FreeCountry is a free fantasy mapping program, currently in beta. It’s available from TogaMario.com as a ZIP file: FreeCountry beta (direct link to .zip).
There’s a screenshot in their forums, and according to the site you’ll need DirectX and the .NET 2.0 Framework installed to run the final version (it’s not clear whether that’s true for the beta, too), although Mac and Linux compatibility is also mentioned.
The finished product will also be free, and will come with a small set of tiles. You’ll be able to create your own tiles, and tile sets will be available for purchase from TogaMario, too.
From the screenshot, it looks somewhat like Dungeon Crafter, which I quite like (and wrote about in Three Mapping Options). (Via EN World.)
Has anyone had any luck getting the FreeCountry beta to run? I’m on XP SP2 and have DirectX 9.0c and .NET 2.0 installed, and it asploded on launch (“File Not Found”).
Anyone know if this can handle hex grids?
Rock on, Emryys — thanks for the link!
I happened to have found this site randomly and saw the “File not found” error. I haven’t found a way to setup a proper installer yet, so you’ll have to make sure that when you unzip, you keep the directory structure correct. The should be a main directory (where the exe is) and a media folder with a few files and folders, and a saved folder (with a sample file in it). Also, hex support is coming within this month. Linux and Mac support will be impossible with all the DirectX use I’ve got going, sorry to anyone looking forward to it (if there are any, lol).
Thanks for dropping by, Tyler. Hopefully your tip will be helpful to folks who are looking to give FreeCountry a try.
No problem, it really is in it’s infant stages. I hate to be restricted to requiring .Net 2.0 and DirectX, but it’s just something that I can grasp easily. The beta does require those installs, btw. The undo is in it’s beta currently, because I’m still working out the bugs with it (and the category listing bug). Soon I’ll have an updated download with more artwork in it for generic dungeons. I want to add graphic preview of tiles in the tile list, and drag/drop functionality, so it’s all coming down the line (including the hex grid, which is very high on the priority ladder). Thanks for trying the program, and I apologize if it’s too raggidy to work on some computers, lol, I’m still learning / ironing out a lot.