Thursday, June 19, 2008

Mapping

One huge deficiency in Eve is the lack of an adequate in-game map. I find the in-game map nearly useless to use most of the time because it presents too much information.

Sure, its nice to see at a glance where the killings are occurring or where there are pilots in space in the last hour, but to actually see a region and the links between systems? Virtually impossible. At best you can see the neighbours of your current system and sort of see the systems on your current route to your destination, but to try and see alternate routes requires out of game maps like Ombey's 2d maps or Eve Strategic Maps.

So when I sit at my desk at work and dream of how I'm going to participate in Faction Warfare, I want to see what the warzone looks like and where I can start exploring and hunting. But there is no current out of game map that I'm aware of that shows the systems in the warzone, and in game I can just see a collection of coloured dots representing the systems and I have to hover over every one to see the name and its impossible to see the warp routes to each one.

So I made a map using cut and paste of Ombey's 2d maps and here is what I created: the Minmatar Amarr Warzone. Note that all the high sec systems are not warzones but are for reference only (expect Anher in Metropolis, its a warzone).

If I ever get the gumption, I might make a condensed version myself to represent the map for easier printing and following, but for now it suits my purposes. So when people on the milita channel are calling out system names for locations of enemies, I can quickly see what they are tlaking about and how it will relate to my position.

If I ever get to play again that is.

UPDATE: I'm wrong, high sec Anher and low sec Hagilur behind it are not warzone systems.

4 comments:

  1. Anonymous1:32 pm

    The new Eve Ombey's 2d map shows Black Rise now. Is that helpful?

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  2. A common misconception is that Black Rise is a "Factional Warfare" region. That is incorrect.

    Black Rise is just a region. Period. Like Placid, Molden Heath, The BLeak Lands, it is a empire region with predominately low security status systems.

    It just so happens that it forms part of the Gallente/Caldari warzone stretching from The Forge through Black Rise and Placid to ... Essence? Or Verge Vendor?

    So both map books contain the new Black Rise region but neither define exactly what systems form the warzones.

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  3. Anonymous4:59 am

    I like what you did with the maps :)

    I know squat about FW, are there permanently designated warzone systems? I can always add these in if so.

    If they are fluid and moving, then maybe not.

    I could just do what you did and clip the maps together to do a FW map pack, I assume the fighting is contained into certain regions for the Minnie/ Amarr and Gall/ Cald conflicts?

    ReplyDelete
  4. As far as I know, there are systems designated as warzones and these systems show up on the map as having the new property of Occupancy along with Sovereignty, the former being changeable and the latter being permanent.

    ReplyDelete