Difference between revisions of "User talk:Danial"
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This is a place for me to explain each of my theories on the conversion of UFO:EU, a 2D isometric game, into the 3D realm. Each of the ideas explained here have been discussed in forums previously, but no conclusions were ever resolved, so I'll use this page for my own opinions. Discussion is welcome... | This is a place for me to explain each of my theories on the conversion of UFO:EU, a 2D isometric game, into the 3D realm. Each of the ideas explained here have been discussed in forums previously, but no conclusions were ever resolved, so I'll use this page for my own opinions. Discussion is welcome... | ||
− | + | =Sizes= | |
− | + | ==Height== | |
One of the more commonly disputed ideas is how tall X-COM units would be in real-life. As a start, I'll list the in-game heights: | One of the more commonly disputed ideas is how tall X-COM units would be in real-life. As a start, I'll list the in-game heights: | ||
'''Silacoid''' 10 | '''Silacoid''' 10 | ||
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''<nowiki>**</nowiki>The makers were British.'' | ''<nowiki>**</nowiki>The makers were British.'' | ||
− | + | ==Tile Size== | |
It is generally assumed that 1 tile in-game is equal to 1m. I believe this is way too small. The only known ''fact'' is that in actual geometric terms, a tile, with a hypotenuse of 32px, can be derived to be 22.6px wide. In a thread on XCTC (now StrategyCore) several concepts were discussed: | It is generally assumed that 1 tile in-game is equal to 1m. I believe this is way too small. The only known ''fact'' is that in actual geometric terms, a tile, with a hypotenuse of 32px, can be derived to be 22.6px wide. In a thread on XCTC (now StrategyCore) several concepts were discussed: | ||
*'''1m:''' The assumed 1m tile would lead to a wall height of 1.22m, or 4ft, which is simply rediculous. | *'''1m:''' The assumed 1m tile would lead to a wall height of 1.22m, or 4ft, which is simply rediculous. | ||
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I believe that 2.26m is the best alternative, but I suppose it's all up to personal opinion as to which you adopt. | I believe that 2.26m is the best alternative, but I suppose it's all up to personal opinion as to which you adopt. | ||
− | + | =Speed= | |
As everyone knows (or should know), TUs equate to speed. This lead to to calculate the walking speeds of each unit in the game. I based my calculations off averages. An average X-COM Soldier has 65 TUs and the average human walking speed is 5 km/h, so if you multiply TUs by 5/65 (or 1/13), you get: | As everyone knows (or should know), TUs equate to speed. This lead to to calculate the walking speeds of each unit in the game. I based my calculations off averages. An average X-COM Soldier has 65 TUs and the average human walking speed is 5 km/h, so if you multiply TUs by 5/65 (or 1/13), you get: | ||
'''Unit TUs Speed''' | '''Unit TUs Speed''' | ||
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'''Sprinting Speed''' = (Base TUs)*5/13 | '''Sprinting Speed''' = (Base TUs)*5/13 | ||
− | + | =Turn Length= | |
This is probably the most controversial aspect of the game. To work out how long a turn actually is, two important things need to be known - Tile Size and Speed! | This is probably the most controversial aspect of the game. To work out how long a turn actually is, two important things need to be known - Tile Size and Speed! | ||
Revision as of 05:52, 5 October 2005
This is a place for me to explain each of my theories on the conversion of UFO:EU, a 2D isometric game, into the 3D realm. Each of the ideas explained here have been discussed in forums previously, but no conclusions were ever resolved, so I'll use this page for my own opinions. Discussion is welcome...
Sizes
Height
One of the more commonly disputed ideas is how tall X-COM units would be in real-life. As a start, I'll list the in-game heights:
Silacoid 10 Celatid 12 Cyberdisc 15 Sectoid 16 Snakeman 18 Zombie 18 Ethereal 20 Floater 21 Muton 21 Chryssalid 21 Reaper 23 Sectopod 23 Ceiling 24
Now, the basis for my theory on unit heights is a standard house ceiling. The normal* height of a ceiling is 8ft, which in metric** is about 2.40m. Staight away you can see the similarity of 2.4 to 24 - a simple divider of 10. If you then use this to work out the height of, say, a Zombie, it would make it 1.8m, or 6ft. To me, this makes sense seeing as the Zombies are made of poisoned men, and an average man height is generally stated as 6ft.
The observant of you might have noticed that I left X-COM and civilians out of that list. I did this for a good reason. Here are their listed heights:
Tank 12 Civilian 21 Soldier 22
As you can see, if a ceiling is 2.4m high, this would make an X-COM soldier 2.2m tall! At first I couldn't understand these numbers, until one day it dawned on me that Aliens can't kneel in the game. This means that they can't gain the FA +15% kneeling modifier. So, it's my belief that to compensate the Aliens for this lack of ability, the makers simply made the humans taller, making them bigger targets, and hence, easier to hit. If you scale them down to 18, it makes the civilians 1.72cm tall and the tanks 98cm tall. Both of these results seem acceptable to me.
So in summary, if you want to convert the in-game heights to real-life:
Metric Meters = (Unit Height)/10 Imperial Feet = (Unit Height)/3 For Humans, divide again by 1.22 (22/18).
*Obviously ceilings can be any height the builder wants to make them, but 8ft is the standard.
**The makers were British.
Tile Size
It is generally assumed that 1 tile in-game is equal to 1m. I believe this is way too small. The only known fact is that in actual geometric terms, a tile, with a hypotenuse of 32px, can be derived to be 22.6px wide. In a thread on XCTC (now StrategyCore) several concepts were discussed:
- 1m: The assumed 1m tile would lead to a wall height of 1.22m, or 4ft, which is simply rediculous.
- 1.4m: Roughly derived from the animation walk-cycle, I don't believe this is a suitable reference.
- 2.26m: Based off my div/10 formula above.
I believe that 2.26m is the best alternative, but I suppose it's all up to personal opinion as to which you adopt.
Speed
As everyone knows (or should know), TUs equate to speed. This lead to to calculate the walking speeds of each unit in the game. I based my calculations off averages. An average X-COM Soldier has 65 TUs and the average human walking speed is 5 km/h, so if you multiply TUs by 5/65 (or 1/13), you get:
Unit TUs Speed ---- --- ----- Chryssalid 110-124 8-10 km/h Celatid 70-82 5-6 km/h X-COM 50-80 4-6 km/h Ethereal 68-79 5-6 km/h Cyberdisc 62-72 5-6 km/h Reaper 62-72 5-6 km/h Sectopod 62-72 5-6 km/h Floater Commander 60-70 5-5 km/h Muton 56-65 4-5 km/h Floater Leader 55-64 4-5 km/h Sectoid 54-63 4-5 km/h Snakeman Commander 45-63 3-5 km/h Floater 50-58 4-4 km/h Silacoid 40-47 3-4 km/h Snakeman 40-47 3-4 km/h Zombie 40-47 3-4 km/h
If you want running and sprinting speeds, just multiply by 3/13 or 5/13 respectively.
For those who like formulas:
Walking Speed = (Base TUs)/13 Running Speed = (Base TUs)*3/13 Sprinting Speed = (Base TUs)*5/13
Turn Length
This is probably the most controversial aspect of the game. To work out how long a turn actually is, two important things need to be known - Tile Size and Speed!
I'll use a Soldier with 80 TUs for my example, and a hypothetical 2m tile size.
We know that 80 TUs will allow the Soldier to cover 20 tiles per turn, which makes 40m in this case.
Based on my calculations above a Soldier of 80 TUs can move at 6km/h, or more precisely, 1.71m/s.
So, 40m at 1.71m/s = 23.4s
Results with varying tile sizes:
1.0m = 11.7s 1.4m = 16.4s 2.0m = 23.4s 2.3m = 26.5s