Re: Implementing Real World Maps in our software and games
In the case of Eurofly, in actuality there isn't that much map data required as it only needs to know the sizes of the various towns you're passing and the coordinates of airports. In the case of a life or train simulator, the mapping data would be much larger as you'd need to store exact data on streets as well as points of interests which would take up gigabytes of space.
If you really want to go this way, Open Streetmap is your best bet. The data may not be as detailed or accurate, but it's free. For other mapping services like Google or Bing, the API access is not free.
All that being said I think the only case where using real world maps would make sense is if you're making a car or bus simulator, such a thing might even be quite cool or interesting. For train sims though, you'd be better off laying down the maps manually, which is how mainstream train simulators do it. This is because train tracks run differently to how streets do, but also this would allow you to add scenery like audio ambiences only in points that make sense. Even if you'd end up using an external mapping service you'd still need information on things like the specific train lines running through a location or where speed limits are enforced and this kind of information is not included in most map data as it's geared more towards other vehicles.
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