Nav map hassles

[ShaggyMoose]

I find myself getting frustrated with the nav map on a frequent basis, especially if I am looking for an object by name.

1. If I turn on object text, even for specific object types, at a low zoom level its unreadable due to overlapping.
2. I can only drag the map around at the highest zoom setting, but then I've got no idea where I am looking from a relative perspective.
3. I can right click to zoom in on a given sector, but if I zoom out it resets the view to my current location. This quickly causes confusion about where I have looked already.
4. Clicking around with the arrows at that zoom level just gets me lost.
   [/list=A]
   Not sure if I am doing something wrong here. If not, I think just leaving the view wherever it was when zooming out, rather than re-centering on my current location, would help a lot.

[PaulB]

I find myself getting frustrated with the nav map on a frequent basis, especially if I am looking for an object by name.

1. If I turn on object text, even for specific object types, at a low zoom level its unreadable due to overlapping.
2. I can only drag the map around at the highest zoom setting, but then I've got no idea where I am looking from a relative perspective.
3. I can right click to zoom in on a given sector, but if I zoom out it resets the view to my current location. This quickly causes confusion about where I have looked already.
4. Clicking around with the arrows at that zoom level just gets me lost.
   [/list=A]
   Not sure if I am doing something wrong here. If not, I think just leaving the view wherever it was when zooming out, rather than re-centering on my current location, would help a lot.

It is a bit of a problem.
All I do is select a sector and move my mouse over each object to see it's name and info.

It would be nice if you could, say, have 4 or 6 sectors showing and still be able to move your mouse over objects and see their names. I don't know just what good solution would be.
I can't at the moment remember what the options are, but what would help would be the ability to show Stations, Planets, Gates, etc. to narrow down the clutter.
Of course a redesigned Nav Map and Inventory Console that are larger and a different layout would be nice too.

[ShaggyMoose]

I can't at the moment remember what the options are, but what would help would be the ability to show Stations, Planets, Gates, etc. to narrow down the clutter.[/quote]
It can do this already (filter by object type), but I find it doesn't come close to solving the problem.
[quote]Of course a redesigned Nav Map and Inventory Console that are larger and a different layout would be nice too.

The inventory console is merely clunky, the map is downright hostile!

[Vice]

A near ground-up rewrite has been done for the planned upcoming sequel, which builds upon many of the design behaviors of the original. You can check it out in the prototype video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1TWm9HXAnY

That said, the current system does have some functionally relevant options and does take some learning to best utilize.

Some tips/advice for the points you mentioned:

A.If I turn on object text, even for specific object types, at a low zoom level its unreadable due to overlapping.

For sectors where that is the case, zoom the entire map (rather than sector zoom only). That will space things out much farther apart so reading text modes is easier. The mouse wheel continues to provide sector zooming and right clicking will also snap zoom to specific sectors, just as in the default zoom mode. Most of the time though, the mouse highlight mode is the best one to stick with.

B.I can only drag the map around at the highest zoom setting, but then I've got no idea where I am looking from a relative perspective.

This takes some learning. You can hold the mouse pointer over any sector and view the location you are pointing to on the lower left side of the map. Be careful not to ignore that as it helps provide the context for where you are looking from a relative perspective (displayed under 'current position'). It's important to learn the SX, SY, and SZ coordinate system in addition to local in sector coordinates.

C.I can right click to zoom in on a given sector, but if I zoom out it resets the view to my current location. This quickly causes confusion about where I have looked already.

Sounds like it would be more confusing if it didn't auto-center since you say dragging the map results in you losing your relative perspective. The auto-center keeps the map locked to your position (as well as the central nav sensor location), providing consistent reference. This will be changing in the new game if/when its released. The new system allows for centering to where you point on the map as you zoom in, which could cause a player to 'get lost' as they leave the central reference point. This isn't a problem with the EM map, but would be in the new nav system, so there is a 'Center' button available to let the player lock the map back to center as desired. For additional information, I posted some of this back in 2009 when prototyping nav map systems during the development phase of the game, which you might be interested in (some functional benefits/tips are included):

The navigation map uses a 'sensor' based system, one that uses a central location (your current sector) as the starting point for the sensor's scanning range. If you were to zoom in on a distant sector, then want to zoom out from that point, the zoom would stop as soon as your reached the sensor limit due to the mechanics of how the navigation sensor and map system works. It could be grayed out, but then there'd just be large parts of the map that would be useless. The auto-centering keeps the map inline with sensor limits and provides predictable behavior for tracking where you are viewing relative to your current position (rather than potentially losing track as you move all around the map).

Currently, there really is no need to require sorting through numerous levels of variable panning and/or zooming. All that's needed is a zoom (out) to the desired range, then a right click to the desired sector... two quick steps. Then if you want to look at another sector, zooming back out automatically resets the map to center for you, giving you immediate access to the full range of the nav map sensors in all directions without having to 'pan back' to center manually.

It may take some getting used to, but the system is pretty easy to adapt to once you become familiar with how it works and why.

D.Clicking around with the arrows at that zoom level just gets me lost.

Then don't do that Stick with what is easiest for you to manage. Zooming out and snap zooming to a desired sector is far faster and more precise anyway. You can zoom out and snap zoom to all of the object containing sectors around you in a matter of seconds with a little practice. No repeated clicking or dragging to slide through sectors is required.

[ShaggyMoose]

Thanks for the tips Vice. It seems that you can get what you need out of this with practice, but I still think this type of system should be intuitive. The prototype map shown in the video appears much more polished:
- The centering behaviour is exactly what I was after.
- The automatic local waypoints will be a huge time saver.
- The "slideable" 3D view will be a more intuitive alternative to top/rear for some people (me included).
- Being able to drill down from quadrant view is very useful. You can plan local routes in advance!

Anyway, I will try some of the advice in the meantime.