There seems to be some confusion as to the "black maps" bug. this is not the "i have moved to an area outside of the map" user error - this is a "the automapper doesn't work b/c this game is broken" bug. it affects both the minimapper and the automapper.
at various times, and usually on reload, the automapper and mini map are black - they show blue, green and red X's for PC and NPC's, but no map features. waling around may bring back part of the map, but never all (or most) of it.
for me, it renders the game nearly unplayable, because i cannot take having to retrace my steps everytime i reload.
