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1st or 3rd person view?
Dagmar Heideman
Bokko Dancer
Join date: 2 Feb 2007
Posts: 989
03-04-2008 11:27
Coming from MMORPG's I use third person more. In that genre it is better to have as wide a view of your surroundings as possible so you can see things coming at you from all directions. Similarly I can see more of the Second Life environment simultaneously when I use third person view but it is more to enjoy the scenery then to worry about getting smashed in the back of the head by a Heckler.
Graphicguru Gustav
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Join date: 5 Oct 2007
Posts: 775
03-04-2008 11:33
3RD...And a lot of ALT>MOUSE caming when I shop (yeah some guys shop).
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Bradley Bracken
Goodbye, Farewell, Amen
Join date: 2 Apr 2007
Posts: 3,856
03-04-2008 11:35
I rarely use mouselook unless I'm going through some type of maze or sewers or some other tight space. I'd like to use it more because I do think it'd give a more realistic feel but I just can't get use to it. I find it very difficult to maneuver. I have tried it using mouselook during some of my walks across the mainland lately. It's nice for that but I found I regularly had to go back to 3rd person for one reason or another.

For building and so forth, I obviously use 3rd person always.
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Michael Bigwig
~VRML Aficionado~
Join date: 5 Dec 2005
Posts: 2,181
03-04-2008 12:01
In response to the OP:

For Second Life, I prefer to walk around in 3rd person.

I will, however, switch to 1st person when:

* I'm in a close circle group of people talking, and I want to get more intimate.

* I want to put myself in the shoes of someone who might be in first person themselves--I use this in my design work and flow. I want to test my builds and designs from both perspectives. To see what catches the eye, what is missed...etc.

* I'm in the mood.

* I want to navigate through close quarters via straffing and utilization of my kick ass veteran FPS skills. :)

* If SL is very laggy (video lag), I will switch to 1st person to better navigate where I'm going....through tight space, through doorways...etc.

Other than those circumstances...I prefer 3rd person.
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Czari Zenovka
I've Had it With "PC"!
Join date: 3 May 2007
Posts: 3,688
03-04-2008 12:06
From: Ee Maculate
Having come into SL via a Doom/Quake/Half Life background of gaming, I do almost all my exploring in 1st person and find it the natural way to do it. I use 3rd person for building and so on, but feel more "immersed" if I can't see the back of me in world.


My background was also in gaming (EQ, EQII, SWG) and my biggest complaint about SL is no good first person view. I don't consider mouselook a viable first person view due to its unsteadiness among other faults. I too feel more immeresed and natural seeing things as my "eyes" would so to speak.

I'm not holding my breath about SL doing anything about it. But I would sure LOVE a good first person view option.
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Angel Coral
Otherworldly
Join date: 12 Dec 2003
Posts: 224
Ditto
03-04-2008 12:11
From: Madhu Maruti
I'm with Chosen; I am almost always in 3d person and almost always camming all over the place.


Same for me too! I live by my cam controls. The only time I'm in first person is when I decided to plague Alexin with my watermelon gun! :D
Oryx Tempel
Registered User
Join date: 8 Nov 2006
Posts: 7,663
03-04-2008 12:12
From: Lindal Kidd
Almost always third person. I'm trying to use Mouselook more, because it's good for certain things, but I prefer seeing my av. (It's all about ME, you know!) ;)

QFT :p
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foehn Breed
More random than random
Join date: 16 Jan 2006
Posts: 1,142
03-04-2008 12:13
I spin! everything to view.
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Isabeau Imako
P'tite Poulette
Join date: 13 Sep 2007
Posts: 2,335
03-04-2008 13:08
From: Imnotgoing Sideways
That's when I use the "ping" function in my Hello Multitool. It works just like a particle Noobie Leash for walking tours of a region. (^_^)


Now you've done it. I'll have to go through all my Mysti tool options again to see what else I've missed... Sounds sounds very useful.
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Ann Launay
Neko-licious™
Join date: 8 Aug 2006
Posts: 7,893
03-04-2008 13:16
From: Isabeau Imako
Now you've done it. I'll have to go through all my Mysti tool options again to see what else I've missed... Sounds sounds very useful.


MystiTool has a temp rez chair instead...it follows the leader. :)
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SuezanneC Baskerville
Forums Rock!
Join date: 22 Dec 2003
Posts: 14,229
03-04-2008 14:36
Mouselook would be alright when needed if the left and right arrows keys stayed rotate left and rotate right instead of switching to slide/sidestep/strafe left and right.

I'd like to have a view from the front, looking at the front of your avatar, and movement based on screen direction - right arrow moves avatar to the right on the screen, down moves avatar down - if avatar is facing away when you press the down key, it either pivots around and moves down, or it walks or flys backwards, etc.

An option for movement and camera just like Spyro the Dragon had would be nice.

I pretty much never use mouselook due to the switch in function of the left and right keys.
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Kallisti Burns
Discordant Designer
Join date: 8 Dec 2006
Posts: 150
03-04-2008 14:42
3rd person... or heavy-duty camming - often with the constraints removed and a 512m visible range...

As such I can see what's going on in the shop from my build platform...
Roisin Hotaling
Pixel Manipulator
Join date: 3 Jun 2007
Posts: 300
03-04-2008 16:01
From: Crystal Falcon
I also adjusted the camera position in the debug settings to not be as high and downward looking so I can see vendors higher up on walls while I'm walking around. :)

Ooh! Any chance you could share which setting this is and how you modified it, exactly? I'm really tired of looking at the top of my head. Thanks! :)
SuezanneC Baskerville
Forums Rock!
Join date: 22 Dec 2003
Posts: 14,229
03-04-2008 16:34
Here's an old post on the subject of camera position and focus position:

From: http://www.wallop.com/suezanne
Use Client, Debug Settings, CameraOffsetDefault, and change the X value. Exit Second Life.

Doing this will cause an entry for CameraOffsetDefault to appear in the settings.xml file, which on a default Windows install of SL will be in C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Application Data\SecondLife\user_settings\settings.xml.

Using a text editor, find the entry for CameraOffsetDefault and change the first number following CameraOffsetDefault to a positive number, which will be the number of meters in front of you the default camera position will be at.

When you restart SL the default camera should be in front of you. If you put the camera farther in front of you than your default focus, you should be looking at yourself from the front.

You can change the camera default focus position while SL is running using the Debug Settings. That is called FocusOffsetDefault. Changing that with the Debugs Settings works while you change it.

The Debug Settings dialog does not work properly for the CameraOffsetDefault, it doesn't respond to the change that you make until you exit and restart SL, and it clips the value to 0 if you try to make it positive, hence the need to edit the settings.xml value manually.

You will have to press the forward arrow key to walk towards the screen and the down arrow key to walk away from the screen.

This is what I ended up with in the settings.xml file to change the default camera offset:

CODE
<!--Default camera offset from avatar-->
<CameraOffsetDefault value="6 0 0.35"/>


Just pasting the above into the settings.xml file in an appropriate position while SL is not running should do the trick.


I think just changing the FocusOffsetDefault. in the debug settings might do what Roisin wants.
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So long to these forums, the vBulletin forums that used to be at forums.secondlife.com. I will miss them.

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Colette Meiji
Registered User
Join date: 25 Mar 2005
Posts: 15,556
03-04-2008 16:35
From: Michael Bigwig

* I'm in a close circle group of people talking, and I want to get more intimate.


Kinky
Incoherendt Randt
Skank
Join date: 13 Dec 2007
Posts: 85
03-04-2008 22:14
From: SuezanneC Baskerville
Mouselook would be alright when needed if the left and right arrows keys stayed rotate left and rotate right instead of switching to slide/sidestep/strafe left and right.

That's how I use it. There's a file keys.ini in the app_settings folder where you can change the unshifted keys from slide_left and slide_right to turn_left and turn_right and then it's kind of nice, higher frame rate sometimes too!
Czari Zenovka
I've Had it With "PC"!
Join date: 3 May 2007
Posts: 3,688
03-05-2008 03:00
From: Hugsy Penguin
Interesting comments about the spiral staircases. I'm the opposite and think 3rd person view is the best. If it spirals to the left for instance, you just press and hold the up arrow while tapping the left arrow. With mouse-look mode, you have to keep pushing the mouse to the left which means you'll have to stop, pick up the mouse, move it to the right, set down, and then go again. That's more annoying to me.

--Hugsy


That is an interesting point...as much as I would prefer a first person view option in SL, I do find navigating spiral staircases (and there is one in my home *grins*) MUCH easier in 3rd person view. I just place myself on the rail side and use the arrow keys to kind of circle upwards.
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Ricardo Harris
Registered User
Join date: 1 Apr 2006
Posts: 1,944
03-05-2008 03:46
1st or 3rd?


Depends in what position you're in. From the back it's always first view. Underneath, switch to 3rd person to see better.
Imnotgoing Sideways
Can't outlaw cute! =^-^=
Join date: 17 Nov 2007
Posts: 4,694
03-05-2008 05:02
I'm too lazy to see if this was mentioned yet. But for a temporary mouse look, you can click on your back or head and drag the camera around in a mouse look-like fashion. You can still walk while doing it and the L-R keys go to 'strafe mode' in the same way too. (^_^)
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Morwen Bunin
Everybody needs a hero!
Join date: 8 Dec 2005
Posts: 1,743
03-05-2008 05:27
Normally I use 3rd person, but when making pictures is often mouse look.

So I would like to vote "Alternate between the two for a very good reason"... Sadly that option is available, so I went for pie.....

Morwen.
Bloodsong Termagant
Manic Artist
Join date: 22 Jan 2007
Posts: 615
03-05-2008 07:12
heyas;

i'd LIKE to use mouselook more. but it's so limited. there's no menus and stuff. and it's hard to interact with objects.

for example, many pieces of furniture/poseballs have 'sit' as the default clicking action. when you click in mouselook -- nothing happens. although i just found out, you can hold the alt key and RIGHT click to interact with objects. but it's not as convenient as single left clicking something to sit on it.

and i'm sl-dyslexic too. (and in nwn.) always camming around to see things from different views. (if you didnt know, that's apparently what dyslexics do with their perception. they can have their point of view 'fly around' outside their eyes. really.)


so im in 3rd person most of my life. except for snail racing. or when im taking a walk to look at things and want some more immersion.
Ceera Murakami
Texture Artist / Builder
Join date: 9 Sep 2005
Posts: 7,750
03-05-2008 07:51
I alternate between the two depending on what I am doing.

If I am standing still, talking with people, I go to third-person so I can see the whole group, including myself.

If I am on the move, walking or flying somewhere, I prefer doing that in Mouselook.

If I am standing still in a store, I'll be camming around with a detached camera, which is a third option that you didn't include.

When building, I use all three, as needed for the moment's requirements.
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Soji Slade
Um . . . Hello?
Join date: 28 Mar 2007
Posts: 1,270
03-05-2008 07:54
My choice isn't there. I am not in 1st person every time, and I am not in 3rd person every time. And when I alternate there is a good reason, not "no reason." And I do care, I think.
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Yosef Okelly
Mostly Harmless
Join date: 26 Aug 2007
Posts: 2,692
03-05-2008 08:03
Why is there not a second person option? Or is that the Restrained Life viewer? ;)
Colette Meiji
Registered User
Join date: 25 Mar 2005
Posts: 15,556
03-05-2008 08:24
From: Yosef Okelly
Why is there not a second person option? Or is that the Restrained Life viewer? ;)


We could do this, *YOU* could just record *YOUR* SL experience from your monitor and stream it so the rest of us can watch it on a video enabled parcel.

Hopefully people will IM you with personal, embarrassing, hard to explain things while this process is going on.

Of course its only 2nd person as long as we all refer to *YOU*

:p
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