SeinfeldRules

I like to use light forest tiles mostly (with bushes/trees) plus dirt and rock tiles sparsely scattered throughout my stream/creek. All about 1 meter lower then the surrounding terrain. When choosing how to represent it you have to remember that each tile is going to be 8 meters wide and that which ever tile you use will make that stream look biggg. If you are trying to show a larger stream that not isn't easily/quickly fordable, mud or marsh is a good choice. Then "outline" it with light forest/vegetated tiles. If you are trying to show something more along the lines of a creek (maybe a meter wide, can splash right through it) light forest with vegetation is more then enough to get the effect and desired look. Take a look at streams on Google Earth, use street view if you can. The defining aspect of most streams is that they are surrounded by dense, heavy vegetation, especially in uncultivated areas.

I think the game suffers from a lack of a "Proving Grounds" equivalent for CM2. CM1 had the Proving Grounds and then the Scenario Depot - allowing anyone to build, test and publish a well developed scenario. The Proving Grounds offered designers a large userbase who could give immediate feedback on the website itself for the scenario they just play tested. We don't have anything like that for CM2. The Proving Grounds only covers CM1 and the repository doesn't really deliver the same convenience when it comes to testing a scenario, it's really only for the finished product. Scenario designers are left with either soliciting help from the forum or relying on old friends to do it. Right now, I probably have 15 or so "maps with troops" for CMFI/CMBN sitting on my hard drive. I call them "maps with troops" because they aren't really scenarios until they're play tested and put through their paces. The maps themselves are 100% completed, but not a single one has been tested. I enjoy the map building process more then anything, creating visually appealing maps (hopefully) with interesting tactical problems (hopefully), but I don't want it to just be a map, I want to make scenarios. Give something to the community. But I also don't want to release anything to the public as a finished product until it's been truly put through its paces, and right now there is no easy or direct way to get constructive feedback on a scenario that needs testing. See umlaut's post above. Honestly, the map making is not that difficult, and if you're doing a human attacker vs AI defender, the AI plans aren't complex either. It's the play testing that is time consuming and is probably what holds people back. I'm sure there are others out there who fiddled with the map editor for a little bit and made something they enjoy, but are hesitant to release it because there is no easy way to test it or solicit feedback to make them better. Just my 2 cents.