External Cameras Are A Mess In Tsw3

Discussion in 'TSW General Discussion' started by KodiakJac, Oct 4, 2022.

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  1. KodiakJac

    KodiakJac Active Member

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    Just like in TSW2, two of the external cameras are a mess.

    The Follow (Key 2) external camera won't let you scroll back away from the train very far at all...you can only scroll closer. The view is always up in your face. And when any object gets between you and the train, the camera jerks back and forth trying to adjust the viewing distance to get you closer. The jerking back and forth is so bad, it almost needs an epilepsy warning. Very hard on the eyes.

    And the Drive By (Key 8) external camera starts out so close to the train, the drive by only lasts a second or two and then the train has already gone by. You can scroll back away from the train, but if the train is moving fast, it's too late...the train has gone past you. There is no way to set the Drive By distance further back so you can watch the train approach you from a distance (one of the classic movie camera views for trains in general).
     
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  2. BLRy

    BLRy Well-Known Member

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    Cameras are a mess in xbox version also. Similar issues.
     
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  3. NateDogg7a

    NateDogg7a Well-Known Member

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    Yes, the Drive By has had the same problem on Xbox I think all the way back to when immersive controls were introduced, it is so close to the train that you can't really create that effect, especially with any kind of speed. This is compounded by the fact that the free external camera moves so slowly, which is another longstanding issue.
     
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  4. KodiakJac

    KodiakJac Active Member

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    And you would think that camera view distance would be an easy thing to fix. Dovetail has built a beautiful new train sim (both the trains and the terrain) but you can't zoom out to enjoy it with the Follow and the Drive By cameras. Everything is up in your face on those two cameras.
     
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  5. Ghostface1701

    Ghostface1701 Well-Known Member

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    On console (PlayStation), my issue with the free camera is that it always seems to switch to the rear of the train, so I only get to see the tail end of my train disappear into the distance. I have a keyboard, so can use Shift to make the camera move faster, but I still have to chase my train, and get ahead of it, if I want a drive-by shot...so I don't bother :(
     
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  6. NateDogg7a

    NateDogg7a Well-Known Member

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    On Xbox, you need to set the Immersion Camera Switch is Settings to "Free." This results in the Drive By camera being in the front of the train, but only when you click the right stick; it does not appear in the normal camera cycling loop. Not sure what the equivalent PS manuevers would be but might be worth investigating.
     
  7. MYG92

    MYG92 Well-Known Member

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    It’s a bit off topic but why DTG removed a camera feature while being outside any train we could just go back to the cab by holding R3/R with a PlayStation/Xbox controller
     
  8. Railmaster

    Railmaster Well-Known Member

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    I seem to have noticed that the distance on consoles is less than on PC because of distance drawing. I'm not quite sure. But it's true, it's pretty close.

    I am also in favor of placing the free camera (8) much further in front of the train in order to get useful views for a pass. In MSTS you could repeat this, i.e. you could press "8" as often as you wanted and this view would be updated each time. That was great too!

    At this point I would like to ask the officials dtg_jd or others a question:

    What do we need these unspeakable camera collisions for and to what extent do they contribute to immersion? Does an open letter have to be written first so that the wretched crash boom bang finally comes to an end? Or take it all the same ext. Cams out.

    A little more range and no more collisions... That would bring so much more... In my dreams...
     
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  9. DTG JD

    DTG JD Director of Community Staff Member

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    Hey folks. Good discussion here.We've noted this - the speed thing is something we've already flagged for higher-speed trains.

    The rest of the feedback has also been noted, too - it's important to say we're not actively working on this at the moment, but we'll put it onto our backlog to review at a later date.
     
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  10. KodiakJac

    KodiakJac Active Member

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    Thank you for acknowledging this discussion!!!

    For me, this is the single biggest issue I have with TSW3. TSW3 is great, but please consider letting us zoom out much, much further in the Follow Camera (Key #2). I just completed a scenario that had me finish by walking to the office after shutting down the loco, and when I got to the office, I turned around to enjoy the view of the full train at distance set against the scenery background, and it was great! Not asking to change how close you can zoom in for those who prefer to be up close, but to zoom way out on Camera #2 while the train is running down the tracks to soak up that beautiful "big picture" view at a distance will be a positive for many of us!

    Cheers! :D
     
  11. jensens

    jensens Member

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    So obviously i'm new to this game and this thread is old.
    But it is very obvious to me that things haven't changed for the better in these regards...

    Drive-by cam in your face, free cam (immersion vs classic) these things are still terribly unintuitive and known for a long time...
    The community talked about all these things. Newcomers see the same problems, searching forum for solutions and only find that it is still a mess and obviously nothing was (and will be) done about it.
     
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  12. torfmeister

    torfmeister Guest

    The most important missing feature is the "4" camera from TSC/MSTS, the automatic trackside camera. I do enjoy playing scenarios on US freight routes from this camera view.
     
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  13. addry#6825

    addry#6825 Well-Known Member

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    Does anyone have a problem with Horseshoe Curve? I was using the external camera last night and this morning on Xbox Series X and I get the loading screens followed by assets loading in when switching views.
     
  14. Dinosbacsi

    Dinosbacsi Well-Known Member

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    Umm, TSW has no "drive by" camera. The 8 cam is simply a free camera.

    But I do agree, a cinematic driveby camera would be great. Trainz did this the best, where you could place actual fixed and panning cameras alongside tbe track when building routes. So it made scenic shots possible, much better than the automatic camera from TSC.
     
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