# Using Profantasy: Campaign Cartographer 3



## Solomon Tan (Nov 29, 2011)

Hi, everyone

Recently, I got struck in my writing.. well, stuck at chapter 1 is really embarrassing.. haha But I do realized that it's not easy to get started.. and I believe there will be many stops during writing.. 

So I thought that I should make myself a map and use it to reference and perhaps give me a better way to imagine things and add details to my story. 

So I browsed the web for map making softwares and found this. Profantasy: CC3. Saw its functions and capabilities... pretty interesting..

So, I was thinking.. is there anyone using this software?.. I know that it's kinda steep.. i mean the price and I heard it's not an easy tool to use.. 

I actually prefer digitalized tools, over paper and pen, because of my work, I travel a lot and my buddy(macbook air) always with me.. so I prefer typing and using computers to do the work...


----------



## ellianbaker (Nov 29, 2011)

I've heard of it, but never tried it. I stumbled on it much the same way you did. I swear by autoRealm, personally, for mapmaking, and then I color using Paint.net (another free/open source program).


----------



## Solomon Tan (Nov 29, 2011)

EllianBaker: Is it good, autoRealm? I want a tool that I can work with ease, and not one that makes my life more troublesome...


----------



## Devor (Nov 29, 2011)

I used to use mapmakers from a couple of the video games I played.  I would put together screenshots to make one large map.  If you can find the right game, those mapmakers can be pretty powerful.  But I didn't really find it flexible enough for me, and I got the same impression from the regular mapmakers I looked at, including CC3.  They can be limiting, and if you ever get published I think your map will probably be done by a graphic artist, not a mapmaker program.

For me it was easier and gave me more control to sketch it out on pen and paper, scan it in layers, and put it together in an image editor so I could tinker with whatever I wanted and print fresh copies to fix up.  But that's just my experience.  CC3 might be great for some people.


----------



## ellianbaker (Nov 29, 2011)

The learning curve isn't that bad, to be honest. Once you acquaint yourself with the tools and such, the program is pretty easy to use. My map that I posted in the Maps thread here (World Building forum) was done with autoRealm. I've done several maps over the years with it, and frankly, I'd be hard-pressed to use anything else.


----------



## Seth son of Tom (Nov 29, 2011)

ellianbaker said:


> The learning curve isn't that bad, to be honest. Once you acquaint yourself with the tools and such, the program is pretty easy to use. My map that I posted in the Maps thread here (World Building forum) was done with autoRealm. I've done several maps over the years with it, and frankly, I'd be hard-pressed to use anything else.



how are the costs?


----------



## Shadoe (Nov 29, 2011)

Autorealm is free. I've had it for a couple years but only got to the point of being able to use it thanks to Graham posting a short tutorial here. But I've seen a lot of maps created with it and they look great. I've been looking at Campaign Cartographer for a few years, but I always seem to get really serious about wanting it when I'm not working, and it costs too much then.


----------



## Solomon Tan (Nov 29, 2011)

I'm using mac and I can't get campaign cartographer, now that I realized.. and auto realm also... is there others?

If not, I have to go for pen and papers... which i don't want


----------



## Erica (Nov 30, 2011)

I bought it and I've had some fun with it. It is a bit pricey, but  started with the basic program and the city builder, which is a more reasonable selection than some of their larger packages. I had to play around a lot with it to figure out how to do certain things, but I think I finally got a feel for it.

My main issue with it has been figuring out how to access the different building styles for the city builder. There are lots and lots of different building sets, and it's hard to remember which of the sub menus access which sets. I'm still trying to figure out how to copy and paste maps (or map outlines) into new files though. Following the instructions in the help menu isn't working for me.

My main complaint about the building sets is that some of them are very limited, while others are more extensive. Also, once something is set and saved, it's not clear how to revise it. The eraser doesn't just delete the building; it deletes the background. My city has a mishmash of building styles for that reason. Also, none of the building themes seems to have every type of building. Maybe buying the expanded building sets option at some point will remedy that.

Overall though, it's been good for hours of entertainment. I agree that making maps can help you when you're stuck with how to go about describing something. But I'm very visual that way.

I just read that you're on a mac. I didn't realize that the software didn't work across platforms. It's a British company, so maybe they don't use macs much there? You may want to just try googling and seeing if there are similar products that run on macs. I think I ran across CC3 by doing a google search for 'fantasy map making programs' or something like that.


----------



## Codey Amprim (Nov 30, 2011)

Honestly, I just draw all of my concept art, whether it be map, armor, weaponry, etc. I don't believe it's all that necessary that you pay good money for something you can easily do, and while it may be a rough version, it still helps.


----------



## HÃ«radÃ¯n (Nov 30, 2011)

mac users can use windows programs, all you have to do is have wine.


----------



## Johnny Cosmo (Dec 1, 2011)

I've said this before in another thread, but I think a combination of hand-drawing (just to get the basics down) and software editing is the best option. It might take a little bit longer to create your first map, but you'll have more control when you get used to the editor, and it won't cost you any money if you use a free one. I use Photoshop, but GIMP is a popular free alternative, and I've seen people achieve great results with it.


----------



## Steerpike (Dec 1, 2011)

GIMP works very well. Furthermore, you can get free tiles all over the web, graphics created by the user community and posted for free for use with software like Dunjinni and others. You can use those same free graphics in GIMP to create some really nice maps.


----------



## Stephyn Blackwood (Apr 5, 2014)

Yeah, I'm the exact same, a big sheet of A3 and a set of good pencils or pens. Why should we waste Â£70 on a computer program?


----------



## e r i (Apr 6, 2014)

I've never head of any of these programs. Possibly because I'm a mac user too. I use an image manipulation program, not a program whose sole purpose is to make maps. As everyone's said, it doesn't seem worth getting specialist software when all you want to do is use it once or twice. You might be aware of these guys already, but they have some great tips on making maps without specialist software… I can't remember exactly where though: Cartographers' Guild - a community for maps of fantasy, sci-fi and real world locations


----------



## Svrtnsse (Apr 6, 2014)

I got a key for campaign cartographer a while back. I used it to make two maps - you can find them fro the link in my sig. They're not particularly good, but I also didn't spend too much time on them. If making maps was a hobby of mine I could probably do maps a lot more interesting. On the other hand, if that was the case I could do it with pen and paper too.

The thing with Campaign Cartographer is that it's CAD based. What that means for the inexperienced user is that it has a really high entry threshold. Once you're up to scratch it's probably rather powerful and you can do a whole lot of cool stuff with it that might be tricky with other programs. 

I don't know that I would recommend it to anyone else who's not already into map-making. If you're just out to sketch something up for a story there are cheaper and easier options. If you're serious about map making, then check Cartographer's Guild that e r i linked and you'll find much better information about it.

Personally, next time I need to make a map I'll probably use illustrator for the outlines and then Photoshop to prettify it.


----------



## Ravana (Apr 7, 2014)

I, too, recommend starting with pencils and paper. At least for rough drafts: makes them easy to alter or to throw away and start over.

I can't recommend any of the mapmaking software out there because I don't own any. Nor is there any special reason to, unless you want lushly-colored, smoothly graded topo maps or something. If all you're doing is lines and a few symbols, use any graphics program. GIMP is a good one, but even something like Paint (or whatever equivalent Apple is bundling with its basic package) should work fine. Odds are you aren't planning on using what you create as part of a professional release anyway, eh? If you ever reach that point, find an artist who'll take your sketch and pimp it out.

If you want to go a bit more hardcore, you can download Google SketchUp: the base version is free–and I can't see much reason to ever go to the "pro" version. It has a few disadvantages (mostly quirks which just take becoming accustomed to–like figuring out the difference between a square and a four-sided regular polygon  ), but it has certain advantages as well… such as being able to go 3D at the drop of a hat. And it isn't remotely as steep a learning curve as AutoCad or its competitors.

(SketchUp likes to pretend it _is_ one of AutoCad's competitors. Don't make me laugh.)

---

P.S. If you want to see something an incompetent artist can make with SketchUp, here's something I put together for one of the shared world projects floating around here:

http://mythicscribes.com/gallery/g524-city-of-kilvikasa.html

What's niftiest about it, at least from a prospective mapmaker's perspective, is that all twenty-odd images you see are from the _same_ file, just different angles and zooms. So if you happen to be a heavily visually-oriented thinker, it may be worth your while to go to the trouble of producing something you can walk through… or a terrain map you can stand at any point of and figure out exactly what you can, or can't, see from any given vantage point. I wouldn't necessarily recommend starting that way, but, hey, maybe that's what would retain your interest long enough to learn how to arrive at the finished product, too.


----------

