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 Dr Mathias wrote:
The mats are really fantastic. I've been using them in my photoshoots.

Wow, that's excellent Matthias! The extra bits of flock really bring it to life in the photo (although I think they're just sitting there, it really does make the mat feel no longer 2D). Very nice!

I think it's the giant toad. Everything looks more alive when there's a giant toad involved, presumably by comparison.

Oh, right, topic - I received my shipment notification late last week, so I expect the mat will show up tonight or tomorrow.

I just checked my UPS tracking number and it was generated on the 24th (Thursday) but UPS is saying the package hasn't been received.

Oh, UPS, don't tease me!

That can happen if a company is basically preparing a package for shipment but hasn't actually handed it off to UPS yet.

Lol about the toad, Janthkin should've known you'd like that!

That toad is legendary! hahaha

Received my 'Barren Wastelands' today, looks good.

It's looks darker and more brown than I expected though, so you may want to adjust the image you use for advertising to more accurately match what the product looks like.

@Dr. Mathias

Well, there are a lot of reasons for that. Don't forget you are looking at a computer screen that is back lit, the mat is not. Also, the settings on you computer may be altered. Lastly, there is some slight variation in color form mat to mat. Each machine has its own quirks and prints slightly different colors than another like machine and also slightly different between each mat as ink levels change, etc.

In short, it isn't a perfect science, but we appreciate the feedback. And we are very glad to hear you like your mat!

I think Dr Mathias meant that mat in particular, as he had received another of yours previously (see the pic at the top of this page) which was a match to the images, presumably viewed on the same machine (which implies it is not a monitor issue).

That's useful to know, Mathias- any chance of a pic, maybe with a few of the same models you showed in the above photo?

Don't forget you are looking at a computer screen that is back lit, the mat is not. Also, the settings on you computer may be altered. Lastly, there is some slight variation in color form mat to mat. Each machine has its own quirks and prints slightly different colors than another like machine and also slightly different between each mat as ink levels change, etc.

I'm a graphic designer working across a couple different displays, I'm confident they're calibrated correctly. Variation from mat to mat I can understand, as well as monitor light vs. physical print. I'm just thinking it would be best for marketing purposes if the screen image is closer to reality (you can tweak screen image easier than the product at this point). No big issue and I might be the only person who cares, I have a bunch of terrain that matches the monitor image but not the actual mat so much. Still a great product it just means I need to make some new hills

For what its worth this was the best run Kickstarter I've back so far, and I've backed twenty or so. I'm guessing you guys had a majority of the work done in advance, and the good communication makes a huge difference.

 RiTides wrote:
I think Dr Mathias meant that mat in particular, as he had received another of yours previously (see the pic at the top of this page) which was a match to the images, presumably viewed on the same machine (which implies it is not a monitor issue).

That's useful to know, Mathias- any chance of a pic, maybe with a few of the same models you showed in the above photo?

Well I think the grassy plains is darker than the advertising image as well

It will be a few days until I can set up to shoot again, but I'll see what I can do.

I commented about the darkness either here, or in the Kickstarter comments as well. It is noticeable. Its not awful, in fact, I really like the mat, but it is definitely much darker.


Did I catch a rumor of a Dropzone Commander gaming mat? I pulled my Urban I mat out for a game of DZC, but the scale is too far off. I'd love to see the diagonal urban mat done in 10mm for Dropzone. That would rock.

Here's a pic with the same figures as in the earlier image. Light balance is set at 3200k, taken under tungsten lights. I didn't mess with saturation although it sure looks like I did. I'm not sure my earlier statement about it being significantly darker is accurate, although I think it is certainly more red/warm toned than the yellowish I expected. The important thing is that the color of the figures are pretty much spot on and match the other pic, so they should give a good baseline. I didn't notice that this mat has what appear to be vehicle tracks until I laid it out.



Here's the Tablewar pic:



Like I said before I really like these mats and they will get some use. I think it's a quality product and I'm glad I backed the KS. I should have gotten a couple others

If you're taking suggestions a nice Egyptian colored desert mat would be fab

That is a big difference. Your mat looks more like it should represent Martian terrain while the Table War picture looks more like a mundane desert found here on earth.

(There are plenty of reddish deserts to be found on earth....)

Ugh.

Not even remotely what I was saying, but thanks. Dr. Mathias' mat looks red. Like Red Planet red, not like the Mojave Desert brown of the stock photo. Better?

If I had known that they looked like that (btw that looks exactly like the desert in Utah/Nevada) then I would have picked that, I really like that coloring. Do all the mats have that slightly reddish color?

edit: BTW the desert out in Utah is often used for Mars movies.

@DrMathias - That is an interesting photo I do not know about your lighting though, 3200k might be to warm. That red does not get punched up like that under normal lighting, that I have seen. How close are your flashes and what kind of post producing did you use? I am just curious. I will photograph it myself and see what I come up with but your photo of Barren seems to really draw out more of the red were that's are a deeper brown/red.

btw I love the photos your doing, very cool stuff.

 Dugg wrote:
@DrMathias - That is an interesting photo I do not know about your lighting though, 3200k might be to warm. That red does not get punched up like that under normal lighting, that I have seen. How close are your flashes and what kind of post producing did you use? I am just curious. I will photograph it myself and see what I come up with but your photo of Barren seems to really draw out more of the red were that's are a deeper brown/red.

btw I love the photos your doing, very cool stuff.

Hi, I'll do another set up, and shoot under incandescent and then tungsten again. I used umbrellas to reflect light back, so it's not direct light. No flash or post production other than increase exposure by one stop. It is possible my bulbs are old and need to be replaced and that could produce a color cast.
I'm happy to try to get as accurate a shot as possible- the mats will certainly look different if photographed under fluorescent light or daylight.

I'll try to find my nuetral 50% gray card, should have done that from the start.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Okay, took another set today. Two lamps direct light, 500 watt, 3200K. I have a 50% gray card so that I could set desaturated gray with no color cast, and a piece of white Styrofoam to set the white point. I did the same thing for both mats. The second image may not have the correct exposure, it looks a little dark. I should mention that the first image looked 100% the same when the Dakka gallery uploader offered the 'optimized' image, so I think everything is set right in terms of color balance.

I'm starting to think that my camera emphasizes reds to some extent, so while the image is on the red side I don't think the mat appeared that red under the lights, at least to my eyes.





The mats are definitely going to look much brighter in situations with more lighting, like your average game store for example.

I just need to get some games on these now!!!

Yeah, there is minor variation from mat to mat, we can't do anything about it, honestly. Bear in mind too (as stated), the images you see here have differences is lighting, angle, etc. That make them look different. At the end of the day, what matters is that you are happy with your purchase. And Dr. Mathias, glad you like yours and thanks for the compliments on the well run Kickstarter! We busted our asses to hit all of our deadlines and goals.

You did great, I wish more Kickstarters had the same level of communication, quality and timeliness. There would be far fewer grumpy threads on Dakka

man when I can afford it I am so going to order one of these for my jungle themed board. I always thought that a board should tell a story as well as provide cover, (after all, the two forces are fighting for a reason, right? ) and this would look fantastic with my jungle trees, and aztec temples. I'm looking at the grassy plains 4x4.

@dr. Mathias

Super happy yo hear you like it! And yeah, I agree, there are a lot of ambitious Kickstarter launches that fall short, unfortunately. It is very difficult to do it correctly, but following through on your word is critical.

@raven

Glad you like it! They do make for a much more immersive play experience. You'll enjoy yours when you get it!

Unrelated to the coloring issue, but how are people storing their mats?

I thought I could use the bag that the mat came in for storage, specifically hanging from a hook in my garage, but the bag tore when I was tightening the draw strings so hanging it never came about. I have tried leaning the rolled up and bagged mat in a corner but the mat has a tendency to fold over and bend in half--causing me concern of the graphics eventually suffering damage from creasing.

Aside from laying the rolled mat on the ground does anyone have a decent storage solution?

Mine are currently laying on the ground. I have the same problem with my older Sabol mats, and my Zuzzy mats. Right now those are all stored in the cardboard shipping tubes.

My wife has some containers she uses for wrapping paper - I was going to look into one of those, and see if they're long enough for all that mats. Failing that, I'll see if the Container Store extra-long underbed boxes will work.

Otherwise, I'll probably get a nice sturdy tallish shipping box, take the top off, and store all my mats in that box in a corner standing up (but supported by the corner).

Flat, under my bed.

EDIT: I mean to say rolled in the original bag and box, then laid horizontally.

I don't have a little game going on under the bed as my original response implies

Dr Mathias, thanks for the pics and all the photography nerd talk, that is awesome . Also thanks to Dugg for directly commenting on the coloring and looking at that with you. Both of those were very helpful!

I bought a cardboard tube to store my mat in. The bag just doesn't seem very practical to me, as the long mat tends to bend within it. The cardboard tube is great and I'm very happy with it! I got it at a FedEx / Kinko's, but I also had them cut my mat down (which seems like it can be done easily with a razor, by the way, they just have a nice straight edge to do it with). So, I'm not sure if a full-length mat would fit in the cardboard tubes they have there.

Edit: I also cut the cardboard tube to be the correct length, which was easy enough. They usually have removable plastic end caps which still fit on fine if you cut it. I also glued one end cap to the tube to be permanently on, and left the other removable- keeps the heavy mat from knocking off the bottom cap this way.

Cardboard tube or PVC pipe.

Good ideas. I'll head over to a UPS or FedEx store and see about grabbing a cardboard shipping tube.

 DarkTraveler777 wrote:
Unrelated to the coloring issue, but how are people storing their mats?

I thought I could use the bag that the mat came in for storage, specifically hanging from a hook in my garage, but the bag tore when I was tightening the draw strings so hanging it never came about. I have tried leaning the rolled up and bagged mat in a corner but the mat has a tendency to fold over and bend in half--causing me concern of the graphics eventually suffering damage from creasing.

Aside from laying the rolled mat on the ground does anyone have a decent storage solution?

I was about to toss out the box the mat came in when I noticed that it was starting to sag in the bag standing up in a corner...so I just kept the individual boxes and keep them stored in them.

Just to copy over the comments from the KS section here- it doesn't seem to be variation in the mats, but rather that all wasteland mats are darker than the image.

Shouldn't be an issue really- just good for people to note who are considering it, and TableWar to note for their images of the art for it.

David Smith 7 days ago
Mine turned up today thanks, very nice but the Wasteland is a lot darker than the sandy desert I was expecting

Dale Murchie 6 days ago
My Wasteland arrived in the UK today. As David Smith said below, the Wasteland is a touch darker than I was expecting (planned to used it for wild west) but it still looks great and can double for alien landscapes too. Really fine product! Good work! (off to look at your website for another maybe ;-) )

Very cool. I might just have to get a couple or four.