I've just seen a photo of the two new playmats (Deathstar 2 and Bespin) side by side.

I like them both but I did notice that they appear to have slightly different shades on the starfield sections.

(Bespin looks darker than Deathstar 2)

I'd like to get one to go with my starfield mat to play epic games.

Does anyone know which mat matches the standard starfield mat more closely?

Thanks!

Good question... this might influence my next mat as well...

I'm getting my Death Star II tonight at my league night, I will try to see how that matches.

I found the reflective sheen on my death star 1 and starfield is dependent on he angle of the fibers in the mat, and it caused the illusion that the starfield black was different, but with a polarizer or in very diffuse light, the black matched fine. I suspect that's at work here too.

Thanks for the replies...

I'd be interested to hear back from you JediAutobot.

I hadn't thought of that Ravncat... I think you may be right there.

I found the reflective sheen on my death star 1 and starfield is dependent on he angle of the fibers in the mat, and it caused the illusion that the starfield black was different, but with a polarizer or in very diffuse light, the black matched fine. I suspect that's at work here too.

I observed the same discrepency in color with the new Bespin mat at our recent store championship. The plain star field mat that was next to it looked dull grey by comparison. Later in the day, I was on the other side of that table and noticed the opposite sheen - star field was pure black, Bespin was dull/matte.

We spun the star field mat around so that the "Star Wars" logos matched in orientation and the two then looked seamless from both sides. The official mats definitely have a 'tooth' or 'grain' in the surface of the fabric.

I have the Bespin mat and the DS1 mat. Both are pretty close in color. Really in products with printed ink you will always have slightly different tones.

I agree with the above, the sheen changes your perception. I have a photo to post of my DII next to a starfield that I will try to post tomorrow once I'm off my phone.

Here is my new Death Star II next to the Starfield map that the store owns. Unfortunately, I could not get a picture next to a Bespin map. Looking at the Bespin, I would say it does look darker from one angle and the same as the Death Star II from another.

I found the reflective sheen on my death star 1 and starfield is dependent on he angle of the fibers in the mat, and it caused the illusion that the starfield black was different, but with a polarizer or in very diffuse light, the black matched fine. I suspect that's at work here too.

I observed the same discrepency in color with the new Bespin mat at our recent store championship. The plain star field mat that was next to it looked dull grey by comparison. Later in the day, I was on the other side of that table and noticed the opposite sheen - star field was pure black, Bespin was dull/matte.

We spun the star field mat around so that the "Star Wars" logos matched in orientation and the two then looked seamless from both sides. The official mats definitely have a 'tooth' or 'grain' in the surface of the fabric.

Yep, this. Just rotate till the colors match.

I found the reflective sheen on my death star 1 and starfield is dependent on he angle of the fibers in the mat, and it caused the illusion that the starfield black was different, but with a polarizer or in very diffuse light, the black matched fine. I suspect that's at work here too.

Exactly the same problem with mine. Well, not a problem really.... just at certain angles one LOOKS different than the other. In person, or up close they are perfect matches though.

I wish I had know about the Death Star 2 map before I purchased the Death Star 1 map. I wonder if someone at the LGS wants one at a discount.

I started a topic on this a while back. However, at the time, nobody seemed to have the new mats in hand.

Anyway, as for me? My Bespin mat's "space area" is more gray than black. But my Starfield mat is definitely black. The two mats don't match up well at all. And it's kind of annoying.

Figured my Bespin mat must have been one of the last at the printer as the color seemed quite a bit duller. (The Star Wars logo, for instance, is a dull yellow/beige as opposed to the bright yellow/gold seen on my Starfield mat.) So I sent a message to FFG's customer service department a few weeks back and am still waiting to hear back...

Thanks for posting the photo JediAutobot. That doesn't look too bad a match.

Sorry to hear your mats don't match Harlock999. Hope FFG reply to your message.

Hmmm... not sure what to do now.

Also keep in mind you have probably been putting your new mats next to mats that have been in use for awhile, and thus have faded a bit. Standard wear and tear really.

The direction you lay the Mats though is the kicker, all fabrics have a 'grain'. When these are manufactured they are likely glued to the neoprene roll in the direction of the loom fibers coming off a separate roll to maximize material. And though the fabric is likely a true bidirectional weave, the warp fibers are all going in one uniform direction while the weft fibers are run back and forth. No big deal, as long as FFG doesn't up and change the orientation of the printing on a mat such that it can't line up it's weave with a blank starfield one,they should be fine.

When laying mine out I always imagine the X-wing logo as a logo on a football field and make sure one of facing each player. Easy reference point.