I want to discuss HD maps in Locus Pro.
Today most of smartphones have high DPI screens (400-500 DPI - dots per inch). Computer monitors or laptops are low DPI (150-200 DPI). Most online maps were designed to look good on low-DPI screens, before smartphone era. But in smartphones they are too small to read.
Here how map looks like, text is hardly readable:
You can go and set: Settings → Map - advanced → Resolution of maps: 2.00x. This will take small tiles and enlarge them twice, loosing details and sharpness (text is still hard to read):
Most of large map providers already have HD tiles. SD tiles are 256×256 pixels, HD tiles are 512×512 pixels or larger. Locus Map should understand HD tiles and display 1 HD tile instead of 4 SD tiles. Tiles will not be resized, and text will be pixel-perfect.
Compare SD tiles vs SD tiles with "Resolution of maps: 2.00x" vs HD tiles:
Same from another provider:
You can see that third example (HD tiles) is perfectly readable.
So, my suggestion is:
1. Add a parameter to map description XML file with a size of tile (256, 512, 768, 1024 px etc), per map. This will allow to use HD tiles for providers that have them, or use personal rendered tiles using OSM scripts.
2. Add a parameter to map description XML file with scale level (2, 3, 4 etc), per map. This will match the global "Resolution of maps" option.
Our eyes will thank you!
(Cross-post at Help Desk.)
Today most of smartphones have high DPI screens (400-500 DPI - dots per inch). Computer monitors or laptops are low DPI (150-200 DPI). Most online maps were designed to look good on low-DPI screens, before smartphone era. But in smartphones they are too small to read.
Here how map looks like, text is hardly readable:
You can go and set: Settings → Map - advanced → Resolution of maps: 2.00x. This will take small tiles and enlarge them twice, loosing details and sharpness (text is still hard to read):
Most of large map providers already have HD tiles. SD tiles are 256×256 pixels, HD tiles are 512×512 pixels or larger. Locus Map should understand HD tiles and display 1 HD tile instead of 4 SD tiles. Tiles will not be resized, and text will be pixel-perfect.
Compare SD tiles vs SD tiles with "Resolution of maps: 2.00x" vs HD tiles:
Same from another provider:
You can see that third example (HD tiles) is perfectly readable.
So, my suggestion is:
1. Add a parameter to map description XML file with a size of tile (256, 512, 768, 1024 px etc), per map. This will allow to use HD tiles for providers that have them, or use personal rendered tiles using OSM scripts.
2. Add a parameter to map description XML file with scale level (2, 3, 4 etc), per map. This will match the global "Resolution of maps" option.
Our eyes will thank you!
(Cross-post at Help Desk.)