MS VE Hybrid replacement options

[phiferd]

Issue:

MS stopped supporting MS VE. The suggested alternative (USGS NAIP) does not seem to meet my needs. It does not offer a hybrid version (with street names) and the resolution is not as good as MS VE in many cases. Also, it does not work outside the US.

So, for those of us that don't see USGS NAIP as a viable alternative, what can we do? This thread sounds promising:

http://forum.worldwindcentral.com/sh...t=32014&page=2

However, that doesn't sound like a sure thing.

Has anyone had any pulling down highway/street data and laying it on top of satellite data? This thread on using OpenStreetMaps is a bit old, but might be worth looking into:

http://forum.worldwindcentral.com/sh...t=24307&page=2

Anyone have any other ideas? Also, if anyone wants to link this to whatever thread they think should be the "official" thread on this topic, please do.

[nlneilson]

Get used to using the "Search"!

http://forum.worldwindcentral.com/sh...ad.php?t=33008

I called Microsoft and they said that Virtual earth has been discontinued and was shut off this week.

We're working the Bing issue right now. We'll let you know as soon as we have a mechanism in place.

edit:
There is a Streets Layer and also a Names layer. They are usually .png transparent layers and will display on top of the satellite and the aerial photo layers.

[phiferd]

@nlneilson: I used search to find the links I posted in my original message. I creatd this post because the large majority of posts related to MS VE are no longer relevant which makes searching a bit of a pain. Additionally, this category seems like a logical place to have this discussion rather than in the catch-all "Development Help" topic.

For Streets maps, I have found this post:
http://www.alpix.com/3d/worldwin/WWJ...Layer.java.txt

But the URL provided does not seem to work anymore, or is currently down. If anyone knows the updated URL please post.

There is also the GeoTools approach mentioned here:
http://forum.worldwindcentral.com/sh...=Streets+Layer

But this is not backed by a central server, as far as I can tell, so you have to bring your own shape files.

If there are other Street layers that I haven't mentioned I would appreciate some help. Chasing down every half-working, possibly out-of-date solution that has been tried over the last 5 years is a task we should only do once. So, I will continue to post what I find to the extent that I have time to work on this.

And, yes -- I will keep searching.

[nlneilson]

The previous post was the same as was put on this thread:
http://forum.worldwindcentral.com/sh...ad.php?t=32742

Here is a thread that has links to many sources for getting data:
http://forum.worldwindcentral.com/sh...ad.php?t=21997