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I can't say if it's inspired by the site you link, but basing your suspicion on the hexagonal shape is very weak, at best. Also, the data seems to be in different resolutions, and the actual jamming data is quite different just looking at both sites.

I've seen hexagons used for maps and boardgames for years.



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They go into it a bit in the article.

A lot of the reasons seem reminiscent of why hexagons are awesome in video games: https://www.redblobgames.com/grids/hexagons/


It's buried in the original post, but a great resource for all things hexagonal grids is http://www.redblobgames.com/grids/hexagons/

That's utterly awesome and I hope the links didn't come across as "this has already been done"—quite the contrary—the intention is just "here are cool similar things if anyone's curious". A hexagonal version is a noble and clever addition!

I have seen hexagons used, like in a honeycomb.

Doesn't using a one-hex-per-state model basically defeat most of the benefits of using hexagons in the first place? This seems like a bit of cargo-culting the idea that hexagons are good for maps without actually understanding why.

I meant in a hexagonal coordinate system, like the hexagon tiles in games.

The ideas sound nice, but whenever I've seen actual code that says it's been based on hexagonal architecture.... it's been an over-engineered difficult-to-work-with mess.

Reminds me of a similar write-up about hexagonal grids posted to HN 10+ years ago:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5809724


I'm the only one that see an hexagonal pattern in the image? I don't mean a single hexagon, but several.

Tessellated hexagons might be interesting - they have the advantage of being closer to a circular target.

Apparently I'm not the first one to think of that - a quick check threw up http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5805157.html


Good find, that definitely looks hexagonal from the start.

Also see https://www.redblobgames.com/grids/hexagons/ by the same author which was an awesome resource when I was implementing a hexagonal grid for something.

Linked in the Further Reading section is the Red Blob Games article on Hexagonal Grids which is a fantastic resource and is definitely worth a read.

https://www.redblobgames.com/grids/hexagons/


> hexagon is a better shape for map grids because they are the most complex shape that can tesselate

[Penrose tiling intensifies]


I might be the only one pedantically annoyed here, but... the very first image on this page contains a mix of hexagons and pentagons.

Which is it - an inaccurate image, and the system is really hexagon-based, or does the system also use pentagons? My guess is that it is actually all hexagon-based since the overlap between granularity is already only approximate.


Which is why, btw, Hexagons have been used for decades in wargames (and - to a more limited extent, in other types of boardgames).

Here's another great article about hexagonal grids:

http://www.redblobgames.com/grids/hexagons/

It's written with game design in mind, but many of the techniques are useful just the same.


cool... but it is not hexagonal, it is almost quadrilateral :D :D

I think so, as the other reply points out.

And I want to encourage everyone to try their hand at making one of these. They're deceptively more interesting than they would appear to be at first glance.

And plus-one on the recommendations for Vi Hart's videos on Hexaflexagons also mentioned here.

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