[FA_Cheech]

1.can anything be done about the "random European shrubbery" that shows up in
open areas on the map.

2.Pacific Ocean textures, any chance of better ones?

...Even tho' this Pacific map is still Beta, it's better than what we got from 1c. WTH were those people thinking anyway?!!

There are several threads here in the AAA MAP MODS area, about random tree generation, which you might want to check out.

As far as the ocean textures go, make sure you are using the revised textures for the ocean, that Skunkmeister posted here in this tread. These are the ones used in the MTO map (which looks to be identical to the default Pacific Island map). These are much better than the original greenish textures that were used in the first beta release. One other option might be to use the ocean textures in used in the Default Guadalcanal Map, which appear to have the same water color, but shallows that are more of a gray-blue shade.

As for the default maps, all I can say is I have the utmost respect for anyone who has built one. When you actually start using the tools to construct one of these "beasts", you have to work hard to get around the limitations of the terrain model, and available textures. Even if you get the terrain elevations as accurate as possible there is just no way to properly simulate the "razor back" look of the ridges in this area of the world, so everything is a compromise. One of the things that boggles my mind is The_Slot covers 18,600 square miles of the world, that all has to be researched, created, textured, and populated, one island at a time :roll:

I guess the bottom line for me is, I think The_Slot will be a vast improvement over what we have today but, then again, I'm a bit prejudiced :wink: