GIMP can make random world maps out of the box!

[RPMiller]

Ok, I found the instructions:

To create the binary file:

For each contour level

1. Hide all layers but the contour level (or hide everything except the entities you want at a specific altitude level).
2. Save AS a PNG file (JPEG is probably a bad idea) Note of the size that you're making - write it down.
3. Next, start up a program like Photoshop or PSP.
4. Create a grayscale image the same size as the output image (that's why you wrote it down!)
5. For each output image (contour level) load it into something like Photoshop or PSP, convert to grayscale, preferably with the non-interesting areas black and the interesting ones as a dark gray (value 10 or so on a 0-255 scale)
6. Optionally: blur the image slightly.
7. Add the current contour interval to the growing image. Do this for each contour level.
8. Save the file as a 256-color Window bitmap (BMP) file.
9. Use Wilbur (included on the FT CD) to open the bitmap as a surface file (File->Open:8-bit BMP Surface)
10. Scale the altitudes to the desired level (Surface->Point Process->Scale:To Range)
11. Save the image as a Muse DTED file (a 16-bit binary format)
12. Alternatively - save a copy of your CC2 map under a different name. Delete all of the symbols, text & non-contour stuff. make the sea & rivers Black & recolor all of the contours in shades of gray - starting with #242 at the coastline & increasing up as the contours go up.
13. Some preplanning helps here. Separate the different contours by putting them on different layers.
14. Remember each contour will be a different altitude. Once the map is grayscaled, export as a BMP 24bit file (write down the dimensions). Also note - you will get better results if you are working with your world map & not a section of your world map. FT maps are based on a sphere!

To load the binary file in FT:

• Use File>>New:Binary File. Select the DTE file you created and set the Per-sample info to 2-byte, LSB First, Signed, Header Length=1024, Line Width to image width*2 (the image with times 2), Width and Height to the image width and height, and Map Edges to the locations on the globe where you want the map to be placed (use Min/Max to find these coordinates)

That's it. Your map should be present in the FT display.