The map is the single most important part of the game interface. It is that multi-colored grid on the left of the screen with a bunch of small icons in it.
The map has a lot of features. For instance, it is how you move around and get a glimpse at what is going on in nearby locations.
Your character will always be in the center square. You can even see yourself - your character has a little icon, and you are white with a black border (as opposed to everyone else, who is displayed as black with a white border).
This is you!
This is an example of your local square.
Movement in the game is simple. Hover the mouse over the square you want to move to. If an arrow appears, click on it! That's it. You've moved.
This shows you can move to the North.
If an arrow doesn't appear, or an "X" icon appears, then you are unable to move into that location for some reason. It could be that the new area is water, and you don't know how to swim. Or there may be barricades there, preventing you from climbing over them. Or you may be carrying too much weight.
This indicates you cannot move to this location.
You can only click in the squares that are adjacent to your own, but you can see further than your immediate surroundings.
Right above the map grid is a little box that changes when you hover your mouse over an area. This is a more detailed view of the area your mouse is hovering on, and will tell you:
- The Name of the area
- The X and Y Coordinates of the area
- The Terrain Type of the area
- How many Occupants are there
This is an example of a data box. It shows the Lowe Building, at 10,10 in Valhalla. It is an office building. There are two people there, and the power is on.
As well as showing an expanded view of all the icons within (see right below).
There are two types of icons that appear in the map: occupant icons and information icons.
Occupant icons look like little people or monsters. They are located in the center of a square, and indicate the presence of other people or monsters. For space's sake, however, not everyone is shown with an icon; there is an upper limit to the number of people and creatures displayed.
This represents another person
This represents a pet or minor monster
Information icons are small squares. They appear in one of the four corners of a grid spot. Sometimes, they may "stack up" if there are several of the same type. These icons are most often used to display what kind of terrain the location is, but there are many, many types that can appear:
- Terrain Icons
These icons show you what kind of terrain or building an area is. Differnt builtind types will have different items within that are able to be found. There are many, many types of location icons. Shown above are: Police Station, Hospital, Airport, Mall, Gun Store, and Library.- Portal Icons
These mark the location of "gates" to other planes, or sewer grates, or even ferries. Shown are: Ferry, Sewer Grate, Obelisk, Standing Stones, and Swirling Colors. If you have the skill Sense Magic and the portal leads to another plane, the icon will have a colored border, indicating which plane it goes to (blue for Valhalla, red for Stygia, green for Paradise, and orange for Purgatorio).- Stronghold Icons
These show you whether or not a location is home to a Faction Stronghold. There are several stronghold icons; each one has a different border color that will tell you if the stronghold is your own (purple), an ally (green), friendly (blue), neutral (grey), hostile (red), r enemy (black).- Infusion Icons
These indicate which Faction controls a territory (you need the skill Psychometry to see these). There are many infusion icons. Purple background infusion icons mean the square belongs to your faction. Two are specific to the Infernal Horde (red background) and Divine Army factions (yellow background). Otherwise, the icon will be black (for evil factions), white (for good), and grey (for neutral). Like Stronghold icons (above), they will be color-coded depending on your politics (shown are an evil ally, a good enemy, and a neutral friendly).- Power Icons
These show you the current "power status" of the location (used by engineers). There are only ever three: power is cut off, power is on, power is out.- Ward Icons
These show you whether or not a location has a magical spell cast on it that will prevent you from moving into it. There are several ward icons. The purple icon indicates a stronghold ward. Otherwise, the background color indicates whether the ward is focused versus good, neutral, or evil characters. Further, the number indicates the character class tier that it affects.
It is possible that a location has one or more Barricades. Barricades are shown on the map as dotted lines along the edge of a square. Barricades are walls that are built by other characters who have the Structural Engineering skill.
Barricades look like this. This shows a barricade on the south side of your current square, and a barricade on the east side of the western square. You could move south, but not west.
Barricades will prevent movement into a location by foot (flying characters are not stopped by barricades). Barricades are one directional, so they only stop travel in one direction. You can always move out of a barricaded square.
You can always smash down barricades if they're in your way! It takes a lot of effort sometimes, but having a Sledgehammer will help.