0-degree camera needed more than ever

[WeedWhacker]

With all the new additions in 0.3.1, in particular the beautiful new maps, the light mechs with 360-degree torso twists are artificially limited in their one strength mid- and late-game: maneuverability.

Giving the 360-degree torso twisting mechs a camera that faces the direction of travel would, in my opinion, raise the utility of light "combat" mechs throughout the game and allow them to be better utilized rather than just being a stepping stone to a medium or heavy mech.

[Zaro27]

Cameras are tied to weapons. You can't look without being able to shoot.

[Rally]

Cameras are tied to weapons. You can't look without being able to shoot.

I'll fix that! Just drop this code into the function that is responsible for shooting and it'll be fine:

if (rearViewTurnedOn)
  return;

Or am I naive? I'd really like a rear view though!

[(TLL)KitLightning]

The Weapons should be made inoperable in other views before I would consider more than 1st Person view.

[benben10]

if they are ever able to implement a free look then i think that would help. i think i remember there being camera views available in mechwarrior 2 mercs (first one i played) for straight down and rear view that you could toggle part of your hud to. maybe just have a popup that you could toggle on and off. i am not familiar with canon but were there cameras on mechs for additional views. may one below where the center torso pivots?

[DFDelta]

i am not familiar with canon but were there cameras on mechs for additional views. may one below where the center torso pivots?

In canon many mechs have enough cameras around their torso to allow a full 360° view, plus additional cameras facing in odd directions, like directly below or above.

In the most cases the additional sideways view would be compressed on monitors left and right from the main viewport.

[benben10]

well that seems like a start. dont have a full screen view just a popup window with some nice CCTV static lines added for flavor 

[BumbleBee]

Im all for a rear view camera as long as it is not persistent. This would make flanking as good as impossible.

If it was implemented as in MW4 where you had to hold down a key and firing is disabled while it is active (full screen or not), then it would be a welcome addition.

[benben10]

have the devs considered adding a passenger seat to all vehicles. i dont know how the code works but that may be a work around to have a free look. doesnt have to be a "real" passenger seat, just one in the code that would not have any weapons and allow free look.

[KingLeerUK]

Thus far, the only way that we have to create a true "alternative camera" view is to render everything that the second camera sees.  This means that the player computer would have to render everything on the map, twice.  Given the scale and complexity of MWLL this would cripple performance for all but the most powerful machines.

[sgnl05]

What about freelook? I don't think it matters in the slightest if you can't shoot while using it; it'd just be for checking your mech's heading while your torso is turned to one side so you can move in one direction and shoot in another without crashing into things.

I think that'd be just as good as a second camera, but is it realistically doable?

[Blu C]

Couldn't we just implement a rear view mirror type thing?  Maybe bind it to a key?

Hit the key for it and a little window pops up that shows what is behind you.  Could also be useful for tanks.

Not sure how costly this would be to code though.

[[IPA] Bravo Cadett]

cant this be build in a little cockpit monitor ? so if you twist the torso you have a clue where are you running ...

or the BZ1/2  3d radar map

[benben10]

all the "camera" and "mirror" suggestions i think are what kinglear mentioned, they would require 2 renderings at the same time. a free look on the other hand, i would hope would not. can someone give a explanation how the view for mechs is different from the vehicles in crysis? and how adding a dummy passenger seat to have a free look (like in the crysis humvee things) is not as easy as it sounds?

[zephoid]

hmm, this i a problem. since the HUD is an actual part of the mech, you cant just make it invisible. would it be possible to implement an external camera like the 3rd person view but have the camera located at a negitive X/Y direction to the mech? the X/Y locked radius would be the width of the mech's torso. the Z position would be locked at the mech's waist.  therefore, it would be a 360 degree camera around the of the mechs. each mech would have a different waist X/Y radius value and some views would be useless(looking into arms), but it would enable you to use the 3rd person view to look forward, admittedly at a different height than the cockpit.