I don't like these realistic pictures of earth.
It is supposed to be tactical / strategic view of earth where you can easily see your bases, aircraft, ufos and enemy bases.
UFO:AI has this highly detailed earth and it does not work well with the radar radiuses and other graphics that you don't see so well with too detailed earth graphics. They all start to blend together and you need to spend more time to see what is happening, while now only quick look is enough to see everything.