New member here, long time CC2 user

[Xyxox]

Hi all, new member here.

I've done quite a bit in CC2 back in the early part of last decade. I had to set it aside for a while due to family concerns and work, but am getting back into it. I've installed all of my software again and will be updating to CC3+ soon.

Wanted to get the general feeling of what users here felt about this tool. I like it and will be working on updating some of my personal symbol sets to a newer look and feel.

[Chick]

Hello Xyxox, welcome to the Guild! I hope we'll be seeing some of your maps soon

[Xyxox]

Thanks, chick. I look forward to sharing some of my work. I'll be starting with symbols, but then will graduate to maps. Most of my old work was on a computer from three or four computers ago, lol, but I saved my symbols on a CD. Styles have changed since then and they should be updated.

[Meshon]

I am also looking forward to checking out your work! I am pretty much completely unfamiliar with CC, I think I may have used it when there weren't any numbers after it… I'm guessing you can build your own symbols? What software do you use, and what format are the symbols in? I'm always keen to look for ways to make sharing more useful. I should probably just look into it!

Welcome to the guild!

cheers,
Meshon

[Xyxox]

You can create symbols within CC2. I suspect there are more options for symbol creation in CC3+, even though but I've just begun exploring the functionality within that product. All CC2 symbols are contained within files with an .FSC extension. I believe there is a way to export to other formats, though. I'll have to explore.

[Mark Oliva]

It's not clear how much you understand about CC3 and CC3+. CC2 and CC2 Pro could work only with vector symbols (objects) and, to a limited extent, vector and raster fill styles (textures). CC3 and CC3+ work 100% with both. Most of the fancy CC3 or CC3+ maps that one sees nowadays are raster graphics, not vector graphics.

If you prefer vector graphic symbols, you can make them in CC3 or CC3+ in the same way you did with CC2 and CC2 Pro. Making raster symbols is a somewhat different matter. You can make the graphical content of a raster symbol in CC3 or CC3+ and export it as a .PNG file. If the graphic is a rectangle or square (no irregular borders), you can import it into CC3 or CC3+ as a raster symbol.

However, if you make a symbol in CC3 or CC3+ that has an irregular shape, you must go into another program to finish the job. CC3 and CC3+ do not have the tools you need to make the area outside of the irregular shape transparent. Therefore, you need to open the PNG file that you exported from CC3 or CC3+ into a program such as The GIMP, Paint.net or Adobe Photoshop, define the alpha channel area (for transparency) and then import it back into CC3 or CC3+ as a symbol.

[Xyxox]

Thanks, I've not gotten deep into CC3 yet as I've only watched some tutorials (and nothing about symbols yet). I'm most used to vector symbols, but will explore raster fill styles once I purchase my upgrades. I'm still deciding on what to get as I had most of the add-ons when I last used the software.