[sldev] More detailed map images: possible?

[Kelly Linden]

On Tue, Jan 26, 2010 at 8:03 AM, Stickman <stickman at gmail.com> wrote:
> 2.  What it captures: Generally the world map will capture an object's
> shape and overall color/tint. Details like exact textures on objects
> usually aren't captured unless they're of such a large size that they
> would take up roughly a quarter of the region or more on their own
> (i.e. large enough so that the world map would show the detail of the
> texture instead of just the overall color). Most of the time this
> translates into roads, tops of buildings, etc. being displayed on the
> map.

<snip>

> Also, a week or two ago I tried putting a 256x256x1 prim at around
> 400m. It did capture it, but did not capture the texture on it,
> rendering a big flat grey prim instead.
>
> -Stickman

I believe you were misinformed on the texture point.  The world map
will never show an actual texture, but only the average color for the
face.  It does not matter how big the object is.

The system has been rewritten since 2008 and is much quicker now but I
do not know how often it updates.  I've seen a region or two with
fancy huge date/time objects to show on the map when the tile was last
updated.  That may be the simplest way to know.

I do not believe huge map tiles is something we have really considered
or have planned.

 - Kelly