Tell me more ×
Game Development Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professional and independent game developers. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote -4 down vote favorite

I'm working on a turn-based strategy game for the iPhone that has a hexagon-grid based map in it. I'm in the process of drawing up the actual tiles for the different landscapes (i.e. forest, grassland, etc.) and was wondering what program to draw the tile images in. I would assume Adobe Illustrator since a vector-based image may allow for smooth images even when the user is zoomed in really close. Is this right?

Thanks!

share|improve this question
1  
In your game, how are you going to draw the tiles on the screen? What specific things are you going to do, what premade game engine/hand written code are you using? I bet that once you work that out, the answer will become more clear (and won't involve Illustrator) – Piku Jul 8 '12 at 8:41
1  
-1 Waaaay too general. Any answer could be justified. – Anko Feb 4 at 10:33

closed as not constructive by Byte56, Noctrine♦ Feb 4 at 16:07

As it currently stands, this question is not a good fit for our Q&A format. We expect answers to be supported by facts, references, or specific expertise, but this question will likely solicit debate, arguments, polling, or extended discussion. If you feel that this question can be improved and possibly reopened, see the FAQ for guidance.

4 Answers

up vote 0 down vote

Depends on what your engine supports. If it does support vector graphics, go ahead and do it, but most engines don't support that.

If you decide use a bitmap image, you can make it large and your user will be able to zoom in close, but will not have problems with pixalation.

When I do game art, I usually design in a vector program(Inkscape), and then export it to a bitmap file which I edit in Gimp.

share|improve this answer
up vote 0 down vote

What you use to create the images is of little to no relevance. It's unlikely you'll be able to use vector images, as no real engine on an iPhone can handle that well. This leaves you with png, gif, tiff, jpeg, bmp. Doesn't matter too much and depends on what you're doing.

The real thing to realize here is now that vectors are out, what are other ways of allowing users to zoom in and out great distances while it still looking good.

A good technique, take google maps for example, or mipmaps(sort of), is to store different levels of detail and change when appropriate. If possible have images from different distances and as you zoom in swap for a higher detailed version for that tile.

This allows you to not have to have huge files loaded in for every tile at all times. QuadTrees are a common data structure used for dealing with these situations. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quad_tree

share|improve this answer
up vote -2 down vote

Inkskape is good solution. Try exploring Tiled map editor (http://www.mapeditor.org/). This is free and great tool to design custom tile based maps.

share|improve this answer
I don't think OP was asking for other software solutions. The question is "Is this right?" I think the question should be closed, and I think this is not an answer to that question. – Byte56 Feb 4 at 15:01
up vote -4 down vote

I'd use Google SkethUp then export it out to jpeg.

share|improve this answer
Jpeg is a bad format for game graphics, because it isn't lossless and optimized especially for photos. – Philipp Feb 3 at 23:20
@Philipp You overgeneralise. When your game consists entirely of large images, such as in visual novels, JPEG is much better. It reduces file sizes without perceivable quality loss. The problem is the overly broad question, not any of the specific answers. – Anko Feb 4 at 10:32

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.