Sneak-peek: World Map UI Improvements WIP

Hello everyone,

I'm back with another sneak-peek! This time it is for the world map user interface improvements. There is a lot that I have already done and have even more planned for the update. The square button icons in the video are just placeholders! ;)

The first thing that I show in the video is the on-screen settings button and the settings (+ some other screens) being rendered on top of the world map (as opposed to in-game). This makes toggling/testing different settings a much smoother experience. I also added a button that opens the minimap settings directly from the world map ones. 

Then there are the on-screen zoom buttons, which will be another alternative to the mouse wheel or the key bindings. The mouse wheel is not always available and setting up the key bindings is not very intuitive for a feature as essential as this. And this is where the next feature comes in... 

There is now a button with a tooltip that lists all the relevant map controls, which also opens the controls menu when you click it. The main waypoints menu screen (U) can now be opened directly from the world map and closed with the same key binding. In fact, all (mod) screens that are opened with a key binding can now be closed with the same key. 

Another important change is that I moved the PNG export button to the map screen. A lot of users don't even know that such a feature exists, so it made sense for me to do it.

Perhaps the biggest change so far is the waypoints menu rework, which is what I'm showing next in the video. I realized how awkward the old off-screen waypoints menu was to use, so I redesigned it almost from scratch. It is now opened with a button and the waypoints are now "located on the map" by clicking them with the mouse cursor. The menu now includes all waypoints from the displayed sets, not just off-screen ones. Hovering over the waypoints in the menu highlights them on the map and even lets you use the hover controls. Waypoint filtering is now done in a text field and there is a drop-down menu for changing the current waypoint set. The menu is still work-in-progress, as I am planning to add more controls and/or move some stuff around, but you can get the idea. 

What I can't show you yet but I have planned for the update is to add right-click options to the waypoints and the map itself. This should include a waypoint creation alternative (without using the keyboard) and a direct teleportation option that doesn't require creating a waypoint at all! 

I'm very excited for you to experience all of this for yourself, hopefully very soon. Feel free to let me know what you think!

Thank you so much for your support. I really appreciate it!