Currently, the mod editor allows you to select one of the game’s existing maps for editing. However, this presents its own limitations for users who want to create levels from scratch. For example, there are non-removable props, non-removable roads, non-removable grass, floating effects, and so on. (Yes, these can be removed by manually editing the scene.blk file, but this is inconvenient and doesn’t work with all props and effects. Some are simply part of the landscape.) And I’m not even talking about the need for a long and tedious clearing of the map from unnecessary props.
Therefore, I propose adding several map templates to choose from when creating a scene.
Templates will have two properties: biome and shape. Templates with different biomes will use different shapes.
Bioms:
Desert;
Field;
Winter Field;
Steppe;
Forest;
Winter Forest;
Tropic;
Moon;
Wasteland. (Just a grey plane. This biome is perfect for creating maps in a sci-fi setting.)
Forms:
Plane.
Coast.
Island. (you can add islands of different sizes and shapes)
That is, there will be templates with different biomes and their variants with different map shapes.
For example:
standard_forest_plane.blk
standard_forest_coast.blk
standard_forest_island.blk
standard_desert_field.blk
standard_desert_coast.blk
and so on.
You can also consider a third modifier: background. Each map has a box in which you can create and an unused space around it. You can create the above-described variations with different background contents—a field, a forest, mountains, and so on.
These solutions will reduce the entry barrier for beginners and make life easier for experienced users.