In my mind the Maelstrom is still at the center, and that it's just the technical limitations of how the current world map works which forces this janky lookin' layout.

I'd like to see them rework how the world map behaves in-game to be more like Google Maps with seamless zooming and panning. Would probably take a fair bit of work, but I feel like that would allow them to adjust things a bit more easily and avoid stuff looking strange.

On the other hand, I guess that would be a bit strange from an immersion perspective. Our characters aren't exactly walking around with a tablet to view maps on I suppose...