Hello everyone. It's been a RIDICULOUSLY long time since I've been active here at TG.
I've recently received a commission request to create a set of 3D hex-based map boards for Battletech, and decided to post my progress here.
The TG community has always been fantastic for encouragement and feedback, and besides, posting here will keep me honest and on track.
The person commissioning this map really liked the look of my first jungle waterfall map from way back in the day. This new set of maps I'm going to build uses the same overall arrangement of elevated terrain, but takes advantages of lessons I've learned to make the boards more evenly playable and realistic.
Stylistically, instead of generic rock outcroppings like before, the elevated sections of these boards will be ancient ruins reclaimed by the forest. Think Mayan and Indonesian ruins. The story is that this is an abandoned temple complex that was completely overrun by the jungle thousands of years ago. The original complex had lots of ponds and reflection pools. These, combined with the daily torrential rains, have created lots of waterfalls and streams winding their way throughout the ruins. The complex had wide plazas interspersed with elevated platforms and temples, along with some bridges. These have tumbled apart to create many interesting shapes. Because the entire place used to be paved, I'll be able to indicate hexes with broken hexagonal flagstones intermixed with plants and rubble. Everything will look like heavy forest, but the hexes will be clearly delineated without need for any kind of drawn grid.
Since the boards can be arranged in hundreds of different ways, the cover and woods placement needed to work from multiple directions for balanced play.
Things are arranged so that the elevated ruins can form "forts" that provide semi-cover from multiple directions. There are trees and smaller bits of ruins to provide cover for mechs to leapfrog between as they approach the forts or travel across the map. While there are lots of woods placed in strategic locations to provide cover and block line-of-sight, there are also lots of open lanes for long shots and scattered bits of ruins to allow mechs to climb up and see and shoot over intervening obstacles.
Hunkering down in a base and assaulting a position are equally favored throughout the map design. Snipers have elevated shooting positions and close-in fighters have sufficient cover to get to their optimal ranges without getting picked off.
Hopefully I'll have enough time to really have fun adding lots of little details at the end.
Here are a few SketchUp pics of the map designs in some of their possible arrangements.
![[Image: 34494454693_61e83afcdc_c.jpg]](https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4234/34494454693_61e83afcdc_c.jpg)
![[Image: 34494454623_58c8db14b7_c.jpg]](https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4200/34494454623_58c8db14b7_c.jpg)
![[Image: 34494454523_4399c244f3_c.jpg]](https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4246/34494454523_4399c244f3_c.jpg)
![[Image: 34494454413_9223e389a4_c.jpg]](https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4258/34494454413_9223e389a4_c.jpg)
![[Image: 34494454383_0043db694f_c.jpg]](https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4197/34494454383_0043db694f_c.jpg)
And here are some inspirational pics to give a feel for the look I will be going for.
![[Image: 34494454303_8835cc3814_b.jpg]](https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4223/34494454303_8835cc3814_b.jpg)
![[Image: 34494454263_36f0f04ecb_o.jpg]](https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4223/34494454263_36f0f04ecb_o.jpg)
![[Image: 34494454193_662a344a2b_c.jpg]](https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4284/34494454193_662a344a2b_c.jpg)
![[Image: 34494454113_67b9191680_b.jpg]](https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4257/34494454113_67b9191680_b.jpg)
![[Image: 34494454083_031103a5af_c.jpg]](https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4279/34494454083_031103a5af_c.jpg)
![[Image: 34494454733_1a8d097f45_o.jpg]](https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4207/34494454733_1a8d097f45_o.jpg)
![[Image: 34494454033_71306c30dd_o.jpg]](https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4270/34494454033_71306c30dd_o.jpg)
Now to go get my workshop ready!
I've recently received a commission request to create a set of 3D hex-based map boards for Battletech, and decided to post my progress here.
The TG community has always been fantastic for encouragement and feedback, and besides, posting here will keep me honest and on track.

The person commissioning this map really liked the look of my first jungle waterfall map from way back in the day. This new set of maps I'm going to build uses the same overall arrangement of elevated terrain, but takes advantages of lessons I've learned to make the boards more evenly playable and realistic.
Stylistically, instead of generic rock outcroppings like before, the elevated sections of these boards will be ancient ruins reclaimed by the forest. Think Mayan and Indonesian ruins. The story is that this is an abandoned temple complex that was completely overrun by the jungle thousands of years ago. The original complex had lots of ponds and reflection pools. These, combined with the daily torrential rains, have created lots of waterfalls and streams winding their way throughout the ruins. The complex had wide plazas interspersed with elevated platforms and temples, along with some bridges. These have tumbled apart to create many interesting shapes. Because the entire place used to be paved, I'll be able to indicate hexes with broken hexagonal flagstones intermixed with plants and rubble. Everything will look like heavy forest, but the hexes will be clearly delineated without need for any kind of drawn grid.
Since the boards can be arranged in hundreds of different ways, the cover and woods placement needed to work from multiple directions for balanced play.
Things are arranged so that the elevated ruins can form "forts" that provide semi-cover from multiple directions. There are trees and smaller bits of ruins to provide cover for mechs to leapfrog between as they approach the forts or travel across the map. While there are lots of woods placed in strategic locations to provide cover and block line-of-sight, there are also lots of open lanes for long shots and scattered bits of ruins to allow mechs to climb up and see and shoot over intervening obstacles.
Hunkering down in a base and assaulting a position are equally favored throughout the map design. Snipers have elevated shooting positions and close-in fighters have sufficient cover to get to their optimal ranges without getting picked off.
Hopefully I'll have enough time to really have fun adding lots of little details at the end.

Here are a few SketchUp pics of the map designs in some of their possible arrangements.
![[Image: 34494454693_61e83afcdc_c.jpg]](https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4234/34494454693_61e83afcdc_c.jpg)
![[Image: 34494454623_58c8db14b7_c.jpg]](https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4200/34494454623_58c8db14b7_c.jpg)
![[Image: 34494454523_4399c244f3_c.jpg]](https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4246/34494454523_4399c244f3_c.jpg)
![[Image: 34494454413_9223e389a4_c.jpg]](https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4258/34494454413_9223e389a4_c.jpg)
![[Image: 34494454383_0043db694f_c.jpg]](https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4197/34494454383_0043db694f_c.jpg)
And here are some inspirational pics to give a feel for the look I will be going for.
![[Image: 34494454303_8835cc3814_b.jpg]](https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4223/34494454303_8835cc3814_b.jpg)
![[Image: 34494454263_36f0f04ecb_o.jpg]](https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4223/34494454263_36f0f04ecb_o.jpg)
![[Image: 34494454193_662a344a2b_c.jpg]](https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4284/34494454193_662a344a2b_c.jpg)
![[Image: 34494454113_67b9191680_b.jpg]](https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4257/34494454113_67b9191680_b.jpg)
![[Image: 34494454083_031103a5af_c.jpg]](https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4279/34494454083_031103a5af_c.jpg)
![[Image: 34494454733_1a8d097f45_o.jpg]](https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4207/34494454733_1a8d097f45_o.jpg)
![[Image: 34494454033_71306c30dd_o.jpg]](https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4270/34494454033_71306c30dd_o.jpg)
Now to go get my workshop ready!
