Nice to see someone trying their hand at a French map
It's good to start this way by laying everything out like in TS's tutorial;
http://fhpubforum.warumdarum.de/index.php?topic=19731.0I would love to see such a unique scenario in FH2, but it's also a very ambitious scenario to start mapping with. You may find out later that you have to switch to plan B. but regardless, here's a few things I would think about.
First off, if you haven't already, (you probably have) I would look at the map Monte Grappa from BF1 and use that as visual inspiration. This is one of the best looking maps I've ever seen in a video game and the visuals are very true to the main area.
Obviously, it's not the exact same place, but it is quite close.
TerrainSince we're in the Alps, one of the main aesthetic features is going to be the huge mountains towering up beside you as you fight through the valley. The BF2 engine doesn't really do this type of terrain justice, so I would think about how you're going to make those mountains look
good.
Having them outside of the combat area is helpful because none of the players will actually have to interact with them closely. You can maybe make them on the height-map and then use a clever color texture to make them look good. OR. You can
not put them on the height-map and have them made as statics (similar to PdH's main cliff and the out-of-bounds mountains on Eppledorf).
AssetsYou don't
really have to concern yourself with this right now. BUT, if this map was to be made 100%, I'm sure you would need different Italian uniforms, maybe tanks or AT guns that we don't have and now that I think about it, new statics.
On the other hand, if a good enough map is made, I think people could pitch in and gather enough resources to make assets for it. Either way, making a map is good practice.
LayoutSammatus layout is a good idea. It's a tried an true layout used on a lot of FH2 maps. I would just remember; as you make the map and lay out the terrain and roads, some of your original ideas might not fit. Maybe a flag you placed on Google Maps just doesn't work well with the height-map and roads you've laid out. Maybe some things need to be tweaked. Just remember that it's OK to improvise while you're still in the early stages. Read Reply #20 by Natty in this thread;
http://fhpubforum.warumdarum.de/index.php?topic=100.msg18504;topicseen#msg18504He does a good job of describing the way he works and how he sets up his work flow.
I would also keep paths in mind. Make sure there are ways to get to each flag. A lot of people get hung up on the fact that they're re-creating an awesome battle and don't think of the fact that they're also making an arena for players to have fun in. TS has lots of good principals in here;
http://fhpubforum.warumdarum.de/index.php?topic=21296.0Think about how the flags are laid out. Think about if you would have fun running around this area and between each flag. It's good to run around your map early, even if you've only laid out a height map and some roads/ major statics/ flags. Get a nice conceptual layout down, and flesh out the details from there
Good luck!
Post here if you have questions or technical problems. I just started learning how to map months ago and I'm still learning a ton of stuff so it's a bit fresh in my mind.
Most importantly, post progress at Stages so people can give feedback
