Here's a picture the devs should really look over when making the minimap

[Erendil]

Wow RFNB, that is an awesome comparison.

Originally Posted by Wargrim

I 100% agree with the OP. A minimap needs a lot of functionality and information. If you are worried about overloading it and confusing players not used to it, there is a very simple fix: Allow the players to set filters, just like with the large map at GDC.
( And the large map should also show a topographic map, and not just plain blue imho. )

Awesome idea. Minimap layers/filters that you could toggle on and off would be a great addition.

Originally Posted by Khellendros

The PS2 minimap needs to have all of the features and functionality of the PS1 minimap, and MORE. The PS1 minimap is the baseline, devs, okay?

Yep, absolutely. The PS1 minimap has been just about the best out of any game I've played, and removing any of its features for PS2 would be a step down, IMO. So for a baseline, it needs:

• to be freely movable and placeable anywhere on the screen
• to be resizable
• to have a manual zoom in and out function (I used scroll wheel up/down in PS1) where we can specify the different zoom distances
• to show the floorplan of the current base level you're in when indoors with clearly marked doors (I know PS2's bases don't have much in the way of indoor floorplans, but it's still useful)
• To show friendly and enemy units and have MAXes and different vehicle types distinguishable on the map
• Have the option to TURN OFF rotating radar so up is always NORTH on the minimap
• A compass that circumflexes that minimap instead of just a compass bar
• topographical features, with artificial structures (roads, bases, bunkers, etc) highlighted

Did I miss anything?

Here are some other ideas off the top of my head...

How about a color differentiation so we know which enemy empire each unit is on, instead of just red = bad?

Maybe some sort of day/night differences on the look and/or info on the minimap might be good too. Like the location of base/outpost light sources at night? Or real time lighting & shadows on topographic features that change with the position of the Sun. It'd be cool to see, but I'm not sure how useful it'd be. It might be pretty resource-heavy on our PC's too.