Matrix Games Forums

EDIT:

The map is finally released and I've posted it to the correct forum this time, see https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/view ... 7#p4989917

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Hey all.

Just working through a proof of concept for a map rework. In order for it to look good however it requires editing the map and using some tricks to smooth out the edges of stuff. Functionally the map will be identical, but the only way I could make this work was repurposing the tile fill to provide nice hex edges to the forests etc. Theoretically I could use the tile fill functionality to make hills and mountains overlap their neighbours a bit, but will have to see.

Is this up anyone's alley? Anyone got any ideas or suggestions for redoing hills and mountains? Different or better way to do rails and cities? Any examples of these?

Note it's very rough right now, just seeing what I can do.

Realised I put this in the wrong forum. Oops

Anyway, work continues, new marshes done, still lots of tidying to go.

And I think I've hit a bit of a brick wall. Fixed up most of the hex edges in the screenshots, but realised that with Control enabled, the TileFill layer gets coloured, so my hack fails and the edges of the forests look like crap :/

You can see the issue in the screenshot where some of the forest edges are the wrong colour.

Coast outlines added.

Visible beaches next.

Beaches are in!

I salute your work, but something about the colors do not work for me at all.

Looks amazing. That old Third Reich boardgame feel.

sveint wrote: Mon Apr 18, 2022 9:57 am I salute your work, but something about the colors do not work for me at all.

Colours are easily changeable, textures too.

AlvaroSousa wrote: Mon Apr 18, 2022 12:56 pm Looks amazing. That old Third Reich boardgame feel.

That's exactly the look I was going for, except a little fresher and more modern.

Designing the hills has been tricky, here's my first attempt. With 16 different hill tiles available there isn't a lot of options for connectivity but I think it's starting to come together.

I'm not sure if I need to texture the hills a bit better or if the style is just crap, thoughts anyone?

It’s not crap at all. Very much reminds me of old 1970s board war games. Very nice work keep it up. Will you also be doing this for the Pacific?

What would it look like if you lighten up the sea color a bit?

I did something sort of similar for TOAW IV, I posted some screen shots of the map colors based on my fondness for the 70s.

https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/view ... 6&t=358183

The sand on the beaches is a nice touch!

Zovs wrote: Tue Apr 19, 2022 1:03 am What would it look like if you lighten up the sea color a bit?

Here's a lighter, slightly more retro colour. Not sure what I like better! Will have to experiment some more.

I may do Pacific, but I don't own it yet. See if I can get this one looking nice first.

Red cities or white cities? I think I'm leaning towards white.

This latest version is really nice.

The sea imo is way better looking and yes white circles look much better.

Zovs wrote: Tue Apr 19, 2022 9:33 am The sea imo is way better looking and yes white circles look much better.

Awesome. I'll play with a few more colours once I get everything else nearly done, I can't have randomly picked the best colour haha. I've got new combination red/green/white city icons that I'm not sold on yet.

New port icon and new fortification icons for borders and towns etc. Unfortunately couldn't tweak the AA icon as it doesn't appear to exist in the editable graphics files. Two versions of rail, one thicker with larger cross lines, the other thin, below. I think the thick ones are far too prominent. Going thin also has disadvantages as it can end up a little fuzzy.

Just note hills, mountains, borders, resources and map tidying still need finishing.

Aside from some tweaking I think you almost got it perfect for those folks the fondly remember the old 70s/80s board war games. Great job.

As a part time modder on a few things, your works won't always appeal to everyone, to those it does appeal to those are the ones you take heart in and not be discouraged.

Heck you even have Al's approval, that should mean something.

Cheers and good hunting.

Forests look fantastic, much easier to see than original.

Really like the boardgame look. I'd also use this version to print 'planning maps' so maybe share a pdf of it as well if you can? Or maybe 2-3 pdfs split in West East & Med fronts? Tx!

Zovs wrote: Tue Apr 19, 2022 10:13 am Aside from some tweaking I think you almost got it perfect for those folks the fondly remember the old 70s/80s board war games. Great job.

Cheers. I'm not even that old (I say) and I like the more abstract style myself.

governato wrote: Tue Apr 19, 2022 8:28 pm Really like the boardgame look. I'd also use this version to print 'planning maps' so maybe share a pdf of it as well if you can? Or maybe 2-3 pdfs split in West East & Med fronts? Tx!

I don't know if there's a way to export the whole map. Maybe in the editor? Otherwise it's joining together screenshots.

Nearing the finish line.

In Germany we see the new border and a bunch of the new slightly reworked resource icons with stronger borders and larger numbers.

Around Denmark there's the new convoy graphics (a dot...) and the new mines icons.

North Africa shows the now completed road and rail graphics.

All cities, towns, forts, resources and misc icons complete. Road, rail, convoys and borders complete.

Nearing the finish line!