Creating Custom Maps

[cjsiam]

I have no particular position on custom maps. I don't find them to be very useful beyond a specific scenario set, such as with Cassino '44. Attempts to make such maps more universal often result in big sheets, like those of SPI games.

That said, I echo Drew's feelings on priorities. Clarity and definition are the issues with any game map. a reasonable effort in aesthetics is usually adequate, so don't pretty up a map at the expense of clarity.

There have been a couple of custom maps here. Philippe made a Dom Butgenbach map a few years ago. I made a hex-scaled Stalingrad map, mostly as reference, and a bit of snarkyness. (I think I told you about that one over beer.) There were also some for the Brody-Dubno battles over on ConSim.

If you wish to make your own maps, I suggest either Hexdraw or Inkscape, with Pelle Nilsson's hexmap extension. Hexdraw (by default) produces maps looking much like Squad Leader, and was used to create most of the Valor & Victory maps. It has a lot of self contained images to get you started quickly. Inkscape is a full graphics editor, if your drawing skills are up to it, that is the better choice. John Cooper has created some generic terrain tiles, which I have found useful.

Inkscape looks great for the additional aesthetic....
Hexdraw looks simpler, but cruder final product (assuming you spend the time with Inkscape)

I've got to think about what I want---how flexible it needs to be.
Thanks!
I looked at Hexagrapher....that has some good examples as well...