[zovs66]

Some notes for you.

1. WinSPWW2 and WinSPMBT are the ONLY steel panther games still in design, development and currently supported (now for over 20 years). There are new patches each year.
2. WinSPWW2 and WinSPMBT are the only steel panthers games that actually work right out of the box in Windows 7, Windows 10, Linux and Mac (someone posted). To be honest the 'others' suck when it comes to this and the fact that the 'others' have not and will not be updated in over 15+ years, whereas WinSPWW2 and WinSPMBT have been updated for the last 20 years.
3. I highly recommend you purchase the CD version as it offers things not available in the free edition:
   • Extended map editor (once you start using it you'll never go back again)
   • Full Screen Display
   • PBEM Campaign Games
   • PBEM Tournaments
   • PBEM slots (more)
   • Timed victory conditions (I am sure I missed something)
   • A host of neat features too long to list, like take cover, hex density, programmed barrages, and many neat things...
4. As pointed out by scorpio_rocks maps can be as large as 200x160. Some folks like those sized maps and others like a little smaller, it depends on your preferences.
5. The in game and extended map editor does a pretty decent job of auto generating maps based on year, month, season, sides, etc. My advice is to play around with that for a while and edit some of the auto maps to get a feel for things.
6. Also, load up some scenarios and look at how other designers created maps, that will help too.
7. Play this game (MBT or WW2), I mean really play the heck out of it, not only is it a blast and fun to play, you'll learn a lot from massed playings.
8. Create test scenarios that are throw aways, for maps, sides, stuff to experiment on and see what happens.
9. There is no real 'logistics' human players can auto reload ammo if ammo supplies are in a scenario, but the AI does not 'know' how do this.

Experiment, test, re-test and test again.

Time and YMMV (your mileage may vary).