BurtWolf wrote:Wow that's quite a thread! I enjoy seeing your stuff it gets me thinking. Great Paint work too!!
Do you have any rules of thumb on how dense to pack your hexes with trees to simulate forests etc but to leave room for your minis? I'm just starting to build forest hexes.
Thanks again and keep updating this thread!!
Hi BurtWolf and thanks!
I do. I try and put together “recipes†for each type of forest hex I make, one for a Vietnam board and the other for a WWII board. It makes them uniform and easier to create a ‘manufacturing line’ when you sit down and create them. I also like the idea that you can blend the forests by having the center denser and as you move to the edge by making them “lighterâ€.
For Vietnam I have them broken into a Light Jungle hex, Medium Jungle hex, Heavy Jungle hex, Central Highland Jungle hex (WIP atm), Palm Tree forest hex, Bamboo hexes and Rubber Tree hexes.
For the WWII hexes, I broke that down into Light, Medium and Heavy forest hexes with various patterns within each hex. As for the heavy/dense forests, I typically do not allow vehicles to cross through, just infantry. This changes if you only have half of the hex taken up with trees and the other half is open.
As for how many, I would play around with creating a light forest hex first. How many trees will it take for a light? Can you double it for a Medium hex? Add another 50% for heavy? Try starting out with 4-6 trees for a Light hex. Consider creating/adding bushes and/or various types of grass. For a medium hex, maybe bump that up to 8-12 trees depending on your likes. For heavy, bump that up for more. After our first hex, evaluate based on your taste and needs. Once you find your “recipeâ€, lock it down and then start production.
I try and make a ton of the various trees and bushes prior so they are ready to go for when the hexes pass through on the “lineâ€. Hehe You can paint and start planting trees and adding grass while moving onto the next hex. It is a manufacturing line after all.
When you run into more unique/specific hexes, then you take more time developing those as needed.
I hope that helps.