Hey, I'm looking for a basic "line and circle" program that I can use to create my own maps for SR. I know nothing of graphics or editing so I dont know of any programs. If anyone could help me it would be greatly appreciated.

well, if you want purely basic, Paint (included in your favorite version of Windows) is well.. basic, but you can also make colors for your lines, if you choose to be so bold

I have used paint before but the only issue i ran into, and it was a big one for me, was the issue with distance. i couldn't find how to grid the map or come up with some kind of scale for it, but that may be more my own lacking of spacial sense than anything else

did u try printing on graph paper, perhaps, that way you can create your own scale (1 square=XX) That would seem to me to be the easiest answer, usable with whatever program you're doing it on to print from.

ofcourse, if you're not looking to print the maps (online game prehaps) that i guess it's a moot point.

AutoCAD. The only drawback is that it would look professionally done and take you quite some time

and if i remember correctly, the cheapest autocad is somwhere around 50 bucks...

AutoCAD 2005 is $3,750.

You may look into Paint Shop Pro, if you don't have much cash and want more features than Paint.

OK, but most good engineering schools will have AutoCAD so... if your school has it, make use.

VectorWorks is, IMO, better than AutoCAD for architectural stuff and comes in at only $995.

~J

Wow, $3000? When Autocad 2000 had just come out, I managed to snag autocad14 for $20.

I actually like to use Excel for making maps. Just make the cells into a grid and put borders on it.

I use a 5-year-old edition of Paint Shop Pro to make my maps, but our regular GM is even more hardcore: he uses MS Paint.

Dundjinni has gotten good reviews. It is mainly for fantasy maps, but they were supposed to be putting out a set of modern tiles. A quick google search for Dundjinni should point you to their home page.

I also like DungeonCrafter, but it is (as far as I remember) completely fantasy based. You could still use their walls, doors, and many of the fantasy tiles that aren't as blatantly fantastic (trees, furniture, etc.) The good thing about this program is that its free.

Guys, there´s some easier (and cheaper, don´t forget about it) solutions to map-making, like Fractal Mapper (I have the V6), which is good and ease to use (not to mention FREE), and a MOD of AutoCAD whose name I can´t quite remember, that was CREATED to make maps (fantasy, specifically, but you can be creative with it). A friend of mine has the newest version and about six expansions, each one with more object libraries and land models. It can even provide a somewhat detailed landscape topography and sea depth. Has icons for cities, villages, forests, montains, the works.

I just can´t remember the name of the fragging thing. Guess I´ll make a call and ask later to this friend of mine. Guess it wasn´t expensive, because he isn´t very known for his open-handed nature.

I went to Fractal Mapper's site and the only thing free there was the trial version. The trial version is fully functional, except that maps can't be saved. Not very useful for making a world.

Also, I didn't see, but does FM have modern symbol sets?

We use a dry-erase white board along with pencils and paper.

Yeah, high-tech I know - kinda sad knowing my group: a help-desk tech (Asst-GM), an enterprise system monitor (me), a technical installation coordinator, a technical contractor, a graphic artist/modeler (GM), and a guy who works in a machine shop.

I haven't looked at it in a long time, but has anyone used Campaign Cartographer for making ShadowRun maps?

I've seen a few of those $9.99 faux-landscaper's CD-ROMs in various stores before (the disks in the bargain racks). They have grid lines that print out on the maps and come with top-down icons for trees, fountains, houses, etc. I'm not sure if they'll work exactly like you need, but I've looked at the sample shots on the back of the cases before and they seem adequate for gaming purposes... without having a fantasy bent.

thanks for all the suggestions guys.... I currently have a large map of Seattle (road map) on the wall next to a large dry erase board. It works for now, however I was just looking for a way to print up some custom maps so that I could hand out to the players for their own personal investigation and ideas. Once again thanks... and let me know if you find anything else out.... preferably free.

Mapquest.

No idea how expensive it is, but Microsoft Visio is actually pretty good at creating floor plans, whether it was designed mostly for corporate management diagrams or not. Has a nice set of symbols too.

Yeah, I use Visio for my stuff. Works great. If you get the Pro version there are all kinds of extra objects to import into the map (cars, trucks, machinery, etc).

Visio is the bomb. It's not too bad once you get use to it. Basically you have a generic app that has "connection points". You can connect anything to a connection point be it a car, square, or symbol. They have what they call stencils which are just shapes that have certain properties and you can customize your own stencils by creating your own shapes ect. I've made everything from Robots to you name it. It's a nifty little app and I like it alot, it's got alot of nice nifty features. You can scale your drawings to print to a plotter or a series of 8x11" pages that are tiled or to a single 8"x11" page. It's really nice. Bit's been using it for years. It's very modular and simple to use. I'm working for a OR (Operating room) software company. I snagged one of my custom stencils and had a little guy with a sad face and bullet wonds to show ADT (Admission, Discharge, Transfer) entry into the Hospital My manager got a big kick out of it. Visio is fun and has a wide range of abilities primarily for top down maps. Autocad has the advantage of giving you a fully 3d rendering if you want it but I'm not as familar with it. You can download the "90 day trial" for visio for free. There might be some unscrupulous folks who've cracked that application so it runs longer but I would never suggest downloading a crack....(:>) If you work in an office the chances are you office might have a copy you could try out if your friends with the IT folks. It's always a good idea to bribe IT folks with many gifts and food. Not to mention fermented beverages.

Maps are a resource that I think could be exploited. With a proliferation of modern and Scifi roleplaying games there's a big opening for maps out there. Custom maps are always nice because you can say, "I made that".

[homer]
mmmmm....fermented beverages....
[/homer]

Anyone have any other good freeware mapping programs? I'm building a list for our GMs and we could possibly add it to the FAQ.

Dungeoncrafter is pretty good. I don't know if they have a lot of modern tiles, but its a pretty decent program, especially considering the cost.

AutoRealm ain't the greatest, but it's free and does both square and hexigrid.

For Mac OSX Omnigraffle works pretty well, but you'd have to draw or import objects like cars and whatnot and I haven't spent the time to figure out how hard/easy that is....

Maybe some else has some experience here?