The metric system

[Tuck Sanders]

Has it ever been considered to add viewing tile height in meters, and not in feet? Seems like an easy enough option, and I'm sure it would give some of us more of an intuitive feel for what the numbers mean.

[Verdun1916]

I must admit I suck at converting feet and miles into metric in my head.
So I would not mind having the choice to choose between imperial an metric in game.

[Cédric Monget]

If we had won in 1815, there would be only the metric system (and if we had won earlier, we would be today on 24 nivôse an CCXXXI)...

[Dion]

Give me good old fashion feet and yards. I distinguish practical distances, not scientific distances. I see both, feet and yards relative to football fields. I see both, miles and fractions of miles relative to a number of hexes. Using the metric system I can't see distances in a practical way. I have to mathematically calculate them before I can use them in a practical manner.

[Verdun1916]

Give me good old fashion feet and yards. I distinguish practical distances, not scientific distances. I see both, feet and yards relative to football fields. I see both, miles and fractions of miles relative to a number of hexes. Using the metric system I can't see distances in a practical way. I have to mathematically calculate them before I can use them in a practical manner.

I understand that. However for us non-Americans or non-British we have to do the whole mathematical calculation in our heads (or with the help of calculation tools) with feet, yards and miles before beeing able to use them in a practical manner.

Hence it would be awesome if the games had both metrical and imperial options for the players to choose between. That way we could all use the measurement system we prefere and are familiar with the most.

However to be honest, most of the world does use the metric system. And alot of WDS customers are from those countries.

[unonimus]

I was about to say "Doesn't Napoleonic Battles already use the metric system?", then I realised it uses the metric system for hex distances* and the imperial system for elevation. I don't know the reason, but it might be because they wanted nice numbers. Since 10 feet is approx. 3 metres (the actual value is 3.048 metres), is it all right seeing elevation steps like this: ..30m-33m-36m-39m-42m... A choice might be all right; however, but I am not so sure.

*I heard that some designers designed their scenarios as if it used the imperial system (100 yards [91.44 metres] per hex instead of 100 metres). But I am not so sure about that as well.

[Dion]

I would simply say do-away with the metric system and keep the imperial system, but in all fairness, keeping both systems would be best, letting the player choose which system to use. A person deciduous to whatever measurement system their home country uses, would be able to relate the distance in a split second, whereas a person that wasn't deciduous would have to calculate the distance and try to imagine the distance relative to whatever system they use in their home country, having to use a calculator or some such tool to figure it out, causing articulation errors and simply aggravating the player. After all it's only human to error.