I agree, but more of a grey-blue so it doesn't overwhelm the drab color style they're going with on the cloth map.

Definately agree with this.

There are actually different colours being used on the map for different terrain types, but the colour is very subtle.  I guess they are going to add a texture over that, to make the grass look like grass etc.

I think that grey toned colors would be an interesting add to the cloth map. But i'm sure that as stormseed said  the cloth map will see a revision with some texture added in.

the artist behind the  project know well what they do so i think if some sort of colour will be implemented it would be done with the right taste.

I agree that attention would have to be paid to make it fit the map style as best as possible, but my basic point is that the ocean should be a little more colorful to get a more ejoyable game 'feel'.

[Edit]  A quick example of the feel of the map -- if you blur your eyes slightly, the original map isn't as easy to pick out where the ocean is compared to the colorized one (which yeah, may be a little *too* blue).  Also, in terms of gameplay experience, say you're exploring a new area and you just reveal a corner of the ocean.  If it's the same color as every thing else, it doesn't really stick out at you, even if you notice it.  But if it's colorized, you get more of a fundamental feel of 'hey, there's a new part of the map'.  (Sorry if I'm explaining that poorly.)[/Edit]

I also kind of think of it as a map updated by magic.. how else would the blank, unexplored areas be darker than the explored areas, which are darker than the area currently in line-of-sight (which changes as you move around)?  In that regard, perhaps there is a little more leeway about how the ocean sytle could be handled.

While I'm thinking about it.. it would be interesting to eventually see some subtle magic 'special effects' as the cloth draws more of itself as something new is being revealed. (Assuming the map actually is updated with magic.)

I think it would be more in keeping with the feel of the map to keep the brown background and just turn the waves blue.  All the other colored features (that I've seen) are drawn as colored line art, after all.

That would be nice looking to turn waves blue and coastline white to look reasemble waves on beach.

I think a good idea is to have something similar to the oblivion mod with the elven map activated, where the map gets some color when you explore it.

Of course, colours must fit with the art style, but they will add some "life" to the map, which, in my opinion, is quite dull and does not help to distinguish between different kinds of land.

The look they are going for is probably more like this:

Just look at the mountains and forests, nearly identical.  The oceans pop out in this map by the layered darker outline, which I imagine is what they will add.

That was my first thought also, and it doesn't seem like it would be using "color everywhere" any more than green forests do that. I'm no opponent of the uber-moddability thing, but I do sometimes worry that the devs too often think, "Well, we'll leave that for modders."

Yes exactly, that's what I was thinking with the watercolor wash style.

I also think it would be important for usability.  If you are zoomed out for a strategic view on a large map with lots of coastal features and islands, I think it would be a lot easier to get a quick feel for the layout with some (toned-down) coloring of the ocean.

If I get some time, I'll play around with making some better possible mockups (and take a look at that .png BoogieBac mentioned).