Welcome to the guide. I will be showing various ways to do certain things that might not be so obvious. Feel free to ask in the comments for other features you'd like to see.

If you're just starting out, I'd recommend checking out this guide for getting the map playable in the first place: http://modding.dawnofwar.com/multiplayer-scenario-tutorial

Remember to check the index over there --->

To create sounds in your map, you can use action markers.
First, select 'action markers' at the top right, the right click in the map to place it.
Click 'edit action' and add a new command called 'audio event'
This creates a sound that plays when it is on screen.
Unfortunately there is no sound browser, and I cannot locate a list of sounds in the files, so you have to go through the pre-made maps to find sounds.
Luckily for you, I am here and will categorize the ones I have found for you.
Note you need to have a play and a stop sound in the two sections, the file names are identical except play is stop for the second one.

Remember to click 'apply changes'


(replace play with stop for the stop sound)

Let's say you have some floor objects you want to texture, but you don't want to spam decals all over it. Instead you want to use the terrain to texture it.
First off, select the Heightmap Editor.
Then enable top-layer (i.e. snow).


In CoH 2 this was used to paint an additional layer onto the terrain for snow or mud, which vehicles could drive through and create 3d tracks. It also textured the tops of objects if snow was selected instead of mud, creating a frosted effect on buildings and objects alike.
In DoW III, it is only used to allow objects above the terrain to receive the texture of the terrain. This is used in snow maps, but is also extremely useful when creating cliffs and cubic maps.
To do it, use the brush to draw the area you want to have the texture. A word of caution however, there is no ability to undo changes to this overlay (ctrl z doesn't work), so be careful what changes you make. If you wish to remove the overlay, set the left mouse to be 'set value', and set the height to 0.

See-through terrain is used for maps in space, like the space stations, or in the maps set in the Acheron Cage. To make terrain see through, use the colour map editor.
Then choose the colour. For transparent ground, change the Alpha to 0, remember to change the other colours to white (by default it's red).
Then simply paint the area you want transparent.

When creating maps, the edge of the map is important. There's the 'show playable area' view mode, but that doesn't work well with height differences as seen in the image below. You could use a spline to draw the edge, but that is messy and a hassle.
There is the nice 'Toggle Showing Interactivity Area' function, which perfoms like a spline that follows the map border.
Turning it on shows a small dotted line, identical to the one seen when in-game.
It is difficult to see in the image below, but it's there, and it's especially useful. It also appears on top of most objects as well.

This is a list of stuff I don't know how to do. If you know how to do them, feel free to share them and I can add them to the guide.

• AI goals (in previous games you could say where the AI should prioritize)
  
• Custom foam/flow maps
  
• Music
  
• NIS (cutscenes)
  
• Reverb
  
• SCAR (scripting)
  
• Volumetric fog
  
• Weather transitions