EAW Mapping: A guide to creating authentic Terrain and Nature

[Corusca Fire]

I hesitated at doing this as not to offend the resident mappers, so I made something different. Instead of a technical guide to mapping, it is focused on applications and details. Good for people who just can't seem to get their maps to look good. Includes a small, non functional map with some examples for beginners to take a look at and sap ideas from (which is why I put it onto filefront.

http://empireatwar.filefront.com/file/Corusca_Fires_Terrain_and_Nature_Mapping_Guide;105571

I added some special thanks at the end of the whole thing, so be sure to worship the people mentioned there 

[Corey]

Overall not too bad as a tutorial, but there is one major thing that I would correct.

Of the many trades an EAW player can engage in, the simplest is mapping. The tools are free, and sponsored (but not supported) by Petroglyph.  Other field such as coding, skins, and modeling require more skills and more time. But if you feel like contributing something without devoting a massive amount of man-hours, mapping is the way to go.

This is simply not true. Mapping is definitely the most time consuming, and arguably the hardest thing to do. Maps can take between 10 and 30 hours to do well, and it takes a lot of practice to get even to a half-decent skill level.

[Corusca Fire]

I though i was pretty decent by my second map, but whatever....

I guess you are right, it is more difficult than editing the XML, but i think it is harder than modeling. Besides, to really do anything interesting with XML you also need to be able to model, skin, and rig... and it can take some time to figure out what each tag does. All ive figured out how to do is change the speed and i messed with the T4B special abilities. My frigate pack mod got killed because i couldnt figure out the whole hardpoint thing...

But i suppose its a matter of opinion....

[Isamu]

if it helps all the maps i've made even the ones i thought were really quite good sucked when i found out the standard

[Corusca Fire]

Thats not what i meant, but whatever. I was saying that it didnt take me very long to learn to make decent maps, in response to what Corey saying about it taking forever to learn. My second map, Naboo: Supply Depot, actually seems to be the most downloaded of my maps.

[Isamu]

lol i downloaded that map yesterday its pretty fun