Getting to the bottom of web map performance

Brandon Liu uses classic video games Myst and Doom to explain differences between discrete-zoom pixel maps and continuous-zoom vector maps and, based on that, what that even means: A fast web map.

Sound advice that the simpler, less fancy solution is often the more appropriate choice:

In the same way pre-rendered images were good enough to make Myst a best-selling game, non-realtime rendering of maps is good enough for some, maybe even the majority, of web map use cases today. If you’re building a whizbang mapping demo with 3D flythroughs to show your company execs, a real-time-rendered system - the Doom approach - is the best choice; if you’re building a site for helping people find the nearest COVID vaccine, the simplest solution is the best solution, and that usually means stepped-zoom maps.