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====== Satellite map making tips ======

Google Earth images give lot of shadows, clouds and other anomalies, what to do?

You cannot use raw GE imagery for the actual in-game sat map. Okay for placing objects in V3, but that's it. What is usually done is the raw imagery is repainted, cloned, touched up to remove these anomalies. You don't really want the player to see the raw imagery around man-made objects either, because they will never align or look perfectly meshed. Better to retouch the image and add back features on the sat map which match the objects on the map (buildings and roads). This is done by creating an EMF file in V3 with just those objects, converting the EMF to png and then using this as a reference as another layer in Photoshop to modify the sat map. I actually make separate EMF files of just the buildings, roads, and vegetation to segregate the layers - easier to work with in PS. Also, V3 will crash if you attempt to make an EMF image with too many objects.

The EMF based layers are also used to create the mask file. It's important to use a texture without clutter associated (like mesto) under and around buildings and roads to prevent stray clutter. I really hate it when there is grass or weeds in a the middle of a paved road or inside a building.

The sat map, mask and textures also need to be coordinated so that transitions between them are not too stark.  Often you will see maps where the close range texture colors do not blend when with the sat map at mid and long range.

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