Though it is not a requirement, layout of a map should be considered if the map is to  have some sort of symmetry. By layout I mean locating the center, sorting out player starting locations, allocating space to build, mountains, valleys, passes and so forth. If you make a map without forethought as to layout it is similar to shooting from the hip. In other words, you may get lucky and run into few problems or you may not be lucky and just have horrendous difficulties.

There are several ways to locate the center of the map. One is run a waypoint path diagonally from one corner of the map to the other and repeat the process for the remaining two corners. Another way is to toggle the framework mode on and then check the location of the corner intersections and then divide them in half for both the vertical and horizontal directions. The results will give you the coordinates for the center intersection. I use the waypoint method as I also divide the map into eight sections. This gives me reference points for mountains, structures rivers, bridges, etc. etc. .

As you can see from Screenshot 55 I divide the map diagonally (NW to SE and NE to SW) and also from left to right and from top to bottom. This gives me 8 equal areas on the map and plenty of references for terrain features and structures. I also locate player starting locations by running a waypoint path from the top center line to the left side center line at the border. The second player location is done identically with the exception of its being in the opposite corner. This method gives you two intersecting lines that should be of an equal distance from the borders for each player.

After locating the intersection, select the waypoint tool and place a waypoint on it. Now bring up the waypoint options box by clicking on the waypoint you just placed, then tic the arrow to the right of the waypoint name and select the player number from the list (Screenshot 56). Repeat this for the other player locations.

Incorporating a river is quite easy. The default water level is at an altitude of 7 above the plane, so all we really need to do is dig a trench below the 7 foot level. To do this we select the Height Brush and reconfigure the parameters. See Screenshot 58. Then drag the brush from one area to another forming a river as we go. In this example the river will run from Northeast to Southwest. Most rivers aren't very straight so make sure that you give it a little character (unlike the example). Riverbeds also contain rock and mud so don't forget to give then some. It may seem stupid to do this, however you must remember that high end machines with quality graphics hardware will be capable of seeing "soft" or shallow water. This means they will be able to see the bottom. A river with long lush grass on its bottom just looks silly.

To paint the textures on the river bottom we will need to lower the water. We can do this by going to the edge of the map , turning on the "View Trigger Areas" option from the view menu , and then clicking on the default trigger area border or one of its polygons. After clicking on it the water area options box will appear (Screenshot 59). Here we can change the height of the river and we can also select whether we want the area to simulate a river or the ocean. If the River button is selected the water will appear to flow in one direction as opposed to the ocean animation that appears to surge back and forth. We are given the opportunity to name our areas here also. Lower the water to a level of -(minus)1. This lowers the water completely below the plane allowing us to paint texture uninhibited by H2O (Screenshot 60). Selecting some river rock from the texture list and then scattering a bit of sand here and there the river bottom is painted and blended (Screenshot 61). We can now raise the water level back to the original height of 7 and add in the river bank.

Turning on the View Soft water and the View Impassable areas tools from the View menu we can now find where to put our river bank texture and also find out where the cliff areas will be. After painting in the river banks and blending the texture it is time to do some polishing on the bottom. I live in area that has 5 constantly running rivers, it has been my observation that most rivers contain bars, or shallow areas running along the shore and sometimes from one bank to another. So to simulate this we can raise the river bed with the height brush to height of 5, then scrubbing the raised areas to smooth them out a bit creating a very natural and appealing look (Screenshot 62).

Part 3 will discuss more sculpting techniques, specifically mountains.

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