DCS World CINEMATIC CAMERA!!!!!!!

[grammaton_feather]

DCS World is massively improved since 2.5+ and with continued future improvements like the supercarrier and VR performance improvements...

 

However...

 

There are some aspects of DCS that haven't seen any improvement:

 

1: External cameras... The external cameras are generic and haven't improved since the early days of flight sims (Jane's/Microprose). The external views are largely unrealistic.

 

Coming from a 3d animation background where cinematic camera movements can be fully simulated for greater realism... DCS World is really deficient in this area.

 

In the world of PC based racing simulations there has been a shift from generic external views to offering realistic drive-by views with camera lag, zoom, drift and shake.

 

If I select an external view of an aircraft in flight... that view is locked rigidly. Does not deviate unless by mouse or key control. It looks very unrealistic.

 

The flyby view is also lacking because the flyby camera is a fixed position at the time you initiate flyby... your plane is generally too far away on the flyby view.

 

What I'm proposing is an external camera system that brings realistic cinematic views.

 

When I select an external view of my aircraft.. there should be drift, variations in proximity between cam and aircraft. The crucial point here is that we're no longer just showing a generic game view but something that enhances the realism and faciliates much more realistic DCS video creation.

 

What we're simulating is real aircraft cinematography which involves filming the aircraft from another aircraft.

 

To illustrate what I'm talking about:

 

 

^^ Some really good aircraft cinematography.

 

Study each scene and notice how it's not just the target aircraf in motion but the camera filming the action.

 

For external F2 there should be drift on x,y and z axis.

For chase there should be drift as above but also a delay.

Flyby view needs some major redesign whereby the camera dynamically adjusts its zoom to maintain a certain proximity to your aircraft. The flyby cam should provide a very close flyby at its peak along the tracking curve (perhaps proximity adjustable).

 

This cinematic camera system might have its own menu options to adjust drift, shake, zoom, lag (all of the controls I have available when I use gorillacam plugin for my cinema4d animations).

 

2: The second area I'd like to see improved...

 

The awful subtitle messages plastered over the 3d world. I don't need to see radio message texts for words I can hear. I don't need words telling me my rounds have hit a mig.

 

Are you aware people have been asking for options to FULLY DISABLE the text for 4 years+ now?

Edited September 11, 2019 by grammaton_feather

[OttoPus]

I remember an old PC Game (DID F-22) which had a very nice automatic direction, with (very limited for today standards but great at the time) a cinematic view that captured highlights of the flight environment in real time :)

[grammaton_feather]

I remember an old PC Game (DID F-22) which had a very nice automatic direction, with (very limited for today standards but great at the time) a cinematic view that captured highlights of the flight environment in real time :)

 

 

I don't think I spent much time on this one because it was launched when I was on a time-out from PCs. A friend used to play it and I watched him on it sometimes.

[Mars Exulte]

You're aware the camera does not HAVE to be static? There are two modes available in the options for external cameras. One introduces a high frequency vibration, the other lightly drifts the camera around.

 

You can also disable radio subtitles, regular subtitles, and the battle damage assessment in the options.

[Glowing_Amraam]

Speaking for my own opinion, but yes, there are areas that the camera system in DCS could improve. But on the other hand, I would also not want the game to decide how a "camera" is moving or behaving in-game. I need to control that myself.

 

As is pretty evident by all the fantastic DCS World cinematic videos out there, the view system in DCS is actually pretty robust as is, as you can literally do any camera angle/zoom/movement as in real life, with the proper know-how (like using other aircraft as cameras, F11 free-cam, ground vehicles for camera, TrackIR to control movement etc).

 

I also believe there is a mod for the F3 flyby view that makes the camera move a little, like a subtle camera shake, so the aircraft will not be static locked at the center of the screen (though I can't remember where i found it at the moment).

[gianlu320]

It would be very nice if we could control the F3 camera the same way we control the F2 camera.

I mean, being able to move the camera up, dn, left and right plus also being able to zoom on the aircraft to bring the camera close to it.

It would be very nice.

[Glowing_Amraam]

It would be very nice if we could control the F3 camera the same way we control the F2 camera.

I mean, being able to move the camera up, dn, left and right plus also being able to zoom on the aircraft to bring the camera close to it.

It would be very nice.

 

I suppose that wouldn't be a bad thing.

Though I can't see any huge benefit of beeing able to control it like that, when you technically can do the same thing already.

 

1 - Use the F11 freecam view and place the camera wherever you want, then hit CTRL-F3. Camera will now act like the normal flyby camera from this position.

 

2 - Use the F2 view - pan and move the camera as far away from your aircraft as you like and however you see fit. Hit CTRL-F3. You now have a flyby from this angle.

[Worrazen]

DCS may have this functionality but it's deep in the API which requires some scripting/modding, I haven't looked that deeply to that stuff yet and I think there is more than it's possible, probably that's how trailers are made, if it's not using some internal tool.

 

And there's more external views than the apparent ones, just look at controls, you have several modes on each of the F keys.

[grammaton_feather]

You're aware the camera does not HAVE to be static? There are two modes available in the options for external cameras. One introduces a high frequency vibration, the other lightly drifts the camera around.

 

You can also disable radio subtitles, regular subtitles, and the battle damage assessment in the options.

 

I can't get regular subtitles to disappear. It has been stated a number of times by people that disabling the subtitles has no effect.

[Glowing_Amraam]

DCS may have this functionality but it's deep in the API which requires some scripting/modding, I haven't looked that deeply to that stuff yet and I think there is more than it's possible, probably that's how trailers are made, if it's not using some internal tool.

 

There is no internal tool for making DCS trailers, everything is done with what is available to everyone.

[grammaton_feather]

I will study the existing cam controls to get a better insight.

 

With the subtitles I can't see any way to get rid of them since they still appear when unticked on the options.

[Ironhand]

...

 

With the subtitles I can't see any way to get rid of them since they still appear when unticked on the options.

What exactly are the "subtitles" that you can't get rid of? This is a short clip from online which is possibly the worst "subtitle" environment for that due to the chat window and a bunch of other stuff:

 

[Lenux]

Something like X-Camera would be amazing, but I'm affraid that's imposible

[Father Cool]

Everything in that video you can do in DCS easily. Whats impossible about it?

[Cab]

It would be nice to be able to "fly" the F11 free camera like a camera aircraft rather than use keyboard controls. Matching speed and otherwise smoothly "flying" formation with the target aircraft(s) to get the video footage is something I have never been able to master.

 

Please let me know if I am missing something.:confused: