I use photoshop for most of my image editing but it does not have a method for generating a hex-grid.
Consequently I am using GIMP with a hex-grid creation script.
Unfortunately, GIMP and VASSAL produce their respective hex-grids in different ways.
GIMP allows you to set the pixel length of a side of a hex, point-to-point of a hex and side to side of a hex. Vassal allows you to set the hex height and the hex width.
As a consequence I have been unable to match a hex-grid produced in GIMP with a superimposed hex-grid from VASSAL.
I need to know one of the following; how can I produce a hex-grid in VASSAL and export it to use in Photoshop as a transparent overlay/layer OR what inputs are needed in Vassal and GIMP to produce hexes of the same size?
I need to know one of the following; how can I produce a hex-grid in
VASSAL and export it to use in Photoshop as a transparent overlay/
layer
OR what inputs are needed in Vassal and GIMP to produce hexes of the
same size?
The easiest way to do this is to create a map board in Vassal and
setup the hex grid the way you want it. You can then leave the
background blank. Select the option to display the hex grid and any
hex numbers. Then open the module with this blank board and take a
picture of it using the camera button. That should give you a PNG of
the hex grid that Vassal uses.
(If you set a background color and want to get rid of if, select the
set background color again and then hit “cancel”. It will clear the
color).
Using this method I do not have to create a hex-grid in either Photoshop or GIMP.
I have been able to take the snap-shot in VASSAL and then take the image into Photoshop where I have removed the background colour. This has given me a hex-grid on a transparent background - exactly what I was after!
I can now use the hex-grid as an overlay to accurately place terrain.
