04/22/03: MINI MAP MADNESS

WHAT'S THE DAMAGE?

From the Map icon , which looks kinda like a road map before I get my paws on it, wad it up like a deformed origami platypus and angrily stuff it in the glove compartment - Ed., you get this screen:

Our maps are rather large, and you can't see much of them on the screen at any given time. As a monster you don't come to the big city very often, so like most tourists, you get lost easily. The minimap is a staple of RTS games, but we opted for a macrosized minimap so you could see the whole game map in some useful amount of detail. Unlike a traditional RTS, in TCFH you generally don't need to keep track of units scattered all over the map, so having the minimap on screen at all times isn't a requirement. Therefore we went with a large pop-up window display. The game auto pauses when you're looking at the minimap.

Keeping track of where you've been, what you've smashed, what's left to go after, where the landmarks are, etc. is something we figured you'd want to know when looking at the whole city map, so we provided those as overlays. Right now we've got overlays for value, landmarks, population density, enemies, kills, damage, and trail (plus the basic terrain, neighborhoods, and terrain features map). You can enable one of three Fog-of-War options on these maps: all always visible, visible permanently once seen, and decaying visibility. The layout isn't 100% finished yet, and we'll probably come up with another useful overlay or two as well, but here's the basic idea. (Click for bigger):

Terrain
Shows the overall map shape, streets, bodies of water, etc. Mouseover reveals neighborhoods and map features by name.

Landmarks
Mouse over the spot and the landmark name appears.

Value
Shows the relative dollar value of structures on the map.

Population
Shows the population density of the map

Enemy
Shows the location of the military units.

Damage
Shows the relative "health" of structures on the map (so you know what needs to be smashed).

Kills
Shows the locations of military and civilian deaths. Mouseover for details about the kill (name, cause of death).

Trail (Billy Map)
In the Family Circus comic, when "Billy" runs all over the neighborhood causing mischief, his path is indicated by a dotted line. Much hilarity ensues. In a similar fashion, Trail shows your path of destruction over time.

PREVIOUS ARTICLES:

• 03/01/03: THEREMIN PROJECT X
• 02/08/03: YOUR MONSTER'S MANY MOODS
• 01/01/03: BUILDING COLLAPSE SEQUENCES
• 12/01/02: BOX LISTS
• 10/28/02: HAZARD MAP
• 10/18/02: TERRAIN TILES
• 10/06/02: BUILDING TRANSPARENCY
•  9/25/02: WIND MAPPING