Campaign Cartographer 2 has become the standard for RPG mapping. The reasons for this are simple, it is the most complete and involved mapping product in the marketplace.

At first CC2 is a daunting beast, and a bit intimidating to those that don't have prior experience with mapping and/or CAD programs. There is a very steep learning curve , and because of this is not a piece of software you can jump right into.

Truth be told, I had CC2, and it's expansions, Dungeon Designer 2 and City Designer 2, laying around for over a year. In that time while skimming the manual, creating simple world maps was fairly easy. However in comparing the "simple" maps to those provided in CC2's sample menu, getting to that level of detail seems a daunting task to the beginner.

The most important thing I can recommend to beginners, is read the manual and follow the tutorials included. The manual itself is 163 pages, and goes through basic to advanced techniques.

The most daunting part of the program is the various task bars. Learning to navigate the task bars, and their various uses is key. Everything is listed in the task bars, from drawing and fractilizing a land mass to the icon menu and color palette, geomorphic drawing tools and everything in between. The program also includes a complete color palette as well.

Once you are comfortable with the task bars, the tools for creation fall into place, and you find it actually fits quite comfortably.

Starting a map is a simple process of choosing one of the various templates in the CC2 menu. Various scales are provided, from 10km x 8km to 10000mi x 8000mi, giving you a wide variety of starting points based on the size of the map you wish to create.

From there, the task bars come into play. Creating a land mass is a straightforward process, then learning the tricks of fractalizing and outlining.

Once you have your land mass created, CC2 gives you a wide variety of symbols and tools to bring it to life. And that is the main strength of CC2, it's symbol library. Hundreds of symbols are included, including cities, mountains, vegetation, political symbols and many others, allowing even beginners to create very nice maps in a minimal amount of time. Tools for placing Roads and Rivers are also included, along with hex overlays and distance tools.

CC2 also has separate templates allowing you to create custom coats of arms, starship deck plans, and a plethora of other projects. Battletech and Heavy Gear players will love this program as well, as making maps with hex overlays is a simple and straightforward process.

For creating maps, there is nothing else in the market that has the variety and depth CC2 brings to the table. Aside from it's steep learning curve, it's only drawback is the price, at $75.95 retail.

City Designer 2 and Dungeon Designer 2 are the two main add-ons for CC2. Both add new templates and symbol libraries to the CC2 program, allowing for creation of cities and dungeons in a snap.

City Designer 2 contains tools and templates to allow you to create cities for Fantasy, Modern or Sci-Fi gaming. Hundreds of building and vehicle icons, used in concert with CC2's vast symbol library, enables you to design hamlets to huge modern cities with as much detail as you wish. Only downside of CD2, as with CC2 is it's price at $39.95 retail.

Dungeon Designer 2, as it's name implies, allows for creation of vast dungeons, and a variety of other indoor maps. Hundreds of symbols and templates are provided, from tables, chairs, magic items, cauldrons weapons and corpses, to everything in between. The corridor templates are a time saver, and it allows for creation of all types of dungeons and their ilk with ease. Again, it's only drawback is it's price at $36.95 retail.

The best thing about having the three programs is the fact you can link maps. Example: On the world map of Valhuen, you can click on the city of Valhuen, bringing up the city map. By clicking on the castle of Valhuen, you can bring up a detailed map of the castle, and then by clicking on the dungeon link underneath the castle, it brings up the dungeon map. As you can see, there is an unlimited variety of links that can be used within the world you create.

Printing of all the various maps is a breeze, as the program allows for an intuitive print set-up that will enable you to go from a standard sheet map, to a poster sized world map.