TRAOD control method?

[snark^]

Watching the videos has me wondering just how we're meant to control Lara and the camera this time around. Some clips have her sidestepping with the chasecam on full, others have her turning contrary to the direction the camera view is going, etc. In one clip from E3 we even got to see the camera rotate on its own axis for a full 360 before settling on Lara's back again.

So which of the following systems is it? Note the 'WASD' below being the std FPS replacement for the arrow keys; substitute with the direction keys of your choice. Stuck with id'ing the other controller as the mouse because I dunno what you paperwei^H^H^H^H^H console users actualy use...

Method 1 - traditional chasecam: WASD = forward, sidestep left, back, sidestep right + mouse for turning the character? ... as in Project Eden, The Thing, FAKK2, and Drakan -- in the latter two games this came with an extra toggle key for freely revolving the camera around the character.

Method 2 - pure revolving cam: WASD = move away from screen, move to left of screen, move towards screen, move to right of screen + mouse revolves camera? ... as seen in Empirical Indy and Outcast. Note when Cutter hauled his guns out in Outcast he always faced forward (great combat sequences), away from the camera; otherwise he could race around at any angle to the cam.

Method 3 - revolving chasecam: WASD = forward, turn left, back, turn right (toggle or Q/E for sidestepping left/right?) + mouse for revolving the camera? ... this is just the traditional TR movement only with the mouse controlling the camera rotation angle, with the cam automatically jumping back behind Lara (usual asscam) once she starts running forward again.

Any ideas? I'm thinking it's number 3 myself, with a couple of extra sidestepping keys thrown in -- or maybe it borrows the target lock idea from Outcast; once her guns come out she's focused on a target and the left/right keys do the sidestepping.

My pref. however would be for the first method as it worked very well in the games which used it. And (if there's any manual aim involved) it really ought to be a floating reticule/crosshair rather than one that's fixed in the middle of the screen.

[tomb_raiding]

I think the controls r going to be the same as the classic TR exept for an additional mouse usage

[Raven25]

I hope there is an option not to use the mouse because that's what really bugged me about games like GTA3 where you had to use the mouse to turn the dude when you were walking. All keyboard for me

[LaraAngelOfDarkness]

The "mouse control" for PS2 might be the right analog stick or something who knows.

[XanderD2]

I hope there will be an option to select either the traditional TR controls (forward-back-turn left-turn right, asscam in behindview mode) or the usual FPS controls (forward-back-sidestep left - sidestep right - mouse control for turning).

The last thing I want to see in AoD is some sort of console inspired control setup (or pure revolving cam as snark^ wrote). The controls in IJ and the Emperor's Tomb drove me mad.

[unkwon]

Shark^...

Are the same, Halflife loving, tech savy Shark^ I knew in the TR forums...

If it is...

HUGS..., I missed ya pall!

[Leigh Croft]

As long as were not forced into using the analogue sticks I don't really mind

[LaraAngelOfDarkness]

Originally posted by Leigh Croft
As long as were not forced into using the analogue sticks I don't really mind

we probably will because they might want to use the directional button for moves or something.

[Dad]

Method 3 - revolving chasecam: WASD = forward, turn left, back, turn right (toggle or Q/E for sidestepping left/right?) + mouse for revolving the camera? ... this is just the traditional TR movement only with the mouse controlling the camera rotation angle, with the cam automatically jumping back behind Lara (usual asscam) once she starts running forward again.

This is what I would prefer since now I am use to it with most games. The traditional TR way is also fine. I hope they implement the option to remap em.

[Mangar The Dark]

I really hope the arrow keys can still be used to turn Lara. I have no idea why so many games abandoned this simple premise lately. Am I the only gamer who just has two hands? Seriously... If I'm using one hand to hit the arrow key to move forward, another hand to hit the Space Bar or whatever to jump, what hand am I supposed to be using to turn the character? This is why I suck at games like Return To Castle Wolfenstein.

[Forsakn]

Originally posted by Mangar The Dark
I really hope the arrow keys can still be used to turn Lara. I have no idea why so many games abandoned this simple premise lately. Am I the only gamer who just has two hands? Seriously... If I'm using one hand to hit the arrow key to move forward, another hand to hit the Space Bar or whatever to jump, what hand am I supposed to be using to turn the character? This is why I suck at games like Return To Castle Wolfenstein.

They abandoned that simple idea for a even simpler idea of using the mouse to turn and look giving you a faster reaction time. You still use the old way of using the arrow keys to move, but with more actions needing to be binded most players have started using the W,S,A,D keys wich are similar in positioning to the arrow keys and close to more keys and especialy to the CAPS LOCK, SPACE BAR, TAB, SHIFT. I used the same style as you but quicly changed it after having problems with my first shooter( RPG realy) Deus Ex.

[snark^]

As Forsakn said above. ^^^

The mouse is best used for turning the camera/character around and the movement keys for forward/back+'strafe'. All that's really happening in TRAOD is that we're using the mouse to freely revolve the camera around Lara and it's made it a waste of time really -- it's just not essential to do that except when stopping to look.

One of the recent clips did show a combat bit where she appeared to sidestep while running/shooting around so here's hoping that when the guns come out it's the (Outcast) style of play and her gaze and guns are riveted forward.

[Mangar The Dark]

I agree that the mouse allows for quicker turning, but it just feels clumsy to me. It's okay for FPSs when you're running down a hall way shooting at enemies, but I don't think it will work for a TR game. Unless AOD is drastically different from other TR games (and it doesn't look like it will be), using a mouse to steer Lara will be horrible. Trying to make precise leaps and grabs while swiveling a mouse around on the desktop is just not much fun (just ask Indy how it felt during Emperor's Tomb... I had him plunging to his death more times than either of us care to remember... poor guy.) The old keyboard control method was very appropriate for the types of moves Lara had to make.

However, I think Snark is right, and I would like to be able to use the mouse to "freelook" when standing still, rather than holding down then Ins key and using the arrows.

[snark^]

Well the problem with Empirical Indy is that you can run him into blind areas offscreen if you're not careful with the camera angle, as controlled by the mouse. Usually said blind spot was a death drop kinda thing too... (or at least in my experince so far)

The really annoying thing about this method is that revolving the view also means you're turning Indy as well (if you have him moving) -- because the direction you're running him will change as the camera revolves. I've found it's become quite annoying to control because of its very sequential manner: stop Indy; rotate camera to optimum angle for room; move Indy to new position; stop indy; swing camera around to check corners; pick best spot; move Indy; etc...

It'll be the same with TRAOD if we're not careful: A & D appear to turn Lara left and right so there is the same problem as above -- you could turn her around and run her back towards the camera and discover a bottomless pit that was behind you. It's because the camera is completely unconnected to the character's movement that causes this kind of problem.

I think Project Eden had the best camera system: the sidestepping chasecam as above but the cursor was a floating one rather than the FPS-standard centrally fixed xhair-- it moved about the screen within the bounds of an (smaller than the screen) invisible box; only when it hit the edge of said box did the character/view turn around. Means you don't get the twitchy character effect either when just jiggling the mouse about slightly (as with the fixed xhair).

[Mangar The Dark]

WOW! Another person who actually liked something about Project Eden! And I thought I was the only one who enjoyed that game.

I just started playing a game called "Rune," which uses the mouse to turn the character, but it works SO MUCH better than "Empirical Indy." I guess it's because the character turns with the camera, and the speed of the control seems to be spot on. Overall, it feels very natural and comfortable, and this system MIGHT work well for TR.

[snark^]

I really enjoyed PE: besides the lack of TR-like exploration moves it's worst point was the endless amount of bullets/energy it took to kill even the most minor of enemies, but overall it was a neat little game that was deserving of more acclaim.

A puzzle-oriented semi-tactical squad-based [manual-aim!] shooter with flying drones, sentry guns and little robotic rovers -- what more could you want?

[SilkyPiper~]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by XanderD2
[B]I hope there will be an option to select either the traditional TR "asscam" in behindview mode) ROFL! Thats toooooooo funny! behind cam!