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Spiff's Tactics accessories <Best Player Aid Idea 2014 Award Winner>

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Spiff
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phantaskippy wrote:

I assume it looks good fromt he opposite side.That's actually a pretty good job.

It looks fine from the other side but not quite as good.  From the side showing in the pic, you can see that the hexes curve towards the viewer, which helps make the top arm of the "F" be an appropriate length compared to the rest of the building.  From the back, those hexes are curving away from the viewer which enlongates the effect and makes the top arm look too long.  It still looks like an "F" and it still looks fine, just not as good.

Pydro wrote:

What's the next project?

Dunno.  There seems to be enough interest in the terrain that maybe I should get started on Insula Primalis terrain now that Megalopolis is done.  I should also maybe get started organizing what I'll need for the WotC accessories and making placeholder stuff so I can drop in the final art and text once it's available.  And then there was that request for small versions of the Vengeance villains.  If people have votes about any of that or something else they wish I'd make, I'd be open to hearing them.


Spiff's SotM site: www.spiffworld.com/sotm

Pydro
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Geek and Sundry just put up a video to make a DnD dice tower: http://geekandsundry.com/vlogs/e/diy-dd-dice-tower/paul-mason-the-diy-guy

Can you use that to make a template for a Tactics one?


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Spiff
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Pydro wrote:

Can you use that to make a template for a Tactics one?

I could totally make a Tactics dice tower (probably), but I'd do it with cardstock not foamcore which would probably make assembly easier.  It should work OK, I think.  No way to know until I try.

However, that's probably not higher priority than a full set of Insula Primalis terrain, yeah?


Spiff's SotM site: www.spiffworld.com/sotm

Barryzimm
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I'm ready for Insulis Primalis. smiley

Spiff
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The terrain file on my site now contains a complete set of Megalopolis buildings, including a bonus - my playtest version of the Freedom Tower, back when I thought it would be a single-hex building.


Spiff's SotM site: www.spiffworld.com/sotm

Barryzimm
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Anything new coming?

Spiff
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Oy, I was just thinking about this this morning, wondering if anyone had noticed I'd gone dark on the subject.  The truth is, I got sidetracked by a personal project, and then something new got posted for playtesting which I jumped into.  But the Insula Primalis terrain should be simpler than the Megalopolis terrain was (it's all rocks, not individual buildings), so I'll try to get moving on that.  I promise to have something by this weekend, sooner if I can.

I have the volcano mostly ready to go from my time playtesting Tactics.  Maybe I'll dust that file off, make sure it still works for the released version of the game, and post that one to start.


Spiff's SotM site: www.spiffworld.com/sotm

Spiff
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I updated the terrain file to include the Insula Primalis volcano.  It was pretty much ready to go from playtesting and all I had to do was add a few instructions.  That should give you something to chew on until I can find time to do more.


Spiff's SotM site: www.spiffworld.com/sotm

Barryzimm
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Cool! Thanks!

 

Spiff
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I added files for tile #1 of the Insula Primalis map to the terrain collection on my site.  I'm hoping that since everything's made of rocks in Insula Primalis, this set of elevations can act as a template for the rest of the tiles and they won't end up being as much work as having to create semi-unique buildings for every hex.  We'll see if that translates into me posting the files any faster than before or not. :)


Spiff's SotM site: www.spiffworld.com/sotm

Spiff
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I hate to do this once I've posted something, but I decided I didn't like the way the cliff walls looked in the "tile 1" file, so I've changed it.  The difference is subtle, and if you've already printed out the first one, you may not even feel like you need to redo it.  The only difference is that in the first file I posted, the rocks on the sides of the terrain looked small and thin, which I didn't like.  The new file has cliff sides made of rocks which look bigger (they match the volcano sides better now), which I think looks better.

The rest of the Insula Primalis terrain I make will be patterned off this new look.


Spiff's SotM site: www.spiffworld.com/sotm

Spiff
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Insula Primalis' tile #2 has been added to the package of terrain on my site.


Spiff's SotM site: www.spiffworld.com/sotm

Spiff
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I posted Insula Primalis tiles #3, #4, and #5 to the package on my site.  Since #7 has no elevations on it and #8 is the volcano which I've already finished, that just leaves tile #6 to complete.

Tile #5 has that little box canyon, and I tried to find something special I could do to that 3-tile elevation in the middle, but I couldn't find anything that looked good.  I wanted it to have gold veins along the sides or crystals growing out of it or something, but nothing looked right.  Too bad. :(


Spiff's SotM site: www.spiffworld.com/sotm

jac
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Thanks!!!! I finished the buildings yesterday and started to play against baron blade....buildings make everything easier!!! Like LOS and range are not a problem anymore... then started subzero against omnitron, another epic battlle... a little bit difficult ro muve omnitron around but still fun

now thinking about making sunzero impaling structure it will be so much fun to see how puting one over the other increase the level where you are standing!

Spiff
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That looks fantastic!


Spiff's SotM site: www.spiffworld.com/sotm

phantaskippy
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I have always hated the look of miniatures on a flat map, just annoyed me.  Now I'm thinking I want that skyline, and so now I want the miniatures too.

That looks fantastic.

Greywind
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Who is zis "subzero"? We start playing Mortal Kombat or zomzing?

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Hi Guys,

 

@Spiff.... Can I just say your work looks totally stunning!!  I'm massively impressed with your skill and work my friend!

 

I've just picked up tactics and played my first game last night and this would improve the game 10 fold.

 

Craig :)


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Spiff
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Thanks.  Enjoy!


Spiff's SotM site: www.spiffworld.com/sotm

Spiff
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After an irritating (I'm sure) delay, I've finally added the last tile of terrain to the Insula Primalis set.  It's got waterfalls!


Spiff's SotM site: www.spiffworld.com/sotm

MigrantP
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Spiff you are a crazy and wonderful person. Would it be too much to ask for some photos of papercraft Insula Primalis? The Megalopolis ones look great!


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Spiff
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I have no photos of Insula Primalis because I haven't actually printed out a full set.  Each of the Megalopolis buildings was a unique combination of the shape of the terrain and the building art itself, so I printed and assembled each one to make sure I had it right.  In Insula Primalis, there's pretty much just level-2 rocks and level-3 rocks (plus the volcano, of course), so once I had the template for each type of rock nailed down, I could replicate it without needing to print it and assemble it each time to make sure I had it correct.

Are you just curious, or was there an actual need behind your question?


Spiff's SotM site: www.spiffworld.com/sotm

MigrantP
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I'm just curious and want to see how it looks =). No biggie!


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MigrantP
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Now I'm kind of interested in 3D printing these. Maybe I'll get a couple printed as a test and see how they do.


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Spiff
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My group played with the Megalopolis terrain and loved it and are putting subtle pressure on me to make an Insula Primalis set, so it'll probably happen sometime.


Spiff's SotM site: www.spiffworld.com/sotm

techlee
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I'm wondering if for Insula Primaris if finding some old Heroscape terrain wouldn't be easier/cheaper than 3d printing it. ;)

Spiff
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Maybe, but that kind of misses the point of having a fun papercraft project to complete, doesn't it? ;)

I have to admit, I'm not in love with the Insula Primalis terrains.  I think the rock texture is too high-contrast, and I'm afraid that if I were to print the entire set, the terrain would make the gameboard too busy (this is in contrast to the Megalopolis terrains which are colorful but still relatively flat, so they don't have that problem).  I'd love to use something like the ground textures in WoW (sort of cartoony but still look nice), but I haven't spent the time to do a thorough internet search to see if those are even available.


Spiff's SotM site: www.spiffworld.com/sotm

Spiff
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I found something online I like for the rocks, so I may take another shot at them.  If you like them how they are now, feel free to print them.  If you're interested in waiting to see if I can make the new thing work, you may want to wait.


Spiff's SotM site: www.spiffworld.com/sotm

cmschex
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How do you store your Megalopolis terrain?  I'm intersted in crafting it but there is no way it'd going in the game box

MigrantP
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Store it in the boxes of other, lesser games, and burn the previous contents!


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Spiff
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The Megalopolis set fits in two shoe boxes.  I'll let you know how much room the Insula Primalis set takes up once I complete it.

The initial prototypes of the rocks using the new textures I found look really good, so I'll be posting pix and working towards a fully assembled set soon.


Spiff's SotM site: www.spiffworld.com/sotm

phantaskippy
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You are killing me Spiff.

I didn't get mini's because I don't like Mini's on flat surfaces.

Now I love this terrain, and I want to use it, but if I do I will want Mini's to go with it.

grrr.

Spiff
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I'll let you in on a secret...

I bought the minis, but have also decided to buy the painted ones because, screw it, I'm an adult man who gets paid a lot so why not?  That means I'll have a set of unpainted minis I could let go for a reasonable price.


Spiff's SotM site: www.spiffworld.com/sotm

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OK, time for some sample pix:

This shows the new texture for the rocks.  It's not as dark as the other one and the color matches what's on the tile better.  Overall, the rocks aren't as interesting as the Megalopolis buildings, but that's because... they're rocks.

This one shows what I put on the rocks which are up against jungle hexes.  It gives the jungle a third dimension, which I think looks good.


Spiff's SotM site: www.spiffworld.com/sotm

MigrantP
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The PDF files don't seem to have the Citizens of the Sun base on them. That might be a nice way to spice things up a bit on Insula Primalis.


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Spiff
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The whatnow?  There's a base?  Whatchootalkinbout?


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MigrantP
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Look more closely at tile #5 =)


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Spiff
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Is that what that is?  It's so fuzzy and indistinct, I thought it was maybe crystal outcroppings or something.  When I get to that tile, I'll definitely put windows in the rock walls, now that I know what it is.


Spiff's SotM site: www.spiffworld.com/sotm

MigrantP
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The base shows up on a card in SotM but it's also indistinct. I can't remember which card now though. Here's how it looks in the video game:


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Pretty sure it was discussed during Playtesting Spiff. If it wasn't, it was discussed by us playtesters during a game of SotM via G+.


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Someone here also said the star-shaped building on the Megalopolis tile was Revocorp. I could never figure out how that conclusion was reached. 


Spiff's SotM site: www.spiffworld.com/sotm

phantaskippy
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That was me.

Citizen Dawn Scenario 1.

The page before the instructions shows the Revo Corp building and an explosion, the shape of the building is the three prongs, and that is where the citizens start from in scenario 1.

Bas
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Plus you can see the RevoCorp sign on the tile, on top of the roof of that building.

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I just kind of decided it was during playtesting, and I guess I was right, considering it has a REVOCorp sign over it.


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MigrantP
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MigrantP wrote:

The base shows up on a card in SotM but it's also indistinct. I can't remember which card now though. 

Found it randomly - it's Citizen Slash, from Vengeance Baron Blade's deck.


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Spiff
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I never got around to mentioning this, but the Insula Primalis terrain has been fully updated and posted to my Tactics site.

 

Attachments: 

Spiff's SotM site: www.spiffworld.com/sotm

Bas
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I love the look of that vulcano! Nicely done!

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That looks awesome, Spiff!


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Spiff
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I've noticed that my gaming group never chooses Omnitron-V.  The reason is almost entirely because we only ever use the 3D terrain in our games (because I lurve the 3D terrain) and it's a pain in the arse to use a single 3-hex mini or standup when the ground is of differing levels.  So, I added a new set of alternate Omnitron-V standups to my standups file.  It's a set of three, extra large, one-hex O-V standups which are easy to move as a group, then have them inhabit the individual hexes he ends up on.  As a bonus, when O-V is on multiple differing levels of elevation, the one-hex standups make it look like he's crawling up the side of the building or whatever, which is pretty cool.

As always, you can find the file on my Tactics site (link in my signature below).


Spiff's SotM site: www.spiffworld.com/sotm

metlarcturus
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This was it. The thread that finally convinced me to get Tactics. Spiff, you do stellar work; I don't even think about playing the card game without the extra shinies you've made. This stuff is even better.


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