Area maps have markers for rooms and sub-areas contained within, and clicking on items in the contents list pans the map to the corresponding pin. However, the pins themselves are non-interactive, unlabeled, and often aren’t very visible!
So here are a few things I think might improve the interface; maybe some of them work for Wolfery!
Labels and Interactivity
Right now the pins are nondescript, and it is difficult to understand the correlation between location and pin even with the auto-pan feature. This could be improved by:
- Displaying the location name on the map when hovering over or clicking on the pin
- Displaying the location name on the map when clicking the location in the area contents list
- Highlighting the location in the area contents list whenever the pin’s label is displayed
- Disabling auto-pan behavior if a location’s position is undefined or removed ⁽¹⁾
Visibility and Style
Because the pin marker is an earthen tone, it is very difficult to see on most maps. I also think pins could stand to be a bit more configurable to aid with map-specific design and better UX.
- Pin color could be defined as a new parameter for areas and rooms
- Pin icon could be defined as a new parameter for areas and rooms ⁽²⁾
- Pin scale could be defined as a new parameter for areas and rooms
- The zoom level used when auto-panning to the pin could be a third
position
parameter ⁽³⁾
⠀
⁽¹⁾ This affects, for instance, the Do’nezo area in the global Wolfery map, causing it to pan to the top-left corner with no apparent target and suggesting the user should be seeing something.
⁽²⁾ A link to an icon image or a predefined list of standardized markers; something like that.
⁽³⁾ The map currently auto-pans but does not change to an appropriate zoom level (nor is there a one size fits all approach that would solve this problem). The area owner can adjust this to ensure the pin for a selected location is unambiguous, and the underlying region is fully within the viewbox.