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Like someone already said, most of the other programs are bitmap-based, wherease CC is a real CAD program and thus vector-based. The difference is that there is very little you cannot do with CC (aside from the primary RPG use, I have used it e.g. to draw floorplans for selling an apartment, and plan to use it for garden design). Also, CC is professionally produced software - the UI might not be completely "Windows Standard", but it does work logically and provides all the functionality you need (I have had some bad experiences in this regard with other software where UI design has been less competent).

The tradeoff is the steeper learning curve, though the manuals are quite OK. The available extensions cover most if not all RPG illustration needs, so you can expand the software as your needs grow. A host of free content (maps and symbols) is available from the Profantasy website.

I guess it mainly depends on the quality you want to get and the time and money you are willing to invest. If all you want is to sit down and quickly create some relatively simple maps, then you are better off with a simpler and cheaper program (or pen and paper...). If, on the other hand, you want to have the ability to create beautiful and detailed maps and are willing to spend some time on it, then it is worthwhile to invest your money and time in CC. It is worth repeating that both investments are required - frequently people who have the money don't have the time, and vice versa :-(. If you e.g. wanted to create maps for illustrating a fantasy novel, CC would really be your only sensible alternative.

By the way, if money and time is no object (I wish...), look into the Vue Esprit + Poser combination for creating illustrations. You can get some pretty decent results without any drawing ability, but buying both the software and the content will cost you an arm and a leg, not to mention a significant chunk of your time.

Disclaimer: I own CC and most of its extensions. I have not tried all possible pieces of mapping software that exist so there might be something better out there but I seriously doubt it. I am not in any way affiliated with Profantasy, e-on software or Curious Labs.

Here you go!
(Oh, wait... you wanted 'em in a game...)
/P

http://www.curiouslabs.com/ Curious Labs markets Shade 7 to US now. Started about 2 months ago

Curious Labs, who currently own Poser, already have it locked, albeit indirectly. The amount of poser-generated pr0n out there that's being passed off as real 3d art is disturbingly high. Some companies even make money selling movies/comics using Poser as the modelling and rendering base.

ph34r.

I do a lot of graphics work. I've also used a large number of the true graphics programs (3d, 2d, vector, etc... not MSPaint) out there at one point or another. In addition to this, I also do freelance development from time to time. It is the user interface alone that makes or breaks the program, in my opinion. Without a good interface, it doesn't matter what the rest of the code does.

Here are my remarks on a few of the ones I've used at one time or another:

Photoshop - Easy to use interface. Provides an easy introduction for those unfamiliar with the program and provides the power necessary for advanced users.

GraphicsConverter - Another easy to use interface. Though it lacks the power photoshop has, it makes up for it in the large number of image formats it can read and write.

Paint Shop Pro - I am not overly fond of this interface. For one, I think there are far too many icons used. Drowning out interface buttons and such with icons is very irritating for a novice user as they generally have to hover the mouse and wait for the tooltip to figure out what something is. Further, it has the "too much help" syndrome that seems a standard on windows. I much prefer that the help system be delegated to something else and not be built into the program.

Poser - This is definitely a unique interface, but it still provides simplicity for novice users and control for advanced users. The largest downside is that by not using default system-provided user interface widgets, some of the details you would expect are not there whereas they would be there if the system versions were used.

Bryce - Bryce is extremely easy to use. It was my first 3d program and is still one of my favorites due to its simplicity. I have yet to find another 3d program with an object placement system that I like more than bryce's.

Blender - Not a big fan. Though it is quite powerful, the learning curve is very steep. On Macs, the interface text is quite small in some places and hard to read. The interface is also a bit clunky. Sections are not as clearly divided as I would like.

Carrara - I have not used this one for some time (and as such, newer versions may be different than what I remember), but I found it quite user-friendly when I did. All tools were placed in a context-sensible place and it had the camera system that I liked from bryce.

The Gimp - I don't like it. The user interface is extremely clunky by my standards. Consolidating a number of the windows into one and reorganizing the tools would go a long way towards helping it. There is also the fact that I am used to my nice Aqua interface and it has the drab sharp bevels and general lack of detail that is natural to most x86 OS's under default configurations.

Illustrator - I do not use this program frequently, but being from adobe, it has a very similar interface to photoshop that makes it very easy to use.

Fireworks - I'm apathetic about this one. It provides no real functionality that I cannot get in a program whose interface I like better and has more stuff I can use.

Freehand - Pretty much the same as Fireworks. I've only mostly toyed with this one as I found Illustrator more appealing.

One other feature I like about photoshop is that it is extremely easy to do image versioning. When doing web designs, I will

'course, if you want polygonal porn that badly, there's always the (some would say appropriately named) Poser to make that with, and at much higher poly counts. (shrug).

When it comes to gaming nowadays though, it's either porn (or near-porn), or gore.

...or is it? RPG's still flourish (evercrack aside), as do sims (including The Sims), and if you look closely enough, there are some rather solid action games out there that don't require tons of gore and blood.

All you gotta do is get out and look past the hype.

/P

Adobe Atmosphere

Macromedia Shockwave3D, in cooperation with Intel

Curious Labs Avatar Lab

Viewpoint VET

This goes way beyond VRML, and there are some big clients using those technologies. E.g. AOL is using Viewpoint.

Check out Poser