Vandy introduces himself...
Good Morning and Hello to my Fellow Cartographers.
My name is Gary and I go by Vandy on the 'net, however; I'll answer to either name. I'm a 58 year old male living in Durham, NC USA. I've been invloved (as an amateur) in map-making since I was a teenager.
In the very early 1960s, my best friend and I use to create maps on paper -- notebook paper or, if we could get it, typing paper (none of the cheap stuff. No sir! The good heavyweight bonded paper...).
We would hand draw continents, islands, bays, harbors, rivers, mountains, marsh and swampland, etc. Then, countries would be defined and borders drawn in. Explorations occured and land was annexed or marked as "owned". Cities grew and developed, capitals were named, alliances were formed and, inevitably, wars occurred. Country boundaries changed, countries were "eliminated", alliances changed, etc.
By the time we were "done" with a map, there wasn't much space that didn't have faint pencil marks on it as well as there were more than a few weak spots or tears. It certainly was quite a bit of fun.
Time passed and so did this type of map making fun. As I grew into adulthood, I would occasionaly make another such map but it didn't seem to have the same "riveting attention" that I remembered as a youth.
In December of 2004, I received SimCity 4 as a Christmas present and it was like the heavens had opened and presented me with an updated and more sophisticated way of making maps.
Currently, I create maps for SimCity 4 and post them on a number SimCity 4 Fansite File Exchanges. After four years, I still very much enjoy making them.
Initially, my SC4 maps were created with the help of an application called Landscape Designer. They were passable maps but quite simple in their design. I did use (and still do use) Paint Shop Pro, version 9.xx to edit them. Also, I have created SC4 maps by drawing them on paper, scanning them then using Paint Shop Pro to create a useable grayscale image.
Approximately 2 1/2 year ago, a Simtropolis member by the user name "wouanagaine" wrote an application destined to change the way maps are created for SC4. The application is SC4Terraformer. It allows the user to create a 3D map with a set of terraforming tools. This is now THE TOOL of choice for maing SC4 maps.
Over the years, I've also used Terragen and World Machine to create terrains. Lately, I've started to experiment with using a .TER Terragen terrain file as a device input into World Machine. The resulting .TMD World Machine file is saved as a 16-bit .PNG file. The .PNG file is then imported into SC4Terraformer, "tweaked" and used to render a SC4 map.
I "stumbled" upon the "Cartographer's Guild" Website by accident and am so very happy that I did. I am quite impressed with the maps I've seen and already know that I on the brink of another "leap" into the larger world of map-making.
I need to further study and read through the threads here but I'm starting to already form an opinion on the software that I might best use. I would really appreciate and value your input on my thought processes. The software I think I would most benefit from is the Pro Fantasy Software "The World Builder" bundle. I'm really not "in" to creating characters or dioramas but am very interested in the other applications in the bundle.
Finally, I would like to ask if anyone would be interested in viewing any maps created for SimCity 4 or, is this site more dedicated to the type of map created by CC3?
I do look forward to chatting with y'all and am very please to become a member at this wonderful site.
Have a great day!
Regards,
Gary (Vandy)
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