Anyone know of a GED tutorial or manual? I'd like to learn more about it but there doesn't seem to be a lot of info on it.

^--- Step one do not use GED
Step two don not open GED
Step Three forget GED exist
Step Four assume the developers will never fix the very broke program named GED
End of Line

They can not fix it, because crew 51 does not exist anymore.
(I think they have made it. Not sure anymore)

Darn.
Ok, barking up the wrong tree.
Thanks for the insight.

If you dont want to use WED (or only a little), try these:

1) use Sivan's map editor
2) use code to create your map (e.g. generate terrain and grass through some loops and random()'s )
3) make your own editor (I would say worth the effort if it works like a typical game/map editor, as in it uses the game assests and has build in units/objects of your game, a more flexible editor is doable but takes more time)
4) not sure about this one, but I think there are several model/scene creating programs where you can create maps in which you can than import in WED. Not surehow good the workflow for this is though.
5) for tile based games/graphics, you can use a text/notepad file to create your map and load it ingame as a string/strings and generate world based on that.

2/3/5 (specially 3) offer extra possibilities for modders modding of your game.

yeah 1) is open source!

GED source was also shared by jcl, but it would be hard to debug...

, I heard it is also better than the unreal 4 editor

definitely, in many aspects!

It is possible to create entire levels out of models, for example, in 3DS, but I never got the collision working correctly and the shading...
But, I've tested this in the old days, so it could work better now.

As for 3) , I went that road before, and it turned out amazing!
And, the thing about modding is true... It is present in my game , The Dreamlord.

With this editor, you never leave the game and it actually uses the gameplay mechanics, so you're literally playing while building and testing your level. I should warn you, that its a lot of work, but its totally worth it!

PS.: You can see a glimpse of it in the trailer:
The Dreamlord - Trailer

Doing a level out of models for even fps etc. is certainly possible. I am trying it now with my own made editor, and it works pretty good.
Shading etc. is tricky though, you will e.g. need to have a good shadow shader for that (try Slin's or ShadeC shaders which you can search/find on this forum). Also possible you may want to 'bake' shadows in textures of models in e.g. Blender. I haven't tried that myself yet but it seems to can have huge impacts.

, that reminds me of the good ol' times when first playing Age of Mythology and using its editor; placing shitloads of stuff and being able to instantly test/play with it.
Smooth integration of your ingame editor by the way