Is there an isometric 2d game that doesn't use tilemapping? [closed]

Question

Is there an isometric 2d game that doesn't use tilemapping?

I want to do this in tilemap but the client doesn't want to use it (since it's easier to design maps without using tiles).

I've tried to research for some time and everything's done using tilemapping.

Answer 1

There are lots of games to list for this and they all rely more or less at least on limited tile mapping (for example to fill empty areas).

Thinking a bit about this, two games are coming to my mind immediately, mainly due to them providing an experience making it hard to notice tile mapping (at least it's not that obvious) and using lots of unique graphics in specific areas:

• The early 3D Final Fantasy games (Final Fantasy 7-9) use mostly static and prerendered environments for scenes outside fights, while still providing a 3d perspective perspective.
• Sacred is similar to games like the Diablo series, however it uses lots of custom backgrounds/drawn scenes and in general is very nice to look at without immediately noticing lots of recurring patterns.

In general, I'd just note two important points you should keep in mind:

• The more unique you want your locations/environments (i.e. avoiding tile mapping), the more memory you'll need just to store/deploy your environments and the more important good resource handling will become (I remember playing Final Fantasy VII on the PC with only 16 MB RAM (32 MB recommended), which caused load times of several minutes between screens; very annoying!).
• Tile mapping isn't something bad, especially when done right (i.e. you don't notice patterns). Also there are ways to make map editors' life a lot easier, without having to abandon tiles or tile mapping. Create a WYSIWYG editor where creative are able to drag & drop elements and just "draw" areas rather than painting them tile by tile.

Answer 2

I know MicroForte used large, pre-rendered images for their maps in Enemy Infestation.

IIRC, their graphics/level design team would output one huge rendered image for a level and a matching Z-Buffer for occlusion culling.
This was the 90's, so a custom blit routine was used which queried the Z-buffer, but nowadays the graphics card will happily handle most of that for you.

I'll gladly expound upon this topic if it sounds like what you are seeking.

Answer 3

You've got a few options, but really, the two which make the most sense in regard to an isometric-projection (45-degree angles), are tiles and full-fledged 3D with a static camera (look at XCOM, StarCraft II, Diablo III).

Of course, you can also do without tiles if you're, say, making a game like TMNT2 - The Arcade Game or River City Ransom, and it's an old-fashioned hallway brawler, where in a modern version, rather than tiles, you could use one large hand-drawn background, if you wanted, (plus parallax images) and then create collision-nodes in-place, on the map.

Also, creating a map using tiles becomes vastly more simple, as soon as a map-editor is written.

What is the client actually trying to accomplish, here, and on what scale/budget/timeframe?

Answer 4

In a tone similar to @phobius' answer, the famous Infinity Engine (Baldur's Gate etc) used prerendered backgrounds and sprites for characters, buildings, trees etc.