Greetings and hallucinations.....
I'm probably asking a dumb question, but can some veteran of the mapping process explain to me why programs like MSPaint and similiar low-tech basic graphics manipulators are death to the process? After playing several different scenarios, I really can't see why everything has to be done in PS or GIMP or whatever. Why couldn't an aspiring mapmaker use a simpler program for the basic design and construction, then import the image to a more sophisticated program for detailing and refining? Is it really just for the better art applications, textures and such? Or is it something else. I mean, I've created some darn nice RPG maps with Paint, using just basic drawing and coloring. I've been plying with several different programs (GIMP, AutoREALM, and others), and I really don't see the advantage. Can someone clue me in?
Maybe one of the veterans could give me the blow-by-blow on how they made a successful map: the technique, software, and whatever else. I'd love to do a map, but may just give up on the whole process 'cuz I'm in such a big fog right now. It all seems so damned complicated.