[Hiro_Antagonist]

We do recognize that a map-maker is something that some players want, and we know you're not alone. And while we want to give players everything they could possibly want, we just haven't had the budget or time to implement everything, and we have to take into account how many players will *really* use the feature compared to how much it will cost us to implement.

We *are* still looking at the idea of letting people make their own maps, but if we implement that feature, players would most likely have to make their maps the same way we did -- by editing XML files by hand. This isn't as bad as it would seem. My own process for making maps was to draw them on graph paper or in Paint Shop Pro, and then copy/edit the template map file to fill in the new terrain. That process typically took about 10-15 minutes for each map once the map was designed. If we did implement this feature, it wouldn't surprise me at all if someone made a tool to help with this process, but anyone can roll up their sleeves and edit XML with little hassle.

Anyway, there are all sorts of other complications that come from allowing user-made maps that wouldn't be obvious to players. So we're looking at the problem closely to see if there's any cost-efficient way we can develop it.

-Hiro_Antagonist