Title: PhotoPlus
Vendor: Serif
Web Site: http://www.serif.com/ for current versions
http://www.freeserifsoftware.com for fully functional older versions
Type: Raster
Focus: General
Platform: Windows
Price: approx US$ 90. Earlier versions in gradually scaled down prices, down to free!
("Starter Version" doesn't say what prior numbered version it equates to, but past practice has approx. 5 year old version for free, and progressively newer ones at incremental add-on cost. Current freeserifsoftware site doesn't show the old numbered versions; their typical marketing has been to offer you the intervening ones at a variety of prices, once you register the freebie. So definitely DO choose to receive promotional info during the registration)
Description:
PhotoPlus is a budget end cousin of Adobe Photoshop or the GIMP and a capable alternative to either. Their DrawPlus package has similar old=free, latest=still only moderate cost; as with the Photoshop/Illustrator pair you can do some things easier in one than the other. For example I do text along a curve in DrawPlus, and import the result into PhotoPlus.
Examples: not stellar ones, but they're what I've got. Please - add better ones!
10-year-ago free version (5.0 or 5.5 or 6) Haromszek Topo Venda Polar Arc
6- or 8-year old version (7 or 9) Vrcholce Lucco Hovy Nizny Tybic
5-year old version 11 (as far as I've bothered to go) Zanannia Basse-Georges
Newer ... I dunno; Ravells did you ever do a full map in PP?

Don't assume PhotoPlus can only do what I linked to; those are all my style, with the flat colors and minimized filesize -- I'll warrant the same sort of styles as many CG denizens with a more photographic, classical, or hand-drawn look are just as doable in PhotoPlus as some of the more usual raster tools. Ravells did a review thread a couple of years ago that gives some pros and cons. Anybody know if they've got better cloud filters in X4 or X5? That was a deficiency when Ravells looked at X3.