since the game engine already supports "explored" bitmap masks, i'm trying having the map making skill affect the chance a section of the map will get automapped. the result is that the map is "patchy" at low level, and automaps the first time almost every time at high level. wait and see how it work in play testing. it may not give the player enough info at first to find their way around.

In Everquest there was a "sense direction" skill (I think it was called) - It determined how well your in game compass worked - there were no maps, just a compass, that was really unreliable if your "sense direction" was low - and got more reliable as the skill leveled up.

Just a thought, it's not quite "map making", but sounds like the idea could work (I didn't read all comments, so sorry if this have already been brought up).

In Everquest there was a "sense direction" skill (I think it was called) - It determined how well your in game compass worked - there were no maps, just a compass, that was really unreliable if your "sense direction" was low - and got more reliable as the skill leveled up.

Just a thought, it's not quite "map making", but sounds like the idea could work (I didn't read all comments, so sorry if this have already been brought up).

its a caveman sim, so i'm trying to stay away from compass and radar displays typically used in games. part of the challenge of the game is navigating using paleolithic methods such as sun, moon, and star sighting, sundial compass sticks, and lodestones. since there's no writing, all "map info" is limited to knowledge passed along verbally, perhaps supplemented by a drawing in the dirt, or a sketch on a painted hide. No J-Stars or GPS here!

what you describe is similar to the navigation skill in the game. it affects your chance to go off course during fast travel.

you can fast travel from anywhere outside to within 2 feet of a point anywhere outside at any time (even with enemies nearby) using both the world and local maps. but until you get good at navigation, you get lost a lot and find yourself heading southwest instead of west, etc. The game automatically drops out of fast travel if you are attacked.

There are already some great suggestions, but just to throw out a really simple alternative: if you don't have a practical use for the map making skill that you're happy with you could always just remove the skill completely.

Well, it looks like this one may be the winner. Playtesting has revealed that a decent automap and playermap is essential for the exploration aspect of the game. and everything you need, you have to explore to find. so all mapmaking skill effects have been turned off for now, and the automap simply uses realistic ranges for determining what gets automapped, and automaps correctly all the time, with no fade of info over time or anything like that. however, the world map changes once a day (forest gives way to savanah, etc), so there's a constant need to re-explore from time to time.