Quote Originally Posted by Yevin View Post
I did my research, and so far World Machine, Vue and Terragen are popular. There are a few others like that profantasy site - but I don't like the chincy graphics in the demo photos. So, my dear peers and pros in this game, can you give a lead in which programs (listed here or not) you would recommend to someone who wants to do a realistic world map?
Making a realistic map of a world is much more about having an understanding of geography than any particular software. Physical geography is particularly important, it's a mix of Geology, Climatology, Biology, etc. You'll also want an understanding of geodesy and map projections.

You might want to use a Geographic Information System like QuantumGIS. This is the software used for dealing with geographic information and maps of the real world. I've been writing a thread providing a basic introduction to QuantumGIS here: http://www.cartographersguild.com/sh...-for-using-GIS