Welcome to Isla Pena, the smallest, yet most charming and most exotic island on Las Cinco Muertes… or not.
I’ve chosen this image, and this particular island, because both illustrate nicely my following points:
As you can see, when confronted with a map choice for a new game, we are given a generic map of the island in question with some icon roughly locating the site/map in which we will be working. But, the above images from Isla Pena prove neither the island geography nor the general landscaping views match the alleged placement of said sites. In the pictures, the Isla Pena current map should be placed in the north of the island, which is also the thinnest corner and, judging by the size it must have (as to fit the map bounds within that end) it’s orientation roughly corresponds fine with that expected, although the views from it do not.
The south of Isla Pena, it’s longest, widest extension, should be visible from the given site, but even though we can glimpse a distant harbor, neither the length nor the geography seem to appropriately match what should be there. Now, I understand the whole islands are unfinished and those views were implemented just for decoration but this particular issue, which also happen to occur on the other islands, leaves me to wonder what are the chances of having more maps on islands such as Pena (here, stop to think about what I’ve already showed you: Pena may be the smallest island, but the part not visited is bigger than what we thought (at least twice as big as what we’ve been given), and it may well deliver at least another similar location in the southern end).
This very same issue also happens in all other maps, although, for what I could glimpse, Tacaño North could more or less have some acceptable fitting.
Why is it relevant?
This not only breaks immersion, but also plays to the suffocating, crumpled feeling of limitation virtually everyone complains of about JWE.
Also, to me at least, it strongly questions the future of the game itself; I mean, can such islands expect to have new maps in the future?
How can be improved/implemented?
I understand this can’t have any easy fix, but I think the whole islands should be finished before moving to other locations and their landscapes taken care of. I also understand consoles limits are at play so, in the meantime, implementing fog so as to at least cover those imprecise landmarks could be a temporal solution.
But maybe this couldn’t work too well on places such as Pena, bound to have enough wind to not being foggy, so the whole island question should be considered.
On the other hand, I recommend switching the icons for each map to miniatures of the building areas there located.
Landscape doesn’t match the island’s geography.
As seen in the right hand of the first image, when trying to place the actual map bound within the island’s coasts according to the icons provided, we not only find the limitations derived from the unmatching surroundings of the sites (which make it impossible to differentiate north from south in most cases) we also stumble upon the size issue (once more).
Most maps also feel tiny precisely because of them not being logically placed within their respective, whole, islands. Yet, should we could really measure them, they would be positively huge (and simple calculations can be made just taking into account the space needs for certain species, or the length of a single fence stretch, which has been estimated to be 90m long).
But, once again, this is illogical and counterproductive, as their respective islands would need to be massive for them to host those sites within their surroundings (this is notably the case with Isla Nublar’s basegame map).
Why is it relevant?
As stated above, this plays only to further mismatch the perceived map size and island size, totally destroying immersion and logical space management, worsening the tiny map issue.
How can be improved/implemented?
Again, ideally, this can be solved by building the whole islands even if they aren’t made totally playable at once. Short term, either a rework of the foresting terrain and/or the implementation of fog-in-the-distance layer might be helpful.
Mid-term, however, providing the ability to move around the Park Entrance could also help to ease the mentioned feelings.
Landscape is always the same, regardless of the island.
This is my third and I’d say biggest concern, if I ignore my liking for panoramic screencaps. And I don’t think this particular point needs any illustration, since each and everyone of us can actually see it’s the demolishing truth. Landscaping options implemented in that nice last patch were much welcome, but fell very, very short of what should be JWE.
For every island to feel different, they should be different AND sport different options. Having sand on Nublar is nice, even if it doesn’t belong much within that particular non-coastal map, but the rest of the terrain options are virtually the same as the ones from the other islands.
More importantly, the forest brush is always the same across all the islands, and it doesn’t even play to a unique feel in any place, as it’s mostly composed of the very same mix of ‘regular’ trees and palms trying to pass as chaotic jungle.
Within this paradigm, it makes absolutely no difference to play Nublar than Pena, but map “size” and their respective terrain constraints (and weather conditions, if not playing on Sandbox).
Why is it relevant?
Considering the original goal for the inclusion of the Five Deaths, plus Nublar, was said to provide variety and unique feel for each island, I think it save to acknowledge this design was a complete failure as it is. Now, this isn’t the only area in which the game failed, but it’s worth noting it was the first in which some clear effort has been made to reach the original goal, however wrong the ways used (daytime, weather), so I’m hopeful the original goal hasn’t being given up, because it’s really important in order to justify the existent maps.
From an immersion and, particularly, franchise POV, landscaping was of paramount importance to both JP and JW. In the novel, InGen spared no expense to recreate the most astounding landscapes to please guests and accommodate their expensive animals so, while the movies themselves also sport breath-taking landscapes that star as much as dinosaurs themselves.
How can be improved/implemented?
First and foremost, reworking the existing scenery items and expand them is, I think, a must: trees and rocks are two of the many categories that could be implemented (for instance, fountains/waterfalls, logs or sculptures could be added as categories as well). The key point, however, is addressing the missing opportunity from Claire’s DLC: expanding individual tree items, providing a handful but of clearly defined and different genera.
Secondly, and perhaps much more feasible and important, adding several options for the ‘forest brush’. These could be even restricted to 4-5 options per map, no problem, but should provide different ambients/ecosystems, from conifers and redwoods to truly tropical palm-trees. Just five or six of these new ‘forest brushes’ would make such a big difference and improvement to landscaping.
I’ve chosen this image, and this particular island, because both illustrate nicely my following points:
- Maps can’t be located within their respective islands.
- Landscape doesn’t match the island’s geography.
- Landscape is always the same, regardless of the island.
As you can see, when confronted with a map choice for a new game, we are given a generic map of the island in question with some icon roughly locating the site/map in which we will be working. But, the above images from Isla Pena prove neither the island geography nor the general landscaping views match the alleged placement of said sites. In the pictures, the Isla Pena current map should be placed in the north of the island, which is also the thinnest corner and, judging by the size it must have (as to fit the map bounds within that end) it’s orientation roughly corresponds fine with that expected, although the views from it do not.
The south of Isla Pena, it’s longest, widest extension, should be visible from the given site, but even though we can glimpse a distant harbor, neither the length nor the geography seem to appropriately match what should be there. Now, I understand the whole islands are unfinished and those views were implemented just for decoration but this particular issue, which also happen to occur on the other islands, leaves me to wonder what are the chances of having more maps on islands such as Pena (here, stop to think about what I’ve already showed you: Pena may be the smallest island, but the part not visited is bigger than what we thought (at least twice as big as what we’ve been given), and it may well deliver at least another similar location in the southern end).
This very same issue also happens in all other maps, although, for what I could glimpse, Tacaño North could more or less have some acceptable fitting.
Why is it relevant?
This not only breaks immersion, but also plays to the suffocating, crumpled feeling of limitation virtually everyone complains of about JWE.
Also, to me at least, it strongly questions the future of the game itself; I mean, can such islands expect to have new maps in the future?
How can be improved/implemented?
I understand this can’t have any easy fix, but I think the whole islands should be finished before moving to other locations and their landscapes taken care of. I also understand consoles limits are at play so, in the meantime, implementing fog so as to at least cover those imprecise landmarks could be a temporal solution.
But maybe this couldn’t work too well on places such as Pena, bound to have enough wind to not being foggy, so the whole island question should be considered.
On the other hand, I recommend switching the icons for each map to miniatures of the building areas there located.
Landscape doesn’t match the island’s geography.
As seen in the right hand of the first image, when trying to place the actual map bound within the island’s coasts according to the icons provided, we not only find the limitations derived from the unmatching surroundings of the sites (which make it impossible to differentiate north from south in most cases) we also stumble upon the size issue (once more).
Most maps also feel tiny precisely because of them not being logically placed within their respective, whole, islands. Yet, should we could really measure them, they would be positively huge (and simple calculations can be made just taking into account the space needs for certain species, or the length of a single fence stretch, which has been estimated to be 90m long).
But, once again, this is illogical and counterproductive, as their respective islands would need to be massive for them to host those sites within their surroundings (this is notably the case with Isla Nublar’s basegame map).
Why is it relevant?
As stated above, this plays only to further mismatch the perceived map size and island size, totally destroying immersion and logical space management, worsening the tiny map issue.
How can be improved/implemented?
Again, ideally, this can be solved by building the whole islands even if they aren’t made totally playable at once. Short term, either a rework of the foresting terrain and/or the implementation of fog-in-the-distance layer might be helpful.
Mid-term, however, providing the ability to move around the Park Entrance could also help to ease the mentioned feelings.
Landscape is always the same, regardless of the island.
This is my third and I’d say biggest concern, if I ignore my liking for panoramic screencaps. And I don’t think this particular point needs any illustration, since each and everyone of us can actually see it’s the demolishing truth. Landscaping options implemented in that nice last patch were much welcome, but fell very, very short of what should be JWE.
For every island to feel different, they should be different AND sport different options. Having sand on Nublar is nice, even if it doesn’t belong much within that particular non-coastal map, but the rest of the terrain options are virtually the same as the ones from the other islands.
More importantly, the forest brush is always the same across all the islands, and it doesn’t even play to a unique feel in any place, as it’s mostly composed of the very same mix of ‘regular’ trees and palms trying to pass as chaotic jungle.
Within this paradigm, it makes absolutely no difference to play Nublar than Pena, but map “size” and their respective terrain constraints (and weather conditions, if not playing on Sandbox).
Why is it relevant?
Considering the original goal for the inclusion of the Five Deaths, plus Nublar, was said to provide variety and unique feel for each island, I think it save to acknowledge this design was a complete failure as it is. Now, this isn’t the only area in which the game failed, but it’s worth noting it was the first in which some clear effort has been made to reach the original goal, however wrong the ways used (daytime, weather), so I’m hopeful the original goal hasn’t being given up, because it’s really important in order to justify the existent maps.
From an immersion and, particularly, franchise POV, landscaping was of paramount importance to both JP and JW. In the novel, InGen spared no expense to recreate the most astounding landscapes to please guests and accommodate their expensive animals so, while the movies themselves also sport breath-taking landscapes that star as much as dinosaurs themselves.
How can be improved/implemented?
First and foremost, reworking the existing scenery items and expand them is, I think, a must: trees and rocks are two of the many categories that could be implemented (for instance, fountains/waterfalls, logs or sculptures could be added as categories as well). The key point, however, is addressing the missing opportunity from Claire’s DLC: expanding individual tree items, providing a handful but of clearly defined and different genera.
Secondly, and perhaps much more feasible and important, adding several options for the ‘forest brush’. These could be even restricted to 4-5 options per map, no problem, but should provide different ambients/ecosystems, from conifers and redwoods to truly tropical palm-trees. Just five or six of these new ‘forest brushes’ would make such a big difference and improvement to landscaping.
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