A new update to the Tome of Ultimate Mapping have just been published. If you already own the Tome for Cartographer 3+, just go to your registration page and download the new and updated installer. It can be used both to update a previous install or for a new install. If you don’t own the Tome yet, check it out in the ProFantasy store >>>

The Tome is now 760 pages of descriptions, tutorials, helpful guides and technical information about CC3+, all it’s add-on products as well as Fractal Terrains 3, accompanied by a lot of support files, such as example maps, step-by-step maps for the tutorials, and other helpful files.

What’s New?

The old version already contained a considerable amount of material, but CC3+ and it’s add-ons have evolved since the previous Tome release, so I did find a bunch of new things to add to this version, in addition to some general improvements and issues fixed.

• 50 more pages of content
• Completely revamped the list of commands. It now contains every command in CC3+, both built-in commands as well as the macros shipped with the program. All commands are described, and all commands that can be used in a macro have their full macro syntax  The lists in the book itself contains all the commands you will ever use for CC3+, while a spreadsheet found among the support files also contains deprecated and outdated commands. The spreadsheet is of course fully sortable by command name, add-on or category.
• New commands added to CC3+ have been documented, these include; Symbols In Area, Contours, Exclusion Commands, Perspective Scaling, Simplify and more.
• Added a pdf file showing the graphics and names of all toolbar graphics, very useful if you customize the toolbars.
• Annual reference is up to date with the complete 2018 annual.
• The chapter on Dioramas (and the support files) have been updated to Dioramas 3 (From Dioramas Pro in the old version)
• The Source Maps series (Castles, Cities, Temples, World War 2) have been updated to be compatible with CC3+, so the corresponding chapters in the Tome have been updated to match.
• Added a mini-chapter on the new Token Treasury series
• And many more minor additions and fixes….

Good news for all fans of the magnificent Tome of Ultimate Mapping! Remy Monsen has updated and expanded its content to cover CC3+ and all its new and shiny functionality. In the process the already voluminous book expanded to more than 700 pages of mapping goodness (another 90 pages added).

Covering all ProFantasy products and add-ons from Campaign Cartographer 3 Plus and Fractal Terrains 3 to Perspectives 3, Source Maps and the Annuals, the Tome includes a huge range of diverse topics, like designing cities, combining multiple drawing styles in one map, and writing macros for CC3+. Take a peek at its content in the Tome 3+ preview.

If you own the Tome of Ultimate Mapping v3, the Tome 3+ is a free update for you, and if you own the older edition of the Tome of Ultimate Mapping (for CC2 Pro), there is an upgrade offer available. In both cases you should have received an email with the offer. If not, you can check with us via email.

If you don’t have the Tome yet, you can grab it here.

by Remy Monsen

I am sitting here writing on the final parts of the new version of the Tome of Ultimate Mapping. That’s right, the release of the tome shouldn’t bee too far into the future.

For the old-timers, and many of the newer users, you already know what the tome is all about. But for the rest of you, the tome is a rather large volume containing tutorials, tips & tricks and reference material for the complete collection of ProFantasy’s software.

This is an updated version of the previous tome. I’ve updated tutorials and information that is still useful in CC3, and added new CC3 content to take full advantage of all the new features in CC3 compared with CC2 Pro. The same goes for the new features from the various v3 add-ons available.
Right now, the book focus on all the current versions of the various programs, that is Campaign Cartographer 3, Dungeon Designer 3, City Designer 3, Cosmographer 3, Symbol Set 1 v3, Symbol Set 2 v3 and the compatibility updates for Dioramas Pro, Character Artist Pro, Perspectives Pro, Symbol Set 3 and the Source Maps series. The plan is to update the tutorials based on the compatibility updates to the proper v3 versions as the updates for those add-ons are released. Therefore, the tome will only be available as an electronic pdf file for now, with a print version released after all add-ons have been updated to proper v3 versions, since a printed book is a bit more difficult to provide a patch for compared to a pdf file!

The tome helps you make better maps with CC3, but also teach you how to be a better CC3 user. The tutorials stretch from making a basic overland map to how to customize the CC3 menu files and write your own macro commands. In-between this, we have a look at how to create the various types of symbols available in CC3, many tips for using the sheet effects, and much more. The Tome goes through each of the add-ons in turn, taking care to make the book useful even if you don’t have all the add-ons, but at the same time helping to tie the add-ons a little bit closer together.

The tome itself is designed to be a resource for most CC3 users, regardless of proficiency level, although if you are just starting out with CC3, I would recommend working through the manual first to get a grip on the basics of CC3.

Writing the new version of the tome has been a fun and interesting process. I remember when I first read the original tome myself, written by Master Mapper Allyn Bowker. It was filled from cover to cover with all kinds of interesting stuff about CC2 Pro. I was a novice user back then, and I was really impressed by all the fantastic maps I could make using the information in the Tome. It discussed techniques I never would have thought of on my own, and it opened my eyes for many of the capabilities of the various add-ons for CC2 Pro. Fast forward a few years, CC3 comes along, and the style of maps one could make changed radically. I still found the old Tome to be highly useful, but I was also hoping ProFantasy would create an updated version soon. I was rather proficient in the usage of CC3, but I was really looking forward to learning even more of the software.

Then one day, an email arrives from Simon, asking me if I would update the CC3 Manual to match the latest version, and bring the Tome into the CC3 era. I was a bit surprised actually and a bit unsure what to do. Here I am, eagerly waiting for the book to be made so that I can read it and learn from it, and suddenly I am actually being asked to write the thing? Well, I did some thinking, and after a short while I concluded that I did have the have the necessary skills to do it. I know CC3 and its add-ons quite well, and I have  experience writing technical documentation (I am a teacher by trade, employed as an assistant professor at one of the larger university colleges in Norway, so I do write articles and sometimes even books for use by my students). So, I told Simon yes, and got to work. I started by updating the CC3 manual, which have been available for some time now, and then moved on to the tome. To be honest, it was a lot more work than I could ever have imagined when I started, but it was a very interesting process, and I learned quite a bit more about the programs in the process. I think the end result ended up pretty good, and I hope you all agree when the book is published, and that the book will do as the title of this post says, helping you make better worlds with ProFantasy’s software.