[Map] Here be Orcs!

[La Bete]

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]

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]

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]

Re: im shocked

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]

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]

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]

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]

[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]

[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]

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]

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...