Spring RTS Engine

1.)

How about making the "overhead (TA) style camera" like the actual TA camera angle. It's too 3d. I know some people might think it looks better (with the TA models it really doesn't) but it makes playing more cumbersome. Units get half hidden behind buildings, making them annoying to drag select. The fact that if you drag select some buildings+units in Spring you can't issue a move order like you could in TA anyway.

Only discovered a couple of days ago you could change it with ctrl+scrollwheel. All the same, it's annoying to have to mess around everytime I start a game.

Nobody uses the Total War style camera anyway, so having another more functional option would be alot better.

2.)

How about being able to issue orders with your Commander during the count down at the start of the game. Would take a little bit of the panic out of the early game where you're drinking your coffee, scratching your arse and generally not very prepared for a 5 second warning. Just give the players 10 seconds to click a couple of solars, a couple of extractors and get themselves ready.

To 1, I belived JC was working on a classic fixed OTA view as part of his new map rederer.

In addition to that, there's the possibility of doing an even truer OTA-style camera, which would have an orthographic perspective. Not that I would ever use it, but it's an idea.

[edit- in response to post below]I didn't know that that was what you meant. If it is true, my mistake...[/edit]

I thought he WAS working on an orthographic camera?

keep the existing one too though!

I believe you can set your default camera somewhere in Settings.exe. Not that any are better than the TA camera for actually playing atm, just noting this

SinbadEV wrote:I thought he WAS working on an orthographic camera?

Oh, my god I hate those... It looks like part of the unit (In wings3d) is extra large to compensate for being father away...

An orthographic view would allow the minimum specs of spring to eb dropped a lot.
However I suggested it on the mailing list and there was some discussion which resutled in a yes it would be good lets put it in the spring 2.0 roadmap.

So nobody is working on it right now, and work has yet to even begin.....

Gnome wrote:I believe you can set your default camera somewhere in Settings.exe. Not that any are better than the TA camera for actually playing atm, just noting this :P

I'm a fan of the rotating camera myself. It's all a matter of taste, anyway

AF wrote:An orthographic view would allow the minimum specs of spring to eb dropped a lot.
However I suggested it on the mailing list and there was some discussion which resutled in a yes it would be good lets put it in the spring 2.0 roadmap.

So nobody is working on it right now, and work has yet to even begin.....

I think you should separate orthographic view, and an optimized software renderer / or the GL renderer but only with sprites.

An orthographic view would be fairly easy (for anyone knowing OpenGL, C++ & 3d math), it's a matter of redesigning the camera interface so gluPerspective() is in the cameras itself, then adding a new camera that doesn't use gluPerspective() for the projection matrix but glOrtho() or something alike.

The other thing, which would allow spring minimum specs to be dropped, is far more work, and indeed, if that's ever going to be implemented, it won't be before spring 1.9.

At this rate the sub AI will be having intelligent conversatiosn with you about nuclear physics by spring 1.9

if you hold CTRL and rotate the mouse wheel you can change the angle of the overhead camera

Yes, he said that in the first post.

AF wrote:At this rate the sub AI will be having intelligent conversatiosn with you about nuclear physics by spring 1.9

Point being...?

Tobi wrote:

AF wrote:At this rate the sub AI will be having intelligent conversatiosn with you about nuclear physics by spring 1.9

Point being...?

Either its a long way off, you guys are slow, or both.

Whats the eta on the next release anyway? I hear its been branched?

If no one makes a patch for it it's a long way off yes
The feature isn't important enough to waste my time on IMHO...

I use the Total War camera. I do wish the pan and speed-scroll worked properly on it, though.