A polymer assisted deposition process for deposition of metal nitride films and the like is presented. The process includes solutions of one or more metal precursor and soluble polymers having binding properties for the one or more metal precursor. After a coating operation, the resultant coating is heated at high temperatures under a suitable atmosphere to yield metal nitride films and the like. Such films can be conformal on a variety of substrates including non-planar substrates. In some instances, the films can be epitaxial in structure and can be of optical quality. The process can be organic solvent-free.