Help! I'm a noob trying to world build at the FT, CC, and CD level all at once!

Denalz

Okay, so let me try to articulate my problem as coherently as possible...

I bought CC3+ a couple of years ago. Now that I'm actually DM'ing a D&D game I'd like to make maps for my home-brew game. I bought FT and what I hoped to be able to do was start by making an entire planet with FT, export the files to CC3+ to add continental/country detail, and then export those maps to eventually add in village level detail with CD (City Designer). Is this level of comprehensive detail even possible? I have scoured youtube looking for tutorial on how to do this but I'm just not finding the information I need.

My main hang up is that I want to be able to export particular islands and land masses generated on a world sized maps to the exact shape and scale across all three levels of detail so that it stays consistent. I can't be the only one who has desired this. Can anyone help me> I'd be very grateful!

Denalz

My main problem is that when I export the files in multiple map levels the program pre-cuts the map into sections based on symmetry. This is all well and good until I need to zoom in on a particular land mass and find out that the margins split straight through the particular piece of land I'm trying to add more detail to on CC3. Is there a way to set the margins myself so that this doesn't happen? Or better yet, just zoom in on the primary exported AO file on CC3 and have it automatically bring up the section that I specifically zoomed in on? (That is actually what I really want).

Finally, once I add all the country/continental detail I want on CC3, can I then export those files into City Designer to plot out specific villages and settlements? I just want the land marks to be exactly uniform at all levels of detail. Continuity is key.

I hope this question made sense.

RoyalWolf

not fully sure I understand what you are asking, but if I am guessing correctly, the process is explained in the tome of ultimate mapping starting around page 56 or so. its something I am getting ready to tackle myself once I get an uninterrupted block of time

Monsen

Posted By: DenalzMy main problem is that when I export the files in multiple map levels the program pre-cuts the map into sections based on symmetry.

My advice, DON'T do that. Rather, I recommend zooming in to the place you wish to export in FT (for example a continent), and then do a file -> save as campaign cartographer file. Develop this file in CC3+, then, extract part of this map for more detailed maps. This gives you much more control over the areas exported rather than the artificial borders imposed by FT multi file export.

The process of taking piece of a CC3+ map and export part of it to a higher detail map is explained briefly in the editing chapter in the CC3 manual (look in the Trace section), and in much higher detail in the Tome if you have that. But the main principle is to just use clipboard copy to copy the detail from one map to another, and use cut/break to remove parts you don't need (or draw new entities by tracing the old ones), then use tools like fractalize to add additional definition.

ScottA

The questions of FT to CC3+ seem to come up regularly. This might make a great topic for an annual with instructions, hints, and tricks for moving maps and working between them, etc.

JimP

Here is a link to the start, of 4 pages, of my very basic tutorial on going from FT3 to CC3.

FT3 to CC3, first page

A forum discussion on this with links to my template and Natalya Faden's bitmap files and maps she made with them.