I don't really understand most of the technical talk, however that map seems to be quite an accomplishment. Could anybody enlighten me why? 
SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) images can be manipulated dynamically by the game, on-the-fly, as it were. The game can take that one map, which is tagged with meta-data to indicate what parts of it are what, and use it to present multiple types of information. Like, for example, create a colored political map of the island. And color it based on alliances. Or region type. Or population levels, or religion spreads, etc. Possibly even use it as a semi-transparent overlay on top of the regular dynamic map. Not to mention do many, many, other things with it.
