Something went wrong. Try again later
    Follow

    Aliens vs. Predator

    Game » consists of 15 releases. Released Feb 16, 2010

    The third game in the popular AvP franchise. Players are be able to control one of the three deadly species in a fight for survival.

    Camera Issues for the Alien

    Avatar image for hitzel
    Hitzel

    127

    Forum Posts

    10

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 2

    #1  Edited By Hitzel

    I wanna start off by saying that this game is fun as hell and very unique.  I can't wait to try out team game modes.
     
    My only gripe with the demo is how the camera handles transitions for the Alien.  A lot of people say it's disorienting.  Although I don't quite agree, I believe the camera system is flawed.  The problem that I've pinpointed is that the camera automatically turns with the Alien character during transitions.  While this makes sense on paper, it does not in practice because the camera rarely turns the player in a direction that he or she wants to face.
     
    Here is an example that I feel is most easily understood:  Try walking (or even better, running) into and over one of the metal crates in a hallway.  The camera will snap 90 degrees up, 90 degrees down, 90 degrees down, and 90 degrees up again automatically as you crawl over the box.  There is no need for this.  The problem gets much worse when navigating uneven surfaces, where the camera automatically shakes back and forth uncontrollably to the point where there it is almost impossible for a player to gauge his or her direction or location in the environment.
     
    I feel that a much better solution would be to never force the camera to move unless the limit of how far the player can look up and down is reached.  This would mean that in the box scenario, the camera would only be corrected if the player was looking too far up or down upon scaling the box.  This would improve the camera system for two reasons.  The first is that being able to keep the camera in a fixed position helps to orient one's self while turning in space.  The second is that taking away camera control form the player prevents him or her from being able to track enemies during combat.
     
    For those who don't quite get what I'm saying, here's a picture done with my awesome photoshop skills.  The little gray thing represents the alien as it climbs over an obstacle, and the red line represents the camera's angle as at each step is the player does not touch the right stick:
     

    No Caption Provided
    This system would also try to keep the camera aimed in the same direction even when transitioning an obstacle at an angle. 

    For the record, I've spent time using auto-transition on and off.
    Avatar image for lordofultima
    lordofultima

    6592

    Forum Posts

    25303

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 4

    User Lists: 9

    #2  Edited By lordofultima

    Moving to avp forum.

    Avatar image for hitzel
    Hitzel

    127

    Forum Posts

    10

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 2

    #3  Edited By Hitzel
    @lordofultima said:
    " Moving to avp forum. "
    Thanks.  Could have sworn it was being made here...
    Avatar image for arne
    Arne

    74

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 1

    #4  Edited By Arne

    Maybe a good idea, maybe not, in any case, your Alien design is awesome!

    Avatar image for randominternetuser
    RandomInternetUser

    6805

    Forum Posts

    769

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 2

    360 has an auto-center camera feature that basically does what your proposed idea does.  This could be about PC though, I didn't read the entire post.  It also gets easier to control the more you play, but it could definitely use a little work.

    This edit will also create new pages on Giant Bomb for:

    Beware, you are proposing to add brand new pages to the wiki along with your edits. Make sure this is what you intended. This will likely increase the time it takes for your changes to go live.

    Comment and Save

    Until you earn 1000 points all your submissions need to be vetted by other Giant Bomb users. This process takes no more than a few hours and we'll send you an email once approved.