Player Features and Ideas Discussion

So, I watched the Origins trailer last night. Another awesome production by CCP. But after I watch those trailers, I'm always left a little bit bitter, because as amazing as EvEs graphics are, they don't look like that. The concept I'm describing here is for gameplay, not trailer making (as many of those options are in game if you properly manage the camera), but would benefit both.

I realized something about our graphics, though: they actually do look like the trailers. In fact, they look better in a lot of ways, from our avatars to the ships themselves. Only real problem is the camera angles. Those great close ups and 'on the field' angles add a sense of action and intensity that EvE gameplay generally lacks. Its not a matter of post rendering, but controlling the point of view.

And if your like me, you're spending your seconds locking targets, controlling drones, and watching local.

The solution? Automated camera presets.

Step 1: Camera angles. Anchor points and settings for zoom and any motion on various ships and points in space. Close up of the turrets as the extend. Zoom to the ship that just warped in. Watch your ship warp away from the acceleration gate as you enter the deadspace. Zoom to the ship thats exploding, or check out that hull thats on fire. Follow the missiles in flight, or a single arty round from gun to target.

The secret is multiple views of these cool actions. The more angles and options, the more variation and less boredom/repetetiveness.

Step 2: Events. These judge what the camera focuses on as a priority. Why follow your missiles when an enemy just warped in? Each event has several camera angles associated with it, allowing to be drawn from to ensure diversity.

Step 3: Control. Full cinimatic mode starts choosing angles whenever you enter space. Partial lowers the frequency of shifts and returns to the default view after the event. By choice lets you set which events get attention. Or turn it off completely.

Coordinate music changes and allow the overview to be made less opaque during events, and you've turned basic missions into a ccp trailer!

Typed on my kindle. Pardon the errors.

Events would be what decides the focus of the camera. They control where your looking, so you still can understand whats happening. They are a bit of situational awareness, and the constantly shifting focuses and angles are what conveys the action.

Right now theres one event and focus: our ship. We can manually shift this to see the enemies ship, for example, but when its no longer the focus, its back to looking at our ship.

So lets set a script for a cinematic event. The scene is a player undocking, warping toa stargate, and jumping. We have all done it a hundred times, and you should know exactly what it looks like. But here's what cinema would do.



You undock, and a follow cam shows your ship flying the long dark tunnel into space. A switch puts the angle near the doorway, static, turning as your ship flies past to show the size and scope. Flash out to a turret that zooms into a view of your ship (no animation necessary, just give the impression its tracking you). As you prepare for warp, angle to the default view of your ship as the boom hits and you enter the tunnel.

By managing the events, you can tell the client when to shift, how often, and how long to keep focused.


Now when your at a belt and a rat warps in, switch from the serene purusal of local space as you sit mining away, turn on the dramatic music and watch as it unfurls its weapons.

Each event is given a weight, so it knows whats more important. Watch the ship explode instead of looking at a drone, that kind of thing.

An automated AI to act like a camera director? to try to put most of the important things on the screen? Nice!!!

Some may wonder whether this is used just for PvE, or can it affect all forms of gameplay? I argue that it can be used for everyone.

In PvP, the view could change often between looking at their ship, watching the turret they extricate, to getting large pictures of the battlefield, to seeing how others see you. The idea of switching the camera at a dramatic moment (like, the arrival of 40 of his buddies via hotdrop) would add an extra edge.

In PvE, we've all played the missions where the enemy battleships uncloak off in the distance and you realize it's a trap. Now, what used to only be explained via local, can get a lot more vivid and interactive.

And mining/hauling ... you slow down the camera changes alot, and instead of intense close ups you go for sweeping, moving views of space. The grandeur and beauty of the game can be better displayed.

Sound score, though, is also important. If you've done missions, you know what it's like to go through that deadspace and have the eve music turn into something ... more. It might have gotten your blood pumping a little, and definitely put me at the edge of my seat expecting something good. But the mission was the same, and there I sat looking at my ship and targeting enemies using my overview that were km away.

With the changes in event and camera focus, it would be very important to feed back and give more musical cues. A dramatic turn when the player dies. A victorious beat when that enemy ship explodes. A rushing drum as the enemy flies off and retreats. The ominous notes of a ship uncloaking off in the distance.

Tie the sound in with this, and you will truly change how EvE is perceived, without changing how EvE is played. At any point the camera can be centered on your ship. At any point you can right click the ship that is the focus, or use your overview. This wouldn't supersede or change gameplay at all, just the perception of it. But it's the difference between a very standoffish and lackluster view of this beautiful world, and one with more action and impact to it.

I think that I'm not conveying that this isn't for trailers, but actual gameplay. Instead of spending the majority of your time in space looking at your own ship, it would act as an automated camera and constantly change your view and focus, while also giving priority to important 'scenes', such as targets exploding and/or new enemies approaching, etc.

The fact that it would make in-game recordings easier to make our own trailers is actually just an extra benefit.

But you are right. Many of the mechanics are already there. Including using one object as the anchor and focusing on another. Many creative and talented players use those camera controls to make awesome vids, for sure.

First, this is why not only is there an option to remove it, but slow it down, or simply disengage it during combat.

A counterargument I would host, though, is that EvE is one of the few games where such a cinematic experience is possible.
You can almost completely manage your gameplay from the overview. We spend more time during combat looking at our own ship (or in some cases, past it), than at any type of target or event. The simple truth is that EvE can benefit from this where a simulator or first-person shooter would ruin the experience.

Would we all be able to simply sync with the methodical camera changes? No. For many older players, this would be turned off in favor of what they know, and I think CCP should always support that. But for those who feel adventurous or new players, it could really help spice up the game, making even flying to another system an event worth watching.


As a side note, the topic of scripting events so that the camera changes focus was covered. On average, we want it to see our targets or new targets first and foremost.

As a further point, implementing a target watch camera within the selected targets would help mitigate certain issues.

As far as I'm concerned, the "Advanced Camera Menus" are a total joke unless you're filming. It takes time and effort to get that thing to do more than just do wonky loops and random panning.

Because in 2008 I was posting things like this: http://oldforums.eveonline.com/?a=topic&threadID=831762

And by 2009 it was already implemented.

You have to try. Sometimes we're thinking what they are, and they just need a little push to get it rolling. Sometimes they're already working on it. And sometimes they look at it and take it up the chain.

Don't think that just because a Dev doesn't post in these, they don't read them. There's politics there, too. Every time a dev posts, you can rest assured it almost always becomes a flame war afterward. And if they show support or approval, however small that is, to one suggestion, players expect dev responses to all good suggestions, or begin cussing about how *this* idea is not as important as *that* idea.

Plus, a lot of the code monkeys aren't very talkative. And this idea specifically is a code-monkey problem, programing the camera to do more than it currently does. The art department is there, and the UI addition is small. It doesn't affect gameplay or the EvE servers in the sense of adding any new modules or ships or skills, and it would have to be refined to make it effective, meaning plenty of in-house testing.

But hopefully, it catches attention.

Now, if your stating that this idea is useless because nobody cares about it?

I can prove you wrong.

You're essentially talking about picture in picture or target cam windows as proposed by posts like this: https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=232384

Would also be very useful. And as I've admitted, the camera AI would have to be able to be adjusted on and off because in pvp specifically minute ship movements and battlefield awareness can play a much more crucial role. It's not always 'orbit at 1000m'.

This could easily be added by either programming the AI to turn off during pvp, or allowing players to check-mark that option from the escape menu, or by providing a hot key to select/deselect.

Absolutely, positively, it should NOT be forced on anyone who doesn't want it.

If anything, CCP should start moving easily accessible information (overview) to the main screen, integrating good visuals (EVE has them.) with functionality.

EVE is a good looking game, but it's way better to zoom out, hit tactical overview and watch squares move around - lack of awareness can cost you a fight.