Thursday, April 23, 2015

English Coastline... This Is My FINAL Answer.

Ok folks, if you're here reading this, you've been waiting for this moment for several months if not years for this moment....   May I present to you THE map...  Complete, I'm not changing things, it's good, fini, etc. etc.

Oh wait... that's the ORIGINAL Image...      Let's try this one:



Put these two images side by side and you'll see why it took 2 years to complete.  The above is the original unedited map.  The bottom is the edited map.  Here's a list of things I did to the map it's not all inclusive, I did lots more to it that I'm listing here.

1.  Removal of all 20th century giant power lines.  You know the type, the stand 100ft tall, made of metal and look like they could jolt you with 1.21 Gigawatts.

2.  Adding forests

3.  Sending the waterfront to a guy I know on the Aerodrome forums who goes by the handle PrivateBuzz.  He fixed the waterfornt and made it look great.

4.  Expanding the right city some, to make a bigger target.

5.  Added a Coal Power plant as a target... It's actually the one in my backyard... oh and my backyard and house is also on the map  :)

6.  Added Stow Maries Airfield, last known intact airfield, as it stood back in 1916...

7.  The Cardington Zepplin Sheds.

8.  A factory, a building that is part of Xerox, over in Webster.  Looked good enough to be a nice target.

9.  A railway wandering through the map, complete with several rail stations.

10.  The Charlotte Hojack Rail bridge.  This bridge is long gone, one of the last known to exist, Originally it was a swing bridge that allowed trains to cross the river.


All in all, plenty of targets on the map.  Each 3x5 section has several targets to choose from, many are in the middle of the map, or at least, not too close to the edge, so that it'd prove difficult to turn around after bombing.



This map is going to the printers this weekend for a test print.  if the place I've chosen printed good enough, then I will print more of it.  here is a breakdown of the differnt variations of the map you could get.  In order from top to bottom:  Four 3x5ft sections, Two 3x10ft sections, Two 6x5ft sections


As always, let me know what you think!

Monday, April 20, 2015

English Coastline... Semi-final map....

I have my map "done".  I split it into all parts I wanted to split it into....  BUT....  I found two issues on the map.  One, a traffic Circle...  and second, a bridge that has tree shadows on it... but no trees near to throw those shadows...


This is a preview image of about 10% the original size.  This is to whet your appetite for some coastal bombing runs.

I plan on getting a test print run from a place I know.  We shall see how it turns out.  Once I have my map in my hands next week, I'll let you all know what it looks like and then hopefully just go with the same place and get a bunch printed.  and a really decently priced vinyl map.

Thursday, April 9, 2015

A preview of the coastline


Here is a small shot of one of the 3x5 sections of the map that I have been making.  Note, you've got a fair chunk of the map as water, with a factory near the middle as a target...  don't forget the railway cutting across the lower right section of the map.  Gotta bomb the train!

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Choo Choo!




The last thing going onto the map for a target.  this makes 4 good targets, one per section.

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

England Coastal Map....

The map draws nearer to completion. I have a "mini" version to show you. It's got orange lines in it to show that it's going to be split into 4 equal parts. The map is 7 ft by 11ft. each section is going to be 3.5 x 5.5 foot in size. Take a gander!

Gencon and... The LingSter...

Well, it's that time of year again.  Time to start planning Gencon trip.  I was originally NOT going to go this year, but Ares Games sent out a call to arms.  They wanted people to run some games for them at Gencon to help promote their game.    I felt that I could give it a good college try!

After the initial contact, the person from Ares, Jim, contacted me and said he would love to see an event run on my map, AND that they would love a copy for the booth to run demos on.   So here we are... planning the trip.  My wife is most likely going with me as she cannot stay at home with her present condition with her ALS.  I love that woman for everything she does for me.

Anywhoo...  back to this.  I've gotten the map pretty close to satisfaction, and I have to split it apart and get a print of one section to see how good it looks.  if it looks good, then I will get it printed.  I might even think about selling the map.  who knows.

I've created a couple bombing missions for my two events.  One bombing England, one bombing Germany.

There is more news to follow including scenario rules/guidelines/ and such.   I am providing all materials for the game, all planes.  Yes, I have that much.

Until we meet:

The air was our element, the sky our battlefield. The majesty of the heavens, while it dwarfed us, gave us, I think, a spirit unknown to sturdier men who fought on earth. Nobility surrounded us. We moved like spirits in an airy loom, where wind and cloud and light wove day and night long the endless fabric of the changing sky. 

- Cecil Lewis WWI Fighter pilot.