The darkness is easy enough to fix: Just turn down the opacity a bit. I agree with - Max -: at the size you're going to be showing these, the simpler...
It just means that if you use one of those textures, you cannot distribute the resulting map under a Creative Commons (CC) license. You can still do...
Sprite is a term that comes from the video game world, referring to a 2d graphic applied in screen space. (As opposed to applied to an object in a 3d...
The way I generally go about it is I create my overview map, then when I want to make a larger scale map, I bring my overview map into the document,...
It would also be helpful if you could post some samples of the kind of thing you would like to achieve. I get the sense that you're looking for help...
You may also wish to consider the effects of larger oceans on the planet's heat retention. Water tends to absorb heat, so having a higher percentage...