Free Camera While On Foot

Discussion in 'Suggestions' started by stujoy, Jul 28, 2021.

  1. stujoy

    stujoy Well-Known Member

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    One thing I wish I could do in TSW is to view from above while not being a driver or passenger in a train. Matt has said many times on stream that he likes to put TSW on in the background and do some train spotting while he works on something else. I like to do that too but often wish I could see the comings and goings from a different viewpoint than ground level.

    It would also be nice to be able to switch to the in-game free camera while wandering about on foot just to have a long look at some nice scenery, or just to get my bearings.

    Having the ability to switch to the free camera while not on a train would open up many ways in which to enjoy TSW, the scenery and the choreographed movement of the trains in timetable mode. It would be great to be able to position the camera above a yard or fly around watching the AI do some switching, or watch the movements at a complex junction or busy station.

    Railfanning from the skies. It should be easy to implement too. What do you all think?
     
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  2. Coastway trainspotter

    Coastway trainspotter Well-Known Member

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    Good idea . Another feature I would like to see is being able to complete collectibles from the free camera
     
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  3. Mattty May

    Mattty May Guest

    Absolutely. Maybe it has already been incorporated with the Shift Camera options, but if not, I’m sure this is a good thing to implement. We could see our little old selves on the platform too - and it may help finding those ruddy Donkeys I can’t find lol.
     
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  4. Tay95

    Tay95 Well-Known Member

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    Agreed! Love a free camera and would be useful to explore whilst waiting for a train
     
  5. Crosstie

    Crosstie Well-Known Member

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    Great idea, whether you're on PC or Console. Some tourist billboards on Cane Creek, for example, are in the middle of nowhere. Are you supposed to stop your 100 car freight train so that you can amble over and click them?
     
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  6. Challenger3985

    Challenger3985 Well-Known Member

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    Not a bad idea to add. Though I wonder how weird your character would idle when doing free camera on foot, especially on platforms or such near the tracks.
     
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  7. stujoy

    stujoy Well-Known Member

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    Just an addendum to the details of the idea. I see it working in a way that when you are in free camera while on foot that you wouldn’t actually be able to walk. The controls would be purely for the camera and you wouldn’t see yourself in the scene as we don’t generally see our own player character much anyway, and no actual walking animation would need to be coded doing it that way. It makes it simpler to do that way.

    It would be an observation mode for viewing the trains and scenery rather than an extra view for when actually walking around, it just seems that being able to access it from free roam while you are on foot would be the most sensible way to do it. Otherwise, I may have suggested that you just spawn into the world as a camera drone and then fly about looking at stuff. That would need a new UI element creating though, so I disregarding it when thinking about making this suggestion.

    The more I think about it, the more I want it.
     
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