[PhilD]

Originally posted by diamondspider:

My only problem with a random map generator is, well obviously, that it is random.

I've designed about 60 maps for my campaigns over the years, and they are a lot of work to make look realistic. I'd hate to think that a program could ever come close

No questions here, the typical random generator does a very simple job (there are people out there who do a reasonably good job of writing programs that create "realistic" planets, but a night's quick search didn't reveal any that made them available for free on top of that). But what a random generator can do, is provide you with an endless list of possible maps. Hand-made maps can look great, but they're a lot of work, and require dedicated people with some talent.

I believe there's room for both. Plus, if we managed to make the random generators more user-friendly, it might become a help to the "hand" map designers.