Hill colors for a unique situation

Carln0130

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Folks:
I am currently involved in a design project where a HASL map will be created at the top of a long flat plateau. Call it level 4 for all intents and purposes. There are contours that will taper off the sides of the map to lower levels, descending to level 0. Therefore, the level 4 plateau will comprise 80-85% of the playing area
My question for the community is this:
A) Should we use light green on the vast majority of the playing area, ie; the color of level 0, and reverse engineer the descending slopes, light brown highest to dark brown lowest to preserve playability, with accompanying map key and rules explanation and footnote? Or:

B) Should we go with standard ASL map symbology and go light green 0 to darker brown, lower to higher with the vast majority of the map being the darker brown of level 4?

The reason for the question is simple. Which would the community find more playable? In both cases a terrain key and accompanying rules/footnotes would be provided.

What are your thoughts please?
Thanks
 

footsteps

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As it's a HASL map, I'd follow the lead of the bd25 Escarpment. Use standard colours to get from lvl 0 to lvl 4 at the plateau edge. Then within 2-3 hexes of the edge, transition to lvl 0 green for the rest of the plateau. And if there are any 'bumps' on the plareau, use lvl 1 colour (etc, etc).
 

Wayne

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Levels 0..4 is 5x levels. Like Geo Board 9.

22705

Assuming you're hesitant to use the 0..4 standard levels colors as printed on Geo Board 9, one option may be to assign green to level 2, Geo Board 24 deeper green to level 1, and an invented still-deeper green to level 0.

That would make level 3 "level 1 standard brown" (like the RB map) w/level 4 (most of your HASL map) being "level 2 standard darker brown" (see Board 9 above for that standard level 2 shade for your HASL level 4)

Level 0 = invented darker green
Level 1 = Board 24 darker green
Level 2 = standard level 0 green
Level 3 = standard level 1 brown
Level 4 = standard level 2 brown, "80-85% of the playing area"

...still brown, but two shades lighter than Board 9 level 4.

Or similar.

[Depending on theater, you might also get away w/using Steppe Terrain colors and DTO board shades instead of ETO shades. See Chap F.]
 
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zgrose

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A, (edit2 from discord)but instead of repurposing brown, use the negative level greens(/edit). If the vast majority of the play level is one level, that’s level 0.
(edit) if the map might potentially be expanded upon with geoboards or another map whose majority level is different, then I could see a case for thinking of your terrain as a "hill" but standalone I think it is better displayed as flat land surrounded by valleys.
 
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hongkongwargamer

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Folks:
I am currently involved in a design project where a HASL map will be created at the top of a long flat plateau. Call it level 4 for all intents and purposes. There are contours that will taper off the sides of the map to lower levels, descending to level 0. Therefore, the level 4 plateau will comprise 80-85% of the playing area
My question for the community is this:
A) Should we use light green on the vast majority of the playing area, ie; the color of level 0, and reverse engineer the descending slopes, light brown highest to dark brown lowest to preserve playability, with accompanying map key and rules explanation and footnote? Or:

B) Should we go with standard ASL map symbology and go light green 0 to darker brown, lower to higher with the vast majority of the map being the darker brown of level 4?

The reason for the question is simple. Which would the community find more playable? In both cases a terrain key and accompanying rules/footnotes would be provided.

What are your thoughts please?
Thanks
Do it like Board 24. Green on the “top level” and go darker as you go down. Scheme A

That also showcases the grounds on the top level as the “focus” of the campaign, which if I am guessing this correctly, what you want to do.

There’s a subtle difference between this versus establishing Level 0 elsewhere and articulating everything else as a massive “hill”.
 
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JRKrejsa

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Standard colors or close to it. Reversing the green to brown would be confusing.
 

Eagle4ty

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The differing shades of green were used for the Stoumont map for the most part to no real detriment to play (I believe it was the use of slopes that garnered the most difficulty for a small number of players IIRC). If the majority of the map is a single level go with the usual (or slightly modified) green color for your base level and go with the standard deviations for the small amount of lower levels.
 

footsteps

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As it's a HASL map, I'd follow the lead of the bd25 Escarpment. Use standard colours to get from lvl 0 to lvl 4 at the plateau edge. Then within 2-3 hexes of the edge, transition to lvl 0 green for the rest of the plateau. And if there are any 'bumps' on the plareau, use lvl 1 colour (etc, etc).
Sort of like this...
22707

but without such a wide lvl 4 edge.
 

semenza

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Don't reverse the green / brown. The color coded levels are instinctive at this point. Not interested in having to think about the levels.

The valley greens are a pretty good idea if you want to have most of the main playing area be '0' level green. Or maybe the split with some valley green going down and some brown hill going up.

Seth
 

bendizoid

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Sort of like this...
View attachment 22707

but without such a wide lvl 4 edge.
At the ‘Disco Explosion’ ASLOK I was keeping an eye on this game at a table near me. They were playing a scenario with the escarpment overlay but they had somehow flipped it around. The British were suppose to attack across like 2 boards of open ground then attack up the escarpment but instead of up 4 levels the Italians were down four levels. I remember the Italian trying to climb the hill to get to the edge were he could shoot because the British were zooming across the map unopposed. He said “This scenario sucks!”. Lol
 
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Carln0130

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We have the suggestion we need to deal with this and I think it will work great. Thanks to everyone who responded. It was a big help.
 

Stewart

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Go Green, then remove the LOWEST level to only have 3 shades of Green below Level 0
 
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