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Isometric Projection in Game Development

pikuma.com

11–20 of 96 posts

Re: Isometric Projection in Game Development

#12

I developed the isometric engine for this[0] video game in the 90s. I remember trying to figure out the algorithm to determine where the cursor was (converting screen x/y to position on tile, taking into account height of tile stack and the fact the tiles could be transparent) was a monstrous headache for some reason. The sort of thing you'd solve in 30 seconds with Google in 2024. The 2D tiles were rendered out of 3…

I vaguely remember having played this game or a demo of it. I remember it being so difficult (or maybe I did not understand it) that I stopped playing after a while being frustrated. The dark and squishy atmosphere is great though!

Re: Isometric Projection in Game Development

#15

Most "isometric" games are in fact "dimetric", i.e. follow a projection where 2 horizontal pixels match 1 vertical pixel when tracing straight horizontal or vertical lines.

+1, that was essentially motivated because that allowed you to have power of 2s for your tiles, e.g. 64x32

Re: Isometric Projection in Game Development

#16
post #11

Most "isometric" games are in fact "dimetric", i.e. follow a projection where 2 horizontal pixels match 1 vertical pixel when tracing straight horizontal or vertical lines.

That is a really clever hack. Who first used it?

It’s not really a hack, it’s more the obvious implementation when you’re doing any pixel art.

Re: Isometric Projection in Game Development

#17
What I don't like about TFA is the inconsistent, sloppy use of coordinates. Initially x,y,z are relative to the viewer with z going from the eye to the object. Some paragraphs later x,y are the horizontal plane with z going up. Then x and y are swapped (to overlap x onto y you have to rotate it 90° clockwise, the opposite of trigonometry's standard), only to be swapped again in the picture that shows the value of the angles. Coming to screen coordinates, all formulas and text assumes that y grows down, which is customary, but not the pictures accompanying the explanation how to calculate screen position from y.

Frankly, I'd expect more consistency from someone who invites his students to focus on the mathematical aspects, not only on the code.

Re: Isometric Projection in Game Development

#18
post #9

I developed the isometric engine for this[0] video game in the 90s. I remember trying to figure out the algorithm to determine where the cursor was (converting screen x/y to position on tile, taking into account height of tile stack and the fact the tiles could be transparent) was a monstrous headache for some reason. The sort of thing you'd solve in 30 seconds with Google in 2024. The 2D tiles were rendered out of 3…

That’s awesome. > The sort of thing you'd solve in 30 seconds with Google in 2024. This is unfortunately becoming increasingly untrue, as the forums where stuff like that was posted are rotting away, and Google’s advertisement optimized result ranking neglects the long tail. And to the extent it is still true, it’s because pioneers like you figured it out and shared their results!

To add to that, people (at least in my org) resort to ask "ChatGPT" for all sorts of questions. I don't share that sentiment, but oth, I never had trouble finding what I was looking for using Google. I agree though, it get's tougher with all that walled gardens.

I guess I'm becoming the old, grumpy "back in my days, we used Google!" type of guy.

Re: Isometric Projection in Game Development

#19
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s awesome. > The sort of thing you'd solve in 30 seconds with Google in 2024. This is unfortunately becoming increasingly untrue, as the forums where stuff like that was posted are rotting away, and Google’s advertisement optimized result ranking neglects the long tail. And to the extent it is still true, it’s because pioneers like you figured it out and shared their results!

To add to that, people (at least in my org) resort to ask "ChatGPT" for all sorts of questions. I don't share that sentiment, but oth, I never had trouble finding what I was looking for using Google. I agree though, it get's tougher with all that walled gardens. I guess I'm becoming the old, grumpy "back in my days, we used Google!" type of guy.

Back in my days, Google worked. Now it is a waste of time. Someone that wants to hold himself to the notion that Google was/is good really looks like someone having issues getting old

Re: Isometric Projection in Game Development

#20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To add to that, people (at least in my org) resort to ask "ChatGPT" for all sorts of questions. I don't share that sentiment, but oth, I never had trouble finding what I was looking for using Google. I agree though, it get's tougher with all that walled gardens. I guess I'm becoming the old, grumpy "back in my days, we used Google!" type of guy.

Back in my days, Google worked. Now it is a waste of time. Someone that wants to hold himself to the notion that Google was/is good really looks like someone having issues getting old

Any alternative to Google?
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