Will the camera controls make a progress as well?

[Destraex1]

I tend to use a "fire brigade" style command. Rushing around micro managing once the main effort has been planned and assigned.

I like to rush around doing a little micro and watching the action unfold. This is very hard to do when just getting a good view of multiple units in an action can be painfull. Then having to move off to do it again even more so.

If it is intended for the human to act as the squad commanders then he\she needs to be able to get down on the field quickly and accurately.

Sins of a Solar empire which is an RTS on a huuuuge scale has an interface that does this well. Where ever the mouse pointer is pointing is exactly where scroll will zoom you into. If you happen to be hovering over a particular ship it zooms right into it even if its moving. Its seamless and makes the game possible on the scale it deals with. You go from universe view to an individual ship in seconds.

Sins of a Solar empire though has the BEST mouse interface I have ever seen.

[Wiggum]

I can imagine some reasons why to stop playing CM or why to nor buy a CM game.

But because of the camera control...come on !

I cant imagine what should be wrong with the camera control, there are so much more important (gameplay/realism improvements) things to do.

Persons who are rejecting CM because of the camera control are most likly people who are not interested in such games anyway and would stop playing soon even with "other" camera controls aviable.

@ DeLaVega

Do we know each other from another forum ?

[Destraex1]

Wiggum what you say is totally incorrect.

Many a game has been a flop due to poor interface. CMBN will not be because their is nothing that comes close. If their was competition in this area camera controls would be something that would bring CMBN down a notch.

[MikeyD]

Man, I read down some of these posts and I wonder if some people complain just to hear themselves complain. Expect lots of complaints about the color orange in a few weeks.

[Erik Springelkamp]

Man, I read down some of these posts and I wonder if some people complain just to hear themselves complain. Expect lots of complaints about the color orange in a few weeks.

Why do you say the color orange is wrong?

As a Dutchman I take offence from that remark!

[Magpie_Oz]

What's wrong with it ? well it is far too orange for a start

[Guest]

I tend to use a "fire brigade" style command. Rushing around micro managing once the main effort has been planned and assigned.

I like to rush around doing a little micro and watching the action unfold. This is very hard to do when just getting a good view of multiple units in an action can be painfull. Then having to move off to do it again even more so.

Interesting. You and I have very similar play styles. The way I do it is to use the 1-9 keys. I select a critical unit in whichever area I want to look at, then use then 3 or 4 key to get to them quickly. This gives a view of the unit and the area (and units) around it. Once I've sussed out what I need to do, I use the 7-8 key to pop back up to God's eye view.

If I just want to zoom in on an area and watch an action I center my view on it and use F and R to get down to ground level or back up as needed.

If it is intended for the human to act as the squad commanders then he\she needs to be able to get down on the field quickly and accurately.

I should note that the squad-level AI has been doing very well (for me) with simple, intelligent orders. I don't micromanage, I just give one or two fairly macro movement orders and let them go. When I pop down and check up on them I may cancel their larger order and give them finer ones, but as a whole my forces do just fine without my acting as a squad commander.

Sins of a Solar empire which is an RTS on a huuuuge scale has an interface that does this well. Where ever the mouse pointer is pointing is exactly where scroll will zoom you into. If you happen to be hovering over a particular ship it zooms right into it even if its moving. Its seamless and makes the game possible on the scale it deals with. You go from universe view to an individual ship in seconds.

Sins of a Solar empire though has the BEST mouse interface I have ever seen.

Oh, cool. I've been meaning to check out Sins of a Solar Empire. I'll give it a spin when I've got time. Cheers.

[ClarkWGriswold]

I can imagine some reasons why to stop playing CM or why to nor buy a CM game.

But because of the camera control...come on !

I cant imagine what should be wrong with the camera control, there are so much more important (gameplay/realism improvements) things to do.

Persons who are rejecting CM because of the camera control are most likly people who are not interested in such games anyway and would stop playing soon even with "other" camera controls aviable.

To be fair, the camera control is the main way in which you interact with the game. And a game that is meant to be played in real time needs to have good, intuitive controls or the player won't be able to see what's going on or control their units. I think the camera controls in CMSF are a ton better than CMx1, but they still aren't really smooth. I find it difficult to select a unit, then give them orders to another area unless it's immediately visible. Moving around with the keys (my preferred method in virtually every other game) just does NOT work well in CMSF. You basically have to use the mouse. But you ALSO have to use the mouse to select units, issue orders, etc. The mouse ends up being heavily relied upon while the keys do relatively little.

I don't think the camera controls are a game breaker, but they definitely could use some improvement (even if that improvement was just smoother, easier use of the keys for moving around).

[HintJ]

I feel the camera controls could not be better, once you learn how to use it properly, they are very powerful.The only improvement I would make is that the lowest to the ground camera view be lower.Currently the lowest camera view is just above their heads while standing.I would like a prone or ground view.You would have a much better pespective as to why a unit does not have a los to an enemy or building.

Yes, a slightly lower view would be nice, but overall, I think the CMSF camera is one of the best. (I'm assuming the CMBN camera will be the same.)

Especially good is the mouse button turning.

If I'm not mistaken, don't Sins of a Solar Empire and the Total war games use cameras that rotate around focal points? Do some people prefer that style because it is faster to manipulate?

I think the CMx2 camera is more free. For example, I can occupy a empty point in space and magnify without moving the camera. The zoom in most RTS style cameras actually moves the camera closer to the focal point--I don't like that as much.

[MG TOW]

Step 1: Ensure that cursor is in center of screen (where it should be anyways, unless you are selecting something or giving orders).

Step 2: Hold the right mouse button and drag the mouse in the direction you want to go. The further you drag it, you faster you will go.

I actually run out of desk top on occasion when I do step 2. Maybe I'm trying to go too fast.

[hoolaman]

I never and have never used the left click-drag to pan the camera, and only use the right click as a "free look".

I use the WASD keys in combination with edge of screen mouse scrolling. This combo of keys and screen-edge is the ONLY way to fly forward and "steer" at the same time and allows you to move very quickly and accurately.

Try it in CMSF: Hold W to run the camera forward, then put the mouse cursor to the top of the screen. Steer by hitting the top left and right corners. You can also hold W and slide left or right with A or D

I also heavily use TAB to lock the camera on to a unit and then scroll in to home right in on them.

I use ctr click if I want to get over the enemy lines then hit V to reverse the view and ctrl click back to my side.

[hoolaman]

And I really don`t like to move the mouse cursor to the edges of the screen to move or rotate the camera and then come back to the center to select a unit.

Really complaining about screen edge scrolling is a bit much. Every RTS I've ever played has this as the primary scrolling method.