CELESTA AUNGM
Kang Lo Directorate
Gallente Federation
17
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Posted - 2013.09.16 17:26:00 -
[1] - Quote
I've placed my character in the support role of Dropship operator, so the following WILL contain SOME words regarding player control of the dropship vehicle.
But let me say in general that Patch 1.4 has brought some of the best improvements to HAV and especially LAV camera positioning we've seen so far.
--I often man secondary turrets on HAVs, and I can tell by the way drivers spend less wateful time bumping into pillars and tumbling down steep rock formations, that they have effectively improved sight and camera angle to help drive they vehicles.
--I have driven LAVs in 1.4, and found the "new" default camera position behind the vehicle to have a much more intuitive feel, and gives the driver a much better sense of his velocity and relation to nearby obstacles/enemies. The way the camera postion "stretches back" or closes up in response to the driver's forward motion is something I've heard many players besides myself praising. Well done!
There are always arguements and constant requests on the DROPSHIP camera features, as well as criticism against the current camera postion introduced in 1.4. Rather than add or try to contend with moe requests/complaints, I'd like to suggest something else.
--A few of the Beta players have over the course of two years written very useful Dropship Flight School blogs for budding players. From the extensive familiarity with the controls and the discussions that developed in thos blogs, there were two underlying "understandings" among the vast majority of 'pilots':
a)- That the dropship is EXCRUCIATINGLY difficult to get the hang of, but that its minority of graduates ended up having a cocky respect and proud satisfaction because its high controller skill IS ACHEIVABLE with hard practice.
b)- That, putting aside any personal wishes over fittings/ modules/ weapons/ etc, the one indespensable requirement to even safely hover or land this vehicle during gameplay was GENEROUS SPACIAL VISIBILITY around the vehicle.
With the above denominators in mind, instead of submitting a ton of requests, I think it would be better to just offering 4 democratic CRITERIA about camera visibility, that will hopefully give your team the confidence to adjust and improve future controls/ camera with much less worry about accidentally hampering the gameplay experience of this one temperamental vehicle:
1 - The DEFAULT camera position (the most crucial position because it runs automatically when all your other fingers are being used to keep the DS completely controlled) must provide generous visibile open area between the outline of the dropship and the edges of the tv monitor. Think of an Audi parked in the center of a 2-1/2 car garage (which is roughly the way patch 1.3 placed the camera). Again, this view must be the automatic, default camera position.
2- The focal point (pivot-point or target-point) of the default camera must be the middle of the DS (halfway between the chin and the backside). This ensures that SOME open area stays visible all around the vehicle when pitching up, turning, dipping, landing etc.. No part of the vehicle's outline (the crucial thrusters and backside most particularly) should fall too near the edges of the tv during maneuvering. Currently 1.4 appears to place the focal point somewhere out in FRONT of the vehicle's chin, and has disoriented many players.
3- PASSENGERS in the vehicle (I don't mean pilot or gunners) MUST retain "LOOK-button" feature (the ability to pan your view across the outside scenery and even inside and around the dropship cabin. If the riders lose their ability to pan over what's happening around them when aboard the DS, they will lose their willingness to use the dropship as an effective means of transport in the game. (Currently this control has been locked-out by patch 1.4, and the look-feature has been lost).
4- In any manual-control camera views you may design, the view MUST retain some sort of DOWNWARD-FRONT angle as the primary imprtance. Second only to the downward-front view, and DOWNWARD-AFT (or DOWNWARD-threat) should also be attempted, before any luxury of "side" or "top" or even HUD cues should be considered. In his attempt to support his team with the dropship, it is the "relationship to the ground" or "relationship to the ground-enemy" that is most important to the majority of the pilots.
I'm hopefull you can treat these simply as root principles or guidelines that will be easy to entertain and use as you continue to make Dust 514 one of the most unique and daring FPS's console players have ever seen. |