A suggestion for empty button in map window

[Floedekage]

Hi,
I've been feeling more and more for the unused button slot between the other functional buttons in the map window.

mapwinstnarr.png (48.36 KiB) Viewed 1323 times

I've been spending long nights, forgetting about my game, trains colliding, planes crashing and road vehicles driving into the sea as I've just sat and wondered about this unused button and how sad it has been there, amongst the other useful buttons, since the implementation of the Cargo Flow button.
You can actually see how sad it is if you zoom way in on it. Even the CEO face have been crying...

mapsymsad.png (10.52 KiB) Viewed 1323 times

But that's when I got an idea to make it feel useful and at the same time get a function I've been wanting for a while!
See, I've wanted a way to quickly find industries in the map window that produces/accepts certain cargos. It might be simple enough with the standard cargos (before NewGRFs), but as soon as you start using FIRS Industries for example it can be quite a mess to keep track of.
When I want to set up a network (in this example using FIRS) transporting oil to refinery and then chemicals/petrol further along I have to highlight industries, oil wells and refinery, then go into a refinery window to see what industries accept chemicals and petrol, then enable them in the map window and then as I'm building my network I still have to double check that the industry I'm transporting to accepts the cargo I'm currently planning for (or I'll have to constantly switch highlighted industries from which accepts chemicals and which accepts petrol)


So I present to you; THE CARGO ACCEPTENCE VIEW!

picfinsugarr.png

(895.97 KiB) Not downloaded yet

A quick and easy way to find industries producing/accepting cargos!

I've made a quick mockup above showing a very precursory symbol for the button. I suggest that industries producing the selected cargo is highlighted in orange and industries accepting are highlighted in blue, red/green might be a classical color scheme, but as not to upset red/green colorblind people, such as myself, and as it is based on a primarily green map. Furthermore orange has a certain active feel and blue a more passive feel (producing/accepting).
I've tried to make an icon of arrows implying what the differently colored arrows symbolize (although in retrospect maybe the colors should have been switched or they should have pointed in different directions) with some stolen graphics of cargos from the JGRPP (please don't arrest me! )
I've added a parenthesis behind the cargo name where I imagine it could show (producing industries / accepting industries)
I still have no good idea if/how passengers and mail should be implemented, it might be good to have in case a NewGRF implements industries accepting/producing those, and I don't know if it can be implemented allowing to show multiple cargos at the same time.

Let's join forces and make this button happy by giving it a purpose in life! And get another neat function to quickly retrieve data from the map window at the same time!

[Emperor Jake]

This is a good idea, I think it would be very useful

with some stolen graphics of cargos from the JGRPP (please don't arrest me! )

JGRPP doesn't add any cargos or cargo icons. You're probably thinking of FIRS. Either way it's open source so it's fine

[Floedekage]

This is a good idea, I think it would be very useful

JGRPP doesn't add any cargos or cargo icons. You're probably thinking of FIRS. Either way it's open source so it's fine

Thanks.

It's good that it's open source, then I don't have to get buff in prison. I don't think that body-type would fit me.

[kkidslogin]

This is genius! I'd really like it to help look around for these other cargos, especially on a large map.

[_dp_]

It's pretty much implemented already. Just go industry chains->select cargo->link to smallmap. It doesn't make them blue/yellow but I'd say keeping the original color is even better. As distinguishing between producing/consuming is usually pretty simple anyway and making them the same color wouldn't allow to distinguish between different types of consuming or producing industries.

[Floedekage]

It's pretty much implemented already. Just go industry chains->select cargo->link to smallmap. It doesn't make them blue/yellow but I'd say keeping the original color is even better. As distinguishing between producing/consuming is usually pretty simple anyway and making them the same color wouldn't allow to distinguish between different types of consuming or producing industries.

That's a nice "shortcut" that I didn't know about. I guess this would just make it even more quickly accessible.
Regarding the colours; it quickly becomes confusing when using a NewGRF that provides multiple industries that accepts/produces the same cargo. I just tried it with FIRS and finding industries that are on the "metal chain" provides what are still a mosaic of colours and I found myself having to switch between the map and main view as much as always.