Improving map nomenclature

#1 · 12.02.2021, 14:59

Hi again!

As you prepare to launch someday your new version of Scenic, with a new map provider, I thought I would suggest some improvements. The first two images are from Scenic, one with a higher-contrast view and the other the normal (default view). The next is from Rever, and the last from Google. The best, for me? Google. Note how it shows the "main" routes clearly separated from the small ones, and the route numbers are clearly marked. Second? Rever. Route numbers and main roads clearer, but not as clear as Google. And as for Scenic, often the route numbers are not shown, and there is no difference between the principal roads and the secondary/tertiary/sometimes non-existent roads. Ideally the route numbers should be nice and big. The Scenic map relies a lot on road "names", which are not really used where I live.

All this in the interest of improving my favorite nav app (yours). I still do a lot on Google, and port it to Scenic, the main reason being that Google will not follow a pre-set route with waypoints, even if you carefully lay it out in Google My Maps.

Hope this helps!

#2 · 12.02.2021, 15:28

Thanks. I understand what you mean. Map theming (including what elements to show on what zoom levels) is (very) personal in my experience. In the past I’ve been playing around with map theming/styling based on user feedback. This resulted in some people being happier with the changed style, but then I received feedback from others that they were less happy with the ‘new’ style.

I believe there is a good balance to achieve, but it takes a lot of time to reach that balance. What I want to do (as an additional feature)... I’m going to give the user some configuration options / the ability to create their own custom style. Of course up to a workable/usable level. There are 1000’s configurable options in map styles. That would be too much, but a dozen or so key config options would be good. Still have to give it some more thought, but that’s the general idea.

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If you're enjoying Scenic and are happy with the support, please leave a nice rating in the App Store. It would mean a lot to me ❤️

#3 · 12.02.2021, 15:46

Where is this more or less? (So I can see how it looks in the new map provider)

If you're enjoying Scenic and are happy with the support, please leave a nice rating in the App Store. It would mean a lot to me ❤️

#4 · 12.02.2021, 16:41

Guido, hi. The area is centered around the following coordinates:

18.02010822409043, -66.18797220975141

Hope this helps!

Thank you

#5 · 12.02.2021, 16:48

Guido, a little more on this. I understand that it's hard to please all, but even zooming way in on the current map view in Scenic, some of the road numbers (every secondary road outside the city has a number here in PR) are never visible. Sometimes there will be a name as in "Cayey to Aibonito Road", which does not correspond to any local map or nomenclature.

Thanks again. The fact alone that you take the time to look into all these matters is worth using your app vs. others.

#6 · 12.02.2021, 17:05

This is how it looks with the new map (out of the box, default config). Obviously room for improvement. I’ll do some tweaking.

If you're enjoying Scenic and are happy with the support, please leave a nice rating in the App Store. It would mean a lot to me ❤️

#7 · 13.02.2021, 09:46

Looking good. The note would be the need for route numbers, as in the Google Maps view.

Danke Schön