First look at Picture in Picture/minimap

Let's just wait and see. I just guess that control over time in separate view might be not as easy as using it like minimap.

And if that PiP isn't draggable, it should be easy enough to throw that into a floating frame. So many mods! Should we maybe make a single PiP improvement mod?

Yeah we will see. It will still be useful even if it doesn't change the time.

Actually, this sheds light on a scary balance oversight with avengers and interplanet travel speed. They probably shouldn't be SO fast that they can take time to be built and still beat a commander to another planet (because then they can't even react to it and will get sniped helplessly)

I am sure nobody has seen or done this oversight JUST BECAUSE they haven't had PiP yet. Nobody notices that instantaneous when an enemy gets a commander into orbit.

Yes, I too believe that PiP and Chronocam both use instancing and take information you already have from the network. Basically, it pools the same resources your computer and bandwidth already use to run the game once, and add a mild amount of graphic strain to render graphically two seperate locations simultaneously, which is a graphics stress and is based on personal computers. If your computer is strong, it should play many if it can play one smoothly, if your computer is borderline, you should still be able to use two but over 4 might start causing graphic choppiness.

You have to be careful with your commander.

Remember though that using an astreaous to move the com probably isn't the optimum way to expand any more. I personally would ship a constructor or send an orbital fabber and build a gate...

Actually thinking about it the fighters do really need to be faster as well- this is to stop those annoying situations where you've won and the commander simply runs away in the drop ship out into space... At least now when someone tried that you can simply go and hunt them down!

I think the minimap takes way too much space.
To add a good feedback, I used my mighty skills in photoshop and created something more of my taste.



Or here is a vesion with equater.



And one more, with 0° longitude line, lets call it The Überwich.

What about celestial view then ?

That's fantastic @martenus. Do want. Now do it again with poles!

I think you could still zoom within the green border you know. But the minimap area is circular, rather then square.

mmmyes maybe so. definitely looks better.

Pole version just for you :-*

Perfect. I'll be in my bunk.

Check my original post above, I updated with real version

Thinking of the PiP as just a minimap is pretty constricting.. I much prefer the approach of it being just another window with which you can do whatever you please, as it is now.

I do like the idea of making it a circle though, or having that option, because most of the time I strongly suspect you're going to use it zoomed out and so the square is space inefficient.

If we could stop calling it a minimap though, that'd be great.

How about "the Eye of Sauron"?

heh, I quite like PIP though, easy to say and kind of characterful.

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You were right. Chronocam is independent of the camera controls. This is sad, but understandable. I can still move the PiP camera through javascript, though! You just have to swap the cameras really fast.

Code:

model.swapPips();
engine.call('camera.lookAt', JSON.stringify(target));
model.swapPips();

this mini-map is useful