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3d Movement

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xv9d
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Joined: 08/17/2013

So, I've been working on this idea for a game that is essentially a space battle, after playing around with various ideas of three-dimensional boards I've finally settled on using a 2d hex grid and having each ship stacked on blocks to designate altitude. The only problem I've found is the actual movement. Each ship will have a movement stat of a number from 1 to 6. To move from the center of one hex to the center of an adjacent hex is one movement point, however what about when moving up? In my mind, if a ship wants to change its altitude it shouldn't have to go to the center of a hex and then straight up - this is space! So, after filling many pages with math and really beating the Pythagorean theorem into my head, I've found that moving up and horizontally the total of one movement point will place your ship on the edge of a hex and approximately 7/8 of a movement unit above the board. I've also found that moving to some sides of other hexes in a purely horizontal direction will be a distance of one movement unit. I think I can designate which sides are available through color coding. Anyway, all of this is mostly just to set up my question. Would it be too difficult to say that the rules of movement are thus.

1) A ship can move directly up thus staying on the same horizontal coordinate and simply being one unit higher.
2) A ship can move from the center of a hex to the center of any adjacent hex.
3) A ship can move from the center of a hex to the edge of that same hex and one unit up or down.
4) A ship can move from the edge of one hex to the center of that same hex and one unit up or down.
5) A ship can move from the edge of a hex, staying at the same altitude, to same colored edges on hexes adjacent to the edge.

Or is this just too much? Is there anyway to really explain how this idea will work?

talmorgoth
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Joined: 02/03/2011
I would keep it simple

If it is hex based and you allow half a hex moves, what happens if someone wants to turn at the half way mark and move down the spline? I would think it would be better received if you kept it on a 1 for 1 basis. 1 movement point moves you in any one direction one level or hex. You could then use two different color stackers for positive (above the board) and negative (below the board) for distances to create a 3d environment on a 2d surface.

pelle
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Joined: 08/11/2008
If you start using the edges

If you start using the edges of hexes you are no longer using a hex grid really and it sounds like everything will be very complicated (what about weapons ranges or anything else you could otherwise meassure from hex to hex? what about the distortions from moving different ways - are you not introducing worse problems than what you solve?).

Essentially it seems like you have a problem similar to allowing diagonal movements in square-grid games. Always a problem. Maybe there is a solution like the old "pay 50 % extra to move diagonally" if you allow movement of more than one "movement point" per turn?

There are many other games that allow units to move around a grid and change attitude, including a few that use boxes like you do, and some that use a hex grid (not sure if any use both, but there probably are). I would start by looking for popular such games on bgg and look at what solutions they have. There is very likely something good to reuse to find. You can probably look at both space games and aircraft dogfight games to increase the number of options.

Leadpipe
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Joined: 08/09/2008
No edges

I will agree with pelle that by introducing edge locations, you are greatly complicating your rules. Making vertical movement cost an extra 50% seems quite reasonable, as does making one up or down move free with a regular move (though I expect no one will move *just* up or down in this case). Will you use facing with ship movement? If so, you could say that each horizontal movement comes with one free face change (60 degrees only) or one vertical movement, but not both.

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