god mapping programs

[woodwalker]

ok, I play dnd, so I typically draw my maps by hand, but my friends want to try fantasy grounds to save gas, which brings up the interesting question "How am I going to draw maps?". for dungeons, I already use Dungeon Crafter, and it works quite nicely, but I need to make regional maps, too. I think that Dungeon Crafter has a feature for that, but if my memory serves me, I couldnt figure it out to save my life. I would like to make my maps look like the one in the demo campaign.

thanks.

[Sigurd]

Anthropomorphic Gods might be relatively easy to map. Poser might be a good program for human forms, idealized physiques etc, and would deal with a god's position and choice of seating.

Large gods might of course present a memory and printing problem. Zeus or Odin might be several hundred stories high in some of their manifestations so I imagine scale might be an issue.

Strange or otherworldly Gods, I'm thinking of Cthulu and the more nebulous manifestations, would be really difficult and Photoshop or the Gimp might give you the sort of flexibility to draw all the squiggles, tendrils or misty areas associated with a deity sighting.


:D:D:D

Sigurd

[Toadwart]

You are a bad bad man sigurd :D


For regional maps Campaign Cartographer is meant to be very good. However, have just purchased it and have found it pretty damned frustrating.

Previously I have done all my mapping with Dundjinni. It's best suted to dungeon maps and small-scale overland maps. Not so good for world/regional maps though it can do them.
Dundjinni, while still having a bit of a learing curve, is more intuitive than CC. It's similar to a conventional graphics program while CC is closer to a CAD program.

If you are a decent artist you could do em by hand and scan them in. Or just use an art package (GIMP is a good free one). There is plenty of user-created artwork on the dundjinni forums that you can use too...

[woodwalker]

ok, thanks.

[heruca]

Good post, Toadwart.

The only thing I'd add is that woodwalker might also want to check out AutoRealm and/or DungeonForge/MapX.

[Griogre]

For real simple and easy to use program for regional maps try Hex Mapper. It's graphics are dated but OK and you won't spend more time making the map than playing on it. :p

There is a Yahoo group called Hexmapper_Haven which has the file plus some new tile art for the original version. The original page is here: https://home.paonline.com/zaikoski/ak/TOOLS.HTM#hexmapper
This is program is old and unsupported but still works on fine my Visa Machine. You may need to run the VB6 runtime installer - if so follow the recomendations and don't override newer files. I don't think you can beat this program for fast, simple and easy overland maps. I use this for mapping where my players have been. Here is a sample - The map is mostly white because they haven't been everywhere.

https://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m222/Griogre/ValonRegionPlayer.png

[SirJoe]

[QUOTE=Toadwart]You are a bad bad man sigurd :D


For regional maps Campaign Cartographer is meant to be very good. However, have just purchased it and have found it pretty damned frustrating.

QUOTE]


I'm a self-confessed CC junkie. I love it. However, the single biggest problem is that it really does not have a decent (or even indecent) manual. And the tutorials are pretty damn scarce too.

However, once you know the basics, making a map with it is very fast and the results can be wonderful. Toadwart, if you'd like to chat about CC3, drop me a PM and we'll set up a Skype session or similar so we can walk through making a map. I'd be more than happy to do that, and maybe we can even record the session to make a better tutorial of sorts.

Personally, I wish that the makers of CC3 would create some video tutorials (eg. with Camtasia and/or flash) to help get people up and running with the product quickly. I know they are a small outfit, but what's the use of a great product if people are scared of it! Duh!

Cheers,
JS

[Oberoten]

This is program is old and unsupported but still works on fine my Visa Machine.


Is this anything like a ... paystation 3 ? ;)

Sorry... well not really. Bad pun though.

[Griogre]

Now, now. A fine utility program like Hex Mapper still makes good hex maps despite its age. A paystation 3 makes a great paper weight. ;)

[bigdruid]

I own most of the Profantasy product line (Campaign Cartographer)
and as SirJoe said, once you get past the learning curve, it really is quite good.

Also, something SirJoe forgot to mention is that the community there is also quite helpful and have a fairly active YahooGroup (https://groups.yahoo.com/group/cc2-l/join). Like SirJoe, however, I would give my wife's left arm for a screen-capture tutorial for some things.

[Mellock]

Wasn't there something like the "tome of ultimate mapping" or... something?

[Tokuriku]

One thing a lot of people forget is a good scanner and that's all.
I mean, you make your maps like before then scan them.
It makes for maps with your hand made style, quite fast compared to map drawing programs and it's not that costly.

[John_Geeshu]

I use fractal mapper. Can't say I recommend it too highly, but it does have good features allowing you to build simple dungeon layouts and larger continent-style maps.

[VenomousFiligree]

I've just started using Fractal Mapper too and I find it very easy to use. This thread gives here (https://www.fouruglymonsters.com/community/showthread.php?t=1279) some examples

[tdwyer11b]

I agree with MurghBpurn, Fractal Mapper 8 can hold their own with Dundjinni and CC3. From my experience, it doesn't have the steep learning curve of CC3 and has more features than Dundjinni, putting it somewhere in between.

[SirJoe]

I've just finished a three-part video-tutorial on using CC3 to make Dungeons (it's about 60 min in length, taking you through a quick, basic dungeon, exporting maps, and then making advanced rooms and custom drawings. I've sent it over to the fine folks at ProFantasy and if all goes well, we'll get it hosted soon.
Stay tuned!
Cheers
JS

[Oberoten]

Now that is being vert helpful for those of us that can't make a decent map... unless it is supposed to look like it has been drawn by goblins. ;)

[Azrael Nightstar]

I'd suggest you first try scanning in your hand-drawn maps as Kenshin advised. If hand-drawing is working for you now, you may very well find it works in electronic form as well. If you want to do "post-production" work on your hand-drawn maps, the Gimp should be able to handle that (and for free).

The greatest part of my experience is with Campaign Cartographer, and while it definitely has a learning curve, getting the basics down isn't really that tough. And with all the power CC has, "the basics" is enough to get you pretty darn far. CC's capable of producing varied and beautiful results and has a lot of nice features that once you learn them can save you time and effort. Also want to point out that while they don't have a demo out for version 3 yet, you can try out CC2 which gives a good idea of what the program's like (minus improved interface and vastly improved output ability) and if you decide to try it but can't figure it out, they have a 14-day money-back guarantee. It's not cheap, but personally I find it worth it if you're willing to put in the time to play around and figure out what it's capable of doing.

Using a graphics program like Paint Shop Pro, Photoshop, or the Gimp is an option but you should definitely try before you buy, their learning curve can be as bad or worse as CC3's.

I haven't got much experience with the free alternative progs, I'd definitely suggest you give those a look if you're just looking for something for overland mapping, rather than the power of CC3 or the versatility of a general graphics program (PS, PSP, Gimp etc. can do a lot more than maps, after all ;)).

All of these options ought to allow you to "try before you buy", ultimately it's probably best to have a look at a selection and see what works for you.

Somewhat off topic: Any of the other CC3 folks wish ProFantasy had a forum rather than a listserv? I find the mailing list kind of tedious for this particular use, especially when it comes to searches, which seem pretty much useless to me so far :(

[kepli]

Somewhat off topic: Any of the other CC3 folks wish ProFantasy had a forum rather than a listserv? I find the mailing list kind of tedious for this particular use, especially when it comes to searches, which seem pretty much useless to me so far :(
Try Cartographers Guild (https://cartographersguild.com/forum/index.php) :)