Gizmo wrote: ↑July 12th, 2017, 2:59 am
One thing I am on the fence about though, is the map auto detecting secret doors. On one hand, I think they should be found out firsthand; but (on the flip-side) it's arguable that the PC should be able to find them, and mark them if they do.
Lands of Lore would see party members mention feeling a draft next to a secret door or an illusory wall. I don't know if this was random, a skill, or automatic. At the time I didn't much care for it though. Still... If you are playing a party with an astute elf, wouldn't they notice things like that?
That's another good point about the automap, which was never an issue with hand mapping. How is secret content handled? If it ever does get displayed in the game, then what's the trigger? In BT, secret content was
always secret - in action, you had to know something was secret (as the player) to take advantage of it. The game would never indicate a secret. A wall was always a wall visually, until you knew you could walk through it. Secret doors remained completely unindicated (not slightly highlighted for you to
maybe notice with a keen eye). Things like that. These days so many secrets and easter eggs have
some kind of visual cue to their existence.
Please do not rely on this throughout the entire game!
I'm not against it existing at times, but
real secrets are found purely by player curiosity and wit. Those are the most rewarding, imo.
Now, whether the game eventually displays them once the player has demonstrated knowledge of them - perhaps flipping a secret switch that opens a door, or physically traveling through an illusory wall... that, for me at least, would be fine. Doom did that with their maps. Secret rooms remained entirely masked until the player 'saw' into them, then the fake walls indicated their nature. To me, that's more like hand mapping. That wall you initially penned in as solid you now get to go back and re-indicate as an actual hidden entrance.
Please keep that mechanic!