FreeCountry is a free fantasy mapping program, currently in beta. It’s available from TogaMario.com [1] as a ZIP file: FreeCountry beta [2] (direct link to .zip).
There’s a screenshot [3] 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 [4] 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 [5]). (Via EN World [6].)
6 Comments To "FreeCountry: Tile-Based Fantasy Map Program"
#1 Comment By brcarl On January 24, 2007 @ 1:53 pm
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”).
#2 Comment By aetherspoon On January 25, 2007 @ 6:41 am
Anyone know if this can handle hex grids?
#3 Comment By Martin On January 31, 2007 @ 10:19 am
Rock on, Emryys — thanks for the link!
#4 Comment By Tyler On February 5, 2007 @ 10:26 am
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).
#5 Comment By Martin On February 6, 2007 @ 8:14 am
Thanks for dropping by, Tyler. Hopefully your tip will be helpful to folks who are looking to give FreeCountry a try.
#6 Comment By Tyler On February 6, 2007 @ 1:09 pm
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.