Aye, the way forward does seem to be specific renders for specific uses - openpistemap is another one that even *more* obviously has no real place on a general map. I'd really like to see subtle hillshading on the main OSM map, for the bling.
This week's map update is up at
http://ravenfamily.org/andyg/maps. It's a bit late 'cos I've been poorly sick (aww) and tweaking the style (yay). Improvements are:
* Changed trunk roads to green, to match general usage. This is my first actual design compromise, 'cos I think it's unpretty but it *is* easier for driver route planning and I was specifically asked to do it.
* Added a distinctive trail type for bridleways. It's a big dot little dot kinda thing, so it looks like a "special path" next to the dot dot dot "regular path". We have a legal right to ride on bridleways so they're a good bet if you're guessing where to go...
* Added abandoned railways (OSM tag railway=abandoned) as general trail-type ways, after being up on Dartmoor and noticing that several useful hiking trails which were tagged thus didn't show up.
* New icon for cafes, to match the OSM "cup of tea".
* Bicycle rental added with the same icon as bike shops (OSM tag amenity = bicycle_rental). There's usually a lot of crossover between bike shops and bike rentals, so both are good to pop in for a puncture kit, but the regular render misses places that are primarily hire. Not any more.
* Tidied up roundabout rendering. There was some fugliness and now there is not; roundabouts are properly drawn in the style of their road.
If anyone's playing with restyling mkgmap output, the current style files are up there in a zip as well.
