Board Thread:Suggestions forum/@comment-25661985-20170305031250

I suggest that a beginner can only see the Shire on the map when he enters the world for the first time. This feature will correspond to "He looked at maps, and wondered what lay beyond their edges: maps made in the Shire showed mostly white spaces beyond its borders." (The Shadow of the Past, The Fellowship of the Ring) Once the player leaves the Shire and enters Eriador biome, the map will show all lands of Eriador. Similarly, the map will show the regular Middle-earth map when the player leaves Eriador, and Forodwaith, Haradwaith and Rhun need to be unlocked separately. The only difference will be the appearance on the map, and unlocked regions will be covered by mists and clouds.

There are several advantages for doing this:
 * 1) It encourages people to explore more. The new map won't spoil the surprise and excitement of Middle-earth to new players, as well as a new region in an update for old players.
 * 2) You can get a map just like Frodo had at first.
 * 3) Most parts of Haradwaith and Rhun are not and will not be lore-friendly, so it is good for players who love the canons to use the regular Middle-earth maps like 99% maps for Middle-earth on media. If payers don't set foot on Harad or Rhun, those regions will always be blank.

There are several examples for it:  