I am also debating TILE SIZE, like 40x40,50x50,80x80,and 100x100, or even 128x128.
I have tried them all, and I want the size that is perfect for hex, to look good at 1024x768 res. Now i normailly play at 1280x1024, but that res will just give a bonus viewing distance (if the map isnt fogged of wared).
Here is a shot of my tile engine at 80x80: http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/3571/802qr.png
and 100x100: http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/7278/1002vf.png
Ignore my textures right, now i am making new ones, especially for the new up-comming hex engine.
So what do you think is the best hex size. Larger size = nicer textures with more detail, but it seems like it could lessen detail of map transitions and terrain overall, and also it seems less strategic if its too big.
The advantage of larger tiles, is that my prog runs faster, larger tiles means less tiles to iterate through on-screen, and the fps can be vast, i mean its already way over my refresh rate so i dont notice, but for really low systems, and calculations i need it to run as fast as possible. I sync'ed camera movies for the fps, so its not twitchy at all lol.
There are a lot of variables that determine the best size. Will more than 1 character be able to occupy a tile? Will buildings span multiple tiles? How big will those things be? Maybe someone who has done something similar to what you are doing will have an opinion based on experience.
Well my game is going to be turn-based, and the view should be farer for those.
But my units may be represented by a few duplicates of a unit. Like an infantry unit, may represent 100 of them. So if 200 are on a tile then 2 are drawn, but this will be dumb if they player has many units on one-tile. I could just limit it, but i dont really know how i am going to handel my armies yet. Also a building barely takes one tile at all, yet as cities grow they begin to take more tiles.
I'm struggling with the same problem. What I'd like to do, but haven't figured out yet, is to have a unit have a position within a tile. I'm thinking about dividing my units of many soldiers into a number of sub-units, each represented by one icon. The unit mostly sticks together, but could form many formations: a line, a square or a chaotic retreat.
Original post by Anonymous Poster wtf ? four-sided "hex" with offset ?
just use quads, and rotate the camera by 45 degrees ! a LOT easier to handle.
(odd offset with squares... crazy people...)
The effect of these Squexes is that movement is still possible in 6 directions (instead of 4). The effect is entirely graphical and has no bearing on the play of the game any different from hexagons.
