The Mysteries of Unlocking View Lock and Unit Lock

[Talespin Jim]

(Sorry if you see this post twice, I think I put it in the wrong place the first time.)

I'm struggling to grasp what "View Lock" does, which is activated with the Tab key while a unit is selected (having accidentally discovered it). Apparently, it locks the compass position of the camera when you have a unit selected. So I'm not sure how I locked it when I fumbled the keyboard, but I think the first time I select a unit and press Tab the view becomes locked. Then, for example, if the camera were facing due West when I locked the view, every time thereafter, when I have any unit selected, I can press the Tab key and automatically face due West. Is this what it does?

Next, having accidentally locked the view in a totally useless position, how do I clear the lock so I can relock it in another position?

Also, what is "Unit Lock" and how is it used? I found it by selecting a unit, clicking Tab and then moving the mouse pointer to the right of the screen. But I can't seem to make it do anything.

Thanks in advance for anyone who is willing to help this poor noob.

[Nidan1]

The TAB key gives you the perspective of the unit you pointed to before you enabled it.

You can get down to low level and basically "see what that unit sees". If you leave the lock on while in the movie phase (if you play WEGO) the camera will follow the unit as it navigates across the terrain. Hitting TAB again disables the lock.

View Lock and Unit Lock are esentially the same thing. The tab key only performs the one function. However in unit lock you can move the camera around the unit that you are locked on with the mouse to see that unit from different camera perspectives.

[Baneman]

Tab aka "view lock" will, as its name suggests, lock your view to the selected unit. So, not just "west" or whatever - as the unit moves, so will your camera - if it's a tank, if its turret turns, so will your view. Best effects hitting "Tab", then "2" for the low view height.

And so forth.

If ( after view locking ), you right click with your mouse and move it, you will enter "unit lock" where your view will pivot on the selected unit. It will still move if the unit moves, but right-click-hold on the mouse will spin your view on the unit pivot.

Hope that makes sense ( typed after several beers )

[Talespin Jim]

The half sentence given about it in the instruction manual made no sense at all until now that I've read your explanations and gone back and read it again.

I discovered it by accidentally pressing the return and Tab key at the same time, and then I saw "View Lock" and thought, "Oh great, now I've messed the whole game up."

After that I was trying to figure out what it does and every unit I selected and pressed Tab-all caused the camera to turn ten degrees South of West. I figured somehow I locked it to West. Now I realize all these units being infantry, and I'm in the setup phase, it wasn't apparent that they were all facing the exact same direction, so that's why the camera kept facing just off of West on every one of them. I lept to a whole bunch of wrong conclusions.

If I'd happened to discover it during a replay movie segment, it would have been obvious from the get go.

Yes, your beer induced description made perfect sense. Even the bit about Unit Lock.

Thanks again. I'm kind of obsessive about knowing how everything works and I literally will stay up half the night trying to figure something like that out.

[Michael Emrys]

Another handy use for unit lock I have found is that in situations of dense terrain where it can be hard to spot a unit, to select the unit via its icon and then hit tab while in view level 1 or 2. That will put you right behind the unit and probably close enough to make it out. If you still can't see it, slowly sliding the camera forward via the mouse or W key should do the trick.

Michael