Map/Mission Table

A Map/Mission Table showing the entire world. To avoid spoiling the map for everyone, you would have to visit an Alterra Outpost to download that specific region of the map, similar to how the map works in Genshin Impact.

For example, at the beginning of the game, you would have to go to the Welcome Center, talk to the NoA unit, and select “Download Map Region” if the option is available. This would allow you to download the map data for that specific region without revealing the entire world map right away.

Players could place custom icons on the map, such as base locations, materials, points of interest, and other important areas, and have the option to name each icon.

The map could also show your friends’ locations, but only in regions that you have already unlocked. If a friend enters an unexplored region, they would disappear from your map until they return to a region that you have unlocked.

The map could also include mission areas, with different-colored dots representing different objectives. Orange dots could represent optional or side objectives, while blue dots could represent the main objectives that progress the story.

All of these features would be accessed through the Map/Mission Table inside your base. This means that when you’re out exploring the world, you’re more or less on your own and won’t have access to all of this information. However, if you have a friend back at the base, they could use the Map/Mission Table to communicate information to you, such as where objectives are or other points of interest are located.

Concepts of what I’m thinking.

I think this is a great idea and would go well as either a stand alone item you have to discover OR an addon to the scanner. personally I would find this more appropriate for a little later in the game than from the start. Unlocking a zone map from the welcome center would be fine but I think having a map that early would ruin some of the “go explore and try not to get to lost” aspect of the game/series.

As long as it’s a simple topographic map that doesn’t have markers and indicators for every little thing I think it’s a good feature. Just a general point of reference like a “you are here” dot is all it needs

The idea is that you can download the map data, but you can’t actually use it until you obtain a Map Table to upload and access that data. You would still need to get a Build Tool, build a base, and find the Map Table fragments before you can use the downloaded map.

The map data at the Welcome Center could also be part of the tutorial, teaching you how to download and unlock a map for a region. For example, early in the game, you could visit the Welcome Center, interact with the NoA unit, and select “Download Map Region” if the option is available. You would then need to build your base, obtain the Map Table, and upload the downloaded data into it before the map becomes available.

This would allow you to explore roughly half of the first region without completely spoiling the map. For the other regions, the locations where you can download the map data could be placed deeper within each region. This way, you can still explore and discover each area naturally without immediately revealing the entire region.

I also like the idea of the Map Table being a buildable item at your base rather than something you carry with you. The less information you have while exploring, the more mysterious and dangerous the world feels, creating a stronger sense of fear and tension.

The Map Table would essentially give you information before you go out, similar to how the Scanning Room helps you prepare for an expedition. The difference is that instead of providing information about a small area around your base, the Map Table would let you view the entire region you have unlocked. However, you would still have to return to your base to access it, meaning you wouldn’t have constant access to the full map while exploring.

If having access to the first region’s map this early feels like it gives the player too much information or makes exploration feel too easy, the Map Table could instead be unlocked later in the game, perhaps around the fourth or fifth region. This would make it feel more like a mid-to-late-game upgrade rather than something the player gets at the beginning. By that point, the player would already have explored a significant portion of the world without a full map, making the Map Table feel like a meaningful reward and a powerful new tool rather than something that takes away from the early-game mystery.

Instead of manually adding or naming icons, you could just place beacons in the world, and their icons would automatically appear on the Map Table.