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Old 09-16-2020, 11:36 AM   #1
phiwum
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Boston area
Default Images of a hex map, with megahexes

I've been making a couple of adventures, editing maps with Gimp. In order to do this, I cribbed a hex map from an old game, CityFight. Like TFT, it uses Megahexes.

I've switched my megahex maps to some cleaner images. See below for new links.
I thought others might find the hex maps useful as well. There are two versions:
  • A png version, usable by anyone
  • An xcf version for Gimp users, with a layer for selecting hexes and another layer for megahexes.

The maps are a little oddly shaped, since I wanted to rotate what I had to fit the orientation I see in TFT products.

Here's how I use them to make maps using Gimp. First, I set a black background and then I choose the megahex layer to select a number of megahexes and paint them white. After that, I select the hex layer for final touches on the shape of the room, selecting hexes and painting them white as well. Sometimes I add a layer to mark the lit areas. Add any additional objects necessary and you're done.

For other editors, the process is similar, but you won't have the advantage of already existing hex and megahex layers. You'll have to construct those yourself.

Furthermore, you can upload these to Roll20 and fiddle about with the dimensions so that you can overlay your labyrinth map on the Roll20 hex map. When you do this, you'll have megahex lines overlying the Roll20 hex lines, so you can use the TFT range rules quite easily.

Hope someone else finds this useful.

Last edited by phiwum; 10-21-2020 at 09:15 AM.
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Old 09-16-2020, 02:33 PM   #2
phiwum
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Boston area
Default Re: Images of a hex map, with megahexes

I've added an image of just the megahex borders that can be overlayed onto any hex map. You'll have to resize it to fit the hexes, obviously, and this is a bit fiddly, but someone may find it useful.

Two examples of maps I've made using gimp:

Both are fairly simple to make, though the second took a lot longer than the first. I use additional layers for GM notes (monster locations, traps, etc.) and hide those when creating the png for roll20.net, which players would see.
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Old 09-18-2020, 12:04 PM   #3
tcr25
 
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Hyattsville, Maryland
Default Re: Images of a hex map, with megahexes

Thanks! This is fun...
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Old 09-18-2020, 12:38 PM   #4
phiwum
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Boston area
Default Re: Images of a hex map, with megahexes

You're welcome!

It took me a while to find a megahex sheet I could use and a while longer to split it into layers for Gimp. I thought maybe I could save others some time.

But I reckon that the Gimp file won't get a lot of use, since I doubt many folk here are Gimp users. I like it a lot for my purposes. (It's similar to Photoshop, I guess, but I've never used Photoshop.)
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Old 09-21-2020, 03:52 PM   #5
schoon
 
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Location: Oakland, CA, USA
Default Re: Images of a hex map, with megahexes

Nice work - and I'm also a GIMP user :)
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Old 09-21-2020, 04:14 PM   #6
phiwum
 
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Location: Boston area
Default Re: Images of a hex map, with megahexes

If you'd like to see my most ambitious .xcf, you can check out this .xcf. It has four levels, which you can cycle through by changing the visibility of the layer groups.

It is, of course, for personal use so a bit rough around the edges.
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Old 09-22-2020, 05:27 PM   #7
phiwum
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Boston area
Default Re: Images of a hex map, with megahexes

I see an awful lot of folks downloading the .xcf which I said was my most ambitious thus far, but I'll be a lot of them can't read an .xcf (which is a file type only used by Gimp).

If others are interested, here are the individual images. It's not particularly exotic, but I've only used Gimp for mapping a handful of times and I also prefer simplicity and a small file size over fancy maps. You won't see any fancy art (or tasteful color choices).

First floor
Second floor
Attic
Crypt
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Old 09-27-2020, 02:05 PM   #8
phiwum
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Boston area
Default Re: Images of a hex map, with megahexes

I should add that the hex maps provided here are imperfect. Perhaps the problem is in the original or perhaps a rounding artifact when I rotated them, but if you paste two together to get a double map, the result is imprecise.

It's good enough for a map in Roll20, but it won't overlay perfectly.

I might take the time to make my own a some point, but it would be tedious to put down the megahex outlines. (I'm sure that SJ Games has high quality electronic files of megahexes. I wonder if there's a way to make them available to the public.)
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Old 09-28-2020, 06:09 PM   #9
ParadoxGames
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: New Jersey
Default Re: Images of a hex map, with megahexes

There's also an awesome Hex and megahex font that I use in word processors and graphics editors. It's called EasyHex, and the font is available at this URL:

https://drivethrurpg.com/product/284...?src=Tollenkar

I use it all the time and highly recommend it!

EDIT: Also, I recently drew a map and made it freely available on the TFT Discord server (link in my .signature). You're all welcome to stock it and use it in an upcoming adventure.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...09/Map_58g.jpg
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Last edited by ParadoxGames; 09-28-2020 at 06:22 PM.
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Old 10-21-2020, 09:14 AM   #10
phiwum
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Boston area
Default Re: Images of a hex map, with megahexes

I've found a better source to make hex maps than I used above. Here are the megahex maps I'm currently using.
  • jpg (smallest file, lossy compression but probably does not matter)
  • png (larger file, no compression)
  • xcf (largest file, usable only for GIMP users I think, but seperates megahexes layer from hexes layer)
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