How does one create nifty deck plans like those that can be found on internet?
So far I've traced my spaceship over a top view image found on the web in a different layer and textured it as much as I could (using paint.net), but where do people find the beds and seats and cockpit gears and other greebles?
Are there any programs or plugins specialized in sci-fi/star wars imagery?
thanks
there are quite a few sources of imagery available out there for free or for purchase as .png files.
Roll20 has a decent data base.
as Does Dundjinni, though Dundjinni you need to be careful of the ones that are in the Dundjinni specific format...as they won't work as .png files..
trying to recalll where I got the Largest File I have for setting decor, it may have been Dundjinni's forrums
The top of the line is Cosmographer: https://secure.profantasy.com/products/cos3.asp
The top of the line is Cosmographer: https://secure.profantasy.com/products/cos3.asp
They do tend to have a High learning curve unless you are already familiar with things like Photoshop and such.
The top of the line is Cosmographer: https://secure.profantasy.com/products/cos3.asp
They do tend to have a High learning curve unless you are already familiar with things like Photoshop and such.
That's what I heard too (it being top of the line and high learning curve)
Is Cosmographer a program in its own right or is it an add-on to a base program?
I beleive it is a program all in t's own..
Most of them are..
You can by dungeon designer or city designer in the past and they were separate programs.
Though really, unless you are really money tight, It is worth the Bang for your Buck to buy a package deal.
You often get New version trials for free when they start a new version beta.
Thats not updates to current versin which you get free as well... I mean if they do a CC4
Cosmographer is actually an add on to Campaign Cartographer. It works very well, but does have a learning curve to it, especially if you want to do some nifty effects. I am about to purchase their "Tome of Ultimate Mapping" (which is a 600ish page document of tutorials, examples, etc.) because their basic manuals are pretty limited. They give an excellent starting point, but do not detail what all their tools do, and expect you to play and figure it out. But they have an excellent forum, and if you start a map and post for suggestions, you will learn a lot.
The top of the line is Cosmographer: https://secure.profantasy.com/products/cos3.asp
They do tend to have a High learning curve unless you are already familiar with things like Photoshop and such.
For those that don't want to spend the money, AutoRealm is free and much more intuitive. I have both and hardly use Cosmographer except for specific tasks. Cosmographer is more powerful but if you step away from it for a few month expect to relearn it all over again. AutoRealm is very simple to use and also a CAD like Cosmographer. It won't make the beautiful stuff that a true artist can make. But for personal GM-wants-a-new-map use it works fine for me. Here's an example of a PC ship I made completely with AutoRealm:
The top of the line is Cosmographer: https://secure.profantasy.com/products/cos3.asp
They do tend to have a High learning curve unless you are already familiar with things like Photoshop and such.
For those that don't want to spend the money, AutoRealm is free and much more intuitive. I have both and hardly use Cosmographer except for specific tasks. Cosmographer is more powerful but if you step away from it for a few month expect to relearn it all over again. AutoRealm is very simple to use and also a CAD like Cosmographer. It won't make the beautiful stuff that a true artist can make. But for personal GM-wants-a-new-map use it works fine for me. Here's an example of a PC ship I made completely with AutoRealm:
AutoRealm looks awesome. I'm having trouble downloading it; do you think it might not work for Macs?
AutoRealm looks awesome. I'm having trouble downloading it; do you think it might not work for Macs?
It appears to be written in C++, so it could potentially be ported to the Mac, but the downloadable file linked from the page at http://sourceforge.net/projects/autorealm/files/AuR%20main%20program%20(for%20users)/AutoRealm%202.2.1/ seems to be PC-only.
Oh, and it dates back to 2006, so the code doesn’t appear to have been touched in about ten years.
EDIT: The current page looks like it is at https://bitbucket.org/bmorel/autorealm and has been updated as recently as August 2014.
The source code looks like it might build okay on Debian, so if you know what you’re doing as a C++ programmer with Unix/Linux and Mac experience, you might be able to get it to compile.
Edited by bradknowlesI bought couple of maps from http://maps-of-mastery-store.myshopify.com/collections/sci-fi-maps and edited in photoshop, using some existing floor plans from wookieepde.
Edited by RusakRakeshI've never had any problems with the old version of AutoRealm. The only gripe I might have is the exporting of your final map is clunky.
If anyone wants to use AutoRealm I can upload my library of objects. Most of it was created for Traveller so the look isn't exactly Star Wars, but it will help get someone started. It includes things like hatches, bunks, scifi chairs, drives, etc. I used to have a tutorial for AutoRealm deckplans that was never finished, but there is enough there to get you started if I can find it.
Edited by SturnI've never had any problems with the old version of AutoRealm. The only gripe I might have is the exporting of your final map is clunky.
If anyone wants to use AutoRealm I can upload my library of objects. Most of it was created for Traveller so the look isn't exactly Star Wars, but it will help get someone started. It includes things like hatches, bunks, scifi chairs, drives, etc. I used to have a tutorial for AutoRealm deckplans that was never finished, but there is enough there to get you started if I can find it.
Sturm? What format are your objects in? I may use Autorealm as well... But My Primary VTT is Maptools. If the objects are in a standard Jpeg, png gif or the like, I would really appreciate them. I don't have anything for building Sci-fi like features at the moment.
I've never had any problems with the old version of AutoRealm. The only gripe I might have is the exporting of your final map is clunky.
If anyone wants to use AutoRealm I can upload my library of objects. Most of it was created for Traveller so the look isn't exactly Star Wars, but it will help get someone started. It includes things like hatches, bunks, scifi chairs, drives, etc. I used to have a tutorial for AutoRealm deckplans that was never finished, but there is enough there to get you started if I can find it.
Sturm? What format are your objects in? I may use Autorealm as well... But My Primary VTT is Maptools. If the objects are in a standard Jpeg, png gif or the like, I would really appreciate them. I don't have anything for building Sci-fi like features at the moment.
It's a CAD program so probably won't even be able to convert them for use? Vector-based vs painting. My save file of my objects has an extension of .AusX so I'm assuming it's unique to AutoRealm? These objects aren't art quality at all. Several are in the deckplan I linked above. Basically filled line art that can be scaled and editted within the AutoRealm program.
well that is some what disappointing :-) thanks though..
I have a Huge Library of png objects and tiles, jsut hey are more specifically geared towards fantasy settings...
I may do some searches at The Dundjinni, Rptool, and Campaign Cartography sites to see what I can find.
Edited by SnowDragonBack in the day I used to use MS Paint and copied parts out of ships that other people created. The ships I used were simple drawings where a pixel was like a foot or somethign. When you're just coloring pixels it's easy to use simple tools.
There were a couple of sites I used for source material. After a quick Google search, I think I found them but they don't look like they've seen much traffic in recent years and some pictures may have been lost.
Star Wars Design Alliance
https://bswdaforums.runboard.com/
Star Wars Deckplans Alliance
http://deckplans.00sf.com/Index.html
Some of the people on the Design forum seemed to have migrated to this forum. http://www.wolfsshipyard.com/yards/index.php
Most of my simple graphics work on the Mac is done with OmniGraffle. There are plenty of images out there that can be used for various parts, and then you can easily fill in the rest with the tools they provide.
For starship specific deckplans I recommend 0 Hr art and technology. Ryan Wolfe does PDFs on Drivethru RPG, and he also sells poster maps on his site. They are excellent. In fact he includes .jpegs that are setup to print at a 1 inch = 5 feet scale. I just used that and got one of his ships printed on a vinyl banner from Banners on the Cheap. It is outstanding!
Salcor
0 HR At is good, and I have them bookmarked on Drive through RPG...
I just can't afford to get them at the cost of 1-2 deck plans per $6 Atm, Not may can.
Heck I get Tons more Excellent tokens, For a about the same price, From Devinknight.
If he had more than 1-2 deck plans in each packet for that price I would be able to afford it.
But since I can't even View what I am getting (and Yes I understand why since it is all electronic format and not a Hard copy I can peruse but can't just copy the image) I will have to wait to see a sale on them before getting a few.
Snow Dragon, Go to his website, he actually has demo pdfs for all of his products.
Salcor