Some basic map advice please.

[Peter Cairns]

I've never used the CMSF map editor before so I am hoping someone can tell me what the best way to do it is.

Which should you do first; Roads and details then the lie of the land or get the ground right first and add the details.

I have a road running by my house with open field s on one side and a wood on the other.

The rough profile of the road would be;

Field at 0 the a +1 bank with a fence on it 1m wide followed by a 1m ditch at -1.

It the rises to 0 for 1m of grass before a 3m 0 road and then 2m of grass at 0.

Finally it rises to +1/+2 for 2m before dropping back to 0/+1 in the wood.

However neither the field. road or wood are level they all go up and down by -2/-3 to +2/+3 along their length.

So should you build the road and then raise and lower sections of it or get the levels right and then build the road.

If it helps I've added a picture of the road although it's in winter and a shot I took from a plane when I was taking off as I only live a few miles from Inverness airport.

Advice would be great.

Peter.

[TheVulture]

My general strategy with making maps (from real locations or completely fictional) is to do the terrain countours first to set up the general feel of the land. Then put in the road network, fudging it as necessary to make sense within the overall terrain. Then go along and fix up the heights in the immediate vicinity of the road to get rid of any artefacts that make the road look weird.

Much like you'd do it in real life in fact - start with terrain, plot roads that make sense on that terrain, then alter the terrain around the road on a small scale to make the road as smooth as you can.

Likewise with buildings and other man-made alterations.

[c3k]

Exactly that. The larger profiles of the terrain determine everything. Play with the editor. The elevation controls are important. Don't forget "shift E" (I think) allows you to see the elevation when you're not in the elevation editor THAT really helps.

Think about how and where things grow. Look at the spread of buildings and what determines good paths and building sites.

Play with the editor. Recognize that your first attempts will not match what some of the long-timers have done.

(The one exception to the terrain first is the case of a relatively flat area which is overwhelmingly covered by man-made structures. Airports, cities, villages, all come to mind. Create them, then adjust the terrain to fit.)

Finally, regarding your statement that the terrain you're looking at has is flat but has a gradual rise. It seems that you're saying it's like a canted plane. Does it matter that one end is higher than the other? A subtle rise in terrain would have no tactical significance. Why not approach it as if it were level?

Ken

[LJFHutch]

Shift E! I never knew that, I always flipped back and forward whenever doing anything xD

Edit: I'd go with Vulture, terrain contours first. I usually lay down a texture of where I want the ridge lines to be, sketches of what you want the map to look like should be done first though, even if it's really basic it'll help to make the map cohesive and not a random collection of hills and forests - which most likely won't be what you were going for.

[LongLeftFlank]

Don't forget watercourses that match the terrain contours -- these are fantastic infiltration routes. This is true even in the desert, where the water is either seasonal or vanished long ago. And if there is water present, make sure there's some muck and boggy ground too in low-lying spots.