*smiles*
Then your real question will be which tool. Both dragon and the UOLandscaper tool work about the same. I know the dragon tool better, so let me give you a quick break down of its pros and cons.
I've used dragon 10 and 11. The biggest disadvantage of dragon that I see is the limitation of map tile Z range. Most of the palette only offers a range up to 30 Z and no lower then 0.
Dragon also doenst do a great job of coast line. There is a work around I use, but its not perfect.
On the other hand, Ive found the scripts to modify the statics for plants and trees to be easy to change and very convienent.
The primary difference between Dragon and the UOLandscaper tool is that Dragon uses one map to set map tile and Z value, while the Run UO tool (name escapes me), use two maps. One for the map tiles and one for the Z values.
There are pros and cons to both methods. For example I like to use a lower grass map with tall forested hills to give a rolling land feel. In dragon its just a question of using the higher forest map color. In the run uo tool you'd have to make sure you got the Z on the second map clearly lined up.
That shouldn't be too hard if you know how to work with layers but it an extra step. On the other hand, the Run UO tool lets you create far more realistic topographical maps as you can paint your hills and valleys regardless of the map tile you choose.
That is important to some people, I deceided it wasnt critical to me, as players can't really fully appreciate it when they see only a single screen.
As a suggestion as to where to begin, start with 6 small blob like islands in the six quadrants of the map, and then practice detailing them. Try to cut roads thru different Z changes, you get some really nice optical effects of going up and or down. Try to keep your detail tight, as players really only see detail within a screen or two.
Here is a JPEG of my finished dragon map in photoshop. I've left it at its full size, so its big, for you to be able to load up and look at the variations. I suggest you down load it and look at it in photoshop.
http://www.sanctuaryshard.com/images_temp/...ation-final.jpg