Need to create a campaign map? Want to layout your own game product? Have no money? Adobe is GIVING away its suite of CS2 products. I just downloaded and installed Photoshop CS2 on my 4-year old MacBook Pro and it works great! Here is the link:
http://www.adobe.com/downloads/cs2_downloads/index.html (http://www.adobe.com/downloads/cs2_downloads/index.html)
Quote from: AnthonyRoberson;615809Need to create a campaign map? Want to layout your own game product? Have no money? Adobe is GIVING away its suite of CS2 products. I just downloaded and installed Photoshop CS2 on my 4-year old MacBook Pro and it works great! Here is the link:
I'll have to try them. If they don't work in Windows 7, they'll work in my XP virtual machine.
I have CS3 on Win7, so I'm sure CS2 would work. Damn though, thanks Adobe for making that free after I paid $1200 for CS3 when it came out. Can I get a refund...
Only legal/applicable if you already own a license:
QuoteThere has been clarification since this story broke. Adobe has not released the CS2 software for free. Instead, it has cancelled its CS2 license management servers, so for those with existing licenses it is now offering downloads that do not require contact with the licensing servers. This service is only going to be available for those with existing Adobe CS2 licenses, which will be verified when creating the Adobe account to download the software.
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-57562515-263/adobe-releases-creative-suite-2-for-free/
Sorry dudes.
Quote from: Peregrin;615831Only legal/applicable if you already own a license:
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-57562515-263/adobe-releases-creative-suite-2-for-free/
Sorry dudes.
May not be strictly 'legal' but I downloaded and installed with no Adobe account or license. Worked fine for me.
Apparently no one told their webmaster, downloading it right now, serial number is up on the Adobe site, no login required.
Also done. No login or whatever needed.
They also have Photoshop Elements if the full version is too much program for what you need. All the CS2 programs have separate dloads as well if you don't want the whole suite clogging your computer.
Wow you can get Photoshop Elements 4/5 for free too? This is cool!
AND Acrobat Pro 8.0. Wow...
OK. Forbes reported it, as well as a myriad of other websites, but apparently the intent was never to release CS2 for free. It's for people who already have a CS2 license and want to reactivate their products, because the servers have been taken down or some such.
See here: http://forums.adobe.com/message/4974662#4974662
It's a marketing ploy.
The servers are still up, you can still download the software for free, you can use the serial number, however, you can't do it legally without a license (even though there is no way to stop you from doing it illegally).
Basically Adobe is providing software for free without "legally providing software for free", ie. getting people to use older Adobe products instead of the host of free tools and cheaper competitors that have been steadily eroding Adobe's marketshare. It's an advertising campaign in an attempt to gain marketshare.
I'll stick with Inkscape and GIMP. Don't need Adobe.
Quote from: AnthonyRoberson;615809Need to create a campaign map? Want to layout your own game product? Have no money? Adobe is GIVING away its suite of CS2 products. I just downloaded and installed Photoshop CS2 on my 4-year old MacBook Pro and it works great! Here is the link:
http://www.adobe.com/downloads/cs2_downloads/index.html (http://www.adobe.com/downloads/cs2_downloads/index.html)
Thank Yas!
I love how the Forbes article changes its headline and emphatically states that this is only for previous license holders but then continues to say that these downloads are for free and posts the link to the page with the serials.
I'll be interested to see how this all goes down.
Quote from: CRKrueger;616104It's a marketing ploy.
The servers are still up, you can still download the software for free, you can use the serial number, however, you can't do it legally without a license (even though there is no way to stop you from doing it illegally).
Basically Adobe is providing software for free without "legally providing software for free", ie. getting people to use older Adobe products instead of the host of free tools and cheaper competitors that have been steadily eroding Adobe's marketshare. It's an advertising campaign in an attempt to gain marketshare.
It's working.
Outside of games and OSes, back in the 90s Adobe products were the most pirated things I ever saw. More than Office or any other apps.
(that I saw; certainly I didn't move in all programming circles)
if you get the registration window with CS2 every time you start, (even though you click do not register) run once as administrator and click it one more time. it should go away
It asked for disk 2 from me. Do the exe files need extracting, somehow, first? Burning to disc?
Quote from: APN;616529It asked for disk 2 from me. Do the exe files need extracting, somehow, first? Burning to disc?
If you are talking about installing the Creative Suite as a whole, I would suspect that you would have to run all three of the exe files before trying to install; the exe files seem to be just executable zips.
For example, the Acrobat Pro 8 exe installed a directory called Acrobat8 and then extracted the installation files. It then installed the program from those files to another directory called Acrobat 8.0. I think the original Acrobat8 directory could then be deleted.
But I did not try to install the full Creative Suite so I could be talking out of my butt.
I am having trouble with the CS2 install. The install pdf talks about finding the diskss in folder the unzip creates, but I'm not seeing anything like that there, so when the install asks for disck 2 I have no idea where to point it.
Meh, just ended up installing each component separately. I used CS2 when I was a pro photog. It's actually nice to see it again. Been using GIMP so long I've forgotten how good even older PS is. Kicks the heck out of Elements too, even though for what it is Elements isn't that bad either. I just can't do without Curves anymore, use it on pretty much every image. Still a combo of GIMP with Faststone and either UFRaw or RawTherapee works great on windows machines and combined with Inkscape for Windows they can be used to make some dang good maps from what I've seen. Can also get Krita for Windows, which is nice too. I sprang for the top-shelf Art Rage and LOVE it. I can hand-draw maps with my Wacom on the computer. I'll try to sketch out a quick one to show off this weekend.
I still have Photoshop Elements 2.0 on my machine (don't laugh, people) and it works fine for my maps. Honestly.
Quote from: Benoist;616979I still have Photoshop Elements 2.0 on my machine (don't laugh, people) and it works fine for my maps. Honestly.
I believe you. I upgrade mainly because I use the software for digital photography, some of which I get paid for, so I like to have the biggest and bestest toolbox I can get. For maps I'm currently, and slowly (due to a too full plate irl) practicing with Hexographer and Dungeonographer. I'm really digging Art Rage though. Fantastic software.
So people know, there is the free and open source software Inkscape (http://www.inkscape.org/) that works great for mapping. It is vector graphic drawing program and has 95% of the features that I use in CorelDRAW to draw my maps with. The main missing one, symbol management, is due to be added in the next major release.
Unless you just have a real hard-on to work with PhotoShop, Paint.net does everything PhotoShop does and is free.
http://www.getpaint.net/
I work with PhotoShop quite a bit with work (I'm a photojournalist) and at home I work with Paint.net. I don't really see a great divide between the two.
I've never got a good handle on GIMP, that program has a terrible interface, IMO.
Quote from: Kaz;617012Unless you just have a real hard-on to work with PhotoShop, Paint.net does everything PhotoShop does and is free.
http://www.getpaint.net/
I work with PhotoShop quite a bit with work (I'm a photojournalist) and at home I work with Paint.net. I don't really see a great divide between the two.
Does it do the same basic things with layers and so on?
Quote from: estar;617004So people know, there is the free and open source software Inkscape (http://www.inkscape.org/) that works great for mapping. It is vector graphic drawing program and has 95% of the features that I use in CorelDRAW to draw my maps with. The main missing one, symbol management, is due to be added in the next major release.
What does inkscape do that stuff like GIMP, Photoshop, Paint.net etc don't? How would that benefit my maps, with the caveat that I work first by hand then scan the hand-drawn maps and edit them on the computer after?
Quote from: Benoist;617017Does it do the same basic things with layers and so on?
Yeah, for basis stuff, it's really good. Does layers, adjustments, all that. It doesn't have the Masks capabilities PS has, but otherwise a very strong photo editor.
Give it a look, I mean, it's free!
Quote from: Kaz;617012Unless you just have a real hard-on to work with PhotoShop, Paint.net does everything PhotoShop does and is free.
http://www.getpaint.net/
I work with PhotoShop quite a bit with work (I'm a photojournalist) and at home I work with Paint.net. I don't really see a great divide between the two.
I've never got a good handle on GIMP, that program has a terrible interface, IMO.
There's also a plug in floating around that allows you to import .psd files into Paint.net. It's like MS Paint on steroids in terms of ease of use and user friendliness.
Quote from: Kaz;617012Unless you just have a real hard-on to work with PhotoShop, Paint.net does everything PhotoShop does and is free.
http://www.getpaint.net/
I work with PhotoShop quite a bit with work (I'm a photojournalist) and at home I work with Paint.net. I don't really see a great divide between the two.
I've never got a good handle on GIMP, that program has a terrible interface, IMO.
GIMP's GUI has gotten loads better just in the last year due to the new release with the unified window. I'm totally with ya on it though. I tried Paint.net and it just didn't trip my trigger. It's not bad, like you say, but I've just always preferred GIMP. When I was doing commercial photography I used CS2 and CS3 exclusively, but then got majorly into Linux (which I now use at work) so it was GIMP, Inkscape, Blender, etc... I'm sure it's just a familiarity thing. Thinking about it, Paint.net might be geared better towards the kind of tools used in RPG maps and stuff... I'll have to take a look at it again, it's been awhile.
Quote from: Benoist;617018What does inkscape do that stuff like GIMP, Photoshop, Paint.net etc don't? How would that benefit my maps, with the caveat that I work first by hand then scan the hand-drawn maps and edit them on the computer after?
It allows you to create SVGs, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scalable_Vector_Graphics) which scale without losing resolution or becoming "rasterized" (all "blocky"). Great for logos. Also really good for map symbols. Images are created using shapes instead of pixels.
Quote from: Benoist;617018What does inkscape do that stuff like GIMP, Photoshop, Paint.net etc don't? How would that benefit my maps, with the caveat that I work first by hand then scan the hand-drawn maps and edit them on the computer after?
It vector based which means it is resolution independent. Far easier to edit and make changes than bitmap based editors like Photoshop. Also file sizes are far smaller allowing you to make huge maps. I am currently working on a map that will print out on a 24" by 36" poster at 300 dpi. If done in a bitmap editor like Photoshop will create a huge file that will bog down a computer.
Feature Convergence makes the differences a little less drastic today but they are still there. For example Photoshop has support for layers and objects while Corel can use bitmaps for fills.
The main reason I would go with a vector editor over a bitmap editor is the ease of editing. Adobe has one called Illustrator so if you want to read the pros and cons yourself read up on why people use Illustrator over Photoshop.
Is it possible to combine the use of both kinds of programs, bitmap based and vector based, to get the best of both worlds?
Could that be useful, or would it be a waste of time?
Quote from: Benoist;617065Is it possible to combine the use of both kinds of programs, bitmap based and vector based, to get the best of both worlds?
Could that be useful, or would it be a waste of time?
Yes and no.
Yes because both vector programs like Illustrator and CorelDRAW have features adopted from bitmaps editors like GIMP, and Abode photoshop.
No because the difference is one of focus. Vectors are built around manipulating objects, Bitmap editor are built around manipulating a rectangular grid of pixels which is great for art painting, art illustration, and photos.
Cartography is mostly about manipulating objects so vector editors are better suited for making maps as their primary focus is on making map.
For artistic maps there is line where it more art than cartography. In that case you are better off using Photoshop. But if your focus is making a map where you communicate spatial information you better off treating it like a set of objects and use a vector editor.
And today if you want some flair to your map it easy to do so with added bitmap like tools that most vectors editors have.
Some people have hybrid workflows where some things like ground textures and objects fills are created using photoshop and then added as part of the map being made with Illustrator.
However, like in the case with map symbols/objects, images can be made in the SVG app and then saved or converted as a format that can be imported into the other images. I have far less experience with SVGs as I'd like, but I am workking through some tutorials now. I'd suggest DLing Inkscape and working through it's built-in tutorials. It's free, now works on Windows as well as Linux, and will give ya a great idea of what SVGs are and how they can be used.
This is very clearly not an on-topic thread for the RPG main forum; but I can see how it would be of interest to gamers (especially writers/publishers I suppose), so I'm going to move it to media and inspiration.
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