We now come to the Object placement tools (Screenshot 29). Looking from left to right we have the "Place Object", "Road", "Grove", "Ramp", "Scortch", and "Fence" tools.

Looking at Screenshot 30, we see the basic window for object placement. You can see that quite a bit of info is available in this box The objects for all the houses are listed here. By clicking and opening each house you can see the subheadings (infantry, structures, audio, shrubbery, etc. etc.) Under the listing window is a preview panel that allows you to view the object selected without having to pre-place it. Below that is a small box that will let you determine at what height above ground you would like to place the object, the default is 0, which is terrain level. Below that box is another that defines the house that the object will belong to, it shows the default house unless otherwise selected. To place the object select it from the selection menu and then click on the area where the object needs to be. Only click once or you will create duplicates, one on top of the other .

The next tool is the "road" tool. Screenshot 31 shows the basic window for this tool. There are two main categories, Roads (which includes train tracks, sidewalks, paths, dirt, gravel, and paved roads) and Bridges. There is no preview panel for this window so you will have to get familiar with the names for each one or use the old trial and error method. To place a road or bridge simply select it and then click on the area where you would like it start and then DRAG to the termination point. It will not curve, in order to this you will need to lay down several roads and then join them together. When making curves you have three options, Broad Curve, Tight Curve and Angled curve. To bind the separate roads together drag an icon from one road to an icon of another, they will automatically be joined. The icons can be dragged around the map to set the roads where you need them. You can also "insert' an icon into a road by selecting it from the selection menu and then clicking on the road itself. This feature comes in handy when trying to make a circle or a long, slow, even curve. Bridges are created in the exact same way with the exception that they cannot be joined and there are several specialty bridges that cannot be dragged to the correct length, as they are fixed.

The "Grove" tool, Screenshot 32 lets you randomly place shrubbery in a selected area defined by your grove cursor, Screenshot 33. There are 5 slots where you can declare what type of shrubbery and the percentage of the total shrubbery count to be placed. By clicking on the arrow next to each box a drop down menu will appear allowing you to select the shrub or tree. You may also type in the percentage in the box designated for this next to the shrub selection box. Below these boxes you will see the total (user defined) count of trees to be placed. Below the "Total Tree Count" there are 2 boxes that allow for the placement of shrubs and trees, denoted by a check mark, on cliffs and in water.

Next up is the "Ramp" tool. Screenshot 34 shows the Option box and the wireframe ramp preview. By typing in the desired width and then dragging the ramp from the higher altitude to the lower altitude, or visa versa, the ramp placement can be previewed. Only when the "Place Ramp" button is depressed is the ramp placed. Ramps are very useful in a number of situations such as, when a smooth transition is needed from different heights, when a road-bed needs to smoothed to let the road lay down properly, making mountain passes, as well as other uses. Screenshot 35 shows the ramp, in the wireframe viewing mode, after it has been placed. Notice the ramp is smooth and the transition is clean from the higher latitude to the lower.

"Add Scorchmarks" does just that. By selecting this tool the option box will display the scorch menu. There are 6 basic scorch marks that can be used. Looking at Screenshot 36 you can see the marks as well as their respective names. Scorch sizes can be varied by typing in the desired size or using the slider. They also need to be placed one at a time. Place the mark and then move it to exactly where it needs to be then get rid of the tool by right clicking on the map, then you may reselect the scorch tool to place another. To delete them go to Edit and then Delete or a much simpler method is to just hit the keyboard [Delete] key. If you choose to select UNDO the the mark will be undone, as the lack of an icon will indicate, however the mark will still be seen in the editor although not in the map. By selecting a different tool the mark will disappear.

The final tool we will discuss in this chapter is the "Fence" tool (Screenshot 37) By selecting one of the basic houses the fences or walls for that house can be selected. To place walls or fences individually simply select and click. The walls can then be lined up by using the zoom function (center wheel on your mouse) and a steady hand. To place an even row select the wall to be used then click and drag the wall from point A to point B. The wall will be created in a smooth even line. To space the wall sections out select the wall then click and start your drag process, then hold the shift key down and the wall section will begin to space themselves. The more you drag the further they will be spaced from each other. You can also define, or preset the spacing by setting the parameter in the "fence spacing" box provided for that. Screenshot 38 shows the walls using both methods.

This concludes Chapter 4...

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