Has anybody used this program?

[Lorne]

Hi folks,

A friend sent me this link to the DungeonForge web site:

DungeonForge

Apparently, it's a free, java-based program that supports transparent graphics, on the order of Dundjinni. (You have to register to get the download, though). Has anybody used this program? If anyone did, thoughts or opinions would be most welcome.

Lorne

[Robbie]

Look pretty neat...I might have to check this one out...I'll download it tomorrow from work and give it a once-over

[RPMiller]

I gave it a once over. It is ok. Also it is free so it has that going for itself. I still prefer CC2 over all other mapping programs, and with CC3 on its way this will still be a "for other people" program as far as I'm concerned.

[RobA]

I use it for a lot of my mapping.

It is NOT java based. Currently there are two programs available at the site, Dungeonforge and MapX.

Dungeonforge:
Is a tile based mapper that supports transparent pngs as objects. It is really good for making fast, tile based maps (i.e building interiors, temples, etc) It has an autowall mode, so you can just go stamp, stamp, stamp with floor tiles (or tile an area) and it will put a wall around all the tiles. Switch to object mode and stamp, stamp, etc. One especially powerful ability is graphics jan used just by navigating to them (though tiles have to be "created" so the software knows how many grid squares the tile covers).

Pros: It is fast. Supports transparent pngs, rotation, scaling of objects. All objects/tiles get embedded in the save file so a map can be redistributed and it includes all the components. supports printing battle maps (1" per grid) as well as dm (overview) maps

Cons: sometimes buggy. Poor doccumentation (though there are a few good tutorials) No reliable undo. Cant adjust the z-order of objects. No angled/curved walls.

MapsX:
Was actually the precursor to Dungeonforge. It supports poly rooms, including angled, curved and fractal walls. Also hex grids. It also supports the tile mode that Dungeonforge has, but the two modes are independent in the program (i.e. you can't tile a square area then merge it with a round room drawn with the polygon tools). The biggest pain in the but for me is that you have to import art into a collection to use it, and my art collection is pretty big

Pros: Poly tools (curves, fractals, etc), Layer support. random tile stamping (with weighting for each).

Cons: buggy, limited documentation, importing art is a super huge pain. No integration between tile mode and polygon mode.

Summary
As stated both are free (as in beer). The source code for both has been passed over to Dalton (you can read his blog at the site) who intended to pull features from both, but development is stalled. There is no bug fixing going on for either program.

Dungeonforge was designed to be a tile mapper to replace DungeonCrafter, but grew to incorporate some Dundjinni style features.

I have played with both, and like Dungeonforge.

Here is a map I made in Dungeonforge (link as the image is large):
http://www.dungeonmapping.com/df/pub...3/cooking1.jpg

And here is an example MapX overland map made by user Istarlome (with some post processing in GIMP):
http://www.dungeonmapping.com/df/pub...79/kapura0.png

-Rob A>

[Istarlome]

There is actually no post processing of that map. All the symbols (except one ship) were done with the Gimp. But the map is all MapX.

[RobA]

Oh - my mistake! I thought you had run it through a filter afterwards.

...And I hope it was OK to put up a link to your work

-Rob A>