Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
devices, and the player's view is normally that of the pilot or driver, forward
through the cockpit windows.
Camera Model
The camera model in most vehicle simulations doesn't try to be intelligent; it just
offers a variety of fixed perspectives from different angles. Although the game can-
not be played from all of these angles, the unplayable angles can be used for taking
dramatic screenshots or for viewing instant replays of the action.
VIEWS COMMON TO DRIVING AND FLIGHT SIMULATORS
Both driving and flight simulators implement certain standard views:
Pilot's/driver's view.
This is the normal view that most simulators offer by
default. The player sees what the pilot would see from the cockpit or what the
driver would see from the driver's seat. The vehicle's instruments take up the lower
half of the screen, and the upper half shows the view out of the windshield, often
partially obscured by parts of the hood or the nose of the plane. Most sims offer
separate look-left, look-right, and look-backward views, as well as a mode in which
the player can swivel the view smoothly in all directions to see what's overhead
and down to see instruments located below the pilot's normal line of sight.
Cockpit-removed view.
This unrealistic but dramatic viewpoint uses the full
screen to show the pilot or driver's view out of the front of the vehicle, unobscured
by the cockpit controls. Semitransparent overlays in the corners of the screen allow
the player to see instrument readings without much interference with the view.
Even these overlays can be removed, providing an unobscured view of the world
outside with no visible indication that the player is in a vehicle at all.
Chase view.
This is an exterior view of the player's vehicle, as if from another
one following closely behind and mimicking its movements. In flight simulators,
the plane always seems to be level when in chase view and the world turns around
it. For example, if the player banks her plane, the horizon tilts while the player's
plane appears to be level in the middle of the screen. In driving simulators, the
point of view when in chase mode/view is usually somewhat elevated so the play-
er's car does not obscure the view of the road in front.
Rear, side, and front views.
These are exterior views of the player's vehicle
from all four sides. If the player's plane banks, the view does not bank; the ground
remains below.
Free-roaming camera.
Generally used only in an instant-replay mode, this
enables the camera to be moved anywhere in the world and tilted or rotated to look
in any direction. This view is useful for players trying to analyze exactly what hap-
pened in a particular encounter.
