Frosty
09/04/05 02:37 PM
146.201.160.240
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Hola, so anyway I used to play some bt with a freind, and I recently got the book, Which is everything needed to play save mapsheets and tech readouts. I have found mech readouts realy easily (as well as the personal desighns I have made and my freinds will doubtlessly make as time goes on), but have been unsucesfull in finding maps. The board game section here had a link for maps, but I got a 404 when I looked. Now I did pick up a couple of map editors but they dont have a random generation option and I am a little worried If I make em myself I will desighn them to work better with my play style as opposed to the freinds I am introducing to the game. So does anyone know a good source for mapsheets I can print off? 
-The Cold One
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Karagin
09/06/05 08:59 PM
63.157.234.123
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Which set are you looking for? I know that FanPro just relased a collection of maps (Map Collection 2) and you can order it from them or should be able to get them at a game store or hobby shop.
Karagin
Given time and plenty of paper, a philosopher can prove anything.
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religon
09/09/05 02:27 PM
192.58.204.226
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With a little design skill, maps can be build with Adobe Illustrator (or possibly Freehand).
The hex size is 1.29 inches. Use the mathematical copy functions to propogata a single correctly sized hex at plus and minue 30-degree angles until you fill the map space (22X17 inches). Email and I'll sned the file.
Throw a light brown background and build a library of common tree clumps and small hills. Custom build lakes, large elevation changes , and rivers. Doing it like the pros is fairly simple.
The trick is finding a large format printer or tiling them together.
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Karagin
09/10/05 12:31 AM
63.157.59.65
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True it can be done that way, but for most of us we don't have the time, and the pre-done maps from FanPro and the old FASA ones work and are easy to get via hobby shops or on line.
Still I have seen some nice computer drawn ones at conventions before, so if you can find a way to get to a CAD printer or a landscaping one then go for it.
Karagin
Given time and plenty of paper, a philosopher can prove anything.
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religon
09/12/05 09:28 AM
24.225.70.5
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Quote:
True it can be done that way, but for most of us we don't have the time, and the pre-done maps from FanPro and the old FASA ones work and are easy to get via hobby shops or on line.
Still I have seen some nice computer drawn ones at conventions before, so if you can find a way to get to a CAD printer or a landscaping one then go for it.
While waiting for a long UNIX shell script toe scrub a customers server, I spent 30 minutes build a custom map last Friday and ran it Saturday. Granted, I did have access to a nice Xerox 11X17 laser printer and I am a publishing consultant. I think most compute literate folks and all the people active on this forum could build a nice map in an hour or so.
You do need access to a suitable printer. A plotter is not necessary for good results. With an Epson Stylus Photo 1280 ($400 srp) or many other typical printers found in Kinko's or small graphic design firms, some good results can be acheived. Obviously, most of us, myself included, would not spend $400 on something just to print game maps.
I have an old Black-and-White old HP at home which I occasionally use to print custom maps. Some colored chalk (pencils/crayons) and a spray fixitive and you have a cheap custom map in 1 and a half nours.
Yes custom maps are more time consuming and more expensive than the commercially available ones costing only about $2 each, but the design treshold is low and the costs are creeping down. I try to make the central map a custom map surrounding it with commercial maps to save time.
I know it may seem counter intuitive, my busy schedule is why I like to make my own maps. I spend a lot of time in airports. I would rather invest that 30 minutes on an airplane getting just the right map than waiting until Saturday and playing BattleTech with an inferior map. Most of the FASA and FanPro maps have an excessive amount of terrain favoring slow, in-fighting mechs.
It's not as hard as it seems.
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religon
09/12/05 09:32 AM
24.225.70.5
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Another idea.
Spray the back side of one of your commecial maps with a light chocolate/brown spray paint.
Laminate the map.
Use this as the central map and draw interesting features on this in dry erase marker. 10-15 minutes for a custom map every time.
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