Quick Ways to Generate Really Big Hex Maps?

[Vrock_Summoner]

Hey all! So following the closure of the Erfworld comic, I've been using a combination of another creator's old fan project and my own homebrew to run an Erfworld game. But the system isn't what I need help with (if it were I'd ask this in the homebrew subforum); it's actually just the sheer size of the overworld that's kicking my butt. Erfworld has a gigantic hex map. There are probably somewhere in the realm of 2,500 city sites split between 300 Sides, with tens of hexes separating each, and a variety of terrain types covering the significant masses of land not tamed by cities or roads.

Now, I don't need to make millions of hexes all at once on one map. That probably isn't possible (at least not without ungodly rendering times), and I don't need the vast majority of that territory until the players get there. I'm fine splitting it up into a bunch of sub-maps, and that's the first thing I tried, using HexTML. However, I've spent half an entire day on one 100-by-100 hex submap, and frankly, I've taken so many shortcuts just to be done already that it's not a very *interesting* map. And it doesn't have good functionality for keeping track of what each thing on the map is, or finding particular hexes like cities. It's clunky and I'm gonna be doing it forever if I keep it up like this.

So... Are there any programs or techniques you guys would recommend I use to generate hex map chunks faster, without being complete chaos? Like, the perfect system would generate semi-random geographies with some sensible extensions (beach hexes adjacent to the start of a bunch of water hexes, forests progressing gradually from light to thick, etc), wouldn't make it too hard to edit things so two map chunks fit together, and would have cities a range of distances apart with the ability to build road networks between them (or better yet already having them). But, like, I don't actually expect that to be a thing that already exists. So instead, I'll just take anything that makes the process more convenient and will keep me from eating a collective year out of my life just making maps over the course of however long this campaign takes.

[oxybe]

Civ V map builder. Huge map size is 120 x 80 hexes, which will give you shy of 10k, with various random generation options. plus you can use the civ resource markers if needed.

Used it a few times with a free artsy fartsy potatoshop-like to create "local maps" of areas by taking screencaps and tossing in a filter, a compass and a scale.

https://watabou.itch.io/medieval-fantasy-city-generator generates random cities. I like it because it once called a walled, inner district "Meat Chapel". but it has decent generation and layout options.

[Knaight]

Hexographer's randomization functions are pretty good.

[redwizard007]

Hexographer's randomization functions are pretty good.

They never seem to make sense when I do it. Just random placement. Guess I need to watch a darn tutorial.

[Alcore]

They never seem to make sense when I do it. Just random placement. Guess I need to watch a darn tutorial.

I echo both thoughts; Hexographer is the way to go and using the random generation method takes some high end INT scores or math skills. a tutorial might help.

[viking vince]

See if this might be helpful

http://www.apolitical.info/webgame/map/