About the minimap

[vahouth]

Am I the only one having trouble reading it?
It is too dark, too small and many times I find myself struggling to distinguish land from water, faction borders etc.
I really hope RT brings something new here, like maybe a zoom in button and greater contrast between land and sea. A minimap like in CIV5 would be fine.

 

[Lucius_]

Yeah it's an issue. I have trouble distinguishing fog of war from unclaimed land. Like islands, I have to check is that an island or fog of war left uncleared? With the changes to ocean, I hope the map is better. It seems like it is from the live streams, but hard to say without playing it myself.

 

[SupremacyKing2]

Agree. The minimap in RT is a bit better than BE but still hard to read.

 

[The Naug]

There's an option to make it always opaque iirc. That helped me.

 

[vahouth]

There's an option to make it always opaque iirc. That helped me.

I use that option too but it's not helping.
It really needs a button that enlarges the map, and lighter colours with a higher contrast between land and sea. Even opaque, the fog of war is confusing.

 

[Ryika]

Map Size can be changed in:

Documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Civilization Beyond Earth\config.ini

Should be right at the top.

 

[SupremacyKing2]

Map Size can be changed in:

Documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Civilization Beyond Earth\config.ini

Should be right at the top.

I did not know that. Thanks.

 

[SupremacyKing2]

I think it would be cool if it were possible to click on the mini map to expand it to full screen and then click on it again to go back to mini map mode. This way, the mini map could serve as a poor man's "strategic map" where you could go full screen just to see the big picture. Of course, doing this, it would be helpful if the mini map itself were improved with better icons for cities, borders etc. In full screen mode, it could show city names, territories, trade route paths, etc

 

[Barathor]

I think it would be cool if it were possible to click on the mini map to expand it to full screen and then click on it again to go back to mini map mode. This way, the mini map could serve as a poor man's "strategic map" where you could go full screen just to see the big picture. Of course, doing this, it would be helpful if the mini map itself were improved with better icons for cities, borders etc. In full screen mode, it could show city names, territories, trade route paths, etc

Yes, please!! I miss the strategic map.

It's harder to analyze maps in BE than it was in Civ 5.

 

[SupremacyKing2]

Yes, please!! I miss the strategic map.

It's harder to analyze maps in BE than it was in Civ 5.

I know the devs have said that a civ5 style strategic map is not possible because the new orbital layer would interfere. But, I think my idea of expanding the mini map to full screen would work. Even though it would not show the orbital layer on it, it would still give the player a lot of useful strategic info.

 

[VCrakeV]

I'd like to have the old feature that allows you to click and drag the view in the mini map.

 

[Ryika]

User Interface Tweaks (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=334840683) has a function that allows you to enlarge the minimap by left-clicking it.

 

[vahouth]

Thanks Ryika. Unfortunately this is not enough.
I still don't get why the guys at firaxis can't see this problem. The only time the minimap is usefull, is at the start of the game if you got a planetary surveyor. Only then the continents are visible. Mid to late game the minimap is a mess full of blips that are too small to see what they mean.

 

[SupremacyKing2]

I just connected my PC to a 32 inch screen and running at 1360x768 resolution. BE looks good! I have to say, I have no problem seeing the minimap.

 

[vahouth]

Isn't that resolution a bit low for that screen? Oo

 

[Ryika]

Pixels the size of minecraft blocks!

With these settings "Mini"map is probably not the right word.

 

[SupremacyKing2]

Isn't that resolution a bit low for that screen? Oo

It's the "recommended resolution" that windows 10 is giving me.

 

[SupremacyKing2]

Pixels the size of minecraft blocks!

With these settings "Mini"map is probably not the right word.

I went with the resolution that windows 10 recommended. But maybe I should try a higher resolution?

Seriously, I think what my screen size really proves is that the problem with the mini-map is not so much the map itself as much as the proportions to the rest of the screen since when everything is bigger, the mini-map is a lot better. The mini-map needs to be bigger relative to the rest of the screen.

 

[SupremacyKing2]

By the way, I got the 32 inch screen, in part, for Rising Tide. I want to enjoy the hybrid units in all their glory!

 

[Lord Tirian]

Seriously, I think what my screen size really proves is that the problem with the mini-map is not so much the map itself as much as the proportions to the rest of the screen since when everything is bigger, the mini-map is a lot better. The mini-map needs to be bigger relative to the rest of the screen.

What I don't get is: in Civ5, the mini map size was perfect! Like much of Civ5's UI, it was great design, aesthetic and functional.

I get why they shuffled around some elements and changed the overall look and feel (and stuff like the RT dipole screen looks great)... changing the mini map's size was pure a change for change's sake, bleh.