http://www.staredit.net/maplantis/index.php?sid=dea63c4ff1;wiki=93

Could anyone import this to either Wiki?

So far, here are the parts we should get an article about. If you have any idea about something else to write about, please ask for it :

- Tile properties (elevation, blocking portions; especially with regards to unit widths)
- Painting techniques (drafting terrain in layers, revising, saving the details for last, etc.)
- Gameplay considerations (unit AI traps, firing distances, vision blocking, etc.)
- Badlands buildings (I'm not sure if this should deserve it's own part or if it should be into the "Ambiance" one under "City Landscape")
- Reproducing most known Jungle Blends (list to be established)
- Creating custom blends
- Isometric tiles comprehension
- Setting an ambiance (would probably contain sub-articles about how to make specific ambiances such as "Cave" or "Forest")
- Mixing up pieces nicely
- Doodads placement
- Tool usage (we'll only go over SCMD2 since it is the most used editor)
- Pro tips (that would be very general)

You can also start to claim your article

Heh, I see you used some of my sample list. My list was very loose, just so you know. I'm not sure if you should prescribe specific article topics too heavily like that. At least, not first without careful consideration into the exact list of what's needed.

For instance: I think 'Doodad placement' could be covered with painting techniques and any tileset-specific tutorials, really. Also, tileset-specific stuff maybe should be organized and composed together, somehow. And each article should have a brainstorming thread before and while it's being composed into drafts. A 'who is doing what' compilation would also make this thread useful for organization.


In fact, I could even go as far as saying this entire wiki endeavor could be summarized with a single article or group of articles about the following:

1. Using tools - SCMdraft 2's isometric placement, rectangular placement, subtile tweaking, individual tile placement (like for null, blocking tiles, and especially for blends), and copy pasta techniques (overlaps a bit with Isometric tile comprehension).
   
2. Painting techniques - Starting with a draft, working in layers, refactoring existing terrain, cyclic drafting/re-drafting, and end polishing.
   
3. Gameplay considerations (see above) - Vision blocking, unit attack ranges, unit pathfinding AI considerations, and trigger considerations (unplaceable errors and minimum clearance for 'create/move unit' with groups of units).
   
4. Tile properties - Elevation, blocking properties, unit width considerations, special considerations (such as walkable null tiles and creep tiles).
   
5. Isometric tile comprehension - Pattern of how isometric pieces of the terrain are configured out of regular, square tiles and how to work with those individual tiles out of the Tileset index list.
   
6. Blending techniques - Defying isometric constraints, remixing terrain types, effects (with doodad tiles, especially), and sprite patching/enhancing.
   

That covers just about all the core elements of general terraining. Anything else is artistic/tileset-specific stuff that, really, is just a matter of playing around in the editor. There's no tutorial that can help against not being lazy, really.


Edit: There's possibly room for additional sections on sprite work or, especially, on rectangular-only terraining; something a number of popular maps now utilize, such as that one Resident Evil map (I can't remember which), that Rainbow Six tactical map, Millenium Army's minigame map, and a number of others. But that's mostly just a specialized subset of blending, really, and is, again, a matter of playing around in the editor more than anything.

That's how most wikis work, at least.

Here are some thoughts I had on ambiance. I don't have time to write a full article.

Keep areas relatively small. This limits repetition and helps players notice little details. SC also has a weird scale, and huge sprawling rooms just don't make sense in terms of scale.

Use fog of war to create the illusion of darkness. SC doesn't do lighting very well, but you can use shared vision with neutral players or a unit's natural sight range to simulate it.

Don't use too many doodads. It clutters things and doesn't make sense.

For man made areas, repetition is OK, and possibly even encouraged. For natural areas, try to use as many different tiles and doodads as possible. Avoid mirrors.

Be imaginative. Use sprites and units in ways to enhance the look and feel of your areas. Try to imagine how an area would "feel" and try to capture that.

Either work on:





You can also give us more terrainer-tips (anything!) and/or make us a nice "Table of Content" that would share links to all the external terrain-wiki articles (since we do not put everything in a single wiki).
There's also the Brush project that we must do for Suicidal-Insanity

Ok I want to get started the "blending techniques" tutorial, but I'm not sure where to start. Will simple techniques like blends from high dirt to water and double cliffs be a part of it?