Campaign Cartographer or Fractal Mapper?

[gurney9999]

Just looking for anyone that might have worked with these products and had good (or bad) experiences. I've worked with a very old version of campaign cartographer (one that came with the old D&D 2nd edition CD-Rom) but wonder which of these two programs might be the way to go.

 

[Hand of Evil]

The new version of Campaign Cartographer is very good but you still have to read the manual and do the tutorial. It is the most powerful mapper and does a lot, plus I think it has the best customer/tech support and a very active mail list.

NBOS Fractal Mapper is the second best mapper, somethings it does are better than CC2-Pro and is a very good alternative.

Now, which to get? I tell everyone that their mapping needs are going to be different than mine, so, go to the sites and download the demos, play with them and find the best one that fits the mapper in you.

Other mappers to look at: AutoRealms (free) and Dunjenni

 

[Ghostwind]

Fractal Mapper is easier to use, but CC2 Pro is more powerful and has better support in terms of add-ons and discussion list help. It really just depends on your needs.

 

[loki44]

Fractal Terrains creates excellent quality, realistic looking worls that make sense. It's simple to use but is best for really large-scale maps. I like CC as well but it is much more difficult to master. The two programs are compatible. I use FT to generate large scale global sized maps, and then export them to CC to add detail and more of a fantasy feel. I've seen a lot of mixed reviews of Dundjinni but I am not familiar with it personally.

 

[gurney9999]

Thanks for the advice. I am torn (like the ease of Fractal but desire the more advanced program). Since the end goal is to create a map that will be reworked for effect in Phototshop in order to create a map for a novel, this is an important decision for me.

 

[D'karr]

Fractal Terrains creates excellent quality, realistic looking worls that make sense. It's simple to use but is best for really large-scale maps. I like CC as well but it is much more difficult to master. The two programs are compatible. I use FT to generate large scale global sized maps, and then export them to CC to add detail and more of a fantasy feel. I've seen a lot of mixed reviews of Dundjinni but I am not familiar with it personally.

Just as a side note. Fractal Terrains by Profantasy is a stand alone product that does integrate with Campaign Cartographer.

Fractal Mapper by NBOS is a mapping program and separate from Campaign Cartographer.

I won't lie. Campaign Cartographer is "unusual" to use and takes time to master. However, it is by far the most powerful and customizable mapping program out there. In addition, the support from Profantasy is magnificent and the user community is super helpful.

As far as I know Dundjinni does not handle overland maps, yet. However the biggest downside to using Dundjinni is that you can't use your maps in commercial products, as the license prohibits it.

Campaign Cartographer does not have any such restriction.

 

[gurney9999]

Thanks D'karr... it is important to me that I will be able to use the maps I create for whatever I want... I'm leaning towards Campaign Cartographer.

 

[Ralts Bloodthorne]

However the biggest downside to using Dundjinni is that you can't use your maps in commercial products, as the license prohibits it.

Which is why I bought the whole CC2 package rather than Dundjinni.

Sure, the maps are nice, but I wanted to use them in a PDF product, and later, print products.

Combine that with the fact that at the time, they didn't support d20 Modern...

CC2 it WAS! And if *I* can learn to use it, anyone can.

 

[Chaz]

Fractal Mapper is hands down the best choice in my book. Excellent, effective high quality maps in a short time. Also with its scripting abilities you can do soem amazing things for making world gazzettes.

Peace

 

[Ilwan]

CC2 output

I use CC2 only, so I cant compare. But you might wanna have a look at my website with more than 100 CC2 created maps.

CC2 Pro - Community Map Collection
http://www.earlsdale.com/cc2maps