How important is a fixed camera?

Discussion in 'General Gameplay Discussion' started by Deckerd Smeckerd, Nov 21, 2019.

  1. Deckerd Smeckerd Active Member

    In MMOs, the camera is usually fixed behind the character but the camera could be used to help convey information to the player.

    Do you think it would add gameplay value if the camera were able to pan and elevate relative to your character as long as you were not directly controlling the camera or moving your character. (With an option to disable the feature entirely, of course.) A right click or pressing the movement keys could immediately snap the camera back to its normal position.

    Momentarily after you begin standing still, the camera could enter a free movement mode. Your character is always on screen. However, now the camera can pan and elevate to put things in the center screen that are important events. Things like, a character is low on health or dies. New mobs enter combat. A powerful spell or ability begins or completes. The list goes on.

    Would this be useful and fun or distracting?
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  2. Cragfire Well-Known Member

    The one thing i really hate are games with "over the shoulder" camera with no way to disable it. It truly messes with my OCD and symmetry; and feels awkward to me, distractingly so.. it's like driving a motorcycle but from the side-car and not the main seat..

    Now sure what you mean otherwise... As in Mouse-look? (we have that), or do you mean forced camera rotations outside the characters control? Like in a Story based game there might be a cinematic camera showing a piece of important information?

    If the second, I'm not sure. I hate loosing control of my character for any reason. if done extremely well.. Perhaps?
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  3. Lateana Older than Dirt, Playing EQII since 2004

    Useful? Definitely yes. But we have some of the things you mentioned already in the game. However, to my best recollection, you cannot change what is in the center of your screen.

    Somewhere buried in the Options menu is a setting that allows you to shift the camera to other angles, such that you can look at your own face or shift over your head and look down from far above you. You are still centered on your head, but the viewing angle and distance is separated from your movement. I use my right mouse button to engage the desired angle, the mouse wheel to set distance, and use the WASD keys to move about. When I quit pressing the right mouse button everything goes back to normal.
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  4. Deckerd Smeckerd Active Member


    Yes, I was thinking in cinematic terms. I agree it would need to done well. For example, it can not move around erratically. So it needs to understand a wide shot to encompass a series of events that occur in quick succession, such as multiple deaths, can be shown in one frame. It would be hard to do but starting with death events and working back from the most serious events is probably a decent approach.

    Maybe a little customizability so you can choose what is important to you. For your role, such as healer or crowd control.
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  5. Juraiya Well-Known Member

    I personally would HATE a fixed camera. Fixed camera games make me motion sick, and I'm not alone in that. I know you suggested also having a way to turn it off, but the problem is, unless the *default* is off, some people will turn on the game, get motion sick in under a minute, then exit the game and uninstall it right away. I have done this many times with games that otherwise I would have really enjoyed playing. The player won't KNOW that there's a way to turn it off, and the motion sickness problem can be so severe that usually we just can't deal with it at all.
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  6. Pixistik Don't like it? You're not alone!

    Camera has been working great for years, no need to add more bugs to a game that has enough as it is.
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  7. Deckerd Smeckerd Active Member


    I agree about the fixed camera. I think it would constrict the game experience. This game lets you right click hold and look around. What I was talking about wasn't creating a fixed camera but allowing the game to use the camera to communicate under certain circumstances.
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  8. Svenone Well-Known Member

    I prefer playing small characters, but to offset that I keep the camera "over the shoulder and above", and it is really annoying when I am forced into a situation where I have to be in first-person, especially when there are a bunch of too-talls around me.
    This game has a LOT of options, and that can be intimidating and / or frustrating at times.
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