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(2 edits) (+1)

Edit: Anything in this review that talks about tileset limitations is now totally outdated. More tiles have been added. Everything looks great.
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The Tiles Of Xark! is a neat, charming old-school hexmap tile kit.

It doesn't come with a way to assemble it yourself, so you'll need something like Cone Of Negative Energy's Hex Kit to do that.

Xark *is* usable in commercial projects (at least as of 11/15/20---read the game page thoroughly in case this review gets outdated,) and Hex Kit's default tiles are *not* commercially useable, so having Xark considerably expands what you can do with Hex Kit.

That all said, there isn't an actual commercial license .txt in the Xark download at the moment, so I'm not sure how to credit it other than listing its name, the author, and a link to this itchio page.

It *is* definitely worth using however. The art has a fun and inviting tone, while still channeling a strong retro flavor.

The tileset has a few limitations, mainly in terms of not having some very specific buildings (cottage, palace, and church would be helpful) and not having U pieces for the various animal tracks (so you can lay them out in a straight line, but you can't curve them,) but it's also got some unusual inclusions like two types of slime, a worried half-submerged skull, and some 80s radios and cassettes.

My instinct is that Xark cooperates well with other fairly minimalist tile kits, but I haven't specifically tried to combine it with anything, so I can't say for sure.

Overall, even if the tile count stays at 114, I think this is a solid asset for creators. For me specifically, it's been a great intro to hex mapping, and I think it's also extremely valuable for establishing a whimsical, retro tone for adventure modules where that's the goal. Pick it up if you get the chance.

(+1)

I think it's used for HPS's Hex Cartography Kit

(1 edit) (+2)

It's meant to be used with Hex Kit. The HPS Cartography is also meant to be used with Hex Kit. You load the tiles into that software.

https://cone.itch.io/hex-kit