Deck Plans

[alex_greene]

The ship I've created for the setting I'm using is a 1000 tonner, with a streamlined shape vaguely reminiscent of those bronze manta-shaped George Pal War Machines from the 1953 War Of The Worlds.

I need deck plans for it. Probably in a bit of a hurry.

Is there anything out there you can recommend for designing deck plans?

 

[kristof65]

Well, personally, I'd recommend Campaign Cartographer and the Cosmographer add-on. However, CC3 does have a bit of a learning curve, and if you're trying to design something in a hurry, you'll probably end up frustrated.

In this case, what I would recommend is plain old pencil, ruler and graph paper to design your ship. Then get CC3 & Cosmographer, and learn the program while translating your pencil and paper plans into it.

Just my $0.02

 

[Sturn]

Since you need them in a hurry, I would also suggest a pencil and graph paper.

If you must use a program and are new to CADs, try AutoRealm. It's free and easier to get a hang of. I use both AutoRealm and CC myself. CC is more powerful, but has a long learning curve. The interface IS good only after you have used it a while and understand it. AutoRealm is steamlined, less complicated, more intuitive for the beginner.

I've made maps (fantasy and scifi) and basic 2D art with CC. I've made deckplans with AutoRealm (some examples and an incomplete tutorial in my signature). I might try future deckplans with CC since I now have its Traveller addon Cosmographer. But, I know the program pretty well and it will also cost you quite a bit to get started.

[EDIT] I'm an idiot with too many drawing programs on my com. Originally I was saying "Fractal Mapper" when I meant "AutoRealm". Corrected this above.

 

[Lorcan Nagle]

Microsoft Visio is another option that's possibly more accessible than CC - it's included in many MS Office distributions.

 

[AndrewW]

See this thread:

http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=38874&highlight=inkscape

 

[klingsor]

No matter what you are going to do the final design on I usually start with a drawing book. I am not an artist so the results are pretty poor but it is great for trying things out and capturing fugitive ideas before they escape. After that an old fashioned pad of 5mm squared paper is great for working out the deck layout and volumes required. Primitive but it works very well.

 

[kristof65]

Microsoft Visio is another option that's possibly more accessible than CC - it's included in many MS Office distributions.

Having used Visio as well as CC3, Smart Draw, and several other vector based drawing programs, be aware that all of them have a learning curve of some sort.

The big difference is where the learning curve is - CC3's is up front, but once you get past that, there is a lot of "advanced" stuff that can be done quite easily. Visio's, Smart Draw's and others are quicker to get to using, but doing the more advanced stuff can be extremely difficult, if not down right impossible until you learn the secret tricks to doing that kind of stuff in those programs.

Availability of gaming specific symbols and images are another reason to consider mapping programs designed for RPGs and gamers - programs like Dunjinni and CC3 have far larger variety of genre specific symbols available free, or at lower cost than programs like Visio & Smart Draw.

I'm not saying don't use Visio, I'm merely pointing out that sometimes it seems easy to dismiss more specialized solutions based on incomplete knowledge. If you happen to have an MS Office installation that includes Visio, definitely give it a try - for basic stuff it can work quite well, and besides, if you have it already, then you've paid for it. But don't go out and buy it strictly for mapping without considering the other options first.

 

[Lorcan Nagle]

Microsoft Visio is another option that's possibly more accessible than CC - it's included in many MS Office distributions.

Having used Visio as well as CC3, Smart Draw, and several other vector based drawing programs, be aware that all of them have a learning curve of some sort.

The big difference is where the learning curve is - CC3's is up front, but once you get past that, there is a lot of "advanced" stuff that can be done quite easily. Visio's, Smart Draw's and others are quicker to get to using, but doing the more advanced stuff can be extremely difficult, if not down right impossible until you learn the secret tricks to doing that kind of stuff in those programs.

Availability of gaming specific symbols and images are another reason to consider mapping programs designed for RPGs and gamers - programs like Dunjinni and CC3 have far larger variety of genre specific symbols available free, or at lower cost than programs like Visio & Smart Draw.

I'm not saying don't use Visio, I'm merely pointing out that sometimes it seems easy to dismiss more specialized solutions based on incomplete knowledge. If you happen to have an MS Office installation that includes Visio, definitely give it a try - for basic stuff it can work quite well, and besides, if you have it already, then you've paid for it. But don't go out and buy it strictly for mapping without considering the other options first.

OH yeah, when I said accessible, I meant as in he may have access to it, not that it's magically easier than the others.