Character Compasses

[Flyn Donovan]

Hello there madame and good sirs!  Flyn Donovan here!  Getting straight to the point, in my years flying about in this wonderful world I constantly run in my mind the one major goal that, at it's core, Guns of Icarus sets out to try and achieve...authentic steampunk style battles.  What are some of the things that would make this game more immersive in a steampunk world?  With this in mind, what is it that a crew of any good balloon airship would require to find their way?  Compasses of course!  My proposal here is that we remove the current overhead directional UI in the game and replace that concept with a more game-immersive one, player-held compasses.

Currently, the in-game directional compass is the following:


In my review of some of the latest games (Sea of Thieves being a big one here), I noticed that characters in that game do not have any in-game display which shows them the direction.  The players must pull out a compass and compare it to the treasure map and direct the captain if they are headed in the right direction (north-east, west, south, etc.).  This concept supports both immersion as well as crew teamwork as players must work together as an authentic crew would in order to accurately get where they are headed.  Why can't we have this similarly in Guns of Icarus?  The idea is that along with the player's loadout, each crew member also comes equipped with a compass that they can pull up in their characters hand and can inform the captain which direction the enemies are coming in from (or where they should go).  The key point in mind is to try and turn our current directional compass into something like this:



The idea should be simple enough for the Muse Developers to implement and would remove some of those UI's that I feel are a tad bit unnessessary in favor of more game-immersive one.  What say all you chaps out there?

~ Flyn Donovan

[MightyKeb]

This can become annoying when you have to react to the appearance of an enemy really fast. Eg, ambushes, or a sniping build peeking out of cover. As a result, high levels would end up doing one of two things:

1) Memorize the directions in every map (as if some of us haven't done so already)

2) Use the map to describe directions instead.

Neither of which involve an ingame compass that has to be slowly pulled out, then relayed to the Captain.

[Solidusbucket]

I never use that stupid thing up top.

I would use an actual compass.
+1

[Flyn Donovan]

This can become annoying when you have to react to the appearance of an enemy really fast. Eg, ambushes, or a sniping build peeking out of cover. As a result, high levels would end up doing one of two things:

1) Memorize the directions in every map (as if some of us haven't done so already)

2) Use the map to describe directions instead.

Neither of which involve an ingame compass that has to be slowly pulled out, then relayed to the Captain.

For ambushes and close-range engagements, I can understand the thought although I highly doubt any crew member would be quickly looking at their compass for an enemy ship that is right near to their own.  In the distance realm (i.e. long-range enemies), I'm afraid I disagree.  If your vessel is under fire from long range, at this point you would want to use the tools available to your character to help your captain and others to speculate where the shots came from (if the enemy ship is not seen) or to identify which direction enemy ships are coming from when out of the lock-on range of the spyglass.  The mention of the in-game map does help to confirm my speculation however, being that the current directional compass, as it currently is, is unnecessary.  Why even pay attention much to the directional UI we currently have when players can refer to the in-game map instead?  However, I have flown with many a crew members who have reported using the compass to help specify where the enemy is coming from when they can't get a lock on the spyglass (i.e. "Enemies towards the north-east, etc etc).  Tying back to my point of suggestion, seeing as how we currently do have a directional compass, why not at least switch it out it in favor of something that actually fits more to life as a crewman on an airship (i.e. something more game immersive)?  Additionally, should Muse ever implement some form of airship exploration, it may be a good transition to have.       

[Schwalbe]

What else? Turning the map into the pilot tool? -_-


No. Don't.

[Long Max]

And need compass on pilot dashboard.

[Count Lugubrious]

compass that has to be slowly pulled out

why would you have to pull it out slowly?

[Analus]

compass that has to be slowly pulled out

why would you have to pull it out slowly?

For extra pleasure/suspense/immersion/roleplay perhaps? But yeah, pulling out is a risky thing, especially if done slowly.
-1

[Richard LeMoon]

GOI, at its heart, is an arcade game, not an RPG or exploration game.

A handheld compass is a terrible idea unless it actually has a tangible function. Just showing the direction is not a good reason to have it.

[Flyn Donovan]

GOI, at its heart, is an arcade game, not an RPG or exploration game.

Again, I have to very much disagree.  At its heart, GOI is a simulator set at the steampunk-themed airship combat, and by extension, an RPG.  Players are forced to interact with one another and work together as a crew to destroy the enemy team's ships.  Quite a number of players I have flown with develop and act out their own characters personas amongst fellow crewmembers (i.e. character roleplay) to further flush out the overall feel of what it means to be a member of a steampunk crew.  Muse even went so far as to attempt to implement an exploration feature into the game initially with the kickstarter for the GOI PvE, though it did not receive enough funding (which led to what we currently now see as Guns of Icarus Alliance).  Though sadly and ironically enough, some aspects of the resulting GOI Alliance mode do look a bit arcade-like (what with the illumination of weak points on boss ships and the like), GOI is not and was never intended to be an arcade game.     

A handheld compass is a terrible idea unless it actually has a tangible function. Just showing the direction is not a good reason to have it.

Sorry to say, but that is exactly what compasses do.  They do have a function, to show the direction.  That is their purpose. 

Quite frankly, I am a bit surprised as to some of the resistance to this suggestion.  Not to misunderstand as I do not say this negatively, I support others opinions wholeheartedly.  However, the way I see the logical outcome to something such as this is that either the directional UI for GOI be ripped out entirely (seeing as how some feel it is unnecessary and it is quite apparent just having it the current way it is in the game won't do), or if Muse refuses to remove it, the alternative would make sense to have it changed out for a better design (namely the player-held compasses).

[Richard LeMoon]

GOI is not a simulator either. Following that logic, we could easily call World of Tanks an RPG. People can equally develop characters and roleplay what is it like to be a tank driver. It has no RPG elements. Likewise, GOI has no intrinsic features to support RP. Roleplaying happens outside of the features.

It was always meant to be an arcade game. By arcade, I mean an action oriented game focused on rapid pace in short sessions. The is the opposite of an RPG, which focuses on long form sessions and character development as a core feature.

The reason a handheld compass does not belong in GOI is because it is an immersion mechanic, not an action mechanic. It needs to have an 'arcade' action mechanic to belong. Spyglass marks ships. Rangefinder shows ranges and helps aim (not so well). A compass would need to have a similar use, or would not fit the game dynamic.

What 'adventure mode' was meant to be has no baring on what GOI is. Yes, there would have been RPG elements like exploration. No, they did not get added (I am personally glad).

In a fast paced game like GOI, there is simply no time to waste pulling out a compass to get a direction. We also have too many buttons as it is. The PS4 is having a hard time mapping the commands we already have.

[Corporal Ravioli]

pulling out is a risky thing, especially if done slowly.

[Count Lugubrious]

it is an immersion mechanic, not an action mechanic. It needs to have an 'arcade' action mechanic to belong. Spyglass marks ships. Rangefinder shows ranges and helps aim (not so well). A compass would need to have a similar use, or would not fit the game dynamic.

A handheld compass is a terrible idea unless it actually has a tangible function.

I don't see how, Richard, you have come to the conclusion that a compass serves no purpose. When you see someone backpacking through the mountains do you laugh at them for taking a compass as it is merely "an immersion mechanic, not an action mechanic"?
Just so we are on the same page, a compass is "an instrument containing a magnetized pointer that shows the direction of magnetic north and bearings from it."
Contrary to your belief it seems, to me, to be both tangible, and serve a purpose... huh.

[Solidusbucket]

I'v been keeping up with this thread (as I usually do all threads on this forum) because I think its funny when a bunch of different people give their opinion.

Also, I find it interesting what everyone's opinion is since this is such a small community.

Also, since I know who count lug bug is, I want to give my opinion on the matter some context.

spyglass is an equipable(sp) item. Here is how I use it: I press 4, then spam click. I don't zoom in. I literally do not have the zoom in button bound on my keybinds.

that is such a waste of space... I might as well just not press 4 and just click...

at least this compass thing gives me some immersion.

However, I do agree that it will take up a spot on the keybind options. This is something I did not consider.
Also, however, I wouldn't mind seeing it as a thing on the captains helm spot as an extra bonus.  - kind of like the current altimeter.

Honestly, if not for the keybind thing, I would prefer an actual compass.

Also, however, and totally contradictory to my feelings on a compass - remember, this top of the screen U.I feature also shows ally and enemy altitude position relative to your own. So, Yea, I actually do use it for that. and also, yea, a compass would not be able to accomplish that part of the information.

knowing relative altitude is kinda important.

so.... yea. penis.

[Urz]

Very much against this suggestion.

I reference the the on-screen compass frequently. It is convenient to glance at the top of the screen and immediately make a callout based on cardinal directions. Hiding that information behind a key you have to press would be a downgrade to my gameplay experience.

If you want immersion: buy a real compass and you can pull it out whenever you want.