List of Mapping Software

[zircher]

Just wanted to say thanks for all the work done in this thread. It's making the hunt for the right tools so much easier.
--
TAZ

[Qball]

a quick scan of the thread and I didn't see Blender. Blender isn't a mapping software but rather a 3D modeling software like Maya but the price is right - free. Its pretty powerful software with Perl support built in so you can write your own algorithms (if you are so inclined). There are tools that allow for terrain mapping and the animation functionality is pretty sweet. I can't imagine you would use this for 2d maps, but for 3D scenes and fly by films it is good stuff. There is a huge learning curve, but don't let that scare you. There is plenty of support, documentation, and tutorials as well as a vibrant online community. You can learn more at www.blender.org.

[Gidde]

Someday I will be able to use Blender. The learning curve feels like a cliff. I'm currently attempting to model my boat modification in it (in my oh-so-copious free time lol).


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[ravells]

Title: TwistedBrush Pro Studio
Vendor: Pixarra
Web Site: http://www.pixarra.com/
Type: Raster
Focus: Fine Art
Platform: Windows
Price: $99
Description:
A cross between Corel Painter and Adobe Photoshop. Has a HUGE number of procedural natural media brushes (which scale properly by preserving density) and most of the usual filters and some not supported by PS. This software is primarily intended for drawing and painting, not photo editing as PS / Gimp are.
Examples:
http://help.pixarra.com/m/videos
http://forum.pixarra.com/gallery/

Comment:
I've only just got this software and am so far impressed. Using it in conjunction with a tablet makes it really sing. It will import layered PSD files (don't know about Gimp) but it does not have enough keyboard shortcuts (hopefully these will come in future editions), and those it does support do not mirror PS so there is some relearning required. Incredibly good value for money.

[Grymmen]

I have tried GIMP and CC3. CC3 seems a bit more user friendly and effective.

[indigorising]

Reading through this list I was surprised to not see G-Projector. Nifty little piece of freeware from NASA that allows you to take any equirectangular map image and convert it to a different project - there are several dozen projections available. I tested it out with a simple square projection from the donjon fractal world generator, and was quite pleased.

NASA GISS: G.Projector — Global Map Projector

Edit: Another free program I've just discovered (haven't tried out yet) is Artifex Terra, a realtime landscape modeling program. Anyone here familiar with it?

Also, DAZ3D's Bryce Pro 7 and Hexagon 2.5 are both free for a limited time.

[Columna Durruti]

Thanx for the introduction to these software.
Cheers,
Columna Durruti

[Revock]

Thanks ravells, I'm going to try the free version, Twisted Brush Open Studio.

[Deaghaidh]

Anyone use ESRI products like ArcGIS or ArcScene? Obviously not intended for use in fictional maps, and expensive with something of a learning curve. I'm mainly looking at using them because 1. I'm strudying it for real-world uses anyway and 2. it's highly robust ability to store data geographically. I.e. you could select everywhere with an altitude under X and create an ocean feature to cover it. It also has tools for calculating watersheds and such to model very realistic rivers from a set of elevation values. Overkill for most purposes I'm sure. Hopefully I'll one day have my Mars map at least partially created with Arcmap to show here.

[Midgardsormr]

There are a few GIS users around, but I don't know if any of them are using ESRI products. I have been lusting for CityEngine for a while, but I doubt I'll ever land a project that will justify the price tag. It would have been nice for my current job, though, where I wound up creating 3d proxy geometry for almost all of downtown New Orleans.