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Old 01-30-2018, 12:05 AM   #11
Blue Ghost
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Spinward Marches
Default Re: Car Wars Arenas

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Originally Posted by 43Supporter View Post
Twice lengthwise; 3 widthwise. The original Pocket Boxes were 4" x 7" internally; the maps were 21" x 32"; so to make them fit, the maps were folded in half widthwise, then S-folded lengthwise, then W-folded (or "accordioned") widthwise.

(And if we're ever at the same con, I'm available for autographs. ;) )
Well, so am I =]
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Old 01-30-2018, 08:06 AM   #12
TheAmishStig
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
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Default Re: Car Wars Arenas

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Originally Posted by JimTullis View Post
I think the maps are 21 x 32 usable area, and a bit bigger than that with the borders.

I'm at work so I can't measure mine now.
BUT I put mine in a poster frame from Walmart and it fit almost precisely.
I'm pretty sure it was the Mainstays "Basic" 22 x 34 poster frame.
I thought it was a pretty odd size, being only 2 inches each way from 2ft x 3ft.

The "basic" frame has the least amount of frame, some of their other frames seem like they would be intrusive. It's not a bad deal, you get a Cardboard Backing sheet, an Advertising sheet (roll it over for a blank white sheet for a custom arena), a thin sheet of plex, and four poster frame bits that slide on the sides for under $10. And it has a couple of hangers on the back, so you can hang it up when not in use.

I would stick a bit of packing tape over the hangers to keep them from scratching a dining table.

I'm pretty sure you could stick 2 or 3 arenas in one of these and just swap them around as needed.
Clever! I may have to shamelessly steal this idea...if nothing else, it's a lot more economical than getting a glass shop to cut sheets of plastic.
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Old 01-30-2018, 11:44 AM   #13
Suncrush
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Default Re: Car Wars Arenas

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Originally Posted by JimTullis View Post
I'm pretty sure it was the Mainstays "Basic" 22 x 34 poster frame.
I thought it was a pretty odd size, being only 2 inches each way from 2ft x 3ft.
It's eight 8.5x11 sheets. 2 11's wide, and 4 8.5's tall.

Why 8.5x11? Because a committee in the 1920s decided it was a convenient size.
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Old 01-30-2018, 02:47 PM   #14
43Supporter
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Default Re: Car Wars Arenas

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Originally Posted by JimTullis View Post
I think the maps are 21 x 32 usable area, and a bit bigger than that with the borders.
It varies -- some are dead-on 21" x 32", some are a bit bigger.
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Old 01-30-2018, 06:42 PM   #15
JimTullis
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Default Re: Car Wars Arenas

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Originally Posted by Suncrush View Post
It's eight 8.5x11 sheets. 2 11's wide, and 4 8.5's tall.

Why 8.5x11? Because a committee in the 1920s decided it was a convenient size.
Yes, BUT posters are available at 2ft x 3ft as well.

I think SJ Games may have chosen this so that people could print arenas on standard US letter stock. EXCEPT printers rarely print on the full sheet, so tiling an arena would still require more that 8 sheets.
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Old 01-30-2018, 09:57 PM   #16
Parody
 
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Default Re: Car Wars Arenas

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Originally Posted by JimTullis View Post
I think SJ Games may have chosen this so that people could print arenas on standard US letter stock. EXCEPT printers rarely print on the full sheet, so tiling an arena would still require more that 8 sheets.
Given that the choice of map sheet size was made in the 80s, I doubt home printers had anything to do with it.
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Old 02-01-2018, 09:54 AM   #17
Suncrush
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Default Re: Car Wars Arenas

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Originally Posted by JimTullis View Post
Yes, BUT posters are available at 2ft x 3ft as well.

I think SJ Games may have chosen this so that people could print arenas on standard US letter stock. EXCEPT printers rarely print on the full sheet, so tiling an arena would still require more that 8 sheets.
2 things that are more likely, since, as noted, very few people had a printer at home in the early days of Car Wars, and there was never any distribution of map files.

1. SJ went with the size that their print shop was set up to run, which happened to be 22 x 34. (This is why early Magic: the Gathering card sets were the size they were. Carta Mundi printed cards on a particular sheet. I think 11 cards X 10.)

2. There was some need to print on that size because of folding requirements. Either that's the size the folding equipment worked with, or that's the size that could be neatly folded to fit in the available bags.
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Old 02-01-2018, 10:19 AM   #18
Suncrush
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Default Re: Car Wars Arenas

So... I have a large format printer at work, and I need something I can run through it to test and see if it works. Anyone got an arena map file I can chunk through it?

To clarify, I am NOT looking for something SJ Games distributes as a printable pdf. Either a homebrew arena, or something like the Test Autoduel arena that were distributed as scale diagrams for you to hand-draw at home.
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Old 02-01-2018, 12:44 PM   #19
Parody
 
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Default Re: Car Wars Arenas

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Originally Posted by Suncrush View Post
2 things that are more likely, since, as noted, very few people had a printer at home in the early days of Car Wars, and there was never any distribution of map files.
It isn't that we didn't have printers (dot matrix printers were available enough) but that the creation, distribution, and printing mechanisms didn't exist yet. Those early maps were (more than likely) drawn on paper, not on a computer.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Suncrush View Post
So... I have a large format printer at work, and I need something I can run through it to test and see if it works. Anyone got an arena map file I can chunk through it?
SPARK has two maps available on its Arena downloads page.
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Old 02-02-2018, 03:51 AM   #20
josephrey
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
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Default Re: Car Wars Arenas

I created one a little while back for one of Jimmy's PBEM games.

The Dyersburg Arena is similar to the OG Armadillo Arena in that it has taken the old, abandoned mall and converted it to something more fun. I tried to us the old-school map aesthetic too!
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