New Map/Quest Interface Tour [Video]
Amatera
As you may have read in the latest patch notes, Blizzard has gone ahead and given players the option to integrate the Quest Log and World Map into one big, conglomerated objective-tracking monstrosity! People will wail and people will moan that they're, once again, making the game too easy, but then those same people will turn around and log-in to their characters with add-ons like Quest Helper long-since loaded up. And that's pretty much what this is, minus some of the more esoteric functionality.
Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing is up to you. Personally, I couldn't stand using Quest Helper, and one reason was that damned "GPS arrow" that wouldn't permanently go away no matter how many times I told it to. Likewise, I never really cared for the associated "quickest route" feature because it would nag me every time I went somewhere it didn't want me to go. I'm game for something a little more coherent, a little more simplified.
Blizzard's stab at this sort of functionality places your tracked quests into a numbered list. When moused-over (or clicked), the map lights up with the area in which their objectives can be found. Easy and clean!
At this point in the game, I'm pretty excited to have something like this. It'll no doubt come in handy when I'm leveling an alt or simply can't remember where precisely a quest mob is located even though I've done it a dozen times in the past. But moving forward? I think I'm going to leave it off, as something like this can quickly ruin the journey of exploration and discovery associated with brand new content. I don't want the solutions to all of the new quests (in old zones and new) handed to me the second I boot up Cataclysm for the first time.
That said, on with the video, which will show you the finer details of the new map/quest interface:
Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing is up to you. Personally, I couldn't stand using Quest Helper, and one reason was that damned "GPS arrow" that wouldn't permanently go away no matter how many times I told it to. Likewise, I never really cared for the associated "quickest route" feature because it would nag me every time I went somewhere it didn't want me to go. I'm game for something a little more coherent, a little more simplified.
Blizzard's stab at this sort of functionality places your tracked quests into a numbered list. When moused-over (or clicked), the map lights up with the area in which their objectives can be found. Easy and clean!
At this point in the game, I'm pretty excited to have something like this. It'll no doubt come in handy when I'm leveling an alt or simply can't remember where precisely a quest mob is located even though I've done it a dozen times in the past. But moving forward? I think I'm going to leave it off, as something like this can quickly ruin the journey of exploration and discovery associated with brand new content. I don't want the solutions to all of the new quests (in old zones and new) handed to me the second I boot up Cataclysm for the first time.
That said, on with the video, which will show you the finer details of the new map/quest interface:
So what did you think? As it didn't track all of the quests I gave it, I'll venture to guess that this system isn't entirely finished yet, but it's sure a lot more functional than when we say it in its infancy (the first build of 3.3 on the PTR over a month ago). As I've already said, I like it for what it is, but undoubtedly some people are going to continue using their more robust add-ons, just as they have with the inclusion of the Equipment Manager and Voice Chat (oh god, the in-game voice chat). On which end of the spectrum do you exist, readers?
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