You are absolutely right, it does take ages to use the mask technique - that's why I try to stay away from drawing fields . I have not found an easier way to do it though. Drawing good fields is really hard without drawing them individually rather than relying on a texture. I have the full version of Genetica and must try having a play around to see if I can find a way to do it, but these days I'm stuck for time on mapping.

I think the towns look great without the bevels and keeping the outline.