So it sounds like you're asking for a package where you get (basically) the ability to draw lines, circles, textures, etc.: the basic graphics primitives. Here

So it sounds like you're asking for a package where you get (basically) the ability to draw lines, circles, textures, etc.: the basic graphics primitives. Here's my question to you: would you really want to build a hex map at that level? To me, that just seems an awful lack of abstraction. It's one thing if everything you do is a one-off figure, but for this you really want something that packages it together in a way that makes sense. If you don't get that from something like this package, you're going to build it yourself (best case), or just do without (much more likely) resulting in ugly, impossible to maintain code. I know, because I've been there. Here's a challenge to you: what exists outside of the Latex community that is remotely comparable to this? (And not just this, but any of the number of other Latex packages that do similarly impressive things.) I could be wrong, but as far as I know those things generally don't exist. Maybe the closest match would be in the web/JavaScript community, but I don't think those things make it so easy to generate PDFs (especially high-quality ones). Latex, for all its faults, seems to encourage this sort of highly powerful level of abstraction. I share your frustrating in trying to get things to integrate, but for this sort of thing I just don't see a good alternative.