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I am making an RPG game using an isometric tile engine that I found here:

http://xnaresources.com/default.asp?page=TUTORIALS

However after completing the tutorial I found myself wanting to do some things with the camera that I am not sure how to do.

Firstly I would like to zoom the camera in more so that it is displaying a 1 to 1 pixel ratio.

Secondly, would it be possible to make this game 2.5d in the way that when the camera moves, the sprite trees and things alike, move properly. By this I mean that the bottom of the sprite is planted while the top moves against the background, making a very 3d like experience. This effect can best be seen in games like diablo 2.

Here is the source code off their website: http://www.xnaresources.com/downloads/tileengineseries9.zip

Any help would be great, Thanks

that_guy
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  • 2.5d is a game that renders 3d objects that allows for movement in only 2 dimensions. Don't have time to download it but tutorial looks like its a purely 2d isometric engine. Is it actually 2.5d? Because the answers to your question vary if their 2d sprites or 3d models. – ClassicThunder Feb 15 '12 at 18:21
  • "2.5D ("two-and-a-half-dimensional"), 3/4 perspective and pseudo-3D are terms used to describe 2D graphical projections and techniques which cause a series of images or scenes to fake or appear to be three-dimensional (3D) when in fact they are not" - Wiki – that_guy Feb 18 '12 at 07:41
  • "The term "2.5D" is also applied to 3D games that use polygonal graphics to render the world and/or characters, but whose gameplay is restricted to a 2D plane." - From the same page about 4 inches down :) – ClassicThunder Feb 18 '12 at 07:48
  • "2.5d is a game that renders 3d objects that allows for movement in only 2 dimensions" - ClassicThunder You did not say that it also included the definition that I gave and your answer implied that 2.5D only included 3d graphics with a locked camera angle. Also, Just because you where wrong doesn't mean that you should vote it down. – that_guy Feb 18 '12 at 18:04
  • Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe DiabloI-II were actually orthograthic perspective. So, there was no parallax between units or between units and the ground. A unit lower on your screen would simply occlude units above it by rendering afterward but remain the same size. – James Mar 02 '12 at 02:04
  • I believe that DII used the 3d graphics card to produce its parallax effect. Check out [this thread](http://www.gamedev.net/topic/532278-2d-parallax-scrolling-a-la-diablo-ii/) for some discussion. – Fuhrmanator Apr 20 '12 at 19:55

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Games like Diablo or Sims 1, 2, SimCity 1-3, X-Com 1,2 etc. were actually just 2D games. The 2.5D effect requires that tiles further away are exactly the same size as tiles nearby. Your rotation around these games are restricted to 90 degrees.

How they draw is basically painters algorithm. Drawing what is furthest away first and overdrawing things that are nearer. Diablo is actually pretty simple, it didn't introduce layers or height differences as far as I remember. Just a flat map. So you draw the floor tiles first (in this case back to front isn't too necessary since they are all on the same elevation.) Then drawing back to front the walls, characters effects etc.

Everything in these games were rendered to bitmaps and rendered as bitmaps. Even though their source may have been a 3D textured model.

If you want to add perspective or free rotation then you need everything to be a 3D model. Your rendering will be simpler because depth or render order isn't as critical as you would use z-buffering to solve your issues. The only main issue is to properly render transparent bits in the right order or else you may end up with some odd results. However even if your rendering is simpler, your animation or in memory storage is a bit more difficult. You need to animate 3D models instead of just having an array of bitmaps to do the animation. Selection of items on the screen requires a little more work since position and size of the elements are no longer consistent or easily predictable.

So it depends on which features you want that will dictate which sort of solution you can use. Either way has it's plusses and minuses.

Zekaric
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