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Mini-map in overlay screens


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A mini-map that appears in the overlays and displays a simplified version of the overlay for the entire map. Something like this:

20190127225354_1.thumb.jpg.9fc21e54ba7cca5a0e82d7512e4777c2.jpg

20190127224941_1.thumb.jpg.a59c43f984d38719acd86bfa8a9b3d46.jpg

I stress simplified because I'm not interested in displaying objects/structures in the world. For example, the rooms overlay would only show colors for rooms, gray for gas/liquid, and black for solids. The temperature overlay would only show colors, no shading for solid/liquid/gas.

If the developers were feeling ambitious, then the mini-map would be clickable. You could use it to quickly navigate to locations on the map (in addition to the currently implemented Ctrl/Shift+Number hot locations).

Late game, I am interested in the structure of the entire map and I often find myself Alt+F1 and zooming all the way out and then trying to analyze the colors/structures to plan my base.

Problem 1 - Maps other than 256x384.

Smaller maps, no change. Just display the smaller thumbnail (ie, it would still be 1 tile=1 pixel). Larger/maps could be shrunk by a multiple. Ie, a 512x512 map would be halved and placed into a 256x256 thumbnail. The tiles could either then be averaged to calculate the pixel color, or simply use the top-left most for simplicity.

Problem 2 - Computation

This wouldn't really require additional computation as this information is already being fetched when activating the overlay. The mini-map does not need to be fully updated every tick. I feel updating each time the overlay is opened would be sufficient, or perhaps once a cycle if left opened. I highly doubt players will be looking at the mini-map and seeing the color of a few pixels being delayed.

Additional details per overlay:

Spoiler
  • Oxygen Overlay:
    • Solid = black
    • Liquid = grey
    • Gas = the existing color scheme
      • unbreathable = red
      • very breathable = blue
  • Power Overlay:
    • Solid = black
    • Liquid/gas = grey
    • Circuit = white.
      • Could exclude color coding to simplify calculation.
      • Could expand heavi wire to be 2 or 3 pixels in exchange for less detail.
      • Could make heavi wire a different color, but this would conflict with overlay.
  • Temperature Overlay:
    • Temperature of solid, liquid, or gas. Exclude temperature of pipes, ducts, and equipment.
  • Thermal Tolerance Overlay
    • Solid = black
    • Liquid or gas = standard color scheme
  • Light Overlay
    • Solid = black
    • Liquid/gas unlit = grey
    • Lit = yellow. Ignore intensity.
      • Unsure how to handle surface as it changes continuously.
  • Plumbing Overlay
    • Solid = black
    • Liquid/gas unlit = grey
    • Pipe type (option 1)
      • Regular = white
      • Insulated = orange
      • Radiant = yellow
    • Pipe contents (option 2). Ignore amount in pipe and flow.
      • Empty = white
      • Contents = contents color (ie, water = blue)
  • Ventilation Overlay (see plumbing overlay)
  • Decor Overlay
    • Solid = black
    • Liquid/gas decor = standard color scheme
      • Negative decor = red
      • Positive decor = green
  • Germ Overlay
    • Increased germ count being more green or yellow. Surface germs only, ignore pipes and ducts
  • Farming Overlay
    • While plants are different heights, I think it best to provide only 1 pixel per plant in the mini-map. This way you can easily see farms and overall health. Standard color scheme would be used
      • Fully grown = green
      • Growing = yellow
      • Halted growth = red
  • Room Overlay
    • Solid = black
    • Liquid/gas = grey
    • Miscellaneous room = light grey
    • Other rooms = standard color scheme
  • Exosuit Overlay
    • Solid = black
    • Liquid/gas = grey
    • Exosuit dock and checkpoints = green
  • Automation Overlay
    • Solid = black
    • Liquid/gas = grey
    • Active = green
    • Standby = red
    • Ignore ports and logic gates. For the overlay, we are interested in the overall grid
  • Conveyor overlay
    • Solid = black
    • Liquid/gas = grey
    • Conveyor, sweepers, etc = white

This is a rather big suggestion, and I fully realize Klei is onto QoL and balance, so unless the developers/community really get behind it I do not see this idea going anywhere. But thanks for reading and considering this!

And for some fun and lighter talk about pixels, see this:

 

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