Get your command stick for large map plastic pushing!!!

@black_elk Rock On !!!.png

@Skyian_Leader:

Any tips on game/map design? Like things to avoid doing? I might just need to finish up the map and post a photo of it so you experts can actually see it, instead of general assumptions.

The best advice on this will come from the board’s various map-making people, like Imperious Leader.  I’ve never made wargaming maps, but here are a few thoughts for whatever they’re worth.

I personally prefer area-movement maps (like in most of the A&A games) over squares and hexes.  They look more natural to me and better suited (in my opinion) to games that operate at the global/strategic level.  This is due to the fact that, at that level, things like combat and movement and the depiction of the military forces involved occur at a very high level of abstraction – so it doesn’t seem like a good fit to combine this abstraction with the kind of fine-scale movement tracking that hexes offer.  Hexes, to me, only work well for large-scale actions when tracking is a central game element, such as in hunt-the-Bismarck type games.  On another point, I find it annoying that hexes only allow straight-line movement in six of the eight main compass directions.  Hexes are better than squares in that regard (since squares only allow straight-line movement in four directons), but they still don’t permit movement in one of the two diagonal axes.

One idea you might want to consider, on the issue of map zone size adequacy, is to use a split-representation system along the lines of the “task force markers” that were used in the original A&A Pacific game.  In such a system, the plastic sculpts corresponding to a particular group of forces are placed off the game map (on a side table) rather than on the map, along with a small numbered identifying marker.  A corresponding marker is placed on the map to mark the position of the force group.  That way, the map sections only need to be big enough to accommodate these small markers rather than a pile of sculpts, and you only need to move the markers from position to position rather than the sculpts.

As a further refinement, you can even use this system (if you’re so inclined) to introduce partial blinding into the game.  This involves keeping your map markers face-down until they make contact with enemy markers (which are also face down).  Before the markers make contact (at which point they are both turned face up), each side knows the composition of the enemy’s various forces (seen via the groups of off-the-board sculpts) and the position of the enemy’s various forces (seen via the map markers), but remains unaware of which group of sculpts corresponds to which map marker. This makes possible the element of surprise, which is absent in a conventional A&A game in which you can always see every detail of the enemy’s forces.  The old Stratego game works a bit like that, in the sense that you know what pieces the enemy has and you know where on the board the enemy has pieces, but you don’t know the specific unit type of each piece until you make contact with it.

@ghr2:

You should definitely get some sort of protective layer for that map.

I’m going to at some point. Until, I get a permanent place to play, it is rolled up in a cylinder tube. I’m going to have a man cave built, and then I will work on things like that. I’m going to have to either buy or have someone build me a table to fit the map. This is the plan, anyway. :-)

Love the hex sea zones.  Here is something TMTM posted on doing textures and wavy lines around borders using paint.net that might get you the texture you are looking for.

@TMTM:

I recently made a new module for abattlemap for the A&A Global 1940 http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=22555.0

In it I used the same color scheme as Axis & Allies Global War, I had to figured out how to do it and I kinda did… so I thought I’d share the process with anyone wanting to do the same:

How to make the textured colors in Axis & Allies Global War Variant

Using Paint.net, which can be downloaded at www.GetPaint.net

First I click New and size the new canvas as 60 x 60 pixels (we are creating an image which we�ll use later to fill the area�s of your map)

Select the base color and use the paint bucket to fill the new 60 x 60 canvas

Click on Effects � Noise � Add Noise and just adjust the intensity… I did around 25, but experiment for yourself.

Click on Effects � Blurs � Average Blur and set the radius at 3

Now our 60 x 60 image should look like the textured color we desired.

Save it as mynewcolor.bmp

Now the area on your map that you want to fill with your new textured color, you�ll need to get a plugin for Paint.net. found here http://www.sapphireonline.com/Downloads/PhotoFloodFillPlugIn.zip and just unzip it to the default C:\Program Files\Paint.NET/Effects folder and close and reopen Paint.net

Now with your map open, use the Magic wand and select the area you want to fill with the new color. Then click on Effects � Photo Flood Fill and for Photo File name we are going to use the file we just make mynewcolor.bmp and click ok and now your map will be filled with that color.

How to make waves like in Axis & Allies Global War Variant

I just used Effect � Object � Drop shadow and settings 0�d the blur and only adjusted widening. You might see waves on the land area… no worry… you need to use layers for each wave and the land color layer should be on top of the wave layers and will cover the waves on the land. I also recommend that on the layer you�ll use to make wave that that layer only have the lines you�d like to add waves to… remove all border lines etc so it doesn�t add waves to those etc.

Tip: Always use the duplicated layer, so your not adding effects to your outline layer, always save the original outline layer for other effects.

I use these in my recent module for A&A Global 1940 module at http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=22555.0 where I have the source files for download and you can see how I used them.

http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=11672.msg773179#msg773179

sorry i wasn’t clear enough, i already have the files aa42 & aa50 from that link.

looking for AAP (2001), AAE (2000), aa50 (original, the file in link above seemed different enough…with azores and malta added).

thanks.

Maybe we could make some infantry pieces that would hold those gun pieces.

I love maps made out of actual maps.  Nice work crusaderiv!  +1  (now 7)

I purchased Ralph Boerke’s Large European Map a couple of years ago, and I kept in touch with him over that time, e-mailing questions I had about the game, interpretations of rules, etc.  I sent an e-mail to him several months ago but never received a response.  His web site also appears to no longer exist.  Does anyone know what has happened to him? From his e-mails, I know he has been very sick for the past several years–-and I do not know if he has taken a turn for the worse.  If someone has information about him, please respond to this post.  Thank you.