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How crucial is to have a map?
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<blockquote data-quote="Quickleaf" data-source="post: 7097598" data-attributes="member: 20323"><p>I forgot to follow up, so thanks for your reminder!</p><p></p><p>So I've extensively tried Campaign Cartographer 3 and a little Dundjinni back in 2006-2009, and I really didn't like those even though I'm used to working in a CAD-based environment. I just felt like the results I was getting for the money I was investing never achieved more than "fair to middling." Maybe CC3 has improved with new add-ons/changes, but I haven't been following after being disappointed.</p><p></p><p>These days, when I'm working on a product or something big, typically an overland map that I want to be pretty or a critical battle map for publication I use Adobe Photoshop (or Gimp). Here's an example of an overland map I made for my adventure <em>The Beast of Graenseskov</em> using Photoshop:</p><p></p><p>[SBLOCK=Photoshop example]<img src="http://i.imgur.com/SvpJN9q.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />[/SBLOCK]</p><p></p><p>However, for quick-n-dirty maps I want for fleeting use at the table (or when I'm rushed), I've been favoring <a href="http://pyromancers.com/dungeon-painter-online/" target="_blank">Dungeon Painter</a>, which is a great web-based program that's in the process of becoming an app. Here's an example of raw output from Dungeon Painter before I touch it up:</p><p></p><p>[SBLOCK=Dungeon Painter example]<img src="http://i.imgur.com/DzmXYGw.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />[/SBLOCK]</p><p></p><p>EDIT: I've also found a lot of pleasure in using <a href="http://gamingpaper.com/" target="_blank">Gaming Paper</a> for my face-to-face games. It's rougher around the edges, but I've found that spending 15 minutes to pre-draw a map or two in advance works pretty well, and then I just need some black sheets of craft paper to cover up the areas of the map the players can't see yet. In fact, when I inquired about the possibility of <em>isometric</em> gaming paper, the awesome fellas at Gaming Paper chatted with me for a bit, created the product, then sent me out some complimentary rolls – we should be using those come July/Assembles once our gaming group reassembles from baby-making hiatus. Here's an example of a Gaming Paper map I made in advance of a <em>Dragon Mountain</em> session:</p><p></p><p>[SBLOCK=Gaming Paper example]<img src="http://i.imgur.com/IgRWNti.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />[/SBLOCK]</p><p></p><p>There are also several Kickstarters happening right now for cartography software; the one I'm following is <a href="https://hobbyte.net/" target="_blank">Dungeon Builder</a>, an isometric mapper with hand-drawn tiles. Very cool project.</p><p></p><p>And finally, there are many other mapping resources I haven't listed. Some of these are linked from this hub: <a href="https://wiki.roll20.net/Useful_links_for_mapping" target="_blank">https://wiki.roll20.net/Useful_links_for_mapping</a> Otherwise, I highly recommend joining the <a href="https://www.cartographersguild.com/content.php" target="_blank">Cartographers Guild</a>!</p><p></p><p>EDIT: As a closing thought [MENTION=6802927]Inoeex[/MENTION], I think the question you want to ask as a GM is "<strong>when</strong> is it crucial to have a map, and <strong>what sort</strong> of map?" For example, my more recent designs as a GM & adventure writer have 3D aspects – but communicating that to players not used to thinking in 3 dimensions (basically most people without a construction, engineering, architecture, or Lego Master Builder background <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> ) can be challenging. So having isometric maps I'm finding more important for my style of GMing/designing than a 1"=5 feet battle map.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Quickleaf, post: 7097598, member: 20323"] I forgot to follow up, so thanks for your reminder! So I've extensively tried Campaign Cartographer 3 and a little Dundjinni back in 2006-2009, and I really didn't like those even though I'm used to working in a CAD-based environment. I just felt like the results I was getting for the money I was investing never achieved more than "fair to middling." Maybe CC3 has improved with new add-ons/changes, but I haven't been following after being disappointed. These days, when I'm working on a product or something big, typically an overland map that I want to be pretty or a critical battle map for publication I use Adobe Photoshop (or Gimp). Here's an example of an overland map I made for my adventure [I]The Beast of Graenseskov[/I] using Photoshop: [SBLOCK=Photoshop example][img]http://i.imgur.com/SvpJN9q.png[/img][/SBLOCK] However, for quick-n-dirty maps I want for fleeting use at the table (or when I'm rushed), I've been favoring [url=http://pyromancers.com/dungeon-painter-online/]Dungeon Painter[/url], which is a great web-based program that's in the process of becoming an app. Here's an example of raw output from Dungeon Painter before I touch it up: [SBLOCK=Dungeon Painter example][img]http://i.imgur.com/DzmXYGw.png[/img][/SBLOCK] EDIT: I've also found a lot of pleasure in using [url=http://gamingpaper.com/]Gaming Paper[/url] for my face-to-face games. It's rougher around the edges, but I've found that spending 15 minutes to pre-draw a map or two in advance works pretty well, and then I just need some black sheets of craft paper to cover up the areas of the map the players can't see yet. In fact, when I inquired about the possibility of [I]isometric[/I] gaming paper, the awesome fellas at Gaming Paper chatted with me for a bit, created the product, then sent me out some complimentary rolls – we should be using those come July/Assembles once our gaming group reassembles from baby-making hiatus. Here's an example of a Gaming Paper map I made in advance of a [I]Dragon Mountain[/I] session: [SBLOCK=Gaming Paper example][img]http://i.imgur.com/IgRWNti.jpg[/img][/SBLOCK] There are also several Kickstarters happening right now for cartography software; the one I'm following is [url=https://hobbyte.net/]Dungeon Builder[/url], an isometric mapper with hand-drawn tiles. Very cool project. And finally, there are many other mapping resources I haven't listed. Some of these are linked from this hub: [url]https://wiki.roll20.net/Useful_links_for_mapping[/url] Otherwise, I highly recommend joining the [url=https://www.cartographersguild.com/content.php]Cartographers Guild[/url]! EDIT: As a closing thought [MENTION=6802927]Inoeex[/MENTION], I think the question you want to ask as a GM is "[B]when[/B] is it crucial to have a map, and [B]what sort[/B] of map?" For example, my more recent designs as a GM & adventure writer have 3D aspects – but communicating that to players not used to thinking in 3 dimensions (basically most people without a construction, engineering, architecture, or Lego Master Builder background ;) ) can be challenging. So having isometric maps I'm finding more important for my style of GMing/designing than a 1"=5 feet battle map. [/QUOTE]
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