Monster Hunter Wilds’ Map System Paved Way for Complex Environments

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Monster Hunter Wilds' Map System Paved Way for Complex Environments

Key Takeaways

  • Monster Hunter Wilds introduces a 3D map with detailed elevation for easier navigation in the game’s open world environment.
  • The game’s switch to a more open-world approach includes practical additions like cooking on the go and mounted combat.
  • Wilds’ map design offers unprecedented detail and realism, setting a new standard for the Monster Hunter franchise.

As a dedicated fan of the Monster Hunter series who has spent countless hours navigating through its intricate environments, I can confidently say that the introduction of a 3D map in Monster Hunter Wilds is a game-changer for me and fellow hunters. The ability to cook on the go and engage in mounted combat are certainly welcome additions, but the map design is where this game truly shines.

As a devoted fan, I’m thrilled about the reveals at Gamescom 2024 for Monster Hunter Wilds. While combat upgrades are always exciting, one of the most game-changing additions is the revamped User Interface (UI). The shift towards an open-world setting necessitates tweaks to fundamental mechanics, making the transition from the previous series’ hub-based system smoother.

In the live demos of Monster Hunter Wilds, players had a chance to explore the Windsward Plains zone with a comprehensive and detailed 3D map that clearly showed both elevation and depth. This feature has been hinted at in previous mini-maps within the Monster Hunter series, but the version accessible in the pause menu of Wilds is the most advanced implementation yet. In earlier games, the numbered sections dividing larger locations could get tangled and hard to navigate, especially in World where this was more pronounced than ever. With Wilds now adopting a 3D layout, players will find it easier to move around the game’s expansive environments as the new design provides an intuitive way to traverse the landscape.

Monster Hunter: World Pushed Vertical Level Design to the Limit

As a gamer, diving into Monster Hunter: World’s expansive realms like the Ancient Forest and Coral Highlands was an exhilarating leap, yet the depth of these layers often left me feeling lost. The game’s 2D map isn’t equipped to fully capture the intricacies of stacked areas, making it tricky to find my way between different zone segments. It’s handy when the game highlights my current position, but the overall style remains consistent with the series’ traditional aesthetic.

A larger scope established World‘s spot as the beginning of a new generation of Monster Hunter, but it could be said that its map wasn’t able to keep up with its direction. Ascending and descending its multi-leveled zones can take hours to fully grasp, but this kind of frustration is far less likely to be present in the design of its upcoming successor.

Monster Hunter Wilds’ 3D Map Complements Its Continuation of Monster Hunter: World’s Scope

Simplifying Presentation Without Compromising On Ambition

Since its initial release, the series has maintained a consistent map layout that was initially integrated within the core gameplay as an overlay. This continued until the introduction of streamlined mapping in the pause menu during World. With the changes brought by Monster Hunter Rise (Monster Hunter Wilds), the new map offers unparalleled information, presented in a more realistic graphical style. Players can now rotate the camera for a detailed view of an area, making the numbered sections appear less disconnected within their context.

With a better understanding of how intricate maps like those of the Windsward Plains can be explored, Capcom has ample opportunity to carry on the verticality theme found in World. If they manage to increase the density in areas that resemble simple and flat plains, these maps will remain the most legible in the entire IP. As the series potentially ventures into new Monster Hunter biomes in uncharted territories beyond typical climate ecosystems, this design supports the largest scale they could possibly achieve. For now, it’s uncertain where Wilds will guide players outside the initial environment revealed, but it has already been mapped out in greater detail than any other release in the franchise to date.

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2024-08-25 13:33