Hi everyone; my main gaming project this year is getting my knock off of The Fantasy Trip into something like a final, distributable form, and I'm trying to do something special for my own home kit that could benefit from advice. I prefer to play the game as god intended, with cardboard chits on a paper or card stock hexagonal playing surface. I have all the original materials, but would like to prepare a set of really nice playing surfaces that cover diverse sorts of terrain (dungeons, hill slopes, etc.) and terrain features (trees, wells, bridges, etc.). Basically, I want to make my own modular version of something like a set of ASL boards (though perhaps on heavy card stock instead of mounted on a board), but tuned to TFT. I think I know how to go about making something like this using good quality card stock, a printer and an exacto knife, but before I geek out with the DIY version I wanted to look around and see what else is out there. I have the hex-based play surface materials for Dragonquest 1E. Is there anything else out there that is like this? I am NOT looking for the expensive hexagonal tiles - there is no way I'm going to invest $1000 on a complete set of that sort of thing. And anyway, I prefer to play with something closer to original materials (chits & paper). Anything out there I should know about? Thanks-

Quote from: Larsdangly;914482Hi everyone; my main gaming project this year is getting my knock off of The Fantasy Trip into something like a final, distributable form, and I'm trying to do something special for my own home kit that could benefit from advice. I prefer to play the game as god intended, with cardboard chits on a paper or card stock hexagonal playing surface. I have all the original materials, but would like to prepare a set of really nice playing surfaces that cover diverse sorts of terrain (dungeons, hill slopes, etc.) and terrain features (trees, wells, bridges, etc.). Basically, I want to make my own modular version of something like a set of ASL boards (though perhaps on heavy card stock instead of mounted on a board), but tuned to TFT. I think I know how to go about making something like this using good quality card stock, a printer and an exacto knife, but before I geek out with the DIY version I wanted to look around and see what else is out there. I have the hex-based play surface materials for Dragonquest 1E. Is there anything else out there that is like this? I am NOT looking for the expensive hexagonal tiles - there is no way I'm going to invest $1000 on a complete set of that sort of thing. And anyway, I prefer to play with something closer to original materials (chits & paper). Anything out there I should know about? Thanks-

I don;t know if this will help - I happen to be a part-time bandit chieftain in a TFT campaign, at the moment - but there's a company out there called "Gaming Paper" (http://gamingpaper.com, I think) that might have something you can use. I've seen hex-based 'tiles' at the local FLGS, but they seem to be a specialty item and not very common.

I tend to use paper like this, laminated to thin MDF for durability, and cut out with a bandsaw; a jigsaw with a sharp 'fine' blade will work as well. Doing the same with card stock and a heavy-duty crafts knife will also work, and have the advantage of being lighter.

There were some map products for GURPS which I think are long out of print. I used them to photocopy and make some counters for trees, pools, rocks, walls, etc., but then I also just did hand-made ones. I also tend to just draw maps on paper and then lay transparent plastic photocopies of hex sheets on top of them. Or use a dry-erase battle mat. Or use Photoshop and printer.

The GURPS forums would be a good place to ask this question, too.

Oh, and I should add that yes, I think flat TFT counters with weapon counters ala Melee are still the best way I know to do tactical combat. Facings are clear, body piles and people being up or down can be indicated clearly, the time needed to make counters is minimal, as is the space needed to store them, etc.

Cardboard Heroes might be the best commercial product for what I have in mind (i.e., the terrain packs, not the figures, which I find inferior to the old TFT chits).

Quote from: Larsdangly;914506Cardboard Heroes might be the best commercial product for what I have in mind (i.e., the terrain packs, not the figures, which I find inferior to the old TFT chits).

Yep; got some of those, and I think they'd work just fine.

Quote from: chirine ba kal;914564Yep; got some of those, and I think they'd work just fine.

Are the pieces rigid enough that they tesselate smoothly, or do they tend to curl up or buckle? I'm only familiar with the Cardboard Heroes figures, which are made of a thin paper that would likely curl if cut into a large irregularly shaped sheet.

This
https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/655266/looking-hex-tiles-diy-games
led me to this

http://www.litko.net/BMaker/

Perhaps that will help

And if you going for that early 80s vibe you will probably will need the terrain textures from here

http://www.jrcooper.com/gaming.htm#terrain_tiles

This may be usable:
https://twitter.com/FreeRpgMaps

You could ebay some old Heroscape terrain and do this?: http://www.meleewizards.com/terrain.html

Quote from: estar;914706This
https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/655266/looking-hex-tiles-diy-games
led me to this

http://www.litko.net/BMaker/

Perhaps that will help

Thanks; I think the Base Maker page is the most useful one I've seen. It looks like what they would deliver is a set of hexagons with specified dimensions, but these could be easily tesselated onto a thin adhesive backing to make larger shapes, or left loose to join together into different shapes, and modified with paint or a press on sticker to create terrain types.

Quote from: Larsdangly;914705Are the pieces rigid enough that they tesselate smoothly, or do they tend to curl up or buckle? I'm only familiar with the Cardboard Heroes figures, which are made of a thin paper that would likely curl if cut into a large irregularly shaped sheet.

The ones that have are printed on heavy cardboard; they don't curl.

Quote from: chirine ba kal;914782The ones that have are printed on heavy cardboard; they don't curl.

Cool. Or, if I wanted to make my own I could print from the pdf's onto an adhesive transparency and attach them to a thick cardstock backing.

Though, as I think about it I am enamored of the idea of working with thin (~1/8" or 1/16") hexagonal wooden or plexiglass chits to create a set of relatively durable, heavy pieces that can be laid out on a table.