Sunday, April 5, 2009

Mapping With Dungeon Crafter

I've been playing around with Dungeon Crafter v. 1.4.1 as I'm looking into options for redoing the maps of Stonehell in a more easy on the eyes format. I've had a lot of fun with the app so far and I'm finding it extremely easy to whip up new tiles to remain true to the handdrawn maps. I finished up this reworking of Level 1B today.

Stonehell Level 1B - Dungeon Crafter ModeMy sole complaint with it so far is that, although I'm working with tiles and a background that are all 300 dpi, the final map ends up being a 72 dpi image. I'd really like to keep at 300 dpi to ensure a fresh, clean printed image. I can resize the finished map into 300 dpi but the end result is a bit blurry. If anyone has any input as to what I might be doing wrong or a workaround to this issue, I'd be extremely grateful.

13 comments:

Santiago OrĂ­a said...

I actually like the hand drawn maps better. They have a charm a PC generated map does not. Yours where perfectly clear to me!

- Zulgyan

Alex Schroeder said...

Another option would be to use Inkscape. Open up Inkscape, and import the low-rez image using Ctrl-I. Use Shift+Alt+B and click Ok. Close the “Trace Bitmap” dialog, click on the image, and drag it aside. You’ll note that you have two images right now: The bitmap, and the vector graphic (the so-called path). Delete the bitmap.

You export this drawing at any resolution you fancy because it has been vectorized.

Alex Schroeder said...

Gah, borked Inkscape link: http://www.inkscape.org/

Anonymous said...

I have had no problem following your maps either and they are easy on the ink in my printer too!

Jonathan Jacobs said...

a bit off topic -- but why are you using 1.4.1? Why not DC3? http://www.dungeoncrafter3.com/download.php ?

Michael S/Chgowiz said...

@Johnathan - I have no direct evidence, but I'm told that later versions tend to cater to the more newer editions of D&D. I pass this on only to ask if that is indeed the case.

Alex Schroeder said...

I think the point is that version 1.4.1 is gratis.

Druvas said...

Yes, Chgowiz, this is the case. As far as I know, there are no "classic blue tile sets" for any version of DC other than 1.4.1. I have not used Inkscape, but if it can clean up DC maps, then that could be a good, quicker alternative to the larger-learning-curve products like Photoshop, Illustrator, or even GIMP (although, being a newb to GIMP (and rastor graphics in general), I have to say that I love it!)

Michael Curtis said...

@Zulgyan & Anonymous: I'm just looking at options right now. I'm not going to go and change the .pdfs over to new maps but I'd like to explore other alternatives just the same.

Michael Curtis said...

@ Alex: Thanks for the suggestion. I managed to import and trace the maps into vector images but the results are blurred about the same as if I had changed the resolution of the bitmaps in Photoshop. I'll play around with the settings in the Trace function some more and see if I can improve on it. If anyone has suggestions about what settings might net the best results, I'm all ears.

Michael Curtis said...

RE: DC 3 - Yes, I'm using 1.4.1 for the reason that it's free and supports more premade custom tiles that can be readily found. It's more of an accessibility issue rather than any irrational need to remain "old school." I grabbed a copy od DC3 to see if it might be a possible avenue but I ran into the same low resolution issues without the variety of tiles.

JOESKY said...

I LIKE THE BY HAND MAPOS YOU DID BETTER. THESE NEW ONE LOOK SLIKE A COMPUTER DID IT. I LIKE YOUR NOTES AND SYMBALS TO!!

Alex Schroeder said...

Hm, another option: Get Gimp from http://gimp.org/ and open the .bmp file; choose image scale 300 percent without (!) interpolation. This will will result in jagged diagonals, but it might still work for you.