view distance on wilderness map

[dierighty]

I am confused by how far away tiles are colored on the wilderness map (during the daytime especially). It seems like this implies visibility, but my blind ass guy can only see animals when they are very close (like in the adjacent tile or I am right on top of them), and I can determine the terrain of the map tile when it is colored grey. What is the game telling me by coloring tiles out that distance?

[PALU]

I believe the colored range is the one at which you can see the terrain and the range at which you have a chance to spot creatures. Note that there is no automatic spotting of creatures: they have to be "visible", i.e. not blocked by e.g. trees. I would expect a blind ass guy to see the terrain out to what the lighting allows, but the creature visibility range to be considerably lower. I would also expect creature visibility to be better at a higher vantage point and in open terrain (open mire from a cliff or mountain ought to be ideal).
Grey terrain is basically your character's memory of the terrain. An example of that memory at play is when NPCs cut down trees: you "see" the greyed out trees as they were when you last saw them, but as they come into view you realize they've been cut down.