nroutasuo
Feature request: Finding the "Map"
Early in the game, I remember being told that I found a map. I thought: Cool, now I'll be able to see what the whole level looks like, or at least part of it! But the map somehow showed exactly the area I had already explored, and expanded as I explored more areas.
I guess what I found wasn't actually a map at all, it was a blank piece of paper, on which the player character draws their own map.
Maybe, instead of "finding" a map, you can change the way this works... the player crafts a map. Perhaps it's the first project, costing one or two rumors, or maybe it's even a free project that unlocks after exploring a certain number of squares.
Or perhaps, the map that the player finds could actually be a map, not only unlocking the "Map" tab but also revealing the locations (but not the contents) of all rooms in a 5x5 area. They'd be added to the player map in gray, like any other unexplored rooms. Maps could be objects the player finds from time to time, not just once. They might be found (after the first one) not when scavenging or scouting, but only when doing something special like when exploring sewers or fighting gangs.
(Later, some maps might even have "secret" rooms that aren't discoverable or visitable until the player learns about them from a nearby map! On later levels, these secret rooms might be the only place to find things like unlimited water sources. They might even be the best camp locations! Or, they might simply offer a shortcut between two parts of the map that don't otherwise have a short path between them.)
I personally think exploring the map by "buying" the tiles instead of exploring them sounds like a pretty good idea. So you don't have to walk in some long tunnel and have to rely on finding tiles with water. (which actually are always in them but still)
I like all these ideas. Crafting the map makes sense. Finding pieces sounds like a really nice reward, plus it could be used to nudge the player in the right direction in a few cases.
