Tuesday, Sep 15, 2020 at 17:26
The offline EOTopo maps are actually built to include ALL data layers at the 144K level so there is nothing missing, nothing inaccessible between that level and the higher online levels. What you do get online when you view higher zoom levels is more space between the data to allow different styling of lines, fonts and labels, shading etc.
At 144K, the map shows 1km scale. If you're travelling at 100km/hr that means you'll travel the distance of the 1km scale bar in 36 seconds. Sometimes that is too fast to see on the map - ie. your position is flashing too fast across your screen so you will dial back the zoom to a higher scale (ie. lower zoom level).
In reality, those that have been driving with EOTopo maps in the outback know that the map detail is excellent and in fact you will find yourself dialing down the level below max zoom levels to see more of the road ahead to avoid getting caught out by bends in the road which at full zoom you don't tend to see as you're zoomed in too close. Also, in reality, if you're looking for a turn off, you will dial back the zoom also to avoid overshooting. You need time to apply the brake - you won't see this if you're zoomed in too close.
Have you used EOTopo offline maps in the outback yourself to know this firsthand?
Here are some photos using 144K offline in a vehicle in the bush - one is a small screen (Android phone) and in portrait orientation and the other is a 10" Android tablet indash. Both show the same raster map at 144K scale. At the time of this photo, the 144K was shown on Level 13 with overzoom on 14 - the zoom numbering has since changed with the new map engine since version 4 but the data is the same at 144 on both the 100% clarity level and the next zoom level (overzoom is just an enlargement).
The point of this example is to show you how much screen size affects what you see. But the map itself is the same data.
Phone & indash tablet
I can show you more similar examples - we do this in our field testing. We use the product offline in the bush and know what the levels and scale means in reality when your exploring in the bush.
The image below shows 144K offline (again using the old level number of 13, which now is shown as Level 12). You can see
the rock on the right that we are driving around out the window is also on the map - that helps you understand the scale of reality.
EOTopo offline on a remote track
This next one is the main road heading from
Tom Price to Karijini. We are sitting on 115km/hr and you'll see in the bottom right the little scale bar showing 1km. We will travel this distance in 36 seconds so compare this to the road shown on the map to appreciate how much you are seeing at 144K. Also note in this photo you can see the terrain out the window matches the terrain on the topo map.
EOTopo
And finally, keep in mind that the offline EOTopo is a raster map product which means it is made up of a fixed number of pixels to draw the image. How your device displays an image of a fixed pixel size is determined by your screen size AND the screen resolution of that device. And furthermore, our app automatically knows the size of your screen and optimises the map display to suit your device. That is how people with small screens can view the exact same boundaries of a map viewed at Lvel 12 as someone viewing Level 12 on a larger monitor. As my images above demonstrate.
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