Humble Bundle is currently doing another re-run of the first Campaign Cartographer 3+ bundle, the Maps Extravaganza, containing not only CC3+, but also depending on the level chosen:
City Designer 3
Dungeon Designer 3
Tome of Ultimate Mapping Plus
Perspectives 3
Sources Maps: Castles
Source Maps: Temples, Tombs and Catacombs
Symbol Set 2 – Fantasy Floorplans
Token Treasury – Monsters 1
Battle Maps and Floorplans Collection (contains a selection of Annual issues)
If you were waiting to jump into CC3+, this is a great opportunity to get it at an awesome price. Even if you already own CC3+, this can be well worth it to get a great selection of add-ons. Part of the cost goes toward charity, Save the Children.
We have reached the final article in the series about making mapping tiles. In previous articles (Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4) we discussed how to design such tiles, how to print or export them for use in other software, and how to make raster symbols in CC3+ from them so we could use the tiles for assembling maps quickly.
But, as we pointed out in the earlier articles, exporting static bitmap images have some limitations. For example, if you rotate them, you change the direction of shadows and patterns in the fill. One could just call it an acceptable tradeoff and move on, but there is a better way, and that is to turn these tiles into advanced symbols in CC3+. By making symbols that contain the actual entities in the tiles instead of static images, directions of fills and effects are calculated when the tiles are used, not when you originally make them, and it also allow you to actually change the content after placing them. In short, if you are going to make maps using the tiles inside CC3+, this is the best approach, so let us dig into how to achieve this.
Did you love last month’s Far Eastern symbols by Mike Schley, but feared there was not enough variety available? Don’t worry, we have you covered with more of the same style. Sprawling castles, palaces, temples and shrines, as well as ruined town and smaller places, they are all included in the May selection of free symbols.
To download the free content go to your registration page and on the Downloads tab, click the download button for Campaign Cartographer 3 Plus. Mike’s new symbols are the last link in the list. All the content of the current year (January to May 2024 so far) is included in the one download.
You can always check the available monthly content on our dedicated page.
Comments Off on Free monthly symbols – More Far Eastern Structures
A little warning this month: If you’re suffering from arachnophobia, take it slowly with this month’s free symbols. Mike has drawn some lovely web-cloaked woodlands, massive giant spiders to haunt your dreams and web and lairs to give them a wonderfully scary home.
To download the free content go to your registration page and on the Downloads tab, click the download button for Campaign Cartographer 3 Plus. Mike’s new symbols are the last link in the list. All the content of the current year (January to March 2024 so far) is included in the one download.
You can always check the available monthly content on our dedicated page.
Comments Off on Free monthly symbols – Spider-haunted woods
There are many things that sets CC3+ apart from other graphics and mapping programs. One of these differences is the size of the mapping area. In most programs, when you start a new file, you specify a size, and you get a canvas exactly that size. If you try putting something halfway outside the edge, like a symbol or equivalent, the spillover is simply lost. In CC3+ however, this is completely different.
CC3+ doesn’t operate with a fixed sized canvas, for most practical considerations it is infinite. There’s nothing preventing you from placing a symbol entirely outside the map area if you so wish, simply because your map only occupies a small spot on that almost infinite canvas. But if the drawing area is of infinite space, how do we determine the actual size of the map? And why do our drawing tools seem to only draw within the map area?
To understand this, we need to look at the map border. When we talk about map borders in CC3+, there are actually two different things we may be talking about. We might be talking about that nice decorative frame around your map. This is known as the decorative map border, and it is just that, decorative. Some map styles have a very elaborate decorative map border, while others have a much more spartan one, sometimes even just a simple line. It doesn’t have any functionality, it is just there to give your map a visual frame. Then we have the technical map border. This is what actually defines your map’s size on the canvas, and all tools that have a restrict to map border option, like drawing tools and bitmap exports work with this one. Usually, it will overlap in location with the decorative map border, but it is the technical map border that provides the functionality.
The monthly symbols by Mike Schley have been very popular and of course we continue this tradition into the new year. From the isometric city symbols we return to artwork for overland maps for a while, with a fiery first collection of volcanic symbols.
20 new symbols depict active and dormant volcanoes both for land-bound mountain ranges and volcanic peaks rising directly out of the sea, as well as lava pools and fiery chasms leading down into the bosom of the earth.
To download the free content go to your registration page and on the Downloads tab, click the download button for Campaign Cartographer 3 Plus. Mike’s new symbols are the last link in the list. All the content of the current year (only January 2024 so far) is included in the one download.
You can always check the available monthly content on our dedicated page.
Behind the scenes we’ve been working on a new feature for Campaign Cartographer: a random generator that allows you to generate complete maps by just a few clicks. This version is a taster of what we’ll introduce in CC4. We are very happy that we were able to recruit the help of the designer of the Watabou series of random map generators. The first of these, a Random Dungeon generator, is now at a stage where we are happy to release it into the public as a beta, for you to try out and make use of.
Note This is an enhanced output from a version still under development. Current beta output will look a bit different.
You can download the Random Dungeon generator from your account at profantasy.com. It is a small, simple executable that will add the functionality to your current CC3+ install.
When you run CC3+ after installing it, a sample map will come up with a link to an introductory guide to the Random Dungeon command. Click the link to open the pdf or download it from this link: Mapping Guide – Random Dungeons.
We’ve also done a live mapping session on using the first version of the Random Dungeon generator. You can view it on YouTube now:
We will further develop this random generator and add other ones in the future. Join the community forum and/or subscribe to our newsletter to keep up with the development. Send us feedback by posting on the forum or by email. We are looking for anything from bug reports to feature requests.
In the meantime enjoy creating some random dungeons!
Trains and Rails are useful for all kinds of mapping. From the humble carts on a track used in mines, to daring train heists in the Wild West, through subways and all the way to modern high-speed bullet trains. They can be used for battle maps to play out interesting encounters, as scenery in your mine maps and part of the infrastructure of your city.
In this first part I’ll be having a look at creating the basic tracks.
(I’ll also be looking at this in tomorrow’s live stream, so join the stream or watch the archived video later if you wish a video version of this)
When you make your own symbol catalogs, either from new symbols, or just to create a re-mix of existing symbols, one of the main issues is how to make them easily accessible. Sure, you can always click the open symbol catalog button and browse for it, but that means you need to remember where it is, and it is more complicated than just clicking one of the symbol catalog buttons in the top toolbar.
But, if all the official catalogs can be loaded from those buttons, why not our own? It’s actually quite simple, so let us have a look.
When working with Campaign Cartographer 3+ you can make good looking maps quite easily. Templates come with the appropriate effects predefined, symbols and tools draw on the appropriate sheet automatically and most styles have a nice selection of symbols and fills to use in your map. With just a little bit of experience with CC3+ and it’s tools, you can quickly and easily throw together that battle map for tonight’s encounter. Sometimes however, it can be worth spending a little more time with the map, looking at the details and taking it from a good map to a great map.
When you make your own symbol catalogs, either from new symbols, or just to create a re-mix of existing symbols, one of the main issues is how to make them easily accessible. Sure, you can always click the open symbol catalog button and browse for it, but that means you need to remember where it is, and it is more complicated than just clicking one of the symbol catalog buttons in the top toolbar.
When working with Campaign Cartographer 3+ you can make good looking maps quite easily. Templates come with the appropriate effects predefined, symbols and tools draw on the appropriate sheet automatically and most styles have a nice selection of symbols and fills to use in your map. With just a little bit of experience with CC3+ and it’s tools, you can quickly and easily throw together that battle map for tonight’s encounter. Sometimes however, it can be worth spending a little more time with the map, looking at the details and taking it from a good map to a great map.
