Hex Mapping in Roll20 again...

Last time I tried mapping only in Roll20, the lag got ridiculous. Went back to MapTool for making maps, but didn't like that I would have to go back and forth if I needed to make changes to the base map. Then I finally realized what I was doing wrong... trying to make the whole map on one page. So now I'm making the map in 20x20 zones, much like an MMO. Which kinda makes sense anyway, since I'm making this for a D&D 4e Hexcrawl campaign.

Sweet! So, each hex is an individual tile here? 

Yup. Towns, ruins, and such are tokens with light settings so that players can see where they've explored.

Player view...

I've loved this idea since the first time you posted it. I've been using it in my own games for the overworld view. :)

Excellent, Honey Badger! Really like the light settings of explored versus unexplored areas!

Thanks! ^_^

Very nice.  Where did you get the graphics for the tiles?

Someone named GhostGrrl made them using Mike Schley maps as a style guide over on the MapTool forums many ages ago. Dunno if you can still find them or not.

I ran across this the other day - and am dying for it to be released/finished to build hex maps with -  #hexallthings

I've followed that as well. Just not a fan of the squished hex. Looks good otherwise.

and you are correct HB - looking at that forum you can find the thread where she posted them but all links are broken and/or no longer exist. Sadly.  also not 100% sold on the squished Hex, but it looks so good, I am hoping I can look past it when file product is available. 

Reminds me a bit of GW's Mighty Empires map system.  Creating the map was more fun than playing the game.

The hexes I have are somewhat limited for fantastic terrain. If I can get some overtime, I'm thinking about finding an artist to do a massive set of hexes with a variety of tiles for each type so it doesn't look so repetitive.

I think that a set of them on the marketplace might do well... I guess its time to see if my tree drawing skills still exist or not.

Aren't all those in .png format causing lag? I though we were repeatedly told to use .png as little as possible.  HB is a rebel! I worked on a set of hex tiles as well, but the snap to grid of Roll20's non-hex snap to grid override got on my nerves. Is there a way around this?

20x20... I haven't noticed any lag. When I tried 100x100... yeah... then it started lagging. 93x80 for the hex size seems to work really well.

This is genius...

Had an idea, but it would require hex tiles of various terrain types that have more variety to them. Make each type like (Heavy Forest, Light Forest, Grasslands, Mountains) into rollable table tokens and then select them all and randomize their sides.

HoneyBadger said: Had an idea, but it would require hex tiles of various terrain types that have more variety to them. Make each type like (Heavy Forest, Light Forest, Grasslands, Mountains) into rollable table tokens and then select them all and randomize their sides. I played around with a hex mapping tool. Polygon hex fill can be done and its not that much code.

HoneyBadger said: Had an idea, but it would require hex tiles of various terrain types that have more variety to them. Make each type like (Heavy Forest, Light Forest, Grasslands, Mountains) into rollable table tokens and then select them all and randomize their sides. I did this.  I took the images from a resource I have (the D30 Sandbox Companion, in case anyone wants to know), then I made them into transparent tokens in Gimp.  I made three characters: Then sized the tokens just right, so they would align to the grid when pulled onto the tabletop.  Give the tabletop a green background, and it looks something like this: Then you can randomize the tokens, and you get different terrain and settlement sizes, add in roads & rivers with the drawing tool, and you're done: But they're not as pretty as Honey Badger's hexes.

I actually didn't put any water hexes down. Just found a color I liked for water and made that the map background. That way when I get done... I can use the drawing tool to carve out coastlines and rivers.

I am a bit OCD, so I put the coast lines into mine. I found these online, reworked them for Roll20 and added more to them using Photoshop. I only take credit for using them, not making them :P

I like being able to draw mine so it breaks up the repetitive look. Plus, I can always delete the drawing and start over if need be. :)  it also helps I have a bamboo drawing tablet which makes it easier.

Zone 0, 0 ~ New Cambria... is done pretty much. Any further additions or changes will be due to random encounter tables and/or player driven events once I get a campaign going. I'm hesitant to start making other areas, since I am still seriously considering hiring an artist to make a full set of hex terrain tiles with several variations and don't want to have to re-do a ton of maps.