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[[File:3diso.jpg|ightright|320px|thumb|samples courtesy from www.olivierleborgne.com games :Head Over Heels, Batman, Super Hero, Sweevo’s World and Hydrofool.]]

Yet the term Isometric is the most commonly used, as it suit for most of those pseudo 3D -looking games, so we'll use it as a whole, despite sometimes unproperlyun-properly.

==Inaccuracy on with old school Computers==

====Asymmetric :====

====Symmetric :====

 As such, a proper "3D" parallel projection engine can be quite difficult to get running smoothly and fast as a lot of work may be needed for the Z80 CPU.  ==Amstrad Plus== Concerning the [[Plus| Amstrad Plus]] range, the extra features may be difficult to use in such an environment.   *'''Hardware sprites :'''  Due to them being always above the normal bitmap screen. They still can be easily used to add extra visual effects or extra HUD elements, or even to patch some foreground only elements/tiles. Proper isometric can be hard to mix with Hardsprites, but cavalier perspective games may be easier with those. In turn based GUI like games (like Hero Quest) the sprites are obviously a clever way to get a proper "Mouse cursor" with additional extra colours and ready to use mask. *'''Raster Interrupts :'''  The diagonal graphics are not easy to mix with horizontal rasters interrupts or video Mode changes...  But it can still be used for some HUD or windows which may not cross the play field (with a vertical 256 pixels sized screen). Or in Mode0 games : with a "lot" of existing inks, so more margin to play with those ink changes with no clashes. *'''Hardwired scrolling :'''  let's say this can also be used to ease horizontal scrolling provided the kind of game actually need it. *'''Palette :''' the awesome Plus palette is always a sweet feature to use.   The few real Plus games don't make a great use of parallel projection. Examples would be : [[World Of Sports ( Cartridge )]] for its BMX part (cavalier perspective). [[Operation Thunderbolt ( Cartridge )]] perhaps use some cosmetic cavalier perspective for the horizontal scrolling parts but it is more a CPC old game with "refreshed" graphics. ==Shadows== Getting some Sprites a shadow on the floor is a nice way to ease the player's comprehension of the 3D effect and environment, yet it was rarely used. Head over Heels is notable because when your Sprite (mostly "Head" who could glide in the air) was in "altitude" you may not easily see were it is actually in the X,Z plane. Yet putting a vertical shadow may be heavier on the CPU and Ram consuming... *Examples :  **Batman : the Movie (OCEAN) in the Batwing level (4th level, horizontal oblique) so you can see your altitude. **Hydrofool : as you float in an Aquatic environment, the game would be unplayable without this shadow (just look at the picture, yellow shadow...) to see your coordinates in the X/Z plane and judge at which height you are swimming. ==Video Modes== The square pixels from Mode1 was usually preferred for real Isometric. Yet games in mode 0 managed well with it or other parallel projections type too.  Some reasons the Mode1 was anyway quite popular : *Many isometric games were Speccy Ports. *the fine square pixels in mode1 also enable to get fine detailed sprites, while the blockier Mode0 would need those sprites to be bigger in order to manage a proper level of details.  ===Mode1 :===

***Sprites and Scenery elements (objects, doors, platforms...) : they use only 3 colours and the 4th ink (ink number0) is used to get the transparency mask.

[[File:Heroquest possible colour variation.png|frame|none|What was, what could, what should.]] A more clever use of the transparency/mask ink with the Floor/Wall tiles could enable to display this '''background grey''' in those floor/wall tiles but it wasn't done... which is a serious graphical limitation alongside a poor colours choice, which leads to the sprites and scenery being quite blurred into a blue messy hell as the background can't differenciate differentiate properly through the use of an additional different colour.

* Some remains in Monocolour Mono-colour display as lazy ports, be it only in gamefield game's playfield (HUD often display other colours anyway).

**[[Alien highway / Highway]] **[[Highway Encounter ]]  **[[H.A.T.EHostile All Terrain Encounter]]**[[Pac-Mania]]PacMania **The Great Escape **Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes **Gauntlet III **Molecule Man (also a bad game...)

**Bomb Scare**Crystal Castles**Fire Trap**Bobby bearing: yet in this one, the sprites seem to be 2bpp coded as they actually use 2 colours+transparency (White+black for sprites, darkBlue and light Cyan for scenery) or there is still a 1bpp mask over a 1bpp sprite data, then colour are chosen when displayed. This makes the sprites even more apparent over the background despite still having a 1bpp flavour.

====Mode0 :====

==ShadowsLevel design==

Getting The background elements being obscured by the sprites foreground elements, a shadow proper level design is a nice way to ease the player's comprehension of the 3D effect and environment, yet it was rarely usedneeded so most crucial elements remain visible.

Head over Heels is notable because when your Sprite (mostly "Head" who could glide in the air) was in "altitude" you may not easily see were it is actually in the X,Z planeYet this can also used to put hidden features and secret passages too.

**Hydrofool : as you float in an Aquatic environment, the game would be unplayable without this shadow (just look at A problem with Isometric was the picture, yellow shadow...) need to see your coordinates put HUD in corners of the X/Z plane and judge at which height you are swimmingscreen.

The background elements being obscured by *This is of course not a problem in Mode0 as the foreground elements, 16 colours on screen are enough to get a proper level design is needed so most crucial elements remain visiblecoloured feeling.

Yet this *And by the way the heaviness of a proper Mode1 Isometric engine simply can also used 't bother to put hidden features and secret passages toohave extra colours with the sacrifice of precious CPU resources.

==Video modesScrolling==

The square pixels from Mode1 was usually preferred for real *Few Isometricgames actually included proper multi-scrolling as an Isometric engine is already quite heavy for the system.

Yet games in mode 0 managed well with it or other parallel projections type A proper scrolled isometric game would need 2 diagonal scrollings and perhaps a vertical scrolling too, not the easiest to get.

*the fine square pixels in mode1 also enable Cavalier perspective games were more prone to get fine detailed sprites, while the blockier Mode0 would need those sprites to scrolling because only a "normal" horizontal scrolling mau be bigger in order to manage a proper level of detailsneeded.

a problem with Isometric was the need to put HUD Some "Beat'hem All" games in corners of the screenapproximate Cavalier Perspective managed to get some decent scrolling, often an horizontal one...

As a result, it was rarely possible to add extra colours thanks to raster interrupts because the HUD often cross the Double Dragon series are typical examples of such games windows (horizontally), with Horizontal scrolling.

Not the easiest to get'''Scrolling was often a severe lack in many Amstrad CPC's games anyway.'''

Yet [[Pac-Mania]] is a notable example of scrolled parallel projection game, its Oblique projection being more suitable for scrollings as it need only 1 diagonal scrolling ==Control and 1 horizontal scrolling.Gameplay==

A Projection based environment can be used as 2D or 3D environment/engine*'''Beat'hem All :''' a clever way to get good looking backgrounds.

*'''Horizontal Oblique Cavalier Perspective :'''

Because it still have some traditional Horizontal and vertical axis, this projection often stick to the up/down and left/right way to move the Player's sprite. as As a result, this projection if more than often only cosmetic : the background looks like 3D but the game and the sprites are clearly 2D.

****Examples are many Football game (view from above) where running in diagonal often enable to actually run faster than in Horizontal/Vertical on-screen directions (provided the game doesn't lag due to real time multiscrolling issues).

****Also strategic/tactical turn based games using "square grid" instead of hexagonal grid... if possible, using the diagonals of the squares is often advantageous movement wise...

The backgrounds Scenery elements are in "3D" (isometric oriented) and but you can't use the Y (3D vertical) axis(no jump), therefore you can move on the horizontal plane (X/Z) in 8 directions.

==List of Amstrad "Isometric" and "Oblique" games :==

**[[Head Over Heels]]

**[[Alien Highway]]

**[[H.A.T.EHostile All Terrain Encounter]]

**[[Hero Quest]]

**[[Revolution]]

**[[Bactron]]

===='''Flattened Dimetric examples :'''====

**[[Black Land]]

===various symmetric=Various Symmetric====

===='''Horizontal Oblique examples Cavalier perspective :'''====

**PacMania[[Pac-Mania]]

**[[Paperboy]]

[[File:Cavalier perspective mode0.png|thumb|1024px|none| A panel of different sort of Mode0 cavalier perspective games.]] ===='''Various Oblique /Trimetric examples :'''====

==Pixel Artrenewal and Isometric==

Hence, PixelArt and This is quite due to the fact that Isometric are often /Parallel projection was made obsolete by full Real 3D computers evolution, so became synonymous nowadays with the younger ignorant generations.of Old-School Computers and Games

Hence, "PixelArt" and "Isometric graphics" are often merged nowadays in the younger ignorant generations' mind.  ==Modern day isometricuses of Isometric Graphics==

'''Wikipedia's''' articles : [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphical_projection| Graphical projection] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallel_projection| Parallel projection] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isometric_projection| Isometric projection]==Links==

[[Category:Isometric 3D| *]][[Category:3D]][[Category:Stub]][[Category:Graphic]]