Motorider map theme 5

[MotoUKRider]

(from discussions which began here)

Theme Update
Attached is the latest Theme ZIP for you all to try. As this is a Mapsforge "Rendertheme", it does not fully function when using OpenGL/VTM in Cruiser v4.

Here is how to apply the theme to Cruiser App:

Method 1:
Go to Settings-Application-Advanced and turn on Extended menu. This will give you some new tiles in the "Map" screen. Select "External map theme" and browse for the ZIP.

Method 2 (best):
Place the ZIP in Android\data\gr.talent.cruiser\files\themes or \Android\media\gr.talent.cruiser\themes depending on the selected "Storage folder" in app settings (you may need to create this path) and you'll see the themes in the normal theme picker/switcher. This allows you to to just overwrite the ZIP, reload the theme (to clear the cache) and enjoy the changes each time you load Cruiser - plus you can use the picker to compare old-vs-new very quickly.

On Desktop, just unzip the XMLs into a folder and open them from the menu.

Bugs/Observations/Requests: I am mainly looking for "behaviour" issues (rather than "I don't like yellow") - so if you know of an area where interesting object/road elements are, these are very useful to know about. When telling me of an issue, a lat/lon location (or OpenStreetMap query URL) is very helpful when telling me about odd things in areas you are familiar with. Also, the map source (eg: Freiz, Mapsforge, OpenAndro) and any other steps to replicate what you're seeing.

Revision 30: Added "raceway". Improved "tunnel" styling.

• Included in Cruiser 5.0.0 #641

[DolomitesTom]

much better. Can the parking places be handled analogue to the gas stations? I don't see them even if I have switched on their layer.

[MotoUKRider]

@DolomitesTom Not exactly (ie: zoom 10) - it appears that due to <osm-tag key="amenity" value="parking" zoom-appear="14"/> hard-coded into the Tag Mapping of the maps, I cannot bring the icon in any earlier unless @devemux86 has a workaround that doesn't involve a map update?

[devemux86]

Maps are the same in both engines, so the themes adjust the visibility of the POI.

VTM themes declare amenity=parking at zoom 16 all this time.

[devemux86]

Motorider revision 4 is included in Cruiser 5.0.0-b3.

To use newer revisions with method 2, place the zip in "themes" folder and reload the theme.

(@MotoUKRider I updated your instructions)

[devemux86]

@bios4

It works, but it depends on the selected storage folder in app settings, "data" or "media".
I updated the description for both cases.

[bios4]

I updated the description for both cases.

UPDATE (tested right now again): it does NOT work in the media-folder (regardless if with or without the "files" subfolder) ON MY DEVICE...

[devemux86]

The "files" subfolder is a forced folder by Android and only exists in "data" storage (not "media").

I selected "media" as storage folder in app settings and it does not have "files" and "themes" works fine.

[bios4]

Maybe because my storage folder setting in Settings > Application > Advanced points to "data...\files"!??

[devemux86]

Maybe because my storage folder setting in Settings > Application > Advanced points to "data......\files"!??

@bios4 Obviously, the instructions mention that the path depends on the selected storage folder in app settings. 🙂

[devemux86]

In our e-mails, we have spoken about jar: vs file: - Are you aware that by using file: (and probably including the pattern files in the ZIP) the theme works under OpenGL better? forest|wood appears at 9 and then vanishes at 12 because the pattern cannot be found. I tried re-ordering the lines but it seems to be jar-vs-file doing it.

Is there a workaround for any die-hard v4 users who may enjoy the theme but don't want to a) make an edit or b) make us work with 2 more files?!

Originally posted here by @MotoUKRider.

[devemux86]

This theme is for Cruiser 5.

Engine 4 does not support "jar" and this theme can not work perfectly there anyway.
Motorider has its own theme there.

Similarly OpenAndroMaps and Freizeitkarte only work perfectly in Cruiser 5.

@MotoUKRider
Please do not change the "source" in the rules, so text comparison is easy to make.

[umpfmpf]

Now the names of rivers are displayed on the river, but when it becomes curvy the whole thing looks slightly confusing.

[umpfmpf]

[devemux86]

What is "near them"? The path labels follow the path geometry and are placed on the paths.

On too curvy paths, there might be to curvy labels, especially if you increase the font too much.

[MotoUKRider]

@umpfmpf The use of "pathtext" is preferable to "caption" because not only does the label remain within the bounds of the river/road, it doesn't paint it in a funny place.

Here's a good example of "caption" vs "pathtext":

The same happens with roads - you end up with a motorway label 300yrds into a field with the sheep!

[devemux86]

@MotoUKRider

This could "probably" be improved in Mapsforge code, after all it's open source, everyone can improve things!

[MotoUKRider]

@devemux86 Indeed, but I wanted to give an example to users of why solving 1 problem often creates 2 more 😆

[devemux86]

@MotoUKRider I would like to check it, but when I find free time from other development.

[MotoUKRider]

Theme revision 6 now updated in original post - "Parking" layer, when enabled, appears at zoom=14 with priority=85.

[MotoUKRider]

What is the opinion of the multi-coloured road reference labels?

This is the current style:

Or would you prefer basic black text?

[WolfgangZ42]

I'd vote for the basic black text.

[DolomitesTom]

If the text of the multicolored labels is not broader than the street width, then both are ok, otherwise the black.

[MotoUKRider]

Thanks @WolfgangZ42 and @DolomitesTom There is no provision for "filled fox" in this styling, so all I can do is set text colour with a "border" colour+thickness. A proper filled-box would be easier to read at any colour and could be made smaller, but we play the cards we are dealt!

Let's soak-test the latest release (with rev.7 theme built-in) and I'll report back later today after my ride 🏍️

[WolfgangZ42]

@MotoUKRider ... all I can do is set text colour with a "border" colour+thickness.

Can't you just use black as the text color and leave out the border color or set the thickness to zero? Or take border color in black too?
It's really not important - only a matter of taste!

[devemux86]

@WolfgangZ42

Labels without stroke border color are not readable in all backgrounds.

[devemux86]

May I also ask if the dark theme needs more colors in the various road types?

Now only highways (?) seem to have colors, the other road types are difficult to recognize from the environment.

[Ciutnik]

Banks, ATM, post offices, rent bikes, bus / train stops, etc. only in your screenshot.

Indeed, in the daytime theme they appear at a different zoom level.
Maybe my use of OAM maps also matters?

[MotoUKRider]

@Ciutnik That's nice work! I think "Dark" needs a splash of paint on the roads like in your example, I'll work on ideas later today.

During early beta tests, I sent a screenshot of "orphan" POIs to @devemux86 and we're aware that several are outside of the "Layers" option. Like train-stations, banks, churches etc. I think a sensible selection of "Groups" are required to handle these so that each type can be toggled on/off. Last year, I posted an old screenshot of the CoPilot ones as an example.

Finding a happy-fit between rural riders who like to see when they're approaching a landmark against city-riders who may not want "clutter" on the map, but perhaps just "Fuel" and "Parking".

[Ciutnik]

Let's also remember that the Cruiser is not only to serve motorists, but also cyclists or hikers (and maybe kayakers in the future?). Each group needs different sets of POIs. A difficult matter 🙂

[devemux86]

Indeed, in the daytime theme they appear at a different zoom level.
Maybe my use of OAM maps also matters?

Motorider light and dark versions should have the same zoom levels.
If you notice a difference, please let us know.

[devemux86]

Several of the visible POIs could be moved in a new "Services" category,
as they are mostly about services inside populated areas.

(if we don't want to add too many new layers)

[r11d11]

I have issues with zoom level 12 and Cruiser 5.0.0-b5 an Motorider Theme rev7

One example
To give you a feel for what the area south from Kaisernlautern in Germany looks like on my favourite Michelin map (I know the Michelin Map can never be included in Cruiser)

In Cruiser 5 Mapsforge zoomlevel 11 with Motorider and Car looks quit good
I only wish the Motorider theme had marked the street B48 with 48
And on my 6.3 zoll phone the streets are very very thin.
I am 60 years old. My eyes arent so good...
The font fpr the smal towns e.g. Iggelbach is o m phone also very very thin (on the screenshot on my PC it looks ok but not on my phone)

Then I zoomed to level 12
Why do I see every little hiking trail with the Motorider map theme? Do i have the wrong settings?
And the displayed trees makes it even worse. The green colour for forest would be sufficient
So on my small phone I can hardly recognise the streets in zoom level 12 :-(

And Kaiserlautern disappears (Kaiserlautern is there where you see the 10 petrol stations
In zoomlevel 13 Kaiserslautern is back again. And when I turn off the petrol station in zoom level 12 Kaiserslautern will be displayed???

[devemux86]

filling the area with a pattern - while it is impressive - somewhat reduces the clarity of the map

No problem with that, the patterns came from the default map we used as base.
Map clarity is more important. 🙂

Info: we never used patterns in 4 because OpenGL has problems with patterns.
(really with them too!)

---

adding a menu of contour lines, which I really like (requires OpenAndroMaps or Frezeitkarte maps).

This is nice, I'm afraid if we do it, users will start asking where are the contour lines with Mapsforge maps.

[Ciutnik]

Info: we never used patterns in 4 because OpenGL has problems with patterns.

I left the pattern for the swamp and.... military zone - I couldn't resist those tiny tanks 😁 But probably I will give up on them.

I'm afraid if we do it, users will start asking where are the contour lines with Mapsforge maps.

Perhaps the enabling menu should have the content : "Contour lines (only for OpenAndroMaps or Freizeitkarte)", or shorter "Contour lines (not for Mapsforge")?

[devemux86]

@Ciutnik

Do OpenAndroMaps and Freizeitkarte use the same tags for the contour lines?

[Ciutnik]

Indeed, on Freizeitkarte it looks completely different. I.e., the lines are drawn, but there are fewer of them and without value labels. With the rest, in general, the Motorider theme completely does not fit the Freizeitkarte map - I checked on PC, on Android it does not, but it probably does not fit here either.

[devemux86]

Checking the Elevate and Freizeitkarte themes, it seems that they use the same tags for the contour lines.
But they have different rules for their rendering.

As for the other tags, OpenAndroMaps seems more compatible, as Freizeitkarte may have some different tags.

[MotoUKRider]

Revision 9 now on the link at the top - By lowering the "Fuel" priority, the City/Town/Village labels now display over any icons.

[MotoUKRider]

Revision 10 now on the link at the top with a fix for land/sea rendering when using a "Freizeitkarte" map.

[r11d11]

@MotoUKRider
Installed Rev10 and I like it. Hiking trails at zoom level12 and 13 are gone 🙂 And I see Kaiserslautern with Petrol Station at zoom level 12. Thanks for the fast adjustments

[Ciutnik]

Sorry to bother you with my own theme redesigns, but there's a cool thing about the Elevate/Elements theme that I'd like to incorporate into my Motorider, and I don't know how. I'm talking about highlighting cobblestone roads, since I prefer to be aware of them along the route. It looks like this (OAM map/Elements):

I tried inserting different values of stroke-dasharray below the lines:

<rule e="way" k="highway" v="tertiary|residential|living_street">
<rule e="way" k="surface" v="paving_stones">

but nothing works for me 🤔

[Ciutnik]

@devemux86

Have you checked this area in OpenStreetMap to see its exact tags?

Yes, of course. For example this road (incidentally blocked by me, because although tertiary it is only for enduro!). In the surface tag it clearly has the value paving_stones and the street from the image above has the value concrete:plates. But only rendering them as smooth_paved gave the effect. Why such a strange tag? The surface tag Wiki doesn't even mention it.

[devemux86]

@Ciutnik Then how did you find this tag?

What maps do you use, Mapsforge?
In Mapsforge tag-mapping the surface tag does not have fixed values, so it collects what the highway contains.

[Ciutnik]

Then how did you find this tag?

This is what I spent hours on, reviewing the 8000 lines of the Elevate/Elements theme :-)

What maps do you use, Mapsforge?

Hmm, this only affects OpenAndroMaps! Is it possible that they introduced their own tags, such as the mentioned for example smooth_paved? Maybe they knew that such a trick is the only way to distinguish paving_stones or concrete? That would explain why with the Elevate/Elements theme this trick works.

[devemux86]

this only affects OpenAndroMaps!

OpenAndroMaps may merge some tags to render them in one rule.
See their tag-mapping, the smooth_paved contains various surfaces.

They publish their included tags and possible transformations:

• OpenAndroMaps tag-mapping

• OpenAndroMaps tag-transform

[Ciutnik]

OpenAndroMaps may merge some tags to render them in one rule.

OK, and everything (almost) became clear. I must admit that I was very intrigued as to why my theme doesn't want to render some tag values properly and others render, although I don't know why. Thanks a lot for checking this out and sorry for taking up your valuable time. I learned something new on a subject as wide as the sea.

[Ciutnik]

@devemux86 already pointed out the difference between pathtext and caption. But can both types exist side by side? This is Motorider v10 🙂

EDIT: OK, I already know: one is a "river" and the other is a "stream/canal". No problem.

[devemux86]

(I do not have this offline map currently available to make tests)

@MotoUKRider
Why the "Wisłok" caption appears away from the river.
(I fixed this in b4)

@Ciutnik
Does the river also exists near / under the yellow street?

[MotoUKRider]

@devemux86 I couldn't replicate that (so either older beta or text % increase), but what I have looked at is reverting canal/river captions to "pathtext" as they look better inside the water, but not always - sometimes they wind around the curvy shape of the river, other times they are perfectly fine in straighter water.

If they remain as "captions", then although a different colour, there may be more chance of them getting in the way of other labels.

[devemux86]

I couldn't replicate that

@Ciutnik probably needs to reload the map theme to reset the old cache.

---

@MotoUKRider

Note that some rivers may exist as polygons in OpenStreetMap database and in offline maps / themes.

[Ciutnik]

However, I definitely prefer pathtext. It can sometimes cause funny hangs like the screenshot shown earlier, but I think in the vast majority of cases (river) it is better.

Does the river also exists near / under the yellow street?

The name of the river covers the road (it's not just this river and this road). Maybe it was always like that and I didn't notice?

Although I try to continuously implement changes released by @MotoUKRider, it may happen that I miss something. This is unfortunately a disadvantage of making changes on your own. My own theme is already different from the original in 360 lines... 🙄 Yes, I am aware that I "lose the manufacturer's warranty" 😉

By the way (maybe for use in the original theme?): I have adopted a rule that all natural objects: forests, mountains, lakes, islands, rivers, parks, mountain peaks, etc., are written in Serif bold_italic. Waters in blue, forests in green.

[Ciutnik]

@devemux86 @MotoUKRider

Why the "Wisłok" caption appears away from the river.
(I fixed this in b4)

Holy crap, excuse me, I just noticed that I haven't updated the app on the tablet I'm testing themes on!!! I just didn't do it on this one 🤦‍♂️ Sorry, but I blame it on Covid, which fortunately I am recovering from now.

[MotoUKRider]

Revision 11 now on the top post - this includes some work on labels for canals/rivers and more importantly, roads. I've attempted to make use of a "repeat" setting for labels that follow the road (pathtext), what you see on Desktop is quite different from the App - and also area dependent so what looks good in one place may look funny elsewhere.

At 100% font size, things are OK most of the time!

[umpfmpf]

@MotoUKRider
Is there an option to leave out the hiking trails and footpaths as well as the suggested trees in forest areas in order to make the map clearer and perhaps a little faster?

[umpfmpf]

My Zoom for Font is 240%, for the Lines is 120%, for Symbols is 150%.
The Position is 50,09 and 9,21

[MotoUKRider]

@umpfmpf Thanks for the info - I found it but am a little confused by your settings.
Simply put: You can't enlarge everything by umpteen % and then complain that there are too many things there. I think if you mis-match the % levels then it's likely that bizarre lines/objects will occur.

At zoom 13/14/15 - this is what I see with default options (but no hill-shading):

[umpfmpf]

[umpfmpf]

It looks not so much different

[umpfmpf]

So it looks with the style from Leeb64. Very clean.

[MotoUKRider]

There are 3 items in Mountain pass and 1 item in Mountain peak - Suggest combining them into Mountains or Mountains and peaks ?

[bios4]

Hmm, I'm a bit undecided about this suggestion...

"Mountain passes" should be (more) interesting for motorcyclists, whereas "mountain peaks" are more for mountaineers and hikers.

But since this is a MOTORCYCLE theme, I am rather against combining the two categories. So one can display the passes during motorcycling (w/o cluttering the map with peaks), but can activate these peaks separately when required during a possible hike.

[devemux86]

This is a map theme for all users with all profiles. 🙂

[MotoUKRider]

@bios4 It's my fault for starting the theme and calling it after my nickname. I don't think my social media handle would be any better!

[bios4]

I see.

However the separation of the categories still makes sense to me for the reasons mentioned above.

[devemux86]

@MotoUKRider

We have only removed the country code to avoid confusion if it is a UK only theme.

We could also rename the theme, if you feel comfortable with that, to a more generic name?

[MotoUKRider]

Revision 21 now added - I've included highway=services which I discovered were missing. This label appears at 14, and is part of the map but may offer fuel, food, rest etc.

[devemux86]

@MotoUKRider thanks!

I merged revision 21 in Mapsforge repository so that it is available to all users of the library.

I will make a new Beta apk soon to test the new hillshading and the latest improvements.

[Leeb64]

I noticed something else...:
Two categories of shelters are missing->"wilderness_hut|basic_hut"

[devemux86]

@Leeb64 if you mean:

• tourism=wilderness_hut does not currently exists in the tag-mapping
• shelter_type=basic_hut should be covered by the existing amenity=shelter

[Leeb64]

Definitely not all of these huts are shown (OpenAndroMaps).
I added it and now the huts are displayed.

[MotoUKRider]

Revision 24 link now on the top post with improvements to airports/aerodromes (runway labelling) plus some priority/zoom corrections.

Standard theme (with "Public transport" enabled) / Dark theme (default view):

As always, reports of obscure behavior, missing features etc are welcome and a lat/lon (or OpenStreetMap query URL) is useful so I can see what you're looking at! For those who like to edit (or just look at) the XML files, I intend to improve the commenting to help not just you, but me in 6 months time when I'm 3 cups of coffee into a C++ project and have forgotten all of the rendertheme syntax!

[devemux86]

it seems that there is a wrong "symbol-id" defined in line 1544 for the "shops" category!??

@bios4 Thanks, nice report! 👍

---

@MotoUKRider

Symbol declarations with captions must have an id that is referred in their captions as symbol-id.
For example see the fuel station's icon and caption declaration in lines 1524-1530.

[MotoUKRider]

Thanks @bios4 , this will be fixed in the next revision
@devemux86 do you remember about 2 months ago when I said something like: "I think this theme is done, now". 🤣

[devemux86]

@MotoUKRider

To be sure, better do a text search in both themes for symbols that also have captions
and verify that they use their own unique ids. 🙂

[bios4]

The icons in the themes are SVG files, but their color is fixed.

Any chance that this will be user-adjustable in the future? I really HATE that violet color for fuel stations/some other icons... 😆

[devemux86]

Maybe in the future, as this requires work. 🙂

---

We could discuss the color of icons that could be improved.
For example the original fuel icon is here.

But changes are not done in the original icons!

• First we copy the icon in custom folder.
• Make the change and then use it in themes.

The custom folder already contains some changed icons.

[MotoUKRider]

Revision 25 now updated with a few fixes. I had started to include a few more "shop" POIs but the Tag Mapping does not support all of them.

The rule includes: beauty|charity|computer|electronics|hairdresser|tattoo shown by a magenta "dot" symbol. Only hairdresser is presently mapped in the tagging. I suppose if there are any useful types missing, they could be mapped+added to the theme. How extensive would this need to be? Do we draw the line at sensible POIs for drivers/riders or go "all in"?

[devemux86]

How extensive would this need to be? Do we draw the line at sensible POIs for drivers/riders or go "all in"?

This is a generic theme used by all profiles, so we can include anything we like.
(that's the purpose of map layers: activate what we need each time)

For ideas, also check what OpenAndroMaps and Freizeitkarte include in their themes.
OpenAndroMaps tag-mapping is public here.

If you want to collect a final list of OSM key=value, then I can update the Mapsforge server.

[MotoUKRider]

@devemux86 Thanks for the hint, their Europe one doesn't have too many. I'll collate a list and send them over later.

[MotoUKRider]

Revision 26 has been updated in the top post - There are 21 new "shop" types added to existing entries (ie: similar business that can have same icon) or their own new entry - a simple magenta "dot". Some small fixes plus I've added "LAYER" to each section that deals with them - more commenting to be added.

This will be the last revision until a new beta APK is released, so you can either load it externally or wait for it to be included as part of the App.

Thanks if you've tested it, reported something or suggested an improvement!

[Ciutnik]

@MotoUKRider
Thanks for the next revision 👍
Could you make rev. 26 available as a zip in the top post? For those who tinker with their own themes 🙂

[bios4]

Could you make rev. 26 available as a zip in the top post? For those who tinker with their own themes 🙂

👍 from my side for that request @MotoUKRider 😉

Or question to @devemux86: is there any possibility to "extract" a theme XML from an installed app version/build? E.g. I have installed the latest Cruiser 4 on my "bike phone" - so would I be able to get the XML for that latest "Biker" theme shipped with this version somehow out of the app?

[devemux86]

The map themes used in Cruiser are public in Mapsforge repositories:

• Old themes 4

• New themes 5 (for the latest check here)

[Leeb64]

When planning a tour, I noticed a hut once
and a source that can be seen on the Elevate map style that is not visible with the MR map style?
Hut: 47.86692255828567 / 4.954195618629456
Source: 46.208595954354556/4.48480467542689

[MotoUKRider]

@Leeb64 That was mentioned here earlier.

For reference, it's this item/location on OSM.

[Leeb64]

rule e="any" k="tourism" v="wilderness_hut" zoom-min="12"
symbol id="alpine-hut" src="jar:symbols/accommodation/alpinehut.svg"></symbol

This works here.
The hut in question is displayed.
I can't get any further with just the source.
In the Elevate theme the source is displayed...

[MotoUKRider]

@Leeb64 I've added the icon definition to the theme XML, but I'm guessing that you're not using a Mapsforge map of France?
(1.9GB and an OpenAndroMap of France-North later) - Yes, it displays fine on an OAMap, but not on Mapsforge for the reason linked above.

[Ciutnik]

@MotoUKRider
In my area a lot tertiary roads have their three-digit "ref" numbers. I therefore have a request that the captions be done according to the same rules as for secondary roads.
Perhaps just duplicate lines 1026-1032 (rev. 26) and replace v="secondary|secondary_link" with v="tertiary|tertiary_link" (as well as remove tertiary|tertiary_link from the beginning of the "highway captions..." section). That's what I did in my private theme and it's great 🙂

Continued thanks for your work 👍

Edit: Maybe this is not a good idea after all. There are a lot of four- and five-digit tertiary roads in neighbouring countries. Here captions could introduce a lot of confusion. Or can such captions be restricted to three digits only? If this is not possible, you can ignore my request...

[MotoUKRider]

@Ciutnik They could be added to the "More road details" layer and be enabled by those who want to see them. A quick edit and a look at the Picos region shows they could be useful. The end result would be Tertiary "Name" in default view, and enabling the layer would see the "Ref" (as pathText) appearing on its own at 13, with the "Name"+"Ref" from 14.

1st: Current, 2nd/3rd/4th: Test views

[Ciutnik]

The combination with the "More road details" layer is a good idea and a good compromise 👍

Although I created (in my private theme) an additional layer just for this purpose, because I will always have it turned on (with the exception of trips to Slovakia and the Czech Republic... sometime in the future), but I don't think it's a good solution for everyone. It's just not worth "wasting" space in the layers menu 🙂
So your proposal to extend the "More road details" layer with tertiary refs starting from zoom 13 seems optimal.

[MotoUKRider]

Revision 27 now available in the top post.

• Tertiary roads now appear at zoom-11 (to match older v4 behaviour)
• Tertiary(+link) roads can show their "ref" when using "More road details" layer
• Borders of some land-use areas removed (to aid rendering)
• wilderness_hut added (subject to tag-mapping, not visible in Mapsforge)

Looking at the Tertiary "ref" feature, it could probably merge into the default view rather than toggled in the layer menu unless @Ciutnik has spotted any really bad places where the text clashes or looks messy? In the 3rd image below, that Tertiary road has no "name", so would have been blank until now - making the "ref" display quite useful.

Default view at zoom-10, Tertiary at zoom-11 and 3rd image with "More road details" layer enabled:

[Ciutnik]

@MotoUKRider

any really bad places where the text clashes or looks messy

It's hard to say if it's really bad, but my eyes are a bit confused by the numbers 😉

Somewhere in Czechia:

But we have to agree that there are no super-universal solutions. Somewhere something looks better, somewhere worse...

[MotoUKRider]

@Ciutnik Although that location did help me to "tame" the thickness of the running track, you're showing me an edited theme!

The "repeat" setting may need a tweak - that will reduce the amount of times the caption appears.

[Ciutnik]

you're showing me an edited theme!

Indeed, this is my theme (by the way: I marked with a checkered pattern the national parks where you can't fly a drone. For me this is important information, even on a motorcycle), but I copied the numbered ref rule from the Motorider theme. In fact, it may look a little different in the latest version.

My intention was not to criticize but to draw attention to the "trap" of showing the ref of tertiary roads.

[bios4]

At zoom-13, they revert to standard "pathText" with normal black fonts.

Any chance to make this "pathText" labels appear at the same location where the "colored road numbers" are shown at zoom 12 @MotoUKRider?

When comparing my zoom-12-screenshot with the one of zoom 13 you can see that e.g. B26 and B17 are not labelled in the visible area with this pathText...

[MotoUKRider]

@bios4 Possibly, although they are "enabled", but as I said earlier:

"There has been some experimentation with the "repeat" settings of these labels, so the quantity+frequency of them along the road will vary due to surrounding "stuff" and geometry of the road."

To expand, the labels need room to appear and they must not clash with any other object nearby. The "repeat" settings allow for some creative control but there doesn't seem to be a one-size-fits-all value. When you adjust it for less repeats on a straight road, you get the situation we are in now. But if you relax the rules, you get too many labels.

In short, it's the road's fault!

[MotoUKRider]

There's been little comment over the use of "ref" for Tertiary roads, and this may be due to lack of Spanish users here - but I'll keep the option in the "More road details" layer for now unless @devemux86 thinks it not too intrusive as a "default" view?

The only pending change for the next revision is the narrowing of "running_tracks" which were a little wide. I probably need to revise the header comment as the theme is now the inbuilt default for Cruiser 🗺️

[devemux86]

@MotoUKRider

Have you tried my above suggestion?

In any case, we should try to not fill the map with road captions or path texts and make it difficult to read the other labels,
like cities, etc.

Even better, if it can work without the "More road details".

[MotoUKRider]

@devemux86 Yes, it's still a "best fit" scenario so I've made a few edits. "name" actually has a higher priority than "ref" but it seems to work better that way - and I've reduced the "ref" appearance to 14 so it matches the "name" threshold.

We have names for roads (like the UK) and Spanish roads will have both, and although there is a bias towards "name", it doesn't always display as such - it really depends upon the road. With some of the ref names being quite obscure, eg: SG-V-1111, having "Calle Gran Via" would be preferable.

The latest revision is now on the top post.

[hemedb]

Hello @MotoUKRider ,

Thanks for the great job you're doing with the map's theme. Globally, the result is making map reading easier and I'm looking forward for MotoRider becoming the standard in Cruiser.

One point however. What are the black lines on the below screen capture. By comparing with Cruiser4.02/Motorider(standard), I believe they are one way streets, but if they are it makes map reading much less convenient and we are loosing the information about the direction of the one way. Moreover, the "one way street" explanation is not satisfying for black lines around the roundabout at the center of the map.

Screen capture Cruiser4.02, Motorider 28 theme, Android 14, tablet Samsung A9, capture centered on coordinates 48.391559716157616,-4.4805590622891955.

[devemux86]

@hemedb thanks for the interesting report.

These black lines are because OpenGL in v4 cannot render all the complex theme rules.

Note: such black lines also appear with OpenAndroMaps or Freizeitkarte map themes.

All these are rendered correctly when you use Cruiser 5:

• Cruiser 5.0.0 (Beta) #610

[MotoUKRider]

@hemedb Thanks for the nice comments 😃

As @devemux86 says, the "Mapsforge" theme is not designed to for the OpenGL/VTM engine in v4. That said, it does work to a degree, as you've found. There is a cheat/workaround that you can apply by changing all of the jar: references to file:. Using the current theme in v4 is very much a "Your Mileage May Vary" scenario!

If you do start editing the theme and making changes like this, use Cruiser v4 "Desktop" as the console window will give you helpful error reports if you make any mistakes with syntax.

[hemedb]

@MotoUKRider & @devemux86

Ok, noted, thanks, sorry for the irrelevant report.
I'd indeed read that motorider 28 were not fully functional with V4 but as it was apparently working pretty well with v4 apart this black line issue I thought the warning was just a "usual disclaimer". It was indeed not...

[bios4]

As already mentioned here, the display of tunnels in the “Motorider light” theme could use some improvement IMHO...

Especially when in follow mode in unfamiliar areas, it can easily happen that you hardly recognise a tunnel ahead on the map and think at first that the road suddenly ends. In poor lighting conditions or direct sunlight on the screen, the effect is even bigger.

My wish would be to make tunnels easier to recognise like in the previous "Biker" theme - the attached screenshots show the direct comparison between "Motorider light" (left) and "Biker" (right).

Is there any chance of an update/improvement @MotoUKRider?

[MotoUKRider]

@bios4 There's a few options available, and one of the benefits of Mapsforge is that it's easier to define style rules giving you more control over the map appearance (than the previous v4 OpenGL engine).

Currently, from what I can see, the OpenStreetMap method is to use a dash-effect "casing" (outer line). We could use the same colour for each road type and the broken outline. I'll try a few options and see what makes the most sense before putting a screenshot up.

A ZIP can be supplied, and hopefully it won't delay v5 if I can get a decent solution in time!

[devemux86]

@MotoUKRider

Please also check how the other Mapsforge themes render the tunnels:

• Elevate
• Voluntary
• Freizeitkarte

[Ciutnik]

I definitely agree that the tunnels need to be drawn more clearly. Several dozen posts above I shared the solution I used in my theme: #612 (reply in thread). This way of drawing is probably clearer than a dashed outline (even though it may look like a road under construction).

[bios4]

Several dozen posts above I shared the solution I used in my theme.

This looks very nice!
Maybe you could share your theme's code for MotoUKRider to examine/improve for the official theme @Ciutnik!?

[Ciutnik]

@bios4
Yes, of course I can do it anytime! But I am sure that @MotoUKRider does not need it. He knows best how it is done, and what is more, his knowledge of the subject far exceeds mine 🙂

[MotoUKRider]

Revision 29 now in the post at the top of this thread.
I have assigned the main road types (motorway, primary, secondary, tertiary + link) to their normal colours with a soft grey dash effect. The "Dark" theme has a similar change.

Desktop Example

[bios4]

Thanks for the update - just in time for testing, as I start in a few minutes for today's "test ride" with Cruiser 5... 👍

[Ciutnik]

@MotoUKRider
I'll ask out of curiosity: in the posted screenshot, on the very right, I see.... a roundabout in a tunnel?
Makes sense, given that there's another (lower category) roundabout sort of above it! Cool! 😀

Edit: I located this place in London. It really is a two-level roundabout 🙂

[bios4]

just in time for testing, as I start in a few minutes for today's "test ride" with Cruiser 5

Turned out that the change is very much improving the map...
Thanks for the quick update @MotoUKRider! 👍

[MotoUKRider]

@Ciutnik That part of London (near the Dome/Isle of Dogs) was useful as I knew that there were a couple of tunnels but I think that roundabout is quite new. My London navigation is based on the underground and the obvious landmark, there's the congestion charge, wayyyy too many moped riders (invariably on L-plates with zero road sense) and you'd never get enough speed for 2nd gear.

[Ciutnik]

Thanks for the info. Every big city has its problems. And the smaller ones too, just different. And the smallest ones... That's why I love places far from cities 🙂
And just so you know, I'm not straying from the topic: these are places to which only Cruiser can guide us flawlessly 😁

[Ciutnik]

Just a curiosity. There is highway = raceway. Not that the flying arrows bother me, although they look weird, but maybe "sporty users" need to see the race tracks on the map?

[devemux86]

These should be the oneway arrows.
How are they rendered if the raceway does not exist in the Motorider theme?

@Ciutnik Or is it a different theme?

[Ciutnik]

Or is it a different theme?

Indeed, initially the image came from a "twin" theme. Now it is Motorider (Light). Cruiser latest beta 25.

[Ciutnik]

I think it's better to draw a raceway category on the map than to fight these arrows.
There aren't enough racetracks to affect the readability of the entire map, but there are probably people who want to see them. I guess they should just stand out from other categories.

In my personal theme I borrowed the color straight from the OpenStreetMap website, so it looks like this:

[MotoUKRider]

@Ciutnik Thanks for the report.

Revision 30 now uploaded with a simple fix.

[MotoUKRider]

There was an additional edit last night as I needed to set the zoom level to match the arrows, otherwise you'd see the arrows at 16, and the racetrack at 17. Both now appear at 16.

[devemux86]

• Motorider map theme 5 by @MotoUKRider is available in Cruiser 5.0.0 #641

@MotoUKRider Many thanks for your excellent work! 👍