I had hoped to fight the first battle of my Eastern Front/Great Patriotic War mini-campaign today, but my wargame/toy room was very hot (even with the tower fan going full blast, it was over 35°C!) and the 42% humidity made it feel very oppressive in there. I found it difficult to concentrate, and became very drowsy after only a few minutes, so in the end I gave up the uneven struggle and postponed fighting my wargame until the weather becomes cooler.
Instead of fighting that wargame, I retired to our living room (which was relatively cool) and managed to do things that I hope will be of use to me in the future. Firstly, I ordered a new laptop to replace the one that had caused me problems some weeks back, and secondly, I began to learn how to draw hex gridded maps using PowerPoint. I am hoping that once I’ve acquired this skill, it will speed up the process of producing maps for my wargames.
Instead of fighting that wargame, I retired to our living room (which was relatively cool) and managed to do things that I hope will be of use to me in the future. Firstly, I ordered a new laptop to replace the one that had caused me problems some weeks back, and secondly, I began to learn how to draw hex gridded maps using PowerPoint. I am hoping that once I’ve acquired this skill, it will speed up the process of producing maps for my wargames.
My first attempt at using Microsoft PowerPoint to draw an 8 x 9 hexed grid and some terrain features.
Hi Bob,
ReplyDelete35Deg C for your Hobby Room is very hot and uncomfortable- glad you were able to retreat and learn Microsoft PowerPoint in better comfort. When my Shed is hot in Summer I open up the back and front doors for a breeze and it does work as we live on a hill. Today it has been raining heavily, very gusty winds and it has been freezing- I'm reluctant to stay in my Shed painting figures- especially at night in these conditions. Hopefully tomorrow morning and mid-day I can get to my 18mm Regiments and get them painted- I need about four hours for this. Looking forward to your WW2 Campaign when things cool down for you. Best Wishes. KEV.
Kev Robertson (Kev),
DeleteI know it’s too hot in there when the sweat begins to run into my eyes, even with the tower fan going full blast!
I know quite a few people who use PowerPoint to draw their maps, and I thought that I’d give it a go. I’m on a steep learning curve, but I’m gradually getting there.
I think that I’d prefer to have my problem of too much heat than yours of having rain, high wind, and low temperature. At least I can find somewhere cooler elsewhere in our house where I can work.
I’m looking forward to seeing your new regiments when they are finished. I like the idea of a mid nineteenth century imagi-nations fighting each other (I have several of my own), and if I wasn’t up to my eyes trying to move my WW2 project forwards, I may we’ll be doing something with them.
All the best,
Bob
Hi Bob,
DeleteThat is interesting that you'd consider a 1860s type Imaginations theme- perhaps after your WW2 Campaign? Still a lot of rain and cold- didn't get anything done to-day. Perhaps tomorrow. I've four Infantry Regiments to paint and then another four will arrive from Eureka along with two guns. Plenty to do -and it'l take some time to complete it all- definitely not rushing this. Cheers.KEV.
Kev Robertson (Kev),
DeleteI suspect I’d opt for an imagi-nations campaign set sometime between 1870 and 1890.
It’s hot again today, but I’m going to try to get some stuff done in my toy/wargame room. I’ve had the windows open for some time to get the air circulating, and I have a tower fan ready to switch on as soon as I walk in.
I hope that your weather improves soon so that you can get your painting done.
All the best,
Bob
Bob,
ReplyDeleteI seem to recall that - a fair few years ago - you were recommending Cyberboard for hex map making. I still seem to have the PDF versions of three tutorials you produced on this system. Is this something you've given up - or had to give up due to it not being updated for years - and is PowerPoint actually better?
I have PowerPoint but must admit that I've never had reason to use it (and had not thought of using it as a general graphics program rather than to create and display slides).
As for the heat, the second coolest place at home today has been sitting outside in the garden - all parasols raised of course - as there was a reasonably cool breeze, though the shade temperature outside is still climbing. The coolest place is my workshop at the bottom of my garden but this is not really suitable for the socially distanced small lunch party we are giving,
Best Regards,
Mike
Mike Hall,
DeleteI had to delete Cyberboard because every time I used it, my computer crashed or froze. It took me a long time to work out that a recent Window update was causing a clash with Cyberboard ... so it had to go.
There are several versions of THE PORTABLE WARGAME available that can be played on a computer using a gridded board and units created using PowerPoint, and I thought that I’d give it a try. So far, I’m finding it easier to use that I expected, and the results are better than the maps symbols I produce using MS Paint, my default drawing program.
The back of our house faces south-west, and gets the sun from about 10.30am onwards. At present the temperature outside and in our conservatory is in the low thirties (as It is my toy/wargame room), whereas our living room - which is in the front of the house - is in shade for most of the day, and is relatively cool.
Have a great lunch,
Bob
I use MappingBoard to draw maps, then render the maps as image files which can be imported as a background into Powerpoint (or Google Slides). Then you can set up the units as PP elements on the background map.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.10mm-wargaming.co.uk/2016/05/mappingboard.html
the biggest problem I have at the moment is I can't get Toms military symbol truetype fonts to install on Windows 10, so I hae to cut and paste them out of the military symbols on MappingBoard.
Martin Rapier,
DeleteI haven’t used MappingBoard, but it sounds interesting. I’ll have a look at it later today.
I must admit that I haven’t tried using Tom’s military symbol fonts since installing Windows 10. Perhaps he needs a gentle nudge to suggest a solution.
All the best,
Bob