Maps getting crappy now that "tiles" are used to make them?

[Emirikol]

I noticed that Dungeon has stopped making maps and now is making them with dungeon tiles. Is this crappy or what?

The Dungeon Delve product has done the same thing.

I think it's a significant downgrade in product quality.

Your thoughts?

Jh

 

[amysrevenge]

I have a couple of comments from a purely utilitarian point of view (not commenting on how the maps look aesthetically at all).

I like the notion of Dungeon Tiles for "off the cuff" adventuring that the DM is more or less making up as he goes along. Plunk down some tiles and have a little fight.

I greatly dislike the idea of Dungeon Tiles in published materials, as even if you have the exact inventory of tiles required to produce the scene, the time and effort to get them to line up right is rather extreme. (And if you're only supposed approximate rather than be exact, then what's the point of publishing the map as Dungeon Tiles in the first place?)


This is a pretty big criticism from me, as I'm a renowned WotC apologist/fanboy.

 

[Emirikol]

I hear you. It's been a waste of my valuable and limited gaming time to sit there and try to set up tiles..plus the loss of quality and creativeness on the map.

I only use a couple of the tiles off the cuff, otherwise simple 3D models are FAR SUPERIOR to flat, 2D tiles on the battlemat IMHO.

A couple stones, railroad model trees, and fold-up doors look a LOT better than the flat, lifeless tiles. The flat tiles appear superior only for flat artwork (such as the magic circles, etc.)


jh

..

 

[Rechan]

I am okay with it as far as Dungeon Delve is concerned.

But not with full fledged adventures.

They might as well just draw a placement diagram like 'Monster here, pit here, wall here' and let me draw the map, if they're going to use tiles.

 

[Henrix]

I want pretty maps.

 

[Obryn]

The newer adventures only use dungeon tiles in the most abstract way imaginable. Many rooms are just not possible to build without several sets of them, and many are just plain complex.

I don't get the impression that the adventures (other than Dungeon Delve, which was designed for it) really assume you're going to build the rooms out of the Tiles. Some, you can't - like a huge room with a big holy symbol over the ground.

I do exactly what I did in 3e - I draw out the maps, either ahead of time on a presentation pad; or on my Chessex mat.

-O

 

[doctorhook]

I also prefer to draw maps ahead of time, and cover up unrevealed parts with newspaper. I like the tiles, I think they're cool, but in practice I haven't figured out how to use them in a way that's more convenient than simply drawing ahead of time.

 

[wayne62682]

I don't mind it, but I don't like that some of the maps require multiples of the same set... I noticed that with Dungeon Delve after I bought one set (Fane of the Forgotten Gods) that a lot of the adventures used multiple tiles that would require buying a second set of them.

 

[Ashrem Bayle]

These days I have to re-draw all of the maps I use.
I use a projector to display the map on the table at 1" scale, and WOTC almost never gives me maps at a high enough resolution to use as is.

 

[Crothian]

I like it for the small adventures like in Dungeon Delve. It is nice to see Wizards supporting their own products. But it would annoy me if a module did it as I don't want to have to use that many tiles all at once.