Most of (if not all) the mini map ideas that I have seen involve unwrapping the planet. But what about a Death star hologram type mini map? IE: A simi transparent globe. The stuff on the backside of the mini-map planet would be discolored and darkened enough to tell that it was on the backside with ease.
Someone from Uber (I think bgolus, because he's now a graphics guru) said they tried this and it was too confusing.
I tried something similar just using strat icons. A lot of ideas that seem so simple break down when you start to talk about them in terms of 1000s of units. It's not an idea I'm going to abandon entirely, but I have serious doubts. viewtopic.php?p=756237#p756237
Ah ok. What about doing away with the mini map and hiding the planet? IE: Add a key that turns the planet very transparent and then replacing all the units with icons. To avoid most of the ugly, it's max zoom would be just enough to see the orbital layer. (or is that exactly what was tried?)
What about a small drawing of the planet in a corner of the screen, showing the exact other side of the one you actually looking at ?
I think an unwrapped planet would suffice, but it might be confusing for the edges of the map where units cross from one side to another. I like the idea of showing the opposite end of the planet though. Maybe these are ideas we can trial, or perhaps Uber can provide us with multiple options for minimaps that we can choose and test in-game and then give feedback.
I like the holographic map idea, although obviously like you mention have no idea how it'll work in practice. I reckon strategic icons on the minimap would be overkill and I could see how that would "break down". Just small team coloured semi transparent dots would be all that's necessary IMO (semi transparent so you can see through large blobs). With the minimap, I don't care which unit is where, I just want to know if *something* is there needing my attention. On this note, I don't suppose you could tell me if there is, or will be any provision for accessing locations of all your units from JavaScript? If this was possible I could write a mod to test this idea out using WebGL. Although I could potentially see this creating performance issues, but hey it would be fun to try out .. maybe if it just updated every couple of seconds it's might be ok..
Maybe Minimap is just the wrong word, but i think a holographic sphere has it's use as UI Element and is in fact essential, let me expain why: But first here's a mockup: (I know it's bad i'm not an artist) While i concur that a translucent sphere is not the best way to show every unit (that would be too much information density) it can be a viable tool. You can use it to show the relative orientation of the current planet relative to your camera, so that you do not get lost even when zoomed in. For that matter maybe also show the current field of view on that sphere. Basically use it as a planetary variant of an artificial horizon... Other than this information i think it should be used for only two additional types of information: I think you commanders position should be shown at all times and it should serve as the platforms for alerts. Meaning that when you get a "our units are under attack" type of message the "ping" of where it happens should be highlighted on the sphere. Maybe you could find a way to also put some other intel in like controlled territory or enemy commander position (if scouted). But that really just depends on what works and what doesn't...
+1 And why 1000 units would be a problem ? There's no need to symbolize all the units. From a strategic perspective one does not care if the threat is made of 798 units. One care if there's a threat, the type of threat (Ground, air, naval, mix), average size of the threat (small, medium, big => and our own units could be symbolized the same way in order to provide a possible comparison), movement vector.
I like this concept. I can also see it working well for larger games. Imagine zooming out into the system strategic view and having a series of spheres showing any planets or asteroids you are active on along the bottom. A simple colour system showing your territory (say green), allied territory (blue perhaps) and enemy territory (red). Also the commander position and perhaps a warning system about drop ships and alike. In strategic view it would allow you to check at a glance to make sure earlier conquered planets are still secure or spot enemy movement between planets without taking too long. Then zooming in to a particular planet you would only get the sphere for that planet with more detailed (still simplified I think) information. If you want to keep the overview up they have stated they will support multiple windows so you could keep the strategic view open on a second screen (something I've been wanting to do properly in strategy games for years- love my dual screens )...
