While Blue Mars is very much still in Beta and rough in many ways, there's one feature already in place that's really striking: The ability to detach your camera view from your avatar.
Normally, the camera stays just over your avatar's shoulder, as if you're looking over it (which is a default perspective for most online worlds and MMOs.) By rolling your mouse wheel, however, you can change that view so that the camera gradually moves away.
I'm used to having this ability in Second Life, but as I recall, with SL the maximum distance the camera can be from the avatar is around 100 meters. With Blue Mars, the maximum distance seems more like 500 meters, enabling you to move in a split second from just above your avatar, to looking at it high overhead. (As depicted at left, in a Blue Mars city called Digital DNA.) This gives you the instant ability to see yourself in relationship to the wider geography, a feature I have to think Blue Mars developers will want to use in the future. (Instead of creating a separate map display, for example, you could make a City's road marks visible in this God's eye view.)
But I like this feature most because it's almost a philosophical ability: With several turns of the mouse wheel, you can literally see just how small you are in relation to the world around you:
What other Blue Mars features make you think deep thoughts? Please share in comments, or reach out via email to hamlet at bluemarsonline dot com.
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Sheesh, Au - you've been able to detach the camera from your avatar in SL for ages... all you need to do is to activate 'Disable Camera Constraints' in the 'Advanced Menu'. The only limit is the drawing distance (up to 1024 meters).
ReplyDeleteActually, you can't do it in Blue Mars (yet). No matter how far up you zoom in bird's eye view, the pivot always remains your avatar. Which is a major drawback of the current setup, come to think of it, for what good is a virtual world full of gorgeous graphics when you can never get a good close look at things (including other avatars)? But relief is on the way with the upcoming viewer update, or so I hear... :-)
ReplyDeleteThe pics are too dark.
ReplyDelete"you've been able to detach the camera from your avatar in SL for ages"
ReplyDeleteYou're right, I forgot about that Advanced option. I've played with it before, and as I recall, it's fairly difficult to control.
I find it interesting that I seem to be in a different head space. "But I like this feature most because it's almost a philosophical ability: With several turns of the mouse wheel, you can literally see just how small you are in relation to the world around you:" In Grid Rock go to the edge of the harbor click on the tp on the right. You are tpeed to the giant oil refinery tank with auto zoom. I show newbies this and it blows their minds. No mousewheel scrolling YOU ARE REALLY SMALL!! I left second life a year ago when I discovered Blue Mars. I've been back twice, it seemed amateurish. Sorry guys Im a Blue Martian now "When I was a child I thought as a child...now I am a man I have put away childish things"
ReplyDeleteI have dozens of pictures of the zooming ability.. I know you guys are playing catch up, its been a feature for us since 2nd July. I feature the zoom function in most of my videos. philipjamesbryan on youtube When I am exploring the zoom function is great because you can see textures, very handy if you are climbing the escarpment in Shade to see Jupiter
ReplyDeleteooops since Corey updated Grid things have changed, hes oh anyway from the spawn point use one of the teslas to tp somewhere start flying (F3) and go to the main area where the shops are (best bargains in town)drop out of flying (F4) follow the rough cobbled path to the rocks and just enter the rocks area and you will instant zoom. IMHO its not as good as the original dome or the oil refinery tank Flying Tip : Stay close to the ground and do fast turns close to structures, I love using the teslas to go the giant cavern and flying out of the cave window..OMG I do go on... sorry
ReplyDeleteUpdate: I tried to fly up to Phobos, it orbits about 9,377 km (5,827 mi) from the center of Mars, so I stuck my mobile phone on the up arrow and had a cup of tea. As has been mentioned 500 meters is the zoom limit. If you want more you have to fly. Given the relative size of Phobos 26.8 × 22.4 × 18.4 km I reckon I am about an equivalent zoom of about 3,000 km. I cant see the surface of Mars and I seem to be outside the gravity of Mars as I F4 to stop flying and I do not fall. I suited up as the sun was coming up and i had to wait until it had set. to get the pics. itsonlygod.com/bm/gridrock ... Its quite awesome up here..I flew down, it took a while. I made a movie .mov be ready at 1 pm gmt 30th sept its at http://itsonlygod.com/bm/gridrock/ its very long sorry (14 mins) but i was really high and i included the autozoom at the end sorry, I guess its boring but Im an explorer its what I do btw Lucas is doing Star Wars in 3D in 2012.. cool
ReplyDeletehttp://itsonlygod.com/bm/moonsofmars_media/moonsofmars.mov is up
ReplyDelete