Remote Camera

[dsjenkins]

Is it possible to output the 'view' of one camera to the texture of a surface/actor/mesh? Like a stationary camera working as a security camera that is linked to a video monitor in a security booth. I think DirectX 7 could do that sort of thing, but I don't know how hard it would be for Genesis 3d/RF.

Thanks.
Dave Jenkins
(first forum post...whoohoo!)

[Spyrewolf]

unfortunately we don't we cant render those to textures, yet. this would be nice for creating all sorts of things though, you can do it the Duke3d way where you have a screen representing the area the camera is facing, then when the player use the screen it swtiches to a fixed camera like a security camera.

[dsjenkins]

Bummer. It would solve many of the outdoor and flight problems, but allowing for a cockpit set and a mini city set... or say, a walking locale set at high res, and a smaller LOD miniature for a panaroma projection. Oh well.

[Spyrewolf]

it funny you mention that, i was thinking that the other day, with a projected texture, you could have sprawlling vista's or other cool effects, btw RF really aint to good for flight simulators ok for flying UFO type craft, but not really planes unless your a scripting wizz.

[dsjenkins]

Well, I have some tricks in mind, and they are way off. But thinking outside the box, I needed a 'path' or highway above a cyberpunk city, where the player could stay on the flightpath, soaring above the city, and through a hud set of targets, (autopilot), or veer off a bit, not true flight ,but even a sliding along an invisible terrain, then when they go too far off the flightpath they are warned, then shot to pieces. For safety of the citizens below.

Other ideas: set a 'deck' variable, that all the other objects but the 'player actor' work from, and it is controlled by the player, making the world and all the rest seem to go up or down, etc.

I saw the liftbelt ideas for flight, and although I couldn't get the community release to work, (gravity slam on all runs), I think there might be some useful options in that 3d wind possibility. *shrugs* I'm glad there is a place to shoot these ideas out ther.e.

Even an invisible pillar could work, who's to say...altitude is just a y variable, right? I mean if Flash can have 3d scripting, and render realtime, surely there has to be a way to do some simple floaty thing. I'm not talking ms flight simulator, which I hear takes into account the wingshapes, and drag, and probably birdpoo....lol

[scott]

it could be way out and wouldnt be too hard to implement either i dont thing, i have been thinking bout a flying level for some time and i think it might work with a bit of complex math, the faster you go the quicker you rise (without chaning the direction of the plane) so have a line saying something like

gravity = 10% of speed subtract 3, so if you have gravity of 10 ad your speed is less than 30 then you cant take of, if you have speed of 40 then 10% = 4, subtract the 3 leaving you with 1 and then you got your plane leaving the ground just on speed, the faster you go the quicker you would rise.

for speed, because its never a constatn exeleration, you would make it something like when forward is pressed, speed increases by 30 units per second subtract 10% of curent speed.

so if you are moving at 230 units per second your speed increase would be 7 units per second

then you wold work in if you was facing the sky or ground, adding a negative or positiv speed number depending wich way you was facing

so far that would solv the y axis and speed.

you would have to work out how to do the rotation on the z axis for the rolling of the plane but i dont belive its too hard if you know how to script

then instead of the mouse just moving the camera up and down it moves the plane up and down, and because your speed is worked out in units per second when the plane goes to turn it will make a bigger circle at higher speeds and smaller ones at lower speed if you used a maximum rotaion amount per second

i would put all of this into a script but firstly i dont know very much at all about scripting and secondly i am very busy with other things at the moment, this as just an idea i have had going around my head for some time, once you got the math sorted i do belive that you could enter this into the player script fairly easily if it alows for math calculations like that.