the late 80s, early 90s, you would definitely be whinging about not having any guides to where to go, as there were none. Period. People now aday have it so much easier with the linearity of games. A Ream Reborn is no exception.

What a load of "word of the day calendar" garbage. While I'm sure that we all appreciate you coming unselfishly down from your ivory tower to bless the common-folk with your pearls of wisdom, I don't think you are actually trying to help anyone or anything in this case.