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I am getting so very, very tired of this... deckplans.

R

Redcap

SOC-13
Baron
OK, it's late, I did a long shift, and I'm using Linux. I refuse, absolutely, to go back to windows, it killed my laptop harddrive not once but twice, so I have to ask: Is ANYONE using software to design deckplans that is EASY (stupid easy, click a symbol, stick it on the plan, repeat, etc) under Linux, and which is FREE or at least dirt cheap, and doesn't look like a three year old with crayons drew it?

:rant:
 
I'm using LibreOffice and sometimes OpenOffice for my own personal use. There's all kinds of space furniture PNG files that can be found on the net, depending on the style you need.
 
Thanks for the reply. I have Libre Office; I wasn't aware it had a graphics element to it (like MS Office has, for example, PowerPoint). What part do use use to generate your plans, and do you have example search terms for the imagery?
 
I had started writing a deckplanner app using Adobe AIR. It could drag and drop the basic hull shape (and manage control points) on a square grid and calculate the volume assuming a 3m ceiling. But alas, I haven't worked on it in a few years.
 
Redcap said:
OK, it's late, I did a long shift, and I'm using Linux. I refuse, absolutely, to go back to windows, it killed my laptop harddrive not once but twice, so I have to ask: Is ANYONE using software to design deckplans that is EASY (stupid easy, click a symbol, stick it on the plan, repeat, etc) under Linux, and which is FREE or at least dirt cheap, and doesn't look like a three year old with crayons drew it?

:rant:
Click to expand...
Not out of the box, but Inkscape works much better on Linux than Windows - for some reason the Win32 GTK theme is quite slow. It's probably not quite as easy as you want but it's not all that hard to learn. It's quite mature and stable and it really does work well on Linux.

You can set up grids so thing snap to the grids and make shape templates for iris valves, acceleration couches and suchlike. Doing the shapes is easiest if you make them larger than the final size and the shrink them down. Then you can just cut and paste them. This would let you do ship deck plans to about the standard of the original CT ones with a little bit of practice. Inkscape is not hard to use; you could probably learn it enough with a day or two of tinkering.
 
CC2/Cos Pro under Wine is glitchy at best, and requires a whole ****load of work to get the basic templates up. Inkscape is not in the slightest bit intuitive. Hell, Paint Shop Pro works better under Wine than Inkscape under Linux, and that's saying a lot :eek:

I'm running up (or at least, trying to run up) a 300dt Frontier trader (Argeii Class; see http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showthread.php?t=37394&page=20), but it's a long and convoluted method, involving three different packages, and frankly a right pain in the arse. I was hoping there was a one-stop shop package other than CC/Cos Pro that would do it. I don't have Visio either, come to think of it.

I DO have Floorplan Plus, but it doesn't work right under, you guessed it, Wine.

headbutt.gif
 
The next thing that Fly killer heard was low growling from directly behind him, and the quiet snik of a pair of dewclaws flicking into position... :eek:
 
Last edited:
flykiller said:
(laugh) maybe you should get a mac. I hear all the happy graphic artists do.
Click to expand...
Spot the mac fanboy. :)

A mac would be great if OP was wanting to use pro software like Adobe Creative suite. OP is using Linux and 'get a real computer' is probably not the advice he was after. Besides which, IMO Inkscape is actually easier to use than Illustrator, and I have used pretty much all of the major vector illustration packages at one point or another.

http://dilbert.com/strip/1995-06-24

I think OP's problem is that none of the major mapping packages work properly under WINE. If OP doesn't want to learn a vector illustration package (and Inkscape is no worse than Illustrator or Corel Draw in this regard) then the other option might be to run Windows up in a VM (e.g. VirtualBox) and install Campaign Cartographer on that.
 
nobby-w said:
Spot the mac fanboy. :)

A mac would be great if OP was wanting to use pro software like Adobe Creative suite. OP is using Linux and 'get a real computer' is probably not the advice he was after. Besides which, IMO Inkscape is actually easier to use than Illustrator, and I have used pretty much all of the major vector illustration packages at one point or another.

http://dilbert.com/strip/1995-06-24

I think OP's problem is that none of the major mapping packages work properly under WINE. If OP doesn't want to learn a vector illustration package (and Inkscape is no worse than Illustrator or Corel Draw in this regard) then the other option might be to run Windows up in a VM (e.g. VirtualBox) and install Campaign Cartographer on that.
Click to expand...

Most of the inexpensive options don't run on Mac, save under WINE. Even the mid-range.

On the Mac, Easy Draw (by dekorra optical) is pretty useful, mac native, and relatively cheap.
 
I have Inkscape. But if I use that, I might was well just fire up my 3D modeler and do the deckplan using it. Then I have all kinds of illustration styles to choose from, using different render views.
 
nobby-w said:
I think OP's problem is that none of the major mapping packages work properly under WINE. If OP doesn't want to learn a vector illustration package (and Inkscape is no worse than Illustrator or Corel Draw in this regard) then the other option might be to run Windows up in a VM (e.g. VirtualBox) and install Campaign Cartographer on that.
Click to expand...

I think that may well be what I have to do, dammit all to bleep :nonono:
 
Redcap said:
I think that may well be what I have to do, dammit all to bleep :nonono:
Click to expand...
I have seriously considred finding my install CDs for Windows 98 and spinning that up in a VM to run Heaven and Earth (it will really only run well on fairly old versions of Windows).
 
nobby-w said:
I have seriously considred finding my install CDs for Windows 98 and spinning that up in a VM to run Heaven and Earth (it will really only run well on fairly old versions of Windows).
Click to expand...

Hmm. There's a thought. That'll make adding handouts easier for the adventure I'm rewriting too. Cheers :cool:
 
nobby-w said:
Not out of the box, but Inkscape works much better on Linux than Windows - for some reason the Win32 GTK theme is quite slow. It's probably not quite as easy as you want but it's not all that hard to learn. It's quite mature and stable and it really does work well on Linux.
Click to expand...

Granted, I haven't tried to use Inkscape for anything serious, but it seems to be a reasonable replacement for the old Paint Shop Pro 5 (through 7) that used to fill that sweet missing spot in between MS Pain and Adobe Whatever.
 
robject said:
Granted, I haven't tried to use Inkscape for anything serious, but it seems to be a reasonable replacement for the old Paint Shop Pro 5 (through 7) that used to fill that sweet missing spot in between MS Pain and Adobe Whatever.
Click to expand...

It was written by and for programmers... the UI is cumbersome, the UX only slightly better than dos edit... and it doesn't always put things in sensible locations by use...
 
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