Maps vs. Tiles

As a content-creator but also as dm I started to think a lot about the advantages of full maps and tiles. Sadly I've got no credit card so I have no option to buy stuff on the marketplace. That's why I'm interested in opinions of people who have experiences with both, ideally bought on the marketplace. What do you prefer? Pre-built Maps or small tiles that allow you to customize every details ? In practice I came to the conclusion that I like pre-built maps that I can easily modify afterwards. Especially if my players are ruining my plans and force me to create new terrain I haven't prepared. And there is also often the fact that me or the players get interesting ideas from details on prebuild maps. That's why I created some middleground with my marketplace-sets . You can cover lot's of space with empty ground that you can modifie afterwards. But it has also some details on the ground like small islands in the river or some muddy areas to set up camp or something like that. But is that something other people also like to use? What do you prefer? Most screenshots in the forum are handdrawn or improvisational. How big is the actual interest in Tiles or Maps? Are you using them? Would you build your pages from scratch or prefer pre-built stuff? Do you even have Maps or Tiles from other sources than yourself?

Tiles would be much easier to use if we could paint with textures or at least set a repeating tiled texture for a background.

I personally make all my maps by using all the tiles from the searches and others online. This is one example of the many maps I put together.

I mix and match both but usually I create all battlemaps by hand if I can manage it, I hate spending hours on a map with tiles that never ends up getting used though.

What I have done is searched the web and find maps that I could incorporate into my campaign. I used a dungeon creator to make my dungeons. I use dynamic lighting in my game. I believe maps are the way to go. They allow the user to add what is needed for the game. However, I suspect it depends on the creative ability and/or need of the GM. Tom

I create a little of both, and find they sell about equally as well. Although, to be honest, I make tiles for my own personal use, as it speeds up creation of elaborate or large areas.

Creating both is probably a good idea imo. Depending on the gamestyle, some GMs might need to pull up a map on the spur of the moment while running a live campaign. In that case, a ready-made map is something they're going to want to look for. If it's for a location that they're planning ahead of time, they'll probably want a tileset. What might work best is if you create a tileset, and as part of the marketplace package, sell some pre-built maps using the set to go along with the tiles. Kills two birds with one stone. Not to mention it's also a great example for newbies on how to use your tileset to the fullest.

if I'm building a map from tiles I'll do it in Masterplan or PyMapper and then export the image. Otherwise I import a map image. There are SO many maps out there that are free to download