[UPDATE] - Hexlands gets an illustrated map style (Patreon)

Hey everyone, the latest Hexlands update adds an Illustrated map style, with hand-drawn terrain, biome colors, and an optional paper texture. I wanted that old-school adventure map feel, something you could imagine unfolding on the table before setting off into the wilderness.

It gives your generated worlds a different character, and you can try it on the maps you already have. No need to generate a new region or start your campaign map over.

There are now three styles to choose from: Original, Illustrated, and Mixed. Original keeps the existing artwork, Illustrated gives the terrain the new hand-drawn appearance, and Mixed combines the original land tiles with illustrated liquids.

You can switch between them in both the Hexmap Generator and Hexmap Editor. The GM's choice applies to everyone, and your terrain, roads, rivers, coasts, and markers stay in place when you switch. It is the same campaign map with a different look.

The illustrated style has palettes for all ten biomes, including maps that combine several biomes through Advanced Terrain. Frozen country, muted green tundra, and deeper boreal forests each have their own colors, so the changes in climate remain part of the map.

That carries through to the stranger landscapes too: volcanic lava, dark green wasteland water, and bright toxic water in tainted regions. The terrain illustrations and colors work together to give each region its character.

Two optional effects add a little more atmosphere. Paper Grain gives the colored hexes a textured paper finish, while Animate Liquids adds small patches of movement to water, lava, and other liquids.

Nearby hexes respond with slight delays, then settle back into their usual drawings, with varied calm pauses between ripples. The aim is subtle movement that fits the quieter feel of an old-school map.

Both effects can be enabled independently in Illustrated or Mixed. Once you have installed the update, open the generator or editor, choose a style, and try the effects on an existing map.

Illustrated artwork by Thomas Novosel, from his Strange Tiles pack. Original tile artwork by David Baumgart.

Thanks, as always, for supporting the project!