The maps...

[Judge Cudge]

May I start by mentioning this game is fantastic, but the one blistering flaw that farts in my sandwich every second of the game is the map system. Im fine with it being annoying and having a delay to look at it, I'm fine with exploring to build it up each time I get one.

What I'm not fine with is having to find the damn salesman every time I find a new area. It has taken me until I have cleared the entire level the past 3 times to find him, and exploring without the map in the areas this game has made is ridiculously time consuming. Especially in chunks like greenpath and the like, where the game simply has no visual indicators without the map being present. There are literally identically populated paths that just have a few platforms on their left and right sides differ between them. And the amount of accidental backtracking is poison in my blood.

I fail to see why the dev didn't just make it so you could buy the map of any area you encountered at the map store the moment you encounter it. Or allow you to plot out the map on your own with the quill before buying a map.

I just once was able to buy the fungal map and the damn map store, but only after two hours of wandering in the fungal caverns anyway. Is there any surefire way to not waste two hours pointlessly plodding on the same ground over and over until you accidentally beat the area, or is it guesswork and huge chunks of your life stolen every time?

[Kein Zantezuken]

Yeah, I somewhat agree. I mean, we bought ink, we could at least map some territory until we meet cartographer to get existing reveal he mapped.

On a second note: imagine his location would be random each new playthrough...

[Colonel Mustache]

From what I can tell looking at these forums, it's quite a divisive topic among the playerbase. Some people love that it encourages exploration. Personally, I agree with you - it's more tedious than fun, and it's basically a money-sink just to get a fully-functioning map...I have a quill, and hollow Knight is clearly great at cartography (more so than the guy who sells maps for a living, go figure), and yet you still need to buy each map individually.

[Judge Cudge]

I'm just life cripplingly aware of the hours I'm wasting, this game's too pretty for me to ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ each map to death aimlessly rechecking similar looking rooms.

I'm terrible at directions though, so if other people can intuit where to go than maybe its just a "me" problem. But as it stands the combination of areas of interest that need exploring and having to get there blind makes me furious very single time.

I'd rather maps not even be for sale and just have me scrawl them out myself if its a tradeoff, as it stands its just a horrible slog every time.

[Kein Zantezuken]

Originally posted by Judge Cudge:

I'm just life cripplingly aware of the hours I'm wasting

Are you playing it on a deathbed? ;P

[.VM8RA]

if you beat the boss off an area, you can then buy the map as he will leave at this point. this is what I heard anyway. still not ideal.

[Find the Strawberry]

Just wondering if there is a map for the Fog Canyon. I haven't been able to find anything but it's strange that I'd have one small section without a map.

[jb1234]

I haven't found the Fog Canyon map yet either but large chunks of the area are currently locked away for me as well.

[Colonel Mustache]

It feels like I've completed Fog Canyon entirely, still no map in the store. Where the hell are you hiding, Cornifer?! Why can't I just buy all your maps at once?

[Dheelaw]

Yup, i don't see the point of buying a quill, and then maps separately. We should be able to track our progress by ourselves within an areaby resting on a bench, and maybe later, buy a complete map to the mapmaker to actually see if we did'nt miss anything ;\

That way, it would still be rewarding exploration without being annoying.

[Penguwren]

I feel an interesting potential solution is to allow players to use the quill to draw in their own map.
But I imagine that wouldnt be simple to impliment

[z4v3k]

Completely agree with the OP, it's just a waste of time really and it's one of the main reasons I won't buy the game, even tough other parts of the game are great.

And imagine if you explored most of the map and you don't find Cornifer, you log out of the game, come back in few days and forget where you've been before (because I don't have a photographic memory) and now you have to start exploring the whole map again, or by accident start exploring a totaly different map.

Ori and the blind forest had a great map system, there the map would simply unveil itself by going trough it. So why not just implement the same system in here also.

[KyloX]

The only way you won't encounter Cornifer is if you don't even try to explore or you have no sound on. Most Cornifer spots (for major part of the locations) are on the road and you can easily hear him when he is near by, as well he leaves papers around. Though on the second part of the game, to find him, might require additional effort (but still, he should be near by where you start the area from).

Fog Canyon being the biggest anomaly when firstly getting there, as you won't get a map there until you start looking for Dreamers. But in its defense, you can't go anywhere, but to Fungal wastes and then you don't comeback to that place until you actually need to. Though his hiding on that location is probably the worst on the game.

Deep nest is probably another small anomaly, as in this location, he doesn't make any sounds, so you have to look for him, but atleast he in a way can spawn in 2 different locations.

In the end, it is a personal thing, as I like the map system it had. It encouraged exploration and was able to see where I haven't yet been. Remember, this game doesn't hold your hand.

[Fracastador]

I 'd imagine the opinion towards the map system will vary depending on your actual skillset as a player, just like opinions toward the boss fights and platforming sections.
How much trouble or irritation something gives you will differ from person to person.

I liked the map system, personally, though there was never an area where I had too much trouble finding cornifer. Maybe I got lucky with the deepnest. My exploratory pattern may have helped, since I try to circumnavigate any particular room to the best of my abilities before moving on most of the time.

[Gold♥Shield]

Every time I've entered a new area, it has taken me at most, ten minutes to find the map maker. What are you doing that's causing you to waste hours looking for him?

[Judge Cudge]

Gathering every item and fighting the boss. I am not the only person with this problem, but you could suppose I'm unlucky.