tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8994051818437645562024-03-12T16:16:36.039-07:00dxContent - Not so random thoughtsThe Blog by the developer of dxContent.com a place with tools for the over-worked game master. Includes, random generators, generator tools and mapping tools.Brian Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16226203579969880161noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899405181843764556.post-67874598959490356702014-03-23T21:54:00.000-07:002014-03-24T07:11:12.657-07:00dxContent 3D Dungeon Tiles Get Walls!Technically we have "half" walls that work with dxContent 3D Dungeon Tiles or can be used on all types of battle mats or even classic cardboard tiles. Walls are available now in the dxContent <a href="http://www.dxcontent.com/store/index.html" target="_blank">store</a>!<br />
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Lets take a quick look at the walls in full glory!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2tOXx4LKqsTwCpHUhrbfEyiJ2OpeoWfVl4LyxD2HrNuFKzruhAq6MqHGORrHmuU1hIRY1azrcASnRbJxDdRbTfgz4WO0hpOQTRxHLs7k8Gvd19v9Tjowqhsjf_hHEyXXIGcFaQGQN77U/s1600/HalfWalls_InPlay_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2tOXx4LKqsTwCpHUhrbfEyiJ2OpeoWfVl4LyxD2HrNuFKzruhAq6MqHGORrHmuU1hIRY1azrcASnRbJxDdRbTfgz4WO0hpOQTRxHLs7k8Gvd19v9Tjowqhsjf_hHEyXXIGcFaQGQN77U/s1600/HalfWalls_InPlay_1.jpg" height="427" width="640" /></a></div>
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A column of dwarves come upon a battle with two viscous beasts.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Why Half Walls?</b></span><br />
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The big benefit of "half" walls is that you can see the minis - very important for games like D&D or Pathfinder. The "half" walls are 2 inches long (a scale 10 foot wall section). <br />
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<i>(NOTE: We expect to add 1" walls at some point.)</i><br />
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Here are some of the renderings we showed our focus group of gamers that demonstrate the full wall height problem. Both renderings have the same red minis in the same locations... the full height walls (while cool looking) obscured too much... hindering the game. We showed views at different angles to simulate standing or sitting at a game table... and in all cases our players preferred the half walls.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWwUXVFJBuwpFpebSgyC40j2mYrHfvlf7XROQJ-jYW9ZUlp1ryNWJO2GC-0Fy928b6yu3WrDMPOkxA6rXjbpxj1jRyqeiJVokwEB22NUjVO0hkLRHlCjOTVNskx9hs44T-VW4MmwVWuao/s1600/Preview_FullWalls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWwUXVFJBuwpFpebSgyC40j2mYrHfvlf7XROQJ-jYW9ZUlp1ryNWJO2GC-0Fy928b6yu3WrDMPOkxA6rXjbpxj1jRyqeiJVokwEB22NUjVO0hkLRHlCjOTVNskx9hs44T-VW4MmwVWuao/s1600/Preview_FullWalls.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Full height walls obscure the action</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3p3Q3ZqdLl3jDOSFtBXiMa7g2B979J8Qh2d5N2vfp4XKU7ZGg53KdFEqk8gdrKoBU_VhgCQ2uhqnFMKIL9Ywi3IwIWIscNmPWsOdAGaHKmPk8HrUm1G9HT5kQ4oSUVixaKPQ__giHBRk/s1600/Preview_HalfWalls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3p3Q3ZqdLl3jDOSFtBXiMa7g2B979J8Qh2d5N2vfp4XKU7ZGg53KdFEqk8gdrKoBU_VhgCQ2uhqnFMKIL9Ywi3IwIWIscNmPWsOdAGaHKmPk8HrUm1G9HT5kQ4oSUVixaKPQ__giHBRk/s1600/Preview_HalfWalls.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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"Half" walls are the perfect solution!</div>
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The careful observer will see half doors, half bars, and a half arrow slit in the renderings. Yes, we've got plans! We've already got a prototype door model we are playing with. So as you can see we'll be adding a variety of models to the "half" wall line. We have a whopping eight model variations in our initial half wall offering.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Tiles Optional</b></span><br />
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Another neat thing about our "Half" walls is that they can be used even if you don't use tiles. I've seen everything from kids blocks to dominoes used to layout dungeons. We wanted something just as convenient, but something that did not interrupt the "immersion". Here's our half walls being used on a typical laminated battle mat:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuIG2PCzT04FYtq3YxnKlrA88EwX4IJTvkJQYC0mdWUWGqF7qFKbsrlmTj1XPZnw5TZ8_1F8SjVZRMD3dcQpFXfOKvwVc8ucsij087kSLZfQGmTj76pNLsF0kYXFFCvWLFW6M5L_7oEt4/s1600/HalfWalls_OnBattleMat_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuIG2PCzT04FYtq3YxnKlrA88EwX4IJTvkJQYC0mdWUWGqF7qFKbsrlmTj1XPZnw5TZ8_1F8SjVZRMD3dcQpFXfOKvwVc8ucsij087kSLZfQGmTj76pNLsF0kYXFFCvWLFW6M5L_7oEt4/s1600/HalfWalls_OnBattleMat_2.jpg" height="456" width="640" /></a></div>
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Notice that figs can still reasonably fit into spaces that the wall occupies</div>
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With small pieces like this... we recommend two small bits of inexpensive, non-toxic, re-usable adhesive like<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px;">Bostick's</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-Tack" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px;" target="_blank"> Blu-Tack</a><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px;"> or Elmer's </span><a href="http://www.elmers.com/product/detail/E1531?filterPath=putty" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px;" target="_blank">Tac 'N Stik</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> to hold them in place but allow for easy </span>re-positioning<span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So how did this great idea come about? Well, if there is a limitation to tiles, it is that it can be a challenge to subdivide the tile space into smaller rooms. Consider this drawing...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguZavtTytXpMS-9NnGD2999fK6-ux12hsYl8rAMXBVOskkvZO8mzgRCIAlxoDAdUwxZ4cI9t5p5staTsKZns4EFArpBoMnyOmduMKqMLABhtxIl_zVnm54HPiehrCPO3i_lSYbkgW_SiA/s1600/HowHalfWallsHelp.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguZavtTytXpMS-9NnGD2999fK6-ux12hsYl8rAMXBVOskkvZO8mzgRCIAlxoDAdUwxZ4cI9t5p5staTsKZns4EFArpBoMnyOmduMKqMLABhtxIl_zVnm54HPiehrCPO3i_lSYbkgW_SiA/s1600/HowHalfWallsHelp.gif" height="320" width="274" /></a></div>
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We can easily make a 50x60 foot dungeon area... plunk down two 6x6 inch tiles, and two 4x6 inch tiles. That's easy. But we always knew that maximum flexibility comes with the ability to easily divide that space up. <br />
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Our competitors make some neat stuff with the walls built into the floor sections, but the problem with that approach is that you end up having to own or purchase specific, specialized pieces to make the above map...<br />
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The beauty of the dxContent approach to all of our tile products is maximum reusability of every dxContent 3D Dungeon Tile you own.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB8tzssRQXdegiGeGrknRSLD5VuCAkhzkbV0DqcWDtCq0y_DxX6U6tX6q7qDTHk2zJPMNGkkQHWN7Q-lbqDvhEdk0cM58dZ7_owybSK1adz4tZepISLSlaRRan17zePjNzQ1LRlfN04fk/s1600/HalfWalls_InPlay_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB8tzssRQXdegiGeGrknRSLD5VuCAkhzkbV0DqcWDtCq0y_DxX6U6tX6q7qDTHk2zJPMNGkkQHWN7Q-lbqDvhEdk0cM58dZ7_owybSK1adz4tZepISLSlaRRan17zePjNzQ1LRlfN04fk/s1600/HalfWalls_InPlay_2.jpg" height="425" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />Brian Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16226203579969880161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899405181843764556.post-26451589063087880452014-03-10T21:59:00.003-07:002014-03-10T21:59:56.903-07:00Is it 2014 Already?It seems like just yesterday it was New Years Eve. We had a big rush of orders in December, and one HUGE order that consisted of 1000+ tiles. We were so darn busy our one year anniversary of making <a href="http://www.dxcontent.com/store/index.html" target="_blank">3D Dungeon Tiles</a> came and went!<br />
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I have been busy making tiles to replenish inventory and get some of the newer products ready for production. We've got some new equipment set up in the shop including a big belt sander (that I dropped on my thumb - oh that hurt!). We also created molds for 3 new stone texture 1x4s.<br />
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I've got a set of new wood-plank style master models ready for mold making... tomorrow I pick up the necessary supplies to make it all happen. Soon you should see...<br />
<ul>
<li>Wood texture 6x6</li>
<li>Wood texture 4x4</li>
<li>Wood texture 4x6</li>
<li>Right and Left wood texture boat prows </li>
</ul>
After that probably.... <br />
<ul>
<li>Wood texture 2x6 (2 variations)</li>
<li>Wood texture 2x2 (4 variations)</li>
</ul>
So those will all fit with the wood texture family like the 2x4:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3sMO7Z0pGTXKDI5IQbPLeolBw4-UfU46zKJpcQkkFitesqOtKz7beXbmgmkH_TM_MBd-eukuGw6qw9n_sDsmlHUfjyoRLFLnybSfWImJTeXVS7OMANAYTXPmaGLEnuPi9QcYoQJvS9mM/s1600/F_2x4Wood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3sMO7Z0pGTXKDI5IQbPLeolBw4-UfU46zKJpcQkkFitesqOtKz7beXbmgmkH_TM_MBd-eukuGw6qw9n_sDsmlHUfjyoRLFLnybSfWImJTeXVS7OMANAYTXPmaGLEnuPi9QcYoQJvS9mM/s1600/F_2x4Wood.jpg" /></a></div>
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I've also got some products surprises in the works that I can't talk about yet. <br />
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On the Free DM tools side of things... we manged to get the <a href="http://www.dxcontent.com/MDB_FilterTools_Wrapper.html" target="_blank">Pathfinder Monster Database</a> updated as well as adding a few more search filters.<br />
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So long for now!Brian Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16226203579969880161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899405181843764556.post-67756897733942598392013-06-19T14:43:00.000-07:002013-06-19T14:43:05.902-07:00New Diagonal & Round TilesWe've recently added a slew of new dxContent 3D Dungeon tiles to the store. And with all the tiles available to date you should be able to approximate most typical and drawn dungeons... Here's one I just linked to off the internet (credit to Tim Hartin / <a href="http://paratime.ca/cartography/colour_dungeons2.html">Paratime</a> - creative commons license)...<br />
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<a href="http://paratime.ca/images/fantasy/dungeon-038white.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="347" src="http://paratime.ca/images/fantasy/dungeon-038white.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Some of the larger circle rooms are 5" radius... our largest radius is currently is 4" but you can easily slip in some 1x2s between the four quads and it would be close enough. And with the new diagonals, we've got those angles taken care of now as well.<br />
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Below I've put up a random collection of images showing the new pieces in action.<br />
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<b>Where can you get them?</b><br />
From the dxContent.com <a href="http://dxcontentcom.webhost4life.com/store/index.html">store</a>! You can purchase them in kits:<br />
<ul>
<li>There is a diagonal kit - 1 of each size... 2", 3" and 4" edges - $2.20</li>
<li>And the quarter round kit - 1 of each size... 2", 3" and 4" radius - $4.35</li>
</ul>
If you like to mix and match and get your pieces individually... you can order them from the <a href="http://shop.d20pfsrd.com/">shop.d20pfsrd.com</a>.<br />
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Enjoy!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKuedGaZUsV9GT34xf58lP1D9JfME4Z8DH1xJGT13oOctHJR0brhHjVnonGLXiXp-ctjzPkKRaNzjPwa_ZKJjiEK6k2fIW2p5eoM1uTbLXWSZwPptEEBVkpRC0a9C2Btpol5y63-_p1UQ/s1600/QR_Use_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKuedGaZUsV9GT34xf58lP1D9JfME4Z8DH1xJGT13oOctHJR0brhHjVnonGLXiXp-ctjzPkKRaNzjPwa_ZKJjiEK6k2fIW2p5eoM1uTbLXWSZwPptEEBVkpRC0a9C2Btpol5y63-_p1UQ/s320/QR_Use_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A pair of 3" radius quarter rounds.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJn7SK_nU7yRUlZZmWcSFEg9qjyG6vbVIHHhLb7ecEZuvMqPaaihgOM2jrqsxc9f2-L4RB-w2aLOIRatA6Fa3DEHaR7s7lEkUVa9n0kOOmqW0r1y_KUZibKf7F9AF3CCcbMgFAy4pX9Bo/s1600/QR_Use_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJn7SK_nU7yRUlZZmWcSFEg9qjyG6vbVIHHhLb7ecEZuvMqPaaihgOM2jrqsxc9f2-L4RB-w2aLOIRatA6Fa3DEHaR7s7lEkUVa9n0kOOmqW0r1y_KUZibKf7F9AF3CCcbMgFAy4pX9Bo/s320/QR_Use_2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A pair of 4" radius quarter rounds.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmLdR8n9WyjO-GJFesV0WUWGeM0cpBs7Ccmh6RYeD-2_9Bv3VOsheD6M_pH-nGR6n_gu29RRLnUPAXanmUFkNsMT9ma0dUJRpYpGxeHWX0Sk1DhO6DCgllQ6SSHnKATzQKjKTJwck0pXM/s1600/QR_Use_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmLdR8n9WyjO-GJFesV0WUWGeM0cpBs7Ccmh6RYeD-2_9Bv3VOsheD6M_pH-nGR6n_gu29RRLnUPAXanmUFkNsMT9ma0dUJRpYpGxeHWX0Sk1DhO6DCgllQ6SSHnKATzQKjKTJwck0pXM/s320/QR_Use_3.jpg" width="313" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A pair of 2" radius serves as a bend in a corridor.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyNC0go1rKMD9YiYuaoSJAFuLl4jWNb4a9_yMchIicyXtLYR1XtZudpQCavbe1QunTjShaow0oueVNSV9ffs8BdqgYI6bv2INr9JgzRk-4UpkeHtbgkKLTcGtg4gaEWbnVKKf5Ta5ghtQ/s1600/QR_Use_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyNC0go1rKMD9YiYuaoSJAFuLl4jWNb4a9_yMchIicyXtLYR1XtZudpQCavbe1QunTjShaow0oueVNSV9ffs8BdqgYI6bv2INr9JgzRk-4UpkeHtbgkKLTcGtg4gaEWbnVKKf5Ta5ghtQ/s320/QR_Use_4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An odd shaped room using two 3" radius and one 4" radius quarter round tiles</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBejfcC0Hn1a99_CnyyX1LXLSzcBQjYQxCBgpJQWg3AjbpvuryHNWGTsjMG5TVBmfSQ_fbGn6flto48bR1hRqPLo2oEJCT9sOS6RBl82hWCwILaFlo0lvRwzMjHpF5Ha6-S2oyK-Ck28E/s1600/QR_Use_5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBejfcC0Hn1a99_CnyyX1LXLSzcBQjYQxCBgpJQWg3AjbpvuryHNWGTsjMG5TVBmfSQ_fbGn6flto48bR1hRqPLo2oEJCT9sOS6RBl82hWCwILaFlo0lvRwzMjHpF5Ha6-S2oyK-Ck28E/s320/QR_Use_5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Now we are getting fancy by adding an alcove to a room and a curved stage/dais.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJpBe-vVrZWhOOeLHGUhcp1Ln8smyu0FgVOlBqcBn18CGQ-HSFw4K1_IO2lc3zeWjLCZpu5cgVFatNnrYQ8IvgK3q6spieNce7LpaJI4Fw33ckCPb1ou6YguO3C6xVrLmZap0Lok5d01Y/s1600/QR_Use_6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJpBe-vVrZWhOOeLHGUhcp1Ln8smyu0FgVOlBqcBn18CGQ-HSFw4K1_IO2lc3zeWjLCZpu5cgVFatNnrYQ8IvgK3q6spieNce7LpaJI4Fw33ckCPb1ou6YguO3C6xVrLmZap0Lok5d01Y/s320/QR_Use_6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another odd shaped round room.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihfArScWVK6mQqNMUWQsKJFGWx7Gp_XkKRKvKgGKDZqb1uRfW6OUPJqjSZ9FEvV7DeHeR_W3jOcrE-JdcIKjfNQVGxuXP-qBaVmOfb4xJX1cP4FLTlQStfbrxsujcH_p6UXNj8n7tbrlo/s1600/QR_Use_7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihfArScWVK6mQqNMUWQsKJFGWx7Gp_XkKRKvKgGKDZqb1uRfW6OUPJqjSZ9FEvV7DeHeR_W3jOcrE-JdcIKjfNQVGxuXP-qBaVmOfb4xJX1cP4FLTlQStfbrxsujcH_p6UXNj8n7tbrlo/s320/QR_Use_7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Corner stairs?</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiWwbP1vAuZxBjznDeweS-ZZTZHd6q6YUq-uvpsZ7YLD8bJa58posc7thIFyigc6OGgBUX7xUxxqqak0V_el9ff3JxoKznsSNo68PEEnvACRvVD1nXRwlJ9RWSFiczcTNYT_hYZyUdNRU/s1600/Use_1_Diagonal.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiWwbP1vAuZxBjznDeweS-ZZTZHd6q6YUq-uvpsZ7YLD8bJa58posc7thIFyigc6OGgBUX7xUxxqqak0V_el9ff3JxoKznsSNo68PEEnvACRvVD1nXRwlJ9RWSFiczcTNYT_hYZyUdNRU/s320/Use_1_Diagonal.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A pair of 2" edge diagonals make a hallway.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyRcDxvFTrvPgatbcK27_KEXwJMPG1b1lhTwD4ClVTfHh5TgmdwRW25IxyI0gn8BuiFSVVQZhMJ-F89o_UXB8ANLokGnxAO1QxEajJH8qv2SoRQy4PU8I6F4pUxlYMg50G7NfZaibtuhY/s1600/Use_2_Diagonal.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyRcDxvFTrvPgatbcK27_KEXwJMPG1b1lhTwD4ClVTfHh5TgmdwRW25IxyI0gn8BuiFSVVQZhMJ-F89o_UXB8ANLokGnxAO1QxEajJH8qv2SoRQy4PU8I6F4pUxlYMg50G7NfZaibtuhY/s320/Use_2_Diagonal.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A pair of 2" diagonals chisel off a room and a pair of 2" radius quarter rounds crate a dais.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilLSp5hB6O9Hckb0lFQcmzAUMYTpCtHTAGazrYFqEIAJCLRaH3rUCDso6kSvBQ4PoTQWzzuyJs05GWGTiodlt43f2wYjXVSM0BAYkLLuX5mQdhPjl8ANqbAph-IdWnQX5_rckoDhN6SIg/s1600/Use_3_Diagonal.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilLSp5hB6O9Hckb0lFQcmzAUMYTpCtHTAGazrYFqEIAJCLRaH3rUCDso6kSvBQ4PoTQWzzuyJs05GWGTiodlt43f2wYjXVSM0BAYkLLuX5mQdhPjl8ANqbAph-IdWnQX5_rckoDhN6SIg/s320/Use_3_Diagonal.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I pictured a chasm between to flared hallways....</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLZmkfoGRIe6Y6Y3H8DpyhCnJY4tplHkomnH6LU0nhtBCWXt7YyZ64a5j4wm8dli7Ik85YdSwXDRF_Cdda9l7x0kBcBiLneB3ohK5k9iIoRxfOab5Xct9rB1ZUDkazRJMzirI9JEwvMFA/s1600/Use_4_Diagonal.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLZmkfoGRIe6Y6Y3H8DpyhCnJY4tplHkomnH6LU0nhtBCWXt7YyZ64a5j4wm8dli7Ik85YdSwXDRF_Cdda9l7x0kBcBiLneB3ohK5k9iIoRxfOab5Xct9rB1ZUDkazRJMzirI9JEwvMFA/s320/Use_4_Diagonal.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just getting creative and demonstrating how you can branch off a diagonal.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEintjZjvJYpQ8H62FszRIgT7QuQrkIpwodUIgu47e6qPaaLBGwuKDBy7xzR6AT8Q2pVzn7-qDxGwB7R7BHz_uU0a1LQFS_nyNA8yUBzhygfGLXNpWd4OPcQgi84akaax497uM5WQDXY-4E/s1600/F_DiagKit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEintjZjvJYpQ8H62FszRIgT7QuQrkIpwodUIgu47e6qPaaLBGwuKDBy7xzR6AT8Q2pVzn7-qDxGwB7R7BHz_uU0a1LQFS_nyNA8yUBzhygfGLXNpWd4OPcQgi84akaax497uM5WQDXY-4E/s320/F_DiagKit.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Diagonal Tile kit.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9DqbcYG19swF8I8CXe79GL-by2BOh3T8PQW2x4zxEVsxjCSY6U-YepuR71fH29j-2nk1sBs2PPTvymn9e731E9fuRu4a_u3ZCcldQw_HB26cdnkLz2bn95m6fqhd6B48oAUKVOq83864/s1600/F_QuadKit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9DqbcYG19swF8I8CXe79GL-by2BOh3T8PQW2x4zxEVsxjCSY6U-YepuR71fH29j-2nk1sBs2PPTvymn9e731E9fuRu4a_u3ZCcldQw_HB26cdnkLz2bn95m6fqhd6B48oAUKVOq83864/s320/F_QuadKit.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Quarter Round Tile kit.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />Brian Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16226203579969880161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899405181843764556.post-24033663701464055802013-06-05T21:00:00.001-07:002013-06-05T21:00:33.607-07:00Quarter round tiles available!I've added some new tiles to the 3D Dungeon Tile line 2", 3" and 4" radius quarter round tiles. You can really add some variety to your dungeons with quarter round tiles. Check out some of these quick shots of what you can do...<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzWWSEh7fMxJ4rUGnK1EfWCf9lpW9_BpRClT-T4f6VfPsPwwDizBk4S_BNZLr1GsxPIenx35Irv1XAAQBLlx8iq3dbADbVPWbXJTeM2jDtiKIe7jqT_2jbeRT5c6MIfI5qF1nfOlAzDHQ/s1600/QR_Use_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzWWSEh7fMxJ4rUGnK1EfWCf9lpW9_BpRClT-T4f6VfPsPwwDizBk4S_BNZLr1GsxPIenx35Irv1XAAQBLlx8iq3dbADbVPWbXJTeM2jDtiKIe7jqT_2jbeRT5c6MIfI5qF1nfOlAzDHQ/s320/QR_Use_1.jpg" title="" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A pair of 3" Quarter rounds</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXK8HJdAyjZFh0VTSvVTXPAkLgaslJ0NhZbuVyNSvuvpVZiEnU0UEFLU46wn9_R9fvAx2tZUVeBQkkke09rTWaQaE4Cl6MdKE6UYgA5MR_FsTc7DGa3atvVTlgAhd3-0hZvU6HY2R2oCA/s1600/QR_Use_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXK8HJdAyjZFh0VTSvVTXPAkLgaslJ0NhZbuVyNSvuvpVZiEnU0UEFLU46wn9_R9fvAx2tZUVeBQkkke09rTWaQaE4Cl6MdKE6UYgA5MR_FsTc7DGa3atvVTlgAhd3-0hZvU6HY2R2oCA/s320/QR_Use_2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A pair of 4" Quarter rounds</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif6ttq0LCrbfkhZDW5Zh3rgenmaKdvFlqw6AjayzlL-jkv4ivngLKNtl2fd7veBYwBZk0nqN9HqCpLSbjkXpGT6u2po9n8wkMMNefZsAY0d1XGPvMieRgnr-TkVnZorog0I0N2lHbFwtQ/s1600/QR_Use_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif6ttq0LCrbfkhZDW5Zh3rgenmaKdvFlqw6AjayzlL-jkv4ivngLKNtl2fd7veBYwBZk0nqN9HqCpLSbjkXpGT6u2po9n8wkMMNefZsAY0d1XGPvMieRgnr-TkVnZorog0I0N2lHbFwtQ/s320/QR_Use_3.jpg" width="313" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A 2" Quarter Round - great for a bend in a hallway</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjitCd0FQ0nthnOhn1qfIeA-gdomNuLKkPy5WSL8bA7oYyJukZqDRTGqv0zhIoj3NF9GKkt856sDYlqVTJVaukH0tE5tu-Bq3lBilzPR9Rrf2iTFaEAcVT9n0sy_fyKIBp1u74pWJGsCpM/s1600/QR_Use_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjitCd0FQ0nthnOhn1qfIeA-gdomNuLKkPy5WSL8bA7oYyJukZqDRTGqv0zhIoj3NF9GKkt856sDYlqVTJVaukH0tE5tu-Bq3lBilzPR9Rrf2iTFaEAcVT9n0sy_fyKIBp1u74pWJGsCpM/s320/QR_Use_4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spiffy room configuration</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtI6s1w06DB87J8kt712V23kJE5L8mTvgcnG98v4Ir7Gc9H5Z1dX0bO7MkcXW8Wb2lkEMedtXDi4YrYBfdikH_y_6qwkIdoCcydfW6fOikbSqb4eH1e6n3l0ZImACsXjJodilnUbHzFio/s1600/QR_Use_5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtI6s1w06DB87J8kt712V23kJE5L8mTvgcnG98v4Ir7Gc9H5Z1dX0bO7MkcXW8Wb2lkEMedtXDi4YrYBfdikH_y_6qwkIdoCcydfW6fOikbSqb4eH1e6n3l0ZImACsXjJodilnUbHzFio/s320/QR_Use_5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Round balcony / alcove and round dais</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjva52fvsQCnOEJ9JIE7R3mQVCeI-OhXs6iTnCd3nG1w5BplWG5iHLONd-XjSZ2Rq7kT6Ir23qyxMUS_RNarr3X7cr4Dtm7zVX-Mtj7JqOv1IKotBv1V4aovGgiGgcrtb06hXkwFR_qw44/s1600/QR_Use_6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjva52fvsQCnOEJ9JIE7R3mQVCeI-OhXs6iTnCd3nG1w5BplWG5iHLONd-XjSZ2Rq7kT6Ir23qyxMUS_RNarr3X7cr4Dtm7zVX-Mtj7JqOv1IKotBv1V4aovGgiGgcrtb06hXkwFR_qw44/s320/QR_Use_6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another easy to make room shape</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSYbOq8t7iXRKyNyruNbxOQTANOWZE8Qfbr9N1JZvlnuCH8tcfN-Ns4Fg5AiA0zdfQ_fTN4ZRHkAK7U_WfRySi_8rXBIEcqElJ2pTNRi-wPTZHpNHE2dmHGYRY_OQ4FL54jl4LwTIkR8Y/s1600/QR_Use_7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSYbOq8t7iXRKyNyruNbxOQTANOWZE8Qfbr9N1JZvlnuCH8tcfN-Ns4Fg5AiA0zdfQ_fTN4ZRHkAK7U_WfRySi_8rXBIEcqElJ2pTNRi-wPTZHpNHE2dmHGYRY_OQ4FL54jl4LwTIkR8Y/s320/QR_Use_7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stack 'em for round stairs or a zigurat!</td></tr>
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<br />Brian Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16226203579969880161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899405181843764556.post-69926783305758699462013-04-09T20:51:00.000-07:002014-03-24T07:26:08.699-07:00Casting a vision for the future of dxContent 3D Dungeon TilesLets take a nostalgic trip back in time via the way back machine....Back in the late 80's early 90's I had an official "DBA" (Doing Business As...) called FireZone. FireZone made and sold war gaming terrain and structures. Here are some photos...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Q6HYw7yxtT9x7yzdZvPoRngcxuWiG4u4PlLtSXOtt2WHG3YZyLdVvJDGV-dGZQOHhdmpBCJELYGVKVWAzSMDmL6KyIHks8i5_m59CZEQ7H0AYQHzftLDRsg4KjgDf-tgtOhvWBb7Zqw/s1600/SmallJungleTerrain_1NoFlash.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Q6HYw7yxtT9x7yzdZvPoRngcxuWiG4u4PlLtSXOtt2WHG3YZyLdVvJDGV-dGZQOHhdmpBCJELYGVKVWAzSMDmL6KyIHks8i5_m59CZEQ7H0AYQHzftLDRsg4KjgDf-tgtOhvWBb7Zqw/s320/SmallJungleTerrain_1NoFlash.JPG" height="246" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaia92T1QKI-ptNci1XDbprs0hPCrvLtEc8JP9xkzShLRefGcXfSNy-d6ghsmrDr-W-taNLpEjsGkwNpbCAOXWW53UI6zZWop2MW9SmbQo-xHJKUP0YODNog2AyHmAP83VomWY2Ow0B3Q/s1600/BunkerSmall_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaia92T1QKI-ptNci1XDbprs0hPCrvLtEc8JP9xkzShLRefGcXfSNy-d6ghsmrDr-W-taNLpEjsGkwNpbCAOXWW53UI6zZWop2MW9SmbQo-xHJKUP0YODNog2AyHmAP83VomWY2Ow0B3Q/s320/BunkerSmall_1.jpg" height="255" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEuz6sYX0MwfQhhclbQLWzieKQxEoJSLXUFqI7u0uW3X27Au2xG3hrGuRPQvOFAgTfzJy9uyMQ64EfHVLXJwGg0SZIRyDKCQrqDk7k2mLEZDTSf1L1I3VYPzERDLh02rjSSXBjWDhwuOM/s1600/SmallOrkBuilding_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEuz6sYX0MwfQhhclbQLWzieKQxEoJSLXUFqI7u0uW3X27Au2xG3hrGuRPQvOFAgTfzJy9uyMQ64EfHVLXJwGg0SZIRyDKCQrqDk7k2mLEZDTSf1L1I3VYPzERDLh02rjSSXBjWDhwuOM/s320/SmallOrkBuilding_1.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEYhAP9_Ltwxus6nsub_WTypSQHo2kyD2CtJ1E4WoaHVfGVKtQ2R86d3pvXnLtCysdu9C8dhyphenhyphenUX9UlSfLezyzCdkEt19lTklTYtGZTYgtaWm0cAY_u3cUPPns7pliX5yw1C13Z-6J7lXw/s1600/SmallOrkBuilding_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEYhAP9_Ltwxus6nsub_WTypSQHo2kyD2CtJ1E4WoaHVfGVKtQ2R86d3pvXnLtCysdu9C8dhyphenhyphenUX9UlSfLezyzCdkEt19lTklTYtGZTYgtaWm0cAY_u3cUPPns7pliX5yw1C13Z-6J7lXw/s320/SmallOrkBuilding_2.jpg" height="320" width="217" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrNt4Rh9I74_UL4iWWXGoPIgp3_UyzUkeGjACj9BKQJO87ejG3DmxXz8LHz2Wcabpzpj5YLuuoBqUhfEDaHKVyGk2Obt5Yzsha1dVRDvnQlR0E-UMgGoJsy65eAmKWsnvB2P6ZCVMpG_E/s1600/SmallOrkBuilding_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrNt4Rh9I74_UL4iWWXGoPIgp3_UyzUkeGjACj9BKQJO87ejG3DmxXz8LHz2Wcabpzpj5YLuuoBqUhfEDaHKVyGk2Obt5Yzsha1dVRDvnQlR0E-UMgGoJsy65eAmKWsnvB2P6ZCVMpG_E/s320/SmallOrkBuilding_3.jpg" height="320" width="299" /></a></div>
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All of these items were from my personal collection. When I moved from Michigan to Georgia, I had to reduce my collection. I believe this stuff was eventually sold on Ebay - hopefully still being used in the war game community somewhere! Ironically, the stuff I did keep is better quality but its all packed away - some day I'll have to drag it out for show and tell.<br />
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Those days were good times. A group of us meet regularly and painted minis and built terrain. We went to conventions and wowed the crowds with our over the top game tables. We developed our craft and the earnings from FireZone paid for the hobby for at least two of us.<br />
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We learned techniques that worked. And we learned some that didn't. Our biggest challenge back then was mass production. We had to do a lot of work by hand. One thing that helped was learning how to make molds cast parts. My good friend Dave Patterson got me started with Por-a-Kast and single piece latex rubber molds.<br />
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Fast forward to today... With the 3D dungeon tiles I'm back in the business of making and selling "stuff for miniatures" with the dxContent 3D dungeon tiles. And some of the same challenges are there... I spent all of last week hand crafting and painting two huge tiles set orders. Some where in the middle of the night with my neck and arms sore... I had to ask myself, can I really hand building every order?<br />
<br />
The realistic answer is "yes" for small volume, but once it scales... it quickly becomes a "no". For now I'm staying on top of the orders as volume has been manageable... but as any good endeavor should... you have to look over the horizon to see what is next and how you have to change to adapt to what is coming. And for dxContent 3D Dungeon Tiles... molds and casting is on the horizon. This means I have to dust off some old skills and learn some new ones.<br />
<br />
So, I found time this past weekend to visit a really cool store called "<a href="http://www.theengineerguy.com/cgi/commerce.cgi?display=home">The Engineer Guy</a>" located on the south side of Atlanta - what a great place and what great staff. I took in some sample pieces and in about 30 minutes Nelson (I assume) had me loaded up with product and shared with me a wealth of knowledge. Later that day I had two complete molds (one was a two part mold) and over the next few days I even did some test casts.<br />
<br />
At this point it looks like doors are going to be the first mass-produced cast offering - The cast doors are very durable AND have a bit more weight to them then the hand crafted versions - For those reasons I know people are going to love them.Brian Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16226203579969880161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899405181843764556.post-54652199216249175262013-03-23T21:38:00.004-07:002013-03-23T21:38:53.201-07:00The Demon Gate dxContent 3D Dungeon TileI've added a new model to the dxContent 3D Dungeon Tiles collection I like to call the "Demon Gate". <br />
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<a href="http://dxcontentcom.webhost4life.com/store/media/prod_images/F_8x8_DemonGate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://dxcontentcom.webhost4life.com/store/media/prod_images/F_8x8_DemonGate.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
In the following picture you can see the subtle markings of some long and forgotten evil on the stonework and the corroded metal gate. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5YxAm22ChxdHXcEW0jsf2EdYd3GqlL-DHcgTObpcBemJ2IFNmwxGsiEDTq4T31diK32zzSuCcEyrlp2NcF0i3OpSxonJaN3LbxxUZfmz4-CeMhtGVlU1-as-n5A5wsGA1gO52KOKn9k0/s1600/DemonGateDetail_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5YxAm22ChxdHXcEW0jsf2EdYd3GqlL-DHcgTObpcBemJ2IFNmwxGsiEDTq4T31diK32zzSuCcEyrlp2NcF0i3OpSxonJaN3LbxxUZfmz4-CeMhtGVlU1-as-n5A5wsGA1gO52KOKn9k0/s640/DemonGateDetail_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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This is actually a five piece set as this shot from my work area shows.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9IXIrhHYcXsxhsn0U0H-4k1DKuQHljAEa5E4VszE8wzW79UodNyW7In_8S6M3bUrb7dDJbU81kA36ef6MQbtY1swpHEmFb8n6czndZJio2G3bGRYI-k7MfUe7-ns0MobJ72yGq6gQDDE/s1600/DemonGateDetail_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9IXIrhHYcXsxhsn0U0H-4k1DKuQHljAEa5E4VszE8wzW79UodNyW7In_8S6M3bUrb7dDJbU81kA36ef6MQbtY1swpHEmFb8n6czndZJio2G3bGRYI-k7MfUe7-ns0MobJ72yGq6gQDDE/s640/DemonGateDetail_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
So there you go, a must-have model for any classic dungeon set. You can get it for $9.60 from the <a href="http://dxcontentcom.webhost4life.com/store/index.html">dxContent Tile store</a>.Brian Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16226203579969880161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899405181843764556.post-40992304226774421872013-01-08T15:22:00.002-08:002013-01-08T15:31:34.337-08:00More dungeon tile newsMore news relating to dungeon tiles. Over the new year holiday, I rolled out the <a href="http://www.dxcontent.com/DT_RequestQuote.asp">dxContent Custom Tile feature</a> - a tool that allows you to get custom shaped tiles for places of major action in your campaign - Boss rooms, places where PCs go regularly, etc.<br />
<br />
Today I want to highlight the <a href="http://dxcontentcom.webhost4life.com/store/index.html">dxContent store</a> - here is where you can get your "standard" shape dungeon tiles:<br />
<ul>
<li>1"x1" - great for adding little alcoves to rooms</li>
<li>1"x2", 1"x3", 1"x4" - perfect for narrow 5 foot scale hallways</li>
<li>2"x2", 2"x4", 2"x6", T's, 4-way, corners - classic shapes for standard 10 foot wide hallways</li>
<li>4"x4", 4"x6", 6"x6" and 6"x8" - perfect for larger rooms.</li>
</ul>
All the tiles are available with an assortment of textures which we will be adding to as we go. Here's a pic of the latest list: <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.dxcontent.com/DT_images/Sample_1_ForWeb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="100" src="http://www.dxcontent.com/DT_images/Sample_1_ForWeb.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Latest Graphic Options</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
One of my favorites is "Icy" - makes me want to run a campaign in the frozen reaches of an icy realm with Frost Giants, winter wolves and other unknown frozen horrors! <br />
<br />
The stock tiles are offered at low introductory price to help get the product and awareness out there - I'm also giving away a free custom tile with the first 5 orders of stock tiles over $20! Just enter promo-code "BLOG BONUS" in the special order instructions and I'll hook you up!<br />
<br />
Brian<br />
<a href="http://dxcontent.com/">dxContent.com</a>Brian Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16226203579969880161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899405181843764556.post-27463332657896589912012-12-27T20:08:00.001-08:002012-12-27T20:08:11.508-08:00Custom Dungeon Tile Service <strong>What is a custom dungeon tile service, and why are you going to love it?</strong><br/><br/>If you don't know, "Dungeon Tiles" are handy pre-printed cardboard pieces you can lay down on your game table. They can be mixed and matched to map out the environment for your players, facilitate combat with miniatures and aid "immersion" into the game. <br/><br/><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-bas0ID8hJJ8/UN0bD5T1YJI/AAAAAAAAAEE/MTd79sseiaw/s243/Photo%252520Dec%25252027%25252C%2525202012%2525209%25253A51%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-bas0ID8hJJ8/UN0bD5T1YJI/AAAAAAAAAEE/MTd79sseiaw/s243/Photo%252520Dec%25252027%25252C%2525202012%2525209%25253A51%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1356667685573.245" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="207" height="243"></a></div>
The off-the-shelf tiles are popular tools for quickly mapping out dungeons. They are mass-produced which makes them inexpensive (a good thing) but the trade off is flexibility and customization. Since off-the-shelf dungeon tiles mostly come in standard shapes and sizes it takes extra time to construct odd shaped or special rooms and you may have less than satisfactory results (overlapping tiles, lack of exact diagonal or round sections, etc).<br/><br/>This is where the dxContent custom dungeon tile service comes into play. I'll make your custom / odd shaped special dungeon tile pieces exactly to specifications to supplement your mass-produced collection. <br/><br/><ul>
<li>It's great for "Boss" rooms... now you can lay down your standard mass produced 10' x 40' hallways and easily connect them with your custom Goblin throne room (with 20' wide doorway, earthy rear section, twin flanking alcoves with 10' x 10' slave pen in the middle).</li>
<li>It's great for those player "hangouts" that characters regularly find themselves in... like the local tavern, the leader's Inn room, or the Baron's library.</li>
<li>Maybe you make your own tile set graphics (or purchased some) but lack the time or precision tools to turn them into durable tiles - I can do that for you.</li>
<li>It's also great for the discriminating DM that absolutely MUST have a complete tile set of <insert a rare environment that is too uncommon to mass produce>.</li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IhnVBG5T0cY/UN0bGEZ90_I/AAAAAAAAAEM/fR1QHkHzONE/s400/Photo%252520Dec%25252025%25252C%2525202012%2525209%25253A55%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IhnVBG5T0cY/UN0bGEZ90_I/AAAAAAAAAEM/fR1QHkHzONE/s400/Photo%252520Dec%25252025%25252C%2525202012%2525209%25253A55%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1356667685639.9023" class="aligncenter" width="400" height="275" alt=""></a></div>
<strong>Lets talk about the tiles. </strong><br/><br/><ul>
<li>Your custom tiles are precision cut by a machine to exact dimensions. You can use the <a href="http://dxcontent.com/DT_RequestQuote.asp" target="_blank" title="">quote request visualization tools</a> to rough out the shape, and I'll make the refinements you request. Most mass produced tiles have straight edges, but you can have non-linear to represent cave walls if you like.</li>
<li>I make the tiles 1/8" thick providing a nice weighty feel (I can make them thinner if you need to match an existing tile set).</li>
<li>I make custom graphics at 300dpi, and you can choose from the growing library of textures or I'll create them special for your tile set needs. I work as a 3D modler and texture artist for a video game company so I have real world experience creating and generating themed textures.</li>
</ul>
Well, I hope that helps you see the value in a custom dungeon tile service. <br/><br/>Brian<br/><br/> <br/><br/><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Brian Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16226203579969880161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899405181843764556.post-74581221641392099092012-07-21T13:09:00.000-07:002012-07-21T13:09:57.119-07:00New Generator Testing Features!If you develop random generators at dxContent.com, you'll be happy to learn about the latest enhancement to the generator builder tools.<br />
<br />
I've added in a "Rolls" field that captures all of the random values generated as a running generator works its way through its scripts, so that a second run can retrace the same logic steps.<br />
<br />
FYI - The two functions {Dice~} and {ChooseRandom~} are the two most powerful features that introduce randomness into your generators. <br />
<br />
Once the "Rolls" are captured, you can make use of the new "Use Previous Rolls" check box. Assuming you've not changed your script, the next run will yield the exact same result as before. This is handy when you want to force your generator down a certain path for testing or problem solving.<br />
<br />
For the power-user, the "Rolls" field is editable. This gives you even more power to test your generators. Of course it also gives you the ability to cause the generator to act unpredictably if used incorrectly. Fore example, whenever you alter a roll by hand, you are potentially altering the path your generator takes though the scripts (or introducing a value that isn't handled). That new path may need more rolls, fewer rolls or even different ranges of values that what the previous run needed. So whenever you edit its good practice to clear the saved rolls following your edit. Its helpful to know that new random values are generated whenever the previous list of rolls runs out.Brian Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16226203579969880161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899405181843764556.post-69368957239794332892012-06-08T13:56:00.000-07:002012-06-08T13:56:45.391-07:00So... who won?!?Does anybody wonder..."who won the dxContent mini/module map contest"?<br />
<br />
Well, lets say everybody won. I mean after all, Map Runner got used, some bugs were found and squished and a few tweaks were made and so now the tool is better off.. and a better tool means less stress on the DM... and... less stress on the DM means... um... more effective games by the DM. Yes, so players and DMs alike are all winners!<br />
<br />
OK, ok enough spin. <br />
<br />
The reality is nobody entered the contest. While it was just 3000 words and a simple map the prizes were... what's the word I'm looking for... cheap? I knew going in the contest might not garner much interest... but my big goal was to get Map Runner exposed, get some people using it and get some more people to create dxContent accounts. And on a small scale that's what happened. We are up to 75ish registered users (we started at around 60 before the contest).<br />
<br />
So what's next? Well, I'm off for a week of camping in the woods. I should have a lot of time to think about what is next, and what can be improved.<br />
<br />
Have a [PositiveDescriptor] week.Brian Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16226203579969880161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899405181843764556.post-32486777420673067472012-05-11T08:12:00.000-07:002012-05-11T08:12:02.370-07:00Introducing: Judge Shawn<br />
It's Friday and you know what that means... time to introduce another judge for the dxContent mini map/module contest. Its not to late to enter the contest - there are 10 days left! Check out the <a href="http://dxcontent.blogspot.com/2012/04/dxcontent-map-runner-mini-module-design.html">rules</a> and make your <a href="http://www.dxcontent.com/MAP_Editor.html">maps</a>. The contest ends midnight May 20th, 2012!<br />
<br />
Today we meet Shawn. He looks like a Jedi to me which is ironic because he is currently running a popular Star Wars campaign. I'm always impressed with Shawn's "immersion" in role playing his characters - I can only assume that translates to his DMing style. His player notes are often more detailed than the GM's! - One of these days I'll do a series of blogs comparing and contrasting DM notes... I hear from the Bothans that Shawn's notes are pretty detailed...<br />
<b><br /></b><br />
<b>dxContent:</b> As a game master and/or player, what level of importance do you place on maps and why?<br />
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<b>Shawn:</b> Maps are pretty important to me as a GM. I don't often use modules, but when I do it's important for the maps to be grid-based. I use minis, so transferring encounters from modules to the table is made much easier by a high quality map. The worst maps I've seen were in Necromancer Games' Rappan Athuk modules. Those modules were so epic, but the maps absolutely sucked. When I write my own adventures, I spend time on the maps to make setting up encounters easier.<br />
<br />
As a player, it makes a huge difference to my enjoyment of a session to have a battle mat. I don't often see a GM's maps when playing, so the battle mats are the main thing.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<b>dxContent:</b> How many years have you played RPG games?<br />
<b><br /></b><br />
<b>Shawn:</b> 32<br />
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<b>dxContent:</b> How many years have you played 3.5 / Pathfinder?<br />
<br />
<b>Shawn:</b> Since it came out.<br />
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<b>dxContent:</b> Minis are a "must" for your style of RPG play - Yes or No?<br />
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<b>Shawn:</b> Yes!<br />
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<b>dxContent:</b> Your game master notes (or player notes if you don't gm) are best described as...?<br />
<br />
<b>Shawn:</b> My GM notes are very extensive and detailed. I also take pretty thorough player notes.
<br />
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<b>dxContent:</b> Do you prefer ready-made modules or home-spun material or a mix?<br />
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<b>Shawn:</b> Home-spun.
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<b>dxContent:</b> As a gm (or player if you don’t GM) do you prefer published campaign settings or home-grown settings?<br />
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<b>Shawn:</b> Home grown.
<br />
<br />
<b>dxContent:</b> Favorite role to play in a RPG (stealth, magic, melee-master, etc)?<br />
<br />
<b>Shawn:</b> Magic.
<br />
<br />
<b>dxContent:</b> Would you rather play, game master or do both?<br />
<br />
<b>Shawn:</b> Both! Brian Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16226203579969880161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899405181843764556.post-7091177833591428462012-05-03T13:27:00.001-07:002012-05-04T04:54:10.126-07:00Introducing: Judge John<br />
Hey folks, just a reminder: you've got until May 20th to get your submissions in for the dxContent mini/module mini/map contest.<br />
<br />
Speaking of which, its time to introduce our next judge John Reyst. <br />
<br />
John is the man behind the two-time <a href="http://www.ennie-awards.com/blog/">Ennie</a> winning <a href="http://www.d20pfsrd.com/">www.d20pfsrd.com</a>. He also developed <a href="http://www.d20modernpf.com/">d20modernpf.com</a> and <a href="http://www.d20herosrd.com/">d20herosrd.com</a> (did I miss any?!). John and I played in each others campaigns for many years. I know John appreciates a good map when he sees one, so he was a shoe-in for the judging. Of all the GM's I know John has great stamina when it comes to keeping a campaign going year after year. <br />
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I think John "burnt out" once as a DM, but we fed him a sandwich and he was good for another six years.<br />
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Its under these kind of DM's that you really get to develop a character (Brother Roth began as humble acolyte and rose all the way to Arch-something or other, and I"ll never forget the Romey Wanderbuck who began life as a young halfling scoundrel and ended up an aged local legend and business tycoon.<br />
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Below are John's responses to my "get to know the judge" questions.<br />
<br />
<hr />
<br />
<b>dxContent: </b>As a game master and/or player, what level of importance do you place on maps and why?<br />
<br />
<b>John: </b>As a GM, maps are absolutely required, at least in terms of high-level maps of encounter areas or the world setting as a whole. For specific, actual combat encounters, I almost always design them on graph paper and assume they’ll be necessary. The players I most often play with enjoy the tactical side of roleplaying games as much as the actual role playing aspects so when things get tense excitement visibly builds when we shift to the battlemat and start placing our mini’s where they’re supposed to be.<br />
<br />
As a player, I’m like most of the rest of the players I play with regularly I think, in that I do enjoy the tactical and strategic “chess-like” aspects of seeing and moving mini’s around on a battlemat in an encounter. Using a battlement in any sort of combat encounter that is remotely involved, or in which the outcome may have a serious long term effect (such as possible character death or “losing” (not successfully accomplishing) some major goal, almost demands the use of battlemats. I don’t want to have arguments with other players or the GM as to where my PC is, or how far it is to the bad guy etc. Using a battlemat removes all of that. If, however, the encounter is less important, or unlikely to have any real long-term ramifications, the use of minis and the battlemat can be skipped. The GM can simply describe what happens in a narrative fashion, or it can be played out casually, still using most of the combat rules, but simply describing where things are and the effects of actions, instead of worrying about exact and precise placement of figures. As a player, in terms of maps in regards to maps of the setting or the world, I find them immensely helpful in immersing myself in the setting. Even if my PC wouldn’t know what countries lie on the farthest corners of the world, I as a player enjoy knowing that there really are things out there for me to explore, and things that the GM has invested at least some effort into.<br />
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<b>dxContent: </b>How many years have you played RPG games?<br />
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<b>John: </b>About 32 years.<br />
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<b>dxContent: </b>How many years have you played 3.5 / Pathfinder?<br />
<br />
<b>John: </b>I’ve played the 3.x generation since it was released in or around the year 2000 and have continued playing since then.<br />
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<b>dxContent: </b>Minis are a "must" for your style of RPG play - Yes or No?<br />
<br />
<b>John: </b>Sometimes yes, sometimes no. In larger or more complex encounters I enjoy the tactical nature of seeing and moving figures about on a battlemat. I enjoy the strategic aspect of the game in that sense. In smaller or more impromptu encounters I don’t always “need” mini’s. Only if there is likelihood of a lot of questions of character and enemy placement do I prefer mini’s.<br />
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<b>dxContent: </b>Your game master notes (or player notes if you don't gm) are best described as...?<br />
<br />
<b>John: </b>Chaotic initially, jumbled, and often stream of thought. Then during play they’re fairly non-existent but I try to do a “brain-dump” after a session, to try to make note of the things I noticed were problems, things the players did that I need to follow up on, or to determine how the world reacts to the players actions etc.<br />
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<b>dxContent: </b>Do you prefer ready-made modules or home-spun material or a mix?<br />
<br />
<b>John: </b>99.9% home brew. I strongly dislike the “rair-roady” nature of published adventures. I prefer a campaign world without invisible walls that confine me into a predetermined set of actions.<br />
<br />
<b>dxContent: </b>As a gm (or player if you don’t GM) do you prefer published campaign settings or home-grown settings?<br />
<br />
<b>John: </b>As a GM, home brew 100%. As a player, either is fine so long as the world is consistent and engaging.<br />
<br />
<b>dxContent: </b>Favorite role to play in a RPG (stealth, magic, melee-master, etc)?<br />
<br />
<b>John: </b>All of the above. I’ve played and enjoyed just about every role and expect I’ll continue doing the same.<br />
<br />
<b>dxContent: </b>Would you rather play, game master or do both?<br />
<br />
<b>John: </b>I find that GMing engages me more, not just from an amount of effort required point of view but also from a “how actively engaged am I in the world” point of view. Meaning, when I am laying in bed at night trying to fall asleep, I’m not stuck thinking about what my character did or will do in the next session. What constantly goes through my mind are ideas for campaign settings, people, races, religions, that sort of thing.Brian Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16226203579969880161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899405181843764556.post-36036599989310807292012-04-27T05:56:00.000-07:002012-04-27T05:56:29.247-07:00Introducing: Judge DennyI always find it informative to hear how other game-masters prepare and view RPGs. In this post I introduce one of the dxContent mini/module mini/map contest judges.<br />
<br />
I'd like you to meet Denny Edwards, another long-time gaming friend, DM and player. Denny has a fantastic grasp on plot twists, mystery and suspense. He creates villains you really hate (I'll get you General Gnaw!), and NPCs you really love (Rest in peace "Decoder"). Below are Denny's responses to my "get to know the judge" questions.<br />
<br />
<hr />
<br />
<b>dxContent: </b>As a game master and/or player, what level of importance do you place on maps and why?<br />
<br />
<b>Denny: </b>If a picture is worth a thousand words, a map is worth a thousand encounters. In the RPG games I’ve played in or ran over the years, maps have always been a staple. Clearly not all gaming situations call for a map, but more times than not a visual representation of where things are in relation to each other helps provide a better (and hopefully a shared) understanding of what’s going on. Personally I have a preference that significant combat encounters take place on a gridded map with miniatures or other counters. I’ve found that a lot of time is saved if you don’t have to ask or explain where something is at and a map solves the problem handily. If nothing else, even a small map and a pencil make for a much better game. Finally, it has been my experience that maps encourage exploration and curiosity; players always want to know what’s beyond the edges of the map or what the strange rune etched into the floor is for. <br />
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<b>dxContent: </b>How many years have you played RPG games?<br />
<br />
<b>Denny: </b>28 years<br />
<br />
<b>dxContent: </b>How many years have you played 3.5 / Pathfinder?<br />
<br />
<b>Denny: </b>9 years<br />
<br />
<b>dxContent: </b>Minis are a "must" for your style of RPG play - Yes or No?<br />
<br />
<b>Denny: </b>Yes; minis or counters<br />
<br />
<b>dxContent: </b>Your game master notes (or player notes if you don't gm) are best described as...?<br />
<br />
<b>Denny: </b>Organized and cross-referenced<br />
<br />
<b>dxContent: </b>Do you prefer ready-made modules or home-spun material or a mix?<br />
<br />
<b>Denny: </b>Mix<br />
<br />
<b>dxContent: </b>As a gm (or player if you don’t GM) do you prefer published campaign settings or home-grown settings?<br />
<br />
<b>Denny: </b>Mix<br />
<br />
<b>dxContent: </b>Favorite role to play in a RPG (stealth, magic, melee-master, etc)?<br />
<br />
<b>Denny: </b>Magic/stealth<br />
<br />
<b>dxContent: </b>Would you rather play, game master or do both?<br />
<br />
<b>Denny: </b>BothBrian Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16226203579969880161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899405181843764556.post-85309556797866389742012-04-20T21:03:00.000-07:002012-04-26T19:22:52.008-07:00dxContent Map Runner Mini Module Design ContestAs <a href="http://www.dxcontent.com/MAP_Editor.html">Map Runner</a> nears its official graduation from beta status, I'm holding a design contest to see what people can do with the mapping tools. The rules are not complex - basically you're creating a very mini-module around a map you make with Map Runner. <br />
<br />
Lots of ideas come to mind creature lairs, tombs, castle dungeons, city sewers and more. So unleash your creativity and show me what you can do with Map Runner (and ultimately help make it better).<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>dxContent’s Map Runner Mini-Module Design contest rules</b></div>
<br />
#1 - Create a <a href="http://www.dxcontent.com/">dxContent.com</a> user account.<br />
<br />
#2 - Create a single map 14w x 12h (or smaller) map using dxContent’s Map Runner tools. <br />
<br />
#3 - Detail your creation using the <b>Pathfinder</b> rules system in <b>3000</b> words or less.<br />
<ul>
<li>Up to half of your word budget can be allocated to background, plot, environment notes, the other half must be allocated to detailing specific areas on the map.</li>
<li>Author your submission text in google docs</li>
<ul>
<li>save on text budget by linking to creatures / spell descriptions, etc on <a href="http://www.d20pfsrd.com/">www.d20pfsrd.com</a></li>
<li>Include a screenshot of your map in the Google doc. No maps created outside of Map Runner are allowed, and the map should not be altered outside of Map Runner in any way.</li>
</ul>
<li>Your submission text must be “PG-13”.</li>
<li>Your submission must not use copyrighted intellectual property.</li>
<li>You waive all copyrights to your submission and place it public domain.</li>
</ul>
#4 - Before midnight May <strike>13th</strike> <b>20th</b> 2012 (due date extended!):<br />
<ol>
<li>Post a response to this blog post notifying me of your submission. Be sure to state your dxContent account name.</li>
<li>Share the google doc containing your submission with <a href="mailto:wheelmanforhire@yahoo.com">wheelmanforhire@yahoo.com</a>.</li>
</ol>
#5 - Contest submissions no longer accepted after midnight EST on May 20th 2012<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Contest Judging</b></div>
<br />
Judging will begin May 21st. All submissions will be ranked on a 1 to 10 scale by a panel of contest judges in the following categories:<br />
<ol>
<li>Creative use of Map Runner</li>
<li>Overall Originality</li>
<li>Overall theme</li>
<li>Conformance to Pathfinder Rules system</li>
<li>Technical Writing / Organizational skills / formatting / layout</li>
<li>Effective use of word budget / PG-13 content</li>
</ol>
In the event of a tie, the earliest submission wins.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Prizes</b></div>
The top three creations and honorable mentions will all be featured on dxContent.com and/or Not So Random Thoughts, (dxContent.com’s blog). In addition:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<u>1st Place Prize</u></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
25 tiles based on your specs will be added to Map Runner*</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<u>2nd Place Prize</u></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
15 tiles based on your specs will be added to Map Runner*</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<u>3rd Place Prize</u></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
10 tiles based on your specs will be added to Map Runner*</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<u>Honorable mentions</u></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
1 tile based on your specs will be added to Map Runner.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
*Alternately you can request a feature change/addition to Map runner</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
-or-</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
have a custom random generator built for you</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Good luck and happy [Random RPG activity]!</div>Brian Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16226203579969880161noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899405181843764556.post-68468271636773418652012-04-06T05:50:00.003-07:002012-04-06T09:58:56.300-07:00Map Runner 99% ready!<p>Its been a busy first quarter of updates to <a href="http://www.dxcontent.com/MAP_Editor.html">Map Runner</a>!<br /><br /><p>First lets talk about the tiles. Map Runner makes maps based on combining tiles (also known as "geo-morphs"). At the time of this blog the tile count is <strong>4,064</strong>! I don't know if that is a lot compared to other map generators, but can I just claim that that is the largest geo-morph library in the universe?<br /><br /><p>Anyway, biggest or not, here is what I've done:<br /><br /><ul><br /><br /><li>I've completed the entire list of tiles I had planned and all the possible legal combinations.</li><br /><br /><li>I've added some additional tile variations (and will continue to add more over time)</li><br /><br /><li>I've improved the stair images and added variations for those as well.</li></ul><br /><br /><p>Now on to the tool changes. I've made a number of tweaks to the map making tools making them smarter so that they produce fewer illegal tile combinations. For example placing a vertical hallway puts in the end caps, placing stairs starts a hallway, etc, etc, etc.</p><br /><br /><p>But the big news is that I've added the basic text tools so that you can not label your maps with key numbers / letters or labels (" 'ere be trezure!").</p><br /><br /><p>There is more planned, but I'm not ready to "let the dragon out of the cave" on those features yet, but at this point I've armed all you overworked DM's with the basic tools you need to create attractive dungeon and sewer maps for your campaigns, that you can save in the cloud and work on from anywhere you have web access.</p><br /><br /><p>Have fun building the Dungeons of [RandomRuinedCastleName]!</p><br /><br /><ul><br /></ul>Brian Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16226203579969880161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899405181843764556.post-63518099889377347732012-02-18T19:11:00.003-08:002012-02-18T19:25:37.779-08:00Map Runner Save/Open features now enabled!I have good news map makers! The Save, Save As, and Open features for Map Runner are enabled! Now you can keep your mapping goodness safetly tucked away in our database for you to work on anytime, anyplace and come back to it again and again.<br /><br />Next on the agenda is to get the text tools implement as well as finish the library of tilesets so you don't get those ugly green broken image links when your work requres a tileset that isn't created yet.<br /><br />Enjoy making (and saving) your [RandomBossMOnster]'s LairBrian Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16226203579969880161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899405181843764556.post-1831753371027047932012-01-07T17:18:00.001-08:002012-01-08T16:49:00.705-08:00Sneak peak at dxContent's Map Runner<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OOXGXyEaXNE/Twjn54ZvsdI/AAAAAAAAACc/ObpWiawVzFU/Photo%252520Jan%2525207%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A47%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OOXGXyEaXNE/Twjn54ZvsdI/AAAAAAAAACc/ObpWiawVzFU/s500/Photo%252520Jan%2525207%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A47%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1325984216501.5498" class="clearleft" width="500" height="31" alt="" /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame- color:rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469);"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame- color:rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469);">Map Runner is in the works! It's my new tile-based map editor allowing you to quickly flesh out maps for your on-going campaign. Here is a screen shot showing a dungeon I whipped up just for this blog entry:</span><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame- color:rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469);"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-SEnu_2v1qSo/Twjn94luXDI/AAAAAAAAACs/r6nMqo_46A0/Photo%252520Jan%2525207%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A45%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-SEnu_2v1qSo/Twjn94luXDI/AAAAAAAAACs/r6nMqo_46A0/s500/Photo%252520Jan%2525207%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A45%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1325984216597.6055" class="clearleft" width="500" height="501" alt="" /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame- color:rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469);"><br /></span></div><div>As you can see, there are a lot of cool things you can do with Map Runner: layout hallways, rooms, doorways (with or without doors), low areas (in this example a sewer area) and place stairs.</div><div>Lets take a quick look at some of the tool menus you'll find. The first one I want to show you is the "Basic" menu. Here you can layout your halls, corners, intersections etc. Its as easy as selecting a tool and clicking on the map grid.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-z36BEzv0zWc/Twjn_OMb9HI/AAAAAAAAAC8/mW2IDewIhaU/Photo%252520Jan%2525207%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A43%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-z36BEzv0zWc/Twjn_OMb9HI/AAAAAAAAAC8/mW2IDewIhaU/s500/Photo%252520Jan%2525207%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A43%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1325984391870.5947" class="clearleft" alt="" align="left" width="500" height="102" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Another important menu is the "Doors" menu. With this tool you can add doorways and optionally fill them with various types of doors (Normal, Bars, Secret and Concealed). You can also remove doors with the Remove option.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-H-NQZJ9ov6I/Twjp3_l692I/AAAAAAAAADI/99ynrm1Awjk/Photo%252520Jan%2525207%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A56%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-H-NQZJ9ov6I/Twjp3_l692I/AAAAAAAAADI/99ynrm1Awjk/s500/Photo%252520Jan%2525207%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A56%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1325984385476.2102" class="alignleft" width="500" height="100" align="left" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This next menu is called "Inters'ct/Edge" (intersections & edges). With this menu you can add large open areas and large open areas with "low" areas. There is also a "crosser" tool. For the Dungeon tileset this allows you to make bridges across the low areas.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9Q-vWh9iXCA/Twjn8_FDhtI/AAAAAAAAACk/TeRPD_g5jcI/Photo%252520Jan%2525207%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A46%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9Q-vWh9iXCA/Twjn8_FDhtI/AAAAAAAAACk/TeRPD_g5jcI/s500/Photo%252520Jan%2525207%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A46%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1325984372505.0723" class="clearleft" width="500" height="100" align="left" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Here is one of my favorite menus, its called "Details". Many tiles have alternate versions of themselves, like round vs. square corners or in this example a room tile that can be turned into a 10x10 or 5x5 hallway.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-jrJa6rp9LmU/Twjn-cjAEcI/AAAAAAAAAC0/_CjGOSUkihM/Photo%252520Jan%2525207%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A44%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-jrJa6rp9LmU/Twjn-cjAEcI/AAAAAAAAAC0/_CjGOSUkihM/s500/Photo%252520Jan%2525207%25252C%2525202012%2525207%25253A44%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1325984285094.9268" class="alignleft" alt="" align="left" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>This mapping system Is "tileset" driven. I provide you with thousands of pre-draw tiles and then using the tools they are automatically placed. But building maps by selecting from thousands of tiles is not fun... so as you can see the menus allow you specify what you want and where and the software does all the work of finding the right tile to fit your needs.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm making this a free tool for everyone and it will be cross-browser compatible. So if you like IE, Chrome, Safari or Firefox I've got you covered. I've left in slots for new tilesets also, so down the road I could add an outdoor tileset, a castle tileset or whatever comes in demand.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas or general questions. Have a [PositiveAdjective] day!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Brian Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16226203579969880161noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899405181843764556.post-740321767118792882011-10-31T11:07:00.000-07:002011-10-31T11:58:42.765-07:00Miscellaneous ImprovementsI recently made a few improvements to <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">dxContent</span>.<br /><br /><p>First, I've added an option so that text fields, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">picklists</span> and radio buttons on the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">MakeForm</span>~ function can remember the users previous settings. This means that when turned on (field-by-field capability) users don't have to keep re-selecting previous settings. I experienced this annoyance while testing the city block generator and most recently the latest dungeon map generator. The end result is that its now much quicker to generate variations from an "options" type screen. I haven't enabled this feature for the <a href="http://www.dxcontent.com/TR_LibraryGeneratorUI.asp?Mode=ID&LSID=18&AutoRun=USER">City block generator</a> yet because of some issues it will cause, but it is working for the <a href="http://www.dxcontent.com/TR_LibraryGeneratorUI.asp?Mode=ID&LSID=34&AutoRun=USER">Beta Dungeon Map Generator</a>.</p><br /><p>Second, I fixed an issue on the generator pages. I've noticed that sometimes the generator isn't ready to go until after the google ads have finished their animations and such. If you clicked the generate button before the page was ready, you'd get an error message. There is now a simple "Loading... (please standby)" message that turns into the generator name once everything is ready to go.</p><br /><p>Third, I continue to improve the random map generation functions. I've added a second "base shape" to the dungeon map (not to be confused with a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">tileset</span> shape). A base shape is like a template floor plan, a starting configuration for the dungeon. The first shape was a random rectangular hallway, the second creates two long intersecting corridors.</p><br /><p>Fourth, another <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">improvement</span> to the random map generation functions. Some of the early maps were filled with tiles pretty much for the entire map dimension. While this created some neat dungeons, I knew this had to be more flexible. So there are some new features showcased in the latest beta generator that allows you to set a simplicity level on a scale from 1 to 10. One <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">extreme</span> gives you a map filled with tiles and the other remains fairly true to the base floor plan. Here are some examples with increasing simplicity levels (1, 5, and 10)...</p><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; CLEAR: both" class="separator"><a style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" title="" href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-5tryN323Mm0/Tq7tnJ_PG-I/AAAAAAAAABo/u4kdJPI_aqs/DungeonMap_1.jpg" target="_blank"><img id="blogsy-1320087449917.1333" class="aligncenter" alt="" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-5tryN323Mm0/Tq7tnJ_PG-I/AAAAAAAAABo/u4kdJPI_aqs/s226/DungeonMap_1.jpg" width="226" height="231" /></a></div><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; CLEAR: both" class="separator"><a style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" title="" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5ydrgA1PUMc/Tq7trExwJaI/AAAAAAAAABw/E-YQ3wG0r4Q/DungeonMap_5.jpg" target="_blank"><img id="blogsy-1320087449963.321" class="aligncenter" alt="" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5ydrgA1PUMc/Tq7trExwJaI/AAAAAAAAABw/E-YQ3wG0r4Q/s230/DungeonMap_5.jpg" width="230" height="234" /></a></div><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; CLEAR: both" class="separator"><a style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YAvDdQj0J_M/Tq7tt7oVAAI/AAAAAAAAAB4/m0UBAuRangw/DungeonMap_10.jpg" target="_blank"><img id="blogsy-1320087449913.863" class="aligncenter" alt="" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YAvDdQj0J_M/Tq7tt7oVAAI/AAAAAAAAAB4/m0UBAuRangw/s231/DungeonMap_10.jpg" width="231" height="235" /></a></div><br /><p>Have a [<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error">RandomPositiveAdjective</span>] Day!</p>Brian Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16226203579969880161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899405181843764556.post-1262958410899420122011-10-24T18:08:00.001-07:002011-10-26T09:24:52.580-07:00Random Dungeons!<p> </p><p>I had my first taste of Basic D&D as a player with the The Keep on the Borderlands, and I was ready to DM. First thing I needed was a dungeon. My first endeavor was the worst 10 levels of random denizens ever produced. </p><p>I soon discovered that endless dungeon crawls do not make for good campaigns, but as a DM you'll ALWAYS have the need for dungeon-like settings, sewers and other hidden lairs. Creating maps can be time consuming and dxContent is all about saving DMs time.</p><p>So, I'm excited to announce some new features to dxContent. I've added a host of functions for creating dungeons! (specifically man-made subteranean areas at this point). Check out the <a href="http://www.dxContent.com/TR_LibraryGeneratorUI.asp?Mode=ID&LSID=34&AutoRun=USER">beta-random generator</a> for trying out some of the future tools. These tools are still under development, but they are at a point now where useful output can be generated.</p><p>The core of these map generating tools are <strong>Tilesets</strong>. Tilesets are like puzzle pieces that when used in combination make a larger map. The first tileset has over 300 tiles and features doors, halls, ledges pits and open areas.</p><p>Here is a quick and dirty dungeon generated from choosing just a few options like height, width, number of stairways, etc. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-0uBozMqlKWA/TqYKMqj0fFI/AAAAAAAAABY/ChDXt7ioX_4/Photo%252520Oct%25252024%25252C%2525202011%2525208%25253A52%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-0uBozMqlKWA/TqYKMqj0fFI/AAAAAAAAABY/ChDXt7ioX_4/s500/Photo%252520Oct%25252024%25252C%2525202011%2525208%25253A52%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1319504834424.2725" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="512"></a></div><p>The generator has a few flaws right now like creating some doorless rooms on the periphery of the map, and roomless areas with doorways, but every good concept has to start somewhere. I'll continue to refine, add tilesets, functions and features as the year wraps up. Let me know what you think.</p>Brian Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16226203579969880161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899405181843764556.post-25484678012129692342011-10-06T15:50:00.001-07:002011-10-06T15:51:57.879-07:00Cloudy with a {Dice~1d100} chance of rain...<p> </p><p>Waaaaay back in the way back days when I never missed an Issue of Dragon magazine and free time fell out of my pockets like lint, I remember getting excited about a random weather generation article. Up until that time my player's characters enjoyed an eternal paradise of sunny days and comfortable camping.</p><p>Demonic invasion of the dwarven mountain outpost? Warm and sunny.<br />Expedition deep into Dwagmar swamp? Warm and sunny.<br />Trek through the great Gemtaj desert? Warm and sunny.</p><p>Once I started using the article to change things up, everybody waited with baited breath at what new weather the tables would bring - after all, isn't the weather the default conversation topic? It affected the mood of the campaign in a good way, and kept me as a DM from following the the same old "warm and sunny" rut.</p><p>This generator really gets at the core of what I want <a href="http://www.dxContent.com/">dxContent</a> to be - a tool box of generators that help the overworked DM keep things fresh without adding a burden of overhead. My friend John, creator of <a href="http://www.d20pfsrd.com/">www.d20pfsrd.com</a>, requested this generator and I was happy to take it on.</p><p>It makes use of the new MakeForm~ function for a fairly simple option screen and the rest is pure content glory. I can't take any credit for the original generator tables, the Paizo wizards did that, but I've taken the sting of rolling all the details out of using it.</p><p>So check it out in the dxContent library <a href="http://www.dxContent.com/TR_LibraryGeneratorUI.asp?Mode=ID&LSID=33&AutoRun=USER">here</a> or on <a href="http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/environment/weather">www.d20pfsrd.com</a>.</p><p>Stay [RandomColdWeatherAdjective]!</p>Brian Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16226203579969880161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899405181843764556.post-7282437271402137982011-09-30T13:06:00.000-07:002011-09-30T13:10:51.381-07:00dxContent outtage & conversation with Tech supportThank you for contacting support. <br /><br />Please hold for the next available operator to respond.<br /><br />You are now chatting with '[Name Redacted]'<br /><br />[Name Redacted]: Hi, how are you today?<br /><br />Brian Dunn: ok.<br /><br />Brian Dunn: any page on my website that is asp is not working.<br /><br />Brian Dunn: its been that way for at least 45 min<br /><br />[Name Redacted]: I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you.<br /><br />Brian Dunn: nobody has responded to my support request via the online form<br /><br />[Name Redacted]: Did you receive any error message?<br /><br />Brian Dunn: Tracking #<br /><br />Brian Dunn: http/1.1 500 Server error<br /><br />Brian Dunn: trackign number 8815675<br /><br />[Name Redacted]: Could you please provide me with the exact URL of the web page in which you are receiving the error?<br /><br />Brian Dunn: http://www.dxcontent.com/TR_GeneratorLibrary.asp<br /><br />[Name Redacted]: Thank you! <br /><br />[Name Redacted]: I have run a tool from my end to resolve the issue. However, it will take 1 hour to propagate.<br /><br />Brian Dunn: what kind of tool?<br /><br />Brian Dunn: What is the issue?<br /><br />Brian Dunn: hello?<br /><br />[Name Redacted]: It is the backend tool which reset the file permissions<br /><br />Brian Dunn: how did the file permissions get messed up?<br /><br />[Name Redacted]: Due to a technical glitch, it has occured.<br /><br />Brian Dunn: can you better describe "technical glitch"?<br /><br />Brian Dunn: hello?<br /><br />[Name Redacted]: The permissions for your website got corrupted due to some technical glitch.<br /><br />[Name Redacted]: I corrected it and it will work after 1 hour.<br /><br />Brian Dunn: are you going to check it in 1 hour to be sure?<br /><br />[Name Redacted]: It will work after 1 hour.<br /><br />[Name Redacted]: If you experience any issues, please contact us back.<br /><br />Brian Dunn: Oh, I will.<br /><br />[Name Redacted]: Is there anything else I can assist you with today?<br /><br />Brian Dunn: do yo uknow how long the glitch has been an issue?<br /><br />[Name Redacted]: I<br /><br />[Name Redacted]: I'm sorry, Brian.<br /><br />Brian Dunn: Other pages in my site (like html ) work... was it permissions only on asp?<br /><br />[Name Redacted]: Yes BRian<br /><br />Brian Dunn: The problem is I'm going camping in an hour and won't be able to check my site after 5pm. So I'm just tryng to make sure we've done all we can to make sure we've identified the correct issue... otherwise my site will be down till I get back Sunday.<br /><br />[Name Redacted]: I can understand your concern.<br /><br />[Name Redacted]: it will be resolved within one hour<br /><br />Brian Dunn: okay I will check. before I leave.<br /><br />[Name Redacted]: Okay.<br /><br />[Name Redacted]: Is there anything else I can assist you with today?<br /><br />Brian Dunn: no.<br /><br />[Name Redacted]: Thank you for chatting with us. Please feel free to contact us at any time. We are available 24x7.<br /><br />[Name Redacted]: Bye!<br /><br />Chat session has been terminated by the site operator.Brian Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16226203579969880161noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899405181843764556.post-58042722009372165052011-09-27T19:35:00.001-07:002011-09-27T19:39:26.275-07:00New function for Links to pfd20srd Bestiary<p> </p><p>If you liked the D20PFSRDSpellLink~ function, you're really going to like the D20PFSRDCreatureLink~ function. It's great for your custom random encounter tables. If you wrap it around your creature names (and follow some basic naming conventions), it will create a hyperlink in your generator results to the corresponding bestiary page on <a href="http://www.d20pfsrd.com/">www.d20pfsrd.com</a>!</p><p>I'd love to take credit for the idea, but I can't. In fact I'd abandoned the hope of linking random encounter results to creature pages. But, thanks to all the hard work being done at pfd20srd they've created a vehicle that uses a simple alias to get to the actual link (<a href="http://3pp.d20pfsrd.com/">3pp.d20pfsrd.com</a>). For example the Ogre URL might actually be nested in several subtype directories. A fictional example might be: http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/humanoid/ogre/common-ogre. But, through aliasing, the much simpler URL http://3pp.d20pfsrd.org/ogre will get you there as well. The power of this becomes obvious once you realize the only alternative is hand coding/copying the urls. </p><p>Earlier this week I'd converted the 13 Pathfinder <a href="http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/random-encounter-generators">random environment encounter tables</a> into dxContent random generators. It was basic work, nothing fancy. After my friend John (creator of d20pfsrd) showed me the aliasing tools, I created the first version of the creature link function and rolled it out to the 13 generators.</p><p>I thought Id provide sample code for all the DMs out there who need custom encounter tables. You can make it happen with just on simple one script and one table.</p><p><strong>SCRIPT:</strong></p><p><span style="font-family:'courier new';">#USES TABLES:FoulDungeon#<br />Foul Dungeon Encounter: [ENCDungCR2]</span></p><p><strong>TABLE: FoulDungeon</strong></p><span style="font-family:'courier new';"><p>8,{Dice~2d6} {D20PFSRDCreatureLink~goblins}<br />4,{Dice~1d4} {D20PFSRDCreatureLink~ghouls}<br />6,{Dice~1d4} {D20PFSRDCreatureLink~giant spiders}<br />.<br />.<br />.<br />(add rows as needed)</p></span><p>Have fun building your custom [RandomTerrain] encounter tables at <a href="http://www.dxContent.com/">dxContent.com</a>!</p>Brian Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16226203579969880161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899405181843764556.post-23501423147142760312011-09-21T17:46:00.000-07:002011-09-22T22:15:24.206-07:00Tools for tools!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-wdsBylXxHa4/TnwUvg7aXKI/AAAAAAAAABM/Dt9t5re5zhg/Photo%252520Sep%25252023%25252C%2525202011%2525201%25253A09%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-wdsBylXxHa4/TnwUvg7aXKI/AAAAAAAAABM/Dt9t5re5zhg/s195/Photo%252520Sep%25252023%25252C%2525202011%2525201%25253A09%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1316754840592.7551" class="alignleft" alt="" width="195" height="138"></a></div><p>In my last blog I talked about the new <strong class="strong rangy_1">MakeForm</strong>~ function which allows you to make complex interfaces for your Table Runner scripts. <a href="http://www.dxcontent.com/TR_LibraryGeneratorUI.asp?Mode=ID&LSID=18&AutoRun=USER">The City Block Generator</a> uses a complex form (shown at left). Today I want to tell you about a tool you can use that will aid you in using this function.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-FwlNYxvK0WA/Tnvysx6qrJI/AAAAAAAAABE/_5WQOqcJOds/Photo%252520Sep%25252021%25252C%2525202011%2525209%25253A33%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-FwlNYxvK0WA/Tnvysx6qrJI/AAAAAAAAABE/_5WQOqcJOds/s195/Photo%252520Sep%25252021%25252C%2525202011%2525209%25253A33%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1316754840533.2058" class="alignleft" alt="Screen shot 1" width="195" height="205"></a></div><p>As you can imagine, <strong class="strong rangy_1">MakeForm</strong>~ can get pretty complex and could become tricky to code a complex interface by hand. Well, there is good news. I've made a tool that can do all the coding for you - all you have to do is fill in fields. In the screen at left you can see I'm setting options and the tool is building the code for me. </p><p>A good analogy is TurboTax. Yes you can do your taxes by hand. Many people do and do it successfully. But the more complicated the household/business the more complicated the taxes. Eventually its just not realistic to do them by hand anymore. And the extra checks and hurestics that come with TurboTax can help you reduce the risk in the process.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RIeIbOJ4qWc/TnvysV1avWI/AAAAAAAAABA/L1ZuTPAJfPk/Photo%252520Sep%25252021%25252C%2525202011%2525209%25253A34%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RIeIbOJ4qWc/TnvysV1avWI/AAAAAAAAABA/L1ZuTPAJfPk/s305/Photo%252520Sep%25252021%25252C%2525202011%2525209%25253A34%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1316754840616.1807" class="alignleft" alt="Screen shot 2" width="305" height="179"></a></div><p>In this screen I've finished adding all the input elements, and I'm defining the overall size and title for the form.</p><p>So that's what I've done. I've built a "TurboTax" for the <strong class="strong rangy_1">MakeForm</strong>~ function. Like anything that is version 1.0 there are improvements that will be made, but its pretty useful right out of the box. You can get to it from the Table Runner editor, and from the syntax help reference. Here's a direct <a href="http://dxcontent.com/TR_MakeFormTools.html">link</a>.</p><p>I've also updated the help for <strong class="strong rangy_1">MakeForm</strong>~. So if you're the kind of person who needs the details, its all there.</p><p>So, good luck and happy script building. I can't wait to see the worlds most [RandomAdjective]-complex user form!</p>Brian Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16226203579969880161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899405181843764556.post-26836520223168422252011-09-18T12:21:00.000-07:002011-09-18T12:38:20.698-07:00New function!A new function was added to the script library called <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">MakeForm</span>~. (You did know there is a script library and <a href="http://www.dxcontent.com/TRHelp.html">help</a> section for building your own generators right?) You can use the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">MakeForm</span>~ function to create complex input forms with multiple text boxes, pick lists, radio buttons and instructions.<br /><br />So far most of the generators that I've created don't require many options to run. For example, Pathfinder Magic Scrolls only require you to click the Minor, Medium or Major button. It's quick and easy, but I've been wanting to do more with some of the generators allowing for greater options - like class, level limit, etc. However the tools to date required a new screen for every input. For example, If you look at the <a href="http://www.dxcontent.com/TR_LibraryGeneratorUI.asp?Mode=ID&LSID=18&AutoRun=USER">City Block Generator</a> you are presented with five or six screens in a row. That is not a "smooth" interface... its awkward. This new function is the first step in consolidating multiple options to a single screen.<br /><br />I've changed the <a href="http://www.dxcontent.com/TR_LibraryGeneratorUI.asp?Mode=ID&LSID=16&AutoRun=USER">Pathfinder Starting ability score generator </a>to make use of the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">MakeForm</span>~ function.<br /><br />There are a few improvements that I can immediately think of. First is allowing for input fields to be dependent on selected options. For example in a fictitious "origin generator" maybe you limit city choices by country choice.<br /><br />I hope you [RandomSatisfaction] the new MakeForm~ function.Brian Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16226203579969880161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-899405181843764556.post-61892272150956205652011-09-06T19:12:00.000-07:002011-09-06T20:00:41.269-07:00The first Month of dxContent.com<p>It has been over a month since dxContent went live, so I thought I'd take a moment to reflect. Well, that and my monitor died so my main box is idle at the moment.<br /><br /><p>On the plus side, I had over 1000 unique visitors come to <a href="http://www.dxContent.com">dxContent.com</a> in the first month. Eight twitter followers tapped into my tweets. The content library seems to have some popular generators in it that people are using. Several generators are hooked right into <a href="http://www.d20pfsrd.com">d20pfsrd.com</a>. Also, I got some important feedback from a visitor that lead to needed fixes to the magic item generator.<br /><br /><p>On the down side, only one visitor has created an account, and nobody has created a custom generator. Not surprisingly, dxContent hasn't broken even yet. Someday, ad clicks by viewers will hopefully cover the hosting costs. Unfortunately, the google ads aren't always relevant to dxContent, and that's a big problem. Sure, I see game related ads, but I see a fair number of gasoline & diesel powered backup generator ads, and, unfortunately way too many cloth "table runner" ads (you know, that nice one-foot wide decorative thing your wife puts on the table that you unceremoniously use to sop up spilled Mountain Dew and/or toss into the corner to make room for important stuff like RPG dice, minis, laptops and rulebooks). Table Runner was the name I gave the builder tools - maybe that was a poor choice? I also found some behind the scenes work flow issues to sort out, and there are always interface improvement ideas I come up with daily as I play in my own sandbox. My choice in hosting companies has been mostly good, but for three weeks now they can't seem to get my web stats to update without manual intervention. It really makes me feel [random negative emotion].<br /><br /><p>I guess it feels like a mixed start. Some things went good, some didn't and some will come with time. It has only been a month after all so i guess I need to be patient.<br /><br /><p>The next person to create an account gets a heartfelt [random verbal token of gratitude]! (so much for patience)Brian Dunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16226203579969880161noreply@blogger.com0