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[Xii]

Such a simple little thing : a direct hack that maps a random zone, rather than the one around the terminal like layout zone does.

Quite often one already knows the area around the terminal being used, whereas revealing a remote location can potentially impact floorwide strategy, if you see something attractive in the distance.

[Kyzrati]

As a direct hack this wouldn't really make any sense though, since the main point of Terminals is to interact with things near them--they are their own reference point, and that's how all spacial direct hacks work.

Such a hack would also be a bit OP. This is the realm of Derelict Logs, which can reveal distant areas for you but aren't guaranteed. Helpful, indeed, as we've seen in that case! But having more control over the frequency of that info is too much power.

[Xii]

[...] wouldn't really make any sense though, since the main point of Terminals is to interact with things near them--they are their own reference point, and that's how all spacial direct hacks work.

I subscribe to the design philosophy that making things fun and interesting trumps making sense.

So what about item stockpiles, main access, branch access, hauler manifests, patrol positions, etc., etc.? I think there's MORE hacks at terminals about remote things than there are ones about surroundings.

Such a hack would also be a bit OP. This is the realm of Derelict Logs, which can reveal distant areas for you but aren't guaranteed. Helpful, indeed, as we've seen in that case! But having more control over the frequency of that info is too much power.

Adjust until not OP. Make the revealed zone smaller. RNG zones until one that fits parameters (e.g. cannot reveal exits). Disable this hack on floors where would be too spoilery.

[Kyzrati]

I subscribe to the design philosophy that making things fun and interesting trumps making sense.

Hehe, I subscribe to the design philosophy that ideally both should be combined . While yeah I do take some liberties with making sense for gameplay purposes in various areas, in the bigger picture diverging too much from established norms starts to mess with player expectations, and by far the most common expectation is what "makes sense," either in the real world or at least in the game world. This is especially true the larger and more complex a game gets!

So what about item stockpiles, main access, branch access, hauler manifests, patrol positions, etc., etc.? I think there's MORE hacks at terminals about remote things than there are ones about surroundings.

Right, but these give you access to all such information across the entire map, not one random specific thing far away.

As we've seen over the years, some potential features don't really balance well--they're either OP, or bad and no one uses them, and this looks like it falls into that category. Like if it were to be identical in size to Derelict Log zones that would definitely be too good, but if less than that (which is already pretty small), I don't see people using it.

Plus again I don't think it fits the lore I have in mind, and that's generally a good enough reason to not add something when there are already so many other suitable features to add.

But if we want to look for other gameplay reasons this doesn't really add much, players already use a number of other existing hacks for long-distance navigational assistance.

Now I can see this hack being a Force() hack, just not direct.