Suggestion for Movement in Action Camera Mode

[tiika.8512]

Please add the option to adjust the movement of the character in Action Camera Mode when holding button command to "Move Backwards" to move in normal speed facing the backwards direction -i.e. facing the camera/player independently of the crosshairs direction- to replicate the use of "About Face + Right-Click + Move Forward" in normal camera mode

 

Now hear me out … 

 

I am a user and an admirer of the Action Camera feature, it synergizes greatly with the flow of the excellent combat mechanics GW2 is known for, it reminds me of the action combat system from Neverwinter Online, probably the only combat I feel is superior to GW2 or any other MMO in fact, it is fluent, robust and you feel the impact behind every strike you deal or are dealt, you are IN the moment, this AC feature in GW2 almost gives you the same feeling and I have been using it since I discovered it a long time ago.

 

However, I  have been trying to get used to the normal camera again, since it has the competitive/tactful edge in PVP, no question.

 

You are able to move independently from the camera, which gives you the ability to attack while running in the other direction through the use of "About Face", I mitigated this by adjusting to the highest rotation speed to respond quickly and also bound the "Toggle Camera Mode" button to have fast access to Normal Camera when necessary, for highlighting things on the map for the team, checking tooltips, switching abilities, checking enemy buffs, etc. at least that I can live with. There is also the argument of quicker targeting, but users of each camera type can easily pull it off, you can also switch between enemies with a single press of a button of your choosing "Nearest/Next Enemy" so you have options, and when trying to play multiple classes, which PVP forces you to do to understand your opponents, there are classes that teleport around the map and that proves difficult with ACM.

 

As you might expect … I am struggling immensely to adjust back, I LOVE ACM! without it combat is just not the same, it's like the difference between playing an RTS and an RPG. Some of the issues mentioned are tolerable for now, maybe it can be fixed in the future, who knows, but I do think the lack "About Face" movement is a significant disadvantage for ACM, it is actually something that makes players shun away from using it in PVP, sometimes entirely, which is unfortunate because it makes combat feel x100 better, at least from my POV, I also realize it could be a subjective matter, nevertheless, I believe adding this option would greatly improve movement fluidity and freedom overall.

 

I thought for this as a solution to fix the camera disadvantage in PVP for ACM, but you can even actually consider adding it as an option for ALL camera modes, it will be much like having the option to change "Turn Left/Right" to "Strafe Left/Right" and I hope you would consider putting it in the game.

 

Thank you for reading

Edited August 3, 2022 by tiika.8512

[Fipmip.7219]

I'd like to add that there should be a solution for AoE targeting raised surfaces above the viewline for action camera. currently, if you point your camera at a surface that is above your character, you cannot place an AoE ability on it.

 

My solution for this would be to place an AoE where the camera is pointing like normal, but only when first activating the ability. then you can translate the AoE marker over the surface of the terrain by panning the camera up and down, not in a raycasted fashion (where your AoE marker is always at the place your camera is pointing), but in a linear fashion such that the AoE will slide over raised surfaces.

 

It would still take a bit of getting used to, since you still wouldnt be able to see a surface above your characters head when trying to aim at it, but you would at least be able to target the surface and develop a feeling for it.

[Master Ketsu.4569]

I'm probably one of the few ACM players who can consistently rank against top 100.

It's true that ACM could definitely use better options and is probably the biggest untapped potential in the game right now. Lots more players would come and stay if they ACM was more advertised and worked better instead of being a half-broken "Hidden" option.

However, there is a way to use ACM and not be at a noticeable disadvantage. The trick is the keybinds "Look Behind"(LB) and "Disable Action Camera"(DAC). DAC, despite what the name suggests, does not actually disable action camera. It temporarily changes you to free camera while the keybind is held down and immediately swaps back to action camera when released with the LMB.  "Look Behind" which when used with action camera lets you look and aim behind yourself while the key is held. This is especially interesting because some skills used with LB and ACM will act as if you are using Freecam while others will not, some skills even act completely different altogether.  Skills with LB+ACM do not always do the same thing that they do with LB+Normal camera.

So what I have done is for those times you want to exploit Freecams ability to attack while running away, is I have DAC bound to LEFT SHIFT and "Look behind" bound to my gaming mouse fire key, making them both very easy transitions to do on the fly. 

TL;DR You can use ACM and still be competitive, but you have to learn which skills when running away are better to just use with ACM, which skills work better with DAC, and which skills work best while using ACM+LB. It's comically complicated and I half suspect that many of the skill interactions with these camera combinations aren't even intentional by Anet. For instance phase traversal will not let you even use the skill if you aren't in range and you are in ACM, but this also means that you know for sure when the skill will hit. Which means sometimes you will want to use this skill with ACM while other times such as using it to just move around the map you would want to hold the DAC key.

 

 

 

[tiika.8512]

4 hours ago, Fipmip.7219 said:

I'd like to add that there should be a solution for AoE targeting raised surfaces above the viewline for action camera. currently, if you point your camera at a surface that is above your character, you cannot place an AoE ability on it.

 

My solution for this would be to place an AoE where the camera is pointing like normal, but only when first activating the ability. then you can translate the AoE marker over the surface of the terrain by panning the camera up and down, not in a raycasted fashion (where your AoE marker is always at the place your camera is pointing), but in a linear fashion such that the AoE will slide over raised surfaces.

 

It would still take a bit of getting used to, since you still wouldnt be able to see a surface above your characters head when trying to aim at it, but you would at least be able to target the surface and develop a feeling for it.

 

That's a valid concern as well, I cannot count how many times I had to Zoom Out to teleport to a higher surface, it's not ideal, and it makes you think this POV does not give you enough awareness of your surroundings, your solution could be a fix for that, like maybe turn into Normal Camera AOE targeting while holding the skill before releasing as an option.

 

3 hours ago, Master Ketsu.4569 said:

I'm probably one of the few ACM players who can consistently rank against top 100.

 

You give me great hope sir, what do you main or play in PVP if I may ask? the melee or ranged focus is different in ACM, it would help me understand as a perspective

 

3 hours ago, Master Ketsu.4569 said:

It's true that ACM could definitely use better options and is probably the biggest untapped potential in the game right now. Lots more players would come and stay if they ACM was more advertised and worked better instead of being a half-broken "Hidden" option.

 

And if it is well designed or integrated within the game, without its flaws it would be a game changer for a lot of people, the feature feels like it was just put in by a loving fan, like an add-on more than a game mechanic, half baked, which is why not every1 uses it, even those who know about it.

 

3 hours ago, Master Ketsu.4569 said:

So what I have done is for those times you want to exploit Freecams ability to attack while running away, is I have DAC bound to LEFT SHIFT and "Look behind" bound to my gaming mouse fire key, making them both very easy transitions to do on the fly. 

 

Actually I tried that, but it was bothersome when I needed to highlight on the map for others as I need to hold the "DAC" + another key + Right-Click so I could not bind it to "Shift" since there are no other keybind inputs for map usage, and if it was bound to Shift it would only return me back into ACM when trying to use the minimap.

[Bewt.9258]

3 hours ago, Master Ketsu.4569 said:

"Look Behind" which when used with action camera lets you look and aim behind yourself while the key is held. This is especially interesting because some skills used with LB and ACM will act as if you are using Freecam while others will not, some skills even act completely different altogether.  Skills with LB+ACM do not always do the same thing that they do with LB+Normal camera.

Another flaw with ACM presents itself when using LB. Collision detection gets wonky as hell. In an open field with no walls and obstacles, ACM+LB works fine. As soon as you get into any confined space you better hope your look behind camera doesn't collide with any walls or objects because you'll looking straight up into the sky.

[Master Ketsu.4569]

The biggest flaw I have with it is the extreme inconsistency.

For instance, I main rev. Two skills you would want to occasionally aim behind yourself: Herald Elemental Blast, and Vindicator Scavenger burst. If you use "Look Behind" with scavenger burst, the camera will reset and the skill will correctly hit where you aimed it. But if you do the  same thing with Elemental Blast, the camera will reset and the skill will hit the direction where the camera reset, meaning you have to use "Disable Action Camera" with Elemental Blast instead. It makes absolutely zero sense.

Then if you switch to engineer and tryout some explosive builds, things get even weirder. Using LB with grenades will force player facing despite the fact that grenades do not require facing. It should be pointed out this interaction does not occur with either Rev EB or SB, so it's just more inconsistency for no reason.

So this means the only way currently to mitigate these shortcomings without putting yourself at a competitive disadvantage is by remembering every camera interaction on a per-skill basis.

I think if they just fixed look behind to function properly with action camera, not reset after certain skills are used, and never force facing for skills that didn't require it, then things would be fine. That way LB could be used with ACM to function identically to freecam with normal camera.

 

Edited August 4, 2022 by Master Ketsu.4569

[kash.9213]

Just having a keybind to hold down while I drag right mouse or whatever people use to pan camera in default camera mode would be simple and effective. I mostly play WvW ( having to look around a lot for plotting and stealth signs while running) with a lot of weird terrain and dense blobs of people and I toggle between the camera modes constantly, more so than I use most skills. The two main issues I have is being able to land ground targeted skills behind me while I run and like someone pointed out above, being able to land AOE on different topography which the Action Camera angle lock doesn't allow you to do. 

 

On 8/3/2022 at 6:03 AM, Bailios.7518 said:

Another flaw with ACM presents itself when using LB. Collision detection gets wonky as hell. In an open field with no walls and obstacles, ACM+LB works fine. As soon as you get into any confined space you better hope your look behind camera doesn't collide with any walls or objects because you'll looking straight up into the sky.

I get slightly broader or tighter arches with skills like Death's Retreat when I'm scaling over a wall or rock or climbing topography by adjusting my angle, with as much of a birds eye view as I can while almost turning into the action. I guess it's pretty much the same as stacking stealth from Black Powder. It's hard to explain because I might be full of kitten but I feel like I have to pivot or snap my mouse a little with a pullback or lean into just as my character is taking the action. 

[Bewt.9258]

On 8/4/2022 at 12:09 AM, Master Ketsu.4569 said:

Using LB with grenades will force player facing despite the fact that grenades do not require facing. It should be pointed out this interaction does not occur with either Rev EB or SB, so it's just more inconsistency for no reason.

So this means the only way currently to mitigate these shortcomings without putting yourself at a competitive disadvantage is by remembering every camera interaction on a per-skill basis.

I think if they just fixed look behind to function properly with action camera, not reset after certain skills are used, and never force facing for skills that didn't require it, then things would be fine. That way LB could be used with ACM to function identically to freecam with normal camera.

Good point, I never thought about how inconsistent some skills are with LB. Grenades shouldn't force your character to face your target if it's not required for the skill to function. At the same time, skills like Symbol of Punishment which don't require you to face your target don't force that on you when using LB. That inconsistency is one of the biggest problems with ACM and LB. That's not even taking into account how inconsistent targeted teleports are with ACM, so much so that I don't even bother with those types of skills anymore. 

 

Nevermind, I guess I'm remembering incorrectly here because Symbol of Punishment also forces your character to face where you cast it in LB, which doesn't happen in freecam... so... can we please fix all these inconsistencies Anet??

Edited August 5, 2022 by Bailios.7518