Looking for map maker software

hughen33_bd3a6ead9c · December 2013

I still have my old Bryce 2 and 4, unfort i couldnt find the free download for Bryce 5.5 and i dont like to download something that is malware or froom cnet, etcs. Wasnt sure if Bryce 7 will help me in my project and been trying to make maps for my wargame that has contour, etcs.

Can anyone give me some informations?

pwiecek · December 2013

There were several mapping packages for Role Playing Games that did mapping. If you're interested I can look some up.

Xenomorphine · December 2013

I was in bad need of something to create fantasy cartography with and was surprised there isn't something available in freeware.

What I eventually found was this product - which I found to be refreshingly user-friendly. Make sure to breeze through the various tutorials available on You Tube and you'll get the hang of it in very little time. There's also a version for creating interior maps of spaceship hulls and entire solar systems.

http://www.profantasy.com/products/cc3.asp
http://www.profantasy.com/products/ft.asp
http://www.profantasy.com/products/cos3.asp

That isn't to say you can't use Bryce for similar purposes. You very much could. But it won't give you the kind of auto-generated symbology, icon keys and even stylisation options I'm guessing you're looking for. It's better for doing 3D stuff than top-down maps.

Nice to see a user of Bryce 2, though! I have fond memories of using that from a magazine disc to impress my college tutors with! :D

hughen33_bd3a6ead9c · December 2013

Thank guys, didnt think i would get a word in this forum. Yeah i found that software Campaign Chart 3 from profantasy, but wasnt what i was looking for. Anyway i will get B7 and see how i can manage, like you said i will be doing bump mapping facing downward.

It been awhile since i use B2, remember making some maps facing down while roleplaying D&D. It does look realistic though. Wasnt sure if they added any more features for B7?

pwiecek · December 2013

If you know about profantasy you probably have access to everything I'm talking about.

Totte · December 2013

Are you looking for Campaign maps or Battle maps? It was Battlemaps and handouts the led me here in the first place.

Xenomorphine · December 2013

The Pro Fantasy line has a lot of RPG-specific products, including hexagonal-based gaming systems. Make sure you've viewed their entire line. Might be something in there useful for your project needs.

Bryce 7 does feel a more capable than I remember version 2 being, but I got it for free and haven't had too much immediate need for contrast/compare between them since downloading it. If you weren't too bothered with post-work, I'm sure you could create something in there and just overlay whatever map stuff you wanted in Photoshop. Although, personally, I prefer using the Fractal Terrains 3 package I linked to above, for that, since it gives a lot of geology-specific options to work with.

Totte · December 2013

Btw, I did some Maps for Axis & Allies Miniatures in Vue, but for BattleMaps I still use Dundjinni.

hughen33_bd3a6ead9c · December 2013

Well i am looking for something more definitions than CC3, and this isnt for roleplaying like D&D. Its more of wargame in WW2 in the Pacific. Here a mapboard i placed on the wall and trying to expand many bases and islands, the game is War in the Pacific and didnt have good tactical maps. I would have to keep the map light colours as long can see the contour lines to determine the elevations, so this each map would be 8.5x11 size to fix in clear sheet protector to be able to write details and erase them as well.

I have alot of free hand drawn maps, look really good, but i would need to add some colors to it, so would be able to see contour lines, etcs.

Here the campaign map, thinking about redoing it too. Since some features are incorrect...
https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=507999622577391&set=pb.100001020735595.-2207520000.1387096234.&type=3&theater;
Along with this naval engagement tactics...
http://wargamingmiscellany.blogspot.com/2013/04/cow2005-fletcher-pratt-naval-war-game.html

Its a big project!

Xenomorphine · December 2013

I'm not at all sure if there's a way to do things like contour lines in Bryce. There definitely is in CC3, though - that's precisely what it's for. There are various different stylisation options in it and you can free-form borders, different types of terrain and so on, along with elevation (even more the case with Fractal Terrains 3). It's worth perusing the various add-ons for it, since some will be more relevant than the base product.

Bryce is much more useful for doing 3D artistic renders.

Depends on what you're able to budget for, really! For actual cartography, the Pro Fantasy stuff would be key. If you're only going for the very basics, then Bryce could be adapted.

Might be a good idea to ask around the Bryce-specific sub-forum and see if anyone's got experience with using it for map-making and have any examples.

hughen33_bd3a6ead9c · December 2013

Can you provide some screenshots? I checked their site and didnt find what i am looking for, look like plain cartoon maps. There is one software that allow me to do it, they wanted 425 for it lol.

I will try google image on CC3 and see what they have, but they arent always samn, since ppls out there posting craps in the wrong places.

Xenomorphine · December 2013

Heh! Yeah, I don't think I spent nearly that much on it... ;)

Fractal Terrains 3 has this list of features:

http://www.profantasy.com/products/ft_features.asp

I actually like to combine images I create in there with Campaign Cartographer, because that's what I was needing at the time.

These, however, were created with nothing but CC3:

As you can see, the basic 'cartoony' look is just one way you can go about it. It lets you make very professional-looking stuff which could easily be used for real-world military planning. From what I remember, you select the type of style you want and then it filters all the symbols and iconography specific to that. A lot like how Daz Studio will filter stuff with smart content, except loaded that way from the start. :)

For a proper overview, I'd recommend this group of tutorials which should show you how easy it is to get to grips with. Much better than just looking at a bunch of random screen-captures!

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL523E033EA4013181

Hopefully, I'm not violating any forum rules by linking to a non-Daz site. :)

I'd actually go so far as to say you could combine it with Bryce by creating the general map overview, then doing miniature 3D shots of specific, key areas with Bryce and combining them in Photoshop or some other graphics application.

As I say, though... If you wanted to, you could try and do some kind of massive image with Bryce and just manually Photoshop all the symbology in. It's just that software like the above makes the entire process a good deal easier and more accessibly polished. It's definitely a good idea to poke around the Bryce sub-forum and ask some of the more experienced users for their take on this.

hughen33_bd3a6ead9c · December 2013

Xenomorphine, that really helps alot. Thank you and i hope you dont get into troubles posting this either. That number 4 gallery might do the job for me. Since i dont want too much colour or dark shades, this will allow players to write on protective sheets and be able to see it, then rub it off. Almost like in war movie, seeing CIC marking on clear glass to keep track of movement, etcs.

I though about posting my map and enhance it some on GIMP 2. Hold on, i will scan some maps i made and post it.

Here couple maps i posted on facebook, its pretty big, but only on jpeg format...
https://www.facebook.com/thomas.hughen.5/media_set?set=a.685519911492027.1073741825.100001020735595&type=3&uploaded=2#!/photo.php?fbid=685519924825359&set=a.685519911492027.1073741825.100001020735595&type=3&theater;

Note when i load this map on mspaint, its ten time larger and alot more details. Though about removing names, numbers and place them with computer texts for more professional. Now i just need to add some very light colour on the contour lines.

So idk, though trying something different and see if i can get a better map beside the one i drew.

Eustace Scrubb · December 2013

There was a fractal-based mapmaker I had some years ago that could do maps at many scales, with triagular, hex (I think), radial or square grids. I don't think it could do elevation and contour lines, but it was free. I never used it much, after I found that it didn't scale in and out well for things like rivers that need more than a squiggle at certain resolutions.

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