Roll20 uses cookies to improve your experience on our site. Cookies enable you to enjoy certain features, social sharing functionality, and tailor message and display ads to your interests on our site and others. They also help us understand how our site is being used. By continuing to use our site, you consent to our use of cookies. Update your cookie preferences .
×
Create a free account

I need a good map making program! Any suggestions?

So as i'm getting into this roll20 program i suddenly find that i need a map making program to do the things i want to make my adventures come to life! I don't like cartoony graphics! I am an old school 2nd edit D&D player! I don't like the tileset maps on the marketplace because they are too limiting and i like one art direction or style when i am playing. So do my players! So my question is what program should i get to build those high resolution maps that i need for roll20? I like the maps that d20 pro uses i just hate the system!
For simple maps that you can populate any way you like I personally use dungeonographer (free with regular maps, buy it for huge ass maps) and just use black and white and maybe a few collars here and there for water etc. Its barebones, but honestly fancy maps are just too much work in my experience for what you get out of it time-wise.
Dungeonographer is excellent for all your interior needs. I have also used Dundjinni a lot as it is (in my view) better for outside or wilderness maps.
MapTool. It has a very useful export map function that exports the entire map as one image you can chop up into smaller pieces.
I tried the dundjinni demo it wasn't very user friendly! I don't know anything about map tool?
PyMapper and Masterplan can use imports of the WotC Dungeon Tiles.
1386959155
Sam
Pro
Sheet Author
I've recently been introduced to <a href="http://pyromancers.com/" rel="nofollow">http://pyromancers.com/</a> . I have to admit that I am quite impressed with this seemly simple online tool. The maps are good quality and their ratio matches up with Roll20 pretty quickly.
Pyromancers is surprisingly powerful for such a simple-to-use application. I highly recommed it. MapTools is great too, although the learning curve is a little steeper. I recommend watching the tutorial videos first, before trying to work with it. Just the videos that cover map building, you don't need to watch them all if you're not going to be using MT as your VTT application.
Map tool as a plain mapping program is very good. It requires slightly more learning than web based drag and drop programs and what you get looks slightly less good than output from a CAD adaptation like Campaign Cartographer.
Wow this pyromancers looks like the ticket it's fast and it's powerfull! Thanks Samuel T!
1386976113
Gold
Forum Champion
I recommend looking at Cartographer's Guild Forum, they give good advice and examples in their forum, for map makers, <a href="http://www.cartographersguild.com/forum.php" rel="nofollow">http://www.cartographersguild.com/forum.php</a> Next also look at ProFantasy mapping software products : Fractal Terrains 3, and Campaign Cartographer, and supplemental programs they make for these. They're more complex and have more abilities & more style, than most alternatives. <a href="http://www.profantasy.com/products/default.asp" rel="nofollow">http://www.profantasy.com/products/default.asp</a>
1387419535

Edited 1387419611
GIMP is a free stripped down photoshop, i make all my maps on gimp <a href="https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/421115/sharing-some-maps#post-456215" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/421115/sharing-some-maps#post-456215</a> <a href="https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/456126/generic-maps#post-484443" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/456126/generic-maps#post-484443</a>