Easier camera controls

Ok, I know some people would already say that SL has excellent camera controls, and it does to a degree, but they are cumbersome, and better suited for 3d Studio Max than an environment you are walking around in.

As I was trying out another online game last night (Tale in the Desert) and playing There, it occured to me what is superior about camera controls in those two games.

In the first game, moving the mouse against the edge of the screen rotates and adjusts the view. This makes it incredibly easy to both walk around and look at your environment. I know SL adjusts the view as you walk, but it is not the same. The camera adjustment by moving against the edges of the screen with the mouse (top/bottom adjusts the view angle, left/right adjusts the rotation, generally a mouse wheel or key adjusts the zoom) certainly makes for a more seamless experience.

There allows you to hold down the CTRL key and adjust the view by moving the mouse. This also makes it incredibly easy to adjust your view. It also has an alternate mode called action mode, where moving your mouse adjusts the camera, and you hold down CTRL to get your menus and cursor back to interact with things. Depending on your preference, this makes moving around the environment much less cumbersome.

I compare SL to those games only for the purpose of requesting an equally intuitive camera adjustment be added to the game. Right now, it still relies too heavily on the approach in a 3d design program instead of being ideal for moving around in an environment that begs to be explored. I I am not suggesting replacing the current controls, only augmenting them.

Thank you

ARgh, don't mention That, again. I suppose you're right, though, I think the controls while moving around do need some additional features. And SL's controls are really far more intuitive than working in a 3D program. While we're making suggestions, please please please give us a fully functional first person mode. Do it like SWG or something where you can toggle between mouselook and cursor modes. I've always found first person more immersive, but not only that, it helps to be able to work in confined spaces and improves maneuverability for games...

I'm not sure I quite understand how this is different / better than holding down the Alt key, Alt+Shift or Alt+Ctrl and dragging the mouse around? Maybe cuz I have not ever played either of those two games.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you have to focus on something before you can move the camera that way? I have tried holding down ALT and ALT-SHIFT while moving, and moving the mouse, with no effect. In other games, you can move the camera without first having to focus on something. I know you can bring up the camera controls from the View menu, just being able to move the mouse to adjust your view seems more intuitive to me than clicking on arrows.

And BOY do we need that in Gibson!

Thanks Cristiano, I understand what you are talking about now.

I like the idea.