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I'm working on a prototype of a 2D WW2 hex-and-counter wargame for Windows, just trying to test mechanics for now. I started with a little 10 x 10 hex grid overlaid over a .jpg of a stretch of North Africa, and I've had no performance issues.
But is that the optimal approach for a larger map and grid -- say a 100 x 100 or even 200 x 200 hex grid? That is, should I simply make one big ol' color JPG map and put a hex grid over it in Photoshop? Or is it better from a performance and memory standpoint to make a tilemap out of individual hex tiles?
I see some advantages to tiles, apart from performance. They could make it easier to let the player create and edit the map, and thus make scenarios of their own. And they might promote a more uniform look.
But I see disadvantages to tilemaps too. The hexgrid-tile demos I've found on the asset library all use offset squares to emulate hexes, and while they work, they're a bit kludgy -- sometimes the mouse isn't quite detected in the right hex. (Is there a way to tell Godot to recognize hexagons? I tried messing around with "custom" tile shapes but couldn't figure out how to tell Godot I want to use a hexagon shape. Admittedly, my grid-over-jpg map is kludgy too: I have to fudge to get mouseclicks to land in the right hex. And maybe that's okay, as the player usually clicks in mid-hex anyway, to grab a unit.) Finally, a hand-painted map might look prettier, if busier.
Anyway, can anyone offer general advice on which path to pursue -- a "picture" map or a map of tiles? Thanks in advance.