Rivers style, WitE vs WitE2. Which one looks better?

[husar99]

Where do rivers look better in your opinion, in WitE or WitE2?
For me, new style is a bit odd.

[Zoetermeer]

I think this has been discussed a lot before. In WITE 2 they went with the WITW-style map which isn't "hand drawn" per se, but drawn tile by tile. I agree the old one looks better and I'll miss my jison custom map, but IIRC this is a tradeoff they made because they can draw the map much more efficiently.

[loki100]

ORIGINAL: Zoetermeer

I think this has been discussed a lot before. In WITE 2 they went with the WITW-style map which isn't "hand drawn" per se, but drawn tile by tile. I agree the old one looks better and I'll miss my jison custom map, but IIRC this is a tradeoff they made because they can draw the map much more efficiently.

and amend it very easily when research shows that something is wrong - something that is near to impossible with the WiTE1 map style

[husar99]

I understand benefits of automated map generators. It's the way to go.

But is it possible to make rivers less wiggly? This adds a lot of visual noise to the map.
If developers added that amount of bends in order to make it look more "organic", repetition destroys this illusion completely. Rivers look "busy" and artificial.

[Erik Rutins]

Rivers are actually one of the hardest things to do well on a tile-based map vs. a hand-drawn map, while also preserving clarity regarding hexside effects (which matter in WITE2). IMHO the rivers look good, they'll just never look like a non-tiled map. It's always possible to find some areas that look better or worse but the overall effect is better than the comparison you chose above.

[Bamilus]

I like the new ones better TBH

[pbrowne]

Interesting, there are two separate mechanics:

1. Hexes for game play mechanics.

2. Hexes that are drawn by the game engine to show a map.


If hexes can be drawn in segments (but display as hexes, not segments), say divided into eight segments, then the drawing of a road or river etc would appear to be straighter across connected hexes.

Also, the change of terrain cover could be more granular and the roads, rivers etc could actually show going through a hex, not just around the edges...


However, this may affect game play mechanics when for example a river on a hex border affect defense/attack.


Note: I meant 12 segments not eight...

[Technopiper]

Very interesting proposal, pbrowne! But do you meant to say "6" segments, not "8"?

Imagine a system in which movement are still hexagonal, but terrain is 6 times more granular. WitE2 could visually employ this system. Gameplay wise, it's probably too late to incorporate granular terrain into the mechanics, not having started out with that in mind.

About map comparison, I think the old map is prettier hex-by-hex. But the new modulized map has many visual advantages. Different parts of the map can use distinct templates to reflect regional weather. Not to mention the new map would load much faster than the old one.

[pbrowne]

Actually 12 segments (as per my image), as 6 segments would, I think, result in the same number of hex edges if tracing along the internal lines.

The problem though, which could probably be accounted for via algorithm, is where rivers for example need to be on the edge of a hex, for reasons of attack and defensive calculations. If a river runs through a hex, then units defending that position should be penalised (unless the algorithm determines that they are on the far side of the river), otherwise their forces would be effectively split either side of the river, with problems of command and control.