I think your poll is poorly worded.

There shouldn't be a mini map with the option to turn it off.

There should be a mini map with an option to turn it on. As in it defaults to off, so all of the nay-sayers never know the difference.

But hey, here come the usual replies from people who don't understand that optional game elements will in no way hinder their experience, while simultaneously boosting enjoyment for others.

"Use an addon!" - Patches break addons. Addon support can die off. Not reliable enough if compared to a real feature.

"I don't want it!" - Don't use it. Optional.

"This isn't WoW!" - Nor are the hundreds upon hundreds of other games that employ mini maps. People say this every time somebody suggests something WoW happens to have. As hard as this concept seems to be to grasp, WoW didn't invent every single UI feature the game has. Having a mini map does nothing to make ESO like WoW. This is a silly reason to say no. While we're at it, why not remove every other thing in ESO, since WoW has an equivalent.

"I'd rather have them focus on ____" - Zenimax isn't an employee. It's an employer. They can do more than one thing at a time. A feature like this would require minimal manpower and would not detract from the quality control guys fixing bugs.

Nightfall33 wrote: »

I don't think they should add it cuz the game is based on the idea of minimal UI and the UI looks grate as is but it could be released as a mod

whats clackalackin cuz?

No and I'm not going to explain why.

Sure, why not. So long as it doesn't screw anything else up. I'm guessing they had a pretty good reason for leaving it out though.

granty2008cyb16_ESO wrote: »

its not a new feature it is already there, it was in beta already functioning perfect they just removed it, so they don't need to do anything apart from put it back with a option to turn it on and off.

Please consider what you are saying here. Nothing in the beta worked perfectly, in particular not in that early beta, and the code it was based on has changed a lot since then. Adding it back in is most likely a significant amount of work. Besides, judging from their previous efforts, every bit of programming these guys do will introduce new, nasty bugs in strange and seemingly unrelated places. Doing this would require resources I think they should spend fixing bugs, not adding features that are already available as add-ons.

smeeprocketnub19_ESO wrote: »

stefan.gustavsonb16_ESO wrote: »

granty2008cyb16_ESO wrote: »

its not a new feature it is already there, it was in beta already functioning perfect they just removed it, so they don't need to do anything apart from put it back with a option to turn it on and off.

Please consider what you are saying here. Nothing in the beta worked perfectly, in particular not in that early beta, and the code it was based on has changed a lot since then. Adding it back in is most likely a significant amount of work. Besides, judging from their previous efforts, every bit of programming these guys do will introduce new, nasty bugs in strange and seemingly unrelated places. Doing this would require resources I think they should spend fixing bugs, not adding features that are already available as add-ons.

lol that is a justifiable argument against it, tbh.

They will just break a ton of things if they try to implement it.

/sigh

ye but not more than they already do!

Yes, as long as:
1. It's done natively (so more optimized than the existing addons)
2. It shows harvestables detected with the appropriate crafting traits (so I can turn grass back on)
3. It shows danger zones (reduce the penalty for players who prefer to play in first person)
4. It shows detected hostiles that would be visible to third person players (further reduce the penalty for players who prefer to play in first person)
5. It actually accurately shows group members. (still haven't seen an add-on that does this, 'course, that's likely because the full map doesn't do it right either.)


1-4 can't be done via addons.


Otherwise, don't bother. The add-ons are good enough.

I don't remember it in Beta either, but I was mid-end time frame so no biggy. I'm honestly used to not having one now, and I assume they removed it because some maps it would be totally useless (like Silvenar area in Malabal Tor for example).

jrgray93 wrote: »

Akula wrote: »

No and I'm not going to explain why.

How useful!

About as useless as all these weighted polls are.

I have posted here again & again, I understand why zos went the minimalist route with the UI. However, they need to support the addon community if they are going to do this. What do they do?
http://www.esoui.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2241

I'm typically fine with "optional" features, but I fear this would have a long term effect on world building and quest design, as most people WILL succumb to turning it on, and the designers and quest writers will have to adapt. Having a mini-map lets you travel completely differently, avoiding obstacles you never even see because you know to take the long path around them. There's no challenge to finding things, it's just a matter of guiding your little icon to the other little icon, and pretty soon quests become so quickly done, the designers will need to put more ill thought out fed-ex type crap to keep people busy. Also, if you group with someone with the map on, you'll be following them as they will get to the destination more quickly, ruining the sense of exploration as you just follow them while they follow the little icons on their map.

In short, I feel THIS addition is getting into affecting more than just the UI (unlike the desperately needed nameplates) but affecting the core design and play of the game itself. It gives an easy-mode feel to the game and I fear the players will all eventually use it and the game design will suffer as a result.

Right now, at least with it as an addon, the designers have to assume MOST people aren't using it, and have to world-build and quest-design in ways that work best with the almost perfect, in my opinion, compass. The compass gives enough info not to cause you to be hopelessly lost all the time, but doesn't tell you "how" to get places, just which way to go. I want the game designers to continue to build the game with that methodology assumed so elements are tested and optimized to be best for it.

granty2008cyb16_ESO wrote: »

stefan.gustavsonb16_ESO wrote: »

We need the developers to focus on fixing bugs and making the existing UI not suck, not adding new features to it. Also, I like the fact that the game requires you to focus on the world view and not the map view. Spatial awareness adds to the experience, and the world is beautifully rendered and deserves to be looked at.

its not a new feature it is already there, it was in beta already functioning perfect they just removed it, so they don't need to do anything apart from put it back with a option to turn it on and off.

At most it would require a minor amount of work to re-implement compared to the substantial benefit of it being an optional feature.