So as some of you know, I've been working on a mod to give the camera some nice cinematic modes. The demo video I've been showing people is a little outdated now that I've cleared up some bugs and added a new mode, but it's still a good example of what I'm trying to do. The other mode that I have does the same thing with the camera, but also jumps back in time 10 seconds and plays everything back at half speed. I'm really happy with the instant replay camera and I can't wait to show it off to you guys! Are there any other camera modes that people will want to have? I'll probably be adding some simple things like smooth zoom in/out buttons and maybe a way to slow down the default camera rotation speed. One other mode that has been requested is a hotkey that does everything in the demo video, but also opens the pip and focuses it over the area you're looking at but zoomed out to a strategic view.
Instant replay camera: http://bit.ly/RbD7cV The framerate is low because my computer is slow when recording. That white flash it there whenever instant replay starts or stops. I think it looks nice, gives a visual indicator that you are no longer watching live, and helps cover up the fact that some of the steps taken to enter into the camera mode don't all happen at once. I also used the smooth zoom in/smooth zoom out modes at the same time as the replay camera for a nice effect.
well I could image it being supercool to follow an air squad looking back from the first airplane, moving the camera to the side as they approach the target, move down as the bombs drop, or move down and circle around as the kestrels devastate some area but it's probably just a dream (-:
The camera api doesn't give us that level of control over the camera's tilt, unfortunately. I can pan, rotate, zoom, and track, but unless they add pitch control it is unlikely that I can do this. Here's what Ubergaf said about it in a PM when I was asking about pitch control a week or two ago;
That looks like the debug camera that's already in PA. My mod is meant more for pre-programmed camera modes that can be easily toggled by casters.
Oh sorry I didn't mean the control mode, I was more interested in the camera inertia that he added. It gives that nice steady cam look but I'm not sure if you can actually do that kind of thing in PA.
I have already added a small amount of inertia to the smooth zoom functions. The other camera modes don't really do much besides slowly spin around in a circle right now, so they won't need inertia. I might be able to add a small amount of inertia to the arrow keys so that it keeps panning once you let go of the button, but I'm not sure everyone would like that.
cool. Is there a way to use this for non cinematic purposes and make a mod that lines viewpoints up fast in a split screen type setup?
I'm not completely sure what you mean by that. This mod is going to be very limited in scope because I'm worried that too many features will make things overly complicated, which goes against the goal I have for it. I want casters to be able to use it without thinking; press a key once to enter a camera mod, press it again to exit. We can still talk about other camera ideas like yours though. There's no reason we can't do another camera control mod if we know exactly what we want.
I'm talking about a different mod. It's an idea for a mod I've had for quite some time now about planets moving into place in a tri-split screen setup where the planets would show side by side even though they're far away from one another. similar to what saved camera or switch between planets does. it would be fast, responsive this way you could call it in and back out a the press of a button. considering I need camera control to do this your mod intrigues me. how about teaming up?
Sure, I'll help however you want. I hang out on http://irc.lc/esper/pamodding for this sort of thing, come on over and we can work through it. One thing that isn't possible is the triangle holodecks though. Right now a pip has to be a rectangle. It's too bad we're limited like that.
I'm still working on this mod, but it's starting to get more stable. Stability is a big issue because if something breaks, f5 won't even be able to fix it every time. There have been cases where you really need to restart PA to recover, but I haven't seen that happen recently. We've been using it within eXodus for some casting and video production, but I want to hold on to it a little longer before I release a v1.0. Here's what I currently have in the mod; Action Camera Default: ALT+Z This is the main camera mode and it hasn't changed much from the early demos aside from stability and bug fixes. Toggling this mode on will disable the ui and strategic icons, gently roll the camera, and slowly zoom in just a little. Instant Replay Camera Default: ALT+X Same as the Action Camera except the chronocam jumps back 10 seconds and plays forward at half speed. The screen flashes white when the mode is toggled to signal that chronocam is being changed (and to try to hide the way the units all jump around at first). PiP Action Camera Default: ALT+C This version of the Action Camera leaves the strategic icons on and opens a pip centered over the current location. This can be useful when you want to get in on the action without losing track of the bigger picture. Music Action Camera Default: ALT+V Same as the Action Camera, but the music volume will gently ramp up to 100% and then go back down again when this mode ends. Not recommended for dual casting because the other person would try to speak over the music, but there might be short times when a single caster just wants to go silent and let the game show itself off. Smooth Zoom In/Out Default: Page Up/Page Down There is a feature like this built into the game, but it had been temporarily removed when I wrote this part of the code. I left mine in because it includes some zoom inertia that I like.
