Arena Rex Forums

Hej,

I was wondering, how I am going to realize a modular arena floor where I do not have fixed areas with holes.
Thinking about a modular board setup with cake-like pieces. What do you guys think? Do you have a better idea than this?
I hoped to have an even ground without any cracks inbetween the floor pieces. Hope someone has the perfect idea.

_________________
Sheijtan's ARENA REX Experience

I would say have 4 big squares for the center of the arena.

Then have 4 curved ends to go around it, if you want a circular arena.

quick sketch

the white angled lines is suppose to be the cut for the outside perimeter of the arena.

the neon-green lines basically a quick representation to hold the arena together with wood or metal dowels or strong magnets.

Alternatively or additionally, you could still use the template above, and insert a 1 solid piece arena floor for different arena floor settings.

Although the ideal shape for these arena would be circular, you could think of changing the shape up a bit.

Circles will be hard to get a decent modular chape out of. Ashur has come up with a great solution of the centre of the arena being square modules that could be changed out or rotated.

An alternative would be to go for a polygon; such as an octagon. It would give your arena an individual look and would allow for 5 sqaure pieces that could be swapped around and 4 triangular sections.

As for the surface, it's going to be hard to create a sand texture that doesnt have hairline cracks. A better solution might be to use a flagstone or timber effect for the bulk of the surface with patches of sand. If you look at photos of the Coliseum there were vaults below the arena floor and the earth was placed on large timber and concrete floor/roof sections. The effect would look like some of the sand has been shifted / blown away and the sub structure is exposed.

I think the more realistic you want the base texture, the harder its going to be to create modularity.

My idea, if I ever get around to it, was to create a footprint with as many pits as I feel I would want and then just make covers for them all. The main footprint would likely be a basic sand texture, and the covers for each pit would either be modelled as slight sand dunes or trap doors. Then, just add or remove the covers as you see fit.

I figure if you make a grid with 15-20 pits, that gives you a substantial amount of options. Likely you will only want a few open at one point. The nice thing is that if you want to have "interactive" hazards, you can open or close random pits mid-game without swapping whole sections of the board. (think Gladiator, the scene where a hole opens up in the ground and a tiger comes out).

_________________
http://alladinsbazaar.blogspot.ca - very much a work in progress...

My plan is to do something like the above diagram. Rather than doing multiple pieces to swap in an out, I would build pits underneath each zone, and make the top pieces double sided. One would be flat, and one would have linear walls. I'd probably model the up to look like iron grating, and maybe some of the flat sides would have some small relatively flat obstacles. Then each piece give you four options: open pit, flat ground, and walls aligned horizontally or vertically.

You don't necessarily have to do a 2x2 grid taking up the whole arena, you could do a totally modular arena with 5x5 or more, you could also do an arena which is mostly sand with a few zones in key areas. I think this will probably be what I end up doing, maybe 5-7 zones. For the center I may do a big fountain or something, on the other side of a concrete platform. You can also do the same thing with the columns. By mounting the on a wood or acrylic token you can sink them into the board so they appear as nearly flat pieces, or use them as columns.

I've been toying with the idea of a single-piece arena made with 1.5" to 2" of foam with pre-cut holes for "drop-in terrain".

In a 3' x 3' circular arena, I'd cut a few 3" holes, and several 2" holes. I'd then have multiple 3" and 2" inserts designed to look like pits, spikes, flat ground, un-opened trap doors, pillars, walls, bonfires, etc. Just drop an insert into each hole before playing and boom! You're ready to go.

I've been leaning this way because it gives the majority of the playing surface the same texture, with the only interruption being immediately around the terrain feature. I also think it will be more efficient for manufacture and storage to make multiple small "insert" pieces instead of whole 1' x 1' terrain sections.

That's a brilliant idea!
I'll get the Ruined Temple Tablescape set from Secret Weapon Miniatures, each tile is 12". I will ask my brother-in-law (who is a carpenter) to build the round "scaffold" part for me so I can fit in 4 of the tiles - and get a semi-modular arena

_________________
Ludus Calamitas - Aut inveniam viam aut faciam

I realize that this post hasn't gotten any traffic in a LONG TIME, but does anyone know if this design ever came to fruition?

If yes, I'd love to see.

If no, I'd love to pick it up and run with it.

It seems like most of the posters that were around in 2013 aren't around anymore, but Sheijtan still is. Maybe he can give us a status update.

_________________
My Arena Rex painting log