The outline of the rectandle will be painted in the Material and Component on the current Layer. Rectangle: Click the start hex and then move the end hex and click again to define the bounds of the rectangle.You may also hold the mouse button down and drag it to paint over multiple hexes. Paint: When you click the mouse on the highlighted hex, it is filled with the active Material and Component on the current Layer.These are core tools that control how you add elements to the map. It ranges from 0 (pure black) to 255 (pure white). Outline: This slider controls how dark the hex grid outline is.Drag the slider to change the zoom level until you get a size that is comfortable for you to work in.
#Hex map designer update
You can enter new numbers and then click the Update button to change the size of the map. Rows are the number of hexes going from left to right, and columns the number of hexes going from top to bottom. Rows and Columns: These set how large your map area is.
It will be used as the filename when saving the map file, and when exporting map image. Map Name: This is the name of your map.This section contains these basic information and settings on your map project. If you want the Town on top, erase both elements from the hex, add the Forest, then add the Town. So for example if you are on the Symbology layer and have a Town in a hex which you want to add a Forest to, if the Forest is added second it will draw on top of the Town. These will draw in the order they were added, with the most recent one on top. While elements are drawn in order based on their layer, you can also have multiple elements within a hex on the same layer. Since Features, Terrains, and Annotations all sit on the Symbology layer, the Eraser tool will erase all three from the same hex.Ī final word about the draw order. So you can remove walls on the Overlay layer without destroying the floors laid on the Base layer. One nice thing about the Layers is that the Eraser tool only works on the currently selected layer. Megahexes: This layer contains only the megahex overlay grid, and is superimposed over the entire map when turned on.These sit on top of the literal map elements and tell the viewer more about what the hex contains. Symbology: This layer contains all of the symbology elements - Features, Terrains, and Annotations.This was intended so that you could use the same material (like stone or wood) for both the floor on Base and the walls on Overlay, and they would stand out from each other. Elements drawn on this layer will use a darker version of the selected colour. Walls, paths, and other elements which occupy just part of a hex work well here, since the Base layer will show through the unuses parts of the hex. Overlay: This layer sits above the Base layer and is designed for building block elements.This is useful for elements that will have nothing further drawn below them, such as floors, bodies of water, and base colours for terrains. The layer that an element is drawn on determines whether it appears above or below another element in that hex. Layers are the different planes on which you can draw, and can be thought of a stack of clear sheets that your drawings go onto.
#Hex map designer how to
Layersīefore we get into how to use Shamat, it is useful to quickly cover the concept of layers as they apply to this program. All design elements can be used for any map, but some you may find more useful for one kind than the other. Terrain maps cover a much larger scale and depict the various kinds of landscapes found at that scale, such as forests, mountains, rivers, lakes, roads, and so forth. Dungeon maps represent underground structures and overland buildings with walls, floors, corridors, doors, stairs and such. The main purpose of this tool is for creating dungeon maps and terrain maps. These elements may be drawn in various colours, and many of them can be rotated and flip to produce additional visual effects. Shamat uses a hexagonal grid, on which you will draw map elements.
#Hex map designer download
Download Shamat Use Online Shamat User Guide Basic Concepts