Historically, we have used a concept of 'stamps' with pre-designed patterns to conserve memory and disk space, but we're abandoning this approach, and letting the map designers just 'paint' surface properties with a 'brush.' This will bring more freedom and flexibility to map design it should make the work more effective when a map designer is in need of a particular terrain feature. Of course, this will also apply to the mod creators going forward.
We're currently in the middle of a massive technology change in how our map designers apply textures, materials, and vegetation to road segments. There are also some changes in the tools and mods category.