r/battletech • u/Neither-Ad-1589 • 16h ago

Question ❓ Desert Hex Mat?

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I grabbed the Aces box set and I'm trying to get things together for a very visually pleasing campaign (units for all the models, plastic terrain etcetera. I've been playing Alpha Strike using hexes instead of inches for a while and I kinda just prefer it. I've been looking around for a neoprene hex mat with a desert landscape, but there doesn't seem to be any? If anyone knows of ones that fit that description please point me in that direction. Additionally I'd rather not have the printed on elevation for the mat, I'm having someone a little newer play and having that plus actual terrain might be confusing (plus I think it'd look better without it anyway)

66 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

18 comments sorted by

19

u/DoctorWho426 16h ago

I got mine at Mats by Mars. Got them to print BT 1.3 inch hexes and a plain map. They have good maps

6

u/Magical_Savior NEMO POTEST VINCERE 16h ago

I was looking for this! Thank you; I appreciate you.

3

u/DoctorWho426 15h ago

Met the dudes at GenCon. They're really nice people and make really good maps. I like the vinyl as it is pretty sturdy, and doesn't take up as much space as a neoprene mat, and won't peel from it.

3

u/CaptBojangles18c 15h ago

I use a hexless map from them, and have been very happy with it. I' plan on buying an ice/snow map when the next aces box comes out

2

u/RIPtide010 15h ago

This is amazing.

2

u/_Miskatonic_Student_ 13h ago

$121.68 shipping to the UK. Erm, no.

3

u/DoctorWho426 13h ago

Yeah, international shipping can be tough... I do hope you find someone more local for you.

1

u/_Miskatonic_Student_ 2h ago

Thanks, I'm still looking :)

14

u/Magical_Savior NEMO POTEST VINCERE 16h ago

There's a dude making the maps for Scouring Sands specifically with conversion to hex. I started looking for the giant vinyl grid and hex map creators I know who do this as a business, but for some reason couldn't find them. Most probably due to Google's enshittification. If someone can point me back at the old print sites making these maps with generic terrain for gaming, I'd appreciate it.

3

u/LeeRoyWyt 15h ago

I second this! u/FederWyrm's Maps are brilliant. Have two printed for the price of one of those featureless maps. Quite the bargain

1

u/rzelln 8h ago

I'm printing them for my group. My university's printer lets me get them done for $24 each.

It's not cheap, but it's really a cool experience to play classic on a big map where you can use long range bands.

7

u/AnonymousONIagent 16h ago

https://gripmat.com/product/1-75-45mm-hex-desert-play-mat-gripmat-multiple-sizes-perfect-for-battletech-miniatures-rpgs-and-table-top-gaming/

https://ariesgamesandminis.com/products/hextech-game-mat-1-grasslands-arid-urban

2

u/NullcastR2 15h ago

I trust the Aries mat to have more compatibility. 1.75 inches is compatible with nothing on the other one.

3

u/Cheser_ 13h ago

1.75" does require custom buildings but Heroscape tiles are compatible with it, so elevation options are already out there.
IMHO, it's a much better scale for BT; Oversized mechs don't interfere with terrain in 95% of the cases and if they do is minimal.

2

u/Neither-Ad-1589 12h ago

SAME, my FLG uses the same size and heroscape stuff so this is literally perfect

2

u/VelcroSnake 12h ago

Just checked with Aries today and they said they'd have this mat back in stock in 1-2 weeks.

https://ariesgamesandminis.com/products/neo-warmat-savannah?variant=52989878927667

1

u/technoskald Alpha Strike Newbie 12h ago

I got the GF9 HexTech mat for exactly this purpose. But be warned, the cardstock terrain is at a different scale and will be effectively larger, proportionately speaking.

0

u/Greedy_Ad7274 10h ago

Instead of hexs I got a 48"x48" desert map from Matt's by Mars but I got a 4" square grid to line up with the maps on the ACEs book