JoshParnell wrote: ↑Mon Jul 16, 2018 4:13 pm
The thing that worries me about hex is...6 neighbors! Ahh! It feels like too many
Thinking about this, what if you had some mechanic to limit the number of connections available randomly, similar to how you do system connectivity?
I.e.: You make it a hex grid, but with irregularity programmed into which connections make it. Say, Hex where 2 connections (of 6 possible) is standard, and 2 standard deviations include anything from 2-4 connections. Then use that same exponential randomness to determine the 3rd std dev w/ any other number of connections, up to 14 or some other configurable number (and down to 1, since 1-border tiles seem like they should be rare, too.)
I come up with 14 thinking of a 3d model of a cube, with one connection at each vertice and one at each central face, but obviously a 3d hex looks a lot different than a 3d cube (and if you've got 3d off in the settings, you'd want to cap at hex/square vertices instead, so perhaps tie the "cap" to the shape of the universe selected, e.g., 14 for a 3-d cube, 4 for a 2d square.)
In any case, the basic concept is that with the NESW design principle, you just end up with some tiles which are missing a connection at random borders. Some ONLY have an NE border, or ONLY an ES border, etc. And others which have NSW borders, or E-only borders, etc.