Isopolis
Ranked 4 of 26 interactive maps by recommenders
Fans enjoy exploring this isometric pixel map of San Francisco and its retro game feel, but critics call the AI-generated imagery soulless and point to errors, especially around water.
Fans enjoy exploring this isometric pixel map of San Francisco and its retro game feel, but critics call the AI-generated imagery soulless and point to errors, especially around water.
34 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 27
- criticize it
- 7
- approval share
- 79%
Recommended in 1 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 27 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 3.9 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 1 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Fun to browse and explore
“It's easy to just go on browsing and exploring.”
Comment from 3 Aug 2026 in “Show HN: Isopolis – isometric pixel map of SF” “it's so much fun to look at”
Comment from 3 Aug 2026 in “Show HN: Isopolis – isometric pixel map of SF” Beautiful visuals
“despite this the finished project is beautiful”
Comment from 3 Aug 2026 in “Show HN: Isopolis – isometric pixel map of SF” “This is incredibly beautiful”
Comment from 3 Aug 2026 in “Show HN: Isopolis – isometric pixel map of SF” “The BGM, the SFX, the visual are all perfect.”
Comment from 3 Aug 2026 in “Show HN: Isopolis – isometric pixel map of SF” Fun opening music and sound
“The SV show music playing on opening was such a good detail to add, loved it!”
Comment from 3 Aug 2026 in “Show HN: Isopolis – isometric pixel map of SF” “The BGM, the SFX, the visual are all perfect.”
Comment from 3 Aug 2026 in “Show HN: Isopolis – isometric pixel map of SF” “The opening music made me lol”
Comment from 3 Aug 2026 in “Show HN: Isopolis – isometric pixel map of SF” Nostalgic SimCity-style retro feel
“I really like the ’90s game vibe.”
Comment from 9 Aug 2026 in “Show HN: Isopolis – isometric pixel map of SF” “Sim-city over San Francisco.”
Comment from 3 Aug 2026 in “Show HN: Isopolis – isometric pixel map of SF”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Looks like soulless AI slop
“it really does read as soulless slop and I think there are many people who are just tired of it”
Comment from 3 Aug 2026 in “Show HN: Isopolis – isometric pixel map of SF” “the soullessness of the generated imagery comes through”
Comment from 3 Aug 2026 in “Show HN: Isopolis – isometric pixel map of SF” “its just...unpolished. I dare to say slop.”
Comment from 3 Aug 2026 in “Show HN: Isopolis – isometric pixel map of SF” Glitches with water and roads
“A few AI anomalies, like several roads turning into rivers and lakes.”
Comment from 3 Aug 2026 in “Show HN: Isopolis – isometric pixel map of SF” “there are a ton of issues especially around water”
Comment from 3 Aug 2026 in “Show HN: Isopolis – isometric pixel map of SF” Blurry, unpolished look
“it's just a weird blurry mess. Looks terrible.”
Comment from 3 Aug 2026 in “Show HN: Isopolis – isometric pixel map of SF” “its just...unpolished. I dare to say slop.”
Comment from 3 Aug 2026 in “Show HN: Isopolis – isometric pixel map of SF”
Other interactive maps people recommend
The four most recommended other interactive maps, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| isometric.nyc | 52 | 8 | 87% | 3 | — | — |
| Map of Metal | 34 | 4 | 89% | 2 | — | — |
| CheapFoodMap | 29 | 8 | 78% | 1 | — | — |
| IsopolisThis page | 27 | 7 | 79% | 1 | — | — |
| Shipmap.org | 23 | 6 | 79% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
25 of the 36 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Wait, that was you? So good!”
“I really like the ’90s game vibe.”
“I lived in San Francisco for 15 years, and love this.”
“it really does read as soulless slop and I think there are many people who are just tired of it”
“Absolutely amazing Love to see how much we can go out of the box.”
“FWIW I thought this was really cool.”
“the soullessness of the generated imagery comes through”
“The SV show music playing on opening was such a good detail to add, loved it!”
“The issue is that LLM's simply don't "get this". It's vibecoded.”
“Unwanted sound! Not cool.”
“despite this the finished project is beautiful”
“The opening music made me lol”
“its just...unpolished. I dare to say slop.”
“not sure I agree with your use of voxels”
“This is incredibly beautiful”
“it's just a weird blurry mess. Looks terrible.”
“there are a ton of issues especially around water”
“A few AI anomalies, like several roads turning into rivers and lakes.”
“Would be extra awesome if there was a navigation app that used this map”
“Sim-city over San Francisco.”
“You grabbed that bull by the horns and did so beautifully.”
“it's so much fun to look at”
“I like that I can click on neighborhoods and regions and get more information about them”
“It's easy to just go on browsing and exploring.”
“The BGM, the SFX, the visual are all perfect.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.