Programmers: please stand up!

[Umbran]

Could probably program it in their sleep.....or at the least in their spare time.

Hm. Not really. It isn't like creating useable software that gives pleasant results is easy, or not a lot of work. Sure, you could do it on your own time, but it'd be a project akin to writing a novel in your spare time - not a small endeavor.

And, most of the appropriate engineers are spending their time playing games. You'd have to drag them away from the hobby they enjoy to make tools for the hobby they enjoy.

 

[Umbran]

hunt down a key on a warez site.

Need I say this again?

EN World does not support copyright infringement. Please keep the conversation to solutions within the confines of the law. Thanks.

 

[nedjer]

Deliberate double post. Just stuck this in the wrong place;

The hold-up with mapping ain't the software or the layout. Inkscape, SumoPaint (good, cutdown, online Photoshop alike) and such like will give great results for free if Coreldraw and Illustrator are too much/ expensive.
(Strongly recommend vector followed by filters in raster software to get resizing and easy re-use of vector elements).

The hold-up is in putting together good quality icon sets, as it's making the symbols that takes time. I get regular visits to Thistle Games from The Cartographers Guild for the pdf 'fantasy icons' inside RPG Treasure's zip and installer versions. These can be adapted quickly to give styled icons, e.g. on the Renegade pages at Thistle Games. However, I stopped short of terrain and dungeon features, because they're tricky to weight and brush - and I've too much on to find time.

When someone puts together a set of high quality basic symbols as vectors, making maps will be cheap, easy and fast. Otherwise, it's a lot of work - after you've mastered the software. The 'value' or purpose of specialised software like CC is not, therefore, in the drawing or CAD features, but in providing ready made symbol sets.

 

[Mark CMG]

For non-commercial use, this link might be useful -

Downloadable Terrain

 

[Janx]

Need I say this again?

EN World does not support copyright infringement. Please keep the conversation to solutions within the confines of the law. Thanks.

You're right, but you only said it once here.

Additionally, if he owns the program, that he uses somebody else's install media is not necessarily copyright infringement.

It may be illegal to use a lock pick to break into somebody else's house, but it cannot be illegal to use a lock pick to break into your own house because you lost your key.

That is why I posted the advice I did, and all I got to say about it.

 

[nedjer]

Best Warez around

 

[OnlineDM]

I personally draw my maps in MapTool. They might not be fancy, but they work for me.

Some examples:

 

[Alan Shutko]

I'm not writing one because I prefer to use Illustrator. Inkscape is another option and folks have done some great maps with it, but symbols and graphic styles make Illustrator faster for me. It's got a learning curve and isn't cheap, but it starts making sense after you spend some time understanding the way it's put together. I prefer a drawing package to a dedicated mapping package because mapping packages are more limited, and there's the worry that they'll just go away as Dundjinni did. You have to spend some time learning how to use it, but I think it's worth it.

Nedjar is right that a hard part is getting the symbols. Fortunately, even though Dundjinni is down for the count due to owner's neglect, the forums are still alive and have tons of bitmapped assets you can use. The quality is all over the map... Some are really good, and some are wastes of disk space, but there's so much to choose from you can certainly find something decent to use. They aren't vector symbols so you'll have limits on how well you can scale them, but many of them were designed to be high enough res to look decent when printed.

With these symbols in hand, you can use almost any of the software mentioned here to make maps, including the virtual tabletops.

 

[Thanee]

I was going to mention MapTools. Seems to work fine for a lot of people.

But yeah, there really aren't that many programs of that kind out there... I never got around to buy a copy of Dundjinni to try it, and as it seems, I never will.

CC3 is probably the only professional-level program of this kind on the market currently. And as you said, it is a bit more complex.

MapTools or Gimp are probably the best alternatives.

Bye
Thanee

 

[lulzapalooza]

A tool a lot of people don't exploit to the fullest is Microsoft Excel; change the cells width and height to be roughly a square and use the borders and lines function to draw in what you need. Use quick-shapes as icons. You can make very nice black and white maps in about five minutes. It works best for battlemap square maps, though, not continent scale maps.

Also, learn to use GIMP or Photoshop to make very easy very customizable maps which look close to professional caliber. It takes awhile to get good, but www.cartographersguild.comhttp://www.enworld.org/forum/www.cartographersguild.com has tutorials to help the newbie.

In addition to excel, GIMP, or a vector program like AutoRealm, I think everyone should have a copy of the awesome CAD program, Google SketchUp to make 3D models of their environment. Learn to use the program even moderately well, and you can make fully three-dimensional environments, massive dungeons even, which can be converted into a flat blue-print style architects design which can be printed out to almost any scale and to a PDF. Once you've got the PDF it's simply a matter of overlaying a 1-inch square, printing, and you've got yourself the best, most detailed battle map possible.

Also, SketchUp is great if you're bored, because it's fun to use too. Create a massive temple to Cthulhu on your lunch break, export to blueprint, and start planning!

All of these programs are either free or already on your computer.