My question is: How do you move laterally within a scene to change a POV using your mouse?
When maneuvering from your current position – to change a POV to the left (or the right, laterally), do you just change the 'x' number in the preview window – or, do you do this with the render camera 'x' number? Or, can you do this using only the mouse?
Maneuvering within a scene with my Kensington Trackball mouse only allows me to:
• Orbit; left or right (alt/left click and drag)
• Elevate/lower; up or down (ctrl/alt/left click and drag)
• Zoom; forward or back (shift/alt left click and drag)
Also, can you change the 'pitch' of the camera with the mouse; or, must this be done by changing a setting of the camera?
alt-right click is move around (left right up and down)
alt-middle button is 'zoom' in and out
See help menu -> Mouse and key settings.
You can change your position with the numbers, too. But, what coordinate you change to go the direction you wish to go (or move an object) depends upon your frame of reference. Sometimes. You'll need to experiment to see. X is always X, but it might not be to the left or the right, depending on where your camera is.
Throw the Kensington Trackball mouse out the window to start with. Go to CompUSA where I know you can get a discount. ;) Buy a 3 button wheel mouse, then set the Mouse options in preferences to 3 Button. Take Two Aspirin and give me a call.
@ Dr Jay....trust me....it takes a whole lot more than two Aspirin's to numb the camera movement pain!!!!
I liek the new movment my self, given it takes a little bit to get use to it but once you do it is pretty smooth, but then again I have my logitech G5.
regards,
Will
@Will...that's probably because you're not used to the TG 0.9XX way of doing things.
BTW...in TG2....how can you set the cam to be say 20m above the surface? Is it trial and error by control/alt clicking your way around?
Can't do it by data input because you don't know what elevation the surface is at the cam point....also for those inputting cam data....the data inputs are "X,Z,Y"....what's up with that?
I was used to the old system acualy (I spent six years with it) as for you question hmm you could perhaps make a small object and set its hight and then move to its cord, not sure if it will work in the way you want though.
regards,
Will
Sorry Will...I had not seen any of your Tg 0.9xx work....perhaps under a different name?
Regarding cam placement at a certain height above terrain....I mentioned it to highlight my dislike for the current cam placement system. To me, cam elevation was one of the most important things....in TG0.9xx...it was a simple "place cam at x meters above terrain".
If anyone has a simple way of doing it in TG2...please let me know.....in the meantime, I'm just alt/clicking my way nowhere.....with no way of knowing how high above the terrain the cam sits...
Yea I hardly ever posted my work, I was pretty young then and it wasn't really all that good. and yea I do see your point in how the cord system is weird, I've had a lot of trouble my self with craters on other planets but I still like, at least, the corntrol scheme for the camera.
regards,
Will
Gradient: when you move your camera an additional value will appear under the 3D preview that'll give you the height above the terrain. Too bad it's not displayed permanently. IIRC Oshyan said something about adding a fixed height above the terrain in the future, just like TG.9
Good to know, thanks 3Dguy
regards,
Will
@3Dguy....under my 3d preview, I get four sets of numbers...x,y,z, slope. The numbers only change when I move my mouse (without clicking/dragging) within the window. If I manually change the camera data input...the numbers below the 3d preview still don't change....
Also the data input for elevation....I think is really absolute, not height above terrain....because I can have a number of +300 there...yet it shows as being "under" the terrain in the 3d preview window....hence the confusion....
There are two sets of numbers displayed under the 3D preview. When you are not moving the camera and simply moving the mouse over the 3D preview, you are getting values of the terrain at the point where the mouse is, position info and slope. When you are in camera move mode (holding down the camera move modifier key(s), you get a readout of the current camera position, including height above terrain (vY). The reason current camera position does not always display is so that the information about the point under the mouse can be displayed.
When you manually change camera position numerically you may need to press "View Camera" to make sure the 3D preview updates with the new position. To view camera position hold down the modifier key as noted above. This will tell you height above terrain.
A "fixed height" will be added in the future, along with other improvements to the 3D movement system. A TG 0.9-like approach may be possible, but due to the significant changes such as the full planet environment many things will be different and/or not possible as you have come to know them in TG. With progress comes change. The camera movement system will be made as intuitive as possible but given the new planetary context and truly unlimited 3D movement it will necessarily be more difficult and complex to control.
- Oshyan
Thanks Oshyan....I now see the other set of readings....Vx,Vy,Vz and Vheight....where Vheight is the camera elevation above the surface. Actually, Vy is NOT the height above the surface as you indicate...the Vy number equals the camera y position coordinate for data input...so, as I said it must be an absolute value.
I had initially thought that if I manually entered say 20m in the camera y coord....that I would be 20m above the surface, but that is not the case.
So, I still have no way of setting the cam at 20m above the surface without doing some math....cam y coord minus the Vheight plus 20 equals the number I need to input back as cam coordinate Y to finally get me at 20m above the terrain.
Confusing?...yeah I know.....
Just alt+rmb and move until the vheight says 20m
Thanks once again 3dGuy!
Quote from: gradient on February 16, 2007, 03:48:03 AM
Thanks Oshyan....I now see the other set of readings....Vx,Vy,Vz and Vheight....where Vheight is the camera elevation above the surface. Actually, Vy is NOT the height above the surface as you indicate...the Vy number equals the camera y position coordinate for data input...so, as I said it must be an absolute value.
Yes, that's correct. My mistake. ;D
A "height above surface" function will certainly be implemented in the future.
- Oshyan