New map API: Simple Tiles... any use to anyone ?

[Redrobes]

If the results were driven from 3D landscapes then its old hat. Its very similar to my GeoTerSys texturing engine. It shades stuff based on temperature, sunlight, snow fall, vegetation, and loads of params thats derived from the 3D model and a climate simulation.

But I think this is being done from the 2D vector map which is kinda new. Whilst I like the output and prefer it to the normal vector maps like those they have posted, if you are going to make it look real and it is a map then you have to be careful that if its a real place then you are now inferring a lot of visual elements from an algorithm instead of from what is really there. For example, the text quotes that it fades up tree growth but the tree line might be quite sharp in the real world. I can imagine a zillion other similar assumptions that would be wrong. For a fantasy map tho, well, now your talking ! If you only had to draw the vector shapes and it would shade it all in realistic style then it would be great.

[Hai-Etlik]

If the results were driven from 3D landscapes then its old hat. Its very similar to my GeoTerSys texturing engine. It shades stuff based on temperature, sunlight, snow fall, vegetation, and loads of params thats derived from the 3D model and a climate simulation.

But I think this is being done from the 2D vector map which is kinda new. Whilst I like the output and prefer it to the normal vector maps like those they have posted, if you are going to make it look real and it is a map then you have to be careful that if its a real place then you are now inferring a lot of visual elements from an algorithm instead of from what is really there. For example, the text quotes that it fades up tree growth but the tree line might be quite sharp in the real world. I can imagine a zillion other similar assumptions that would be wrong. For a fantasy map tho, well, now your talking ! If you only had to draw the vector shapes and it would shade it all in realistic style then it would be great.

I don't think he's actually trying to create a photorealistic representation, it's just about using a more intuitive and aesthetically pleasing symbology. In the same way that we generally represent forested areas a green, he's taking it a step further and using a vegetation texture. Hence pseudo-natural. These images aren't intended to look like air photos, and in fact don't look much like them. That's one of the things that bothers me about a lot of the "realistic" maps done on the guild. They are really much more what that page is talking about, intuitive and aesthetic symbologies that evoke the feature being represented, but aren't actually all that realistic, so "pseudo-natural" is a better name.