Optional Overlay Layer: Bounded Hotspots Linking to External Content

[mgroves01]

The idea

Add a new, optional overlay layer containing user-defined bounded hotspots — areas (not point markers) that each carry a static, launchable URL. Clicking a hotspot opens the linked resource in a new tab (web build) or the OS default handler (Electron build).

• Layer is off by default; adds no UI, performance cost, or file-size overhead unless a user actively creates hotspots

• URLs are stored as plain, static strings — no templating, variable substitution, or dynamic URL construction. Any query parameters a user includes are simply part of that fixed string

• Areas only, no point markers — a point risks intercepting clicks meant for existing map features (settlements, markers, labels). A user wanting precise-location behavior can define a small bounded area instead

• If a linked URL is unreachable when activated, show a generic, non-specific notice ("Source offline") rather than exposing network/error detail

• Hotspots are entirely independent of, and don't replace, the existing per-entity notes system or the existing Zones layer — purely additive, no interaction with either

• SVG export can optionally emit corresponding -wrapped objects carrying the stored URL as href, independently toggleable at export time and defaulting to OFF — existing export output is unchanged unless a user explicitly opts in

• Out of scope for this proposal: any URI scheme or content type beyond simple external links, and any templating/dynamic construction. This doesn't preclude future extension in either direction, but this iteration deliberately avoids the security/sandboxing complexity (cross-site exploits, arbitrary content fetching/rendering) that broader scope would introduce — any such extension should be its own proposal, with its own security review

Why

The Generator already supports rich per-entity notes and integrates well-defined external services (Watabou's tools, Armoria, etc.) via embedded calls. But for large, actively-developed maps, extensive descriptive content pasted directly into notes becomes the dominant driver of .map file size. Many users already maintain this kind of material externally — wikis, hosted documents, campaign-management tools — and currently have no way to reference it from the map without either duplicating it inline or accepting significant file bloat.

This proposal is deliberately minimal: a small, self-contained, reviewable addition with no dependency on or risk to existing systems, and no impact whatsoever on users who don't opt in. It's the same "reference external content instead of embedding it" pattern already requested for one specific case in #1341 (Armoria emblem links), generalized into a standalone layer any user can apply to their own external content.

Theme

Integrations & External

[mgroves01]

Oops. Two points I didn't cover.

• The defined hotspot geometry is completely disconnected from other layers so that it can support arbitrary associations of mapped surface. To the extent that an easy snap tool might be useful, I guess that might be helpful for some users,

• The launching of the URL should rely on the host machine's default handler for that URI scheme. Users should be expected to be able to configure their own environments.

[Azgaar]

It looks we can use notes for that with an inconvenience of having to click on the note link, so an additional click.

[mgroves01]

I think a little of this is down to your roadmap on how you expect FMG to be used by individuals. And genuinely, I don't think I have the right to assume one way or the other, but one of the exciting things about it for me is that it's usable 'at the table' for TTRPGs during sessions. And that's a mild argument against about launching a notes panel, it's more than "another step", it's revelatory if users elect to use the notes as well as an external wiki/knowledgebase etc.

I agree that it's an ask that is a refinement of a mechanism we already have, rather than a major enhancement of functionality.

Edit: I guess the point is that it turns the map into a navigation surface in a way that going via Notes does not.

[mgroves01]

Here's a POC I put together which takes an FMG exported SVG, imposes a new custom layer on it, and has a customized viewer.

• The viewer introspects the SVG to make sure the layer is there, which then gives all the support for hotspots.
• It also introspects the SVG for whether it's an FMG-originated SVG and if so, builds the layer visibility controls
• Plans include introspection to handle those watabou derived SVGs too.

It's a bit clunky, but you should be able to see where I'm going. I'll keep this URL up for a while.

https://pg.oathbound.4mailx.cc/pg/new-kiosk/hotdot-viewer-1.5.html?src=blip3.svg&layers=DEBUG1135

Incidentally, you can reveal the hotspots by setting the checkbox in the bottom right.

By design, a user who has some CSS abilities can 'skin' the functionality however he likes on a map-by-map basis, but the defaults are reasonable.

My 'ask' above was to basically consider building this model inside a native FMG file - but I think this feature could only be justified if the community was going to use it. Implementing it along with the additional UI to edit the entries would be non-trivial I think.