[SVRy_Steve]

One of the things I really like about ORTS is that in the options, under video, you can easily change the focal length of your lens. Want to shoot telephoto or wide angle? To change focal lengths, it takes about as long as changing lenses on a camera. Save, go to options and change lens focal length, resume play.



Another is the 8 view, you can set the camera exactly where you want it, then back the train up to wherever and do a photo run-by with the camera staying in the right spot, even if it takes several tries. By the way, Page Up and Page Down will zoom any view, Ctrl slows the movement of the camera, including when using the mouse to rotate. Shift speeds it up.

It's also easy to shoot the same shot with sunshine, overcast, rain or fog, or even the time of day, changing the values to get just what you want. This makes virtual photography a real joy!

Some keyboard shortcuts for virtual photographers:
Increase Overcast: Control plus =
Decrease “ Control plus -
Increase Fog Shift plus =
Decrease “ Shift plus -
Increase Rain Alt plus =
Decrease Rain Alt plus -
Later Time =
Earlier Time -
Change Weather Alt plus P

Feel free to add to this list!

Steve

[JohnnyS]

Quote

To change focal lengths, it takes about as long as changing lenses on a camera. Save, go to options and change lens focal length, resume play.

Would quite like the ability to do this on the fly via the scrollwheel (currently zooms in/out) or a key combo.

[SVRy_Steve]

JohnnyS, on 29 January 2014 - 05:09 AM, said:

Would quite like the ability to do this on the fly via the scrollwheel (currently zooms in/out) or a key combo.

That could be very handy!

Maybe Shift T for telephoto and Shift W for wide angle. This would actually be changing the focal length or zooming.

The scroll wheel is moving the camera position closer or further.

Steve

[timmuir]

One thing I discovered yesterday, and forgive a noob for not knowing this, is that you can pause the sim, then using the 8 key camera, move it anywhere to set up the shot. Overcast, fog and time of day can be changed while in pause. The Pause Menu can be grabbed with the mouse and moved down to one of the lower corners to get it out of the way. It's really cool to pause a steam train, then swing the 8 camera around and see the effect much like a 3D picture, especially the smoke!

As for the telephoto increments, Steve, where do you set that? I looked and only found the degrees of vertical FOV.

Here's a shot I paused to set everything up while the train was behind the mill on the left, then sat and waited for it to appear. I never thought about a quick succession of shots but this would've been a good place for a series.



I'm really liking this latest build of OR (X1967). Thanks to the entire OR team!

[SVRy_Steve]

Nice shot Tim,

I just finished trying out that "Pause" thing a few minutes ago and was going to say something about your discovery. Good thing to know!

Now, (we've been doing projects together too long, we're starting to think alike!) I just made an example of using the same view with different focal lengths. You found the correct place to change the FOV. Just put in the # you want to try.

Wide Angle & Telephoto Viewpoints

Many photographers will already know this stuff, for the rest of you, it's a great way to extend your creativity in virtual or real world photography.





Both images are taken from the same angle to the engine and corral. The wide angle view is set at FOV 75, the telephoto view at FOV 10. To get the same scene, the telephoto was taken from far back and the wide, up close.

Note that the wide view really expands the apparent distance to the background hills. The telephoto makes them practically “in your lap” and compresses the distances. This is a very different effect from using the same FOV and moving in or out from the subject.

[James Ross]

timmuir, on 29 January 2014 - 07:58 AM, said:

The Pause Menu can be grabbed with the mouse and moved down to one of the lower corners to get it out of the way.

These are all good tips, but you can go one better: use the Pause/Break key on the keyboard and the game pauses with no window to move out of the way. :)

[markus_GE]

May I add another tip for you photography artists? :)

AFAIK there is also a key combination available to be set in OpR that just pauses the game without showing the pause menu. That way shots could be taken while in pause mode too and there´s no obstruction of the view while moving around :lol:

Cheers, Markus

[PA1930]

Yeah, that combination of keys to change the FOV in game would be really great and I've suggested that some months ago but so far no one was interested to implement that, saddly.

As for useful keys, I've learned somewhere here on the forums that you can make a nice combination of ALT+Page Down to slow down simulation time, but the camera still moves around at normal speed, so basically you can make the train run slowly (but when it is really at a high speed, say for example 120km/h) and yet you can make all the angles or shots you want. To make the simulation time run a bit faster you can make ALT+Page Up, and to resume it to normal speed just make ALT+Home. :)
Although this of slowing down the simulation time, will resume to normal time if you save and change FOV and resume the game, hence why that combination of keys for FOV changing would be a nice feature afterall... :lol:
The only problem I see with that though, either it shows on the F5 hud how much FOV is being used or the outside cameras FOV would need to be seperated from the cab's FOV (for instance, like MSTS works with "camcfg") because although for taking screenshots outside of the train with zooming is usually nice, it is not any helpful to have a fixed zoomed in view inside of the cab.

[JohnnyS]

PA1930, on 29 January 2014 - 08:41 AM, said:

The only problem I see with that though, either it shows on the F5 hud how much FOV is being used or the outside cameras FOV would need to be seperated from the cab's FOV (for instance, like MSTS works with "camcfg") because although for taking screenshots outside of the train with zooming is usually nice, it is not any helpful to have a fixed zoomed in view inside of the cab.

Yes a replacement/equivalent of the camcfg file would be nice to see and quite useful. Currently, setting a long FOV that looks right in the cab makes the trains look a bit stretched in external views on a widescreen monitor.

[A Tejesember]

This little patch does the trick. It overrides the mousewheel's function in rotating cameras to adjust the FOV.

Index: Cameras.cs
===================================================================
--- Cameras.cs	(revision 2007)
+++ Cameras.cs	(working copy)
@@ -547,7 +547,17 @@
             // Will not zoom-in-out when help windows is up.
             // TODO: Propery input processing through WindowManager.
             if (UserInput.IsMouseWheelChanged() && !Viewer.HelpWindow.Visible)
-                ZoomIn(Math.Sign(UserInput.MouseWheelChange()) * speed * factor);
+            {
+                //ZoomIn(Math.Sign(UserInput.MouseWheelChange()) * speed * factor);
+                Viewer.Settings.ViewingFOV -= Math.Sign(UserInput.MouseWheelChange());
+                if (Viewer.Settings.ViewingFOV == 0)
+                    Viewer.Settings.ViewingFOV = 1;
+                else if (Viewer.Settings.ViewingFOV == 180)
+                    Viewer.Settings.ViewingFOV = 179;
+                else
+                    ScreenChanged();
+                Viewer.Simulator.Confirmer.Message(ConfirmLevel.Information, "FOV set to: " + Viewer.Settings.ViewingFOV.ToString());
+            }
         }
 
         /// <summary>

Not a nicely implemented thing at all, but does its job. :sign_thanks:

[PA1930]

Well, I don't really know how to do put it working, so hopefully some ORTS developer will consider in applying this... It would be great. :sign_thanks:

[Csantucci]

I tested the feature and liked it. I kindly ask it to be included within the OR releases (but without the info string).
Pedro, you have a PM.

[PA1930]

I've also tested it thanks to Carlo and I loved it! :blush:
As for the info string, it would be nice if the info could only appear on the F5 HUD instead of that info string that appears when we change the FOV. :) Other than that, it is fantastic that its possible to adjust the zooming manually while gameplay.

[A Tejesember]

Reworked the patch a bit to be committable. Now it stores the FOV for each camera separately and shows it on the DEBUG screen of the F5 HUD.
I am interested in the developers' thoughts on this, and of course they can commit it if they'd like to.

Attached File(s)

•  FOV_patch.zip (1.3K)
  Number of downloads: 729

[PA1930]

Carlo, again, if I may ask to give me a RunActivity executable with this new update from A Tejesember, it would be interesting! Sounds very promising too, thank your for your efforts! I've been having a lot of fun with the changeable zooming in-game. I really hope this will make to the "official code". :D