Friday, 11 October 2019

Battlefield Maps

For some time I have been intending to find software or a method of easily producing battlefield maps for my AAR's. Where I have played scenarios from publications I have been loathe to copy those directly into the blog. Aside from potential copyright issues I have felt uncomfortable using somebody else's intellectual property without their permission. 

Recently I have been viewing the backlog of Little Wars TV excellent Youtube videos when I arrived at one providing a tutorial on how they create their maps using the free Microsoft Paint programme. Even for a technophobe such as myself this appeared achievable. I used a very basic one for the first time the Buq Buq WW2 AAR. 

The following are three I have created for forthcoming games:

2mm Napoleonic test game "Austria 1809"

ACW Battle of 1st Winchester

ECW Battle of Glastonbury
The borders represent my 9" section terrain boards. So top is 4'6" x 3', middle 6' x 3'9" and bottom 3'9" x 3'9". These are the colours used by Little Wars TV apart from stone walls, hedgerows and crop fields which are my own creations. I may experiment a little with the greens to make the hills clearer and likewise darken the blue for rivers.

Unlike Little Wars I switch to PhotoScape X to add text, arrows and unit symbols. For Glastonbury I finally switched back again to Paint to fill in the white section of the cavalry symbols and add the dash to indicate the facing of each unit. I find PhotoScape X is easier to use for moving text around and changing its angle.

To save time I have created a plain map in base green for each sized board I am likely to use. I then just copy over the relevant size that I need and fill in detail from there.

If you get the urge to create some yourself, pop over to the Little Wars TV website (link on the right) and locate the map tutorial. 
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30 comments:

  1. Steve J.11 October 2019 at 21:29

    That's a nice and simple but effective way of doing it Jon. I keep meaning to do this for my games, but simply lack the time. I would love to make some sketches to emulate old maps, but again time is always against me. Maybe having a play with this method might solve my problems...

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    1. Jon Bleasdale11 October 2019 at 21:38

      Know what you mean about time Steve. Once you get the hang of it though these do not take too long to complete.

      Delete
  2. Norm11 October 2019 at 23:09

    There is something very compelling about wargame maps.

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  3. kevin halloran12 October 2019 at 11:13

    Your maps look very good, Jon. I agree with Norm's comment; for Christmas I am treating myself to Gottfried's excellent series of ACW campaign maps.

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    1. Jon Bleasdale12 October 2019 at 11:19

      I have just learnt something new. Was not aware of these and just had a quick look. They do indeed look excellent and may well treat myself to some also. Thanks for the info Kevin.

      Delete
  4. Andrew Bruce12 October 2019 at 12:30

    This website was no longer available on the Internet and as it's one of my favourite programs for making maps I decided to resurrect it. And full credits belong to (Site Design © 2006-2014 Matthew Tyler. Images © 2007 Rob Robbins). https://www.10mm-wargaming.co.uk/2016/05/mappingboard.html

    Take care

    Andy

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    1. Jon Bleasdale12 October 2019 at 12:51

      Many thanks Andy. This looks very good indeed. I have downloaded it and may well use it for certain maps.

      Delete
    2. Andrew Bruce13 October 2019 at 14:33

      You are welcome, I hope it helps

      Take care

      Andy

      Delete
  5. Peter Little12 October 2019 at 15:47

    Good afternoon Jon
    An interesting subject, like you I am off to discover the links above.

    Regards

    Peter

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    1. Jon Bleasdale12 October 2019 at 21:05

      Hi Peter. Once you get the hang of it (and I am still getting there) it is actually quite satisfying although a little frustrating at times.

      Delete
  6. Mike Vella12 October 2019 at 15:48

    Little Wars TV is indeed a fab source of ideas. Hats off to those guys! And your maps look great Jon!

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    1. Jon Bleasdale12 October 2019 at 21:06

      Many thanks Mike. I cannot praise Little Wars TV highly enough. Lots of inspiration there.

      Delete
  7. Stew12 October 2019 at 17:58

    Great job. I also like using PowerPoint to make maps, but these look a little more natural. 😀

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    1. Jon Bleasdale12 October 2019 at 21:07

      I have not tried PowerPoint but then again I had not really tried Paint until I saw this from Little Wars TV. Thanks for your comment Stew.

      Delete
  8. Archduke Piccolo12 October 2019 at 23:23

    Microsoft Paint is one of their more inspired pieces of software. I have made use of it myself for my own maps. One of the value of maps in blog postings, I think, is that they help orient the reader in a way photos don't always do.
    Example:
    http://archdukepiccolo.blogspot.com/2019/05/portable-napoleonic-wargames-army-action.html
    The hex field was photocopied onto a jpg file, and cropped to the exact hex-array of my small 4' x 4'4" table.

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    1. Jon Bleasdale13 October 2019 at 12:34

      That looks excellent AP. A great idea. Also liked the look of Wavre. That and Ligny are battles I have yet to play out and must get around to them one day.

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    2. Archduke Piccolo13 October 2019 at 21:10

      I have yet to 'do' Ligny myself. In time I may well 'collect the set'!

      Delete
    3. Jon Bleasdale13 October 2019 at 22:17

      Well once you get started on the 100 days campaign you just have to finish it!

      Delete
  9. Peter Little23 October 2019 at 21:32

    Hi Jon

    Had you come across a piece of software called Campaign Cartographer?

    Regards

    Peter

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    1. Jon Bleasdale24 October 2019 at 08:37

      I was not aware of that software. Had a quick look and it appears to be particularly useful for campaign maps. Do you have it or have you tried it?

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    2. Peter Little24 October 2019 at 11:15

      Good morning Jon I came across this software by accident looking at alternatives to Microsoft Paint. It appears to be popular with Fantasy map generators but has some suitability for wargame map generation. You Tube seems to be a primary source of learning and information although what struck me initially was that it must be developed by an Australian concern.
      In short then no I don't have it, but I am interested and will let you know after I have watched a bit more on You Tube

      Regards

      Peter

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    3. Jon Bleasdale24 October 2019 at 11:49

      Thanks Peter. I can certainly see potential there for campaigns. My only concern is price. I have only had a quick look but and it does seem a little expensive.
      All the best
      Jon

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  10. Peter Little27 October 2019 at 07:35

    Hi Jon

    Apparently there are free alternatives such as PyMapper which I will look into, had a very busy family week and will be again this coming week due to half term for the grandchildren so no painting achieved.
    Will be posting about Plasticard bases today and a link to Mike Vellas site as his heraldic painting is stunning.

    Regards

    Peter

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    1. Jon Bleasdale27 October 2019 at 10:08

      Hi Peter. Look forward to the updates on your blog. My wargaming activities has also been limited this past week with family commitments. Hoping to more next week with more blog updates.
      All the best
      Jon

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  11. Gonsalvo29 October 2019 at 01:23

    Maps look very nice; I have used paint for Maps for years, but not in the more sophisticated way that they did in the LW video.

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  12. Peter Little30 October 2019 at 08:50

    Hi Jon

    Have looked into PyMapper and its advantage is that the user can take separate images of their baseboards and as long as they are JPEG or PNG file format these can be placed into the programme as an identical copy of your layout, they can also be placed into the screen area as you experiment.
    Once you have laid out your base so in your case 9 x 18 tiles you can then draw to scale on top of it.

    I have an old Windows laptop that I am going to run this on as my main PC is Mac and report back again but at present this programme could be ideal.

    Regards

    Peter

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    1. Jon Bleasdale30 October 2019 at 09:59

      An interesting one. Thanks for this Peter. I have just installed it and when I get time will have a play around.

      Delete
  13. Peter Little1 November 2019 at 09:30

    Hi John

    The only bit that would be a pain in the proverbial is the initial photographing of your terrain blocks, once you have that done you can design when imported to create whatever landscape you have in your possession

    Regards

    Peter.

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    1. Jon Bleasdale1 November 2019 at 10:50

      Thanks Peter. I have had a quick play around with it with mixed results. I need to spend time to properly understand how it works but looks promising. Also going to have a play around with Paint3D which has a few more features over 2D.

      Delete

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