Wilderness Tiles

hcobb · 03-07-2019, 11:42 AM

To expand on larsdangly's concept.

How about wilderness tiles of different scales?

Side A: tactical map stuff, bushes, trees, paths, streams, etc.

Flip over to Side B: and it's scalable. This icon could be a single building for a town map or a major city for a duchy map. Small hill or lonely mountain, etc.

ParadoxGames · 03-08-2019, 04:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hcobb

To expand on larsdangly's concept.

How about wilderness tiles of different scales?

Side A: tactical map stuff, bushes, trees, paths, streams, etc.

Flip over to Side B: and it's scalable. This icon could be a single building for a town map or a major city for a duchy map. Small hill or lonely mountain, etc.

I've been working on some 1" (pocket box size) terrain tiles on a tactical (1 hex = 4 foot) scale. Here are a few with forest hexes mixed with other terrain. there's also a blank sheet depicted here. This is still a work in progress, but any of your comments, ideas and suggestions are welcome.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...xe_Samples.jpg

larsdangly · 03-08-2019, 10:22 AM

Yes, please! I think the right model for this is the old JG wilderness hex system, where there is a coarse mapping scale of something like a few miles per hex, which is going to always be specific to a unique campaign map, but then each of those hexes can be replaced with a tile of 'typical' smaller scale (maybe a couple hundred yards per hex) terrain, roads, farmsteads, etc., and each of those couple hundred hard hexes can be replaced with another scale down, perhaps 4 yards per hex (1MH of standard TFT terrain) having buildings, individual trees, etc. It looks like they are already making the last of these scales as 'dungeon tiles', and they already have made a bunch of the next scale down (1.33 m per hex - combat scale). So, if you just keep going with those product lines by making a few that have outside terrain features you are almost there. The only product that would need to be made de-novo is a set of hex tiles at a scale of a couple hundred yards per hex, containing elements that relate in some way to the 'dungeon tile' scale hex tiles.

heruca · 03-11-2019, 06:18 AM

I'm working on something similar, a "software + mapping content" combo that lets you quickly make your own nice-looking hex maps (regardless of artistic ability). And I'm currently trying to add megahex support, specifically for TFT maps.

Here's what I have in mind for tactical-scale maps. You'd be able to make maps by stamping down flat-color hexes, with optional terrain type overlays (swamp, forest, etc.), or using photo textured hexes. Of course you could also add other detail elements, like trees, boulders, corpses, etc.

And here's a sample of the regional/area maps.

larsdangly · 03-11-2019, 08:10 AM

Those look pretty interesting! Given that TFT is designed to be played with physical components on a table, how do you see these interfacing with physical world? Printing a completed map is an obvious option, but most people only have access to BW printing on standard paper.

heruca · 03-11-2019, 08:23 AM

Home printing is an option (and I'd argue that most people aren't limited to B&W on their ink jet printers), but I'd actually recommend a large-format print service. I expound on this and offer some suggestions here.

Other people will simply use the maps in their favorite virtual tabletop software, and just play online, or even in face-to-face games using an electronic battlemap setup.

hcobb · 03-11-2019, 08:38 AM

The only reason to drop tiles on the table is for tactical combat as you usually don't make tactical moves on the strategic map. (Long Distance Teleport, but not every five seconds.)

Trees can get counters so we just need tiles for linear features like streams, ridges, bush lines, paths, etc.

I'm tempted to put a big article of terrain effects (with an index) on my website, unless somebody has a better format for this. It'll be a long list of things like thin wall or fence (one foot thick, goes between two hexes, takes x hits to break through depending on construction, can be used as a crossbow platform if so high, etc. Roll this to jump over at various heights.)

heruca · 03-11-2019, 04:15 PM

hcobb, you could always drop a token on the strategic/regional map to show where the party is located (or various tokens, if the party has split up), and if playing with a VTT, use the fog-of-war feature to gradually expose the map as it is explored.

03-07-2019, 11:42 AM	#1
hcobb Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Pacheco, California	Wilderness Tiles To expand on larsdangly's concept. How about wilderness tiles of different scales? Side A: tactical map stuff, bushes, trees, paths, streams, etc. Flip over to Side B: and it's scalable. This icon could be a single building for a town map or a major city for a duchy map. Small hill or lonely mountain, etc. __________________ -HJC

03-08-2019, 10:22 AM	#3
larsdangly Join Date: Dec 2017	Re: Wilderness Tiles Yes, please! I think the right model for this is the old JG wilderness hex system, where there is a coarse mapping scale of something like a few miles per hex, which is going to always be specific to a unique campaign map, but then each of those hexes can be replaced with a tile of 'typical' smaller scale (maybe a couple hundred yards per hex) terrain, roads, farmsteads, etc., and each of those couple hundred hard hexes can be replaced with another scale down, perhaps 4 yards per hex (1MH of standard TFT terrain) having buildings, individual trees, etc. It looks like they are already making the last of these scales as 'dungeon tiles', and they already have made a bunch of the next scale down (1.33 m per hex - combat scale). So, if you just keep going with those product lines by making a few that have outside terrain features you are almost there. The only product that would need to be made de-novo is a set of hex tiles at a scale of a couple hundred yards per hex, containing elements that relate in some way to the 'dungeon tile' scale hex tiles.

03-11-2019, 06:18 AM	#4
heruca Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina	Re: Wilderness Tiles I'm working on something similar, a "software + mapping content" combo that lets you quickly make your own nice-looking hex maps (regardless of artistic ability). And I'm currently trying to add megahex support, specifically for TFT maps. Here's what I have in mind for tactical-scale maps. You'd be able to make maps by stamping down flat-color hexes, with optional terrain type overlays (swamp, forest, etc.), or using photo textured hexes. Of course you could also add other detail elements, like trees, boulders, corpses, etc. And here's a sample of the regional/area maps. __________________ MapForge battlemap creation software for RPGs Battlegrounds: RPG Edition is virtual tabletop software that allows you to play any RPG online or offline. It's very easy to use and feature-rich.

03-11-2019, 08:10 AM	#5
larsdangly Join Date: Dec 2017	Re: Wilderness Tiles Those look pretty interesting! Given that TFT is designed to be played with physical components on a table, how do you see these interfacing with physical world? Printing a completed map is an obvious option, but most people only have access to BW printing on standard paper.

03-11-2019, 08:23 AM	#6
heruca Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina	Re: Wilderness Tiles Home printing is an option (and I'd argue that most people aren't limited to B&W on their ink jet printers), but I'd actually recommend a large-format print service. I expound on this and offer some suggestions here. Other people will simply use the maps in their favorite virtual tabletop software, and just play online, or even in face-to-face games using an electronic battlemap setup. __________________ MapForge battlemap creation software for RPGs Battlegrounds: RPG Edition is virtual tabletop software that allows you to play any RPG online or offline. It's very easy to use and feature-rich.

03-11-2019, 08:38 AM	#7
hcobb Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Pacheco, California	Re: Wilderness Tiles The only reason to drop tiles on the table is for tactical combat as you usually don't make tactical moves on the strategic map. (Long Distance Teleport, but not every five seconds.) Trees can get counters so we just need tiles for linear features like streams, ridges, bush lines, paths, etc. I'm tempted to put a big article of terrain effects (with an index) on my website, unless somebody has a better format for this. It'll be a long list of things like thin wall or fence (one foot thick, goes between two hexes, takes x hits to break through depending on construction, can be used as a crossbow platform if so high, etc. Roll this to jump over at various heights.) __________________ -HJC Last edited by hcobb; 03-11-2019 at 08:43 AM.

03-11-2019, 04:15 PM	#8
heruca Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina	Re: Wilderness Tiles hcobb, you could always drop a token on the strategic/regional map to show where the party is located (or various tokens, if the party has split up), and if playing with a VTT, use the fog-of-war feature to gradually expose the map as it is explored. __________________ MapForge battlemap creation software for RPGs Battlegrounds: RPG Edition is virtual tabletop software that allows you to play any RPG online or offline. It's very easy to use and feature-rich.