List of Mapping Software

[markem]

Try Inkscape or Dia. Both are free. Inkscape is pretty neat and there is a lot you can do with it. A good idea is to get a screen capture program also (or maybe use Snippy?). Because you can draw something, grab it, and then insert it in to something else. (Or you can just draw something and save it.) Both of these programs are general purpose drawing programs. But if you turn on the grid and do a snap-to-grid option then you can load in tiles as you need them and apply them where you need them. Both programs also have layers so you do the ground, then the walls, then put in trees and lay them on top of the ground. Same with bushes, flowers, stepping stones, etc....

[Daxon Khaed]

Hello folks Im new here and Im looking for mapping software that I can use to generate maps for a game Im running on fantasy grounds 2. I had dundjinni but apparently that website is so screwed up I cant retrieve my software key from thier store. So I am looking for new software. It needs to have the capability of generating a hex grid, as well as having tilesets for modern and science fiction games. Cost is mildly a concern but if it lets me make what I need I can certainly consider it. Any help would be great.

[markem]

A hex grid is really simple to make for any software (well - for most software). Check out Visio Guy's website. He has a quick way to do hexes. (Yeah - it is mainly for Visio but it shows you the technic on how to make hex grids.) There are a lot of really great software listed here. If you are looking for something that is free (just try it out or use it) - I would suggest Inkscape. It is a vector and bitmap program. Also, Pencil2D is good (but a bit buggy). The thing about Inkscape is that it would allow you to turn on a grid and adjust it so it fits your grid spacing. (This is a square grid though.) It also has layers so you can create a hex grid (or heck - just go online and download a hex grid), save the hex grid and then load it into a layer. In this way you can display the grid once you are through or overlay everything with the grid so you know you are making everything to scale. Inkscape will import all of the common file formats so all you have to do is to adjust the size of the icons to fit the grid properly, import such things as walls, doors, trees, or basically anything else. They will all become objects in Inkscape and you can drag and drop them where you want them to go.

I use Visio to do a lot of this same thing. You get a nice parchement background (or maybe find some grass), put everything else on top of that - and you have a map. Import the hex grid, send it to the top of the display stack, and it will overlay everything.

The great thing about Visio (or Inkscape) is that you can reload everything in and make changes to everything as needed. So like on one of my maps there was a fight in a forest. The players set the forest on fire. So now the forest on that map is partially burnt out (about two miles worth). To do this I just grabbed all of the trees in that area, went into the picture adjustment area and turned the brightness all the way down. This made all of the trees turn black. Then I just removed about half of the trees by just moving them to another layer and telling that layer not to show up. Suddenly this nice thick forest was a bare, burnt area - except the grass was still green. So I just made a circle, made it partically transparent, made it black, and overlaid the grass with it in that area. Now the grass is a really dark green - almost black - and it looks burnt also.

I use Visio 2003. I say this to tell you that you don't have to have the most current software with all of the bells and whistles. Many people here use older software. It's because then you just pay once for it and never again. Unlike most of the software now being sold where you have to pay for it each month. You can find good deals on Amazon, eBay, and other places. Be aware that the cheap software you see on these locations are usually free software the people are just packaging on CDs and then selling the software cheaply.

Anyway - I'd try out Inkscape. It is fairly good. And also download GIMP. GIMP can help you do textures and there are a lot of really neat modules and plugins that people have posted on here. Like RobA's dungeon maker. A really nice program.

[Diego Araujo]

I didnt' go through the whole 13 pages of the thread, but just would like to mention which softwares I use for my art and that would be very good for map creation:

2D Digital Painting: GIMP (free and open-source). Yup, most people may have mentioned or be using it.

2D Concept Art: Alchemy (free). Ideal for finding inspiration and shapes from random strokes and other modifications/functions. Never thought of using it for maps, mainly for character concept, but the possibilites are unlimited.

3D Modeling/Animation/Simulation/Game Creation: Blender (free and open source). http://www.blender.org/

3D Fractal Art: Mandelbulber (free). Ideal for generating chaotic images for inspirational work. Some formulas generate very interesting surfaces that could be the base for a city or planet. http://www.mandelbulber.com/

[mikoking]

I am looking for the best set up for making various maps for D&D campaigns. I am thinking about getting CC3, CD3, and DD3, (Campaign Cartographer, City Designer, and Dungeon Designer) but I am unsure as to if this is the best choice. I love the style and feel that they offer, although I don't know if that is something that is readily available through the programs or it I need to work with it extensively to be able to achieve that look. If you look at maps of Fearun (Forgotten Realms) http://www.pocketplane.net/volothamp...aerunlarge.jpg then you can see the type of feel that I am going for. Ideally, I would have a more aged look to the maps, but that requires more expertise than I have now. I have always just drawn my maps up to this point or printed ones that fit my campaign from google, although I am working on making an extensive campaign setting like Forgotten Realms or DragonLance called Auewk-Nea and it requires that I up my game.

Digression of the original question aside, is there anyone who has used these programs that can tell me how user friendly they are? I am a rather quick learner, but I am learning from scratch without even an iota of pc cartography experience. The closest I have ever come to PC cartography is printing large maps, piecing them together, then taping them.

[Korash]

Well, the CC suite of programs are (simplifying here) symbol based with a CAD pedigree waaay back. The style of the symbols used will give you a certain feel to the map. There are a lot of styles available, but I can't tell you if they are available by themselves or bundled with some other styles, or bundled with other stuff. Some people have had problems with the learning curve, while others didn't. It all depends on how your mind works I guess.

If you want to know what can be done with the CC suite, do a search for CC on this site and you should get a very good idea of its capacity.

**EDIT** If you are more of a procedural type of mindset, Gimp is free, and can be considered to be equal in capacity (weaker in some areas, stronger in others) to Photoshop. There are plenty of tutorials here at the Guild for both Gimp and Photoshop. They both have a learning curve that can be intimidating however.

[mikoking]

My paycheck is going to be hitting in about 2 hours and I think I am going to get the CC, CD, and DD bundle for $99. I have been looking at different map making programs for a while now (about 2 years on and off if you can believe it) but I was never quite to the point of dedicating myself to this project of mine until now. I have a decent paying job, plenty of time to where I can tinker with the maps, and I want to have my father help me on this project as much as possible while I still have him with me.

[Craig Viau]

Hi,

Looking for best map making software based on goals below. Thanks

I have a fantasy world I've been working on in Gimp. However after putting in some time there I realized I really want to be able to zoom in. Right now the map is essentially Earth sized with 6 continents. It is at a scale of 1 league per pixel a league being about 8237 feet. I want to be able to zoom in to add the rivers, villages and other smaller features. The map is 16200 leagues east to west and 6300 leagues north to south. I want to zoom in to at least 10x current the current scale so about 825' per pixel but I'm flexible on that. At that scale I'd have over 10 billion pixels. I have very specific requirements for the terrain, mountains and major rivers & cities based on which races will border each other and what terrain types they prefer...so random map generation wouldn't work. I'm looking for the best map software which would allow me to draw the map but then zoom in or out. I have a friend who took some kind of cartography course and said I should us QGIS software which is free but looks like a professional realistic map making software. If I could end up with a google map of my world that would be the ideal. I'm not as concerned with making it pretty but if there were some features especially for the coast that would make it more realistic (Fractal) that would be useful. I realize it is unlikely to be able to combine any kind of fractal or other computer generation with my specific requirements for terrain. I have done some good research on weather patterns to make this as realistic as possible. I have about 19 terrain types. What I don't have but would be nice is elevations and of course the map is flat like any Earth map not spherical so that isn't realistic either.

If that isn't hard enough it would be great if I could transfer the current Gimp map into the new program and then continue to edit it from there.

[shasjas]

Title: ViewingDale
Vendor: Viewing Ltd
Web Site: http://www.viewingdale.com
Type: Raster/Symbols
Focus: Mapping
Platform: Windows
Price: £25 boxed, includes worldwide P&P. (~ $49USD)
Description:
ViewingDale is a mapping program, zoom browser for maps and VTT. It maps at no fixed scale meaning that you can have multiple icons or maps on screen at all different scales / resolutions. Grids in square and hex. Maps are created by placing clip-art/images within the map environment handling opaque, cut out and semi transparent icons with grouping
Examples:
Vendor Gallery

ViewingDale says its no longer for sale. Has anyone got any alternatives as it looks really awesome?

[SirDrakke]

Figured I would add a note here, great post for a list of software to have and use. Now I need to get to work.