ASLSK Maps - Making Geomorphic Maps

[Whiterook]

This thread is specifically, on making geomorphic maps for Advanced Squad Leader/Starter Kit style maps, but the concepts are transposable to any kind of hex map. I scoured the Internet and it’s truly shocking how little there is out there that talks about this subject — as in, really, none. In full transparency, I am not an expert in this by any measure, but I know enough to be dangerous   

ASLSK maps are a great example of geomorphic map design, simply because there are so many individual maps out there, both by professional retailers (like MultiMan Publishing themselves) and a host of secondary market sources; as well as home grown maps made by fans, most of which are stunning in their own right. MMP took what was most likely started with the Panzer Blitz/Leader games from the glory days of Avalon Hill, and brought the art to whole new levels; what started way back then is pretty much the same today, in concepts. 

The whole point of geomorphic maps is the ability to rearrange them, side edge to side edge, top edge to top edge, and across many boards making large map areas. With consideration to that very point, we are obviously not talking about the most common, singular game map size, 22”X34” exactly — simply because that folds down to 8.5x11" (American letter standard); and of course, maps come in all sizes! But when talking about geomorphic maps, the whole goal is to line-up individual smaller maps to make bigger maps, as well as play just singularly on their own. ASLSK maps are all the same size — 8”x 22”.

This will be an ongoing thread, as we explore the design parameters used in making ASLSK maps. And we will discuss uses in systems beyond ASL/SK, however in this system, RULE #1: Map edges are King!

…there are commonalities between Roads and Woods, as to where they typically start on any given map, which is where we’ll begin this feast of map making goodness!

[Whiterook]

ROADS

The most important terrain feature to consider (in my opinion), are Roads. If you are going to to have several maps t that you want to abut against one another, either long or short edged, you are going to want roads to line up with each other from map to map. It’s one of those things that the back of your lizard brain understands intuitively, but you’ve likely not put a great deal of thought into… I mean, “Doesn’t it just happen?” No… it’s planned!

After seeing the starting-geo-map on my ASLSK Map Design kit for making maps on Photoshop Elements, it had me asking the question, “why did the fella that put this kit together, make his starting map with roads-starts placed where they are?”



The answer came when I found the website, ASL-Players.net, and I started looking at the maps in-depth, and seeing that the standard on roads is that, Roads can typically start (looking at he map horizontally, long edge on top and bottom) at common hexes along the long map side and hex spines on the short map edges:

• 8-hexes in from the upper and lower corner, along the long edge; the first hex being a half-hex, and the road-start center of the Hex I and Hex Y
• 16-hexes in from the upper and lower corner, along the long edge; the first hex being a half-hex, and the road-start center of the Hex Q
• 5-hexes in from the upper and lower corner, on the long edge; the first hex being a whole-hex, and the road-start on the hex-side between hex Row 5 and 6
• Road starts can be omitted from any of those starting edge points (such as Hex Y1 in the example map below)
• Roads on the interior of the map can of course, branch out anywhere from those initial map-edge starting points, or solitary roads that do not go to a board edge

An example being Board 33, from the module, “Doomed Battalions”…



When you compare Board 33 to the geo-starting-map, it becomes pretty evident why those are placeholders (which can of course, be erased in-program during design).

An example being Board 40, from the module, “Yanks”, shows the only oddball road start different from all of the other boards, in which it follows the above standard, except for the left edge, where the road starts in the Middle of Hex A8 (instead of the hex spine between Rows 5 and 6)…



So, how common are those bulleted standards above? Well, in the first 52 boards for the main Advanced Squad Leader boxed games, Beyond Valor through Hakkaa Paalle:

• Boards 1-25 have all their board-edge road beginnings start at all or most of those exact hex designations
• Desert Boards 26-31 have absolutely no roads whatsoever
• Boards 32-52 have all their board-edge road beginnings start at all or most of those exact hex designations

So yeah… there’s a definite plan here! Now, there are a ton more boards in ASL and Starter Kit, so I haven’t checked all those yet, but I am assuming they are all set to the same standards as the first 52 boards (…if there are changes, I will amend this post in due time). Note also that Action Packs and convention maps up through Board 60 all conform to this standard, as well.

[Whiterook]

WOODS

Back to the the starting-geo-map on my ASLSK Map Design kit…



I’d similarly wondered why there were starting Woods Hexes at the dual hexes of:

• H1/10, J1/10, L1/10, and N1/10 on the left, top and bottom long map edges
• T1/10, V1/10, X1/10, and Z1/10 on the right, top and bottom long map edges
• A4 and A7 on the left side, short map edge
• GG4 and GG7 on the right side, short map edge

Turns out that much like Roads that start on map edges, Woods share a similar commonality, as seen in the example of Board 1, from the module of “Beyond Valor”…



So, how common are those bulleted standards above? Well, again, in the first 52 boards for the main Advanced Squad Leader boxed games, Beyond Valor through Hakkaa Paalle:

• Boards 1-24 have all their board-edge Woods beginnings start at all or most of those exact hex designations
• Desert Boards 25-31 have absolutely no Woods on the edges whatsoever
• Boards 32-52 have all their board-edge Woods beginnings start at all or most of those exact hex designations

So yeah… there’s a definite plan here, too! There’s no reason you couldn’t add Woods in other map edge hexes, since they aren;t as dependent in extension to other maps like Roads are, since they typically reside within the hex, away from the hex spines.

[Whiterook]

WATER

The only other terrain item that goes right up against an edge hex spine is Water, as see in Board 8, from the module “Beyond Valor”…



…these seem more, far and few between, so you could think of them almost as specialty maps. One’s I’ve seen go side to side edge, and not a major grouping on top map edges.

[Whiterook]

So for map edges, the above are about it… to my knowledge and experience with the system. all other terrain features are in-hex items that don’t touch any edge or hex-spine. If I see over time, that I’m wrong in that, I’ll edit this post and add in whatever I didn’t know about