# [Map] Here be Orcs!



## Darraketh (Jun 18, 2002)

Here be Orcs!  

There's a story in there somewhere.  


Comments and stories are welcome!


----------



## Darraketh (Jun 18, 2002)

*Same World*

In 1118 King Walencrest "the Mighty" returns from the Dragon Wars and undertakes a three year campaign to route the bandit clans from Sharborne Forest and the isle of Haron, forever. 

By 1121 the bandit clans have their backs against the wall. A young clansman eventually known as "Young Gregor" convinces the elders to build ships and escape across the sea. Weary and beaten they work feverishly throughout the winter of 1121. 

In the spring of 1122 they flee, in their ships, northward across the Greatwater Sea and eventually settle along the Barren Coast. The village of Northgate is founded in 1125.


----------



## Darraketh (Jun 24, 2002)

*Our story continues.*

Years later the bandit clans spread northward. They formed two kingdoms, Norlund and Fridgia and came to be known as the Sea Peoples. 

Northgate managed to thrive in spite of the inhospitable surroundings. Kelinor became a prosperous colony of Haron.


----------



## Eternalknight (Jun 25, 2002)

Nice use of Hex Mapper


----------



## Darraketh (Jun 25, 2002)

Eternalknight said:
			
		

> *Nice use of Hex Mapper *




Thank You! my friend.

This one is the same map with character portraits from the WoTC site added.


----------



## Darraketh (Jun 26, 2002)

*IMHO*

I guess for me, a map is more than just a picture. I have collected maps that are a sheer joy to behold. I made custom tiles for "HexMapper" to get a more polished look and feel. So I can't deny I judge artistic presentation first.

But more important to me is the map itself. What is it really showing me? I begin to ask myself questions. Such as, what kind of civilization is this? I begin to wonder about confrontations with other peoples. Where does their food come from? Where are the trade routes? Which cities have the monuments, temples, wizard schools, arenas or powerful guildhalls? How do I get from one city to the next? Is it over the mountains or through the woods? 

Maps are about information and navigation first. Now most any map by nature addresses the former. But for the latter I feel a hex map does it best, in relation to the needs of the game.


----------



## Arravis (Jun 26, 2002)

I have to agree... when I make a map, I begin thinking of how things really are there, the practical issues, etc... it just enriches my DM'ing


----------



## castlewalls (Jun 27, 2002)

*maps*

I like to think of the "map" as being a character. Instead of a stat sheet, what can be told by the way it looks? What kind of flavor/atmosphere does it "give" off? How much story-detail is "told" by it? Does it immediately "tell" you where it belongs? That's it's character. -Jim


----------



## Darraketh (Jul 8, 2002)

I hate to bump my own thread just for the sake of bumping so here is the first map I ever created using HexMapper.

I've since added this island to my larger world map, using my custom tileset of course. I can't post the world map because it is more than 10mb. The Paint Shop Pro file is approaching 80mb.

I use PSP to add titles and other pics. I'm still learning to use PSP.

Note: This map uses the stock tileset and a few wingding fonts.


----------



## Malessa (Jul 8, 2002)

*Kewl*

I'm still learning PSP too, at least you accomplished art from it, and good maps they are! I personally am still cursing (insert four letter words here) and fighting tools. 

Keep up good work, glad u bumped up!


----------



## Darraketh (Jul 9, 2002)

*Re: Kewl*



			
				Malessa said:
			
		

> *...at least you accomplished art from it, and good maps they are!...*




Thank you so much!  It feels good to be appreciated but I wouldn't call this stuff art. It's more like pixel manipulation.

The custom tiles I use, were created using a secret, old world family recipe. lol 

Seriously though, some of the tiles originated as captures from PC games, which I altered to suit my needs. Others I created myself from scratch and the rest came with HexMapper.

All this, for me, is about cartography and the world I am trying to portray. Granted I do try to make my maps look _purdy_. lol


----------



## Darraketh (Jul 9, 2002)

*Zandafar*

This map is "The Lost Isle" after I added it to the world map.

And here is a wee bit of a description of the area:

*Zandafar* consists of two tropical islands separated by a shallow strait. The larger island is to the east. 

On the eastern isle a mountain range rises to great heights from out of the sea. Inland the mountains decrease in height until they are mere hills lost in the densest jungle. Griffons nest among the mountains that shadow the hills. The deep lush jungle is filled with pixies. Northeast a great shallow lagoon is sheltered by an ancient barrier reef that rises above the ocean's surface. Nymphs make their homes by the edge of the lagoon. Wide sandy beaches surround most of this island.

The western isle is much younger, the result of geologically recent volcanic activity. Most of the island is rocky, hilly and sparsely covered in vegetation. On the northwestern tip of the island is an area of bad land. Here the soil consists mainly of broken shards of black volcanic glass in which nothing grows. A wide sandy beach borders the strait to the east. The shallow strait is the home of nixies who live beneath the sea's surface. A large, still active, volcano dominates the island. South of the volcano stands the City of Skulls.

The City of Skulls is a most gruesome sight to behold. Centuries ago hobgoblins, who have long called the isle home, began to mortar together, in walls, the skulls and bones of their slain enemies. Now the entire city stands a testament to their vicious nature. Outside the city wall lay fields of skulls and bones bleaching beneath the tropical sun. Most of the remains are from nymphs and pixies taken in raids and hunting expeditions to the eastern isle. Nixies have also contributed although they are far more difficult to catch. Rarer are the skulls and bones of other creatures including those of the sahuagin whom the hobgoblins consider their mortal enemy.


----------



## Eric Lofgren (Jul 9, 2002)

Very nice stuff. I used to love making up my own worlds when I was younger. The best part was doing the maps  I remember a Land of Greyhawk map we had a few years back when we I was still into gaming that was very nice. Is this something you do professionaly, or for fun? I've been thinking about getting into mapmaking myself for fun and profit.

Eric Lofgren


----------



## Darraketh (Jul 9, 2002)

Eric Lofgren said:
			
		

> *Very nice stuff...  ...Is this something you do professionaly, or for fun?...*




Thank you! 

No, this is just for fun. I'd need real talent to make any money on this. lol  Besides, as I stated before, some of the tiles started out as captures from PC games so there is really no way I could use _these_ maps commercially. Now the cartography and concept of the world, well that is another matter. 

With that in mind I should state that I retain all rights to the cartography and world concept _depicted_ in these maps.


----------



## Taliseian (Jul 23, 2002)

*Tileset*

Just curious.......

But would you be willing to post your tile set somewhere.

I would very much like to use that set on some maps I'm working on for my own campaign world.......  


T


----------



## Darraketh (Jul 26, 2002)

*Re: Tileset*



			
				Taliseian said:
			
		

> *Just curious.......
> 
> But would you be willing to post your tile set somewhere.
> 
> ...




I sure would!  But where?

Here's a screen capture of the set I'm using.


----------



## Taliseian (Jul 26, 2002)

Email it to me....

fvicari@sacbee.com


Thanks


T


----------



## Malessa (Jul 28, 2002)

That is so cool....I wonder if my husband can take each of my character art sketches and such to make action sceens with a tool similar to that  (guess I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with all that there is to draw in our campaign, lol).


----------



## Darraketh (Jul 28, 2002)

Here is a link to the site where you can get the HexMapper program.


----------



## Mach (Aug 16, 2002)

Darreketh, I must say, I had seen the mapping program before and wasn't really impressed. Now I realize I just wasn't using it to its fullest. Thanks for showing what one can do to improve on simplicity, your maps are very well done.

By the way, is there any chance you could email me a copy of the tileset your using? I would very much appreciate it. My address is jcoreyyan@cs.com .

Keep up great work.

(edited for stupid spelling mistakes, arrgg!)


----------



## Darraketh (Aug 18, 2002)

This is a crop of larger map I made. It is scaled down to fit the posting limit.

Here you can see the three Kingdoms and their capitals.
Kelinor - Avion
Morgovia - Mallandri
Haron - White Hall

Some other points of interest:
The citystate of Northgate on the Barren Coast.
*The elven temples to the gods Bal, Aamm and Cron.
*Meer the oldest human settlement on the westcoast often referred to as the "City of Elders."
*Fameer the second oldest settlement founded after an idealogical rift formed.
*Helmont an old but great military fortress on the northern tip of the Southern Marches.
*The great forests of Hartwood and Evenwood home of various wood elf tribes.
*Eldwood an enchanted forest home to druidical high elves and the Red Hills just to the south.
*The Cleave a large canyon.
*A few castles, ruins and standing stone circles.
*A mountain chain known as the Amber Mountains in the north and the Blue Mountains in the south.
*Two mountain passes: Vardan Pass is commonly known and a gateway to the frontier providing access to the Fridgian/Desert Citystates trade corridor.  Fairy Pass is a closely guarded secret of a few elven sects.
*Sharborne Forest (Look back at my previous post for the relationship between Sharborne and Northgate.)


edit: spelling, bullets


----------



## La Bete (Aug 19, 2002)

Darraketh,
Two thumbs up! I must admit that the last couple of threads on hexmapper got me to check it out, and I'm sold. While I use CC2 and Fractal Terrains, and like them, the whole hexmapping thing is so straightforward,and gives most of the info you need. (And has the bonus of a real return-to-your-roots feel).

In fact I think I have to join those lining up pleading to be emailed your tileset..... david.r.matthews@btinternet.com


----------



## Darraketh (Aug 19, 2002)

I like a game that has continuity.  One way to avoid it is to have the players just "appear" at the site of the next adventure. A way to ensure continuity is to have the players actually travel to the site from where they currently are. The simplest way to implement travel and keep a shred of realism is to use a hex map. 

With a hex map you can easily see how far and through what terrain the players must travel. With a variable weather chart and a few random encounter tables based on terrain and the particular location of a hex, you can have an adventure just getting from point "A" to point "B."

The beauty of the HexMapper program is that it is point and click.  Making attractive and functional maps is quick and easy.  With the right tile-set that is.


----------



## Old One (Aug 19, 2002)

*Calling Darraketh...*

Darraketh, 

I left a message in the other mapping thread you commented on...I am very impressed with your symbols and would love a copy.  My e-mail is pdyer21@comcast.net.

Thanks in advance!

~ Old One


----------



## Darraketh (Aug 20, 2002)

*Re: Calling Darraketh...*



			
				Old One said:
			
		

> *...I am very impressed with your symbols and would love a copy.*




Folks listen up, he said "very impressed." 

Seriously having someone, whose contributions to this messageboard I respect, give me a compliment like that means a lot to me.  Thank you and all who have expressed interest in my tileset.  I have sent a zip file of my tiles to everyone requesting them.

What I'd really like to see is custom tiles made by other folks.  If all you manage to do is one tile that's one more option available for map making.


----------



## Darraketh (Aug 20, 2002)

This map is a crop of my larger world map and shows an area on the eastern coast of the continent.  Size and quality reduced to fit posting limits.

 Locations of note are:
*The Ruby City, seat of power for the Empire of the Ruby Throne.
*Magestone, home of a sect of Gnomic mages know as the Eyes of Theron.
*Karazod, one of five city-states in a desert area known as the Sea of Sands.

*The Corazon Mountains were named for the greatest human explorer the western world has ever known.
*Tanglewood is a nasty forest of strangle vines and other almost sentient plant life.
*The Laughing Waters is a great lake whose waters possess strange properties.
*The Deadlands is an area in which no permanent life forms reside.  Travel through the are is likely to invoke strange hallucinations.
*Mistwood is a well-manicured but perpetually misty forest surrounding the Star Sea and the isle on which stands Magestone.

*North of Karazod is a wide expanse of plains that several tribes of orcs call home. (See my first post where you can also see Laughing Waters and Deadlands in the lower right corner.)
*A reclusive and cantankerous bronze dragon makes his home in the shadow of the mountains just south of the western end of the Star Sea. 
*Northwest of Magestone is a standing stone circle. (The stone circles have special properties in this world. Here is a hint: "Can you hear me now?")


----------



## hong (Aug 21, 2002)

Darraketh, put me down as another one who'd like a copy of your custom tiles. Darn, that's some impressive work.


----------



## Darraketh (Aug 21, 2002)

hong said:
			
		

> *Darraketh, put me down as another one who'd like a copy of your custom tiles. Darn, that's some impressive work. *




Thanks hong.  They're on their way.


----------



## Darraketh (Aug 21, 2002)

The Sea of Sands
In the middle of the continent, bordered by mountains east and west lies a great bowl of a desert.  Accessible from the north and south through bordering plains the desert is miles of featureless shifting sand.  Four city-states stand in the shadows of the border mountains.

In the center of this sea of sand rise several peaks and an active volcano.  Here lies the oldest of the city- states.  It was built ages ago when the desert was a lush tropical forest as was much of the continent.

The City-states:
Kel-Ak-Ar
Karazod
Diazan
Caspardai
Anthestan

To the north where the desert meets the plains is a fort and trading post.  Caravans make their way from here across the plains to Fridgia.  Orc raiding parties are an ever-present danger.

The southern plains are home to several tribes of Thri-Kreen warriors.

Both Brass and Blue dragons inhabit the eastern face of the mountains to the west.

Dustdiggers are common throughout the desert but more so in the little traveled west.

The ancient city-state of Ke-Ak-Ar is home to a race of highly advanced gnomes.  They travel for trade, to the outer cities of the desert in great sand-crawlers.  Few outsiders have been to their city as they are xenophobic to a great extent.


----------



## Darraketh (Aug 21, 2002)

Ran up against the one post in 60 seconds limit.  Hit the back button and counted. Hit the post button and my attachment didn't post. 

So here in is "The Sea of Sands."


----------



## Ben Kamphaus (Aug 22, 2002)

*Whoops, think I mispelled your name in my thread...*

Err... anyways.  I put together a watercolor/ink version of the gnomes just for kicks, and thought you might want to take a look.  It turned out so, so, and I'm trying to figure out why the ink comes out so much stronger (bad thing) on my scanner.... grr...... oh well.


----------



## Darraketh (Aug 22, 2002)

Excellent Ben! I love the red noses. I had envisioned them wearing red robes with gold trim after I saw the dog rider.  The purple touches on the bottoms of the robes is nice too.


----------



## hong (Aug 22, 2002)

Here's my first cut at a map using Darraketh's tiles (thanks muchly, D!). It's a 29x20 map of the area where the PCs have just started, on a scale of 4 miles per hex. It's a bit threadbare right now, but I'll be adding to it.


----------



## Darraketh (Aug 22, 2002)

hong said:
			
		

> *Here's my first cut at a map using Darraketh's tiles (thanks muchly, D!). It's a 29x20 map of the area where the PCs have just started, on a scale of 4 miles per hex. It's a bit threadbare right now, but I'll be adding to it. *




Bravo! You sir are the first to show me that you are actually using the tiles.  

If more people show an interest I'll feel compelled to start making some more tiles. There is one draw back.  If I add a new tile it will have to be appended to the end of the set otherwise it will cause problems when editing old maps. Therefore I'd like to have several tiles before I update the set.  This way I can a least sort the new ones into a meaningful array if not the entire set.  I can already see I need a tile for the 4-mile size.  I should add 2, 1 and half mile sizes as well.

Any suggestions for new tiles are more than welcome!


----------



## Malessa (Aug 22, 2002)

Feel compelled, feel compelled, feel compelled!

I'm sorry, I'm a little short on idea's though, 
lemme ponder awhile....hmmm....I'll get back with you on this!


----------



## berova (Aug 22, 2002)

Darraketh, 

I love the maps posted and would like a copy of your tileset. My e-mail is berova123@hotmail.com.

Thanks!

Berova


----------



## La Bete (Aug 26, 2002)

Curses! Hong beat me to it... too slow... Thanks for the tileset Darraketh, had a bit of a play, and came up with this historical map of where the party IMC is, showing the gnomish states before the coming of the evil mind flayers.. bwah hah hah....

created the coastline by using the grasslands hex from Darrakeths tileset and hacking it in PSP - saved them has habitation (overlay-style) so that  I could put them over the ocean tiles (also from Darraketh)..


----------



## La Bete (Aug 26, 2002)

And the current map IMC - after the mind flayers have done their "tidying up"


----------



## La Bete (Aug 26, 2002)

*ok, so i had an obsessive moment...*

and last, but my no means least, the tileset -again, thanks D for the original. Im in the middle of doing a whole shedload more - I noticed while I was doing the coast for the previous map that there were particular tiles which i didnt have many/any variations on.

Anyway, here they are <drum roll>


----------



## Ziggy (Aug 26, 2002)

Those costline tiles are fantastic ! Any chance of getting a copy ?

.Ziggy


----------



## La Bete (Aug 26, 2002)

ziggy,

ive sent those tiles to you -note that you will want to cut and paste the contents of the text file into your hexlist.txt.

enjoy  
 

dave


----------



## Darraketh (Aug 26, 2002)

*Re: ok, so i had an obsessive moment...*



			
				La Bete said:
			
		

> *and last, but my no means least, the tileset -again, thanks D for the original. Im in the middle of doing a whole shedload more - I noticed while I was doing the coast for the previous map that there were particular tiles which i didnt have many/any variations on.
> 
> Anyway, here they are <drum roll> *




Now that's what I'm talking about! I've been trying for months to get someone, anyone interested in making custom tiles for the benefit of all. You sir are the first to do so and I thank you!

Your coastline tiles add so much more beauty to a map. They are wonderful. Please send them my way if you will.

I am feeling inspired to do something with that 25mb of webspace my ISP provides. Something like a HexMapper support page. I could put up a zip of "our" tiles and any others that are made and assign it a version number.

I could show a few examples of maps created by users. 

If you use this program you are aware of its shortcomings. The author has said he is working on a new version. Unfortunately it will be part of a suite of tools as opposed to a stand alone program.  How integrated with the other programs it will be remains to be seen.

I feel we could come up with a list of improvements to the program and forward them to the author. Perhaps he will find such feedback useful.

I've also been thinking that a hex mapping program would fit nicely under the WoTC E-Tools banner.  Quite frankly it is a simple but potentially highly useful program. With the right tooling making maps can be even quicker and easier than it already is.

Such a program could have support for multiple tile sets. How about one for creating star maps? There are a multitude of possibilities. I've been trying to get people to see beyond the programs warts and less than inspiring old school tiles and imagine how useful a program like this can be.

Who's with me?


----------



## Drew (Aug 27, 2002)

I sure would like a copy of those tiles. Please send them to drewkelly @ clearchannel.com


----------



## Wulf Ratbane (Aug 27, 2002)

Those tilesets look like they were grabbed from Civ2.

Which of course prompts me to say, "Tonite I am going home, getting HexMapper, and grabbing all the tiles from Civ THREE!"

Would definitely like to see more options on the river tiles-- coming and going from various sides of the hex, forks, and deltas...

Not that I make campaigns anymore these days-- but maps (and this program) just look so damn neat!

Wulf


----------



## Alchemist (Aug 28, 2002)

This is a wonderful mapping program!  It reminds me of the old days, pulling the maps out of the Gazeteers for OD&D and trying to fit them together into one big cohesive map.  I would love a copy of that there fancy tileset.  panderse@telusplanet.net would be the address to send it to.  Thanks for doing such great work!


----------



## hong (Aug 28, 2002)

Wulf Ratbane said:
			
		

> *Those tilesets look like they were grabbed from Civ2.
> 
> Which of course prompts me to say, "Tonite I am going home, getting HexMapper, and grabbing all the tiles from Civ THREE!"
> 
> ...




Rivers would be cool. And if you're going to have rivers, you've also got to have bridges.

La Bete, can I get your coastline tiles too? Please please please?


----------



## La Bete (Aug 28, 2002)

Hong (and others) - I'll fire the coastline set to you shortly, as soon as my <insert expletive> mail works.

As for river tiles, I've put a bit of thought into doing these, and am having a bash at it, its fairly straightforward stuff, however it gets a little more tricky with more complex hexes such as hills/forests. At the moment, im just using the toggle drawing mode option in hexmapper.

As an aside, the hex coasts were inspired by Mighty Empires, and old boardgame we used to play.

Darraketh - i am very keen to have the expanded tilesets available for people to download - feel free to distribute the coastal set as you see fit.

As for hexmapper features.... The one i would most like to see would be a tab-library style for the terrain sets - at the moment, the terrain set becomes impractical after 150 or so hexes. If you could select a tab for normal hexes, another for coasts, and another for habitations, that would be much more usable....

anyway, count me in as a hexmapper groupie


----------



## Darraketh (Aug 28, 2002)

Wulf Ratbane said:
			
		

> *Those tilesets look like they were grabbed from Civ2.*



As well as a few other games. shhh...  
Some of the tiles are from patterned wallpaper.


----------



## Darraketh (Aug 28, 2002)

*Rivers and roads.*

I'm in favor of implementing rivers and roads in the fashion of traditional war game hex maps.  Where the rivers are always on a hex border and the roads always pass through the center of a hex.

For me the purpose of using a hex map is it's added utility over a map that doesn't use a grid system.  Implementing rivers and roads in this way is in line with the overall consistency that a hex map provides.

I'm attempting to make overland travel more of an adventure by giving the great outdoors the measured feel of your average dungeon while keeping the implementation super simple.

La Bete's coastline tiles fit perfectly into this overall scheme by providing yet another distinct enviroment while adding to the overall beauty of a hex map.

As for rivers and roads I'll sacrifice beauty for utility because in this instance I don't see how I can have them both and still keep it simple.

Overall I am trying to remove some of the inherent starkness of hex maps without robbing them of their utility. If all I want is a pretty map I'll use CC2.

Rebuttals welcome.


----------



## Old One (Aug 28, 2002)

*Re: Rivers and roads.*



			
				Darraketh said:
			
		

> *I'm in favor of implementing rivers and roads in the fashion of traditional war game hex maps.  Where the rivers are always on a hex border and the roads always pass through the center of a hex.
> 
> For me the purpose of using a hex map is it's added utility over a map that doesn't use a grid system.  Implementing rivers and roads in this way is in line with the overall consistency that a hex map provides.
> 
> ...




Darraketh,

First off, thanks for the tileset!  As an old grognard, I agree with you conventions above...I think it would add alot to the "feel" of the maps.

Thanks for your work...

~ Old One


----------



## Darraketh (Aug 29, 2002)

*Coastal tile problem!*

I've created a matrix depicting all possible configurations of a coastline hex tile.  If there were one variation of each type there would be a total of 30 tiles. If for the sake of variety and to at least avoid a possible monotonous alternating pattern, a minimum of three variations of each hex tile type were created we'd have 90 tiles! This doesn't even address more that one terrain type.

Discounting hills, mountains, deserts and forests I have fourteen tiles in my set that could use the coastal treatment.  With three variations each we'd have 1,260 tiles.

This predicament is a graphic representation of the limitations of the program and the route we've taken to depict coastlines. 

I don't want to give up the coastal environment that this type of tile represents.  On the other hand I don't want to be bogged down with so many tiles.  My suggestion is to make the water tile the overlay as opposed to a land tile.

Currently I have four water tiles but this can be reduced to two or three.  If I reduce the water tiles to two, a deep and a shallow tile, we can get by with 90 coastline tiles based on the shallow water hex tile. This approach will give us the needed three variations for each coastal configuration.

La Bete's current set of coastal tiles just happens to number 90 tiles.

Of course we can make the coastal tiles all straight lines and this would reduce the number needed to 30 but this approach wouldn't add anything in the way of beauty.  With 90 tiles we could address the three shallowest water tiles.

Another suggestion is to group the tiles according to the matrix I have here but with similar variations following each other. In other words there would be three variations of the top left tile in the matrix appearing in the palette followed by three variations of the next tile grouped together.  I feel this approach will render a consistent pattern in the palette that can be easily scanned.

Comments?  Ah which way should we go, which way should we go?


----------



## Darraketh (Aug 29, 2002)

*Re: Re: Rivers and roads.*



			
				Old One said:
			
		

> *
> 
> Darraketh,
> 
> ...




Thank you sir for your input, it is most welcome.  

As you can see I've got some help now. And I've managed to garner a few converts as well. 

I've placed a poll, "Do you use hex maps?" in the general forum as a way of directing attention here and determining how many or what ratio of hex map users to non-users there are on these boards.

AFAIK 3E hasn't addressed the use of hex maps so I'm not really surprised by the number of people who seem to be unaware of their inherent utility as opposed to a map with nothing but a scale in the corner.

Edit: BTW which one are you in your sig pic?


----------



## mikey6990 (Aug 29, 2002)

All of those tiles are great!  I hate to be a "me too" guy, but may I add a "can I get a copy of those tiles?".  My email address is jonesml@flashmail.com 

Thanks,

Mike


----------



## La Bete (Aug 29, 2002)

*more obsessive behaviour..*

hi all,
Darraketh - you must have been reading my mind. Shortly after i distributed my coastal tileset, I started thinking i might help to organise it better. oh well, next time.

in any case, after thinking for a while about your suggestion to use the sea tile as the overlay, i got to work. My new tileset is below.

Also inlcuded are the first couple of river tiles using the same approach, as sucggested by D and others on this thread. Its late, so ive just inlcuded a taster, but during the weekend i should have a more complete setwith the following:

bends
forks
rivermouths
forking ends (into mountains)

enough talk - heres the tileset....


----------



## Darraketh (Aug 29, 2002)

*Re: more obsessive behaviour..*



			
				La Bete said:
			
		

> *hi all,
> Darraketh - you must have been reading my mind. Shortly after i distributed my coastal tileset, I started thinking i might help to organise it better. oh well, next time.*




The saying around here is that great minds think alike. 



> *in any case, after thinking for a while about your suggestion to use the sea tile as the overlay, i got to work. My new tileset is below.*




Wow, you are obsessive. hee hee



> *Also inlcuded are the first couple of river tiles using the same approach, as sucggested by D and others on this thread. *




Actually my friend, I was speaking of the rivers running along the outsides of a hex and roads running through the center. In this case it might be better if the depiction of both rivers and roads were _straight_ line representations.

My goal is to use a hex map in a more game board like fashion.


----------



## Plane Sailing (Aug 29, 2002)

Thanks to the poll in "general", I found this thread. I've been looking for something like this for *so* long!

Darraketh, La Bete, if you could email me a copy of your tileset(s) I would be *most* grateful. Either use the email address in my profile or alex.white@rcplondon.ac.uk

Cheers


----------



## La Bete (Aug 29, 2002)

*rivers and roads*

mmmph.

The problem that I am having, is that currently in Hexmapper, you cant put an overlay over an overlay (i believe). So, obviously for any river/road overlay tile, you cant have roads running through habitation (such as village) tiles. Note that the same goes for coastal tiles - anyone using that tileset, coastal settlements have to be carefully placed.

Now, obviously, there are ways around this. One way, and this is probably the best, is to use PSP to modify your map post-hexmapper. Or, merge the tiles you want in PSP, and add it to your hexlist.

However, you may find that it is easier to use Hexmappers Toggle Drawing Mode option for drawing roads and rivers - as it requires no additional hexes  - and if, like Darraketh you want the rivers on the hex edges, this makes it easier to draw!

On the issue of river placement, just because im difficult, Im going to have a go at having the river components in the middle of the tile. My reasoning is based on the source of inspiration for my coastal tiles, the game Mighty Empires. In that game, you could move into a hex with a river on it, but it did not affect you unless you tried to move out of the hex to a hex on the other side of the river.

Now, of course there are other hex based war games that do it differently so.. meh. Its one of those you say tomato etc.... things.

enough babbling from me  anyway.


----------



## Skarp Hedin (Aug 29, 2002)

Good lord, Darraketh, La Bete -- this stuff is, as so many others have already said anyhow, great.  I'd, uh, like to get them emailed my way as well, heh.  My email address is:
danielwilliams@adelphia.net

Thankee


----------



## drowchick (Aug 29, 2002)

*Normally I refrain from "me too" posts, but...*

Excellent work on the tilesets!  I can easily envision using these in my map-making attempts... which brings us to the inevitable "Me too!  May I please have copies of the custom tilesets emailed to me as well?"  

Thank you in advance for sending them to me; your generosity in sharing your creations with us is surpassed only by the utter beauty of the creations themselves. Keep up the great work!

Ciao!
drowchick
drowchick@yahoo.com


----------



## Darraketh (Aug 29, 2002)

La Bete, not a problem, I agree we can disagree.

I dislike the line drawing capabilities of HexMapper. So I gave it a try in PSP and to my surprise it was quite simple and I'm very pleased with the results.  With the success of this little experiment I'd like to leave the style of rivers and roads up to the individual mapmakers.  With that said, I don't see a need for tiles specifically depicting rivers or roads. 

The tile set has nearly doubled in size and it's on the verge of becoming unwieldy.  I'd like to reserve room for other possible interpretations of new terrain or overlays.

Possible overlays could include; cemetery, cavern, portal or additional resources.  

At first I was racking my brain trying to come up with tiles to include in the set. Now with the more than welcome addition of the seacoast tiles I feel the need to be conservative with the real estate that's left.

----
BTW I'm using Paint Shop Pro v7.04 for titles and line drawing.  To create the rivers and roads, I used the "Draw" tool, the color choice is up to you.
Settings
Type: Single Line
Width: 4
Line Style: #1 Solid
Antialias: checked
Create as vector: checked
Close path: checked
----
PS For the record anyone may distribute the tiles I have made in anyway they deem fit.  They are for gamers by a gamer. 

So go ahead put them in the downloads section of your website. Upload them to your favorite download site. Alter them, delete them, change the order, add more if you will but please share your efforts with me.


----------



## La Bete (Aug 30, 2002)

*im shocked*

unwieldy? the tileset?  

ok well yes. extremely so. What I am doing at the moment, is I have a couple of copies of hexmapper installed, one with Darrakeths original tileset, and another with a trimmed tileset, with the terrain tiles, plus the coastal tile overlays. And now I have a third copy installed with the seacoast tile overlays......

Since the each copy is only about 1mb, its not a big deal, its a little bit of a pain to have to keep swapping between them, but until a newer version of hexmapper comes along...

Darraketh - I agree with you about hexmappers shall we say "limited" painting ability  - its good you got PSP sorted to do what you wanted.

Also to others who have received my coastal tileset, feel free to distribute as you wish. But like Darraketh says.. if you make more tiles, I wouldnt say no to copies.

on other notes, i will be reorganising my 1st coastal tileset for ease of use for those who want it, and am currently working on my "so Im difficult and obsessive" river tiles.


----------



## Alchemist (Aug 30, 2002)

I notice that the HexMapper page hasn't been updated in over 3 years.  I wonder if he's given up development of the software.  That would suck, since a final polished version with more features would be swell.


----------



## Darraketh (Aug 30, 2002)

Alchemist said:
			
		

> *I notice that the HexMapper page hasn't been updated in over 3 years.  I wonder if he's given up development of the software.  That would suck, since a final polished version with more features would be swell. *




I contacted him a few months ago and he said he was working on a new version.  He even posted here on the old boards. But like he states on his site he wants feedback. So if anyone has any ideas on how to improve HexMapper email him. I'm sure he would appreciate it.


----------



## Darraketh (Aug 30, 2002)

*Re: im shocked*



			
				La Bete said:
			
		

> *unwieldy? the tileset?
> 
> *




Yeah, the seacoast tiles are challenging to use. But I feel it is still the best option for getting the task acomplished without getting bogged down in a thousand plus tiles. Hey it still beats the learning curve most other mappers have.
-----
You can put an overlay on top of an overlay on top of a terrain tile however it is essentially a oneway, don't try and change it, gotta get it right the first time process.

1. First make a map with any terrain and the first layer of overlays you want, save and close.

2. Go to the directory where you saved the map.

3. Find and delete the file with the same name as the map you created and saved but with the ".map" extension.

Example: I create a map and save it as "mymap" In the directory there will be two files, "mymap.bmp" and "mymap.map"

mymap.bmp is the one you can view and edit with say PSP.

mymap.map is the system file HexMapper uses to keep track of which tiles are in which hex. Having this file allows you to change overlays without changing the underlying terrain tile.

4. When you delete this file and open mymap again you will be able to place an overlay on top of an overlay.

*Warning* You get one shot at it. If you make a mistake and decide that last overlay wasn't right and you place another one the underlying terrain will be replaced with a white hex.

If that happens you just have to replace the terrain and the first overlay. Save, close, delete the .map file, open and try it again.

But like I said, it can be done.


----------



## La Bete (Aug 30, 2002)

*overlays*

you legend. that technique for pasting overlays over overlays will save your hours of stuffing around with PSP.  yay!

all hail darraketh, king of hexmapper......

and yes, the seacoast tiles take a bit of getting used to, but certainly, they are the best solution to the different coastal terrains issue.

On another note, I do have to say, despite minor differences in approach in some areas, the thing that Darraketh and I agree on, is that Hexmapper rocks for very fast, quite attractive and usable maps. Stressing the usable - the ability to define the primary terrain of a hex can be invaluable for a number of purposes - resources/mining/rulership (ala Birthright)/movement etc.

And thanks to those who liked the tiles!


----------



## Alchemist (Aug 30, 2002)

Hooray to both of you for your efforts!  I wouldn't mind a copy of the inverse-seacoast tiles though.  I like that.  panderse@telusplanet.net

And somebody should set up a tile site to put a front to submitting and acquiring tiles.  That would be sweet.


----------



## Acmite (Aug 30, 2002)

*Wow!*

WOW.

Darraketh, La Bete....I'd love to get copies of your tilesets.  I'm starting up a new campaign in the enxt month or two and I need to get some maps ready.

You can send the files to:  acmite NOT @ rogers.com

(Remove the spaces and the "NOT").



Thanks!


----------



## hong (Aug 30, 2002)

[slight hijack]

I was looking at Photoshop in the computer store the other day, and thinking "hmm, only $170 Austrian... not a bad deal!" Then I looked again, and it was more like $1700 Austrian. Oops! Never mind.

So anyway, I now have Paint Shop Pro, a steal at only $190 Austrian. And I have absolutely no idea how to drive it. 

Darraketh, is there any trick to getting the roads and rivers to line up exactly with the hexes? Or is it just eyeballed?

Also, how do you get the shadows under the text labels?

[/slight hijack]


----------



## Darraketh (Aug 30, 2002)

hong said:
			
		

> *[slight hijack]
> 
> I was looking at Photoshop in the computer store the other day, and thinking "hmm, only $170 Austrian... not a bad deal!" Then I looked again, and it was more like $1700 Austrian. Oops! Never mind.
> 
> ...




Not a hijack at all my friend. When I started this thread I hoped to elicit ideas and support for making maps with HexMapper basically by showing what I had accomplised. I need inspiration!

Now to answer your question, I zoom in and eyeball it. Drawing a line as a vector means I can move it about if I get it placed wrong. Drawing on the hex borders is easy enough but through the hex centers is a wee bit more challenging.

BTW I am still learning my way around PSP having it only two months now. I did use version 2 but that was some years ago and a far different program.


----------



## EternalNewbie (Aug 30, 2002)

I'd like to add my voice to the chorus clamouring for the tilesets.  I've been looking for a mapper like this for a while (obviously not very hard tho).  If it's not too much trouble, could you email them to svarak@hotmail.com.  Thanks.

EternalNewbie

-Some things are forever...


----------



## La Bete (Aug 31, 2002)

*brain unfrozen*

aha! i finally figured out why i (somewhat irrationally) didnt like the idea of straight lines for roads/rivers... Last year, while I was looking for a mapping program, i came across wilderness mapper, a utility similar to hexmapper. it had a roads/rivers function which drew straight lines for them. i remember doing a couple of quick maps with it, and didnt like the results. suffice to say, i was much happier with hexmapper, and esp. after i got darrakeths tileset.


----------



## hong (Aug 31, 2002)

Okay, I now know a bit more about how to drive PSP. 

Take 2, on the area around Skara Brae. Added in rivers, roads and text labels. Any feedback most welcome. I'm basically clueless when it comes to design aesthetics.


----------



## Darraketh (Aug 31, 2002)

hong said:
			
		

> *Okay, I now know a bit more about how to drive PSP.
> 
> Take 2, on the area around Skara Brae. Added in rivers, roads and text labels. Any feedback most welcome. I'm basically clueless when it comes to design aesthetics. *




Hong, *sniff* that map is beautiful.

I was thinking that when drawing rivers and roads that one could vary the color of them to denote their differences.

Examples
highway - black or dark gray
road - brown
trail - lt brown or lt gray

fast flowing river - dark blue
slow wide river - bluegreen
rapids on a river - lt blue
lava river - dark red
stream or creek - blue

I guess the key *hee hee* to using all these different tiles and colors is to make a key and that is easy enough with HexMapper.

Just start with a blank hex grid and place one or more examples in the case of terrain, and label it off to the side. Do the same for rivers and roads, draw an example place a label. 

Personally I use PSP for _all_ labeling and drawing. The results are so much nicer IMO.


----------



## Darraketh (Aug 31, 2002)

*Re: brain unfrozen*



			
				La Bete said:
			
		

> *aha! i finally figured out why... *



 

-----
Hey La Bete, I has thinking that one can use your seacoast overlays to depict lakes! What might be useful is a series of lake overlays that fit on one hex. Perhaps using those lighter colored shallow water tiles.

More importantly I've come to the conclusion that it is to everyones benefit that there be no definitive tileset. Instead it should be mix and match. Each mapmaker should build their own set. Editing the hexlist.txt file is pretty straightforward.

With that in mind we could just churn out all manner of tiles for everyone to use.

I've mentioned before that some of the tiles I made originated from PC games and wallpapers. 

With that in mind, if anyone has seen something, that would make a good hex ,in a game, a textured wallpaper or any other pic, they could do a screen capture, crop it to the relevant portion, leaving room for editing, and post it so we can make a hex out of it.


----------



## Talath (Sep 1, 2002)

Darraketh, could you please send me your tileset?  

It looks very pretty, and I like it better than the default tileset. 

My email is talath@psnw.com.

Thanks


----------



## La Bete (Sep 2, 2002)

Lakes.... mmmm. Pretty straightforward really. I'll get to work on it, i\suing the shallow tiles.

Aso to "default tilesets". essentially you are correct. given different peoples different requirements for maps, and preferences for handling coasts/rivers etc, it really is up to the indivdual to mix and match what tileset they want.

that said, the tileset youy used intially is a good start 

for ease of mixing, its best if different tileset components have different UIDs. IIRC, the habitation tiles (overlays) can have any UID from 001-999. ditto for the terrain tiles. For example, with my seacoast tileset, I think I gave them UIDs of H500+ (not at my normal PC, so Im not sure. Obviously this isnt practical for all sets, but it might help for those creating bulk sets to stake-out a UID range.

In any case, I'm out of here for three weeks, so enjoy yourselves, and lets see some more cool maps. Im with Darraketh on this -GO HONG!

Also, if anyone wants the coast/seacoast tilesets i have created, email me at
beastliness and I can send them to you before I leave tomorrow.  If youve already asked, and I didnt give them to you, its not because I dont like you, ive just been V. busy  

Lastly, a request. IMC campaign, one of the worlds my party goes to is an Iceworld - if any artistic types out there feel the need to create some some snowy moutains/hills etc, I would be eternally grateful...


----------



## hong (Sep 2, 2002)

Okay, here's instalment 3 of the Britannian map series. This is the West Road between Ember (where our heroes are at the moment) and Paws. Technically there is no West Road in Ultima, but I'm claiming artistic license. 

There's a bunch of artifacts resulting from squashing the pic down to fit under the durn 100Kb attachment limit. The full-size map, and the previous two, are also on my web page:

Trobridge and environs

Skara Brae and northern Spiritwood

The West Road

PS. Hope you like the town name, D.


----------



## hong (Sep 2, 2002)

Darraketh said:
			
		

> *
> 
> Hong, *sniff* that map is beautiful.*




Ta. I'm finding this to be remarkably fun, in a retro sort of way. 



> *I was thinking that when drawing rivers and roads that one could vary the color of them to denote their differences.
> 
> Examples
> highway - black or dark gray
> ...




Not a bad idea. I'll have to experiment to see which colours look the best. And I was having enough trouble just deciding what colours to use for text. 



> *Personally I use PSP for all labeling and drawing. The results are so much nicer IMO. *




Yeah, that's what I'm doing too.


----------



## Darraketh (Sep 2, 2002)

Hong, I'm truly honored. 
I've been experimenting with the line width of rivers making two smaller rivers combine into a larger river as denoted by its darker color and greater width line.

I made my world map with the 24mi/hex scale and I've come to the conclusion that depicting roads at this scale may be pointless.  One could assume, in more populous areas, one or more roads would be present.  At the least there could be a web of dirt roads connecting all the villages and towns or is this a misguided view?

Perhaps at this scale I should at least indicate paved roads.
-----

La Bete, that is an interesting idea regarding UIDs.  I wonder how many tiles the program can keep track of.

-----

I'm disappointed that I haven't see more maps considering the number of people who've requested the tilesets. 

I am so grateful that Hong is posting his maps. I find them truly inspiring. I'm looking forward to taking my 24mi/hex world map and zooming into a smaller scale.


----------



## drowchick (Sep 2, 2002)

Hi Gang-

Just for kicks and giggles I created a Yahoo group where hexmapper enthusiasts can upload/download custom tilesets, get links to groovy software and learn more about hexmapper.  You can also put your custom designed maps in the files section for all of us to admire.  

This Yahoo group is by no means meant to detract from this brilliant forum, but is a place where we can put our creations in cyber space that is relatively organised and easily accessible.  That is, until one of us makes a mega-site with maps and links and download ares and whatnot dedicated to this fun program.

The picture I put up is one I quickly threw togther, don't be too harsh in judging it.    If you do join, please feel free to add links and folders and the cutom tilesets (hint hint).

If I see you guys in there, groovy!  If not I will pout and cry and all will be chaos.

Okay, I won't pout.  

Ciao-
drowchick
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hexmapper_Haven/


----------



## Darraketh (Sep 4, 2002)

drowchick said:
			
		

> *Hi Gang-
> 
> Just for kicks and giggles I created a Yahoo group...*




drowchick, your effort is not without merit. However I don't Yahoo. Fortunately I feel comfortable posting right here on the boards at EN World with all its inherent limitations.

In this instance I see the benefits of a Yahoo group as counter productive. It would be as if those, few of us who are disciples of the one true mapper went off to some sterile meeting room and sat around patting ourselves on the back.

Here at En World I feel more like a sidewalk artist. We get many folks passing by. Occasionally someone will stop look and listen for awhile. Once in a blue moon someone will feel compelled to join our merry little band of mappers. 

To put it another way, I'm trying to spread the word of HexMapper albeit for selfish reasons. (I'd like to have more tiles. More tiles=more mapmaking options.) Here I'm on a fairly busy street corner shouting to the masses, there I'd be behind the doors preaching to the choir.

...but thanks for the suggestion and the interest and I hope I didn't go overboard with this response. I certainly don't want to alienate anyone.

edit:spelling


----------



## HellHound (Sep 4, 2002)

I'm an admitted old-school hexmapper.

All I want is for the proggy to include a few of the other terrain symbols from the old Expert Rulebook. But I can always get around to doing them myself ONE of these days.


----------



## HellHound (Sep 4, 2002)

Oh yeah, and I joined the Yahoo group too.


----------



## berova (Sep 4, 2002)

In all deference to Darraketh, there is something to be said for Yahoo Groups. While I agree EnWorld is a wonderful sidewalk (or corner?) from which to proselytize the coolness of HexMapper to the converted and more importantly unconverted, Yahoo Groups allows members to easily trade files (and by extension new tiles!).  

So while I will continue to ply this board, I've joined drowchick's HexMapper groups on Yahoo.

Now, for my real reason for my posting in the first place... at the risk of exposing my newbie-ness with HexMapper... (I own Photoshop Pro 7) ... I do not know how to customize/create tiles let alone add them to a tile-set. Is it simply a matter of opening up a tileset from a draw program like Photoshop Pro and doing some copying, pasting and some editing? Will anyone offer a quick primer?


----------



## Darraketh (Sep 5, 2002)

HellHound said:
			
		

> *I'm an admitted old-school hexmapper.
> 
> All I want is for the proggy to include a few of the other terrain symbols from the old Expert Rulebook. But I can always get around to doing them myself ONE of these days. *




Nice map. 

I did make a few old-school tiles. The ruined fortress is original but fits the old school model. The shipwreck and wizard keep are both old-school.

I have a collection of pics of those old maps. I'll see what is missing and try to complete the definitive old-school set. 

Great idea BTW.

Wouldn't it be fun to create an old-school adventure, complete with maps? Dungeons with very little story; hack-n-slash at it's best.


----------



## Darraketh (Sep 5, 2002)

berova said:
			
		

> *In all deference to Darraketh, there is something to be said for Yahoo Groups. While I agree EnWorld is a wonderful sidewalk (or corner?) from which to proselytize the coolness of HexMapper to the converted and more importantly unconverted, Yahoo Groups allows members to easily trade files (and by extension new tiles!).
> 
> So while I will continue to ply this board, I've joined drowchick's HexMapper groups on Yahoo.
> 
> Now, for my real reason for my posting in the first place... at the risk of exposing my newbie-ness with HexMapper... (I own Photoshop Pro 7) ... I do not know how to customize/create tiles let alone add them to a tile-set. Is it simply a matter of opening up a tileset from a draw program like Photoshop Pro and doing some copying, pasting and some editing? Will anyone offer a quick primer? *




True, so feel free to share anything I create, there. 

Over here, I'll keep the light on. 

As far as creating the tiles I used MS Paint. I have PaintShop Pro now but I haven't created any tiles with it. I'll see if I can whip up a tutorial. I should have did it long ago.


----------



## hong (Sep 5, 2002)

Hey Darraketh, do you mind if I put your tileset on my page for download? There's a few people on UNsenet who seem interested. I'll be sure to attribute the credit properly.


----------



## HellHound (Sep 5, 2002)

Darraketh - I was going to try to make both the "small hex" and "large hex" versions of the tiles. I've made a GIF file of a scan of the back legend page of the Expert Rule Book that I was going to work from... but with my schedule (writing 3 d20 books in-house and freelancing for another) as tight as it is, I just don't have time to be poking around with the graphic software to be making these.

The benefit of the small symbols is that you could even export the 72dpi graphics created by HexMapper into a PDF document for making a module, running with an output around 150 dpi (so the hexes would be half as big as normal).

If you would be so kind as to email one of the members of the yahoo group your tiles for hexmapper, I would love to make them accessible to the group (with your credit, obviously). 

You can email me at for_emergency_use_only@yahoo.com or blackhammer@dreadgazebo.com

Thanks


----------



## HellHound (Sep 5, 2002)

Oh yeah, as for the old-school adventure...

I think it would ROCK.

I love those games, adventures, settings.

I am so old-school it hurts sometimes.

(Hell, we could do it as professionally old-school as possible and actually do an honest-to-goodness electronic release of it on RPGnow. Forget this First-Edition feel stuff... BASIC EDITION FEEL, NEW EDITION RULES - even go so far as to have a bright colored cover with a graphic box in the middle, the module letter in the upper-left hand corner, etc)


----------



## Alchemist (Sep 5, 2002)

HellHound said:
			
		

> *Oh yeah, as for the old-school adventure...
> 
> I think it would ROCK.
> 
> ...




Heh.  We loved basic D&D because it was so simple to bring people into it.  That was awesome.  I would welcome adventures with the feel of basic D&D because I try to run my game with that sort of flavour.  I'm even considering running my next campaign in the game world, since I still have all my maps and gazetters. 

I also have a map contribution to the thread.  I'm not good at this mapping stuff and I only have photoshop to manipulate with, but here it is.  The Sundered Desert, where powerful magics in the distant past broke an empire, leaving the west a desert and the east a strange and desolate wasteland filled with roving tribes of desert goblinoids.


----------



## Darraketh (Sep 5, 2002)

> Hey Darraketh, do you mind if I put your tileset on my page for download? There's a few people on UNsenet who seem interested. I'll be sure to attribute the credit properly.




Hong, by all means yes! Hee hee I was hoping someone would come along and offer to do so. 
----



> BASIC EDITION FEEL, NEW EDITION RULES




Hellhound; There's the product motto!
----



> I also have a map contribution to the thread.




Alchemist, thanks for sharing your map, it looks beautiful. I love what you've done with the hills. Would you mind posting here the single hex bmp for the orange desert hills.

You have now joined the illustrious ranks of the hex makers!


----------



## Alchemist (Sep 5, 2002)

Darraketh said:
			
		

> *
> 
> Alchemist, thanks for sharing your map, it looks beautiful. I love what you've done with the hills. Would you mind posting here the single hex bmp for the orange desert hills.
> 
> You have now joined the illustrious ranks of the hex makers! *




Zoop.  My incredible hill tile colour shifted to red should be found at the end of this post.

Glad you liked it.


----------



## Darraketh (Sep 5, 2002)

Alchemist said:
			
		

> *
> 
> Zoop.  My incredible hill tile colour shifted to red should be found at the end of this post.
> 
> Glad you liked it.  *




Thanks! It's perfect for martian landscapes too.

Hey do you think you could color shift them to white as in snow covered? How about the grey mountain tile?


----------



## Alchemist (Sep 5, 2002)

I don't see why not.  Photoshop does a fantastic job of it.

I'll have a go and see what I come up with.


----------



## Alchemist (Sep 6, 2002)

Alrighty, this is what an hour of dingling with colours got me.  It dosen't match the ice tile perfectly, but I think all contrast would be lost if they did, making it a pointless exercise. Any insight?

The tiles themselves will be found in the next post.

Edit:  Forgot to descibe the map!

This region of the north is mostly permanent iceshelf with a small hilly/mountainous region jutting up from the blowing wastes.  The area is ruled by the White Dragon Kaltblutig who employs the local barbarian tribes as labour in his mining operations.  The coastal villages eke out a meager existance on fishing, whaling and seal hunting, performing as middleman for Kaltblutig's diamond mining operations.  Kaltblutig is surprisingly kind to his subjects, paying them a wage of coal from his mines to heat their family homes.  The lack of outsiders travelling through and the small population demands a light touch if he is to continue amassing a horde.


----------



## Alchemist (Sep 6, 2002)

Mountain Tile.


----------



## Alchemist (Sep 6, 2002)

Snowy Hills.

This is a crappy way to post tiles.


----------



## HellHound (Sep 6, 2002)

I would recommend signing up for the Yahoo group started by Drowchik for posting tiles. It's a lot easier since you can upload a zip file of your new tiles.


----------



## Alchemist (Sep 6, 2002)

HellHound said:
			
		

> *I would recommend signing up for the Yahoo group started by Drowchik for posting tiles. It's a lot easier since you can upload a zip file of your new tiles. *




Way ahead of you.  Done and done. 

I was mostly pointing it out to anybody that might be listening.  Also, La Bete did an inverted coastline tileset that I haven't received yet...

panderse@telusplanet.net  It would be appreciated.


----------



## Darraketh (Sep 7, 2002)

Alchemist said:
			
		

> *I was mostly pointing it out to anybody that might be listening...*




 Oh..., alright, already!  I'll join. Better late than never I suppose.

Time to get with the times!
-----
In other news... Here is my latest take on rivers. I increased the width of the river when two joined into one. A river starts out as one pixel wide then goes to two pixels when it joins another river. That river goes to three pixels when it subsequently is joined by another. I'm just trying to show, simply, how a river increases in size when it combines with another as it makes it's way to the sea.

BTW A one pixel river is actualy three pixels wide due to the effects of antialiasing.


----------



## Gorilla726 (Sep 7, 2002)

*Program*

Hey. Awesome maps. What program do you use to make them? See ya!

Gorilla


----------



## Alchemist (Sep 7, 2002)

*Re: Program*



			
				Gorilla726 said:
			
		

> *Hey. Awesome maps. What program do you use to make them? See ya!
> 
> Gorilla *




The answer is hexmapper.  You'll find it at http://www.paonline.com/zaikoski/ak/tools.htm

Happy mapping!  Share your creations!  Inspire me, for I do not have a artistic heart and need other peoples ideas to steal!


----------



## Cerubus Dark (Sep 7, 2002)

*Hexmapper Addon tiles*

Okay,
   Where can I get a set of black and white tile at?  Or can someone email them to me at 
cerubus@sbcglobal.net   ?


----------



## Doppleganger (Sep 7, 2002)

Hellhound/Emergencyuse's gif of the expert set icons inspired me.   To test everything out, I whipped up 5 basic tiles and I'm about to upload them to Yahoo.  I'd prefer to contribute some photorealistic stuff, but to get some experience I started off with the simplest style.


1) The expert set's interpretation for ruins (from Hellhound/emergency's gif file) inspired me to create a "large ruins" overlay.
2) The expert set has caves, so I created a simple "cave" overlay.
3) I needed to have wayward roadside inns, so I made an "inn".
4) The stronghold didn't look intimidating enough, so I made a stereotypical "castle" (this one turned out well).
5) I wanted the volcano to look a bit more intimidating too, so I adjusted one to a "hotvolcano".


----------



## Gorilla726 (Sep 7, 2002)

**

Howdy. Awesome program. I've already created two new worlds with stories to go with each. But I've seen maps that have totally different tiles... How can I get those and get them into the program? Thanks in adavance to whoever. 

Gorilla


----------



## HellHound (Sep 7, 2002)

A majority of the maps in this thread were created using the tile set created by Darraketh. 

My own maps are created using my own b&w "Expert Rules" tileset or the standard tileset.

If you read through the entire thread, you will find links to various locations that can help a potential HexMapper, including a link to the HexMapper homepage (to download the program), Hong's D&D page (where you can download Darraketh's tileset) and to the HexMapper Haven yahoo group (where you can download my own tileset and a few others including Darraketh's)

The most conveninet all-in-one resource is:

HexMapper Haven yahoo group

But if you hate Yahoo, you can get Darraketh's tileset (but not mine) at Hong's D&D Page


----------



## Darraketh (Sep 7, 2002)

*Re: *



			
				Gorilla726 said:
			
		

> *Howdy. Awesome program. I've already created two new worlds with stories to go with each. But I've seen maps that have totally different tiles... How can I get those and get them into the program? Thanks in adavance to whoever.
> 
> Gorilla *




Thanks for the interest. 
I created the initial set which, along with others can be downloaded from the "HexMapper Haven" Yahoo group. There's a link in my sig. 

The program has a help file which explains things. Unfortunately you can't access it from the program. You'll have to locate it in the program's directory.

As I had hoped, more people are creating all sorts of tiles. Instead of one definitive replacement set you are free to pick and choose tiles to assemble your own set.


----------



## Darraketh (Sep 10, 2002)

*The whole world!*

Here it is, the whole world or the northern hemisphere at least. 

This is a vastly scaled down version of the map of my game world. The PSP file is over 90mb. I posted the full size map as a 2.2mb PNG over at HexMapper Haven.


----------



## Darraketh (Sep 18, 2002)

*Major Discovery!!!*

Making hexes _was_ time consuming. I was under the misguided impression that the hexes had to be hex shaped after all the ones that came with the program were.  

Apparently that is not the case. I was playing Railroad Tycoon II and thinking that the trees looked kind of nice and I probably should make some new hexes. 

I did a screen capture and cropped a 32x27 section that included the trees. I saved it as a bmp to the hexes directory and added it to the hexlist.txt file. Then I just wanted to see if the program would choke, so I made a map with the new hex. It didn't choke. Now this is going to save some time.

The only thing you need to keep in mind is that your subject should be centered. Visualize where the outside of the hex would be and center your subject so that it falls within the hex. Otherwise it may get cropped by the program when it is displayed on a map. 

*Edit:* It just occured to me that this crop and go technique will only work for terrain tiles. duh! For the overlays the transparent portion will still need to be magenta but at least it doesn't need to be hex shaped.

Go ahead try it!


----------



## Doppleganger (Sep 18, 2002)

Wow thanks, that should help!!

I'm finishing up a bunch of assorted "resource" overlays.  (I realize they're not the most useful type of tile to contribute, but they were the most fun thing to work on  ). This new revelation will save me alot of cut & paste time.

There are still a bunch of terrain tiles that I'd like to do.  For example, I think a "rockier" and "drier" looking hill tile (without the green) would be nice, but I haven't found a good image to work with (other than browning/tanning the color of the existing hill tile).


----------



## hong (Sep 19, 2002)

Darraketh, I just want to know: how the heck did you end up with a 90Mb psp file? The maps I've done have all been less than 1 meg in size. Mind you, they're pretty tiny compared to your magnum opus , but still, you must have tons of layers or something.


----------



## Darraketh (Sep 19, 2002)

hong said:
			
		

> *Darraketh, I just want to know: how the heck did you end up with a 90Mb psp file? The maps I've done have all been less than 1 meg in size. Mind you, they're pretty tiny compared to your magnum opus , but still, you must have tons of layers or something. *




Layers my friend, lots of layers. Almost everything that is labeled is done so on a separate layer. I figured I might have to move the labels around.

I went through the MM and picked all of the creatures that I thought would have a home somewhere on the map. I included humanoids, giants, plants, dragons and of course magical beasts because after all this is a magical world. I left out elementals and outsiders deeming them out of _this_ world. hee, hee. Aberrations and undead would be encountered in unique situations and were therefore not placed on the map.

Town and country labels are grouped on seperate layers as are names of mountains, forests etc. The rivers themselves are on seperate layers.

What I am after is something that you alluded to in regards to hex maps in general. Basically the entire world is an adventure. For humans, being the youngest race, the world is largely unexplored. With this map as my aid the players can go off in any direction and find adventure because I know it's there.

With PSP I can hide labels and cover part of the map with a fog of war effect then let the players use a map that shows common knowledge and anything they've explored.

In a way the map is dynamic tool rather than just being a nice picture.


----------



## Malessa (Sep 20, 2002)

Yeah, gotta love those layers!  I've just about got PSP to my advantage, but there is still so much you can do, and still to learn!  I bet you could do all kinds of things with the tube options, and you can create your own tubes as well, to help you along with your maps!  I spent like 3hrs one day, a few weeks ago, trying to create some tubes of my own.  Needless to say, need to read book AGAIN! LOL

Oh and there is a new PSP out!  My hubby was telling me about, cost like 100bucks, but you can upgrade what you have for, I think he said $45'ish? Have to check it out sometime, me thinks!


----------



## Darraketh (Sep 20, 2002)

Malessa I hereby declare you cheerleader and patron saint of the "Art Gallery & Minatures Forum." 

Tubes are wonderful. I used the pool ball tube to make a quick pool table wallpaper. Plain green background with pool balls scattered about. If you get a duplicate ball, hit undo and try it again; they come out of the tube randomly.

I was curious about using tubes with the snap-to-grid feature in PSP. Seems like it would be away to create dungeon maps. A given tube would be loaded with several generic tiles with seperate tubes for each direction, north-south, north-east turn etc. That would be six seperate tubes and two more to cover diagonal passageways.

Hmm... this could get complicated. You'd need eight more with just a wall on one side including diagonals and one for open spaces. A few dungeon furnishings tubes would be nice.

It wouldn't be so bad if you could customize the PSP interface to facilitate the mapmaking which I believe is possible.

...I'm always thinking, thinking, thinking. I probably should do more doing.


----------



## Malessa (Sep 20, 2002)

Darraketh said:
			
		

> *Malessa I hereby declare you cheerleader and patron saint of the "Art Gallery & Minatures Forum."
> 
> *looks over each shoulder*  Who me?  *blushes* Umm.... you do know your stretching it pretty far when you have the word "saint" in the same sentence with me......lol
> 
> ...


----------



## La Bete (Sep 23, 2002)

*im back*

hi all,

after some delay, i have finally rejoined yahoo, and uploaded my coastal and seacost (inverse) tilesets to the hexmapper haven. Each of the tileset comes with a *hexlist.txt file which you can cut and paste into your existing hexlist.txt.

coming up soon: lakes and coastal tiles for narrow straits.

lastly thanks alchemist for those snowy tiles - ive already used the to create the map i need in a couple of sessions IMC.


----------



## Darraketh (Sep 25, 2002)

*Re: im back*



			
				La Bete said:
			
		

> *hi all,
> 
> after some delay, i have finally rejoined yahoo, and uploaded my coastal and seacost (inverse) tilesets to the hexmapper haven. Each of the tileset comes with a *hexlist.txt file which you can cut and paste into your existing hexlist.txt.
> 
> ...




Welcome back my friend,

I'm looking forward to your newest creations. How about posting some of your maps using the snowy tiles and your coastlines?


----------



## La Bete (Sep 30, 2002)

*iceworld*

Ta dah! using alchemists icyhills and mountains and the tiles from D's original tileset, + my incverse coastal tiles, here is the very quick and dirty map for the players IMC.

time it took to create: circa 3mins  

yay for hexmapper!


----------



## Darraketh (Sep 30, 2002)

*Re: iceworld*



			
				La Bete said:
			
		

> *time it took to create: circa 3mins
> 
> yay for hexmapper! *




That is the number one reason I love this program. It is easy to make attractive and useful maps quickly.

I love the ice world concept. It reminds me of "Ice Elves" a 1985 Role Aids supplement. It had a Boris cover depicting an ice ship. A ship that could sail on an ice field. The supplement used hex maps. 

Nice work La Bete!


----------



## La Bete (Oct 1, 2002)

Iceworld  - I think I saw the same supplement as well, and I believe that it and "the ice schooner" by moorcock (i think - it was a while ago) inspired this campaign world. 

I ran a campaign in this world a while ago (the thrud campaign as the players called it ) Great fun.

Anyway, Ive uploaded a revised version of my inverse seacoast set to hexmapper haven, since I noticed I had missed a few combinations - hey it was very late when I did them.

I have also uploaded my first cut of some lake tiles, the tileset is shown below.

Enjoy!


 

- Edit-  I cant spell.


----------



## Darraketh (Oct 1, 2002)

La Bete said:
			
		

> *I have also uploaded my first cut of some lake tiles, the tileset is shown below.*




Nice. 

That next to last one looks a bit like a blue chilli pepper.


----------



## La Bete (Oct 2, 2002)

*true*

More accurately - it looks VERY much like a blue chilli pepper.... 

Anyways.... a quick demo of my river tiles that im playing with.

( a side note - im mainly doing these tiles out of obsessiveness - you are generally much better off using an editing tool such as PSP to put in rivers - either along the hex lines as Darraketh does, or free form)


----------



## La Bete (Oct 2, 2002)

and the tiles used for this....

(just the shallowsea tile from Darrakeths tileset, edited and turned into an overlay tile. A little more tricky than coastal tiles, as ensuring they line up together is a little more important.

Currently working on making them not look silly over mountains/hills.

enjoy - once I have a reasonable set done that I am happy with, I'll post it to hexmapper haven.


----------

