coreyclark
First Post
I am looking for a mapping program to aid in the creation of my campaign setting.
Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Mapping Programs
coreyclark
First Post
At this point, it does not matter. I am in the early stages of setting development, but am "putting my ducks in a row".
Thanks.
Thanks.
Mark
CreativeMountainGames.com
Check out http://www.nbos.com
They have a very affordable program that does just about anything the expensive programs do and much more than any of the free programs on the net. It's also the most intuitive mapping program available for folks who don't have experience with programs based on those used in architectural or engineering fields. They have a free downloadable demo that should be the best way to see if it suits your needs.
Hope that helps!
They have a very affordable program that does just about anything the expensive programs do and much more than any of the free programs on the net. It's also the most intuitive mapping program available for folks who don't have experience with programs based on those used in architectural or engineering fields. They have a free downloadable demo that should be the best way to see if it suits your needs.
Hope that helps!
Darraketh
First Post
Check out some of my work with HexMapper in this thread.
The program is point and click so there is hardly no learning curve. It's no CC2 but it gets the job done.
The program is point and click so there is hardly no learning curve. It's no CC2 but it gets the job done.
The old standby is Campaign Cartographer. It has a bit of a learning curve, but is quite powerful. Honestly I'm not aware of any other mapping software out there... but I'm sure there is an alternative of some kind.
Edit: remind me to refresh the thread before I post next time. :;
Edit: remind me to refresh the thread before I post next time. :;
Last edited:
Psion
Adventurer
Campaign Cartographer is the standard. Contrary to what some will tell you, no you do not have to know a whit of engineering cad before you use it -- I didn't at the time.
Campaign Cartographer is extremely powerful in its basic package, being able to handle overland maps, dungeons, and cities all out of the basic disk, and has one the best symbol sets arounds.
Profantasy also has a variety of add ons that make it more powerful (Dungeon Designer which add fancy bits like floor patterns and more symbols, city designer give you the ability to add rows of randomized buildings, simplifying the arduous task of drawing cities), things which no other mapper on the market is currently capable of.
Profantasy also has a stand alone package called Fractal Terrains that will build whole worlds to your specifications at the touch of a button. It does not require CC2, but can export any of its maps to CC2 in a variety of formats and is a very fun program to use.
For more info, check out
www.profantasy.com
Campaign Cartographer is extremely powerful in its basic package, being able to handle overland maps, dungeons, and cities all out of the basic disk, and has one the best symbol sets arounds.
Profantasy also has a variety of add ons that make it more powerful (Dungeon Designer which add fancy bits like floor patterns and more symbols, city designer give you the ability to add rows of randomized buildings, simplifying the arduous task of drawing cities), things which no other mapper on the market is currently capable of.
Profantasy also has a stand alone package called Fractal Terrains that will build whole worlds to your specifications at the touch of a button. It does not require CC2, but can export any of its maps to CC2 in a variety of formats and is a very fun program to use.
For more info, check out
www.profantasy.com
Campaign Cartographer is very powerful and is the best of the best. You do have to read the manual to use it but there is nothing you can't do with the program. The current patch CC2pro has made the program easier to learn and perform task.
The biggest plus with CC is the support, join the mail list and you will be help with any problem. No one has better support.
The biggest plus with CC is the support, join the mail list and you will be help with any problem. No one has better support.
Hand - Could you detail what CC2Pro is? I'm running v6, and recently saw posted something about an upgrade.
I went to the profantasy website, registered (ok, I admit, I'm bad about that), but found no sign of an upgrade past my version.
Is CC2pro an actual upgrade, or what people call v6?
I'm all over CC2, and would advise EVERYONE to use it. It is k.a....
Thanks in advance, Hand...
I went to the profantasy website, registered (ok, I admit, I'm bad about that), but found no sign of an upgrade past my version.
Is CC2pro an actual upgrade, or what people call v6?
I'm all over CC2, and would advise EVERYONE to use it. It is k.a....
Thanks in advance, Hand...
Uller
Adventurer
Okay...we know all about the high end: CC2. But if spending $80 in order to draw a map is not your thing, there are a number of alternatives.
I use Dungeoncrafter (www.dungeoncrafter.com) for building interiors and villages. It isn't too bad (for a free product) and there seems to be a small user community built up around it so finding a good variety of tile sets is not too hard. It is reasonably limitted, but you can modify tilesets using MS Paint.
For regional maps, I use Paint. Yeah...you read right. Paint. Sure, the maps arent anywhere close to what one could do with CC2, but hey....it's free. I open two sessions of paint and use one as a place to create objects that I want to repeat over and over (like hills or mountains or woods) and then copy and paste them repeatedly into the other session which is my actual map. Add some text, some dots or other symbols for towns, some roads and water and presto! you have a map. Maybe later I'll upload a sample to my websited to show you what I mean.
I use Dungeoncrafter (www.dungeoncrafter.com) for building interiors and villages. It isn't too bad (for a free product) and there seems to be a small user community built up around it so finding a good variety of tile sets is not too hard. It is reasonably limitted, but you can modify tilesets using MS Paint.
For regional maps, I use Paint. Yeah...you read right. Paint. Sure, the maps arent anywhere close to what one could do with CC2, but hey....it's free. I open two sessions of paint and use one as a place to create objects that I want to repeat over and over (like hills or mountains or woods) and then copy and paste them repeatedly into the other session which is my actual map. Add some text, some dots or other symbols for towns, some roads and water and presto! you have a map. Maybe later I'll upload a sample to my websited to show you what I mean.
Similar Threads
