I only play on the large maps and have a few ideas for improving orientation, since they are indeed large and it’s easy to get lost.
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A compass.
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A pinning system that lets you place a pin and then some sort of marker that shows you the direction to the pin. Perhaps integrated with the compass. As it is now, you spend ten minutes searching for sand, and when you finally find it, you have no idea where you are in relation to existing roads.
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Another marking system, similar to the pin, that notifies you of depleted resources and destroyed buildings. Either that or a notification that you can click on for teleporting to said location (for number 3).