Accessibility: Additional regions/grouping could reduce accidental power toggles for screen reader users

[RareBird15]

Hi! First, I want to say that Evolve is one of the most screen-reader-friendly idle games I've played. The spoken event log, building description buttons, use of headings, and regions for tab/subtab navigation all work really well and make the game fully playable with NVDA.

I wanted to share a small accessibility/structure suggestion based on long-term screen reader use.

Context

In the Civilization tab, each building is currently presented as:

• a link (the building itself),
• followed by a description button,
• followed by on/off power toggle buttons for buildings that use power.

Because the UI is highly dynamic, screen reader focus can occasionally jump when the DOM updates (for example, when queues or logs update). When that happens, it's possible to accidentally activate a nearby on/off power button instead of the building link. This can have noticeable downstream effects (e.g., disabling housing or power) even though the user intended to build another structure.

This isn't preventing gameplay. It's more of an occasional friction point in an otherwise accessible interface. I'm sharing this mainly because the existing accessibility foundation is already strong.

Suggested improvements

A few small structural changes could significantly reduce accidental toggles and make navigation calmer for screen reader users:

• Wrap each building and its related controls (description + on/off buttons) in a grouped container (e.g., a section or ARIA group with a label).
• Add labeled regions/landmarks for highly dynamic areas such as:
  • Build queue
  • Research queue
  • Message log

The game already uses regions effectively for tabs/subtabs, and extending that pattern to these areas would help contain dynamic updates and make it easier to re-orient if focus shifts.

Why this helps

• Clear boundaries make it more obvious when focus moves into a different functional area.
• Grouping reduces the chance of accidentally activating high-impact controls.
• Regions provide fast navigation and “escape hatches” when content updates frequently.

Totally understand if this isn't a priority. I just wanted to share feedback from a screen reader user who really appreciates how accessible Evolve already is.