Salutations everyone,
I am starting up Eclipse Phase again after a short hiatus when the last campaign ended.
I'm looking to do a series of mission based adventures but that's not really here or there.
I love the maps found in Continuity, Glory etc and was wondering if anyone knew of any programs that could be used to easily make layouts similar to those or even the program used to make those very maps!
Thank you in advance!
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Map Layout Design Program
Wed, 2015-05-13 15:33
#1
Xiphias
Map Layout Design Program
Wed, 2015-05-13 17:47
#2
MrWigggles
It'd be a probably a
It'd be a probably a combination of a vector graphic program and a photoshop like program.
Wed, 2015-05-13 18:40
#3
SquireNed
Hmm, I thought I posted
Hmm, I thought I posted something here, but it isn't here. I've used Inkscape to make similar (but less nice) things, and it's not too time consuming.
Wed, 2015-05-13 18:42
#4
Lazarus
For opensource programs I
For opensource programs I would highly recommend a combination of Gimp and Inkscape.
If you are looking for a commercial program then Campaign Cartographer is a pretty good choice. Gimp and Inkscape are generic raster and vector based programs and are not designed for drawing maps, per se, but they will do completely adequate jobs of it. Campaign Cartographer is designed from the ground up for drawing maps and so in some ways it will be easier to use (it's designed to lay down lots of symbols such as trees and mountains or chairs and desks quickly) and it supports a robust scripting and layers setup, but it costs money.
—
My artificially intelligent spaceship is psychic. Your argument it invalid.
Wed, 2015-05-13 22:31
#5
MrWigggles
I find that the UI for gimp
I find that the UI for gimp to just be combating you the entire way. I've been growing quite found of Seashore.w
Fri, 2015-05-15 10:45
#6
Xiphias
Hi everyone!
Hi everyone!
Wow, thanks for all the recommendations. Looks like I got a lot to try out this weekend!
Fri, 2015-05-15 21:48
#7
kigmatzomat
GIS software
This is the engineer in me speaking, but consider using a proper GIS software for producing maps. You can get Quantum GIS (www.qgis.org) and then download external map sets. Like from the USGS's astropedia (http://astrogeology.usgs.gov/maps).
You can generate scale, topographic maps of various planets and moons based on real data.
QGIS does require a bit of learning; it uses layers, like photoshop, but when you try to mix and match different datasets you have to use "projections" to make sure they are in the same scale, orientation, and point of origin.
—
I'm not rules lawyer, I'm a rules engineer.
Mon, 2015-05-18 11:35
#8
eaton
I've used OmniGraffle to
I've used OmniGraffle to produce assorted EP maps, and I'm a big fan of it. It's not great for the topographical stuff that kigmatzomat talks about, but if what you want is floor plans/blueprints, yeah, OmniGraffle or something CAD-like is a good bet.
One of the biggest things to look for is a program that lets you specify the units to measure everything. "I'm using a 4m grid" is way easier to work with than "I'm using a 1in grid and doing the mental math to make sure everything works."