@Sigurd: Well it's a little simpler:

Players are effectively based in a number of locations -- and while most locations will have similar resources, there are some differences.

For example, Location #1 where everybody starts, has a limited number of buildings, however the map ideally would show a lot more.

As the players travel around the world, they will encounter different villages / towns -- each with a different map. On some of these, new buildings will appear.

Personally, I'd like each building "shape" to be consistent across the different maps, however from a realism point of view, this is unlikely to happen, plus there is the enjoyment factor of watching players stumble around trying to find the appropriate building for their current needs

As for population sizes, they wouldn't be a concern as while the player may be based "in" a town/village, in actual fact, they live outside but within easy access to the area.

The maps themselves will be simple .png files imagemapped to suit each town, so no, the maps are not really meaingful (as yet).

Currently, the game has a number of locations all within the jungle - so no real need for any specialized stuff - my aim is to generate the 10-15 images (or if necessary pay for them) and even if I just have a basic town/village layout to start with, that will suffice for the moment.