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Can anyone pass on some advice regarding decent software to create maps and possibly handouts. My freehand work isn't that great (especially now that I've starting writing for Living Greyhawk).
This year I tried Campaign Cartographer 2.0 and found it the source of immense frustration and many fruitless hours namecalling. Then it upped and became 3rd edition.
Something a bit simpler would suit me. Oh and cost is something I try to ignore but can not.
Over to you
Cheers
I use Dunjinni. It is fairly easy to use and there is a somewhat active user community that posts user created art that can be used with the program. The core software comes with a lot of basic things you'll need. Then there are at least 8 user created art packs, which are free, and several expansion packs, which will cost you. The core software allows you to make interiors as well as exteriors, but not continent spanning maps. There is an expansion which is set up to make those 1000 mile wide maps, and there is also an expansion to make isometric maps.
There is a shareware version that you can try out to see if it is something you would be interested in. The one piece of user created art that sold me on the product was the House Lyrandar Airship.
Enjoy!
That airship looks amazing.
Will have to look at Dundjinni again.
I'll second the vote for Dundjinni. I've used both Dundjinni and Campaign Cartographer, and although you can do some beautiful stuff with CC, the crawl up the learning curve is long and hard. As for text-type handouts, I've taken to collecting handwriting-style fonts and printing things out on parchment-looking cardstock or paper (check out the scrapbooking section in your favorite local craft store--there are some really cool papers out there).
--Fang
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I also use Dundjinni and find it to be great. I whipped up a map of "The Good Fortune" from Seige of the Spider-eaters in Dungeon # 137 in about an hour, then I printed it out in battlemap format and Viola! A dry-docked ship converted to a pub is born. If I spent another hour I could have added alot of minute details but I find that how many tankards on a table isn't very important, the table is.
Anyway the user community makes and shares a TON of custom art on the messageboards over there and even whole maps are available for download. It has quickly become indispensible to me. Not as high of a learning curve as CC also. Easy to use. Some of the trickier stuff is harder to pick up but ask on the boards and any of the veteran members will be helpful and quick to respond with much needed tutorials or helpful suggestions. Great board.
Hope it helps,
FH
I whipped up a map of "The Good Fortune" from Seige of the Spider-eaters in Dungeon # 137 in about an hour, then I printed it out in battlemap format and Viola! A dry-docked ship converted to a pub is born. ...
Hey Fake Healer, do you have a jpg of the Good Fortune? I'd love to see it.
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I whipped up a map of "The Good Fortune" from Seige of the Spider-eaters in Dungeon # 137 in about an hour, then I printed it out in battlemap format and Viola! A dry-docked ship converted to a pub is born. ...Hey Fake Healer, do you have a jpg of the Good Fortune? I'd love to see it.
I printed out a hard copy of the battle map and never saved the file. I could scan it and email it to you but it isn't anything impressive. I do have an example of a dungeon I did that I posted on the Dundjinni messageboards. Linky-link, and this is where you can see The Dungeon of Symbols!!! DA-DUM-DA!
FH
see, i tried dunjinni, but wasn't impressed with it at all. i guess to each his own, huh. i've been using corel draw. here's some of the maps i've put together with it on my photobucket site.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f127/terrainmonkey/marinersbluff.jpg
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f127/terrainmonkey/gozzydung.jpg
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f127/terrainmonkey/wizards%20game%20maps/ bluedungeondm.jpg
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f127/terrainmonkey/wizards%20game%20maps/ iandung.jpg
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f127/terrainmonkey/jendar%20WIP/jendar3.j pg
i used CC2 a lot as well and liked what i could do with that program, but a lot of stuff came out looking the same after a while so i ditched it in favor of corel.
here are some more maps and ideas i have on the enworld forums. take a look. if you like something let me know.
http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=163663
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see, i tried dunjinni, but wasn't impressed with it at all. i guess to each his own, huh. i've been using corel draw. here's some of the maps i've put together with it on my photobucket site.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f127/terrainmonkey/marinersbluff.jpg
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f127/terrainmonkey/gozzydung.jpg
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f127/terrainmonkey/wizards%20game%20maps/ bluedungeondm.jpg
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f127/terrainmonkey/wizards%20game%20maps/ iandung.jpg
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f127/terrainmonkey/jendar%20WIP/jendar3.j pg
i used CC2 a lot as well and liked what i could do with that program, but a lot of stuff came out looking the same after a while so i ditched it in favor of corel.
here are some more maps and ideas i have on the enworld forums. take a look. if you like something let me know.
http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=163663
How much is Corel Draw? What is the learning curve like? If it is like CC then it really isn't something that a casual user would be happy with.
I whipped up a dungeon within an hour of recieving Dundjinni and converted it to a battlemap that I could use for figs. Could I do that with no prior knowledge of Corel?
Corel Draw really isn't an appropriate program for someone looking for easy to use mapping software especially at 2X the price of Dundjinni.
FH
How much is Corel Draw? What is the learning curve like? If it is like CC then it really isn't something that a casual user would be happy with.
I whipped up a dungeon within an hour of recieving Dundjinni and converted it to a battlemap that I could use for figs. Could I do that with no prior knowledge of Corel?
Corel Draw really isn't an appropriate program for someone looking for easy to use mapping software especially at 2X the price of Dundjinni.
FH
okay, well. this was far from the response i expected from a precious post, but oh well.
what we have here is a person who wants a simple program tha makes excellent maps and doesn't want to spend money doing it. this shows an incredible lack of a sense of reality. everything takes work, everything takes money. you can't find a cheap program that's going to make maps that look like they were designed by christopher west. it's not going to happen. the best one can say is work with the program like cc2 and see how it works. experiment with it. take your time, and get used to it. the same goes with dunjinni. i didn't learn to make maps overnight. it takes effort, creativity, and patience. that's what i see when i read posts like the op. he doesn't seem to want to take the effort, the time, and have the patience to actually use the software he has to make effective maps that look okay. do you think people who make beautiful maps did it overnight? no. they didn't. there is no such person. CC2 doesn't have the learning curve everyone is saying it does. you jsut have to learn the software, look on the site, read the help menu topics, and look at the map making guide (free download from profantasy) and follow the directions. apparently some folks that are new to the game can't even do that. sorry i'm so vitriolic here, but i just wanted to get my point across. rome wasn't built in a day, and neither should any good map. get used to the software, be patient, and soon you'll be making excellent maps.
For those looking for powerful software on the cheap might I suggest GIMP. Its basically photoshop except that its open source and free.
Will this make you spectacular maps? Well thats really dependent on how much talent you have. If Christopher West used Gimp I have no doubt the map would be mind blowing as he would have access to at least 95% of the features he is used to using with Photoshop, which is, as I understand it, what he and most of the cartigraphers for Dungeon use (he would have a few extra features as well but would not have a handful so I guess it all evens out).
I use it for everything as its both extremely powerful and the price is right (free). On the other hand it does have a steep learning curve, I certianly don't come close to pushing it to its limits. Still I get very nice maps from it and its not really limited by standard roleplaying conventions. My main uses for it are making players handouts, which I have a ton of in my campaign (and were it does an excellent job so long as one can access a colour printer) and to convert all maps for all adventures I run into isometric 3D versions. Oh and it has another problem - make sure you have a beefy computer. It's like Photoshop in that its a CPU and especially RAM hog.
Anyway watch that learning curve. I've been using it for more then a year now and I learn new things everytime I sit down with it. On the upside every map or handout I make is better then the one before. Check it out and see if its for you. Its not like it will cost you anything.
For players handouts your going to want to download cool fonts of which there are litterly 1,000s available for free on the internet. I try and use the fonts to give character to the offstage NPCs. Just try and make sure you record what font the NPCs write in as you blow the whole thing if you change their style at any point.
Really, the program you use doesn't make alot of difference unless you want to get really fancy or professional. Dunjinni, CC2/3, GIMP, CorelDraw, Photoshop, even Paint... I've seen quite serviceable maps done with all of them. Its your design that is going to make the difference. Play around with a few and choose a program that you're comfortable with (in features, ease of use, style of finished product, and cost), and run with it. Eventually, as terrainmonkey points out, you'll become accomplished with it.
For design tips, map-style examples, and a few comments on the advantages and disadvantages of a variety of different programs, check out my "Guide to RPG Map Making" webpage at http://melkot.com/mechanics/map-guide.html
Denis, aka "Maldin"
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Maldin's Greyhawk http://melkot.com
Loads of edition-independent Greyhawk goodness... maps, magic, mysteries, mechanics, and more! And did I mention lots of maps! ;-)