MACUSER   A graphic designer in need of a good map will find salvation with this comprehensive collection from Andromeda Interactive. The five-CD package is crammed with high-res satellite-rendered images, brought to you by world famous group Oxford Cartographers. The maps are more continental than country specific; they zoom in to show each image in a fantastic level of detail. Full colour information means all nooks and crannies of mountains and rivers look accurate and realistic. One of the best things about Terra Forma is the 'powerful multipath system'. [Terra Forma contains] Photoshop TIFFS with pre-defined editable paths: features landscape, such as country boundaries, states, seas and lakes, can be picked out and edited separately; names of capitals and major towns are also included. On a map I chose to give a tinge of grey to a certain area of Europe - Wales, in fact. I then proceeded to distort the renowned area into the shape of a sheep and finally placed it in the middle of America. The sheep attacked various states before leaping over to Asia and coming to rest in a Tokyo toyshop. To be a little more serious, however, this feature makes map manipulation easy; all the 'cutting out' has been done for you, leaving you to concentrate on filters, distortions and special effects. In addition to the Photoshop TIFFS…[there are] specific files for Illustrator and Freehand. These are bitmap EPS maps with vector EPS text files placed on top. Different 'layers' allow separations between geographical boundaries to be made and, again the quality of imaging is absolutely stunning. In general, designers will get rather excited over Terra Forma's attention to detail and editing capabilities. Cartographers should get their hands on a copy immediately: this is a map maker's dream come true. This package is a definitive collection of gorgeous-looking world maps. And according to Andromeda Interactive's Terra Forma the world looks even better on CD-ROM. Rating: 4 out of 5

COMPUTER ARTS   High quality images and maps of the Earth used to be hard to come by but not anymore. Andromeda - in conjunction with one of the world's most prestigious cartography houses - has unleashed Terra Forma. It's a comprehensive package that combines high-resolution images and vector maps with geographic and cartographic information, to create a fully editable accurate rendition of the world we live in. The digital images in Terra Forma are taken from a large-scale globe, which was created especially for the project. This globe features enhanced 3D relief and realistic colouring. To ensure a high degree of accuracy, two years worth of satellite imagery was used, averaged out to give a faithful account of the planets vegetation across all four seasons. It's pretty impressive stuff. The images can be viewed in any application capable of reading TIFF files, but they have been specifically designed with PhotoShop owners in mind. Each image contains paths defining text, borders, landmasses and areas of water, all of which can be fully edited with astonishing ease. They are also layered vector map files, containing up-to-date geographical, geological and topographical information. These serve a similar purpose to the paths, giving you freedom to redefine the world at a whim. The results can be stunning. Rating: 4 Stars        Back to Terra Forma Worldwide 3.0 reviews