Zooming

[Rubicon]

I didn't see a thread about this, but I was wondering if we would be able to zoom in an out on characters or the environment as we played? I liked the way Dragon Age Origins and even World of Warcraft uses the models, and just allows you too zoom in to really see the action, or to zoom way out to be more tactical. It doesn't have to be be extremely close up, but its just nice to be able to see enemy details or even PC armor up closer. What do you think?

[dlux]

I doubt it, seeing the backgrounds are going to be 2D (pre-rendered 3D).

[Ieo]

The only bit I remember is from the Known Information thread in PE/General:

Camera

 

Camera has been confirmed as static, though probably zoomable.

 

Sawyer confirmed somewhere that the graphics will be like ToEE--pre-rendered 3D hand-touched like 2D with 3D sprites and some objects.

[Rubicon]

I don't mind not having camera movement, although I think being able to rotate would be sweet. I am glad they are potentially letting us zoom in. Getting closer to my toon feeds my ego. And I do enjoy that.

[LadyCrimson]

I'm fine with/rather like a static camera with isometric. But being able to zoom in a bit so we can vanity-cam our characters or get fun screenshots etc. is always a bonus.

[True_Spike]

I don't really care, but seeing as how it's possible to pull off in Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition I don't think this would be problematic to do.

[Tartopaum]

I think that zooming should be considered, at least because of the variety of screen definitions nowadays.

Playing with different screens would make the experience too different without zooming. I remember playing BG on my wide screen, and everything was way too small...

[anek]

Quote from Bobby Null, one of the Obsidian designers, in another thread:

While not an official statement, zoom will probably be possible. The in-game stuff the artists are currently working on looks very nice, even in these early stages. The 2D art can get a nice paintover to add so many great touches. That's why the old IE games felt like you were playing a piece of art. With the higher resolutions we are working on for PE, expect some sweet looking maps.

Edited October 7, 2012 by anek

[Meteor]

If zooming were implemented I would be very, very happy. When customization is so important and the amount of detail being put into PE it would be hard to care for your characters when you can't even see them.

[Ieo]

If zooming were implemented I would be very, very happy. When customization is so important and the amount of detail being put into PE it would be hard to care for your characters when you can't even see them.

 

Caring for our characters in the worlds wasn't a problem with the old games without zoom. I doubt you're going to be able to customize things like body type/size and facial features, though, so a lot of zoom would be wasted.

 

That said, a certain amount of zoom wouldn't be bad--mainly for future-proofing when resolutions get high and the sprites get small...

[rjshae]

It would be nice to be able to zoom out for movement/exploration, then zoom in for tactical control or to view (and appreciate) a part of the area in more detail.

[The Guilty Party]

You could always see your character close-up on the character screen, possibly. If up-close zooming wasn't possible.

[wirednow]

Maybe in the inventory screen instead. I'm guessing it's gonna be a hand painted portrait in the character screen section.

[Paul D]

If it is moderatly easy to implement and doesn't over complicate things a zoom so I can see the detail on the equipment, artefacts, and surroundings I think would be cool.

[Freshock]

I'd love to have a big picture of the battlefield, the zooming in isn't that important to me. In Starcraft II I get so sick of the fact I can't zoom more out, it's a tactical game - give me vision!