EDITOR TIPS AND TRICKS

S4 Editor Tute #2
by SloDragon

Tute #2...Remember we're moving slowly. We're still on terrain...No, buildings or settlers yet. Next we're doing rivers. BUT FIRST! pick "Testmap_01" or whatever you've named your map....The one you've been working on. If you've already placed trees n' bushes...use the delete function (there's one in each category in the "Tool Selection window") tick the "+" and the first thing in the selection for that category (excluding terrain and elevation) is the delete function.

Anyway, Trees and bushes are "objects" so go to "place objects" and select the object category you used...If trees, tick "delete objects" , then pick a tool width from the tool settings window and remove any objects you may have placed on your map...Rivers are much easier to place when you have clean terrain...Therefore it's a good idea to place them while doing the basic terrain.

I should add that this is "my way" of doing things. Everyone develops their own style, and places different things at different times...But please bear with me for now, and we'll have you designing a playable map before you know it. No masterpiece...But playable....

OK once your terrain is clean...Use your playing experience and envision a two player map using the terrain you have just cleaned up. Imagine starting locations for the two players at two opposite ends of the map. We'll temporarily place starting flags for each, in order to get resource placement correct for a simple, easy game.

Highlight "place start position" and click the spot for the red player. The flag that was in the center of the ocean when you opened the editor for the first time will appear there.

Drag up the "tool settings" window now, tick the "player button", then the "New Player" button. Just to the left of the new player button you'll see a field with Romans in it. Tick the small drop down arrow, and select "Mayans" for now. Look to the bottom of this window for the "Team Data" section. You will notice it says 'HUMAN' and "TEAM 1".

Tick the small drop down arrow by "Human" and you will see three choices. Free Selection, Human, and computer. For our exercise, tick "Free Selection. And change team 1 to team 2 by clicking the small "upbutton". The two players will now be enemies, and your map will be able to be played from either player position. Click "OK" and move the "tool Settings" window back down near the bottom for now.
Now tick place player start and place a blue flag at the opposite end from the red flag.

Now move to the Tool Selection window and open "place buildings" then open "foundation building', then highlight small guard tower, A small guard tower will replace your cursor when you're over the terrain. place this tower in the area where you placed the blue flag...make sure the flag is within the boundaries of the tower.

Now if you check the tool settings window you'll see that the blue player is selected, so you just placed a "Blue" tower. You have already placed the red flag earlier, so now you must switch back to the red player to place his tower. Do this by moving to the tool settings window, and just above the "player" button, tick the little down arrow, and you will switch to the "RED" player...now you can place a small tower near the red flag.

Reminder: You will often get an error when you export your map, stating that you have an invalid start position. This simply means that you need to place the start flag in question in an area with a bit more room around it. The flag doesn't like to be crowded..

Now starting with the red starting position...look for any depression that might resemble a stream bed, moving in a downward angle, and passing thru, or very near to the boundary of the land the tower has captured. If there is none, then select "change elevations" and then "lower terrain (steeply), then select the smallest tool in "tool settings" and make such a depression...Raising some terrain first if necessary. Use the #3 tool and create a snake like raised (steeply) area starting from the ocean and moving down and thru the start area. Then go back to where you started and use the #1 tool (smallest) and make a depression (lower steeply) along the snakey raised area.

Reminder: The player "must" have fresh water from a river for his animal farm and his bakery. So its very important that a river runs thru or into his starting area. Or is very close by.

Now drag up the tool selection window and open the " set type of terrain" section again. open up "rivers", for now we'll just use river (width 4)...start at the top end of the stream bed like depression you've just made...Press the left mouse button and slowly drag along the center of your depression to place your river. For now we'll place a ruined well at the end of your river and some reeds at the beginning at the ocean. If your river is close enough to the ocean, you can use the "river mouth" tool to join them. Otherwise placing the reeds at the river start will do....Later with
experimentation you can have many different variations...

Now close "plants and other" and open "Coastline and waterline objects" and select the first entry "reeds" and place a few of these to hide the end of your river. Play with some of the other plants in here to make your stream look more natural. You can also select "large stones" and pick some of the small stones to decorate your stream to.

In addition! you can create a depression all the way across your land mass...or multiple depressions to create a river "system"...Then when you start from, or arrive at, an ocean...You can use the "river mouth" tool, in your "tool selection" "set type of terrain", "rivers" category...to "blend" them together. The river has to be very close to the ocean for this to work....just click the small bit of land separating the river and the ocean, and the river mouth will appear.

Ok!!! play with those rivers...play with the different river tool settings. start with the tiniest and progressively switch to the larger ones. use the tiny one to make tiny spider web like streams/swamps. Raise up a mountain, cover it with snow, then use the smallest river setting and start halfway up the side of your snow covered mountain and make tiny snowmelt streams flowing down and out of the snow, and change tools until you have a large river flowing out to the sea...lots and lots of cool ideas here.

Beaches:

Beaches are a bit tricky. I have my most difficulty with making realistic beaches in S4. But here is my technique. select the beach tool in "set type of terrain>ground>beach" catagory and tick the "speckel" box in the tool settings and using the #2 tool (next to the smallest) look for areas of your beachline that look unnatural because they have very straight areas in them. Put your cursor on the beachline, where the beach meets the water, and press the left mouse button and slowly drag your cursor along that straight area. You will see some wondrous things happen. Pick small straight areas and hover your cursor over them and just quickly press your left mouse button and drag a short distance and release the button. Just move around your map and tweaking here and there. You will soon get the hang of it.

Ponds and Lakes:

Small ponds or large lakes are pretty easy to make. But to make them look realistic takes a bit of practice. Start by designing your land area to have a pond or lake from the start. Use the #3 tool size, make sure the "speckel" box is ticked, then open the Set terrain type>water and select "water level 2". Now hover your cursor over the spot you want to have a pond/lake. press the Left mouse button and drag just a bit. Water should appear. Now keep the LMB pressed and drag around until you have the shape of the pond/lake you want. Now remember how you made your beaches ? Do the same here for your pond/lake shore.

Now open "place objects"> "coastline and waterline" and select "reeds". untick the speckel box, and set your size tool to #1 (smallest setting) and hover your cursor over a spot you think a reed will look nice and press and release the LMB (Left Mouse Button). move a bit around the shore and place one or two more. Not too many as there are lots of other interesting things to place on shorelines. Once you've gone around the lake and are back at your starting point. select "moorberries" and go around again. Next pick Pampas Grass, then the three sizes of reeds, (small medium and large) Reeds,Moorberries, and pampas grass is best at the waterline, just on shore. The three different reed sizes look good just a bit into the water, then the last thing is to select the "Red Waterlilly", and place one here and there amongst the reeds. Keep adding or deleting until you think it looks natural, or you're pleased with it...... Then do the same to your beaches...Plus, add a large or small scallop from time to time. After all it is a sea shore and shellfish fit right in..

Don't forget to save your work.

Ok...Placing resources next...mountains, ore, wooded areas, fish, and stone quarries.....then races, buildings, then game play...Don't get ahead of me now...Remember...One step at a time...