Some Sketches and Screenshots from a Work in Progress

A web based fantasy hex mapper
Fantastic Mapper – current status

If you’ve been following along on Google+ you’ve likely seen some notes on a hex mapping project in the works. This hex mapper started as a challenge to myself over the summer when I took a holiday back to visit my parents on Skye:

Can I code a hex mapper web app during a holiday?

The answer was a qualified yes. I managed to get most of the primary UI in place within the holiday, but then came the task of actually creating all the art. To have a hex mapper not look like just the same tile over and over again, you actually need lots and lots of tiles. I also (foolishly) decided to create an isometric hex mapper – so I couldn’t take advantage of all the wonderful power of geomorph systems.

First hex mapper sketch
First sketch in Quebec City – how hard could it be?

It’s now much more than a personal project, but not quite an official ‘thing’ yet. That requires some bug hunting, a few more sets of tiles, and a good chunk of alpha testing. But we’re getting closer for sure.

I’ll provide a longer post in the near future with a longer break down and summary of the workflow to this point. If you’d like to skim through the images, you can pull up the #hexallthethings posts on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+

21 thoughts on “Some Sketches and Screenshots from a Work in Progress”

  1. This is really exciting! As an RPG’er and artist, I love mapping, and somehow, I don’t feel like my maps come up to par. Also, as a programming geek, will the code be available? What language are you working in?

    Thank you for working on a fantastic project, I can’t wait for it to be publicly available. Any thoughts on what it will cost, yet?

    1. It’s javascript – so the front end code will inevitably be there 🙂 The backend is node and mongo, but that’s all sign in logic, profiles, saved maps in databases, and that sort of thing, rather than the actual interactive mappery. There’s a little python and imagemagick in the back end to take a tiled map and turn it into a savable single jpg.

      No concrete cost estimate yet – I need to see how the server costs scale. Feedback has been strongly against a monthly subscription fee. Once a year might be a way forward – but I’m still kicking around different ideas.

  2. Wow, this looks fantastic. Came across mention of the alpha on Google+ and have been very interested. I have been drawing maps since I was a child. Keep up the fantastic work!

  3. Looks lovely! Any chance you’ll make it so it can handle a polyhedral earth? I don’t mean a just a template, I mean the ability to hinge the triangles so you can, for example, create a regional map of 120 degrees of the northern hemisphere? An ability to spawn sub maps would also be nice…

  4. Do you have a Paypal or Patreon account. I’d be willing to donate some “encouragement” money to help spur you on and make this Hexmapper app a reality.

    1. It’s in the next dev stage at the moment. When that goes to release I’ll be sending round the next set of emails. Thanks for your patience!

      1. I’m looking forward to that. Hopefully your release would be in time for my game development which is in progress.

  5. I just came here to say what a fantastic thing this editor is. I only wish there was an API to edit it trough system calls.
    Really, really nice work!

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