4th & Dragon : Dungeons and Dragons...and stuff

Over the past 2 months in my “spare” time I’ve been working on a program that allows a user to create hex maps like those in “The Voyage of the Princess Ark” Dragon magazine article series.

I had previously created hex map brushes for GIMP based on those maps, but the core architecture of this hex map tool came to me and I wanted to do it for a number of reasons.

The software is web-based at: Hexographer

Here’s a sample map snippet so you can easily see what it does:

Some key points:
-It starts as an applet in a web page so many people won’t have to install anything. (You may need to install/upgrade Java, however.)
-You can choose to start with map of random terrain or a map of all one terrain.
-You set the map’s width and height in hexes and the size of the hexes.
-You can customize the random terrain generator to give a different mix of land.
-Then your map opens in a pop-up window.
-There you can select terrain buttons then click on the map to change a hex into that terrain. You can also drag over hexes to change all of those hexes.
-You can select generic line and text buttons to draw lines or add labels and there are also preset line a text buttons that have settings appropriate for coastlines, rivers, roads, country borders, etc.
-You can optionally turn on/off hex borders, hex numbering, terrain icons.
-Hex numbering is very customizable: font name/style/size/color; rows then columns vs. columns then rows; set the separator character; what number to use to start the rows and columns.
-If you add text and lines and note if each is a political feature, natural feature or infrastructure, you can turn each of these on and off as if they are layers. (The preset road/river/boundary line and text buttons are set up for this.)
-You can save it to a native format for later editing and export it as a regular PNG image so it can be edited in an image editor or printed.
-It also includes some planet/star/asteroid/etc icons to create a starmap. (Coming in the next couple of days is a feature to change the colors of those icons.)
-You can also import a map to trace over it if you want to use an old map or part of a map as a guide.
-And probably a whole bunch more.

Please let me know what you think, if you encounter any issues, and what you’d like to see added.

I’ve tested it very quickly now, and it seems like a great map editor, a la Wilderness Mapper (WildMap). The functionalities you described sound very useful (haven’t had time to test them). There’s only one problem though… I tried generating a few random maps, and the results are very strange-looking. They don’t look like any world map I’m used to. So, with some work on improving the random generation (something like the Civilization games would be great), it has the potential to be an awesome DMing tool. Maybe look into random map generation techniques that are used out there.

Yeah, the tool itself is good but the random maps do indeed come out looking… well, just that, I suppose, random.

Thanks for the feedback!  I’ve added a to-do on my list to revise the random terrain algorithm.  I’ve got a new idea in mind, but I’ll also look into what others have done.

I’ve actually known about it for some and I really like it...except for one thing.  I export the file and save it (it says it is saved).  I have saved it to my Desktop and to my Documents folder.  I can later open it from either location from the hexmapper program.  However, once I close out and go to the locations where it is saved to, I can not find the file and thus can not print it.

BTW the sample maps on the website are really good looking and show some nifty things you can do to make a map look better.

callin - 01 May 2009 07:52 AM

I’ve actually known about it for some and I really like it...except for one thing.  I export the file and save it (it says it is saved).  I have saved it to my Desktop and to my Documents folder.  I can later open it from either location from the hexmapper program.  However, once I close out and go to the locations where it is saved to, I can not find the file and thus can not print it.

I’ve gotten this issue a few times, and I’ve looked into it as best I could.  I’ve also invited the people who report it to email me.  (For my address, see the help dialog in the Hexographer or in many places on the inkwell ideas site.) Anyway, as best I can tell, the people running into this are all using Vista.  The Hexographer tries to save things to your user directory. (Although you should be able to navigate from there to anywhere else on your computer.) Unfortunately, I don’t know much about Vista, but I’ve got to believe it is being saved to your user directory which is in some non-obvious subdirectory somewhere.  I suggest doing a full computer search for the filename in question.  Or, try saving to your root “C” drive.  If anyone knows more about Vista and can shed some light on this issue, please do.

I’ve added another very cool (I think) feature to the Hexographer software. (And there have been a number of other new features/improvements since I last posted.)

I’m calling this new feature the “Terrain Wizard.” If you start with a blank map, you just rough in the map (draw a line of mountain hexes for a mountain range, a circle of forest hexes for a large forest, etc.) Then the Terrain wizard will fill in the remaining blank hexes based on what non-blank terrain hex is closest.

Here’s a link to a fuller description, example & instructions:
Terrain Wizard for Hexographer

Several new features and bug fixes have been added to the core Hexographer software.  The most important of those changes directly addresses (fixes, I hope) the constructive criticism mentioned here--that the randomly generated maps were too random.  Here’s the list:

-The random terrain generator has been significantly reworked so the resulting terrain is less random.
-The random terrain generator process is explained by clicking “Help” once you’ve opened the custom random terrain settigns screen by clicking the “Custom Terrain” button on the start screen of the applet.
-A number of small usability fixes have been made, such as some customization screens getting close, apply, and save buttons.

And the “Pro” version can now be ordered. For just $5 for a 1-year license of $25 for a lifetime license, the pro version allows you to:
-Run off-line: The pro version is downloaded to your computer so you don’t need to be connected to the internet.
-Customize terrain and feature icons: Use any .png image for the terrain and feature icons. (Go to the map edit window’s “Options” menu and choose “Customize Hexes.") Both the pro and non-pro versions allow you to change the background color of each terrain type, the sizes of terrain or feature icons, or whether to display icons or not.
-Expand an existing map: Add (or subtract) a number of hex rows or columns above, below, to the right or to the left of an existing map. (Go to the map edit window’s “Options” menu and choose “Expand/Shrink Number of Hexes.")
-Add detailed notes to a hex: Any hex can now be described in detail with a freeform text field. Adding a note to a hex adds a small rectangular marker to the map. Clicking it will pop open the note for further editing or just to read it. (The note markers can be turned off using the map edit window’s “Show/Hide” menu and selecting/deselecting the “Notes on Map” menu item.)

Pro version maps can be read and edited by the free version of Hexographer, but the extra features are not available for further editing. (However, custom icons added using the pro version will be displayed by the free version.)

Read more about Hexographer, use the free version and see pro version ordering details at: Hexographer: Overview

I’ve put out a few updates to Hexographer since I last posted here. Below is a list of the new features:
*Text can be rotated
*You can now add dashed and dotted lines. (To change styled lines, go to the “Options” menu and select “Customize Line/Text Settings.” Next to each line, there is a new drop down to switch between solid, dashed, and dotted lines. For custom lines, on the “Custom Lines” tab, you’ll see a similar solid/dashed/dotted line drop down.) Note: dashed and dotted lines work best if your are clicking from point to point to draw your line. Dragging adds many points with many sub-lines and while the lines are dashed or dotted if you chose that, your line is made up of many sub-lines and it may be hard to make out the dashes and dots.
*You can also now draw shipping routes and elevation lines. (These are new styled line settings.)
*Three new symbols: Port (which looks like an anchor, as requested), Cathedral, and Oasis
*The pro version now let’s you add custom terrain and features. (Previously you had to change the color, icon and other settings of existing terrain or features. By the way, all of that prior functionality except changing the icons can be done in the free version as well.) Go to the “Options” menu of the map edit/view window and choose “Add/Edit/Remove Custom Terrain and Features.” Once you add Terrain, it will appear as a new button on the “Terrain” tab. If the new item is a Feature, a new button for it will be on the “Icons” sub-tab of the “Symbols” tab. However if the new item is a Cosmic Feature or Terrain then a button for the new choice appears on the “Cosmic” tab.

I also built a new mini-website with a small forum for Hexographer.  Here’s a link to the new Hexographer site: http://www.inkwellideas.com/roleplaying_tools/hexographer/