Making a Traveller style hexmap

Roger Calver

HI,

Im looking at making a hexmap in the style of the Traveller Subsector maps, I have Cosmographer with the Traveller templates but need to change them from the normal 8 parsec by 10 parsec format into 10 by 10 parsec.
Also I need to keep the snap points the same as the Cosmographer ones for planet/name/bases placements.

Any advice and help would be very welcome.

Thanks in advance,

Rog.

Stormcaller3801

Are you working in CC2, or CC3? I can't recall if Cosmographer is adaptable to CC3.

Roger Calver

CC3 and using the Cosmographer compatabilty patch.

Stormcaller3801

Well, based on the standard CC3 tools, I know that under the Draw menu you have the ability to add a hex or square overlay. That translates into grids. You can uncheck the snap function, which I think should let you use the default snap function from the lower right as usual, and you should be able to set the hex size as you see fit. But I could, as always, be wrong.

JimP

Cosmographer is an add-on to CC3.

Finarfin

The cosmographer ist actually an add-on for the cc2, but compatible with cc3 by a patch. Nevertheless not all cc3-options can be used while operating with th cosmographer.

JimP

Well, I have both CC2 and CC3. I used the compatibility update to add Cosmo to CC3.

I have been around a long while, and sometimes I leave out info in my posts. I sometimes forget others haven't been here forever like me.

Roger Calver

Thanks for all your help, Ive been looking into this and it seems the easiest way to go is to use the Sector template and then alter after Ive placed everything.

howardajones

I'm having a similar challenge. I'm trying to create a 16 by 20 parsec map using CC 3 and Cosmographer Pro. There's a default sector template -- two, actually -- that are the exact size I want, but the hexes in these are vertical (they are named Sector LY Vertical Hex.fct and Sector Parsec Vertical Hex.FCT). I want to create a template with the hexes horizontal. Is there a simple way to change these default templates to do that?

I've tried creating a sector grid from scratch, but I'm having a few problems. For some reason, the default on the "from scratch" option seems to be a framed box wider than it is long, and I don't see a way to change it. When I alter the height and width settings on the grid, it just makes the hexes larger or smaller within said framed box rather than altering the length of the framed box.

Any wisdom or help would be greatly appreciated.

Warm Regards,
Howard

Roger Calver

For me the answer was to use the existing Traveller Sector map and then when Im finished I will crop in Coral, Im not sure how to make the type your after sorry.

Rog.

howardajones

Thanks, Roger. I don't have Coral, alas.

Howard

Roger Calver

A free program that allows you to do the same is GIMP or just use MS Paint if your using Windows.

howardajones

Roger, thanks for your suggestion. I discovered that I had Corel, and was able to import a map then crop. Now, though, I can't figure out how to get Cosmographer to open the file.

When you cropped your sector, did you add in a sector legend? I assume that's a Corel trick rather than a Cosmographer one.

Thanks,
Howard

Roger Calver

You cant open the cropped image in Cosmographer, what you have to do is finish the map and then edit it after.

Yeah I added the other parts later when doing the final cropping.

howardajones

Rats -- thanks for letting me know.

Wish there was a simpler i.e. internal Cosmographer way to accomplish it.

Howard

Roger Calver

You can of course zoom in in CC3 and then export this would have a very similar effect.

pvernon

Roger,
Here is the 10x10 subsector map you needed. The steps used were to go to view > view-window color and change the window color to something other than white. Then go to sheets and effect and hide all of the sheets except the common sheet. There will be a box on the common sheet move it to any othe sheet with nothing on it (I used the "Bases" sheet). Back to sheets and effects and select the grid sheet. You should now see only the hex grid. Copy the last two rows on the left side of the hex grid, paste them in position. Back to sheets and effects, select the map borders sheet and hide the grid sheet. adjust the location of the border. Back to sheets and effects select the background sheet and hide the map border sheet. Adjust the background the same way you did the border. Now back to sheets and effects, select the sheet that you put the first box on and hide the background sheet. Move the box back to the common sheet. If the common sheet is not a choise in the selector box, go to the tools > sheets > move to sheet and move the box that way. Now change the window color back to white. Done.

And lastly here is the FCW file. Open it and save as a template. No editing in any other programs etc. I will do the sector map for Howard tomarrow late. By the way you can modify any tempate using this type of a techneque, in just about any way you want.

pvernon

Howard,
This about what you had in mind? It still needs work.

Roger Calver

Thank you very much for making this for me and also the "how to" will be useful later as well.

Rog

howardajones

Thank you very much -- I look forward to trying out the instructions you provided for Roger.

I wasn't able to open the sector parsect.png file, however -- I don't think it got uploaded.

I really appreciate the help; I'd tinkered for hours and hadn't gotten anything worth saving.

Warm Regards,
Howard

pvernon

There is a problem with pngs that I may have stepped into again. Here they are again.

pvernon

Howard please note that the borders on the sector map are not quite right. I have not changed them from the original yet.

howardajones

Thank you for reloading the image. I didn't explain myself well enough -- I was trying to do a QLI style quadrant map, with four sub-sectors. It was my first week of teaching this semester, so I apologize for not getting back to you sooner to thank you for your help. I need to try the steps you shared with Roger to see if I can make those work for me, but I probably won't have time to experiment with those steps until the weekend.

Do you have any idea how to alter the "map legend?" I'd love to add some other planet designations, and remove some of the other designations, like prison planet, for instance. I've dug around in the graphic files and can't seem to find a way to pull up the map legend to tweak it.

best wishes,
Howard

pvernon

Sure, every part of any template is editable by a user, all you need to do is find which sheets and layers the objects are on and then manipulate them as you see fit. Most of the time legends are on the "map boarder" sheet. Also it helps if you freeze layers or hide sheets of the stuff you don't want to work with or get in your way at the moment. When you are done save as a template.

Last ask more question if you need to!

howardajones

Many thanks! I didn't have time to dig deep, but I just popped open a sector map, went to the border layer, and BAM, started deleting.

I appreciate your time and assistance very much. When I get time this weekend to mess with it I'll try to post a result.

best,
Howard