Cartography Programs?

[Terry DM]

I'm seriously considering purchasing a mapping program ... problem is, I really don't know what's out there! Further to that, I'm oblivious as to which programs are good and which ones should be avoided.

Essentialy, I'm looking to create customized maps for my game ... in the vein of Darlene's gorgeous Greyhawk maps, but with slight changes / additions based on the various gaming materials I want to include.

Can anyone offer any suggestions and / or advice?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Alan Shutko]

The best place for cartography questions is The Cartographer's Guild. They've got forums where folks talk about which programs they like and why. A lot of it will depend on how much time you want to put into mapping, and what your style of working is like.

 

[Nylanfs]

And how much effort you are willing to devote. Take Campaign Cartograpgher for instance that program "can" make some of the most spetactular maps you have seen. The problem being that it's essentially a code fork from a CAD program, and the learning curve on it is very steep to get really good at it.

 

[MadLordOfMilk]

Depends on what you're looking for. If you want something really intense, complicated, but powerful? Something like Campaign Cartographer might be more appropriate. If you just want "I can plot out a wilderness map pretty easily with basically zero learning curve, and it'll look nice" then something like Hexographer is more in line.

Basically, look around at the different software options and see what fits your interests. Heck, learning curve and power/flexibility of programs aside, different programs tend to work better for different "styles" of maps. CC3 is great for a really clean look, but if you want something that looks more like say a really fancy sketched map? Not necessarily the best tool.

Of course, personally, I think pencil & paper is the best middle-ground for nice maps without too crazy of a learning curve, and plenty of flexibility

 

[Terry DM]

Thanks everyone!

 

[heruca]

Basically, look around at the different software options and see what fits your interests.

Here's a good place to start your search, although it's by no means an exhaustive list of mapping programs.

 

[Hand of Evil]

The biggest thing to do is find out which one works for you, try before you buy!


Couple of other mappers
NDOS Fractal Mapper
AutoRealms

 

[Ebonyr]

I would suggest a free program called Autorealm