Really, the issue came up because i was primarily trying to use a single mask for the entire map - going for the ultimate ease in editing the landmass shape. I could either get the inner glow to show, or outer glow, but not both. that was because either I was masking the inner landform, or outer ocean. I'll take a look at chipping the file down to a manageable size and upload it in a bit (RL timing right now, heh) so you can take a peek, thanks for the willingness to help a grasshopper (I'll see if i can replicate the effect I was after in the first place, it was a really nice ocean gradient)

alta: i'm starting to agree with you now that i've actually *really* used smart objects and the textures are courtesy of Genetica. I'm starting to use it a bit less now that I have a fair number of textures generated and can recycle, but I still find myself creating at least one or two custom textures for each map. It's a lot quicker and easier than sifting through my previous archives from my 3d rendering days (i had some good stuff, but most of it was for objects or wood surfaces, not groundwork or anything suitable for really zoomed out effects) and google-fu (though I still do that, old habits, lol)