Quote from: GameDaddy;885335I use Paint Shop Pro, or Gimp mostly to make most of my maps. Some are hand drawn that I scan in, some I make with Unity 3d...

My Fantasy Map Album
http://imgur.com/a/GmYpH

I love the style of your Silverlake map.

I've been working in a near identical style based on some of the tuts from this guy's isometric views. fantasticmaps.com

I also have some of my favorite tuts from that site listed on the link page of my blog here https://jaspersrantings.wordpress.com/links/

ok thanks for all the advice ill need to look at these over the next few days ill make sure to let you know what i go with

I've used a mapping program that uses icons with GIMP. Which is how made this map using AD&Ds random wilderness gen system



Another method is to first draw out a map by hand. Then scan it in. Then wash it down to just a skeleton of BW lines. And then overlay a hex grid sized to fit the scale envisioned. From there either flesh it out in GIMP or print off and embellish by hand.

Jonathan Roberts is one of the best map dudes out there.

Quote from: merc;885326It's been a while since I've played with either game, but don't Civ 4 and Civ 5 have editors? You could use that, couldn't you?

Civ 4 does, anyway, and that's not a terrible notion.

For my part, I've seen a generation's worth of people tearing their hair out learning expensive computer programs, only to tear their hair out twice when the company goes out of business, and they're unable to unlock the program upon switching computers.  At one point, there were four separate threads regarding four separate such programs on TBP within a fortnight.

I've been using colored pencils, markers and 17x22 graph paper for 35 years now.  They work just fine, they don't get obsolete, their visual resolution is far greater than any affordable computer monitor can manage, and they last decades.

Quote from: kosmos1214;885154im looking at making a map for a world iv been cooking on whats a good way / program to use

A vote for Hexographer. It won't make you any pretty maps, but it's simple to use and versatile.

I also vote for Hexographer, free version:

http://www.hexographer.com/free-version/

Runs on all OS..

Quote from: tzunder;885542I also vote for Hexographer, free version:

http://www.hexographer.com/free-version/

Runs on all OS..

I looked into that once but discovered that it required the installation of virus script AKA java so it was a no go.

Quote from: Ravenswing;885519I've been using colored pencils, markers and 17x22 graph paper for 35 years now.  They work just fine, they don't get obsolete, their visual resolution is far greater than any affordable computer monitor can manage, and they last decades.

Longer. The Ashavergath map that is part of the collection presented here was started in 1995... So the oldest parts of this map is 21+ years old. These photographs of it were taken right around Thanksgiving of last year, and the colors are still true, the same as the first day I inked them. My oldest mapset like this that I have right now was started in 1991.

Sadly my original homebrewed game maps from the 70's and 80's were lost in the tides of time. My ex-wife sold the entire D&D collection, actually my entire games collection in 1985 during our divorce proceedings. I didn't actually play many games or much D&D after that, from 1987 until 1991 or so...

The 90's were slow also. Played from 1991-93, and then played just part of a short campaign hosted at the Dragon's Lair in 1997-98 in Fort Lauderdale, however it wasn't until I moved back to the midwest and had plenty of indoor time in the winter before I regularly started gaming and attending conventions again, and that was in 1999 after WOTC had taken over from TSR with the RPG Rennaissance.

Dragon's Lair has moved since I have last lived in Lauderdale. You can find it now at;

The Adventure Game Store & Dragon's Lair
Address: 6895 Stirling Rd, Davie, FL 33314
Phone:(954) 580-9008
Hours: Open today · 12PM–12AM

https://www.facebook.com/AdventureGameStore

Quote from: Exploderwizard;885544I looked into that once but discovered that it required the installation of virus script AKA java so it was a no go.

You don't have to install JAVA - there are portable versions of it, meaning it's "run, do your work, delete" version.

You might also want to run any given application in a sandbox environment.

Also, what functionality do you need? If it's "stamp an object into hexes", then there are other, limited, but still useful hexmappers.

AKS Hexmapper: 5 minutes of clicking + 5 minutes of photoeffects added in PS.

Quote from: Exploderwizard;885544I looked into that once but discovered that it required the installation of virus script AKA java so it was a no go.

Virii can be written for any computer language. Even any human language.

For older computers there is

There's also Worldbuilder 2.0

I have a DOS map generator for older 32-bit machines that will create an old school style hext map.

Also have GRID to create the old school hex maps for even older machines

There is also Wilbur, from 2000, and it runs fine on my 64-bit Win Server.

Current version of Wilbur
http://www.fracterra.com/terrain.html

Other mapping apps that work on newer Windows PCs

Soft Pixel Sandbox
https://sourceforge.net/projects/softpixelengine/files/SoftPixel%20Engine%20SDK/SoftPixelEngine%28v.3.2%29.zip/download


paint.net - free painting program available from

http://www.getpaint.net

Truespace - 3d Modeler, execllent for creating maps both 2d and 3d.

http://truespace.soft32.com/

Blender3d - Also a 3d Modeler, but can be used to make really good maps.

http://www.blender3d.org

Unity3d - Game Engine. Tremendously good for creating maps and entire game levels. Comes with plenty of free examples to get you started, and an enormous support community.

http://www.unity3d.com

Wings3d - Yest another 3d modeler. Completely suitable for making game maps... and other stuff as well...

http://www.wings3d.com/

You can make maps with Google Sketchup
http://www.sketchup.com/

AutoRealm
https://sourceforge.net/projects/autorealm/

Hexgrid maker
http://cryhavocgames.net/Tutorials_Utilities.htm

Now some online tools include ...DungeonPainter

http://pyromancers.com/dungeon-painter-online/

Donjon RPG Tools
http://donjon.bin.sh/

The Cartographic Emporium at Gozzy's
http://www.gozzys.com/

Good list. I use L3DT ("Large 3D Terrain" generator):
http://www.bundysoft.com/L3DT/

But it helps if you understand a bit of GIS computer-stuff to work with that, and some other software like Photoshop or something to paint on the map.
Makes some really awesome terrains and texture-coverage maps, though:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77NMkphZCfg

Quote from: GameDaddy;885546Longer. The Ashavergath map that is part of the collection presented here was started in 1995... So the oldest parts of this map is 21+ years old. These photographs of it were taken right around Thanksgiving of last year, and the colors are still true, the same as the first day I inked them. My oldest mapset like this that I have right now was started in 1991.

Preach it.  Heck, I've still got that pad I was using in 1982 ... bought it that summer to replace the previous one.  It has five sheets left.  The oldest of the 17x22 maps I can positively date is from 1984, when I started a new campaign in an area of my world hitherto untouched by PCs.

Quote from: Ravenswing;885519I've been using colored pencils, markers and 17x22 graph paper for 35 years now.  They work just fine, they don't get obsolete, their visual resolution is far greater than any affordable computer monitor can manage, and they last decades.

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Keep them in sheet protectors.  My original homebrew world map from circa 1990 has serious damage from years of use.  I had to redraw it a couple years ago.