Tutorial on making a small map

[Ronald Wendt]

Hello,

i thought a little introduction to the editor would help people to create their own stuff.

So i made a very small fictional map just to show some things that can be done and some ways to save time.

First i selected the Scenario window in the editor and in the tab map i changed the hex resolution of the map to the minimum - you need to click on "new map" to make this happen. Note that doing this will erase everthing that was loaded or done in the editor.

[Ronald Wendt]

Next i add the relevant towns as fixed points for roads. To do that i select the menu "Terrain", choose "Object" and select "Old City" from the dropdown menu. Any left-click on the map will now place the selected object, while a right-click will erase any object located on the highlighted field.

[Ronald Wendt]

By default objects are owned by the nation that is selected. The selected nation is indicated by the little flag right of the upper menu bar, in our case it is Germany.
As i want the town to be Russian, i change the owner in the "Object properties" window that opens when an object is placed or selected on the map.

[Ronald Wendt]

Also i want the town to be called Moscow so i change the name in the same window.

[Ronald Wendt]

Now i want a road leading from Berlin to Moscow. I need to go to the Terrain->Ornaments menu for that.

[Ronald Wendt]

I select a random piece of road in the dropdown menu.

[Ronald Wendt]

Then i "scribble" the road on the map and get the direction and hexes that are occupied by it. The road looks strange but i found it helpful and a faster way doing roads. Now i only have to look for the right links.

[Ronald Wendt]

And the with the missing links we get a decent road just as we are used to them. The idea behind this method is to get a fast impression of the roads direction and avoiding many changes of the elements that need to be placed. When you see the whole road you also see every spot where a certain element needs to be placed.

[Ronald Wendt]

To add a bit variety i want a river crossing the map. I select a random river in Terrain->Terrain (yes, its the same name) and scribble the river on the map.

[Ronald Wendt]

Once again to save time i use one of the needed river elements and place it on every spot it is needed to complete the river.

[Ronald Wendt]

Same for the rest of the river elements. After the river is finished a road without a bridge looks a bit odd. So i get to Terrain->Object and select the fitting bridge and place it on the map.

[Ronald Wendt]

Now i am heading for some textures for the river. In Terrain->Material i get a dropdown menu with all the terrain textures of the game. Once again i use the method mentioned above, i chose one texture and place it then the next.

[Ronald Wendt]

The landscape also needs some make-up, so after the river bed is textured i choose some maps for the ground in the same dropdown menu. I usually start adding more "recognisable" textures and then ones with smaller and smaller impact.

[Ronald Wendt]

Some woods would also make the map a bit nicer, so i go to Terrain->Ornaments and select "Fir Summer 2" and place some forest for a nicer environment.

[Ronald Wendt]

This is the result of a fast editing.

[Ronald Wendt]

While its nice to have some landscape, i certaintly want some units and basic rules added to the map an be played. So i get to the Scenario menu and change the date of the map. This is important as you can only use equipment that was produced to the date, so there are no Tigers in 1939...i choose 1944 for some nice choices.

[Ronald Wendt]

With this setting i can go to Unit->Tank (make sure the nation you need is selected) and finally get some Tiger (or any tank available at the time).

[Ronald Wendt]

I place three Tigers to defend Berlin on the road to Moscow.

[Ronald Wendt]

A click on the German flag changes the nation. The Russians need some tools, too.

[Ronald Wendt]

So i get to Unit->Tank once again, this time with all the Russian toys and get them some IS-2.