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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Alzrius" data-source="post: 5811060" data-attributes="member: 8461">I'm beginning to grow tired of using my erasable 26 x 30 battlemat in my weekly game. Don't get me wrong, it's nice and its gets the job done, but I think I'm ready for the maps that I lay out for my part to start looking (at least somewhat) like the maps in the adventures I buy, rather than squiggly lines on a grid.Hence, it seems like the time to look into buying a good fantasy mapping program. Unfortunately, I have absolutely no idea what products are out there, let alone what has the resources I'm looking for. Thus I'm turning to my EN World brethren to advise me on what's a good program for making maps on my computer.In general, I'm looking for the following things:Intuitive Interface - I really can't stress this one enough. How easy the program is to use is very important. If it's easy to manage, easy to make it do what I want it to do, then I'll probably be using it a lot. If operating it is difficult to learn and a chore to operate, then it'll probably end up being a wasted purchase. I don't want to have to code or graphically design my own icons, or enter complicated calculations to change the map area.Details - While I know that no program can necessarily have all of the mapping details that everyone would want, more is always better. Does it have icons for doors, windows, torches, tables, treasure chests, and more? Will it show mountains, forests, roads, rivers, etc.? Are there (simple) ways to add more, whether by making them or buying add-ons?Exporting - My main goal with this is that I can print off the maps I make (to US letter-sized paper, 8.5 x 11 inches). However, other kinds of exporting would be a nice bonus. Can I turn the map into a JPG or PDF? Or is it something that will live in a proprietary file format forever?Squares and Hexes - The majority of the mapping I'm looking for is dungeon-mapping (scaled to print at square inch grids), which is done on a grid. However, hex mapping would also be nice for outdoor areas. As a bonus, it'd be nice to be able to remove the grid/hex lines if I want (and, as a bonus, to not have the mapping artificially restriced by grids and hexes - e.g. to have a lake mapped out so that it didn't have to conform to hex shapes).Is this a pipe-dream, or does such a mapping program actually exist?</blockquote>

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