AutoREALM

AutoREALM is simply aweSOME. Originally developed by Andrew Gryc, AutoREALM is mapping software designed for role-playing gamers. I have used other mapping software packages, academically and professionally, and I have say that AutoREALM stacks up pretty well when compared to even high-end products. And here is the added bonus: It's free (really free...no requests for donations and no limited-time or limited feature preview). Check out the official AutoREALM site and Jeff's site for more detailed tech info or to download AutoREALM.

I have been using AutoREALM to produce the maps for my current Castles & Crusades campaign, the Isles of Emmon. Even with my cartography training and my smidge of experience with geographic information systems, there was just a bit of a learning curve for me. However, if you have used Microsoft Publisher, many functions will be familar to you, such as group, order, and most of the drawing tools. Two features I found very useful are (1) the colored virtual pushpins that can be placed anywhere on the map to determine distance from A to B and (2) the fractal line feature that allows the user to create natural looking features, as you can see in the image above with the coastlines and rivers.

I was able to produce a full-color map of my "starting" village, a surface map for a nearby dungeon, and a map of the dungeon itself. I also created the larger world--the islands of the Isles of Emmon--creating a map about 2,500 miles X 2,500 miles without a huge investment of time. Most of the hundreds of islands were created while listening to my beloved Detroit Red Wings on the internet. I should mention that most of the islands are without detail at this point--one can only do so much during three periods of hockey.

I have used a mapping software system purchased from Wizards of the Coast about eight years ago but I found it cumbersome to use. It also created all sorts of problems for my already cognitively challenged computer. Other than that experience, I have no basis for comparison with other software so I will concede that there may some really groovy free software out there that would knock me out of my chair. Nonetheless, I can say that AutoREALM has allowed me to do everything I have wanted to do in terms of map creation. I have been able to meet all my mapping needs, using only a fraction of the features. Now that the need to crank out lots of maps has subsided, I am looking forward to messing around with the features I haven't used.

I found the online tutorials very helpful and the map library really shows you what sorts of things you can do with AutoREALM. AutoREALM comes with a decent built-in symbol library, but users may want to supplement these with the symbols available through the AutoREALM Yahoo Group (group membership is free but required to access the additonal symbols).

AutoREALM is not perfect. As my main map file grows, I've noticed that some of the objects become "twitchy" when I move them. I can still move a mountain from one place to another but it is not always smooth--it's like there is a little earthquake going on (I can picture goblins tumbling around in their tunnels and giants rolling down into the valley during these quakes). Placing text can be a bit of a challenge as the options for text orientation are a bit limited. I have tried to use the Curved Text feature but my efforts were rewarded with something that looked very much like alphabet soup.

Another concern is supports and updates. As freeware, you generally get what you pay for. In the case of AutoREALM, there is a decent online FAQ and questions can be asked through the AutoREALM Yahoo Group. However, the online News page was last updated in 2005 and the FAQ page was last modified in 2006. There is an active community of users on the Yahoo Group, but I think you have to take the program as is. If you are looking at other software and updates is a concern for you, you may want to think twice about AutoREALM. As a side note, I would be interested in knowing what other people are using for mapping software.

The bottom line for me is that I have been able to learn to use this software with less than two hours invested in the online tutorials. With that investment of my time, AutoREALM allowed me to create the maps I wanted to create for myself and my players with little difficulty or fuss. And it's free.