1. Make sure you have Hacknet installed & updated to the current version.
   
2. Make sure you have a good text editor. (notepad.exe works, but NotePad++ is better)
   
3. Make sure you have a valid saved game that you don't mind potentially breaking. (I suggest creating a "test" account and trying it there before attempting it on you main account.)

In windows, your saved game is located here: C:\Users\[YOUR ACCOUNT NAME]\Documents\My Games\Hacknet\Accounts\

You should see a text file called "Accounts.txt". DO NOT mess with this. Instead, find and open the file named "save_[HACKNET USER NAME].xml" where [HACKNET USER NAME] is the name of the hacknet account you want to modify.

I suggest creating a backup copy of this file -- especially if you are not running Hacknet via Steam.

Once opened in your text/XML editor, you're going to be looking for this tag around line 9:
<NetworkMap sort="Scatter" >

To make the required modification, just change <NetworkMap sort="Scatter" > to <NetworkMap sort="Grid" >.

SAVE YOUR CHANGES.

????????

Congratulations! Your netmap in-game should now look something like this:

Just forwarning you all that I may never look at this guide again. Not trying to be mean, just saying that I tend to forget things a lot.

That being said, you all are free to be spelling/grammar nazis all you like, and I will probably update the guide if I do look again. My english in general is horrible even though I am a native speaker.

If you wish to use any part or all of this guide or outright plagiarize it word-for-word, then go right ahead. I really couldn't care less.

I just thought this was neat, and wanted to help anyone else who has found the ordinary organization of the netmap a bit nightmarish to work with.
If this guide does that, plagiarized or not, then I've accomplished my mission.

Happy Hacking!
~ Phaze3