Better maps for Apex, Tin Mage, Sutter, other late content

[Heraclea]

This postage stamp is the map for the first mission of the Tin Mage TF at maximum resolution.   Seriously.  

 

I make no bones about the fact that these TFs are some of my least favorite content,  Overuse of overused mobs like IDF, Warworks, and Praetorian Clockwork are only part of the issue.  I realize that this content is supposed to be harder.  But it is also frustrating for fixable reasons.  These maps are simply too small and at too low resolution,   They do not contain guideposts, just brief markers that vanish once an objective is cleared.  This means that, in the content that's supposed to be harder, if you die and hospital out you are often left with no clue how to get to where the rest of the team is.  This is no fun for completely avoidable reasons.  

 

Let's add some permanent waypoints and increase the scale of these maps so people who play them know how to rejoin lost teams. 

[macskull]

I guess I don't get it, if you've done these TFs enough and the maps are small enough, shouldn't you know where to go anyways?

[OmnibusOmnh]

I think we should introduce new maps in general for the more recent issues and potentially expand on the plot where the game hadn't finished yet. New maps can allows for more innovative mechanics like waypoints as you suggested, so I'm on board.

[huang3721]

3 hours ago, macskull said:

if you've done these TFs enough and the maps are small enough, shouldn't you know where to go anyways

Not everyone has completed the task force (eg. Me). That small area may contain blind spots, crevices, or multiple floors that make it difficult to traverse or locate things. 

If the goal is to make it harder for players to locate the objectives, then simply eliminate the map for that particular mission. Otherwise, in my opinion, it is a bad design to put a barely functional map. 

[TheZag]

I have only ran these maybe 3 or 4 times and last night i was the tank and only melee on the team.  I opened the map to see the exact same thing as your screenshot and proceeded to hope i was heading the right direction.  

 

For new or unfamiliar players its definitely needed to have a larger map.  Personally i would like to see the doors marked as well.

[Razor Cure]

I honestly thought this post was about different INGAME maps for those missions..not the map-map (technically term).

As Mac said..most people (I'd say at least 75%) of people know exactly where to go, especially in Apex/TinMage. Those maps are also so small in game..you basically cant get lost. I think both have red indicators when you have to enter a building/sewer, right?

Still, better map-maps (see, its catching on!) and waypoints can never hurt..especially on Sutter, which lacks waypoints in a few spots.

[golstat2003]

On 1/7/2021 at 2:46 AM, huang3721 said:

Not everyone has completed the task force (eg. Me). That small area may contain blind spots, crevices, or multiple floors that make it difficult to traverse or locate things. 

If the goal is to make it harder for players to locate the objectives, then simply eliminate the map for that particular mission. Otherwise, in my opinion, it is a bad design to put a barely functional map. 

Pretty much this. It's irrelevant if folks have done the tf a hundred times. If there is a map let it be functional. If the map is supposed to be hidden to make the mission harder then simply hide the map.