better firstperson view

[Nyramael]

what i\'d really like to see is an improved first person view where you can actually see your body like you normally do (chest, arms, legs walking, etc...). this would really improve the realism of the game if you can actually place your self in your characters view point and see where your feet are and see him fighting and mining, etc. etc. It would also look really cool!

my 2?

[Induane]

I kind of thought of this last night for some reason when I was laying on my back mentally designing interfaces for PS.  I thought even that maybe if you have a helmet on your view is limited more, and you could see the visor, etc... Though it would still be nice to keep all the current camea views.  I\'m thinking it would have to be a completely new addition to the camera angles selection.  In this view, getting drunk at the pub could make things spin or be blurry (prefferably spin) making it hard for you to steer your character anywhere, and making it hard to hit with a weapon or your fist.  I\'d really like to see staggering drunken brawls at the tavern

[zanzibar]

Originally posted by Nyramael
what i\'d really like to see is an improved first person view where you can actually see your body like you normally do (chest, arms, legs walking, etc...). this would really improve the realism of the game if you can actually place your self in your characters view point and see where your feet are and see him fighting and mining, etc. etc. It would also look really cool! :D

my 2?

Cool, but rare.  I can\'t think of any games off the top of my head which are 1st person but you also see your body.

In soldier of fortune and various shooters, you see your hands and whatever weapon you\'re holding.  The same is true in Elder Scroll games, where you see your hands and  your weapon of choice if it\'s drawn -- whether it\'s axe, mace, sword, bow, etc.

Seeing your body though would be interesting.  I wonder if it could be done by having a 3rd person camera setting, but the camera was positioned at or near the face of the character model.  So if you look down, you see your body and whatever swords you\'re holding.  If you look side to side, the \"body\" moves as well, so you can\'t look at your own shoulder or back for instance.

*edit*

Sorry to double post, but there\'s something else too:  Widescreen.  Right now, the 1st person view assumes that all the space on the screen is up for grabs.  However, this usually isn\'t the case.  There\'s at least the chat window, then perhaps shortcuts, stats, and the menu bar.  And let\'s not even talk about the spellbook!


So the camera \"lens\" needs to be widenned a bit, give more of a widescreen effect that assumes that the top or the bottom will be cut off by interface windows.

We have an edit button, y\'know :P --Kary

[BrotherCaine]

I agree on the widescreen.

Also you could do a third person from behind looking through a wireframe of yourself view.  On second thought, too cheesy.

[Pestilence]

hmmm like it as it is mostly alhthough the camara views arent\'t as stable as I would want. Widescreen however I agree. Way to crowded when in first person.

[dfryer]

Indeed, the problem here is field-of-view.  The most \"natural\" looking perspective is when the monitor functions exactly like a window floating 18 inches or so in front of the characters face.  Although this restricts visibility, it doesn\'t distort things for the player (who I assume is about 18 inches away from the monitor!).  Being able to look down and see your arms, feet etc. would be neat, although some trickery might be needed to have the motion feel natural and prevent your head from getting in the way of the camera.

A wider field of view would also make more \"visible area\" available which enables a better sense of location.

[derwoodly]

Seeing your feet is really a job of the 3rd person view.

Idealy 1st person view would assume that the user has three monitors for viewing and the side monitors are at 45 to the center monitor.  This would give you the nessesary screen vision to see naturally.  However even this would not allow you to see your feet.  You would need a forth monitor under your keyboard to do that.  While were at it add a fith one above the main one to give you a sense of an overhead view.  Even better would be a hemisperical screen with a projected image that covers the 270 degrees of your vision.

It would be cool, but not practical on a free MMORPG.

An alternative to Dome vision or the 3rd person is to have a fast enough frame rate to allow you to mouse look quickly in 1st person view.  This creates eye strain for some people, but once your used to it, you feel more like your in the world instead of the god like 3rd person view.

[Kunlock]

It might be tough to implement a first person view where you could see your own character model properly, I have yet to see a game do it such that it was believable.  Several games I have played tried to do it, but it never felt natural, it always was like your view just pivoted on top of a character model with no head, it let you see your neck which cant really happen.  Most game devs think its a waste of time, or its not needed, so is a rare thing to see a first person view with your own model visible.  But like I said no one has yet gotten it right in my view, I doubt it would be worth the time of the devs to do something no one has ever done well before.

EDIT: Well Halo 2 would be a good example of one of the few games I have never played.

[Shadowfalcon]

I know you can see your feet in Halo 2. Just an example.