NPCs inside buildings and directions

[jayhova]

NPCs inside buildings are unable to mark things on your map. This is of course classic behavior but is it possible to mod this so they can?

[Nystul]

technically there is no reason for this limitation - it was just implemented as vanilla did it.
If we agree that npc inside buildings should also mark buildings on map, I can change the implementation

would be straightforward to do this in core, but hard to do it as mod though, so I would rather change it in core

[pango]

It has an impact on gameplay though; Since you can find indoor NPCs at any hour of the day, but outdoors NPCs only during daytime, it's an incentive to arrive during daytime when you need to locate some target location...

[BansheeXYZ]

it's an incentive to arrive during daytime when you need to locate some target location...

I think the OP is mostly asking why a tavern patron or guild member can't tell you where the armory is, regardless of time. Does the player leave his maps by the door before he enters the building?

Also, with regards to quests: when a questgiver sends you to a dungeon, you don't have to ask around town for the location of the dungeon, he just marks your map and you go. Yet when a questgiver sends you to a house, even if it's his own house, you have to run around town asking for directions.

In quests that involve tracking people down, like the thief who stole qgiver's item, it does make sense that the thief's hideout isn't automarked. But for most quests, it just makes no sense to have to do this and adds nothing to the quest.

[Ommamar]

Yes it is an odd thing that someone inside a building couldn't at least give a direction but since you apparently carry the map around with you I agree it would make sense to point a location out with in a city. The only logic I could see for it from a developer stand point is the original idea for NPC interaction was much more in depth. For what ever reason(s) it was never fully developed. Personally I would see no problem with it being implemented, might be best as a toggle choice though as it does differ from classic.

[Jay_H]

The "reveal _location_" quest action could be used for town locations to mark it on the map automatically. That's a step beyond where we are now though.

[siteseer]

this seems like a quality-of-life type change from classic. i support it. if indoor npcs can give directions, they should be able to mark it on the map.

[jayhova]

I do tend to agree that it does change game-play. It's a shame that so many things (small things like this) cannot be changed outside altering the core. It does however seem like a thing that should be changeable as an option.