Mapping Tips
Good Evening, I have had Campaign Cartographer 3 for some years now, but have only dabbled here and there. I got back into using it a few weeks ago, and have created a continent map. I now wish to map out a country on said continent, but I am unsure of the best way to go about doing this. I was trying to google for tips and help, but I was really unsure of what to ask, or where to start, so I got sent all over the place. I felt it best then to come to this forum to ask for help. My questions are this, what would be the best way to take my continent, and flesh out the countries that I have established on the map? I saw a function for linking maps, so should I start there? What are some tips that other users have on doing such a thing? Lastly, would this be an appropriate place to post a picture of my map, and would I do it as a PNG or as a CC3 map file? Also, I attempted to make a post a minute or so ago, but I received an error when I clicked post. Any help would be appreciated, and thank you.
Comments
Personally, when I'm designing a new map, I need to know as much as possible about what I'm trying to achieve, and that usually means sheets of paper with notes and sketches all over them, worked on for perhaps days to weeks before-hand, with things like lists of essential or important features and rough layout plans on them - so elements such as order of settlements along a road or river, maybe even details on the specific placement of items in regard to local terrain features. I find that having a plan like this, no matter how rough, is helpful, because it begins to highlight what the final map will be like, while I can still change things easily, and perhaps even avoid mistakes, before I start trying to create on the computer. It also means I can work out what symbols I may need, which in turn can sometimes dictate the exact style of map. Commonly, I end up with a hand-drafted map I can then use to generate the "pretty" CC3 map from, and for me, that makes the final mapping more enjoyable, because then I only need to concentrate on getting the look right, tweaking the effects and label font(s), and so forth.
Some people I know can simply sit down and generate a wonderful map without all that preparation, or more accurately, with all that preparation done in their head, but I struggle with that, so you're likely to find your own method will develop as you go along, and probably not in exactly the same way as anyone else.
The option to create a series of linked maps is useful, but you need to explore that first to see if it's right for what you want to accomplish. The CC3 Help files should give you some ideas in that regard, coupled with some experimentation (remember to save any attempts as separate files to your main map(s) though, just in case things don't work out as you'd hoped!).
I've not used the Attachment facility on this Forum before, so am not sure what its restrictions may be (file type or size, for example), but if you wanted to show just your map, that could be done in a simple picture format - so PNG, JPG, etc. If you wanted to share all the details of your CC3 creation, then a CC3 Drawing file would be more appropriate.