Hexagons or squares? What do modders think?

[TheBladeRoden]

I'd do away with the entire concept of tiles!

 

[Mongoloid Cow]

Hexagons are far better.

Like it or not, most of civ is still war and military, exploring, building cities, borders, building roads and improvements and so forth. Squares detract from the strategy in this part of the game, since in most cases it is always better to move diagonally than straight across, giving in effect 40% more moves that way. Because with hexagons distances are equal when moving directionally, the diagonal "exploit" isn't there.

 

[Wolfwood]

I was suprised that Civ3 did not upgrade to hexagons. I was even more surprised that Civ4 (with it's globe-like design) didn't do that...

Hexagons are better!

 

[Crayton]

Hexagons can be tesselated onto a 3-Dimensional surface, squares can not. Why? Hexagons are tesselated upon 60*60*60 triangles while, squares are tesselated upon 45*45*90 triangles. The only 3-D figure that can be composed of these triangles would be a cube. This would be an interesting playing surface but I'd prefer one of the more globular polyhedrons (an isosahedron, for example).

Again, this is only looking forward to a 3-D world, as Sligo pointed out. Civ5 hopefully will have a 3-D globe. Hexagons provide this 'globe' option. Interestingly, hexagons can also be tesselated upon 30*60*90 and 15*75*90 triangles but these polyhedrons are more irregular.

 

[Civilicious]

As I recall there was a lot of support for hexes back when the thread was entitled 'suggestions for civIV' and you see how that worked out.

Tally another in the disappointed column, square tiles are a horrible concept, even if civ is not a hardcore war sim.

If not hex, it would be cool if Civ5 went point to point like Rome: Total War but then they would have to rework the entire grid/city/resource concepts, so that won't happen either.

 

[apocalypsetm]

Anyone knows that Earth maps are whit squares . The square map is a more ordinated one . Hex are nice but only for battle sim like Panzer General . For a complex sim like Civ square RULES .

 

[Ranbir]

Terrain is better with squares. With hexes, you'll sacrifice a horizontal or vertical direction.

For game of this scope, squares rule.

Even Total War, a large scoped war game, uses squares.

 

[Enigma]

Forget Hexes, Squares, Triangles or any other contrived "Grid System"...

Lines!

1-D Civ! Yay!

 

[Drakken]

As for gaps in line.

Well Civ used to have a counter of that, called ZOC. For some reason, it isn't in 4.

Squares are better than Hexagons. Squares are better than hexagons.

Chess is played on Squares!

Ranbir I was really surprised to see that you thought squares were better. Especially considering your posts on ZOC that I have read. I want to see the ZOC idea come back into CIV as much as you do. However ZOC will not stop the unit from going between two adjacent units on diagonal spaces. It would only inflict a small penalty to the unit doing it. The fact is that a unit should never be able to squeeze its way between units that are adjacent to one another.

Yes chess is played on a square board as is checkers. Neither game is even remotely trying to simulate real world combat situations.

Also you do not lose vertical and horizontal direction. A hex map grid is made up of rows of hexagons. You can number the hexes the same as squares and still have a grid with vertical and horizontal coordinates.

Anyone knows that Earth maps are whit squares . The square map is a more ordinated one . Hex are nice but only for battle sim like Panzer General . For a complex sim like Civ square RULES .

Apocalypsetm I have played dozens of Avalon Hill and other wargames that are far far greater in complexity than Civilization. Take World in Flames, Advanced Squad Leader, or the Siege of Jerusalem as examples. As these games strive for more complexity and realism they use hexagons. And yes these games have maps of the earth with hexagons. So I guess not everyone knows Earth maps are made with squares. Games with square grids tend to be more abstract and simplistic.

I argue that CIV is complex enough to demand a hex based map. As the game is striving for more realism I think this would be a big step forward!

 

[Gunner]

I firmly support hexagons over squares.

Supreme Ruler 2010 has hexagons for the whole map, and it many times more complicated than Civ4.

 

[g.neuman]

Before reading this thread, I'd never even thought of having hexes in Civ. Now that I know about the idea, I want them.

It turns out that you can miss what you've never had.


G

 

[Half Fast]

I voted for hexagons becuase battles would more sense, but I don't really have a problem squares. Even the issue with diagonal movement on squares never bothered me much. I do think hexagons in civ5 would be for fun and have a better feel.

 

[Ranbir]

Look, treat the diagonal movements as the Knight does in Chess.

One across, one up. That way, diagonal movement costs 2.

Simple!

 

[The Great Apple]

Doesn't work - why would it cost two when you're cutting the corner. Should cost root 2... or more simply 1.5 (a tad over root 2)

I'm slowly moving into the hex camp.

 

[Ranbir]

You would technically not be cutting the corner. And in vector terms, it would be that distance.

 

[The Great Apple]

But no sane general would lead his troops round two sides of a right-angled triangle, when he just go along the third side.

Also, it depends which way you define your vectors - you could define them in the diagonal direction

 

[Ranbir]

Which would be A+B=C !

But given that, we'd have to do away with the current system of position referencing.

But if we did that, then everything will be more freeform than squares and even hexes!

Yeah, I like that better!

 

[Nerva]

Hexes rule. Yes they're strange at first to accept as "proper" -- I used to think the old hex wargames were goofy, but there's no denying the geometry benefits of it, along with the gameplay -- what was right for old boardgames is still right for modern computer games.

I also vote for a true 3D spherical globe with hex tiles... I've seen some hex grid renderings of the Earth at varying resolutions (in the style of a game map) and I think it would look AWESOME in a real game like Civilization. I'm sick of Iceland being the size of Borneo. The true 3D globe with real distances was one of my favorite features in X-COM.

Hexes and a 3D globe would complement each other perfectly.

 

[Kael]

Hexes rule. Yes they're strange at first to accept as "proper" -- I used to think the old hex wargames were goofy, but there's no denying the geometry benefits of it, along with the gameplay -- what was right for old boardgames is still right for modern computer games.

I also vote for a true 3D spherical globe with hex tiles... I've seen some hex grid renderings of the Earth at varying resolutions (in the style of a game map) and I think it would look AWESOME in a real game like Civilization. I'm sick of Iceland being the size of Borneo. The true 3D globe with real distances was one of my favorite features in X-COM.

Hexes and a 3D globe would complement each other perfectly.

Your thread necromancy powers are impressive.

 

[asioasioasio]

squares - it's easier to create own maps - especially if they made as in civ4