Confused by Atlas progression logic — is this a bug or intended?

It's honestly really frustrating to plan a route of 10 maps only for the Atlas system to not work properly. It feels like I'm just throwing maps in random directions and hoping the Atlas decides where I should go next. There's no clear logic or consistency, and it makes mapping feel unpredictable and chaotic.
Am I missing something, or is this an actual bug? Any help or clarification would be appreciated.