Hexagon maps?

While playing a hex based game, I realized something... The only difference between hex-based and square based, aside from the visual aspect, is that diagonal movement is limited. When traveling in a straight line, every other movement is a diagonal step, from a purely X/Y coordinate perspective. So if you could change diagonal movement so it does a check (if x + y % 2 = 0, then NE/SE movement is possible, if x + y % 2 = 1, then NW/SW movement is possible)

This might be a little confusing without some way to correct things visually, but it would be a relatively simple change to make movement more circular.

Mylon said:

While playing a hex based game, I realized something... The only difference between hex-based and square based, aside from the visual aspect, is that diagonal movement is limited. When traveling in a straight line, every other movement is a diagonal step, from a purely X/Y coordinate perspective.

Click to expand...

Only along certain vectors. You can move in a straight line indefinately, in 8 directions, by entering and exiting a hex from the same facing. I think you mean that not all 4 cardinal directions are available as straight lines.

I really hope that the next Civ game uses hex maps. In this day and age there is no advantage in simplicity or otherwise to square maps. Hex maps look so much more organic and natural than square maps. I hope to say goodbye to the BFC with Civ 5, and hello to radius 3 compound hex!

frekk said:

Only along certain vectors. You can move in a straight line indefinately, in 8 directions, by entering and exiting a hex from the same facing. I think you mean that not all 4 cardinal directions are available as straight lines.

Click to expand...

6, hex is 6 not 8.

Right, 6 directions.

Anyway, I don't think civ will be going to hexes. I like hexes better too, I just don't think it's something they'll ever implement for civ. Unless somehow it could be modded in.

Like I said, if you restrict NE/SW and NW/SE movement (oh, I said NE/SE movement, but... Distregard that!) to every other tile, you can keep moving NE indefinitely, but if you move north, you can't move NE until you move north again. In a way, it's a restrictive enforcing the 3 horizontal = 2 diagonal.

You can align it to be able to move in straight lines north and south, like so:

http://files.boardgamegeek.com/geekfile_view.php?fileid=19550

But then you can't move in straight lines east and west ...

Anyhow, not sure I understand what you want to do. Restrict movement in certain directions on hex maps? Why? The whole reason for hex maps is that distance in any direction is always equal and fair. If anything, diagonal movement ought to be restricted in square maps (since you actually move more than 1 square's length diagonal).

That's what I was saying. Restricting movement on a square map to make it like a hex map. As each hex tile has 6 exits, by taking out 2 of the square tile's exits, and picking the 2 exits removed based on location, you can get hex style movement. The fact that hex maps can be described by an x,y coordinate system without any gaps suggests that a translation can be applied.