Camera.

[LW88]

Please provide an option to make the camera follow the player, an option for making the camera follow the player in combat mode only, and please give us more freedom with zoom and tilt.

With a better camera the delay between movement/dodge could be reduced as well, as the player would be able to take advantage of smoother and more accurate movement, making for a faster game overall that requires more skill and execution.

Why would that be good? Higher skill ceiling, more community interaction and competition, and more diverse encounters. Also I find oftentimes that my deaths are as a result of not being able to manipulate the camera to my liking and unintentionally doing something, and that's easily avoidable with a few more options. Player frustration that comes from flawed mechanics reflects badly on your game, compared to player frustration from a more difficult, exciting game that would result from these changes, which results in more enjoyment and a memorable experience. Not to mention the satisfaction of beating a harder, faster and more responsive game.

How? Because we don't like it when we don't have proper control over a character. Sure the physics will still be wonky, but that's a separate issue even in this context, where such small changes could result in a vastly different game.

[Whiskey]

Have you tried this?

C:\Users\%Name%\AppData\Roaming\Exanima\Exanima.ini


PerfIndex = 5.13
Volume = 40
Supersample = 3
ShadingQuality = 5
TextureDetail = 3
TextureQuality = 5
ShadowDetail = 5
ShadowQuality = 4
HWMultisample = 0
Fullscreen = 1
Music = 0
ShowFPS = 0
ShowGameTips = 1
CamFollow = 1 <---- Change this to 1
VerticalSync = 0
FirstRun = 0

[LW88]

Originally posted by Whiskey:

CamFollow = 1 <---- Change this to 1

Please tell me that option is going to be IN the game soon? That's what I wanted.

The zoom/tilt and the rest stands though. Thanks for that.

EDIT: Even with that the camera is still awful and sluggish. It seriously needs to be changed.

[Ratmilk]

Thank you so much for the camera fix. I have struggled from the start to beat the arena on novice. I found myself fighting more with the PROFOUNDLY broken camera controls more than the opponents. After changing the ini file like you show above I flew through the arena on my first try without much effort. It was the camera destroying gameplay the entire time and it was driving me nuts. If the devs don't implement a camera follow button in a similar then they are total fools.

[blue chew demon]

just hold spacebar

[USER404]

Originally posted by EightyEight:

Please tell me that option is going to be IN the game soon? That's what I wanted.

Nope. That option was in-game in a previous release, but it got removed because it introduces more problems than it fixes. You might find easier combat with your camera behind your back easier because that's how most games works. But in this game that's an important step back, it will affect to your medium term progress and will make harder to survive. The combat in this game is meant to be played with a mostly static camera.

Yeah, some people play with this setting enabled or pressing the spacebar constantly, i am not saying it is impossible. But it is not the way combat is designed to be played right now and it limits you. If you want concrete reasons i can give you a couple:

1. When the camera move the cursor position changes taking out control from you maneuver. In a game as unforgiving as this one, precision in your attacks is a must.
2. Even if you don't have motion sickness, a camera that is always moving with this kind of perspective (specially when you press spacebar all the time) will make your eyesight get fatigued sooner.

[Auraln aka Psycho]

Originally posted by USER404:

Originally posted by EightyEight:

Please tell me that option is going to be IN the game soon? That's what I wanted.

Nope. That option was in-game in a previous release, but it got removed because it introduces more problems than it fixes. You might find easier combat with your camera behind your back because that's how most games works. But in this game that's an important step back, it will affect to your medium term progress and will make harder to survive. The combat in this game is meant to be played with a mostly static camera.

Yeah, some people play with this setting enabled or pressing the spacebar constantly, i am not saying it is impossible. But it is not the way combat is designed to be played right now and it limits you. If you want concrete reasons i can give you a couple:

1. When the camera move the cursor position changes taking out control from you maneuver. In a game as unforgiving as this one, precision in your attacks is a must.
2. Even if you don't have motion sickness, a camera that is always moving with this kind of perspective (specially when you press spacebar all the time) will make your eyesight get fatigued sooner.

Just want to say using the ini camera fix I was able to complete the novice arena and the dungeon before that I was extremely held back and even hindered by the camera. It allowed me MORE control and MORE precision than the free camera. So yeah not everyone is the same just because YOU can be more in control and more precise with the free camera does not mean everyone else will be.

[Vold]

I learned that fixed camera can work for some people, and I guess that if they are fine with it, why bother. This issue has been discussed so many times that it becomes boring to give the same arguments over and over again.

In any case, here is an example of playing without moving the camera, I enjoy it a lot this way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVCg79SON9o

[LW88]

What argument is there apart from "I don't need it implemented, so you shouldn't want it" which isn't really an argument, more of a statement of irrelevant opinion.

[ThatBadGuy]

Dark Souls/Bloodborne has it's problems with camera when backed into a corner or with very large boss enemies, but these issues do not come up often and the camera is otherwise very well designed, giving you precise control over the character. Any time I die in those games, it's all my fault because I screwed up at fighting the enemy.

There's a lot more instances of me dying because I'm fighting the controls in this game. For some inexplicable reason, the control scheme fights against the convention of camera based movement to the detriment of reflexive control, and this is a huge problem at least for me, and it seems for many of the other players. IMO, one of two things would expunge these issues and drastically improve the game for many people.

1: Lock on. Let the interface have an option to lock on to an NPC that is currently under the cursor with an easily accessible button, then have the camera orient itself relative to the locked NPC. This allows the current scheme to be available for those few who have no issues with the current system, but also accounts for people who hate it and affords them more control over 1v1 fights. As opposed to the space bar system, this also frees up the cursor to control torso movement and therefore allow full control over the weapon.

2: Tie movement directions to the Camera's orientation instead of the Character's orientation. This has been brought up a lot, and I think it's sensible because it works so well in every other game it has been used in (Including Souls and BB). The old guard who are married to the current system won't like it, but it'll work right out of the box for just about everyone, letting them play the game rather then fight the controls and quit after a few hours.

[Vold]

Originally posted by EightyEight:

What argument is there apart from "I don't need it implemented, so you shouldn't want it" which isn't really an argument, more of a statement of irrelevant opinion.

I agree, that's not a valid argument.

What has been mentioned by the devs and some players who have been playing since the Combat Alpha Demo was released (a year ago or so), is that it reduces drastically your performance in combat (precision, momentum, etc). It may be not noticeable now, but when you have to fight multiple opponents and harder enemies, and using thaumaturgy (e.g: a power that allows you to move an object and throw it to the enemy with telekinesis - you will need to know how to fight without moving the camera, because that the mouse does not move freely while the camera is following it and there is a technicall reason to it which has been mentioned by the devs).

This is a relevant argument IMO.

Ultimately, you will have to get used to the combat while not moving the camera, or just locating the camera behind the character from time to time to fight from a easier position.

FYI, the devs implemented something similar to a fixed camera a year ago and decided to remove it due to what was mentioned before and other reasons.

[Mr.Yellow]

Honestly after playing with it on and off I noticed no difference in my skill level. The camera thing seems entirely up to preference as right now there are no vital skills that hinge on no camera lock. One way or another you're fighting the camera, just in slightly different ways depending on what is enabled. If there really is a higher skill ceiling for no lock, I'm sorry but I just can't see it in Exanima's current state.

[Vold]

Originally posted by Mr.Yellow:

Honestly after playing with it on and off I noticed no difference in my skill level. The camera thing seems entirely up to preference as right now there are no vital skills that hinge on no camera lock. One way or another you're fighting the camera, just in slightly different ways depending on what is enabled. If there really is a higher skill ceiling for no lock, I'm sorry but I just can't see it in Exanima's current state.

That's understandable. Those who notice the difference have been playing for much longer and have more experience with the combat system (I am not one of them by the way, I have not been playing for more than a few months, although it is clear to me that it makes a difference, and also that you will not be able to use abilities that need free cursor movement with a locked cursor).

Also, in Exanima's current state, you can use whatever camera mode you prefer and defeat expert arena and the dungeon. But, in the future the difference will be much more noticeable.

[Mr.Yellow]

Originally posted by Vold:

Also, in Exanima's current state, you can use whatever camera mode you prefer and defeat expert arena and the dungeon. But, in the future the difference will be much more noticeable.

So more or less the argument is that while it doesn't matter now, it will matter in the future when skills other than the fundamentals are added. You may as well learn the controls they're building the game around rather than the ones they're not supporting.

[Vold]

In case that you missed the argument:

What has been mentioned by the devs and some players who have been playing since the Combat Alpha Demo was released (a year ago or so), is that it reduces drastically your performance in combat (precision, momentum, etc). It may be not noticeable now, but when you have to fight multiple opponents and harder enemies, and using thaumaturgy (e.g: a power that allows you to move an object and throw it to the enemy with telekinesis - you will need to know how to fight without moving the camera, because that the mouse does not move freely while the camera is following it and there is a technical reason to it which has been mentioned by the devs).

It matters now, and will matter even more in the future.

[Mr.Yellow]

I'll have to disagree with you on that one.