Update #6
2 days ago
– Wed, Nov 20, 2024 at 04:58:59 AM
Just a quick update to let everyone know that I've gotten the shipping notification for the spiral bound books and I'll be locking the shipping addresses soon. If you haven't filled out a survey (there are still 11 outstanding), or if you want to change your address, now's the time!
Also, I'm giving Backerkit a whirl with the Year Three Compilation of Populated Hexes Monthly, compiling issues 25-36 into a single book. If you're interested in hexcrawl and supplemental material for old school gaming you should check it out.
One More Update
18 days ago
– Mon, Nov 04, 2024 at 12:15:19 PM
I've uploaded a zip file to Drivethru containing two pdfs; one exported at 144 dpi for digital use and one exported at 300 dpi for printing/higher resolution. I've also removed the numbering from the overall world map, since the hexes are pretty small, and instead overlaid vertical and horizontal centerlines that correspond to the four larger scale maps (top left and right, bottom left and right). I'm going to go ahead and send in the print files tomorrow.
Sorry to Bother You
20 days ago
– Sat, Nov 02, 2024 at 12:27:14 PM
I've done a quick test on the the document:
Worldographer lets you set the dpi of an exported image, but the quality of the resolution is also affected by how close you zoom in to export it. I exported a second hex at a much closer zoom and laid this second hex side by side, with the higher quality one on the left, then exported the pdf file at 144 dpi. The result is below; both hexes are fuzzy, even though one is a higher resolution.
I then exported the same file at 300 dpi (which is what I will use for the print files), and the quality is much better.
In both screenshots, the hexes were exported from Worldographer at 300 dpi, so they have the same resolution prior to exporting the pdf. This second file is about three times the size of the lower resolution file. What I will likely do is provide y'all with both pdfs, so you can use whichever one you choose.
Quick Update
20 days ago
– Sat, Nov 02, 2024 at 12:00:50 PM
I'm working on refining the pdf files. When I was testing the resolution on them I was printing out the print version to make sure they were readable when printed, which they were. They were also legible in the proof copies I had printed. Here's what I'm going to work on this weekend.
- All of the hexmap files were exported from Hexographer at 300 dpi, the standard for print, but the entire pdf-ready version is exported at a lower resolution to reduce file size. I'm going to look at two possible solutions: exporting the pdf only file at a higher resolution, which should make the images crisper but will increase the file size. If that doesn't work, I'll embed the images in the document rather than linking them (which is the Affinity default for larger documents, to keep the file size down).
- I think the overall map is too big -- and therefore the hexes and numbers too small -- to be of much use, so I will either eschew the overall map entirely or reduce the size of the four "quadrant" maps so the overall map is a more manageable size. My goal was to have a Continent --> Kingdom --> Individual Hex progression, but I'll have to see how that goes.
I can also provide folks with the print ready pdfs of some of the other files with higher resolution of maps, if that is desired.
Thanks for the input!
Update #5
21 days ago
– Fri, Nov 01, 2024 at 06:06:43 AM
Everyone who has completed a Backerkit survey should be getting a Drivethru link to download the pdf today. I'm going to do a doublecheck for any mistakes this weekend and then if everything looks good I'll order the print on demand proofs and the spiral workbooks beginning of next week.
Here's the cover, with art by Carlos Castilho:
