List of Mapping Software

[lobex3]

Is there a consensus of the best (combination of ease of use and best features?) mapping software? I am especially focused on interiors of fantasy settings such as dungeons and buildings, but would also like to be able to create nice overall maps.

[Mark Oliva]

Is there a consensus of the best (combination of ease of use and best features?) mapping software? .

There are lots of opinions but nothing like a consensus. Each of us has his or her own favorite tools, and they make up a long list of alternatives.

[DarkMushroomGames]

truly amazing resource guys!!!

where has this been all my gaming life?!

thanks for posting !

[WorldspinnerDG]

One more to add to the list... currently under development, with a Kickstarter campaign, but hopefully still of interest:

Title: Worldspinner
Vendor: Worldspinner LLC
Web Site: Worldspinner.com
or the Kickstarter site: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...r-and-map-make
Type: interative and rendered maps
Focus: Fantasy RPGs
Platform: Web based
Price: free to try; pay for printed maps
Description:
Worldspinner makes it easy to create richly detailed maps of your own fantasy world in minutes. The tool creates an entire world (geology, climate, ecology) then populates it with people (cultures, nations, and cities) and if you like even adds adventure content (plots and points of interest on the map to explore). The focus is to make worldbuilding easy, by enabling the user to make broad choices that control the type of world being made, and to allow cities and points of interest to be easily added or altered, rather than to allow/require the user to provide every detail of the world by hand.

[johnvanvliet]

old thread and one that is in need of updating , maybe start a new one ?

but in the meantime ....

it really comes down to WHAT one is doing and what TYPE of "map" one is making

with that in mind , I start with a 32 bit floating point image or a 16bit Unsigned image
i find that when working on a 16 bit image that unsigned ( 0-65538 ) works better in most software than using a signed image ( -32768 to 32767 )
and move that data into 32 bit float .

this reduces the software that can be used

Also most of the work on said maps tends to be in "Simple cylindrical" for a full planet
Mercator for the areas around 45 to 85 north/south
Polarstereographic for the two poles

so for my needs the "best software" is different than someone making a dungeon

ISIS3 ( yes it is mainly for THIS solar system and NOT the Earth )
USGS Isis: Planetary Image Processing Software

GDAL
GDAL: GDAL - Geospatial Data Abstraction Library

this has many variants like FW-tools that include Proj4
FWTools: Open Source GIS/RS Binary Kit

----------------------

For viewing and over all image editing there is Nip2/Vips
VipsWiki

it is like a cross of lotas123 and gimp
the GUI " nip2" to the VIPS imaging library works a bit like a spread sheet
BUT
it handles 8 bit ( signed and unsigned)
16 bit ( signed and unsigned)
32 bit long and double
32 bit float
image data

there is also for working on 32bit images
16 bit can be done with imagemagick Q16
BUT
This has REPLACED IM as a tool i use

"G'Mic"
G'MIC - GREYC's Magic for Image Computing: An Open and Full-Featured Framework for Image Processing

as above it also handles images these forms
bool | uchar | char | ushort | short | uint | int | ulong | long | float | double
( but you need to hack the current source code to RE ENABLE some of the little used formats )

you can also use gmic's math functions to run a polar transform on a map to work on the north/south poles


there is also Gimp 2.8 is still 8 bit
sometime soon ??? Gimp3 will be out and that will handle 16 bit and i think 32 bit images

[johnvanvliet]

huanhuan
IF you are a real human

you posted the first sentence form post #20 on THIS thread

and the others are about the same
http://www.cartographersguild.com/member.php?u=92137

[ravells]

Thank you johnvanvliet for reporting the bot - it has been exterminated

[markem]

I realize this is a bit late but...

Two pieces of software whicih seems to have been overlooked are:

1. Visio
2. Fireworks

I have used CC3 and am testing out the new CC3+. I really do like CC3 (and +) but when I use them I have to think in reverse. It is like some of my early programs I used to write at NASA. You basically have to set everything up AND THEN do the operation. The thing is, several years earlier I had had to learn Visio 2003. Unlike the current version of Visio, the 2003 version is a 2D CAD system with graphics capabilities. The later versions are an art program with CAD capabilities which have been slowly hidden or removed from the program. The 2003 version has some very nice things that it can do. Primarily among those "things" is to include what are called the INK capabilities. These capabilities allow you to draw freehand any line you want to draw. You can then convert that line to a geometric shape which then allows you to insert new points, remove points, and do everything else you can do to a 2D CAD shape. A great way to make a coastline is to use the INK drawing tools, convert it to geometry, and then insert a rectangle large enough to cover the INK drawing from one side to the other. Then you select the line and rectangle and tell Visio to Fragment them. This will split the rectangle into two parts. You take one part and color it green and the other part blue and you have the ocean next to the land. One of the other great things about Visio is that it does handle vector shapes so just like with CC3 - you can increase or decrease the size of the images. The thing about Visio is - you can just drag and drop how large you want to make the image OR you can set it manually. Visio does it either way. Which is one of the reasons I use CC3 to do most of the layout and then I import it in to Visio to work on it more.

Fireworks is Visio on steroids (or CC3 on steroids). Fireworks (I have the CS3 version) allows you to have any size surface to work on. Like CC3 and Visio, Fireworks handles both Vector as well as Raster images. But it doesn't stop there. Unlike Illustrator where you have to have to work in a certain way, Fireworks allows you to create images in several ways and not only does the entire workarea have layers BUT the individual objects have layers. So you can have a house and put various items onto just the thatched roof or just the doors. Further, unlike Visio 2003 - Fireworks CS3 has never crashed on me. No matter HOW large of an image I am working with. (Like a 763 MB map that I had scanned in at 1200dpi and was 4ft x 3ft. Visio croaks but Photoshop and Fireworks just keep chugging away. And yes, sadly, CC3 croaked trying to load it in.) I bought the Master Suite of Adobe's CS3 products but mainly just used Photoshop until someone showed me Firewworks. I like it better than Visio but I am very used to using Visio. So I still use it the most. But Fireworks is a close second.

Don't think though - that I don't like or don't use CC3. CC3 has some amazing things that it can do and I use it a lot when I am ref'ing a game. In some instances it is a lot faster to use than Visio. So it really just depends upon what I am doing.

Anyway - Visio and Fireworks were left off of the list and they really should be on it. :-)

[johnvanvliet]

just to clarify
For visio you are refering th the Microsoft Office program
http://products.office.com/en-us/vis...chart-software
that runs $254.99 USD

and for Fireworks
you are referring to Adobe -Fireworks
https://creative.adobe.com/products/fireworks
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Fireworks

[markem]

Yes. Except Visio 2003 can be had for as little as $50.00. You have to keep an eye out for it. I bought Visio 2003 for $50.00 a while back and then bought a business suite of updates from Microsoft for $20.00. What is weird about Visio 2003 is that sometimes people post wanting up to three times the original value of the software. Other times you can get it for next to nothing. Over the past ten years I have bought Visio 2003 three times for $50.00 or less. I bought so many because I had my development computer, a graphics computer (I am digitizing all of my manuals), and then a computer I carry around with me to various companies when I'm doing contract programming.

Fireworks CS3 I got off of eBay for $250.00. This was the entire Master Suite including Photoshop, Illustrator, Fireworks, and at least ten more programs. If you divided up the cost it would be $250.00 / 13 ~ $20.00 per piece of software. Of course no one sells the separate programs that way but that is the approximate price per piece of software.

Currently on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...Bvisio+%2B2003

Visio 2003 is beteen $97.00 and $150.00

Visio 2003 on eBay: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from...B2003&_sacat=0

Visio 2003 is $55.00 (Buy it now)

Fireworks CS3 on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...reworks+%2Bcs3

Fireworks CS3 on Amazon.com : Grossly expensive

Fireworks CS3 on eBay.com : http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw...2Bcs3&_sacat=0

Adobe Master Suite CS3 which contains Fireworks CS3 : $195.00
(So less than I paid for it.)