Spiff's Tactics accessories <Best Player Aid Idea 2014 Award Winner>

Last night, as I was happily assembling a combo 3/4 skyscraper 4-hex building (it looks great), I decided that I should probably put together a second set of basic elevations as well, similar to the blank ones I made for kitmehsu but with actual art, for people who don't want to deal with the more complex assemblies but who would like the terrain to still look like little buildings.

I find the multi-hex buildings to be very satisfying to design, build, and use on the maps - they're not as easy to bump around, they look great because there's no gaps between individual hex sections, and because they're multi-hex, there's more room inside them for your fingers which makes assembling them paradoxically easier (I find) than the single-hex terrain.  But there's no denying that they are more complicated papercraft projects than single-hex terrain, and because each one is designed for a specific spot on a specific map tile, you have find the right ones and lay them out in the right places on your map, which could slow down your game setup (?).

In any case, I figure some people will just want to print out a page of single-hex elevations and scatter them around the map, which is perfectly acceptable, but they may not want to use the blank white ones I posted the other day.  So the next time I make an update to the terrain file, I'll include a set of one-hex elevations with various building art on them so people can have a simple-to-assemble yet pretty-to-look-at set of Megalopolis terrain to use.

When I get to the Insula Primalis terrain, I'll do the same thing -- a set of multi-hex location-specific elevations, plus a set of more generic one-hex elevations.  (the volcano is going to be great...)

Just a thought -- you could put map tile reference numbers on the inside of the buildings, to make matching them to their appropriate tiles easier?

I've been hand lettering the map tile number on my foam core buildings, so I can at least sort them quickly. Applying them to the correct hexes on a tile still takes thought, but I don't see a good way around that.

I have printed out and assembled all of Spiff's buildings for tiles 5 and 6, and plan on doing the rest when Spiff finishes.  This was my first real papercraft project, and I didn't have much trouble with the complex shapes.  I did a few prototypes with black and white printing on cheapo paper to practice - first a one hex building, then the 2 hex multiheight cathedral, and finally the crazy purple building on tile 5.  Then I printed all 4 pages in color on 72 lb coverstock at Staples.

I also put the tile number on the inside with a sharpie.

My theory is that since the complex buildings are one piece, they will be just as easy to set up as a pile of single hex pieces.  Especially on tiles like #1, where you'd have a choice between 12 individual hexes or 3 buildings :)

Doing that would require printing on both sides of the paper, which would be a pain.  I suppose I could put a small tile number somewhere on the outside of the building, if that would be helpful.

That's a great idea.

You're probably right.  If no one cares about generic one-hex terrains, I won't bother, at least not until I've finished everything else.

It's starting to look more like a real city now, huh?  I've started to refer to the various tiles by neighborhood names as I keep the files organized on my computer - Old Town has the cemetary, Star Plaza has the star-shaped building, and The Peaks has lots of sky-scrapers:

![](upload://qmHbRvjttv3fKejZbNv0Anef8Dq.jpeg)

Tile #1 (The Peaks) is now included in the .zip file on my site.

![](upload://gRgM7E9S31tNxzPGO3lk8YS4UAk.jpeg)

I also went ahead and posted the set of basic terrain with colored skins like I mentioned previously, in case anyone wants to make one-hex buildings.

Megalopolis_0.jpg

The Peaks.jpg

Looks beautiful. Is it difficult to get pieces onto the streets between the buildings?

Is it difficult to get pieces onto the streets between the buildings?

It can be a little tight between the tall buildings, especially with minis that extend over the edge of their base, like Tachyon.  It's not too big a deal to just slide the building back in place if you nudge it though.

Spiff, how do you create your templates?  Is there a papercrafting specific app out there, or do you use a generic graphics program?

I use Photoshop for just about all of it.

Tile #4 (Civic Center) has been included in the terrain file on my site.  We're halfway to a full set of 8!

Cool! I'll get them done tonight. Can't wait to get the whole city. (I have no art ability at all so I have to wait for someone else to do it :(  )

Just out of curiosity, what kind of weighted paper are most printing this out on and has anyone tried wraping the paper around foamcore to make it more sturdy?

I print mine on 110 lb. card stock paper, easy to get at an office supply store. I can't imagine they'd need to be made any sturdier than they are unless you're worried about damage during transport (i.e. getting squished). The hexagonal columns are more than sturdy enough to hold up the minis. 

I used 72lb paper, Elmer's white glue, and haven't yet bothered to tape any of the flaps.  The tip about the pennies is dead on though - just that tiny amount of extra weight keeps them from sliding around as much.  I've done tiles 1, 5 and 6, which include some of the 4 height buildings, and they all hold up Omnitron without a hint of buckling, though getting Omni to balance on these is a bit trickier than on top of an elevation 2 building :)

Tile #7 (Heroes Square) has been included in the terrain file.  It has the hospital, police, and fire stations.

Made and played. Really adds a lot. City looks cool in 3d, you can see how well designed it is. 

I've added a link to the Tactics FAQ on my site.

You should put a little Spiff waving in one of the windows of the buildings.

Heh, I should.

I've included tile #3 (Liberty Blvd) in the terrain file on my site.  We're down to just tile #2 and #8 (Freedom Tower) left to complete the Megalopolis set.

Also, I ran across a new tip for using the terrain - where two structures touch each other, which usually only happens at the edges of the Megalopolis tiles but will happen much more often in Insula Primalis tiles, you can connect them with a paper clip.  This makes them really hug each other tightly so there's no space between things which shouldn't have space between them, and it makes the entire connected assembly that much sturdier.