I have now got an edited map image with more detailed shadows into Flash. You can view the map at 4 different levels of zoom, and layer on 2 legend items: Parishes and Rivers.
I worked for a while with making the map draggable and to use the mouse wheel to zoom but couldn't get anything decent to work. The different levels of zoom could therefore be a scale, such as with the innovative Far Cry 2 map which was interesting and realistic by being slightly inhibiting, or like the layered elements of the Hitman series' maps. The scrolling works with the directional keys and is similar to how a gamepad analogue stick would work with the map.
The two legend elements function using variables so that they remain on or off even when the user changes scale. The area is divided into 'parishes', many of which follow the actual historical parish boundaries and when complete should total 50; a similar quantity to GTA San Andreas and Saints Row 2. They also show information when you roll over them; the faction ownership and revenue, in a small popup box which disappears when none are selected to keep the HUD tidy. The current 'placeholder' interface will be replaced by relevant objects to represent each legend element which should make interaction more dynamic.
The rivers split up the map well and along with the parishes look quite effective in my opinion, as the alpha levels allow texture and detail through.
No comments:
Post a Comment