Triggerhappy Posted January 3, 2001 Share Posted January 3, 2001 While playing around with the editor recently I wondered why BTS chose squares instead of hexagons to visualize the battlefields. Since most turn based strategy games rely on hexagons wouldn't it have been an obvious choice for CM, too? Would it make any difference? What do you think? ------------------ Rührt euch! CMPFCICM2 - Combat Mission Players for Campaigns in Combat Mission 2 - Join us! ;D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rollstoy Posted January 3, 2001 Share Posted January 3, 2001 The only advantage of a hexagonal arrangement is that the distance to each neighboring cell is the same, which is not the case for a square arrangement. For CM this is irrelevant, since units can be positioned freely within the squares. So a hexagonal grid would just be a waste of polygons and cause troubles with orthogonal structures like towns. Jetzt sag' bloß, dass Du für PC Games arbeitest! Why don't they test Combat Mission finally? Regards, Thomm PS.: Happy New Year! [This message has been edited by Rollstoy (edited 01-03-2001).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triggerhappy Posted January 3, 2001 Author Share Posted January 3, 2001 Huch, erkannt. Für einen Test ist es schon zu lange her (das Spiel ist außerdem für Otto-Normalspieler in D. nicht zu bekommen), aber du findest das Spiel beispielsweise als meine persönliche Empfehlung in der Weihnachtsausgabe von PC Games. ------------------ Rührt euch! CMPFCICM2 - Combat Mission Players for Campaigns in Combat Mission 2 - Join us! ;D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Normalspieler Posted January 3, 2001 Share Posted January 3, 2001 Also ich hatte nun wirklich kein Problem damit... http://www.nahverteidigungswaffe.de Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gremlin Posted January 3, 2001 Share Posted January 3, 2001 It shouldn't matter if it came out a while ago or isn't easy to get in Dland. Great games deserve extensive coverage. That's your journalistic duty, imo--no need to be conservative, unless your ed in chief is ------------------ War is cruel and you cannot refine it. --Sherman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rollstoy Posted January 3, 2001 Share Posted January 3, 2001 Dear Triggerhappy! Yes, I noticed the recommendation in the Christmas Issue of PC Games and I was happy that the game got some publicity in your magazine (which I buy every month, by the way)! As for 'Otto Normalspieler', please do not underestimate us! I live in Vienna and had nil problems with ordering and receiving the game! Of course playing WW II is a matter of taste, but since I recall that you covered Sudden Strike in great detail, I think there is no reason not to consider Combat Mission a candidate for testing, especially since it shows a lot of innovative features. And it appeals a lot to every former sand-box generals. I, personally, consider it orders of magnitude more interesting than most of the 'mainstream' games you have tested (dare I mention the continuous 'Command and Conquer' hype). I would be more than happy to write a review for you, by the way! Anyway, Happy New Year to the PC Games Team and especially to your charming Fräulein Maueröder! Regards, Thomm [This message has been edited by Rollstoy (edited 01-03-2001).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triggerhappy Posted January 3, 2001 Author Share Posted January 3, 2001 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Otto Normalspieler: Also ich hatte nun wirklich kein Problem damit... http://www.nahverteidigungswaffe.de <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> ROFL, sorry. The problem is that even if I reviewed CM in PC Games the review would be written for casual gamers (the majority of our readers) thus resulting in an only mediocre rating, which CM simply doesn't deserve. You can read my old review of CM at PowerPlay.de (http://www.powerplay.de/html/kon1/tests/artikel.php3?artikel=3191), which is more of a "freak" magazine. ------------------ Rührt euch! CMPFCICM2 - Combat Mission Players for Campaigns in Combat Mission 2 - Join us! ;D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maximus Posted January 3, 2001 Share Posted January 3, 2001 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Triggerhappy: While playing around with the editor recently I wondered why BTS chose squares instead of hexagons to visualize the battlefields. Since most turn based strategy games rely on hexagons wouldn't it have been an obvious choice for CM, too? Would it make any difference? What do you think? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> This is really the most irrevelent question yet. Because CM's movement and range calculations are calculated down to the meter, it doesn't matter what shape the "tiles" are. They could be rectangles, octagons, tetrahedrons, or whatever else. It still wouldn't matter because CM uses the above method for movement and ranging. This isn't Panzer General here. This is a simulation, not a traditional hex-based wargame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jd Posted January 3, 2001 Share Posted January 3, 2001 So get the hex overlay grass at CMHQ, for those who need the appearance of hexes ------------------ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruno Weiss Posted January 3, 2001 Share Posted January 3, 2001 I wanted triangles. ------------------ "Gentlemen, you may be sure that of the three courses open to the enemy, he will always choose the fourth." -Field Marshal Count Helmuth von Moltke, (1848-1916) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorak Posted January 4, 2001 Share Posted January 4, 2001 LMAO! For those that haven't been around for a while. I thought I'd drag this old picture out of CM in the alpha stages. As you can see at this stage (if you look at the terrain) BTS was in fact using hexigon tiles. I believe they ran into placing problems and decided to go with square later. Enjoy the pic. sorry for the size. Lorak ------------------ "Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking."--William Butler Yeats Cesspool Combatmissionclub Lorak's FTX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maximus Posted January 4, 2001 Share Posted January 4, 2001 That's a classic, Lorak. That pic pops up every now and then. Kinda reminds me when I first found CM in the fall of '99 about the time H&D came out and I was comparing H&D graphics to "then" CM's graphics and I wasn't impressed at all. I think they were about at the stage that those pictures on the battlefront.com that said that the pictures were over a year old. In fact, I was like, "Oh what the hell is this?" I had no idea the game would transpire to to what it is today. ------------------ "Live by the sword, live a good LOOONG life!"-Minsc, BGII "Boo points, I punch."--Minsc, BGII Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grobdeutschland Posted January 4, 2001 Share Posted January 4, 2001 Cool pic & thanks...not everyone has been here from the start. Now that I've "moved in" it's like discovering antiques in a new home Also I see BTS used triangles for the unit base's. I like'em, makes it easier to determine facing. ------------------ "Far better it is To dare mighty things... Then to take rank with Those poor, timid spirits Who know neither Victory nor defeat." Theodore Roosevelt 1899 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Big Time Software Posted January 4, 2001 Share Posted January 4, 2001 Triggerhappy, The most important reason was FOR using hexes was mentioned by Rollstoy. The main reason AGAINST using hexes, at least for CM, is that they are too abstract. Each 20m x 20m tile is subdivided up into 2m x 2m subtiles. I unit can be located in any fraction of a meter within one of these subtiles. Therefore... hexes have no meaning even if we did base the game on them. Hexes also introduce more difficult math for resolving things, especially for a game like CM that uses real world physics (i.e. meters and not hexes). So that is another strike against it. Another one is that the graphics are a bit easier to do when they are square tile based rather than hex based. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spii Posted January 4, 2001 Share Posted January 4, 2001 Steve, I prefer the NON-hexed look of the game. Hexagons remind of the old days of poor graphics and fuzzy objectives. Appreciate Cm commitment to quality graphics on top of the good gameplay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Andrew Hedges Posted January 5, 2001 Share Posted January 5, 2001 The graphics in the alpha remind me of South Park. Actually, I'd love it if one of the the things my squads said when they took a casualty was, "Hey, you killed Kenny. You bastard!" [This message has been edited by Andrew Hedges (edited 01-04-2001).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmead Posted January 5, 2001 Share Posted January 5, 2001 And to think I thought of buying a game that even looked like that! I mean after all, what else could I play on a Mac... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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