Wasteland 2 Update #37: Map, Beta and Rewards

WorstUsernameEver

But best title ever!
The latest Wasteland 2 update has info on the world map, the Wasteland 1 re-release, t-shirts and the upcoming early beta. Here's a snippet:<blockquote>The World Map

Like Fallout or Arcanum, the basic experience on the world map is one of exploration and discovery.

Your travel on the world map is limited by both physical geography and clouds of deadly radiation. Within those constraints, you can travel anywhere in the region depicted on the map. You have two alternative means of exploration while in this game mode.

Primary exploration occurs in a 3D map that shows your immediate surrounding environment with representative scale and geographic features of the region. Significant locations, settlements and sites reveal themselves as you scout around. The 3D exploration is in the same style and pattern as Mount & Blade and Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir.

While in the 3D world map, you can press “M” to bring up a 2D map displaying the entire region. This 2D regional map automatically updates with locations you have either explored yourself, or have been informed of by another Wastelander. The regional map has been handed down from ranger to ranger over the previous century, each adding their own details to what was originally an old-fashioned roadmap from the 1990s.

As you discover radiation zones they are marked on your map In Arizona, locations generally match their canonical layout from Wasteland 1. The map is filled with key locations you will discover through regular playthroughs; but significant sections of the map are side exploration opportunities. There is plenty of space to wander around, discover hidden resources based on your character’s build, fight random encounters and discover minor sites that may be explored in normal game mode.

Exploration

As you explore the region, you’ll discover three primary things on the world map: settlements, sites and resources. Settlements are major locations, such as Ranger Citadel and the Ag Center. Sites are minor locations such as an abandoned mine or a highway roadblock. Resources include oases where you can refill your canteen and hidden caches where previous Wastelanders have stored ammunition, weapons or other goods.

Exploration is the primary activity; but survival will demand some attention as well.

Survival

The Wasteland is a dangerous place, and there are several threats that can end your Ranger career prematurely.

Dying of Dehydration

In Wasteland 2, water management is challenging and important. Your water supply is based upon the number of rangers in your squad and the number of canteens among them. Depending on the type of terrain you are traversing, your water supply is consumed at varying rates. Desert terrain requires the most water, while grassland and highland are more forgiving.

If you run out of water on the world map, you do not immediately die, but over time your rangers will begin to take damage from dehydration. You will eventually die if you do not find a new source of water. Your Outdoorsman skill adjusts the overall water consumption rate as well as the length of time your squad can last without water before suffering from dehydration.

You will find water at hidden oases throughout the region. Oases are discovered as you travel the 3D map; you will discover them from greater distances with a higher Outdoorsman skill. Like settlements and sites, oases will reveal themselves in the 3D world map as they are scouted.

Other water sources are also available throughout the game, inside of major locations, such as Ranger Citadel and Highpool. These in-level water sources are automatically accessible if the level is a friendly location. Water sources in neutral or hostile locations generally require a mission or task to unlock. Once such a water source is available, it is always free.

Dying of Radiation Poisoning

You'll want to pay attention to your Geiger counter. Clouds of deadly radiation, remnants from the war, drift throughout the American Southwest. Your Geiger counter measures the radiation level in your immediate surroundings in Sieverts (Sv).

You will encounter varying levels of radiation. The lowest rad levels do not damage you, but rather warn you that higher levels are likely near. Damaging levels of radiation poisoning begin at 500 mSv and can reach exposure levels that are instantaneously deadly. Except in these extremely high doses, radiation will not immediately kill but it definitely packs a bigger punch than dehydration. Saving is recommended when exploring the unknown, far reaches of the region.

Equipping your squad members with rad suits will allow them to survive certain levels of radiation. You can also upgrade your rad suit later in the game to a higher quality version to survive higher doses; but remember that there are pockets of radiation in The Wasteland that are at such high levels that no one can survive, regardless of a rad suit. Proceed carefully.</blockquote>
 
Looks p.good to me. Though, I am not exactly sure why it is a 3D AND 2D map. Wouldn't one of them be enough?
 
Wasteland 1

We noted back in Update 33 that Wasteland 1 would be getting a standalone release.

Where is it!

First, we’re ensuring it runs on modern machines, higher resolutions, faster processors, and all that jazz. We’re also giving it some polish for rerelease including a Mark Morgan music track, integration of the original paragraph texts into the game, and optional paragraph voice over & uprezzed portraits (both of which may be toggled on and off). We've spent a very limited amount of time on the WL1 portrait uprezzes and if possible we'd like to open up the ability to customize the WL1 portraits to the community themselves. We’ve also added support for multiple save games – now you don’t have to wipe the game clean to start over.

Wasteland 1 will be made available for free to all backers (including late backers as well as people getting it through the rewards associated with backing Torment: Tides of Numenera or Project Eternity), and sold as a separate title on GOG and Steam.
Cool, maybe I'll finally get around to playing it then. :oops:
 
Well, sometimes one good thing is better than two not so good. Now I'm not saying that the worldmap will turn out shallow- just that more isn't always better. Quality over quantity.
 
Agree that having two types of map at the same time looks weird. Don't want to say it's bad, but it's weird. Especially when:
Oases are discovered as you travel the 3D map
So 3D map have more advantages compared with 2D one? But actually, I hope inXile did it well and cannot wait to see it in action.

Also pretty happy with Travel Difficulty slider and W1 re-release, especially with Mark Morgan music (I quite sure that it will be not, but having some 8bit piece would be fun).
 
that would be silly. I am pretty sure that the 3D map has no inherent advantages over a 2D one. Like finding Oases which seem to be pretty important only with the 3D map.
 
Love the multiple saves option for W1. There are places where you can ruin a game because of the one save only restriction on the original. For instance if you fall in the Las Vegas sewers you will get washed out into the Colorado River (taking damage the whole time). The game autosaves when you go through the map transition but it is very hard to get out of the river so you can get a situation where the game starts you in the river and you cannot get out before dying no matter how many times you reload.

Also like the paragraphs on screen, even though I still have the book. I do hope they include the fake paragraphs somewhere too. The alien invasion story is pretty funny.
 
Lexx said:
Looks p.good to me. Though, I am not exactly sure why it is a 3D AND 2D map. Wouldn't one of them be enough?

Think of the 2D as a kind of automap for the region. The region is represented in 3D for top-down navigation and exploration purposes.

Very similar to Gold Box for example -- just a different exploration perspective (in some cases).

The real added complexity is the fact that you can enter the major locations and explore them in 3D.

Map <--> Top Down Exploration of World <--> 3D Game Levels
 
I think you guys have taken the map thing on the tail. In the original kick-starter page I figured out that the 3D map is actually the MAP. 2D map is similar to the map you get in Fallout when you press TAB. However, it is siad that the 2D map is passed down within rangers. How come it has fog of war if everything that has been explored in the wasteland by other rangers are on the same map? If a map is 100 years old, there should be all sorts of locations, water sources, etc.. marked all over them map and even if it sounds odd, would be upto the PC to uncover them on the 3D map A.K.A game world. Running out of water? Er.. Aren't they Arizonian Desert Rangers? That whole thing sounds like a band of noob infants going about the wastes. I'm not saying we should dream of stupidity like cubed water or camel-turned people but I really expect more form a band of Desert Rangers to NOT to die for a day or two without water and wouldn't make me keep an eye on the water meter like I'm forced to keep my eye on the GPU temp when playing Fallout Tactics..
 
^Thanks for pointing it out mate. I almost missed it. Regarding the map, the one came with Farcry 2 is the one I think the best despite the claims that it is uber stupid. A map shouldn't be an ordinary piece of map. It could be hand drawn. There should be something special about it. I'm playing Krater this week and the graphics the game is utilizing is amazing. I got it off of steam quite a long time ago. While not so-wasteland friendly, the graphics are better than most new isometric games. However, the game feels soul-less as you advance when dungeons become grinding and random encounters become common. There's a lesson to learn here. Using same map more than 2 times for random encounter purpose is devastating. I hope the devs are aware of the Dragon Age 2 distroyer. I'm not the one to talk about Wasteland 2 as I'm a new fan to the series but just though I'd share my word. It would be great to see enemies carrying water. That would reduce the time it would take to get RnR every 20 mins in the game and for me, would add a whole new level in realisam. How are the enemies (raiders, bandits, etc..) going to survive it if they are carrying just a weapon or some minor stuff with no lootable water? In some cases, the oasis you find would be poisoned and you would have the choice to not to drink/refil water from there or drink it while gaining severe poisoning. Don't drink it and die in the wastes or drink it and face severe conditions that would eventually bring death if not cured soon enough.. Whoa! I've spoken too much..
 
Looking good!

I wonder if my wasteland 1 characters will be able to be exported or usable in the wasteland 1 re release.
 
how much time difference is between the games anyway? maybe you can play some really old greezer
 
Montgomery Markland said:
Lexx said:
Looks p.good to me. Though, I am not exactly sure why it is a 3D AND 2D map. Wouldn't one of them be enough?

Think of the 2D as a kind of automap for the region. The region is represented in 3D for top-down navigation and exploration purposes.

Yeah, think of it as 2D being the reference map your rangers occasionally open up to check their route and surroundings, the 3D map is where you travel and explore.
 
Sigh, I thought the 2d map could be used exclusively as a means of travel overland, since it looks very cool and I don't like the 3d travelling at all. :(
 
Surf Solar said:
Sigh, I thought the 2d map could be used exclusively as a means of travel overland, since it looks very cool and I don't like the 3d travelling at all. :(

We have experimented with allowing you to travel on both.

At a minimum, you can decide where to go on the 2D map.

If we have the time to make it more involved, we will. There's a strong contingent of 2D map folks on the team as well.

I also think the map section of the game will be something people will mod extensively early on.
 
That's nice to hear, I've also read your posts and your enthusiasm about that cartographer/map maker site and am glad you think the same about beautifully crafted 2d maps! :)
 
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