Are hexes really necessary in WitP?

[geozero]

Okay, I turned off the hexes and boy does the map really look beautiful... I love maps, I am a MAP GEEK.

But seriously,

the way the game plots things, movements, distances, etc. was the use of hexes even necessary? I could see how in the vast expanse of ocean you could be able to click a ship and drag a line to a waypoint, etc. and tell it to sail there at a specified speed. The game could then plot movement, enemy ships, sightings (horizon and curvature of the earth, etc.).

Just wondering if hexes were left for us older mapboard days gamers. Don't get me wrong I love hexes, they are wonderful and better than squares, but with the capabailties of programming just wonder if they are even necessary. [&:]

[Aelbric]

IMHO, I believe there is a subset of gamers here who would LOVE to see vector-based maps. Damn hard to code for if I understand correctly though. Wish I was a coder, I'd take a crack at it [:D]

[von Murrin]

That's asking for insanity.[:D]

Hexes form a helpful reference overlay. "F6" is your friend.[:)]

[siRkid]

A war game without hexes are you insane!

[geozero]

Kid, yes I am insane.

But that's another matter entirely. [:D]

Hell you could make each PIXEL a 1/4 mile or something like that...[&o]

[von Murrin]

No, that would give you a "bubble" map, and the players would get confused by the scaling.

Ever wonder what the second reason for exaggerated female figures in computer games is? (The first has to do with marketing and sex, obviously.) They would look like skeletal anorexic twigs if rendered realistically. Human visual perception with two dimensions gets skewed if three are portrayed. Vectors in 2D will mess with perception because we recognize the three-dimensional intent. Human figures rendered accurately in pseudo-3D on a 2D display look very odd for the same reason. Hexes/provinces/zones or whatever all abstract for the benefit of the human mind.[;)]

[geozero]

von Murrin,

I'm sure there is logic there but I don't follow it. We're dealing with a rather "flat" map of the Pacific, with tiny "sprites" to show where the ships and planes are, etc. Overlayed with hexes that are 60nm scale. All I say is get rid of the hexes and let you move freely anywhere on the map down to the pixel.

Yes free your mind from hexes.

[Cmdrcain]

ORIGINAL: geozero

von Murrin,

I'm sure there is logic there but I don't follow it. We're dealing with a rather "flat" map of the Pacific, with tiny "sprites" to show where the ships and planes are, etc. Overlayed with hexes that are 60nm scale. All I say is get rid of the hexes and let you move freely anywhere on the map down to the pixel.

Yes free your mind from hexes.

I'd argue... but those Teeth are scary

[:D]

[von Murrin]

I'm saying you would need a hemispherical map with latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates to give the player some measure of scale and reference. Then you have to "map" coordinates to the units, taking into account said curvature. VERY difficult and processor-intensive. Bottom line is we get hexes, zones, and the like because that allows devs to build the games and still make money.[:D]

[geozero]

Got it...[:)]

Someday we will be free of hexes...[:D]

[von Murrin]

Yes, we will. Give it five to ten more years.[;)]

[geozero]

ORIGINAL: von Murrin

Yes, we will. Give it five to ten more years.[;)]

No No No...that's too long to wait.... I'm getting too old for this[:D] my eyesight is failing... maybe I should have the eye surgery....hmmmm

[bradfordkay]

No No No...that's too long to wait.... I'm getting too old for this my eyesight is failing... maybe I should have the eye surgery....hmmmm

Maybe if you get that refund your dentist owes you...

[Grotius]

Highway to the Reich has pulled it off, but it's a completely different type of game. I like hexes, in general, and especially for a game like WITP.

[onnel]

This was done beautifully by Harpoon some..what is it now, 15 years ago? 12 maybe...

I certainly think it could be done and done well and be a good thing. However, UIs and graphics are obviously not the strong point of the WitP team (which is OK to a point). Additionally, since everything is currently calculated on hex distances (I assume), there would be a lot of work to convert and yes it would take more processing power (which doesn't matter at all in this day and age IMO).

I'd certainly love to see it as it would definitely be more realistic. Hexes are a bygone product of when we did our wargaming by hand. Throughly anachronistic in modern wargames striving for realism (still have their place in games that want to simplify things IMO).

Onnel

[Grotius]

Actually, I think WiTP is a beautiful game graphically -- at least the map is. Sure, the combat screens are lacking in eye candy, I'll give you that. The ground combat screen in particular makes me chuckle. But the map is the main thing, and it's gorgeous.

I admit I was surprised that I didn't miss hexes in Highway to the Reich, and I think I'll like Grigsby's "World at War" too. But for a turn-based wargame, I guess I kinda *want* the game to look and feel like my old boardgames. I love those games.

[geozero]

The map in WitP is truly a beauty. No doubt about it. But toggle the hexes OFF and you will see the real beauty. [:D]