Worst Camera Ever?

[Lare Kikkeli]

Why does everyone hate the Neverwinter Nights camera? What makes you think it's the worst. I just don't understand the aversion to it. It's easily controlled with a wide range of views. What is the problem?

 

 

For me I think the worst part wasnt necessarily the camera itself but a combination of the assinine default movement keys being the arrow keys (why wouldnt those be the most common form, WASD?) and the mouse controlling the camera. It made, for me, a very awkward experience to move, then futz with the camera to get a good view, then have to re-adjust because your guy ran across the map, all the while with my hands almost feeling like they are crossed on the keyboard. You know, maybe that was it. Unlike other games where your group pretty much stays in one small region, NWN2 has your party all over the damn place which contstantly requires you to screw with the camera every time you click on an NPC to see wtf they are doing. You once explained to me that all that could be re-mapped but I never did before losing interest in the game.

 

 

It's never where you want it to be, good camera is a camera you don't really pay attention to, as opposed to having to tinker with it every time you do something.

[LadyCrimson]

It's never where you want it to be, good camera is a camera you don't really pay attention to, as opposed to having to tinker with it every time you do something.

QFT

 

As to topic - darnit, I know there was this game where an entire level had this horrid, fixed position camera, where you couldn't turn it or anything - you'd end up turning a corner and staring at a wall, unable to get a view of your characters or anything. I can't remember which one tho - maybe it was The Summoner...

[metadigital]

Tombraider: Angel of Darkness, where obscure camera angles helped the lamentable controls hide the appalling plot and production.

[Tale]

Zork, horrible horrible camera.

[metadigital]

"VERBATIM"

[Sand]

Really? It's a big improvement from the original game, it's a shame that players can't use it. Hopefully this is something that can be fixed.

Maybe they will put in a FPV toggle.

[Lare Kikkeli]

what does QFT mean

 

edit: a quick google later i found out.

Edited May 5, 2007 by Lare Kikkeli

[Musopticon?]

Everyone (who is blaming NWNs) are blaming the NWN camere because that's only thing they can come up with right.

 

For example, the most horrible camera easily goes to Silent Hill fixed angles. And japanese survival horror angles in general. If anyone has played Forbidden Siren, that game had this thing with telepathy where you could transfer your point of view to the monster. This is sort of in STALKER as well and there it is no problem, but that's because you are supposed to be totally zoned everytime it happens in the Ukranian ruins. In FS, on the other hand, it is a prime game mechanic and shouldn't be so fricking frustrating to use each time. Even thought the other survival games don't ahve this, they try to be artsy with the angles, but end up just giving the payer odd shots of player characters running to walls instead of dispatching monsters.

 

Another game with a horrible camera was Force Commander. It was obvious that the devs wehre proud of their 3d enviroment and free camera movement, but that didn't really transfer well to teh actual use. You could never find a good angle to order your troops so instead you ended up not using the camera movement options at all and staid on the default RTSy-angle. That speaks of wasted effort to me.

 

Most Tomb Raiders have had horrible camereas as well, but the age of the first parts has to be counted in. Not so for Ninja Gaiden which was my first thought even before reading the start post. There's just something severely annoying when you constantly have to keep centering the camere behind Ryu instead of using that effort to win fights. Sure, wind jump gets you straight to next enemy and outside combat it is nearly unnoticable, but if you don't keep pushing that center button in combat, the camera keeps jumping around and giving you weird angles all tthe time due to Ryu's constant(if you fight as you should, heh) quick movements. The aquaducts with their closed spaces were extra horrible. Remember the bug room?

[metadigital]

I agree that the first Tombraider camera wasn't good compared to later games, BUT, it was a feature of the gameplay to make some of the jumps that little bit harder without the player knowing exactly what they were jumping into ... but it was definitely overdone in the later games, to the point of ruining the mechanism.

[Dark_Raven]

NWN2 was the worst of the games I played until I learned to control it better. irratating.

[Xard]

Another game with a horrible camera was Force Commander. It was obvious that the devs wehre proud of their 3d enviroment and free camera movement, but that didn't really transfer well to teh actual use. You could never find a good angle to order your troops so instead you ended up not using the camera movement options at all and staid on the default RTSy-angle. That speaks of wasted effort to me.

 

Hah, it looks like I'm not only one who was stupid enough to buy that game :D

 

NWN's cameras ain't good, but there's a lot of games with worse cameras. Japanese horror games were good examples.

[Tale]

Survival Horror is a subgenre of adventure games. The camera angles are supposed to be like the preset angles you see in Myst, Longest Journey, or the like. It also helps up the horror by not always letting you see the enemy. They're not really action games, which is why they give you aim assistance to compensate.

[Musopticon?]

I understand that, but it doesn't make me appreciate the camera any more.

[Tale]

But, considering that there are numerous cameras that lead to instant frustrating deaths due to unintended or poorly tested behavior, how can it be worse?

[Musopticon?]

I have no argument against that, I've just had the worst camera experiences in jap survival horror games.

Edited May 7, 2007 by Musopticon?

[Maedhros]

Conker's Bad Fur Day for the N64 easily. Everything else about the game was pretty damn awesome, though.

[Sand]

NWN2 was the worst of the games I played until I learned to control it better. irratating.

So, its the game's problem that you lack skill?

 

r00fles!

[Dark_Raven]

NWN2 was the worst of the games I played until I learned to control it better. irratating.

So, its the game's problem that you lack skill?

 

r00fles!

No, controlling the stupid camera.

 

You lose!

[@\NightandtheShape/@]

I agree that the first Tombraider camera wasn't good compared to later games, BUT, it was a feature of the gameplay to make some of the jumps that little bit harder without the player knowing exactly what they were jumping into ... but it was definitely overdone in the later games, to the point of ruining the mechanism.

 

Tombraiders camera is awful, it's pure vomit! There is no excuse.