[MUD-Dev] Neverwinter Nights

[Daniel.Harman at barclayscapital.com]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Eli Stevens [mailto:listsub at wickedgrey.com]
> Sent: 05 June 2001 04:02
> To: mud-dev at kanga.nu
> Subject: Re: [MUD-Dev] Neverwinter Nights

> Really?  I was surprised when I read that...  First person always
> kinda bothered me, it never felt right.  This is going to sound
> dumb, but I think it has something to do with not being able to
> see my character's nose.

> Seriously.

> I think that if we had visualization devices (a step down from
> holo-decks?)  that could really show me what my character could
> see (like my nose, peripheral vision, etc.) then I might not mind.
> But with current tech, I have to look at the world either with
> blinders on or through fish goggles.  Ick.

> Besides, I like to see my characters, because they (should) look
> nifty.

> So, I like 3rd person.  It doesn't try and represent something it
> cannot (full vision), and instead just gives me a picture of what
> is going on...

Actually, its not as simple as 'how it looks', its more how it
interacts with the control system. For me first person is more
intuitive. I find I perform better in racing games where I am 'in'
the car too, you just get more visual cues about the orientation of
the car. Otherwise, you have to compensate for the camera rubber
banding and also its a tad harder to calculate rate of turn etc.

In addition chase cams tend to be slightly above the character to
prevent them obstructing your view. This has the unfortunate side
effect of limiting your forward visual range. With a good set of
controls, you can utilise a first person view to not really miss out
on the peripheral vision advantages you get with 3rd person view. By
using strafe keys, its perfectly possible to move in a direction you
aren't facing.

Interestingly, the forthcoming Anarchy Online is predominently 3rd
person, and a lot of people aren't happy with the decision. Getting
a 3rd person camera working well is actually exceedingly difficult,
games where its done well tend to have cheats like camera paths as
doing it completely on the fly can be problematic. Anarchy online
does have first person view by all accounts, but they have decided
to put their own spin on the controls.  Essentially, when you
mouselook, your character continues to face in his original
direction (moving as before) until you release the right
mousebutton. When you do, the character then aligns with the
direction you are looking in. It all sounds very clumsy to me, and
has a fair chance of ruining first person view in the game.

Dan
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