I actually like using 3d art programs, for doing smaller scale stuff, like a cavern, forts, etc
Not only can you do top down views, and add grids for scale, but in 3d views you can get a real "feel" for how the actual place looks and would "work", which is important if you're after realism/long term games.
I did this version of the "Rock of Bral", an asteroid space port form Spelljammer, early last year. before I got a 64 bit PC, alas. Had reached the limit of what my 32bit PC could take, lol.
Wanted ot do more detail, so I think I'll have to go back, and completley rebuild it on the new art PC, one day, 8 gigs RAM quad core and 64 bit is amazing!
Anyway, I couldn't get more work done on the sides of the asteroid, nor all the mansions/estates, as I wished, due ot simple limitations of RAM.
I used the original illustrations of the Rock, to work on a height scale in Photoshop. Note, in Vue or bryce, use 16 bit greyscale images for precision, *NOT* 8bit, or you end up with hellish "staircasing", as 256 (8bit) grey shades doesn't have enough blending, too few colours, so you get a "staircase" or step pyramid blocky look on the terrains, need to export as 16 bit tga or tif
I used greysacale images, just simple .gif images will do, to drive "material distribution and ecosystems", that is, a black and white image, is used to tell the program, where on the asteroid model, I want buildings, or rock, or grass.
So the streets/buildings are based off a simple street map, sort of, and I can vary that at will.
Vue uses "ecosystems", you assing trees, or buildings, whatever, and it uses "instances" of them, sort of like ghost copies in memory, so they don'tuse up all your computer memory.
You can make armies of soldiers/orcs, or forests, what have you. Here, I used it to replicate a few houses many, many times, in organized 90 degree directions, to give streets of houses.
[sblock="The Rock of Bral, in 3D"]
[/sblock]
THis is an illustration I made years ago in Bryce, for an encounter at a gnoll mine
http://www.silverblades-suitcase.com/erynavar/htm/adventures1.htm
I built the watch towers in 3D (and give 'em away as a freebie on my site too), and sculpted the terrain inside bryce to fit what I imagined.
Also did CC maps.
http://www.silverblades-suitcase.com/erynavar/htm/gnollmine.htm
[sblock="Gnoll mine"]
[/sblock]
And this is a pic from a layout of a hobgoblin mountain cave fortress, created in Rhino3D
[sblock="Hobgoblin Fortress"]
[/sblock]
So, much as I like Campaign Cartogrpaher, Paint Shop Pro...my absolutely crappy drawing skills make me go towards 3D
