What geometry do you prefer?

What method of measurement do you prefer?

  • Square grid, diagonals count as one square.

    Votes: 66 18.7%
  • Square grid, diagonals are counted in a 1-2-1-2 (or similar) fashion.

    Votes: 137 38.8%
  • Square grid, diagonals count as two squares (effectively, no diagonal movement).

    Votes: 11 3.1%
  • Hex grid. No diagonals necessary.

    Votes: 76 21.5%
  • No grid; use string or ruler for measurement.

    Votes: 33 9.3%
  • No grid, no physical measurement. It's all mental.

    Votes: 30 8.5%


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Hooray for hexes!

The group I joined recently uses hexes just because the GM has a really nice hex mat and no square mat. I don't have a huge amount of play experience with it yet, but there haven't been any issues so far using hexes instead of squares.
 

Each square should be 1 movement, diagonals included. It is needless complexity otherwise, and 5-foot movement is an abstraction anyway so it doesn't force me to suspend disbelief any more than I feel is reasonable.

I'm an adult, I'm familiar with Euclid (very cute 3 second google image search btw), and also n-dimensional geometry, and I think that something as paramount as movement through space demands simplicity. The game is more expedient, and fewer mistakes will be made with 1 square = 1 square. I would wager that the majority (51% or more) of DMs miscalculate distances and Line of Sight in 3.5 at least once per session.

If you don't want to get shown up by a computer game, then hopefully your human DM ingenuity and reflexes can effectively/quickly compute distance/area. Is everyone clear on the volume of a cylinder? Surface area of a sphere? Uh oh, it took more than 5 seconds to answer (4)(pi)(r^2) didn't it? Maybe you should look into using Firecubes, otherwise your players will be playing World of Warcraft on their laptops while waiting 15-30 minutes for their next turn in combat.

Infinite complexity is not ideal, quick gameplay is key. 1 square should equal 1 square, and I firmly believe this is the way 4E will work.
 

If I dm 4th, I may well go with hexes. The square is looking dumber all the time.
Of course, its been quite a while since I DMed. Back in the early editions, we didn't use these fancy pants mats and grids and minis. But since you have to jettison a lot of the combat rules these days to do that, it isn't worth the rules breakdown that occurs if you do.
 

Voss said:
If I dm 4th, I may well go with hexes. The square is looking dumber all the time.
I agree with you here.

The whole "non-Euclidian geometry" thread certainly hasn't convinced me one way or the other on diagonal=1 or 1,2,1,2, but it has convinced me that a square grid that allows for diagonal movement is not what I want to use anymore.

If you ask me, either going with pure "manhattan distance", where even 5ft reach only threatens four squares and fireballs are fire-diamonds, or using a hex-grid are the only real options. Alternating counting of diagonals is a pain that slows down the game, but the 1,1,1,1 option reveals too many flaws in the system for me to accept.
 


It should be as close to free-form as reasonably possible. However, because of the difficulty of handling threatened areas, we need some sort of a grid. And, because of the 'waddling' effect of hexes, and the fact that most buildings tend to be rectangular, I think the square grid is slightly preferable. The 1-2-1-2 movement rule should be applied consistently throughout - including to spell effects and monster bases.

Additionally, all of these issues can go away when using a virtual tabletop - the computer can handle circular spell effects, true diagonal movement, and threatened areas with ease, allowing the whole thing to go properly freeform.

That's my preference, anyway.
 



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