i guess i have to lower the image size, forgive me i have to try until i get the hang of it. Will be better :)

Just before we go to the next step there is one important this i have to mention. When drawing the outline you have to make sure it is a closed line. This means the following



Step Three

This is where the planning comes to work. We make lines for the individual bonuses, just a simple line to cut trough the outline. Make sure it exits the outline. Draw it in a separate layer.



Be careful these are the larger bonuses that will consist of 2,3,4 or more territories. We will make thoose later

Now we just simply cut the outline with the lines already made. In illustrator we make the following: Select the first line



go to OBJECTS then PATH and DIVIDE OBJECTS BELOW (for other vectoring programs you have to checks how divide object is done i'm sure you can find tutorials for this). This is done because now we get a nicely cut bonus.



Do this with all the bonus line you made (again this is where planning you're bonuses and lines comes to light) After we do this with all the bonuses, comes the most important part.

Select them all and then offset for -0.5 pixels.

For illustrator go OBJECT then PATH and OFFSET PATH. In the offset menu type -0.5 px and hit OK.



After the work is done you get new lines that are offset for 0.5 px (obviously :)) make sure you don't deselect and hit ctrl+x to cut, delete the old lines and hit strl+f paste on spot. This is where we get nice clean separation between the bonuses without any gaps or jagged lines.





We go to the next step :)

Step Four

"THE TERRITORIES" :)

We draw this in a similar, but more demanding, way as the bonuses. There are two important things to remember here.

One when you draw the lines for the territories make sure you use as long lines as possible. Second make sure the lines end on a point (this is more important for corners then for curves). Let me illustrate this.









I hope this is clear if you are having any problems feel free to ask for help.

After all the lines are finished we simply do divide objects below as before.





The territories in the second image are moved for illustration :))
And the bonus lines are still clear, close and next to each other and the territories are separate but with overlapping lines.

Step Four

This step is about making the bonus rectangles, naming territories and so on. i will not explain this as it is quite well explained in the help section. Only one mention for illustrator users (and only for illustrator users:

When naming territories DON'T use "Territory_1" as illustrator translates this as differently then inkscape, use this "Territory 1" so replace the "_" with a space and illustrator will write it in his code as "Territory_1" and you are good :))

Step Five

The best one :) you're free now to start adding some elements to your map and making in look nice. For example

the map



and with some updates



Now don't get me wrong i'm not trying to say that that's how your map should look it's just an example of the changes you can make with adding extra elements, i'm quite sure that you will make it look better.

I hope i didn't miss out on anything but if you have any question that i can answer or problems i can help with please write in the comments.

See you
play fair and have fun :))

How did you do those updates at the end??

And are you using Adobe Illistrator????

Motocross5800

They are just separate vector drawings you could use (as i mentioned theres plenty free on the web) or you can make your own.



And yes I am using Adobe Illustrator

Don't you have to pay $600 for Adobe Illustrator???

I am using Incscape.

There is no need to pay for any Adobe products. You can download it for free with keys from the torrent sites like www.thepiratebay.sx and etc.

Many svg files can be found here: http://openclipart.org

Motocross

yes u do, but i'm using it for work so...
Anyway like i mentioned earlier, most vector programs have the same tools so that won't be a problem.

Mσvσ

Yes you can (not that i would like to promote piracy) but i believe inkscape is easier to learn for beginners.
I love K-PX by the way :) top-notch work :)

Thanks Incaman! It was made on a half-broken laptop (which im still using) without a mouse, and with inkscape :/

Thats a nice guide by the way, theres lot of stuff that i didnt knew.
Good luck with "the Fall of Jerusalem" ;)

I still don't get it

hey, how do you make the borders so they don't overlap other than moving 1 node at a time? I am using Inkscape.

I'm not sure if this guy bother to actually read. I've tried his method on Inkspace and it works successfully.

Thanks Techpriest :). It works on all vector programs this is not a step by step guide it is just a process by which u can get clean separation. I don't know if i wasn't clear enough in explaining it or people are just to lazy to read :). But making a map is not a fast and easy thing, it takes time, planning and lots of work.