Name |
Website |
Platform/OS |
Base Cost (USD) |
Cost with recommended add ons |
Description |
Pros |
Cons |
Examples |
Notes |
Campaign Cartographer 3 |
Website |
Windows |
$45 |
$99+ |
CAD type application designed specifically for mapping - includes layers, custom effects, symbols... |
Powerful, plenty of add ons, actively developed, designed specifically for mapping, no artistic talent needed, comes with lots of symbols (royalty free if used in maps), online & offline tutorials |
Learning curve, cost, powerful PC needed if making large maps with effects |
Floorplans Cities & Overland |
|
GIMP |
GIMP |
Windows, Linux, OSX |
Free (GIMP) |
N/A |
Full blown graphics application. |
Ultimate flexibility, free, online tutorials |
Steep learning curve, need to find/organise own mapping objects |
??? |
|
Dungeon Painter Online (Pyromancer) |
Website |
Anything that runs Flash |
Free |
N/A |
Web browser based quick-n-easy app for creating florrplans, includes WotC D&D like tile graphics |
Free, easy to use, includes tiles, no software needed, can add own tiles |
Basic functionality, Internet connection needed, limited map size (although it is pretty big) |
Info & Examples |
|
Tiled |
Tiled |
Windows, Mac OSX, Linux |
Free |
N/A |
Java based quick n easy app for creating 2D/isometric tiled maps. Includes a large collection of 8/16bit tiles as well as supporting custom tiles e.g. D&D Dungeon Tiles |
Free, very easy to use and add custom tile sets. |
Basic functionality but respectable outputs |
Game Examples |
|
Photoshop CS5.x/CC |
Adobe |
Windows, Mac OSX |
$10/month |
$10/month |
Professional 2D/3D Raster Image software. Includes full suite of support tools, automation, effects and styles. Premium choice for professional artists. |
Professional quality output. |
Can be overwhelming at first but has the best performing pipeline. Considered by many to be the number one image raster tool and as such enjoys a plethora of support tools and add-ons. Need to find own library of textures/symbols. |
Zeus Examples |
|
MapForge |
Mapforge |
Windows 7 - Windows 10, Mac OS X (no native Linux support, but can be used with WINE or Virtualbox) |
$30 |
Varies widely depending on genre and specific needs, but approx. $45-$100 (assets that allow for commercial use tend to command a higher price tag than those that are "Personal Use Only") |
Locally-installed application intended for creating great-looking maps quickly and easily, either from scratch, with the help of a random generator, and/or using professional content Add-Ons. 2D top-down raster image. Focuses primarily on tactical-scale battlemaps, but could also be used to create town/village maps and some area maps. |
Support for layers, textures, and bitmap filter effects (e.g. drop-shadows, glows, blur, color/contrast/brightness adjustments, and bevel effects); Ten free content Add-Ons provide a great “Starter Kit”, usable without a license (low-resolution output); huge selection of additional professional content Add-Ons for sale, some of which can be used for published or commercial map projects; supports print resolution as well as VTT resolutions; artistic talent and technical skills not required. |
May require as much as 4GBs of RAM for very large maps with many layers; not 64-bit, so must often be run in 32-bit compatibility mode; not intended for city maps or large-scale (e.g. continent) maps. |
Dungeon, Tropical Island |
Users can import their own (or downloaded) artwork, such as assets downloaded from the Dundjinni user forums, rpgmapshare.com, DriveThruRPG, the Roll20 Marketplace, etc. |
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