Hello: In need of mapping software recommendations

[Erik2003]

Hello: I am new to the site. I am mostly interested in building a fantasy world, what are the software recommendations people suggest? What is the best? What is the most user friendly? And what is the most basic?

Thanks for your help...

I saw a collaborative effort, but it appears dead, so I may have to do my own....and learn it as I go..

[jbgibson]

Welcome to the Guild! The collaborative effort is being reborn, but slowly. If you want results soon, by all means roll your own :-). And learn as you go has LOTS of benefits.

Trouble with a question like yours is that there's a dozen or a hundred answers, depending on what you like, and what you intend. For instance - is the world you want to build a project unto itself, or does it support gaming? Or writing? Do you have preconceived ideas you need to capture, or would you be happy to generate something with some amount of randomness? What style(s) do you like? What era are you trying to capture? Modern National Geographic atlas styles, for a modern world imply one set of tools and methods, hand-drawn look on parchment another, and few-century-back printed, even typeset work is yet another. Check out the quick-start guide to fantasy mapping in the CG tutorial section - you'll get answers as well as further questions to ask :-).

Basic you already have, if you're posting from your own computer - it's crazy what some folks have produced here with naught but MS Paint or the equivalent! Do you have a restricted budget? Such commercial $oftware as Photo$hop is very capable, and many how-tos here at the CG and elsewhere on the web will be PS-specific. But there's free software every bit as capable, with at least some tutorials available -- and sometimes one can work out say a Gimp workflow starting with a PhotoShop lesson. One consideration in favor of the most widespread commercial software might be you'll be developing saleable skills. Not that one can't sell Gimp or Inkscape abilities, but many, many web or graphics shops already *have* PhotoShop or Illustrator.

I'm partial to a sorta-minor publisher of Graphics software, Serif -- reasonably capable versions they give away as a teaser, and their full-up more recent versions are an order of magnitude less expensive than the big publishers charge. If I was starting now I'd probably pick The Gimp and Inkscape (raster and vector drawing are two separate realms, calling for distinct software... which nevertheless might both be called for in a given workflow). I'm cheap.

There - did I muddy the waters enough? :-)

[waldronate]

I always recommend that everyone buy a copy of Fractal Terrains from ProFantasy (only $40!), but that's as much because I get royalties on every one sold as for any other reason.

Your question will, as jbgibson points out, ultimately come down to the kind(s) of map that you want to make as well as the amount of talent that you bring to the table (talent = inborn ability * time spent practicing). Many folks can achieve great things using only writing implements and paper; others want a "push the button and get completed results" sort of thing. A non-specific drawing package like the GIMP and Photoshop will do anything that ask of them, but you'll need to bring the talent to isolate just the things you want. More specific tools tend to give results of a kind more easily, but often are limited in the breadth of what they can provide.

My best recommendation is to decide what you want to do (and answer like "make a map" is a lot like "go to space" in its vagueness) and then try a few types of tools to see which one work best for you. If you don't want to invest a whole bunch of time, you shouldnt expect great results.