Double-Wide Wooded Hill

Tuomo

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Mark's discussion of the French in ASL included a brief mention of how a new double-wide wooded hill board might help sell the module. Got me thinking, which got me sketching, which eventually led to this:
12403


Now, this didn't turn out the way I'd hoped; it certainly doesn't feel like France, maybe more like Colorado which is understandable since I live there. But it was fun to do and I think there's a good number of scenarios that could play out here. I like the town along the road in the hills, the stream coming down the valley, and the town at the other end of it. I wish Scree or Hammada were more of a non-DTO kind of thing, because full-grown Crags really aren't appropriate along the stream here, but oh well.

It's wooded and hilly and double-wide, but certainly has enough Paths and Roads to make mobility easy. Because I'm getting crochety in my old age, I throw in a PITA terrain hex (G5) which brings all kinds of character to the proceedings but will of course make people thumb through the rulebook trying to figure out how it plays. Tough Noogies, Pardner - Crochety Tuomo isn't here for your comfort and ease of play.

I don't know why, but I like the saddle valley from X7 to X12; somebody's gonna have to cross that valley in one direction or the other, and the folks on the high ground on the other side won't be very friendly. Yes, that empty space around CC9 is what happens when the Map Guy runs out of ideas. Again, tough noogies; this is a WIP and I don't have to be polished. Although it would be nice to have a clue about what should be happening there.

Wooded Hills doesn't mean devoid of construction, and there's some buildings in F12 and W8 that should prove interesting to deal with.

So, apologies to Mark for coming up with something that doesn't smell a whiff like France, but in terms of Fun, well, this works for me.

Edit - the astute among you will notice the lack of Gullies and immediately wonder whether this is indeed a genuine Tuomo Creation or what. No, I haven't lost my love for that Most Sublime of ASL Terrain Types; I just threw everything in that I wanted, then started editing, and by the time I was done, turned out there weren't no Gullies to be found. Go figure.
 
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hongkongwargamer

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G5 is a cumulative terrain hex like A2.4?

This board going to be riot in PTO.

I like the white crest lines .. all the board should have them (they don't right now yeah?)
 

Tuomo

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G5 is a cumulative terrain hex like A2.4?
Yep, which should be simple to play but probably isn't. We could probably use a Journal article on hexes like that.

I don't really see it being used in the PTO. The man-made parts don't feel like that, to me. Shrug?

No, MMP boards don't have white crestlines, I don't think.

The more I think about it, this feels like a good rough draft that could be worked in the right direction, but only because one can look at it and see its flaws. The stream needs to be windier, and its valley as well. The basics of the good ideas with the hillside buildings, the saddle valley, and the chateau are there, but the whole thing needs to be spaced out a bit more - editing out the filler stuff and just leaving the better ideas. The SE part of the hill would be better with fewer roads somehow. Etc.
 
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hongkongwargamer

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Yep, which should be simple to play but probably isn't. We could probably use a Journal article on hexes like that.

I don't really see it being used in the PTO. The man-made parts don't feel like that, to me. Shrug?

No, MMP boards don't have white crestlines, I don't think.
My PTO mind is going : bamboo bamboo bamboo .. but u r right about all the buildings. Burma .. if I were to stretch it? Huts for the 2 or more. You are the map expert. Nice work though!
 

Tuomo

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I'm the map expert who's never been farther West than California, so I'll trust your PTO sense better than mine. But yeah, if some of those roads turned into Paths, I bet the whole thing would feel better. Thanks Jackson!
 

Robin Reeve

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The board would work well in Europe, including France.
Perhaps too much roads, but they can easily be SSRed as paths.
 

Gordon

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Logging trails/roads? Where's the saw mill?
 

Robin Reeve

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I would also plead for less buildings.
Perhaps a shack or two, but we need more wild terrain.
 

Tuomo

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Well, loathe as I am to do Art By Committee, these are good suggestions that happen to fit with my thoughts as well, so look for v2 later today.
 

Tuomo

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OK, after listening to a veritable Greek Chorus of opinions and improvements, here's v2:
12408

Yep, it looks better with that Road through the Brush going to a Path. The mountain village (Skönderhölm) lost a shack, but it was Old Man Svärlgenläanger's, and he was a surly curmudgeon anyway. Thanks to a Stream Improvement Grant, the crags along the Kvärlstendöõrn (ie, the stream) have been ground down to Hämmädä, so that looks much nicer now. I realized that the von Järlskôenig Chateau (W8) would never be caught so near to the road, so I moved it a hex north. And to make Vinnie happy, the stream now has a source in BB7, Lake Vinnigottapoopa.

And because I simply can't make a Hill without a Gully, Skönderhölm's erosion problem (U13-U12) has been turned into a Gully - the first one in the entire ASL verse to connect to a Stream, and may I say, congrats to me for thinking of it.

Huzzah, people! Nicely done!
 

Vinnie

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Better. I'm sure you can improve but obviously my ideas have made the difference! ?
 

jrv

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Hex Z1 looks suspiciously like the crest line ought to be on the other side of the hex center. It disturbs players greatly when there is any upper-level hill in a lower-level hex, and to have that much will concern them to no end. What you have drawn is "legal", but it might be better to put the crest line further away from the hex center. Similarly hexes B17 and T17 (and others) could be seen as ambiguous in height.

JR
 

Tuomo

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Hex Z1 looks suspiciously like the crest line ought to be on the other side of the hex center. It disturbs players greatly when there is any upper-level hill in a lower-level hex, and to have that much will concern them to no end. Similarly hexes B17 and T17 (and others) could be seen as ambiguous in height.
Ja, good eye. If somebody wants this thing made into a Real Product (which would involve a Cash Transaction), then that's one of the 287 Quality Points of Inspection.
 

jrv

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The former crags in hexes M8, etc seem to have converted to black pepper terrain (take a sneeze task check), or perhaps hamada.

JR
 

Tuomo

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The former crags in hexes M8, etc seem to have converted to pepper terrain, or perhaps hamada.
Hämmädä . You really need to read the accompanying Artist's Statement, or you'll miss half the whole experience.
 
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