Hey, all. I've just gotten into the TerrainLinX system (for some reason I keep wanting to call it TileX...), and already the kitbashing bug's bitten. I'm thinking about converting and expanding on (to a degree) the Hinterlands and Cavernworks sets (I've yet to get them, but I really want a wilderness area - while I could convert the stuff I have from Fat Dragon Games, I'd rather be able to share what I come up with among everyone, and not have to keep it to myself/jump through hoops to get it posted).
A couple of the features I'm going to add in:
Two types of 'Half Tiles' (one triangular and one semi-triangular) to give more variance to the shape of the walls
A 3 to 4-piece bridge set (TerrainLinX ends with a 1 or 4 inch bridge in between)
Full posts
Walls (Stone/Stone, Stone/Cavern, and Cavern/Cavern)
Tiles (everything I can get to look good)
Anything else I may discover inside the sets once I get them.
Any tips to get me started on my latest bout of insanity?
Magius out.

The biggest drawback of tlx's modularity is the difficulty of doing organic shapes (at least in the tiles). It would be easy to do walls in a similar way to the hills- have them be in varying lengths and just score and bend them into whatever shape you want. The problem would be fitting a tile on top (in the case of a hill).

I'm excited to see what you come up with.

Sacretis

I was just looking at Vault of Ancients set, and then saw this thread, Here is how I would handle the hills. Build the main hill body just like a TLX building so you have a nice solid frame to work with. The sides are what get fancy, and why looking at the vault tiles is important.

In the Vault, WWG create a nice system for making holes in the Vault floor of different sizes by using TLXed edging pieces. So for the sides I would make bash the Cliff side sheet to be the same height as the standard TLX Wall plus a 1/4inch or 3/8 inch depending on your foam core. Then cut a TLX tile so that one or 2 sides can plug in to the TLX second tier and then cut the the other side to match what I want the cliff to be shaped like. Attach the cliff face to the tile then attach the TLX skin to the tile. Trim of cliff side excess and there you go a TLX cliff Face.

I hope this made sense. It was what I was thinking about trying as soon as I got a chance to purchase a TLX set

Sounds like a difficult task that would be very rewarding once it is accomplished. Keep us updated if you do attempt it.

I realize the difficulty in using such a granular system as the TerrainLinX system to create organic shapes, but I think the addition of the triangular half-tiles, along with using an organic texture on the walls and floors, will go a long way toward handling this problem.
I might start on this as early as tonight, though more likely it'll be tomorrow, and I'll definitely take pictures to let you guys see how everything's coming together.
Magius out.

I don't quite see what you'd need triangular tiles for. You can just use normal tiles and then set up angular walls.
Or do you intend to use the triangles to top off the upper part of the hill? For example to build a hill with an octagonal footpring instead of a square one?

That's exactly what I'd use them for, especially what I'm referring to as the 2/3 triangular pieces (basically, cutting diagonally just after the glue point for the anchor so that I can use it on the middle level instead of just on top). This will also add some flexibility on the base tiles without having to create strange combinations on the base tiles themselves (for example, instead of making a tile that's half grass and half stone that's split along where the wall would go, I can just use a half-piece of each). For a standard building, I don't think it would have much of an impact, but it would go a long way toward giving a more natural feel to a natural wall.
The only issue with this is the fact that the 2/3 tile would overhang the wall below it a bit, while the 1/2 tile wouldn't cover all of the post below. Then again, that's why I'm including both.
Magius out.

I've been thinking about different ways to do hills and such. I have an alternate idea for you (take it for what it's worth).

I'd make the hills Hellworks/Mars Station style, where each piece is it's own organic shape/style. Then I'd simply cut holes (somewhat randomly) in the bottom that could be place over anchors, similar to the bottom of the Large Columns from Lost Halls. On top of the hills I'd pull anchors so that structures could be placed. Alternately, the hill could simply be glued to a tile, or the bottom could be left open, and posts could be mounted along the side of the hills

For larger area hills (ie, bigger than one sheet of paper across), just square one or more sides so that they could multiple hills be linked together along the squared sides, perhaps underneath by bobby-pin, or by some clever as-yet-to-be-determined Tlinxy method.

While that's a workable idea (and just about exactly what I'll be doing for the Stalagmites), I wanted something that I could fit in with other TerrainLinx pieces seemlessly - so you could build a Dwarven Fortress built into a cliffside, a cavern worn out by a river passing through it, etc, etc. While that would create a very organic look for the set, it wouldn't allow for as easy a transition as I would like.
That said, I will be trying out a couple of things to ease the transition - 1" tall connector posts and walls to give a more gradual slope to the terrain, and slopes modified from the Thoumont's roofing system to give the illusion of a gentle slope and give a less straight-line footprint - but I haven't even started on the easy stuff yet (walls and such), so all of this is just sitting in the back of my head for the moment.
Magius out.

One thing you might consider for an organic look is simply making the walls bendy. For example, for a normal 6" wall, print out the long angled wall, and bend it back and forth (either in curves, or hard angles, depending on the surface you're trying to emulate). If you connect enough of these (most on posts to anchors, but some posts could be free floating), the area will look to eye as if its fairly organic, even if most of it is regular.

I'll have to see what I can do with that. The problem with just scrunching down an angled wall to get the effect is that you'd end up with bits jutting out from the top as well as the bottom... But I'll see what I can put together to get it to work. I'm going to focus on the basics first, though.
But, for now, I think I'm going to go ahead and get everything I need to get started on this... Hopefully I'll have a progress report for you all tomorrow (though it'll probably just be 'design finished' for a while, until I get all the basic pieces churned out - then the fun stuff will start coming!)
Magius out.

I think sets like Hinterlands need GSD files made much more than they need TLX conversions. The Hinterland set is already good at what it does, it's just tricky to cut out (the trees).

I think it would also benefit from some "pre-made" geometry for the cliffs (handled with GSD files) that fits well together.

Having looked at the set, I'd agree - in part. As it is, it's perfectly workable (and could use a good GSD update). However, there's a lot of potential in making it TLX compliant - as I mentioned earlier, imagine building a hill or mountain that transitions directly and almost seamlessly into the dungeon or cavern setup you have planned. With the way the set works by default, you can't really do that. With TLX (and some of the added pieces I have planned), you can. Heck, if I can get everything to work out (and Denny et al accept the work I've done), I'm hoping that this becomes the definitive all-natural TLX set.
Of course, I'm still on the early stages, doing all of the easy work (the hinterlands tiles are a breeze to put together, but I'll need to figure out how to do the grid at some point...), and I have a ways to go before I begin tackling the really fun (and tough) stuff (slopes primarily, though I'm sure my idea for the bridge will be tricky).
Still, I'm off to a decent start, and can't wait to show off the ideas I have for this set.

That's got to be the way to go.

TLX is all about reaping the benefits that come from compatibility between sets. Why keep built and natural settings separate, when you could provide smooth integration between the two? - It is just too useful for us gamers.

To Further elaborate on Robby and my idea, if you lengthened the "bendy" walls so they're 2+1/4" high and placed tabs on top, you could then construct them in a similar way to the hinterlands/mars station hills. You could glue a textured piece on top and use these to have the edges of a hill be organic. You would be limited to jutting out from the tile, but I think it is a workable solution with some creativity on the part of the builder.

Sacretis

You'll have to see what I'm planning on doing with the slopes (which are next on my design/build list). I think it'll come out looking really good - and I've just confirmed that the posts can hold two walls simultaneously, so I'll be able to pull off my Transition slopes.
Progress update: I almost have a beta build ready to go using the triangular Half-Tiles. Pics will be forthcoming once I finish up with the first build. Still have a whole lot of design work ahead of me, though - on the up side, the triangular pieces work great (and should be incredibly useful for a more practiced builder than myself).
Magius out.

OK, as promised, here's the first round of pics. I'm just starting on the project, but I'm hoping you guys can see the potential of what I'm trying to do:

First off, what the half-tiles look like on the ground:


Next up, how the half tiles look with a wall and another tile attached. You'll note that it lies flatter when attached to another tile.


Finally, here's how the half tile will look resting on the top of the level below (I haven't finished that particular tile yet...).


That takes care of the first round of piccies. I'll upload the next batch when I've built up the area a bit (tiles around the base and some 3" dirt tiles to give the build a bit more variety on the base geometry). Until then.
Magius out.

OK, it's been a couple of weeks since the last update on this, but I'm still working on it. After a flurry of activity yesterday and today, I've finally finished some of the fun stuff - the slopes (well, a good start on them, anyways). I've also finished up the tiles for the demo build, and I have pictures of what I've finished so far:

First up, the basic structure without any slopes.

A second angle. Nothing too exciting yet, but this is the basic shape I'm going with (for now).

Here's a look at the build with a single slop put on.

Finally, a view of the piece with the slopes put on. This is about the same angle as the last picture, just with the two new slope pieces (90 degree turn, and 6" transition) in place. Now, I just need to work out all the details on building a 45 degree angle turn when the trusses won't fit together (without making it a 3 page build...), and I'll be good to go. I think I know how to do it (and if it works, it'll be the first TerrainLinx piece to socket directly into another wall piece), but I still need to design and build the thing.
Magius out.

NICE!!! I love how you've adapted Thoumont's TLX roofing to suite more organic, angular hill forms. Brilliant move!

Wow, I wasn't sure about this at first, but damn - It really came together very nicely! I'll be watching this with great interest! Especially since I've been wanting Hinterlands all T'lnxedified for awhile now!

Nice work!

That was brilliant!!! I would never have thought of that ... I just love all the ideas this community comes up with. Great work!

That's a Great kitbash, Magius. TLX countryside = awesome!

Suggest you have try edging all the rest of those pieces, as all the white lines detract unfairly from what is an otherwise superb bit of work. Even if the color isn't quite right, it will be a lot better than white.
You'll get the best resutls by edging before assembly - easier to keep the edging to the edges. If I have to edge afterward, I use a chisel tipped pen (to get into the notch) and a lot of concentration. If possible, edge from the back side - that way any spillover is hidden from view,

The other thing is, you seem to be cutting off all of your flaps! It looks intentional, but I just wonder why. They really do make a difference on those second level tiles like your hill, especially with white foamcore.

Sacretis

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Regarding the edging, remember that these are 'work in progress' - in particular, the angle piece and the 6" transition piece are the third try I made at the pieces (I'm still not quite happy with the angle piece, but I figure I can revisit that toward the end of the design process (and I still have a huge list of things that need designing before this set is done - once I finish with the rest of the slope pieces, I'm planning to get to work on forest and hedge pieces). Once I get everything nailed in, I'll definitely be edging the pieces.
As for the tabs, I personally find them more fiddly than I like. I'll definitely take a look at keeping them on with the next set of pieces (though what I'll probably do is convert over the edging system using the railing system, so most of the point would be mostly moot).
Magius out.

Thank you for asking this question. I thought you were SUPPOSED to cut off the flaps, and after going back and looking at the TerrainLinx video it seems you're not supposed to. THe poster might have done it to save time, or like me might have thought that was the proper way to go about it. Thankfully I've only been at this for about 5 days, being a complete newbie. and only made 4 floor tiles... So this doesn't effect my work catastrophically. But thank you for making the observation - nothing in the instructions indicates the flaps are supposed to remain connected (that I've noticed, at least)

I have been watching this attentively and can't wait to see where it goes next. Thank you and please keep the pics coming.

As for the flaps, I find that keeping them connected proves to give more stability and helps the foamcore tabs to fit snugly inside the slots rather than loose. It also helps with visual appeal when not using railings and such, such as on the edge of the bottom level of a build.

definitely cool. And that geometry gives me an idea for a modern parking garage using streets of legend and other mayhem sets......

This is really pretty and seems to be a lot of work you put into it! Kudos!

Does anyone have ideas how you could make sloped areas like these keep miniatures on them? Is there some anti-slide rubber stuff you can glue to the bases? Because this here is prettier than "step" hills but not being able to put miniatures on large parts of the terrain because they slide off would defeat the purpose for me.

I have an idea for this, but it'll take some work. Right now, what I'm thinking about doing is a hanging ledge of the appropriate size (1", 1.5", and 3" versions) that rests against the slope itself, supported by a piece that curls under the top of the slope. The lip of the slope might complicate things, but I'll have to give it a try and see how it works.
Once I build the geometry for it, I'll definitely be submitting a kitbash so it can be used with Thoumont's, along with a roofcap to maximize the places you can put miniatures for the builds.
Magius out.

you can stick thin abrasives to the base of your minis to keep them put. It's much easyer then trying to cover the terrain with anything.