The local map? Most useless thing ever or is there some trick to reading it that I just can't get? It's worse of course inside building but dang. At least the maps in Skyrim where useful, but the FO4 local map is really about the same as the FO3 map. I see no improvements at all, or usefulness. Does anyone get it or is it just a total waste of time to use? I can't tell a wall from a door from a set of stairs or pile of rubble.

Yup completely useless unless you're turned around and need to find which quest point leads outside and which one is in your building, just a new zone. But that is it.

It is utterly useless inside and it should cover a wider area outside. Yeah can't understand why it isn't clearer though. Seems like Todd and the gang went too far on paying attention to all the details on this one. Though I will say I have gotten better at reading it as I continue to play but reading the local map should not take practice or time, it should just work.

Don't use it at all.

It is, as folk have said, completely useless.

But that's fine, I can do without it.

Waste of development effort...someone had to 'draw' all that rubbish.

I think I have intentionally looked at less than half a dozen times over 200 hours of play....more confusing than helpful.

Its not drawn, the minimap is just generated automatically from the cell that they create. Its just a top down snapshot of the area really.

So no, not really a waste of development effort, hasnt changed much from Skyrim minus a different filter.

Local map was useless in Fallout 3. It was useless in Fallout New Vegas. It was useless in Skyrim.

So why are you surprised it is just as useless in fallout 4?

I never use it. I've tried to on several occasions and found that the range was so limited that it wasn't even useful. It's not easy to read. This isn't a big deal to me though. I'd rarely use it even if it was better designed.

Have to agree the map svcks, time to just have a decent world map, hope they improve it.

i literally flipped to the local map for the first time on my first account to see what it looked like and to find the fusion core in concord. when i flipped to it for the first time i said and i quote, "what the bleep is this?" flipped back to world map, have not used it once since then. absolutely useless. should've used the money the developers used to make that local map and used it to improve the crafting system.

Glad I'm not the only one who finds it almost completely useless.

I was really hoping they would have upgraded it for FO4. Kind of disappointed they didn't. I wonder if it was something somebody could create a mod for?

The local map is actually pretty useful on a second monitor. It is a (low-quality) live view from above. Everything except living things is shown in real-time.

This is especially helpful when constructing settlements, because you see the stuff you are building also during the "placing" phase on the local map. Having a live view from above eases lining up your junk wall segments enormously .

Fun fact: Coming from a load screen you see some times bouncing cars and other stuff on the local map when the physics settles in.

The FO and ES games need to find a way to show *multi-level* local maps, since a lot of locations are mutli-story structures. A 2D top-down view overlaps the multiple levels and makes everything look confusing. Maybe it should let you press a button to show Floor 1, or Floor 2, etc., like how other games have done.

It seems to be a radar like function rather than a mapping function. I much prefer the map letting me move it to see where I have been rather than the current system which is indecipherable.

It hasn't changed since Morrowind.

Yes, it's crap. It has been crap for ten years. Ignore it and move on

2nd monitor?

I don't like that it isn't shrouded. It came in handy in F3 and NV when looting interiors of buildings, since you could see where you hadn't gone yet.

Pip-Boy cell phone app maybe? I dunno. I haven't used it, but I think I read somewhere that your PB is always visible if you use the cell phone app. I should try it just for kicks and giggles. I'd need one of those giant over-sized old guy cell phones though. I almost got one last year, wish I would have now.

Oooh! ... I wonder if it will work on my Kindle ... (Swoosh .... lol) ...

Remember this Fallout 4 pipboy app thing which let you turn your smart phone into a pipboy? I made my second and third monitor (actually my first and third one, second one is used for playing Fallout) into a pipboy (See first link in my signature).