Fan made boards for commercial games

First you should probably get Either Photoshop (Expensive) or a free program called the Gimp.

300 dpi (dots per inch) is usually fine for desktop publishing print quality. I usually go down to 72 dpi, it is smaller file sizes and I don't mind the quality dropoff for prototypes or something only a few people are going to use.

You are going to want to use layers. consider these panes of glass with paint on them of your words and graphics. They are useful so you can move text around, or adjust your empire building dots.

There are lots of photoshop tutorial sites. Though I can't recommend a good one for the basics.

I don't know any of the games, other than the pic you posted and an Empire Builder map I found on the BGG, so I'm not sure I get your idea.

What you need is the WoW map you linked to, but with the textures removed, a more linear style, and the dot pattern of the Empire Builder board added?

I can easily draw the map in CorelDraw (let me know which version you are using), and add the dot pattern. A Corel image can be scaled up to whichever size you want without any quality drop, since it's vectorial art.

Is something like this what you're aiming for?

Seo

The easiest way would be to draw it right from scratch. ;-)
If you can send me the measures you want, I'll draw the map for you in a couple minutes. Post map size, distance from dot to dot and dot size.
If you still need to adjust the dot size after the grid is drawn, the easiest method is aplying a white border to the dots and adjust the border width: the wider the width, the more it will cover, and the smaller the dots will be.

I'll send you the map in one layer, the grid on another, and the cities and text on another, so it's easier for you to make adjustments. If things get too messy, you can always ask for more help. :-)

Here's the easiest method:
a) place the bitmap refference (the map you linked to)
b) lock the map position (in the Arrange menu, or the context menu)
c) click outside the map to deselect (to avoid autotracing)
d) select the Bézier tool (the second pencil)
e) zoom into the map, and start tracing. Just point and click, point and click, point and click. No need for dexterity. What you're drawing is actually a many-sided irregular polygon that matches the map shape. This is easy to do even with a mouse, though a Wacom tablet speeds the process. ;-) Once you finish one closed area, go for the next. To add rivers or borders (which are not closed paths), just do the same, but switch to the arrow and back to the Bézier tool, so the program knows they're independent objects.

OK. That was a quick response to my previous request for measures! ;-) Just let me know the dot size you want.

Just place the other elements over the grid. If you need to, individual dots from the grid could be removed.

I have to go now, but I'll send you the map later.

Saludos,

Seo

Ahh the tablet... love it... it quadrupled my speed in Photoshop and Illustrator...

~Josh
Not to mention the important stuff, like House of the Dead and Collapse. ;-)

OK. The map is ready. You can download it from here.

It's a Croel 8 file, with everything in layers and with names so it's easier to handle. If you want the dots bigger just add a border and adjust the size.
I also included a purple cube, as I think that's what's on the Empire Builder board image I saw.

The continents are all independently drawn, so you can move them around.

Enjoy!

Seo

Try with this file. I replaced the font with Arial, and saved as Corel 7 (I'm working with v12, maybe the problem is produced by saving as v8).

Let me know if it works. We'll find a way. :-)

Seo

The grid is just a bunch of circles, combined as a single object. It covers all the board (and about 1 inch outside it, all around), so you can stretch it to the exact size you need by dragging the corner handlers, and move it to the exact placement required. Treat it as if it where a plain rectangle. Don't use the side handlers, or the grid will loose the correct width:height ratio.

The problem with part of the grid not showing is probably due to lack of memory or something. It shows fine on my screen, and should print without problem. Try changing the zoom level, or with the full screen preview, or simply accept that Corel fails to show it but it is there. I have suffered similar problems with complex objects in the past (the current release has solved this problem, AFAIK).

If editing turns impossible (or too hard) send me the instructions and I'll be glad to do it for you.

Seo