Excellent software for mapmakers
 

Campaign Cartographer 3

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

Cool, I had an old version of that, and totally forgot about it. I personally like the cartoony maps and Lutes maps, but the fractal mapper is way fun to play with.

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

That software costs more than the Dominions3 game. Anyone know of some free mapmaking software ?

Yes I already have GIMP.

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

Gimp actually generates some decent terrain. I was going to make a map off of it but I was too lazy http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif
Check the attachment for one example

Taking a GIMP map into the maptool in Dom3 might be fun to do though.

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

Yeah those are the best for Dominions.
Take a look at this CC3 map screenie:


http://www.profantasy.com/cc3/images.../gallery07.jpg

..and you can make even better then this easily with it. I might buy CC3 to generate maps.

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

This one is free:

Autorealm

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/shock.gif

Nice looking map. Nice tool I must say. Too bad about price.

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

I still think that if I dig thru my old OLD games that I can find one that does really nice random map generation and a full-screen view that I can capture.

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

Hm....yes but which game? I cannot think of any in-game mapmaker what would be good to make Dominions 3. maps...well maybe the Heroes of Might and Magic 3 mapmaker. It is 2d based. 2 screenshots:

http://hommworld.grantpalin.com/Homm...and3_large.jpg

http://www.gameweb.gr/images/screens...222_772000.jpg

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

That wouldnt be bad. Screen capture it, remove all pure white (255,255,255), add province lines and one pure white dot to each province, save it in a format that Dom3 can "see", use the dom3 map editor to add terrain values and set who is neighbor of who...

It would offer some very interesting icons to expand on. Edit that province to match why there is a tower or treasure or monster there. That would be way cool.

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

Yeap, actually this map editor might be very good to make maps. Hm....my elder brother bought HoMM 3. & Armageddon's Blade expansion long time ago. Hopefully he can find the game somewhere in his house.

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

What about the CivIV map editor? you could only do terrain probably, but it can make very cool looking worlds, and you can zoom out far enough to take a screenshot that might look ok. Not too sure though, since I haven't played Civ in quite a while.

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

They all will only do terrain. Only DomMap (for Dom2) and the Dom3 map generator will create a .map file for full play. But interesting scenery is what we have in mind. We can take it into the Dom3 map editor to get a .map file for it.
(well, someone can. Im too lazy)

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

Yeah I was thinking about this game also. Anyways now I am trying to get HoMM III. from my brother. I think that map editor would be perfect, especially if someone ccould edit [photoshop] the created maps a bit. I will surely give it a try.

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

Hmmm - I wonder what version of Campaign Cartographer I have, since they have an upgrade offer for as far back as V2....

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

It does? Dom3 : $54.95. CC3 (given that they still only have the Early Adopter, $44.95 for download only, $51.95 for download plus CD/hardcopy) seems a little cheaper. Then again, it's only a tool and not a game.

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

You could also use the HoMM II map editor and random map generator, if you can't get the HoMM III one.
(I also suppose that if you intend to buy it, HoMM II will be cheaper than getting HoMM III Complete).

And besides, all the Hardcore HoMMers know that HoMM II is the best game, while HoMM III is merely the most popular one.

BTW, you could also use the Warlords: Battlecry II/III map editor, it has nice blending effects and quite large tiles.

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

Hopefully you will upgrade/buy CC3, so that more players will create cool maps. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/smile.gif I plan to buy it, but first I want to take a look at the HoMM 3. editor, it looks decent also.

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

I actually have the map generators/editors for Heroes_III:Complete, Civilization_4, Warlords:Battlecry_III and AgeofWonders:ShadowMagic.
Using GIMP I'm thinking the best images from each can be merged into one map.

What's everyones opinion for the best way to capture the complete map image from these games?

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

Well I have Corel X3, and it contains Corel Capture X3, and it is an awesome screenshot maker. If you dont have any screen capturing utility, maybe the old Windows Print Screen could work very well? .. but I am unsure about it.

PS. Can you make a "basic" map in HoMM 3 [land,seas,trees,mountains], and upload it to imageshack? I would like to see it. If its possible make a 1280x1024 screenshot about it at least. Thanks in advance. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/smile.gif

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

Unfortunately I'm out of town and at work and not returning home for 5 days... I'm sure one of the others here have an installation of Heroes_3 which can provide the map.

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

If its not a format that can be converted then I usually just try for a full screen view and use alt-PrintScreen to capture it. Then I open a paint program and paste it in. Some might require multiple grabs then paste them together in a paint program.

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

Ah I see. hopefully I will have HoMM3 by then. My brother will loan it to me...if he will find it in his comp room somewhere. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/biggrin.gif

PS. Have you guys noticed, that it takes a long time for us to find the CD/DVD of our old games? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/biggrin.gif

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

Somebody may have already considered this, but Age of Kings and Age of Mythology allow you to take full map screen captures by hitting CNTRL+ALT+F12. I am not a practiced AOM map maker, but here is a thumbnail of a small test that I have been working on.
http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr..._Dom_thumb.JPG

With AOM you can use the random map generator and then delete all objects of a given type that do not fit a Dom map quite easily. For this one, I created a blank one player map and just fiddled around with terrain and object placement, captured the map, opened the jpg in Gimp, scaled it to 1/4 and saved as tga. Now I need to replace white pixels and figure out how to make some easy borders that won't look to ugly. Somebody with a real knack for AOM map editing should be able to do some really awesome maps. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/cool.gif

Previously I had looked at using Age of Wonders, but piecing all of the screen shots together is too tedious for me. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...ies/tongue.gif

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

But you can zoom out in Age of Wonders... Or can you not zoom out far enough?
BTW: I think gandalf's right, no matter how good our pictures are, the maps are only as good as their .map files are. I know almost nothing about the sort of scripting that would be needed, and am just wondering, how easy would it be to do a script to make .map files. Could you maybe have it generate areas based on sudden colour fluctuations? Since water is usaully blue, and grass green, that might work most of the time wouldn't it? Then put a white pizel in center of each area? Something like that would make .map file generation much easier, since it would just be special sites, scenario stuffs, and the odd problem fix.

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

Yes the .map files will provide 85% of the starting game fun... I estimate 15% goes towards map appearance. If Illwinter included events into the .map editing manual then map makers will be able to provide so much more for multiplayer and especially singleplayer. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/biggrin.gif
If no events then hopefully Dominions_4 will introduce them.

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

Hm not bad, however this isn't 2d. I think we gotta use a 2d based map editor. 3d based overland maps are just not good for Dominions. Well imho at least. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/smile.gif

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

Well, I don't know. It could look cool.

Could.

Hmmm...perhaps I'll try to make something out of that map...

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

I finished border and pixel placement last night. Finished the map file this morning, but now don't have time to upload it. Either this afternoon or tonight after work will post finished product in Dom2 map forum. Will also make the base image available (before I drew on it) if you would like.

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

Ok then.

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

I dont see why a 3d map would work as long as the heights dont hide a province behind it.

And technically, Dominions doesnt need borders to be drawn on the map. Just the white pixels. Whether you can travel from one province to another isnt decided by the image, its decided by the neighbor commands. A line of "#neighbor 4 126" would allow travel whether they are near each other on the map or not. (which opens some interesting possiblities)

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

Uploaded completed (and untested!) map for anyone interested. It was just a test, so nothing fancy.

Aomdom - 125 provinces

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

for a test it looks very nice. Good choice of colors. I like how the province lines goes behind things like trees.

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

You guys and your fancy graphics cards and cellular phones. I'm going to use Dwarf Fortress screenshots to make my Dom3 maps.

http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/sc...world_gen.html

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/biggrin.gif

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

Hm this map looks good actually. You were using the AoM map editor? Anyways I still don't have HoMM 3. because my brother couldn't find it yet. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/Injured.gif

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

It's a great map. Since Dominions 3 supports aplha channel you could make the black background transparent...

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

@ Gandalf
Thanks, I liked how the effect turned out too.

@ Morkilus
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

@ DominionsFan
More specifically, Age of Mythology with the Titans expansion. It has a powerful map editor with a lot of nice features. Just wish they would have included some mountain objects so that it wasn't such a challenge to create them. I didn't really like how they turned out in my test run, but they are looking better in my current project.

@ Nerfix
Thanks for checking it out. When I saw Gandalf's random map upload was in rgb format I hoped it was to support transparency. Should be able to create some neat effects with that. As far as the black space in the corners, I was trying to think of an interesting use for them. Considered filling one corner with a simple map key and just filling the other with some thematic low profile images. I never seem to have as much time as I have ideas.

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

Here is a thumb of a slightly larger map that I am working on now:
http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...om_thumb_2.JPG
Hoping to see some from others soon... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

The background picture is just a the same wooden one as in Dom2, but because it could be replaced in Dom2, it should be possible to replace it in Dom3... Underworld, or old parchment with various strange creatures and islands in it, etc etc could work well.

The Dom3 RMG make seas slightly transparent, so that will and does work. I'm not sure if it happens always or if it was based on the setting I chose.

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

Looks good! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/smile.gif
Well, I still don't have HoMM 3. My bro just couldn't find it in his house. He says that it must be in his other house what is in Austria. He will go there on the weekend, so on the next week I can try out the HoMM 3. editor.

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

ZOMG!
I just downloaded the latest HoMM 5 patch, and got the Map Editor, and while it will still be piecework to make a dom map out of it - boy does it look great!
At the end of the post is an editor made screenshot, it doesn't look very pretty because I just drew big sqaures of different terrain types, and the angle is Pi/2 because I was too lazy to fiddle with the camera (the map obviously looks much better in a different angle), but keep in mind that that thin strip of black stuff (the thinnest strip of color viewable) is 2 map tiles big, so you can get great detail.
Not only that, but it saves the map in .tga, so no need for conversion.
(The map is obviously resized, it was ~4200*3200 originally, it is also severely cropped, you can see about half the territory of the map)

HERE BE SCREENSHOTS (You wouldn't believe how long it took me to get this hosted. Damned Image Shack and slow Photobucket!)

EDIT: Now this is a much prettier looking map I made specifically for you folks
Its the smallest map size available in the map editor (so I wouldn't have to work hard to make it), it is resized from 5104*3552, and showcases some of the nicer things available. There are still a few faults (mainly due to my lame screenshots positioning skills), but it is much prettier than the previous one, and shows that the HoMM 5 map editor is aa prime candidate for Dom maps in my opinion.

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

Hm I don't know. I prefer 2d maps for Dominions. Actually the AoM map editor's 3d maps can be ok, but this HoMM5 map screenshot...well I don't like it too much, but maybe its just me. If there would be a way to make it 2d looking..that would be awesome.

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

Gandalf, you will love this. I've found a gem. The game is called Kohan: Ahriman's Gift, and the map editor of the game is fantastic. Look at these screenshots. These would be perfect for Doms 3. maps. The game is old, so it will be hard to find but its not impossible.

http://www.gamingbliss.com/games/uns...rimansgift.jpg

http://games.gamespy.com/artwork/200...ohanexpax1.jpg

http://kohan.strategyplanet.gamespy....ahriman/06.jpg

http://kohan.strategyplanet.gamespy....ahriman/07.jpg

http://kohan.strategyplanet.gamespy....ahriman/03.jpg

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

I have Kohan (someplace). I may have to dig it up

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

Cool, Venus Flytraps! I have Kohan but forgot to install it, because I was too busy with Dom2. Maybe I'll get to it tonight... OOOH MY DWARFS IS STARVING NEVERMIND

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

Guys, if you install Kohan...please make a testmap with mountains, hills, water, sand and obstacles. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/cool.gif

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

I think that this map editor would be excellent also.
There are like 7 terrain types + water, trees, mountains, buildings and various other stuff to place.

Screenshot:

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/6172/exra7.jpg

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

The Kohan maps look well suited to Dominions.

For anyone interested, I have uploaded another Age of Mythology map to the Dom2 map forums:
AomOrc post here.

Re: Excellent software for mapmakers
 

Very nice map.
I also think that the Kohan map editor is a must have to make Doms 3. maps. I've just bought Kohan: Ahriman's Gift from Ebay. Hopefully I can get my hands on it on this week. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/cool.gif