Without having read your article:
I usually start a map with some concepts in mind; I pick a location and start a main and work on a nat. Then I move on to replicating the main/nat for every sl I'll have. After that I may work on a mineral only or something like that. Maybe go straight to the middle. After the main/nat/middle/maybe mineral only are complete, I go on to fill in the rest of the map. I decorate the map as I go on, I finish main decoration before I start the construction of another main.
After I think the map is complete I go and test for miner issues (miner, not minor, and miner issues are not minor), make sure the formations for main/nat are good atleast. Then I check for main size, distances, speed, basic pathing etc. I usually make a few minor corrections in this time.
I also make sure the decoration is fine; I usually do an allnighter to complete a map and find decoration gaps lol.
After a few more joke games (mostly cheese, with me trying to test the map's concept) I post it on bwm and find no one likes the map, lose all mapping inspiration for mapping for a few weeks or months, then rinse and repeat.
i sometimes make drawings in a math exercise-book (so squares)
then i mark the halfways and the center point of the map
if i make a mirror map (revelation, demons of creation), then i usually work on one main then copy it directly and think how is that. if i find flaws i remake it, and so and so, finally i have a main-construction that i am satisfied with. then just copy, add sl-s, usually i work very very lot on the center and with the neutral areas, because i always have a nicer idea and i find these areas are crucial to have a good map.
if i make central-symmetry (immortals), then i usually work on one main and dont compare anything, work on its dual-main (so 90° difference). when i am ready the only thing left to fill the rest exactly the same way when i created the first main. very lot work.
more natural slewed positions including central symmetry takes much more work (nomad) mainly for the first and the second main. and as the comments pointed out i didnt succeed to create balanced distance between each main :P so risky, but i think this is big challenge.
when i make montsegur-positions this is even more challenging. its even harder to create the skeleton of the map (mainly the main and nat setup). i try to make perfect symmetry / mirror so diagonal mirroring is awful hard. i need to leave symmetry and concentrate with my every finger to create equally sized paths etc.
decorations comes all after
i think it is essential that you find your own mapmaking method and whats the best for you. gl :) modified by Antares
Well the way i start off making a map is just with a concept idea. Either for strategy or for terrain layout. Something special that will pull the viewer or player into the map. Concept is up to you but there are a few things to put out. When creating the map, a good way to tell how your going to fit things into the map is either starting with a generic shape of the mains with a detailed set up of the nats. This way you know how much room you'll leave yourself to. The other way is to start up with the middle, or even the main concept of the map.
My methods are kinda wierd. cuz i usually dont draw up a blueprint and i don't take time off the map either. I'll usually make a section, then fully decorate it b/c either i have a great idea for the theme of the map and ill rush the decoration b.c i want to see how it will affect the feel of it. or i want to make sure i remember how i want all the sections to be and i'll use it as a reference point.
This really isn't suggested for most newcomers and nor would any mapper recommend it b/c u tend to lose yourself sometimes.. especially if you want the map to be perfectly symmetrical. But i think im fortunate.. most of the maps i make, i finish them within a five hour period. Some mappers take days. I on the other hand test things out after the whole map is finished and not while the map is being made.
Didn't read everything, just one hint: Use either SCMD2 OR SF. I'd recommend SCMD2 nowadays. Doesn't need to be the most recent version unless it has been around for some weeks, if you fear bugs in newly updated programs.
Using both SF and SCMD2 is rather bad. Though it works usually, you need to know what those two exactly do if you want to make sure they don't interfere. With exactly I mean knowing what they write in your *.chk.