Hill Heights

[snowcat]

How tall can a Gentle Hill be?
And a Difficult Hill?
And how is this determined/affected by the hill's length/width dimensions?

Is there a basic formula, or is it just what looks right for Gentle (not steep) / Difficult (steep)?

Cheers

[Redwilde]

It's whatever you can balance a 15mm deep stand on the edge of the slope without it tipping over!

I've been using the thinnest pink foam and bevelling the edges a bit. I just put a smaller second layer on steep hills. Samples here: http://fanaticus.org/discussion/showthread.php?t=12741

This still isn't perfect when heavy infantry are on the slopes.

Although I prefer the look of even minimal height of the foam, I'll probably make up some layoured contour felt hills to try out too.

[ferrency]

Hill height isn't regulated, but you need to be able to actually play the game, so "be reasonable." I've seen hills in 15mm be anything from as thin as a piece of paper or almost an inch thick in the center.

Everyone always just fudges the "line over the curve is longer than on the flat" thing. Hill height should balance aesthetics and playability in the way you most prefer.

Alan

EDIT: Regarding the difference between "steep" and "gentle" hills... sometimes there isn't any. I sometimes declare "This is steep, this is gentle" and that's good enough. Other times I use color variation instead of height variation.

I consider "steep hill" to include "any kind of hill with rough ground" and not just hills taller/steeper than gentle hills, so the size doesn't necessarily matter.

[snowcat]

Thanks for the ideas. It was an aesthetic motive I had (larger, taller, more 'interesting' looking) but it does need to be practical. Cheers.

[Gregorius]

Hi Snowcat,

For my hills I use 3mm MDF. For gentle hills I just use one layer with the crestline marked. For steep hills I add 2 - 4 more levels. Thus a steep hill is no higher than 12mm.

Cheers,

[timurilank]

As a suggestion, if you opt for stacking pieces to create the steep hill, then change the colour of each contour Most map systems darken each elevation until it reaches a white peak.

You have another problem however, if you wish to represent a wooded steep hill. For this reason, I am refurbishing all my forest.

[snowcat]

I'll be carving some new hills out of super dense/hard packing foam. Going for the ultra-realistic look. Cheers.

[El' Jocko]

For my gentle hills, I just flock the surface. My steep hills are flocked and I add small rocks over the surface--giving them a more rugged appearance. I also sometimes carve them with gullies running down the sides (as opposed to the smooth sides of the gentle hills). I like them to be visibly different, even if they aren't actually any steeper.

The only downside is that the little rocks make it harder for elements to stay on the hill when their bases have metal on the bottom. I base all my figures with magnetic bottoms, so it doesn't give me any trouble. But it's occasionally a problem with my opponent's figures. So I might try a slightly different techique next time I make hills.

- Jack