Hi,
I’d just like a standard map for this version of the game thats not modded or has any personalization and thats not too big a file -I’ve seen some pdfs that scroll very slowly and thats not very useful.
The Map is fine, but…
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Boy, I’ll tell you I laid out the map and started setting it all up on this beautiful big map and then I tried to fit the 1941’s USA units into Western USA and Central and found it was too darn small! Way too small imho.
I don’t want to gripe about this, but man when you have Alaska as big as Australia and all the distortions built into this map to accommodate play, you’d think that the West Coast would be much larger than it is.
So i immediately scanned the West Coast of the USA and Mexico, amazing what you can do in this day and age, and about an hour later after a couple of adjustments I have a brand new West Coast (and Mexico) big enuff to handle all the units that can be/would be placed or built there for this amazing game! And it looks fine, like it should have originally!!
Trust me there is more than enuff ocean to accommodate the extension of the continental shelf and the beaches of California to enlarge it to an adequate size for the many expected units now!! :-D
I have been playing AA since 1984 (no comments on my age please) after finding out about it while I was in a country that did not allow it to be imported in, and I am yet to see a map that can satisfy all the important things we all agree we need. Namely: size, number of land territories and sea zones, clarity of borders, and generally with colours that are easy on the eyes (very important for a long game). So this is a good opportunity for any entrepeneurs among you to create such a map and sell it to diehards like myself.
If only larry Harris had kept the same colour schemes he had for the 1984 version for the AA50 version.
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@Imperious:
Its my map.
adding some sticks might be a good idea. the map is 72x36
I would like somebody to photoshop my map in that picture of SHAEF. Id make it my avatar.
LOL! Pay credit where credit is due, right IL?! :lol:
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I thought they were saying Bierwagen made it, but they were basically saying his job of printing the copy and mounting it on a magnetic board was a good idea.
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@Imperious:
I think we need another picture of it square on. I cant see Europe.
also you others please use the latest file i got. I found some minor mistakes on my first draft.
this is current:
Excellent map, and one that’s ALMOST perfect to print out and play on instead of the default board. The few suggestions I have, possibly for an alternate version, are:
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Remove all the backgroud pictures and charts, . IMO they just get in the way
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Change the color of neutral territories. Too similar to UK right now
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You seem to use white around the neutral territory borders, but aren’t consistent with it’s usage. some neutral borders have white, other don’t
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With the unique nation colors for each starting territory, I don’t think you need nation icons in each of these territories. The colors should be enough to tell who owned it at the start of the game (which is my biggest pet-peeve with the AA50 map).
Again, awesome job!
PS: Can I edit this pdf file to my liking, or is it locked?
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you can edit with GIMP
* Remove all the backgroud pictures and charts, . IMO they just get in the way
I have a version like this but its ugly. The pictures are not in the way in a print version. Ill post the vanilla version.
* Change the color of neutral territories. Too similar to UK right now
Its totally different when printing. Your monitor may need some contrast/hue tweeks. The print absulutly does not convey any similarity of neutrals with uk
* You seem to use white around the neutral territory borders, but aren’t consistent with it’s usage. some neutral borders have white, other don’t
I modified it to correct this. IN one place its left as white…around impassible Afghanistan, Himalayan
* With the unique nation colors for each starting territory, I don’t think you need nation icons in each of these territories. The colors should be enough to tell who owned it at the start of the game (which is my biggest pet-peeve with the AA50 map).
AS you know i made it so people would be familiar with something that has the same structure of the OOB map. The icons are exactly .75 inch, which you cover with your token when you occupy. Part of the utility was to create something that’s very similar to the OOB map, while addressing some aesthetic issues like the major problem that the lines are the same color as the territory and its hard to see which units are in which territory. This lends itself to the popularity of the map because people can identify with its relationship from the original…with minor improvements.
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Good stuff Imperious Leader. I checked out your download area on mediafire but didn’t see a map without the background pictures (the background terrain graphics for the territories is ok) and without the charts.
Also, I had a difficult time figuring out what your files were, since many of them had difficult to understand filenames, many containing multiple instances of the word “copy”.
I ended up downloading nearly every file and looking at each one, trying to figure out what they were. If it’s possible, could you use version numbers in your filenames? An example for a strategy planning map would be “AA50-map-Axis-41-strat_v12.pdf”.
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LOL yea i got a colleague named Tekkyy that says that all the time.
I have not DL it yet. I will get to it. But i have other goodies in those files. true gems.
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here is your stripped version.
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AWESOME!!! Thank you.
I can’t find where somewhere mentioned how they printed this large map out on regular 8.5" x 11" paper and pieced it together. Any tips for this or approximate pricing to have a large printout of this made at Office Max/Depot?
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well tell them its 72x36 and ask for a price quote. They charge per Sq ft. 216 is what you got.
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I checked at my local (Jamestown, NY) OfficeMax and Kwik Kopy - they were both similiar to IL’s price - right around $200 or so.
That’s for a single 36x72 color print mounted on foam core and laminated. -
you don’t want foam, unless its a roll up and the foam is made of a cloth type material.
You want semi gloss and highest DPI. Remember this is 100% vector art and the better resolution will show its quality.
You can also give them the material and they can mount it to it and cut into pieces about 24x18 each…giving you 6 pieces
Just don’t choose a material that will wrinkle, warp or crack.
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Ack!! $200 is too high. I’ll try to print it out on multiple 8.5" x 11" pages and tape it together! :p
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@Imperious:
you don’t want foam, unless its a roll up and the foam is made of a cloth type material.
You want semi gloss and highest DPI. Remember this is 100% vector art and the better resolution will show its quality.
You can also give them the material and they can mount it to it and cut into pieces about 24x18 each…giving you 6 pieces
Just don’t choose a material that will wrinkle, warp or crack.
No, foam core or foam board is a type of “board”. it is about 1/4 inch of foam that has a very thick, high-gloss, white “paper” (for lack of a better term) mounted on both sides; so it is very thick, sturdy, and has a high gloss finish.
It is used for signs, displays, etc.
The downside of foam core is that it’s not portable. If someone is looking for a map that can be rolled up or folded, foam core is NOT the way to go.
Thanks. -
high gloss will present problems in evening hours when you use overheat lights because they glare the map.
I have made this mistake before, but of course its up to you.
i recommend semi gloss.
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@Imperious:
high gloss will present problems in evening hours when you use overheat lights because they glare the map.
I have made this mistake before, but of course its up to you.
i recommend semi gloss.
Good call - what do you use?
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Ack!! $200 is too high. I’ll try to print it out on multiple 8.5" x 11" pages and tape it together! :p
A couple of years ago I edited an Imperious Revised Map using Window Picture and Fax Viewer to make my prototype map.
I printed each page and placed it on a roll of paper.
I taped over the edges and I use a sheet of plexiglass to keep the paper down. $30 for the plexiglass was the most expensive part. -
Exactly!
I use MS Office Publisher and use a .2 overlap. Gives you some wiggle room when slicing and dicing. I tape the back of it together and then use clear contact paper over the top. It comes out very nice. This is my third board and every time it gets a little easier.
24’ x 18" of clear contact paper is like $6-7. I mount it on hardboard with a frame which runs another $20 or so.
Too many fun boards out there to try out (e.g., AARHE) to sink $200+ into each one before they are stabilized.
I can fit two of them nicely in the back of my Toyota Corolla and schlep to all our gaming events. Once you play on a big board, there is no going back.
The magnets are a bit pricey, but it was worth it for me.
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Exactly!
I use MS Office Publisher and use a .2 overlap. Gives you some wiggle room when slicing and dicing. I tape the back of it together and then use clear contact paper over the top. It comes out very nice. This is my third board and every time it gets a little easier.
24’ x 18" of clear contact paper is like $6-7. I mount it on hardboard with a frame which runs another $20 or so.
Too many fun boards out there to try out (e.g., AARHE) to sink $200+ into each one before they are stabilized.
I can fit two of them nicely in the back of my Toyota Corolla and schlep to all our gaming events. Once you play on a big board, there is no going back.
The magnets are a bit pricey, but it was worth it for me.
What magnets? For what?
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See my previous post http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=12823.msg357475#msg357475 (I posted a picture of it being built).
I put a layer of sheet metal underneath my map so I can hang it on the wall at work. I’m putting neodymium magnets on all my pieces & chips. So now we can play at the office over lunch breaks, hang the map up when lunch is over, and keep the board is set up and ready for the next lunch break.
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